As the Commonwealth of Learning (COL) was in the last year of its 2015-2021 strategic plan, COL sought to evaluate the impact of its interventions in open and innovative schooling (OIS) in the period 2018-2021 through an external review. An online quantitative study was carried out in Belize, Malawi, Mozambique, Trinidad and Tobago, and Zambia,…

The Commission on International Adult Education (CIAE) of the American Association for Adult and Continuing Education (AAACE) provides a forum for the discussion of international issues related to adult education in general, as well as adult education in various countries around the globe. The following purposes summarize the work of the…

Authors interviewed a leading educational figure in Britain on developments in their experiment in higher education, the Open University. (RK)

Open learning is the act or process of acquiring knowledge or a skill that is accessible and available, not confined or concealed, and that implies a continuum of access and opportunity. All open schools have one thing in common: they are to a greater or lesser extent efforts to expand the freedoms of learners. The trend towards open forms of…

A free school for teachers gives participants an alternative to traditional programs: innovations are practiced, not preached; modules meet participant-identified needs; and objectives, learning activities, and evaluation criteria are delivered a week in advance. (Completion of five modules earns an increment credit applying to a teacher's salary…

Because the current Council for Educational Technology (CET) open learning systems (OLS) program is ending and the new OLS program being planned has very different concerns, this report reviews the initial program, assesses its impact since 1975, and identifies factors which aided its success as an innovative program. Aims and objectives for each…

The stringent economic circumstances in which the whole education service operated during the reporting year dominated the policy direction and actions of the Council, which views the financial restrictions as a challenge that educational technology can help to meet. Included in this annual report are: (1) a review of the year's activities; (2) a…

Describes an adult basic education facility after one year of operation in an urban shopping mall in Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada. The center is an informal open-ended classroom and advising center where part-time adult learners study an individualized curriculum. Summarizes the major findings of a program evaluation. (EM)

The new roles and functions of university language departments are discussed. A decline in younger language students is countered by growing adult demand for language training. New institutions or sections cater to new learning groups; extramural, decentralized and distance courses have developed. Advantages for student and university are…

This case study focuses on the Forsokgymnaset, Oslo, (FGO), Norway, which came into being as a new type of school without any influence from lifelong education but whose features, especially the emphasis on students' responsibility for their own growth, are applicable to lifelong learning. Chapter 1, an introduction to lifelong education,…

This seminar was concerned with a critical examination of the total situation at all levels of education and with an exposition of the "ideal" role of education as an agent of change to achieve a desirable situation. The first of two papers examines some issues and suggested solutions within the learning society. The problem facing…

Methods and implications of various reforms in higher education are assessed. Such concepts as individualization, new roles for the teacher, the learning contract, the planning portfolio, and other wide-ranging resources for learning are discussed. Specific implications include: (1) the existence of more options and possibilities for students…

This bibliography was compiled for the Latin American Meeting on New Forms of Post-Secondary Education and the Seminar on Open Learning Systems held in Caracas, Venezuela, from September 25 to October 2, 1976. The book contains a total selection of 658 bibliographical entries on educational innovations. Part I consists of an annotated bibliography…

New forms of postsecondary education such as television colleges, contract learning programs, universities without walls, external degree programs, and education brokers have emerged to complement traditional adult and vocational education programs. New patterns and programs contribute to the open learning movement in higher education and offer…

In a speech on the development of formalized systems for distance education, the British Open University is highlighted. Three themes are addressed: (1) objectives, methods, and evaluation of Great Britain's Open University, (2) examination and comparison of similar institutions in other countries, and (3) development of guidelines for initiation…