Learning is a lifelong process. Many countries in the world, basically the European and Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries, have adopted it as an important vehicle for human development. They have also made it a policy agenda for meeting the human capital need for twenty first century for economic prosperity.…

Islamic schools, especially "madrasahs", have been viewed as sites of indoctrination for Muslim students and militants. Some educators and parents in the United States have also regarded introductory courses on Islam in some public schools as indoctrinatory. But what do we mean by "indoctrination"? And is Islamic education…

Informal learning and its validation has become a major issue in European and national education policy, raising the following questions. May learning be constituent for political action? Is learning the focus of validation? Is informality a feature of learning? Is implicit learning solely related to informality? To give answers, a general…

By the end of 2010 over 15 million euros will have been allocated in the UK through the Grundtvig adult learning programme. Over 900 organisations and thousands of staff, individuals and learners involved in adult education have benefitted. Grundtvig has helped to enhance the quality of learning provision; widen perspectives; increase motivation;…

Certifying non-formal and informal knowledge may be a consequence of separating education and training from other social and economic activities. Specialisation and formalisation of education and training both aim to increase learning efficiency. In the emerging knowledge society, this has attracted particular attention among researchers and…

Environmental learning, or how individuals make sense and meaning about nature, the environment, ecology, and environmental issues, is best understood as lifelong, life-wide, and life-deep (Banks and others, 2007). Lifelong learning refers to acquisition of skills, competencies, attitudes, and knowledge over time; life-wide is learning across…

The "Global Inventory of Regional and National Qualifications Frameworks," the result of collaborative work between the European Training Foundation (ETF), the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training (Cedefop), UNESCO [United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization] and UIL [UNESCO Institute for…

This publication is a global, country-by-country, inventory of National Qualifications Frameworks (NQFs). It is a copublication, prepared by two EU agencies, the European Training Foundation (ETF) and the Centre for the Development of Vocational Training (Cedefop); and UNESCO's Institute for Lifelong Learning (UIL) and the Section for TVET at…

In this keynote, the author discusses dichotomies having to do with: (1) technology/digital proponents versus non-technology/analogue proponents; (2) a formal/formalist position versus an informal/informalist position; and (3) educator/teacher views versus artist/musician views. The author often wonders what the essence of these dichotomies are,…

This paper is an initial exploration of the integration of work and learning and is intended to inform NZCER's Learning at Work research programme. It shows how the traditional separation between work and learning is being challenged and looks at what that means for education professionals, institutions and programmes. The paper considers the…

This research report investigates the links between formal, non-formal and informal learning and the differences between them. In particular, the report aims to link these notions of learning to literacy and essential skills, as well as the learning of second and other languages in Canada. It builds upon the work of the OECD (n.d.) and Werquin…

This article explores the following question, posed in the call for submissions to this special issue, dealing with significant 21st-century debates for art education: "How can art educators embrace non-certified individuals who teach art in various settings such as craft stores, after-school programs, and community centers?" While the question…

Instruments and arrangements supporting transfer and accumulation of learning outcomes, such as validation and credit systems, form an important part of European and national lifelong learning strategies. Debate has largely focused on separate initiatives and failed to address how these may interact and could create synergies. A starting point for…

At first sight, participation rates in adult learning do not differ strongly between men and women. Further exploration, however, makes clear that differences exist at the level of the type of learning. Men participate more in work-related learning and experience more job-related motives to participate. Women take on the main responsibilities in…

This article proposes lifelong learning as a socio-personal process and a personal fact. As such, it is conceptually distinct from an educational provision, which constitutes one kind of institutional fact. In making this distinction, this article seeks to elaborate a major flaw in the precepts for conceptualisation and enactment of the report…