Adult Lifelong Learning Education Over Human Life Span

In past decades, the traditional understanding of education, which was exclusively oriented toward formal learning in childhood and young adulthood, has been broadened to the concept of lifelong learning. Different versions of this concept have in common the idea that learning in different phases of human life span, learning in formal, non-formal, and informal contexts, as well as learning in the context of a variety of personal experiences are indispensable components of lifelong learning education. However, there may be changes in form, content, and motivation.

In childhood and young adulthood, formal learning in school and professional training are most common. Decisions concerning the course of education are during childhood primarily made by the parents, whereas independent decisions continuously increase during the transition to adulthood. Inequalities in educational opportunities are determined by differences in social status.

In the context of professional training, education focuses on aspects of utility for future working activities, whereas in school there is a focus on general education. In working life, non-formal and informal contexts become more important as compared to formal contexts, admittedly not for all workers in all jobs. Employees in positions with many opportunities for independent and self-responsible decisions benefit from opportunities for further learning. By contrast, the competence of employees who must perform unchallenging, repetitive, and monotonous activities without opportunities for independent and self-responsible decision making decreases due to a lack of stimulation and deficits in extended vocational training programs. Because individual resources are restricted and tied to diverse obligations in adulthood, these employees cannot evade decreases in employability.

The pressure of immediate utility, which is characteristic not only for learning during working life but also increasingly for learning in young adulthood, is no longer important in retirement. However, retirement implies the loss of the learning contexts of working life. This loss can admittedly be compensated for by activities of civil engagement. On the one hand, there is the opportunity in old age to use the new freedom to study further in accordance with personal hobbies, interests, and aspirations. This kind of learning might open up new areas of activity. On the other hand, maintenance of health and independence requires continuous learning processes.

Proceeding from the aforementioned aspects of lifelong learning definition, the 1972 Faure report suggested a comprehensive definition of educational aims, i.e., the establishment of a physical, mental, emotional, and moral human entity. The previous lifelong learning definition are a good starting point for a more comprehensive understanding of learning in occupational contexts and retirement. However, they focus too much on professional training and working life by accentuating aspects of utility and job mobility. The concept of lifelong learning education can be explicated by seven points:

1. Lifelong learning education encompasses the totality of all formal, non-formal, and informal learning over the entire human life cycle.
2. Lifelong learning education implies different educational paths that are simultaneously permeable and interconnected.
3. Lifelong learning education implies independent and responsible learning, and independence and responsibility themselves must be learned.
4. Lifelong learning education implies learning in a manifold and transparent landscape of opportunities.
5. Lifelong learning education implies enabling learning by the provision of sufficient resources.
6. Lifelong learning education implies an investment of individuals, companies, and society.
7. Lifelong learning education implies transparency, counseling, and quality management.

The necessity of adult lifelong learning education becomes particularly evident in the context of changes in life that can be described as discontinuities, e.g., parental leave, changes in occupation, and unemployment. In comparison to earlier phases of human life span, learning is less determined by institutional contexts. Due to occupational and familial commitments and obligations, there is a higher demand for programs that allow for a flexible adaptation of learning times, such as correspondence courses or computer-assisted learning. Qualifications and competences that were acquired via informal learning in occupational and familial contexts should be made exploitable by means of documentation and certification. The benefit of learning for the learner should be made obvious. Usage of modules from formal educational programs facilitates the development of individual profiles of competence. Moreover, a successful strategy of adult lifelong learning education requires that companies and institutions responsible for education and job placement cooperate in a way that meets the challenges of transparency and counseling in the context of obligations and commitments in adulthood. Similarly, counseling must take into account the magnitude of professions as well as the variety of individual talents, interests, and life situations.