Adult Education

Today, states and regions emphasize the importance of the knowledge society for their further development in a competitive environment. Various types of the knowledge society discourse exist. It has become a social phenomenon. It is an intellectual tool to describe contemporary developments. It has become a political goal (Välimaa, Hoffman, 2007).

States and regions also want everybody to profit from the benefits of the knowledge society. Therefore, they favour an inclusive society, which brings more social equity. In order to realise these aims, they see new tasks for actors (such as higher education) within society, such as implementing lifelong learning strategies to keep up with the demands of the knowledge society and to build the inclusive society.

Lifelong learning is here to stay for various other strategic reasons, others than those already mentioned above. Higher education providers will turn to the lifelong learner since demographic changes, such as changing birth rates and a more diverse and ageing population, will have an impact on the classic student population. They are also confronted with new demands, such as the demands from the labour market, individuals and groups of learners who require more flexibility in their acquisition of (new) knowledge and competencies. Governments have the responsibility to prepare for these challenges and to ask higher education institutions to contribute to change. The recent financial and economic crisis will increase the demand for lifelong learning. “New skills for new jobs” is a policy initiative (Expert Group European Commission, 2010) developed at the European Commission level to help ensure a better match between skills and labour market needs, building stronger bridges between the world of education and the world of work. An appropriate mix of generic competences and technical skills, including digital skills, will be required (Expert Group European Commission, 2010, p 25).

New phenomena arise, which support the claim for more lifelong learning possibilities. From a survey conducted by the Princeton Survey Research Associates (2005), we learn that half of Americans aged 50 to 70 years old are eager to find work with a social impact after their primary career ends. Harvard University recently started a small experiment, which could become a third stage in university education. Student fellows aged in their fifties and sixties started a year long programme focusing on social problems such as poverty, health, education and the environment intended to help them in their careers as social entrepreneurs or as leaders of non-profit organisations (Lohr, 2008). While this initiative is aimed at the highly skilled, other initiatives described in the next paragraph concern all future employees.

In an interview with Shillingford (2009), Mike Short, Vice-President for R&D Telefonica O2 Europe, and former chairman of the GSM Association, predicts that by 2020 the public sector will be doing less for education (transport and health) due to the power of mega-businesses. According to him, learning will be about acquiring the tools and technology which are needed to obtain and use information at every stage of life. People will be increasingly finding a way of using this information to derive knowledge and wisdom from the process. He states that after 2050, digital literacy will be essential to avoid mass employment. Everyone will have to be able to learn outside the class room throughout life (Shillingford, 2009).

The discourse about the knowledge society is closely linked with the discourse about the information society. Information is seen as data that have been organised and communicated and that can be commodified. The speed of the technology sets no limits on the amount of information available. In the knowledge society, the information is mastered and used for innovative purposes. The commoditisation of knowledge, pedagogy and assessment is not so easy. In particular, the standardisation of pedagogy seems to be difficult since it consists of standardising human interaction (Välimaa, Hoffman, 2007, p11). On the one hand, there is this demand for more standardisation of knowledge education. On the other hand, there is the need for more complexity, flexibility and customisation.

Some fundamental characteristics of the knowledge society are the acceleration of knowledge production and the intensity of innovation, the changes in accessing and acquiring knowledge, and developments of networks and of collective and collaborative activities. These characteristics could create a new dynamic in (higher) education facing several competing demands.

The challenge of lifelong learning has to be met. This means the provision of education from initial education to higher education and adult continuing education. Europe’s organisations (educational and others) will have to cope with this in the middle to long term. The learning needs of individuals and the national and European education systems, both in formal and informal ways, will evolve.

The concepts of lifelong learning are complex. In the preamble of its charter, the EUA mentions the confusing terminology: initial education for disadvantaged groups; continuing education and training for well-qualified graduates; and post-retirement opportunities for cultural enrichment, as well as the varying local, regional and national interpretations of these concepts. From a rather narrow concept, it has become a broader one. In view of the demographic changes (an ageing and more diverse population) in Europe, it can no longer be a box set apart for a limited group of people who did not get a higher education between 18 and 22 years old. Traditional, contemporary universities are struggling with effective and efficient strategies to organise lifelong learning. The EUA states that its member universities have to better define the overarching concepts and practices, and to clarify more precisely the contribution that can be made by creating a culture of inclusive and responsive European universities.

Many factors necessary to craft a strategy for lifelong learning are not well known. Often, it is not clear who are the potential lifelong learning students. Higher education institutions do not know how to identify them and how to reach out to them. They are trying to find out which strategy should be followed to reach a huge number of potential lifelong learners with different backgrounds, coming from diverse origins, all with their own specific education, professional training and experience.

A paradigm shift is necessary to properly organise lifelong learning. E-learning strategies could be a solution if digital literacy becomes essential to avoid mass unemployment.


The Council of the European Union states in its Third Joint Report with the European Commission that “lifelong learning supports creativity and innovation and enables full economic and social participation” (p 2). It also acknowledges that implementation is still the greatest challenge for lifelong learning strategies. Strong institutional commitment, coordination and partnership with all relevant stakeholders are necessary conditions for proper implementation (p 7). According to the report, many countries have made progress in defining strategies. Progress has been made in pre-primary education, qualification frameworks and the validation of non-formal and informal learning. Nevertheless, innovative learning partnerships and sustainable funding for high quality, efficient and equitable education and training, are still not getting the necessary investments from governments across Europe.

The report also states that adult participation in lifelong learning no longer achieves the EU benchmark. Until 2005, progress was made towards meeting the EU benchmark (12.5 %). In 2006, an average of 9.6 % of Europeans aged 25-64 were participating in education and training activities (slightly less than in 2005). Behind this figure, an important imbalance is hidden. Highly educated adults are more than six times as likely to participate in lifelong learning as the lowest skilled people. Among migrants, the concentration of low skills is striking. Due to demographic and labour market trends, increased demands for high skills are to be expected. As a result, there will be fewer opportunities for the lowest skilled, who will need special attention (p 12).

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