Recommended reading from Anne Taylor-Vaisey: International Journal of Lifelong Education March/April 2006; 25 (2)
Is the future for lifelong learning distance? Dancing with the devil! [editorial]
The role of the 'Other' in reflection, knowledge formation and action in a late modernity, Martin Dyke
Reflection has long been an aspiration in education, from Aristotle‘s Nicamachean Ethics, through Bacon‘s (1605) Advancement of Learning and later articulated by John Dewey. Schön‘s reflective practitioner underpins the ethos in the professional training of teachers in the UK. This paper reviews approaches to reflection in learning and argues that we require a model of learning sensitive to the complex interaction between theory, practice and reflection that take place in social contexts and relationships with others. Following a critical review of the literature it argues for a social model of experiential learning connecting themes in contemporary social theory. The paper considers learning in sociological and philosophical terms rather than as simply a cognitive or psychological process.
Escaping the slums or changing the slums? Lifelong learning and social transformation, Alan Rogers
This paper looks at the discourse of lifelong learning as it has emerged in many countries (especially Europe) over the last few years, with its concentration first on learning for work and latterly on learning for citizenship .The failure of lifelong learning to pick up on the earlier tradition of adult education is noted and some reasons for this are suggested. The paper argues that a social transformation approach to lifelong learning based on a diversity paradigm rather than a deficit or a disadvantaged paradigm is possible within its existing conceptualisation, especially within the fields of the reflective practitioner, learning and identity and the learning organisation/society.
Communities of practice and professional development, Lex Chalmers, Paul Keown
The Internet has had a transformative effect on many aspects of contemporary living. While there may be a tendency to overstate the impacts of this technology, workplaces and work practices in many societies have been greatly affected by almost instant access to massive amounts of information, delivered through broadening bandwidth. This paper embeds a discussion of professional development in this technological context, and comments on the emergence of a range of Internet-based tools designed to assist with the delivery of professional development programs for secondary teachers. We argue that the tools by themselves are not enough to guarantee effective professional development and that building ‘communities of practice‘ will become significant in lifelong learning models. We discuss some work undertaken in a professional development project with secondary school teachers distributed at a distance from the host institution.
Does the 'Celtic Tiger' society need to debate the role of higher education and the public good?, Sandra Fisher
The young outsiders: the later life courses of 'drop-out youths,' Markku Vanttaja, Tero Jaervinen
