ISG Journal

Will lifelong learning be matched by continuous education?
H. Bouma
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Abstract

Due to rapid changes in society driven by developments in technology, the concept of lifelong learning has replaced the youth and adolescence as the paramount period of learning, in preparation for a whole life integrated in society. People are able to internalize new information and acquire new skills at any age up to the end of life, except in case of specific memory- or movement debilitating diseases. Quite a few normal life skills are based on memory. Education is defined here as organized opportunities for learning with well-defined students, goals, and methods. So, in a dynamic society, lifelong learning has to be matched by sufficient opportunities for continuous, lifelong education. However, society as a whole has only partly embraced lifelong learning and seems to still predominantly focused on education as preparation and training for a continuing professional career, i.e. education for jobs.Purpose Working out the concept of lifelong learning and continuous education for ageing people in present society. Method Analysis of the structural lag of older people to participate in a society characterised by fast innovations, and deriving suggestions for solutions.Results A flood of innovations and scientific findings has deeply changed society and is continuing doing so. It follows that the validity over time of what is learned has shrunk and there is now a need for continuous education and skills training right up to the end of life. Some options will be outlined for continuous education, thus supporting lifelong learning. Open learning environments via the Internet combined with the training of digital competences appear to be the basic skill set. It is presently unclear who will take on a position as primary stakeholder to make this happen. As for scientific support, disciplines of gerontology and technology necessary for developing digital competence, education software, user interfaces, social organization, and massive introduction are indicated.

Keywords: lifelong learning, continuous education, learning by practising


H. Bouma (2014). Will lifelong learning be matched by continuous education?. Gerontechnology, 12(4), 194-200
https://doi.org/10.4017/gt.2014.12.4.002.00