Financing Higher Education and Social Equity: Implications for Lifelong Learning

Abstract

One of the basic attractions of the lifelong learning concept is that it might represent the vehicle for providing a more equitable distribution of learning opportunities and experiences among different social classes, races, and age groups, and between men and women. While the lifelong learning approach has not yet been clearly defined, it differs from the conventional educational approach by explicitly recognizing the existence and potential development of socially provided learning opportunities of many varieties over the entire life span. Thus, lifelong learning experiences would encompass much more than just formal schooling. They would include formal and informal training, self-study, travel, and all of the other institutional and noninstitutional experiences that contribute to human formation and development. The major reason that a lifelong approach might be more equitable than the present approach is its flexibility. By tailoring learning experiences to the needs of individuals on a more flexible basis, it is possible to take into account the special needs of different persons and groups. In contrast, the present system places a great deal of emphasis on relatively limited and uniform types of educational experiences at particularly early stages of life, especially those prior to entering the labor force. For persons who are able to benefit from those types of experiences at this relatively early phase of their lives, there are probably important benefits in the present system that are not reaped by those who need a more flexible approach.