Going with the Flow: First-Cycle Higher Education in a Lifelong Learning Context.

Abstract

Higher education is in flux asgovernments around the world seek to use it asan instrument to enhance national economies,and the half-life of knowledge steadilydecreases. Lifelong learning is presented ascritically important to the development ofhuman capital, but its implications forfirst-cycle higher education have yet to befully appreciated. It is argued thatfirst-cycle higher education is evolving in thelight of changes in the relationship betweenthe academy and employers. Students' part-timework is a significant component of theirexperience in higher education, yet itspotential for learning is generallyunder-exploited. The argument is made thatpart-time work can be drawn into the formalcurriculum without prejudice to traditionalacademic concerns, particularly if a lifelonglearning perspective is taken.