Higher Education and Lifelong Learning

Abstract

Higher education systems of developed countries around the world are faced with the challenges of responding to the needs of lifelong learners. This book explores the changes that are occurring in higher education by looking at the participation of non-traditional students in 10 countries. Among areas explored are: the complex reality behind statistics on participation in higher education in Europe; contrasting perceptions of lifelong learning; changing patterns of participation by adults in higher education; national and institutional policies to accommodate non-traditional students and new forms of study; and conclusions for policy practice and research. Six criteria are identified as being conducive to the participation of non-traditional students. These are: governance and control; institutional differentiation; flexible (open) admissions; mode of study; financial and other support; and continuing education opportunities. The chapters are: Traditions and new directions in higher education: a comparative perspective on non-traditional students and lifelong learners / Hans G. Schuetze and Maria Slowey; Austria: the enduring myth of the full-time student: an exploration of the reality of participation patterns in Austrian universities / Hans Pechar and Angela Wroblewski; Germany: non-traditional students in German higher education: situation, profiles, policies and perspectives / Andra Wolter; Ireland: adult learners and non-traditional students in Irish higher education / Tom Collins; Sweden: non-traditional students in higher education in Sweden: from recurrent education to lifelong learning / Agnieszka Bron and Karin Agelii; The United Kingdom: redefining the non-traditional student: equity and lifelong learning in British higher education, 1985-2000 / Maria Slowey; Canada: higher education and lifelong learning in Canada: re-interpreting notions of 'traditional' and 'non-traditional' students in the context of a 'knowledge society' / Hans G. Schuetze; The United States: heterogeneity of the student body and the meaning of 'non-traditional' in US higher education / Seth Agbo; Australia: higher education and lifelong learning: an Australian perspective / Richard James and David Beckett; Japan: from traditional higher education to lifelong learning: changes in higher education in Japan / Shinichi Yamamoto, Tomokazu Fujitsuka and Yuki Honda-Okitsu; New Zealand: the impact of market forces in the quest for lifelong learning in New Zealand universities / Roger Boshier and John Benseman.