Locating Lifelong Learning and Education in Contemporary Currents of Thought and Culture

Abstract

This chapter presents a picture of the ways and extent to which lifelong learning discourse is dependent on the broader cultural contexts of which it is a part. This is done by firstly articulating three progressive sentiments that may be seen as informing lifelong learning ideology, theory and advocacy. Against that more traditional background is then examined the sort of educational discourse that is generated in the contemporary cultural context, and which therefore prevails in contemporary lifelong learning policy and practice. It is argued that, although this context valorizes lifelong learning, the progressive sentiments are largely and substantively incidental to prevailing lifelong learning discourse, although they do give that discourse its aura of symbolic value. In so arguing, this work builds upon such recent critiques of contemporary lifelong learning discourse as those of (1999), (1998), (1998), (1998), (1996) and (1999).