Lifelong Learning Strategies Research Articles

The process of validation of knowledge, skills and competences, acquired through informal and non-formal learning in Bulgaria

This articles presents the process of validation of knowledge, skills and competences recently introduced in Bulgaria. The National Strategy for Lifelong Learning for the period 2014 - 2020, defines the priority areas for Bulgaria and guidelines for future development in this area. The document envisages creating the conditions for sustainable development of learning opportunities, building of efficient relationships between the education system and competences acquired in formal education in one hand and on the another hand skills acquired in informal way and through formal learning, especially at work place. This priority is linked to the updated National Employment Strategy of Republic of Bulgaria for the period 2008-2015.

EDUCATION AND TRAINING GOVERNANCE THROUGH LEARNING OUTCOMES: POSSIBILITIES AND CONSTRAINTS IN ITALY

INTRODUCTION . In the last years, the shift to learning outcomes, within the European lifelong learning strategies has represented a policy priority for many countries in Europe. Both governments and key stakeholders agree on the importance of learning outcomes as a part of an innovative and effective approach to teaching and learning emphasizing the knowledge, skills and competences acquired at the end of a learning process. METHOD . The present paper discusses the development of policies on learning outcomes within the European scenario, focusing mainly on the Italian case. Specifically, it has a twofold aim: first, to provide a general overview of the European political consensus on the learning outcomes approach and to present the diverse interpretations of European policies at national level; and second, to reflect upon possibilities and constraints connected to the implementation of learning outcomes in Italy. RESULTS . Taking into account characteristics of the current Italian education and training system being discussed in the present paper, the introduction of a learning outcomes approach in the design of curricula, qualifications and certification system reveals its strengths and weaknesses during the implementation process. The findings show that Italy is an example of merge combinations of new ambitions and old constraints, where new positive effects derived from a learning outcomes approach have to face previous structural, methodological and political issues. The regional diversities, the complicated relation between the State and the Regions, and the different stages of development of the last are some representative examples of the drawbacks which have complicated the successful implementation of the planned goals. DISCUSSION . The Italian case can thus be useful to reflect upon general differences and particular issues that characterize member states in the fulfilment of common objectives and European initiatives in education and training.

The Social and Cultural Dimension of Lifelong Learning in the European Union. Study Case: Babes-Bolyai University

The article tackles on the social and cultural dimension of education, illustrated in the concept of lifelong learning/ continuous formation and the developments of this type of education in a specific institution: Babeş-Bolyai, Romania. The first part introduces a theoretical background of the concept and the challenges to incorporate it under cultural policies. The paper proposes an approach of the cultural dimension on the one hand as a cause – a framework for social policies, seen from the perspective of the issues in the social area, and on the other hand as an effect – the result of such issues that lead to the inclusion of the cultural dimension on the agenda and among the priorities of the EU. The second part is a study case of a continuous formation program initiated by a higher education institution, analyzing the attempt to offer adult education to a community. It also contains a report of lifelong learning strategies integrated at Babeş-Bolyai University and a detailed report of the program that is unrolling at the moment.

El papel de la tutoría en la educación superior: mejorar el éxito académico del estudiante y metas profesionales

Tutoring is a part of the university teaching-learning process and is a basic strategy for improving the student’s academic success and professional goals. It is also in line with the policies of the European Union for improving the integration of lifelong guidance into lifelong learning strategies. This article reviews the process of implementing tutorial action plans in Catalan universities, with particular emphasis on the Universitat Rovira i Virgili. The training and functions of tutors, the recognition of the tutoring task and the tools available to tutors at the URV are described.

A model for implementing sustainable and qualitative growth in the EU

The period since the outbreak of the financial, economic and social crises in Europe has witnessed a renewed focus on the need to develop a more sustainable and qualitative growth model. A model where the traditional focus on economic growth (i.e. GDP growth) is complemented by an adherence to a wider range of qualitative indicators. Indicators which more broadly characterise the well-being of society as a whole. This paper defines a model for sustainable and qualitative growth (SQG) in the EU and questions if existing EU economic and social governance arrangements are consistent with this wider approach to building a sustainable growth model. This paper identifies a number of key recommendations. First, a more encompassing, balanced and multi-dimensional EU strategy for growth should be adopted. This refined strategy should take into account the broader indicators underpinning the SQG model and should be addressed in key EU documents such as the Annual Growth Survey. Second, a symmetric and ‘time consistent’ macroeconomic strategy, allowing for investments in SQG related domains, should be pursued. These growth-enhancing investments should primarily target relevant policy areas such as education and training, technological innovation and lifelong learning strategies. Third, a common automatic stabiliser in the EU should be set up in order to provide a minimum level of EU investment across all member states.

Teaching Critical Reflection to Graduate Students

Critical reflection is a highly valued and widely applied learning approach in higher education. There are many benefits associated with engaging in critical reflection, and it is often integrated into the design of graduate-level courses on university teaching, as a life-long learning strategy to help ensure that learners build their capacity as critical reflective teaching practitioners. Despite its broad application and learning benefits, students often find the process of engaging in critical reflection inherently challenging. This paper explores the challenge associated with incorporating critical reflection into a graduate course on University Teaching at the University of Guelph. Strategies for effectively incorporating critical reflection are presented, based largely on Arsonson’s (2011) framework for teaching critical reflection and the outcomes of a workshop offered at the 2013 STLHE Conference. The strategies discussed have multi-disciplinary relevance, and can be broadly applied to improve how critical reflection is incorporated into post-secondary courses.

Development of lifelong learning strategies using inquiry guided learning projects in a first year anatomy course (211.6)

Biomedical science courses are often crammed with mandatory content. As a result, students may develop passive learning strategies; relying on the instructor to ‘give them’ knowledge. For instance, students self‐report (pre‐semester survey, 10‐pt Likert) a lack of confidence in the exploration of research on a scientific topic (6.4 ± 1.1) outside of formal instruction. To evade this passivity and to promote lifelong learning strategies, Inquiry Guided Learning Projects (IGLPs) have been developed for first year Gross Anatomy; piloted in 2012, then evaluated/reformatted and integrated in 2013. Aligned with student desires to develop skills in effective communication (8.1 ± 1.8) and resource acquisition (8.5 ± 1.9) IGLPs facilitation include 4 novel Information Sessions and 3 Check‐Ins that guide students through the Information Search Process (ISP); initiation, selection, exploration, formulation, collection, and presentation. The guiding aspect was imperative, as students indicate poor self‐perceived abilities of research question selection (6.6 ± 1.7), answer exploration using peer‐review literature (6.4 ±1.2), and effective scientific communication (6.3 ± 1.5). The effect of IGLPs on change over time in student‐perceived confidence and self‐reported ability in all ISP stages will be tested with a repeated measures ANOVA. IGLPs prepare students to be active learners; confident in their ability for academic discovery following formal education.Grant Funding Source: Supported by CIHR CGS Doctoral Research Award

Challenges to Adult Education in Lithuania

The aim of this paper is to discuss development of Lifelong Learning possibilities in Lithuania and adult attitude towards learning, which are important factors in the implementation of Lifelong Learning in Lithuania. Lithuania, as a partner, participates in EU 6 Framework programme project “LifeLong Learning 2010” together with 14 other partners. The project focuses on the contribution of the education systems to the process of making lifelong learning a reality and its role as a potential agency of social integration. The survey has revealed that in general, Lithuanian adult learners have a positive attitude towards lifelong learning. A positive attitude towards lifelong learning is held by 63% of the learners, 37% - neutral, and 0,4% negative. That insures the dissemination of good practice of lifelong learning has important impact for development lifelong learning strategy and for spreading lifelong learning ideas among Lithuanian adults.

Lifelong Learning Case Study from Turkish Public Sector: Business Process Management in Social Security Operations

The importance of Lifelong Learning is increasing in the international competitive environment. Many companies and public administration try to identify and modify their Lifelong Learning strategies for their sustainability. The purpose of this Lifelong Learning case study is underlying the importance of the phenomena in the Turkish public sector. Business process management was used as a tool for designing and improving the operations in the center and rural area offices of Social Security Institution. The case study was held by an expert of the institution in terms of Lifelong Learning. The improved and managed business processes was clarified in the study in detail. The study states that if there were not Lifelong Learning phenomena in action there would not be any improvement and evaluation of this improvement in the system.

The Application of Rasch Measurement Model in Measuring Change in Students Self-Directed Learning Readiness

Self-directed learning is a developed skill that is an essential within technical and vocational courses such as design education. As a strategy for lifelong learning, self-directed learning is important for students to adapt with rapidly changing knowledge and technology. An experimental design was conducted to investigate how web-based learning system of design education, known as PROUD, affected students' perceptions on selfdirected learning readiness to studying design education. The purpose of this study was to measure changes of level in students' self-directed learning readiness over time by applying the method of racking and stacking of Rasch Measurement Model. Thirty second year students pursuing their bachelor in education degree program participated in this study. Respondents used PROUD for 14 weeks in learning design education. A pretest was administered at the beginning of the course and a posttest was again administered after the learning completed. Self-Directed Learning Readiness Scale was used as a research instrument and appeared valid and reliable to measure changes in students' perception of self-directed learning readiness. To make the instrument unidimensional, five of the 58 items were removed. The resulting instrument had a reliability of 0.92 and a separation of 3.29. A paired sample t-test was also included in the data analysis. The pretest of SDLRS results were 1.28±0.94 logits, while the posttest were 1.96±0.97 logits. Changes in students' perceptions of selfdirected learning readiness were significant after the intervention (paired t-test, p = 0.00). Rasch analysis of racking and stacking indicated students' perception of self-directed learning readiness had increased after the intervention. This study also proved that the implementation of PROUD in learning design education had fostered the development of students' self-directed learning readiness.

Workplace learning as a linchpin of Europe's lifelong learning policy

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the extent to which workplace learning forms a building block in national lifelong learning policies by obtaining evidence, first-hand, from mental health practitioners about their perceptions of their individual country's national lifelong learning policy and, in particular, its application to adults with long-term mental illness. Design/methodology/approach – Text analysis: review of relevant literature and European Union policy documents and survey questionnaire. Findings – It is evident that the use of workplace learning as a linchpin in national strategies for lifelong learning in Denmark and France is clear and empirically supported. Research limitations/implications – Comparative evidence of evaluations of impact and effectiveness of workplace lifelong learning provision in the two countries examined is patchy at best raising further questions about the “value” of investments in both workplace learning and lifelong learning in these countries. Practical implications – There is a risk that by focusing on jobs and workplace learning, the specific needs and desires of people with mental illness who, in the main, might want to engage in lifelong learning for reasons other than jobs and workplace learning, may end up being disadvantaged as their (non-economic) needs go unmet. Originality/value – Until now there has been little or no attempt to examine Europe's conception of lifelong learning policy and its application to a multiple disadvantaged group such as mental health service users. This is a major attempt to remedy current dearth of research in the area.

CONTEMPORARY LEARNING ENVIRONMENT IN THE VOCATIONAL EDUCATION: THE NEW CHALLENGES

The quantitative research basis is the data of surveys which were filled in by teachers of vocational education institutions and employers. The research is based on researches and reports regarding vocational education, strategic planning documents of development of education of Republic of Latvia and EU, studies, statistics on vocational education (data basis of the Central Statistical Bureau, statistics of the Ministry of Education and Science (MES) on vocational education) also are used. The aim of the research is to analyze factors of the internal and external environment that affect vocational education in order to determine how these factors create challenges for the vocational education system and educational institutions. The article analyzes the correlation between the elements of internal environment: resources, processes and results and external environment (political, demographic social) factors. The challenges make the vocational education change the existing paradigm of vocational education. The research was performed with a purpose to analyze the environmental factors; the quantitative research combines: an analysis of normative documents and a survey of employers and teachers of vocational education. The key results of the research: demographic trends in Latvia have an essential impact upon the human resources of the vocational education institutions; in order to implement the lifelong learning strategy, it is important to involve more adults in the vocational education; the learning environment of vocational education must be developed by following the principles of lifelong learning; cooperation between the state institutions, employers and teachers is required in order to provide effective solutions to the challenges that vocational education is facing. The cooperation between the employers’ institution, educational institutions and state institutions is essential in the process of planning and implementation of the curriculum and evaluation of the results. The prestige of the vocational education in the society affects students’ choice regarding their further education; it also influences the assessment of employers. If there were developed and implemented such curricular, which would imply the key competences that are relevant to the vocational areas of education and on the basis of which a flexible transformation of the content of curricular would be possible, the competitiveness and quality of the vocational education would be ensured. Key words: external environment, internal environment, learning environment, vocational education.

Plus ça change: Change and continuity at the International Review of Education

In fifty-eight years of unbroken publication, 1 the International Review of Education (IRE) has run the gamut of themes in international comparative education. In its first year of publication alone (1955), we published articles on vocational and teacher education, media and leisure, theory and philosophy of education, political and parental education, language of instruction and youth disengagement. Though almost two decades would pass before the IRE explicitly broached the subject of lifelong learning, it is clear that this was always a broad palette. The 1974 special issue on ‘‘Lifelong Education and Learning Strategies’’ took up the key messages of the Faure Report, which launched the idea of lifelong learning as ‘‘the master concept for educational policies in the years to come’’ (Faure et al. 1972, p. 182). The editors’ introduction to that issue, by Ravindra Dave and Paul Lengrand, staked out the parameters of lifelong learning: ‘‘It encompasses all stages and forms of learning ‐ whether in the home, school, community or through the mass media ‐ in an integrated and articulated manner’’ (Dave and Lengrand 1974, p. 427). By the time the UNESCO Institute for Education was reconstituted in 2006 as the UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning (UIL), the IRE was already well established as an international forum for applied research in lifelong and life-wide education. With this existing tradition in mind, the Governing Board of UIL, at its recent meeting in March 2013, decided to adopt the subtitle ‘‘Journal of Lifelong Learning’’. This does not represent a change of direction as much as an explicit recognition that the IRE is dedicated to a vision of education that embraces the ‘‘flexibility, diversity, universality and dynamism’’ of the lifelong learning paradigm

Older Adults and the Public Library: The Impact of the Boomer Generation

This article reports an investigation of older-adult services at fifty public libraries to determine if public libraries are providing services to the growing older-adult population and if any are guided by the American Library Association Guidelines for Older Adults 2008 and Institute of Museum and Library Services 2008 strategies for lifelong learning. The results indicate that few programs target older adults, although 74 percent offered lifelong learning opportunities. Thirty-two percent offered basic computer programs and less than 50 percent of the libraries provided assistive technologies. Future research should determine if other libraries provide for this diversified age group.

A distributed and morphology-independent strategy for adaptive locomotion in self-reconfigurable modular robots

In this paper, we present a distributed reinforcement learning strategy for morphology-independent life-long gait learning for modular robots. All modules run identical controllers that locally and independently optimize their action selection based on the robot’s velocity as a global, shared reward signal. We evaluate the strategy experimentally mainly on simulated, but also on physical, modular robots. We find that the strategy: (i) for six of seven configurations (3–12 modules) converge in 96% of the trials to the best known action-based gaits within 15 min, on average, (ii) can be transferred to physical robots with a comparable performance, (iii) can be applied to learn simple gait control tables for both M-TRAN and ATRON robots, (iv) enables an 8-module robot to adapt to faults and changes in its morphology, and (v) can learn gaits for up to 60 module robots but a divergence effect becomes substantial from 20–30 modules. These experiments demonstrate the advantages of a distributed learning strategy for modular robots, such as simplicity in implementation, low resource requirements, morphology independence, reconfigurability, and fault tolerance.

National strategies for implementing lifelong learning (LLL) – the gap between policy and reality: An international perspective

In this article, the late Jarl Bengtsson briefly traces the evolution of the concept of lifelong learning within the member states of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). He points out that on the one hand lifelong learning is accepted, in policy terms, by all OECD countries and many other countries, but on the other hand there is an uneven and slow pace of implementation of lifelong learning. He examines three main reasons for this, namely the lack of workable implementation strategies, the lack of a funding system and stakeholders’ resistance to change. Without denying that each country is different and has to develop its own strategy, Bengtsson identifies a certain number of policy and research issues common to all countries, which are relevant to the acceleration of the implementation of lifelong learning strategies and programmes. Based on a paper originally presented at the Asia European Meeting (ASEM) Conference in Beijing in November 2009, this article closes with a reflection about where lifelong learning might be in 40 years’ time. Jarl Bengtsson updated his seminal paper in 2012 for inclusion in this special issue on lifelong learning, taking into account recent developments such as the establishment of learning societies. Sadly, he died before publication was completed.

Perceptions of In-Service Teachers Regarding Technology Integrated English Language Teaching

Technology is changing paradigms in education rapidly and teachers are caught unguarded due to lack of professional training in this aspect. This study reflects the perceptions of nine ELT instructors with M.A TEFL degrees and with over six years of professional experience. Despite the lack of formal professional training as part of their pre-service teacher education, these instructors need to cope with the demands of this transition in daily implementation. Data were collected through semistructured interviews, open-ended questionnaires and field notes. An inductive analysis approach was used to analyze the data and emergent patterns of data were used to develop coding categories. Results indicated that respondents held positive views about the role of educational technology for enriching language instruction. However, they also acknowledged the challenges faced and emphasised the need for ICT training not only for teachers but also for students. It is concluded that participants make use of technology to teach academic and linguistic skills in an integrated skills approach, encourage students to construct knowledge, expose students to life-long learning skills and strategies, cater for different students who have different learning styles, find and create teaching materials, develop skills through exposure to existing on-line sources and create a motivating environment that is conducive for learning.

Providing Labor Market Flexicurity and Quality of Life Through Better Education and Professional Training

Discussions at a european level aimed at policies of economic and social cohesion, especially those aimed a smart, sustainable and inclusive growth(Europe 2020 Strategy), provide universities an increasingly important role in achieving the link between the professional training of people and the requirements of the labor market. Given these priorities, the paper shows that efforts should be focused on education accountability, encouraging innovation and improving employment and training policies to meet labor market flexicurity. Also, a greater capacity for research, development and innovation in all sectors of the economy, combined with a good use of resources will improve competitiveness and boost new job creation. In this article is undertaken a comparative analysis of areas where action must be taken and how to be operated, pointing out some differences and performances recorded in the European Union, through the relevant indicators on employment, education and innovation, as part of the system of indicators of life quality. Providing labor market flexicurity requires major changes in the Romanian educational system, including strategies for lifelong learning, determined by the implementation of new IT and communication technologies in all sectors. The role of educational institutions is changing, education became an integral part of the process of globalization and an economic source that can sustain a relatively long-term competitive advantage, as long as they always provide an “update” of the information already processed by an individual.

POLITINIŲ PARTIJŲ IDEOLOGIJOS VEIKSNIO POVEIKIS LANKSTISAUGOS STRATEGIJOS ĮGYVENDINIMUI LIETUVOS DARBO RINKOJE

The concept of flexicurity is based on the idea that two goals – more flexibility and more security – in the labour market are not contradictory but mutually supportive and can be implemented simultaneously. It is also promoted by the EU as a solution for coping with various challenges labour markets face. The official EU documents (the main is Lisbon Strategy50) state that in order to remain competitive, reduce segmentation and combat the high unemployment level, the Member states have to implement the flexicurity strategy in four spheres. First, more flexible and reliable contractual arrangements have to be guaranteed. Second, comprehensive lifelong learning strategies should be developed in order to ensure the adaptability and employability of workers. Third, effective active labour market policies that help people to cope with transitions to new jobs have to be implemented. Fourth, modern social security systems that provide adequate income support, encourage employment, and facilitate labour market mobility must be assured.The object of this article is the implementation of the Flexicurity Strategy on the Lithuanian labour market. The aim of this study was to analyse the EU impact on Lithuania’s national employment policy in the area of flexicurity and the role of political parties’ ideology in this process. In order to achieve the goal, the concept of flexicurity and its evaluation model were introduced. Then the Europeanization theoretical approach and main factors influencing the of the EU impact on national policies were overviewed. Finally, a piece of the input–process–output model was used to quantify the implementation of the Flexicurity Strategy in Lithuanian labour market. Also, an analysis of legislative initiatives in the Parliament was conducted. It helped to evaluate whether the ideology of ruling parties influenced the content of the law initiatives (in the flexicurity area). The main findings of this article are as follows:– the EU impact on national employment policy in the area of flexicurity was minimal despite the favourable attitude of political parties towards the EU. The analysis of various indicators revealed that the biggest change happened in the input stage of flexicurity and all trials were about the promotion of the functional and numerical aspects of flexibility. As regards the other dimensions and levels, the situation mostly remained status quo;– political parties in the government were quite active in proposing various bills connected with flexicurity. However, only about half of them reflected the EU attitude to flexicurity. Also, employment policy reform measures were chosen selectively, and flexicurity as a strategy was not implemented. One of the reasons was a high selectivity of implemented measures and the lack of approach to flexicurity as a strategy. It could be changed by starting to initiate public debates and discussions about the principle of flexicurity (until now, no public debates on this topic have been organized in the country). This could help to increase public awareness, deepen understanding and to find an appropriate solution;– the left wing government was more active in implementing the income security dimension in the labour market. Most of the accepted decisions contradicted the EU attitude to how security should be promoted: they were connected with a more active use of passive labour market policies. Meanwhile, the right-wing government was more active in promoting flexibility in the labour market. Also, it accepted more “EU-friendly” laws. This confirmed the statement that the ideology of the ruling parties has an explanatory impact while choosing and initiating legislative proposals on flexicurity. However, this statement requires further research, because during the analysis it was impossible to limit the impact of the economic crisis on legislative initiatives. An additional analysis revealed that this factor had also an impact on adopting laws related to the labour market flexibility.

Social empowerment and participation of people with disabilities through NGO activities

According to the approved Lifelong Learning Strategy (2004) by the Ministry of Education and Science, Ministers of Social Security and Labour, the country must strive to involve NGOs and social partners in the development of adult education. According to Rutkienė, Trepulė (2009), the lifelong learning paradigm covers all areas of human learning, provides opportunities for people to learn throughout their lives. It is very important for those who have not used or had no access to education for various reasons, departed from the job market etc. Lifelong Learning emphasizes the importance of both the EU and Lithuania in the context of education policy and practice of education (Teresevičienė, 2001).