A wide range of literature has already emerged which assesses the sudden closure of Higher Education Institutions during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, when many academic institutions turned to ERT (emergency remote teaching) in order to maintain teaching and learning. The Faculty of Lifelong Learning at Institute of Technology Carlow, Ireland,…

An increasing number of mayors are adding 'learning' to traditional city responsibility for sewers, roads, parks, garbage and dog-catching. However, just like in the 1970s, there is uncertainty about what is meant by 'learning' and considerable variance embedded in the notion of 'city'. Some Learning City advocates look to UNESCO's Faure and…

This paper explores patterns in participation in adult education and training (AET) by comparing five countries with high participation rates (the Nordic countries and the Netherlands) with three countries with significantly lower participation rates (France, Poland and the Slovak Republic). Using PIAAC data the paper examines differences in the…

Mobile technologies are becoming ubiquitous in education, yet the wider implications of this phenomenon are not well understood. The paper discusses how mobile lifelong learning (mLLL) may be defined, and the challenges of forging a suitable definition in an ever-shifting technological and socio-economic landscape. mLLL appears as a ubiquitous…

This article explores the role of informal learning from television as it is anchored within the ordinariness of daily life. It examines the consequences for pedagogy and civic engagement, questioning how informal learning from television can enhance civic engagement. For many, this learning was localised through personalised and interpersonal…

A study of funding models for continuing education in France, Ireland, Italy, and Scotland shows that cost-benefit analysis (CBA) is generally implicit and not articulated in technical terms. Course providers' value systems or ideologies militate against simplistic use of CBA. (SK)

In the first phase of nation-state development, adult education serves in the creation of nationalism and consensus. As the nation enters the world stage, adult education enforces national and cultural identity and meets professionalizing needs. As consensus loosens and pluralism emerges, adult education may become a symbol of conflict between…

Reviews research on adult and continuing education in Ireland in the categories of liberal, social, vocational, certification, and interventionist. Examines participation, motivation, characteristics of adult learners, and outcomes. Suggests that the scope of research be widened to encompass ideology, stratification, power, and social control. (SK)

The recommendations of Scotland's 1975 Alexander Report for increasing adult education participation and Tom Lovett's development of a social action model with working class adults in Liverpool and Ireland are used as background to an examination of Scottish projects that use a community work approach to involve nonparticipating adults in…