Everyone is talking about civil society. Perhaps it's the election, and the shock of seeing more voters at the polling booths than anyone had expected. Now David Cameron's idea of a "big society" is being translated into some early policy measures. Does today's debate have anything to do with adult learning? The author believes that the…

Although there is a widely held view that adult learning has a positive impact on well-being, only recently has this proposition been systematically tested. A review of recent research confirms that adult learning has a clear influence on earnings and employability, both of which may influence well-being indirectly. These are more important for…

A review of the European Union's adult continuing education (ACE) and training policies concludes that most national systems of ACE are already multifaceted and flexible; the European Union's policy focus on economic growth and competitiveness intensifies environmental degradation and economic inequities; and European Union financial support may…

The European Union is reshaping its education and training programs to focus on the need for the whole community to learn throughout life. However, resources continue to be targeted mostly on initial schooling and undergraduate education. (SK)

The opportunities paradigm assumes that participation in lifelong learning is positive and voluntary, yet discourse analysis reveals pervasive pressure to be permanent learners. Recent research suggests that learners may switch between discourses of compulsion and self-realization, and they may combine participant and nonparticipant identities.…

Examines empirical evidence of the relationship between initial schooling and adult participation in learning. Explores the divergence between high levels of initial attainment and low levels of adult participation in Northern Ireland. Explains that "social capital" provides an alternative to formal participation in adult learning and a…

The possibility of using the concept of social capital as an analytical tool for exploring lifelong learning and community development was examined. The following were among the topics considered: (1) differences between definitions of the concept of social capital that are based on collective benefit and those that define social capital as a…