Widespread and rapid changes in society, leading to knowledge and skill obsolescence, have provided impetus for the concept of lifelong education. Learning is not confined to a particular period of life or to formal educational institutions, but is a set of attitudes and skills to be used throughout life and in a wide variety of situations. As such, lifelong learning is distinct from traditional notions of adult education, or even recurrent and continuing education. Although the bulk of learning takes place outside the school, it is in the formal educational institutions that the skills and attitudes essential for effective self-directed learning are first introduced. Since social and economic pressures will continue to bring large numbers of students into the college and university system, it is important to insure that higher education is responsive to new lifelong learning needs. This is perhaps best done by working through existing university teachers and encouraging innovations that place the emphasis on student-centered learning with real life problems, as opposed to traditional, didactic instruction. Instructional developers could play a key role by encouraging research on the relationship between different learning approaches and their relevance to students' needs in the world of work. (Author/YLB)