This first truly comprehensive interdisciplinary, international critique of theory and practice in lifelong learning as it relates to later life is an absolute tour de force. Alexandra Withnall, Universities of Warwick and Leicester, UK. This is a book that needed to be written: it provides a most thorough and skilful analysis of a comprehensive range of contemporary literature about learning in later life from many localities and countries of the world. Peter Jarvis, Professor Emeritus, University of Surrey Impressive in its scope this handbook seeks to describe older learning critically within the lifelong learning literature at the same time that it makes a strong and persuasive case for taking older learning seriously in our postmodern world. Kenneth Wain, University of Malta Lifelong learning in later life is an essential handbook for a wide range of people who work alongside older adults in varied contexts. This handbook brings together both orthodox approaches to educational gerontology and fresh perspectives on important emerging issues faced by seniors around the globe. Issues discussed include the social construction of ageing, the importance of lifelong learning policy and practice, participation in later life learning, education of marginalised groups within older communities, inter-generational learning, volunteering and ‘active ageing’, the political economy of older adulthood, learning for better health and well-being, and the place of seniors in a learning society. Brian Findsen is a professor of adult education, Faculty of Education, University of Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand. His writings are usually constructed within a social justice framework such as The Fourth Sector: Adult and Community Education in Aotearoa New Zealand (edited with John Benseman and Miriama Scott in 1996) and Learning later (2005). Marvin Formosa is a lecturer in the European Centre for Gerontology, University of Malta, Msida, Malta. In addition to various articles focusing on critical educational gerontology, recent and forthcoming books include Social Class Dynamics in Later Life (2009) and Social Class in Later Life: Power, Identity and Lifestyle (with Paul Higgs, 2012).

A visionary guide for the future of learning and work Long Life Learning: Preparing for Jobs That Don’t Even Exist Yet offers readers a fascinating glimpse into a near-future where careers last 100 years, and education lasts a lifetime. The book makes the case that learners of the future are going to repeatedly seek out educational opportunities throughout the course of their working lives — which will no longer have a beginning, middle, and end. Long Life Learning focuses on the disruptive and burgeoning innovations that are laying the foundation for a new learning model that includes clear navigation, wraparound and funding supports, targeted education, and clear connections to more transparent hiring processes. Written by the former chief innovation officer of Strada Education Network’s Institute for the Future of Work, the book examines: How will a dramatically extended lifespan affect our careers? How will more time in the workforce shape our educational demands? Will a four-year degree earned at the start of a 100-year career adequately prepare us for the challenges ahead? Perfect for anyone with an interest in the future of education and Clayton Christensen’s theories of disruptive innovation, Long Life Learning provides an invaluable glimpse into a future that many of us have not even begun to imagine.

The dangers of age segregation and the benefits of age integration are examined. Each generation should be recognized as an essential source for learning. Harmony will increasingly depend on general awareness of how other age groups interpret events, respect for values that guide their behavior, responsiveness to their needs and concerns, consideration of their criticisms and solutions, and acknowledgement of their contributions. This book describes: (a) personality assets and mental abilities to focus learning at each stage of development; (b) obstacles to anticipate and overcome; (c) a rationale to make reciprocal learning common; (d) research findings which identify generational learning needs; and (e) benefits of providing lifelong education. Six stages are explored: infancy and early childhood (birth-age 6); middle and later childhood (ages 6-10); adolescence (ages 10-20); early adulthood (ages 20-40); middle adulthood (ages 40-60); and older adulthood (age 60+). Some outcomes of lifelong learning include self-control, patience, integrity, resilience, persistence, problem solving ability, acceptance of criticism, and generativity. The intended audiences for this book are professionals working with individuals and families.

Learning Through Life is the definitive report into the future for lifelong learning in the UK. Essential reading for everyone with a personal or professional interest in the social and economic trends shaping tomorrow's world, it provides a comprehensive vision for the future of lifelong learning. For government, employers, civil society, the lifelong learning sector, broadcasters, researchers and the international community the report provides unique insights and recommendations guaranteed to generate debate across all areas of social policy. Sponsored by NIACE (the National institute of Adult Continuing Education) this is the main report from the independent Inquiry into the Future for Lifelong Learning and presents: the first authoritative and coherent strategic framework for lifelong learning in the UK for the next 10-15 years; an overview of the current state of learning in the UK; and radical recommendations for long term change. Support for Learning Through Life: ""Learning Through Life is a wonderful contribution to the scholarly and policy literature on life-long learning. Not only does it bring together cutting edge thinking about life-long learning from a sociological and human development perspective but also it offers creative policies and programs to make life-long learning a reality. Although it's written for a UK audience, it's applicable to an American audience as well, and I recommend it highly to scholars and policymakers in both the UK and U.S. who care about the future of the capacities of citizens"" (Dr Fay Lomax Cook, Director, Institute for Policy Research, Professor of Human Development & Social Policy, Northwestern University, Illinois). "The strength of this report is the fact that it recognises all of the strands that make up lifelong learning: in the community, in educational institutions, and of course through the workplace. Crucially, it identifies the major changes taking place in our society and the challenges they bring in maintaining functioning communities, and active and effective citizens" (Rt Hon David Blunkett MP). ""Learning Through Life by Tom Schuller and David Watson is a fundamental and convincing report about the necessity to finally take the implementation of Lifelong Learning seriously. The analysis and data in the report helps the reader to understand the limits of our present learning and educational models, based on the principle of learning early on for later life, and the enormous potential in economic, social, cultural, and individual terms of learning through life. The recommendations in the report on how to move forward are based upon the UK situation but they are highly relevant for all OECD countries and many new emerging economies on the global scene. It will be very difficult for the political community during the coming decade to ignore the recommendations in this report"" (Jarl Bengtsson, former head of the Centre for Educational Research and Innovation at OECD).

Learning and identity development are lifetime processes of becoming. The construction of self, of interest to scholars and practitioners in adult development and adult learning, is an ongoing process, with the self both forming and being formed by lived experience in privileged and oppressive contexts. Intersecting identities and the power dynamics within them shape how learners define themselves and others and how they make meaning of their experiences in the world. The series, I Am What I Become: Constructing Identities as Lifelong Learners, is an insightful and diverse collection of empirical research and narrative essays in identity development, adult development, and adult learning. The purpose of this series is to publish contributions that highlight the intimate and intricate connections between learning and identity. The series aims to assist our readers to understand and nurture adults who are always in the process of becoming. We hope to promote reflection and research at the intersection of identity and adult learning at any point across the adult lifespan. The rich array of qualitative research designs as well as autobiographic and narrative essays transform and expand our understanding of the lived experience of people both like us and unlike us, from the U.S. and beyond. Identity and Lifelong Learning: Becoming through Lived Experience, Volume Two of the series, focuses on identity and learning within informal settings and life experiences. The contributions showcase the many ways that identity development and learning occur within cultural domains, through developmental and identity challenges or transitions in career or role, and in a variety of places from assisted living facilities to makerspaces. These chapters highlight identity and learning across the adult lifespan from millennials and emerging adults to midlife and older adults. The authors examine cultural, relational and social identity exploration and learning in international contexts and within marginalized communities. This volume features phenomenological and ethnographic qualitative studies, autoethnographies, case studies, and narratives that engage the reader in the myriad ways that adult development, learning, and identity connect and influence each other. Praise for: Identity and Lifelong Learning: Becoming Through Lived Experience "We all pay lip service to the importance of lifelong learning, but what is it exactly and how does it come about? The connections between identity and learning are intriguing and complex, especially when it comes to adult learners. In this very thoughtfully organized collection, researchers present qualitative and narrative studies, along with personal narratives, to explore identity development in formal and informal learning environments. Contributions from varied cultural contexts, most with powerful and moving stories to tell, provide insight into how identity, meaning-making, and adult learning and development intersect and influence each other. Psychologists, scholars and educators interested in identity development and meaning-making will find inspiration and fresh understanding in this innovative and enlightening series." Ruthellen Josselson Author of Paths to Fulfillment: Women’s Search for Meaning and Identity "This innovative series on adult development is inspiring and substantive. We hear voices from the margins and stories of courage. We read identity-formation narratives by young adults and experienced professionals who share impressive capacities for transparency, vulnerability, and self-reflection. Many of the narratives are embedded in rigorous qualitative research that highlights diverse ways that identity is shaped through social positionality, lived experience, the quest for individuation, and willingness to encounter life as a dynamic learning process." Jared D. Kass, Lesley University Author, of A Person-Centered Approach to Psychospiritual Maturation: Mentoring Psychological Resilience and Inclusive Community in Higher Education

Lifelong learning is an incredibly important tool for finding satisfaction in the after-50 years. Authors Nancy Nordstrom, former director of the Elderhostel Institute Network--the largest educational organization for older adults in the world--and her son Jon are experts on the subject. They give the how-to details on maintaining an active, fulfilling lifestyle after leaving the workforce, through educational travel, volunteerism, civic action, and more.

This is a book with a difference: it produces a completely new perspective on lifelong learning and the learning society and locates them within humanity itself. Five themes run through this book: Humankind has always been aware of the imperfections of human society: as a consequence, it has looked back to a mythological past and forward to a utopian future that might be religious, political, economic or even educational to find something better. Lifelong learning as we currently see it is like two sides of the same coin: we learn in order to be workers who produce, and learn we have a need to consume. We then devour the commodities we have produced, whilst others take the profits! One of the greatest paradoxes of the human condition has been the place of the individual in the group/community, or conversely how the groups allow the individual to exist rather than stifle individuality Modernity is flawed and the type of society that we currently have, which we in the West call a learning society, is in need of an ethical overhaul in this late modern age. There is a need to bring a different perspective – both political and ethical – on lifelong learning and the learning society in order to try to understand what the good society and the good life might become. In Democracy, Lifelong Learning and the Learning Society, the third volume of his trilogy on lifelong learning, Professor Jarvis expertly addresses the issues that arise from the vision of the learning society. The book concludes that since human beings continue to learn, so the learning society must be a process within the incomplete project of humanity. All three books in the trilogy will be essential reading for students in education, HRD and teaching and learning generally, in addition to academics and informed practitioners. The Lifelong Learning and the Learning Society Trilogy Volume 1: Towards a Comprehensive Theory of Human Learning Volume 2: Globalisation, Lifelong Learning and the Learning Society Volume 3: Democracy, Lifelong Learning and the Learning Society Peter Jarvis is an internationally renowned expert in the field of adult learning and continuing education. He is Professor of Continuing Education at the University of Surrey, UK, and honorary Adjunct Professor in Adult Education at the University of Georgia, USA.