The God that Failed. Lifelong learning: From Utopianism to Instrumentalism

As the saying goes, “a beloved child has many names”. So, too, is the case with the concept to be dealt with in this paper. Over the years various concepts have been used to denote education in a lifetime perspective, such as “education permanente”, recurrent education and lifelong learning. There are many who have disputed the correctness or appropriateness of one or the other concepts. Boudard (2001), for example, argues “some researchers maintain that today the concept of recurrent education, originally advanced by OECD, is the most widely recognized as the strategy that leads to lifelong learning, although the concept of lifelong learning often comes to mind”, citing Tuijnman, 1989; and OECD, 1973. Given the lack of clarity in the above argument, it is not surprising that confusion abounds as to what lifelong learning is, what the “strategy” entails and who it benefits. The aim of this article is to present a critical perspective on lifelong learning, such as it has developed over the years through my own work and the work of others. First, however, it is important to consider the birth of this “beloved child”, to understand from whence it came and under what circumstances. Despite the fact that much has been written about this topic, there are few who mention the fact that as Minister of Education (1967-1969) Olof Palme introduced in Sweden the concept of “återkommande utbildning”, which literally translated means recurrent education. Palme himself motivated this reform strategy as a means by which “to rectify after the fact, to break down the class barriers to education” . In other contexts, the same concept has been viewed as a political strategy to divert attention from the failure of the Social Democratic party to expand access to higher education at the rate promised (O’Dowd, 2000)

Virtual Networks, Support Stockings and Community: On-line publication- A new context of meaning for comparative education?

This article addrsses the advant of this online only publication, the very context in which it is being made available. Central to this article is Delanty's work on communicative communities. It is argued that it is particularly appropriate to view comparative and international education in this manner. Online publication offers comparative and international education a new context of meaning. Seen in this context, comparative and international education can be reformulated as one of the communicative communities that are more about communication than place, more about belonging than boundaries, more about the production of meaning than about the reproduction of meaning

Hegemony through Education and Governance: Re-thinking gender education research and scholarship

In the increasingly global educational enterprise and all that it entails,a number of substantial changes can be traced in what is commonly viewed as education, its goals, its uses and usefulness. Over and above the broardly defined phenomenon of globalisation, the influence of suprantional regimes can be discerned. Supranational regimes have increasingly grown in power and importance, not least as regards their influence on education. Included in this term are such organizations as Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) United Nations Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), the World Trade Organisation (WTO), the European Union (EU) and the European Commission and its many directories.In other contexts two projects, lifelong learning and the Bologna process, have been discussed as regards their influence on education[1]. In this paper a closer look will be taken at the underlying hegemonic gender theory that is apparent in such initiatives as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and Education for All (EFA), as they function to re-produce what Fennell & Arnot (2008) term metropolitan gender theory."The concept of Education for All (EFA) with its implications for national growth is in effect an incentive to export current hegemonic gender theorising in education globally, encouraging other regions of the world to focus their attention on formal mass school (rather than informal education), open up individual ´choice biogaphies´and cultivate policies that release girls from the traditional cultures. In this context, the lack of critical engagement with and validation of ´Southern´ gender theory arguably disadvantages precisely those countries which are the target of the MGCs" (p. 526). The aim of this paper is to problematise hegemonic gender theory, to discuss the new feminist research agenda advanced by Fennel & Arnot and to contribute to a "more globally informed field of gender education research". [1] The importance of globalisation is acknowledged. However, the scope of this paper does not allow for the inclusion of this discussion here. [i] O’Dowd, M (2009) “ The God that Failed. Lifelong learning: From Utopianism to Instrumentalism”. The Bulgarian Comparative Education Society, Conference proceedings, Vol. 7, 2009. (eds) James Ogunleye, Bruno Leutwyler, Charl Wolhuter and Marinela Mihova and O’Dowd, M. (2010) “The Bologna Process and The Re-structuring of Higher Education: Who will bear the brunt of “unexpected outcomes”? In Vandra Masemann (ed.) Papers in Memory of David N. Wilson: Clamouring for a Better World. Rotterdam: Sense Publishers

The Sami People in Scandinavia: Government Policies for Indigenous Language Recognition and Support in the Formal Education System

The Sámi people in Scandinavia have experienced a long history of discrimination, oppression, neglect, ridicule, and theft. Some scholars compare the history of the Sámi with that of the American Indian population. Today the Sámi who live in Sweden, Norway and Finland, together with the Sámi in Russia have managed to improve their situation through concerted efforts, collaboration with one another, and cooperation with the international movement for the rights of indigenous peoples. More recently, the Sami have received support from both the European Union and the United Nations. Despite international support, the right of the Sámi people for self-determination has not been acknowledged by the Swedish, Norwegian or Finnish governments. The Sami’s right to instruction and education in their own mother tongue has not been adequately addressed. Rather government policies in the Scandinavian countries can at best be described as policies for language maintenance, while what is sorely needed are policies that re-vitalize language use among all Sámi and provide support for endangered or nearly-extinct Sámi languages. Much remains to be done for this indigenous people, not the least of which is acknowledgement of right to their land, their hunting and fishing rights and their right to determine if and how their land is to be exploited

Imagination and Scientific Dilemmas: Exclusion, circularity and infinite regress in "scientific texts"

Building on the results of a mapping project, the paper examines two kinds of knowledge, "expert knowledge" and "scientific knowledge" with regard to "dilemmas of exclusion, circularity and infinite regress" (Paulston, 2000a, p. 9) and the consequences of these dilemmas, when seen with another imagination than that used to construct the knowledge built upon them. The constructive imagination used in this paper is characterized by two defining characteristics; metaphysical pluralism (Lynch, 1998) and the definition of science as the cumulative human project, composed of the totality of all cultural forms (Cassirer, 1957). Examination of the six texts included in the mapping project is undertaken in an attempt to clarify the role scientific texts have played in what Latour has called "our culture" (1990)

A Longitudinal study of Swedish learners’ educational interests and how these contrast to learners in U3A: the role of “symbolic resources”, teacher expectations and reflexivity

Description of the paper – e.g. topic, research question, objective, purpose, value, conceptual or theoretical framework, state of the art: Adult learning is a subject of ever growing interest, as the population of persons 65 and older grows in industrialised countries. By 2010 the number of retired persons in the European Union will be almost twice as large as in 1995 (Ilmarinen & Costa, 2000). Increasing longevity, better health care and medical services, early retirement or forced retirement through redundancy and retrenchment are among the reasons cited for the increasing numbers of persons 50 years of age and older, who have reached what is called “mature age”, “the third age”, “the second adulthood” and “mature adulthood” (Giddens, 1998; Illeris, 1999). Many of these individuals can look forward to as many as 30 or more years of mature adulthood. From a learning perspective, mature adulthood encompasses the years after retirement until ageing processes constitute a hinder for learning (ibid). Whether or not education systems, educationalists and educational research will be able to provide for and/or understand the learning needs of the growing numbers of persons who have reached mature adulthood or will shortly do so, may arguably depend upon the extent to which a re-conceptualisation of adult learning is undertaken. Illeris’ learning theory and Melluci’s theory constitute the theoretical framework. Methodology or methods/research instruments or sources used: The aim of this paper is to describe what makes people want ”to learn to learn” and keep on learning in mature adulthood, against the background of the Malmö Longitudinal Study. Utilising data on individuals who have reached retirement age and who have expressed a desire to take university courses after retirement, this group of individuals will be described. Firstly, however, the Malmö Longitudinal Study will be briefly described, followed by a short description of Malmö in 1920-1930s. Secondly, the paper will focus on learning in mature adulthood, especially learning within the context of the University of the Third Age (U3A).. Thirdly, quantitative and qualitative data from the Malmö Longitudinal Study will be presented as regards this group of individuals. Finally, a discussion will be undertaken, followed by the conclusion. Conclusions or expected outcomes or findings: This paper has attempted to describe what makes people want “to learn to learn” and keep on learning, even after retirement. The results can be interpreted to show that schooling and working life conditions, among other factors, play a significant role in individuals’ capacity “to learn to learn”. As this article has demonstrated, longitudinal data can provide insight, although their usefulness is unfortunately restricted by the often exclusive use of quantitative data collection and analysis methods, which provide little or no space for respondents’ voice. In this article the voice of a group of persons, who grew up when the Swedish welfare state first came into being and have retired when the welfare state---for all intents and purposes-- is dismantled, has a central role. Despite the hardships that characterised their childhood, and problems they face in mature adulthood---personal tragedies, financial problems and illness---these individuals appear even after retirement to be social actors who make use of their options and continue to construct their own identities. In this work they make use of their “symbolic resources”. Among the resources these people appear to have in common are self-esteem and reflexivity. Arguably a sense of solidarity, and the benefits of strong working-class organizations and long-standing egalitarian policies can also be considered to comprise resources for this population. Unfortunately, the latter resources are not available for individuals in contemporary Sweden to the same extent that they have been for this population. Although the focus of this article is older adult learners who have expressed an interest in university courses, the extent to which the remaining population as a whole has indicated an interest in education after retirement would seem to indicate that these individuals as a group grew up in a culture of learning that had significant impact on their lives and their interest in education. The role that teachers had in forming pupils’ futures--for better or for worse---provides food for thought: the characteristics of the individuals in Malmö Longitudinal Study raise important questions regarding the role of education for health and well-being, as well as the association between learning and longevity