Lifelong learning
Lifelong learning is the "ongoing, voluntary, and self-motivated"[1] pursuit of learning for either personal or professional reasons.
Lifelong learning is important for an individual's competitiveness and employability, but also enhances social inclusion, active citizenship, and personal development.[2]
Professions typically recognize the importance of developing practitioners becoming lifelong learners. Many licensed professions mandate that their members continue learning to maintain a license.[3]
Lifelong learning institutes are educational organisations specifically for lifelong learning purposes. Informal lifelong learning communities also exist around the world.
Definition[edit]
Lifelong learning has been defined as "all learning activity undertaken throughout life, with the aim of improving knowledge, skills and competences within a personal, civic, social and/or employment-related perspective".[13] It is often considered learning that occurs after the formal education years of childhood and into adulthood. It is sought out naturally through life experiences as the learner seeks to gain knowledge for professional or personal reasons. These natural experiences can come about on purpose or accidentally.[14]
Lifelong learning has been described as a process that includes people learning in different contexts.[15] These environments do not only include schools but also homes, workplaces, and locations where people pursue leisure activities. However, while the learning process can be applied to learners of all ages, there is a focus on adults who are returning to organized learning.[15] There are programs based on its framework that address the different needs of learners, such as United Nations' Sustainable Development Goal 4 and the UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning, which caters to the needs of the disadvantaged and marginalized learners.[16]
Lifelong learning is distinguished from the concept of continuing education in the sense that it has a broader scope. Unlike the latter, which is oriented towards adult education developed for the needs of schools and industries, this type of learning is concerned with the development of human potential in individuals generally.[17]
This article incorporates text from a free content work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (license statement/permission). Text taken from Level-setting and recognition of learning outcomes: The use of level descriptors in the twenty-first century, 27–28, Keevey, James; Chakroun, Borhene, . UNESCO.
This article incorporates text from a free content work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (license statement/permission). Text taken from Partnering for prosperity: education for green and inclusive growth; Global education monitoring report, 2016; summary, 11–12, . UNESCO.