Lifelong Education

The nature of education has changed radically throughout the world. It is a lifelong process in which the most learning happens in the post-school years, outside the traditional educational institutions. The human life cycles have shifted their boundaries, technology is progressing and the social demand for education is continually expanding. This study elucidates these changes by bringing together 17 contributions, drawn from many countries, that address a wide range of issues, including changing patterns of employment, the interrelationship between education and social structures, differing views on the role of the state, and the emergence of a "biographical" approach, in which education becomes a process of shaping one's own life story. The contributions analyze the various patterns of lifelong education within different national contexts, from Sweden to sub-Saharan Africa, from Argentina to Poland.