John Holford is Robert Peers Professor of Adult Education emeritus, University of Nottingham, UK. He was an editor of the International Journal of Lifelong Education 1998-2023. A sociologist by background, his research has explored European lifelong learning, trade union education, adult learning policy, and histories of adult education and labour.Steven Hodge is Director of the Griffith Institute for Educational Research at Griffith University, Australia. His research focuses on curriculum across educational contexts, in particular how state-based curriculum impacts on teacher identity and professional practice. Steven is an editor of the International Journal of Lifelong Education.Elizabeth Knight holds an honorary research role at the Mitchell Institute, Victoria University, Melbourne, Australia. A key area of interest is equity of access to and in tertiary education, the provision of institutional information and support for transition into post-school education. She has published widely on employability, higher and vocational education, qualifications reform, taking an explicit stance promoting equitable access to career information, education provision and outcomes. She is a disabled, settler researcher working on the Traditional Lands of the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin Nation in so-called Australia.Marcella Milana is an Associate Professor at the University of Verona, Italy, and an Honorary Professor of Adult Education at the University of Nottingham, UK. She has been editor-in-chief of the International Journal of Lifelong Education since 2023. She researches the politics, policy and governance of adult education and learning.Richard Waller is Professor of Education and Social Justice at the University of the West of England, Bristol, UK, where he has worked since 1995. His research interests, which tend to be in the post-compulsory education sectors, focus on education’s role in reinforcing or challenging existing social inequalities, and on education and identity, particularly social class and gender. He is a former editor of the International Journal of Lifelong Education. Sue Webb is a Professor (adjunct) of Education at Monash University, Australia, Emeritus Professor of Education at the University of Sheffield, UK, a member of the ILO/UNESCO Committee of Experts on the Application of the Recommendations concerning Teaching Personnel (CEART), and a former editor of the International Journal of Lifelong Education. Her research encompasses equity and social justice.

• Introduction—Lifelong education research over 40 years: insights from the International Journal of Lifelong Education 1. Shaping the field of lifelong education through three critical debates in the International Journal of Lifelong Education 2. The debate on intergovernmental organisations and adult learning and education policies: intersections between the political and scientific fields 3. Researching inequality and lifelong education from 1982 to 2020: A critical review 4. University as a cathedral: lifelong learning and the role of the university in the European context 5. Inclusion and exclusion in later life learning 6. Paulo Freire and the state-of-the-art of the International Journal of Lifelong Education 7. Critiques and evolutions of transformative learning theory

John Holford is Robert Peers Professor of Adult Education emeritus, University of Nottingham, UK. He was an editor of the International Journal of Lifelong Education 1998-2023. A sociologist by background, his research has explored European lifelong learning, trade union education, adult learning policy, and histories of adult education and labour.Steven Hodge is Director of the Griffith Institute for Educational Research at Griffith University, Australia. His research focuses on curriculum across educational contexts, in particular how state-based curriculum impacts on teacher identity and professional practice. Steven is an editor of the International Journal of Lifelong Education.Elizabeth Knight holds an honorary research role at the Mitchell Institute, Victoria University, Melbourne, Australia. A key area of interest is equity of access to and in tertiary education, the provision of institutional information and support for transition into post-school education. She has published widely on employability, higher and vocational education, qualifications reform, taking an explicit stance promoting equitable access to career information, education provision and outcomes. She is a disabled, settler researcher working on the Traditional Lands of the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin Nation in so-called Australia.Marcella Milana is an Associate Professor at the University of Verona, Italy, and an Honorary Professor of Adult Education at the University of Nottingham, UK. She has been editor-in-chief of the International Journal of Lifelong Education since 2023. She researches the politics, policy and governance of adult education and learning.Richard Waller is Professor of Education and Social Justice at the University of the West of England, Bristol, UK, where he has worked since 1995. His research interests, which tend to be in the post-compulsory education sectors, focus on education’s role in reinforcing or challenging existing social inequalities, and on education and identity, particularly social class and gender. He is a former editor of the International Journal of Lifelong Education. Sue Webb is a Professor (adjunct) of Education at Monash University, Australia, Emeritus Professor of Education at the University of Sheffield, UK, a member of the ILO/UNESCO Committee of Experts on the Application of the Recommendations concerning Teaching Personnel (CEART), and a former editor of the International Journal of Lifelong Education. Her research encompasses equity and social justice.

• Introduction—Lifelong education research over 40 years: insights from the International Journal of Lifelong Education 1. Shaping the field of lifelong education through three critical debates in the International Journal of Lifelong Education 2. The debate on intergovernmental organisations and adult learning and education policies: intersections between the political and scientific fields 3. Researching inequality and lifelong education from 1982 to 2020: A critical review 4. University as a cathedral: lifelong learning and the role of the university in the European context 5. Inclusion and exclusion in later life learning 6. Paulo Freire and the state-of-the-art of the International Journal of Lifelong Education 7. Critiques and evolutions of transformative learning theory

John Holford is Robert Peers Professor of Adult Education emeritus, University of Nottingham, UK. He was an editor of the International Journal of Lifelong Education 1998-2023. A sociologist by background, his research has explored European lifelong learning, trade union education, adult learning policy, and histories of adult education and labour.Steven Hodge is Director of the Griffith Institute for Educational Research at Griffith University, Australia. His research focuses on curriculum across educational contexts, in particular how state-based curriculum impacts on teacher identity and professional practice. Steven is an editor of the International Journal of Lifelong Education.Elizabeth Knight holds an honorary research role at the Mitchell Institute, Victoria University, Melbourne, Australia. A key area of interest is equity of access to and in tertiary education, the provision of institutional information and support for transition into post-school education. She has published widely on employability, higher and vocational education, qualifications reform, taking an explicit stance promoting equitable access to career information, education provision and outcomes. She is a disabled, settler researcher working on the Traditional Lands of the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin Nation in so-called Australia.Marcella Milana is an Associate Professor at the University of Verona, Italy, and an Honorary Professor of Adult Education at the University of Nottingham, UK. She has been editor-in-chief of the International Journal of Lifelong Education since 2023. She researches the politics, policy and governance of adult education and learning.Richard Waller is Professor of Education and Social Justice at the University of the West of England, Bristol, UK, where he has worked since 1995. His research interests, which tend to be in the post-compulsory education sectors, focus on education’s role in reinforcing or challenging existing social inequalities, and on education and identity, particularly social class and gender. He is a former editor of the International Journal of Lifelong Education. Sue Webb is a Professor (adjunct) of Education at Monash University, Australia, Emeritus Professor of Education at the University of Sheffield, UK, a member of the ILO/UNESCO Committee of Experts on the Application of the Recommendations concerning Teaching Personnel (CEART), and a former editor of the International Journal of Lifelong Education. Her research encompasses equity and social justice.

• Introduction—Lifelong education research over 40 years: insights from the International Journal of Lifelong Education 1. Shaping the field of lifelong education through three critical debates in the International Journal of Lifelong Education 2. The debate on intergovernmental organisations and adult learning and education policies: intersections between the political and scientific fields 3. Researching inequality and lifelong education from 1982 to 2020: A critical review 4. University as a cathedral: lifelong learning and the role of the university in the European context 5. Inclusion and exclusion in later life learning 6. Paulo Freire and the state-of-the-art of the International Journal of Lifelong Education 7. Critiques and evolutions of transformative learning theory