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.

This book analyses and compares concretely the processes of knowledge production, dissemination and use in the engineering, the information and communication technology, the health and the education sectors.

This volume provides an examination of what is meant by the learning society and how it can contribute to the development of knowledge and skills for employment and other areas of adult life.

This book presents a highly innovative study of participation in lifelong learning and the problems which need to be overcome if lifelong learning policies are to be successful. It: provides a systematic analysis, based on innovative empirical research, of the social and economic realities which actually determine patterns of participation in lifelong learning;shows what the factors are that shape people's participation, or their decision not to participate; offers new insights into the processes of lifelong learning, which have important implications for the development of more effective policies.Creating a learning society? is a stimulating read for lifelong learning practitioners, as well as policy makers and researchers in this field.

The 'learning society' is not a new idea, although its popularity has grown in recent years with the suggestion that lifelong learning is a condition for economic competitiveness in a global economy, replacing the earlier conception of it as a condition for democratic citizenship. This reader, designed to accompany Module E827 of the MA in Education, critically examines the demographic, technological, economic and cultural challenges which have led to interest in the idea of a learning society, and explores their policy and practical implications for lifelong learning. It also explores and evaluates trends in education and training which support the development of a learning society. Overall, the book provides readers with a range of opinions on the learning society within which broad context they can place their own practice.

First Published in 2000. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

"This second edition of the Handbook provides a comprehensive examination of lifelong learning. With 38 chapters (12 new and 23 updated), the approach is interdisciplinary, spanning human resources development, adult learning (educational perspective), psychology, career and vocational learning, management and executive development, cultural anthropology, the humanities, and gerontology. It covers trends that contribute to the need for continuous learning, considers psychological characteristics that relate to the drive to learn and the personal and professional value of learning throughout life, reviews existing theory and research on adult learning, describes training methods and learning technologies for instructional design, and explores current and future challenges to support continuous learning. Chapters examine individual differences in learning motivation, styles of learning, and learning at different stages of adult life. They also account for situational conditions that stimulate, facilitate, or pose barriers to learning"--