What's the Point of Lifelong Learning if Lifelong Learning Has No Point? On the Democratic Deficit of Policies for Lifelong Learning

Autor/in	Biesta, Gert
Titel	What's the Point of Lifelong Learning if Lifelong Learning Has No Point? On the Democratic Deficit of Policies for Lifelong Learning
Quelle	In: European Educational Research Journal, 5 (2006) 3-4, S.169-180 (12 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	1474-9041
Schlagwörter	Lifelong Learning; Role of Education; Educational Objectives; Educational Principles; Educational Policy; Democratic Values; Policy Analysis; International Organizations; Foreign Countries; Discourse Analysis; Economic Factors; Global Approach; Student Motivation; Educational Environment; Self Determination; Critical Theory; Value Judgment; Human Capital; Economics; Adult Education; Educational Philosophy; Adults + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Life-long learning; Lebenslanges Lernen; Bildungsauftrag; Educational objective; Bildungsziel; Erziehungsziel; Bildungsprinzip; Politics of education; Bildungspolitik; Politikfeldanalyse; International organisation; International organisations; International organization; Internationale Organisation; Ausland; Diskursanalyse; Ökonomischer Faktor; Globales Denken; Schulische Motivation; Lernumgebung; Pädagogische Umwelt; Schulumwelt; Selbstbestimmung; Kritische Theorie; Werturteil; Humankapital; Volkswirtschaftslehre; Adult; Adults; Education; Adult basic education; Adult training; Erwachsenenbildung; Bildungsphilosophie; Erziehungsphilosophie
Abstract	This article provides an analysis of shifts that have taken place in policy discourses on lifelong learning by organisations such as the United Nations Educational, Scientific and cultural Organisation, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development and the European Union. The article documents the shifts in these discourses over time, analyses the changes in content of these discourses (both in terms of what is included and what is excluded in the discussion), and explores the intended and unintended consequences that follow from these ways of thinking about (policy for) lifelong learning. The article documents a shift towards understanding the point and purpose of lifelong learning primarily in economic terms and far less in relation to the personal and the democratic function of lifelong learning. It is argued that under the conditions of the learning economy lifelong learning itself has become understood as an individual task rather than as a collective project and that this has transformed lifelong learning from a right to a duty. This raises important questions about who has the democratic right to set the agenda for lifelong learning. It also raises important issues about the motivation for lifelong learning and points particularly towards the predicament of the lifelong learner who has to engage in forms of learning without being able to control his or her own "agenda" for learning. The rise of the learning economy has also put a stress on the democratic potential of lifelong learning, which is one of the most worrying consequences of the rise of the discourse of the learning economy. Since transnational policy documents have a strong "agenda-setting" function for the development of national policies and practices, it is important at a national level to be aware of the assumptions, implications and intended and unintended consequences of such policy discourses. (Contains 1 figure and 3 notes.) (Author).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2017/4/10