This paper discusses the emergence of aspiration as a keyword linked to higher education equity policy in England and Australia since 1997. Aspiration serves multiple purposes when constructed as a problematic site in which policy must intervene. For example, it can be understood as a vector for new technologies of governance that operate through…

Making lifelong learning a reality has been a recurring theme within European policy making. Increasing participation of adults can help overcome various Europe-wide challenges, amongst others, skills redundancy, the high number of low-skilled workers in Europe, the high level of early school leaving, and literacy and numeracy difficulties. In…

Lifelong learning has long been a topic of discussion in Malta but, as this article shows, barriers to participation continue to exist. This article outlines the historical and economic changes that have led Malta to its present situation where adult education largely focuses on employment skills. Although available through a variety of channels,…

At a time when the OECD (2007) is advocating more local engagement for higher education institutions, this study looks at a number of community initiatives in Australia where local universities have played a key role. All were studied as part of the PASCAL Universities and Regional Engagement (PURE) project, which involves a total of 19 regions…

The Council of Europe's lifelong learning project affirmed the role of higher education in promoting social cohesion and equal access to lifelong learning opportunities. The need to change formal structures to accommodate nontraditional methods was recognized. The impact of information/communications technologies on educational processes and…

Review of adult education literature reveals the absence of the concept of whiteness and three types of responses: color- blind perspectives, multicultural education, and social justice issues. To widen access involves "barrier thinking": recognition of the implicit messages of discrimination the academy delivers to racial minorities. (Contains 28…