Political parties are widely recognised as indispensable actors in democratic systems. One way to illustrate the actions and role of political parties is to explicate various party functions that may be carried out in a political system. The aim of this paper is to explore the relationships between the organisation of party education and five…

Compared with other age groups, the literacy practices and creative outputs of older adults (50+ years) have been seldom researched. Generally, research about older adults has tended to focus on decline and agential passivity, rather than potentiality. In this article, we report on a small ethnographic study of older Australians who were part of a…

This article focuses on work-related self-help books and asks what kinds of promises self-help books make as a reward for change. In work-related self-help guides, the employee is advised not only to change their affects and relation to work but also to inspire others. Thus, the employee is presented as a potential reformer of the work…

Finding interventions which can address the decline of cognitive function as people get older is of great importance to policy-makers, especially in post-industrial societies with rapidly ageing populations. We examine the impact of several different types of mentally stimulating activities on cognitive function in a sample of community-dwelling…

This study explores the expansion of Korean lifelong education over the last two decades in terms of conceptualising the lifelong learner as identity and agency. Based on qualitative interviews with lifelong educators and learners at lifelong education institutions, the authors describe the lifelong educators' use of marketing strategies to turn…

This paper examines transnational circulation of political and pedagogical ideas associated with "éducation permanente" with particular reference to post-war Western Europe. It offers a socio-historical reconstruction of pan-European dissemination and reception of policy repertoires articulated by governmental and non-governmental policy…

The COVID-19 pandemic is the most serious public health crisis in the lifetime of most living adults, but it may be a precursor of crises to come in the decades ahead. Apart from the health challenges associated with the pandemic, the public reaction to the continuing COVID-19 pandemic offers important insights into the role of lifelong learning…

We apply cumulative advantage (CA) theory to understand the social hierarchies behind the accumulation of skills and rewards through Adult Learning and Education (ALE) -- formal, informal, and non-formal. Using representative data from the Russian Longitudinal Monitoring Survey (RLMS-HSE), we confirm the assumption of CA theory that advantages are…

Currently, the number of Chilean young people not in education, employment, or training--NEETs-- remains comparatively high and major gender gaps persist. Recent studies have revealed the heterogeneity of this social group, but they have failed to provide an in-depth analysis of its characteristics informed by the reasons which its members regard…

The participation of adults in lifelong learning has undergone significant development in the last few years, with the percentage of adults participating in non-formal education (NFE) risen dramatically. Within this empirical context, this study conceptualises and interconnects the theory of Ulrich Beck's risk society with the main trends in…

There is a growing global concern about providing effective continuing education and training (CET) to support and sustain the employability of working-age populations. More than enhancing workplace viability and employability, CET also assists in achieving governments' economic and social goals. Educational institutions organise CET provisions…

A wide range of literature has already emerged which assesses the sudden closure of Higher Education Institutions during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, when many academic institutions turned to ERT (emergency remote teaching) in order to maintain teaching and learning. The Faculty of Lifelong Learning at Institute of Technology Carlow, Ireland,…

This article analyses the governance of VET for adults and its development from a historical-institutionalist perspective. It takes a look at the collective skill formation system of Switzerland, in which the federal government and private companies (or the associations representing them) play integral roles. The article argues that the…

'Quality' in education has become a global phenomenon, and is frequently discussed in transnational and national policy. In such discussions, 'quality' seems to be both worthwhile and demanded, but at the same time, the concept has also been criticised in previous research as it seems to have attained a 'common sense' status. In this context, the…

While the idea of lifelong education in Spain is much older, the history of the concept begins in the 1960s. As digital libraries are becoming a source of new data for researchers, the aim of this study is to examine the history of the terms related to lifelong education and learning in Spain and other Spanish-speaking countries by using data…