Denmark has a strong and versatile tradition of adult education. Over a long historical period, adult education for public enlightenment and leisure, for continuing study and for vocational and professional competence have been developed, been made part of state policy and been used by citizens. But in recent years the public and political…

This paper explores patterns in participation in adult education and training (AET) by comparing five countries with high participation rates (the Nordic countries and the Netherlands) with three countries with significantly lower participation rates (France, Poland and the Slovak Republic). Using PIAAC data the paper examines differences in the…

This study explored drivers of participation in job-related lifelong learning (LLL) among low-educated mature-aged employees and compared them across four Nordic countries. Workplaces can be low-threshold, effective arenas for development of their skills in work and learning. The paper builds on the Bounded Agency Model and theories of learning…

The centrality of the users as partners in quality development is highlighted in official documents on career guidance, such as the EU Resolutions on Lifelong Guidance from 2004 and 2008. In addition, increased numbers of scholars in the field of organisational development and public service innovation highlight the importance of user…

Easing access to higher education (HE) for those engaging in lifelong learning has been a common policy objective across the European Union since the late 1990s. To reach this goal, the transition between vocational and academic routes must be simplified, but European countries are at different developmental stages. This article maps the…

For more than a century learning psychology has dealt with the so-called transfer problem: that what has been learned in one context often can be difficult to recall and apply in a different context. This article, building on many years' theoretical and practical work in the field, starts by defining five main learning spaces in contemporary…

The anniversary of the "International Journal of Lifelong Education" can participate in a conceptual landslide from lifelong education to lifelong learning. Contemporary discourses of lifelong learning etc. are abstractions behind which new functions and agendas for adult education are set. The ideological discourse of recent policies…

The purposes of this article are twofold. First, it considers the policy links between guidance and lifelong learning, highlighting in particular the implications of findings from a recent study by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Secondly, it critically compares two approaches to workplace guidance about…

Commonly, the work situation of migrant and refugee women declines notably on arriving in the new country, irrespective of their existing qualifications and even after they have taken accepted qualifications. The primary objectives of this research were to test the hypothesis that women bring to their new countries skills and competencies arising…

Findings of the Danish Adult Education Research Project reveal adults' ambivalence about learning. Many adopt defensive strategies to avoid learning that challenges identity, are not inclined to learn unless it is personally meaningful, and take as much responsibility for learning as they want. These characteristics are not reflected in programs…