Abstract
The institutionalization of lifelong learning is a continuous and recursive process of building a lifelong learning system throughout a whole society. Lifelong learning allows individual learning activities, being private in nature, to be selectively endowed with social values through the institutionalization process, and allows them to possess social meanings for a certain form of social functionality, while creating an organizational system and structure that can collectively reproduce this functionality at the societal level. Also, by linking parts and parcels of learning activity systems that share similar kind of structures, the comprehensive emergent systems of a lifelong learning system are territorialized. In this chapter, characteristics of the institutionalization process are explored through three perspectives or theories – economic determinism, assemblage theory, and social systems theory – which might be embedded in the global practices of Europe and East Asia during the last 50 years. It is also argued that lifelong learning is not a phenomenon that can be defined and configured deductively by any a priori concept. Rather, institutionalization creates traces of self-territories through continuous repetition (or structural drifts) and at the same time conceptualizes its own meaning through those obtained territorial differences. Now, the answer to the question of “what lifelong learning is” must be obtained by observations of the traces revealed in the historical, cultural, and political events that actually took place in the name of lifelong learning. Capturing emergent patterns and recursive expansion processes hidden in such complexity is ultimately a possible way of capturing and developing a “general theory” of lifelong learning.
This manuscript was a translated and revised version of a previously published article in Korean language (Han 2021).
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Ainley, P. (1998). Towards a learning or a certified society? Contradictions in the new labour modernization of lifelong learning. Journal of Education Policy, 13(4), 559–573.
Alheit, P. (2002). On a contrary way to the ‘learning society’: A critical approach. In R. Edwards, N. Miller, & A. Tait (Eds.), Supporting lifelong learning Vol. 3 Making policy work. Routledge.
Atchoarena, D., & Hite, S. (2001). Lifelong learning policies in low development context: An African perspective. In D. Aspin, S. Chapman, M. Hatton, & Y. Sawano (Eds.), International handbook of lifelong learning. Kluwer Academic.
Baptiste, I. (1999). Beyond lifelong learning: A call to civically responsible change. International Journal of Lifelong Education, 18(2), 94–102.
Baraldi, C., & Corsi, G. (2017). Education as a social system. Springer.
Barley, S., & Tolbert, P. (1997). Institutionalization and structuration: Studying the links between action and institution. Organization Studies, 18(1), 93–117.
Bélanger, P. (2016). Self-construction and social transformation. UIL.
Borg, C., & Mayo, P. (2008). Globalisation, Southern Europe and European adult education policy. Policy Futures in Education, 6(6), 701.
Coffield, F. (1996, November). A national strategy for lifelong learning [Paper presentation]. Newcastle upon Tyne University, England. Presented at a conference titled “Research on Lifelong Learning: Implications for policy and practice.”
Coffield, F. (Ed.). (2000). Differing visions of a learning society: Research findings (Vol. 2). The Policy Press.
Coole, D., & Frost, S. (2010). New materialisms: Ontology, agency, and politics. Duke University Press.
Davis, B., Sumara, D., & Luce-Kapler, R. (2008). Engaging minds (2nd ed.). Routledge.
Deleuze, G., & Guattari, F. (1991). What is philosophy? (H. Tomlinson & G. Burchell, Trans.). Columbia University Press.
Edwards, R., Miller, N., Small, N., & Tait, A. (2002). Supporting lifelong learning vol. 3: Making policy work. Routledge.
Engeström, Y. (2016). Studies in expansive learning: Learning what is not yet there. Cambridge University Press.
Eurostat. (2005). Classification for learning activities: Draft manual. Scribbr. https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/products-manuals-and-guidelines/-/ks-bf-06-002
Evans, K., Hodkinson, P., & Unwin, L. (2002). Working to learn: Transforming learning in the workplace. Taylor and Francis.
Field, J. (2002a). Building a European dimension: a realistic response to globalisation? In J. Field (Ed.), Promoting European dimensions in lifelong learning (pp. 1–10). NIACE.
Field, J. (2002b). Lifelong learning and the new educational order. Trentham Books.
Fox, N., & Alldred, P. (2017). Sociology and the new materialism. Sage.
Gill, J. (2000). The tacit mode: Michael Polanyi’s postmodern philosophy. SUNY Press.
Gorard, S., Rees, G., Fevre, R., & Furlong, J. (1998). Learning trajectories: Travelling towards a learning society? International Journal of Lifelong Education, 17(6), 400–410.
Green, A. (2000). Lifelong learning and the learning society: Different European models of organization. In A. Hodgson (Ed.), Policies, politics and the future of lifelong learning. Kogan Page.
Green, A. (2006). Models of lifelong learning and the ‘knowledge society’. Compare: A Journal of Comparative and International Education, 36(3), 307–325.
Griffin, C. (2001). From education policy to lifelong learning strategies. In P. Jarvis (Ed.), The age of learning. Kogan Page.
Hake, B. J. (1999). Lifelong learning policies in the European Union: Developments and issues. Compare: A Journal of Comparative Education, 29(1), 53–69.
Han, S. (2006). The learning system of lifelong learning society’ and its conceptual model of learning ecosystem. Journal of Lifelong Education, 12(4), 179–202. [in Korean].
Han, S. (2008). Competence: Commodification of human ability [reports – descriptive]. Asia Pacific Education Review, 9(1), 31–39.
Han, S. (2021). The Institutionalization of lifelong learning in theoretical platforms and the interpretation of the experiences in Europe and East Asia. Journal of Lifelong Education, 27(4), 1–42. [in Korean]
Han, S., & Makino, A. (2013). Learning cities in East Asia: Japan, the Republic of Korea, and China. International Review of Education, 59(4), 443–468.
Hipkins, R. (2006). The nature of the key competencies: A background report. New Zealand Council for Educational Research.
Holford, J., Jarvis, P., & Griffin, C. (2004). International perspectives on lifelong learning. Kogan Page.
Holford, J., Milana, M., & Mohorčič Špolar, V. (2014). Adult and lifelong education: The European Union, its member states and the world. Taylor & Francis.
Holford, J., & Mleczko, A. (2013). Lifelong learning: National policies from the European perspective. In Lifelong learning in Europe. Edward Elgar.
Jarvis, P. (2006a). Beyond the learning society: Globalisation and the moral imperative for reflective social change. International Journal of Lifelong Education, 25(3), 201–211.
Jarvis, P. (2006b). Lifelong education: Beyond the learning society. International Journal of Lifelong Education, 25(3), 197–198.
Kim, D. (2006). Japanese learning city frontier. Hakjisa. [in Korean].
Klatt, M. (2014). Understanding the European Union and its political power. In M. Milana & J. Holford (Eds.), Adult education policy and the European Union (pp. 53–72). Sense Publishers.
Knapper, C. K., & Cropley, A. J. (2000). Lifelong learning in higher education (3rd ed.). Kogan Page.
Kolb, D. A. (1984). Experiential learning: Experience as the source of learning and development. Prentice Hall.
Kuhn, M. (Ed.). (2006). Towards the learning economy. Peter Lang Publishing.
Kwon, H. (2016). Japanese civil society and the theory of civil society. Jisik e Jipeong, 20, 1–15. [in Korean].
Lave, J., & Wenger, E. (1991). Situated learning: Legitimate peripheral participation. Cambridge University Press.
Longworth, N. (1997). Higher education responding to a lifelong learning world. Higher Education in Europe, 22(4), 517–524.
Luhmann, N. (1984/1995). Social systems (J. John Bednarz & D. Baecker, Trans.). Stanford University Press.
Lundvall, B.-A., & Johnson, B. (1994). The learning economy. Industry & Innovation, 1(2), 23–42. Scribbr. http://www.informaworld.com/10.1080/13662719400000002.
Mason, R. (2008). Globalisation, lifelong learning and the learning society. Sociological perspectives. British Journal of Educational Studies, 56(1), 95–99.
Maturana, H., & Varela, F. (1998). The tree of knowledge: The biological roots of human understanding. Shambhala.
McKenzie, D. (2002). Competence in the learning society. New Zealand Journal of Educational Studies, 37(1), 111–113.
Mezirow, J. (1991). Transformative dimensions of adult learning. Jossey-Bass.
Milana, M. (2012). Globalisation, transnational policies and adult education. International Review of Education, 58(6), 777–797.
Milana, M., & Holford, J. (Eds.). (2014). Adult education policy and the European Union. Sense Publisher.
Nonaka, I., & Takeuchi, H. (1995). The knowledge-creating company. Oxford University Press.
Park, S. (2016). Civil society competence comparison between Korean and Japan. NGO Yeongu, 11(1), 1–31. [in Korean].
Peters, M. (Ed.). (1997). Education and the postmodern condition. Bergin & Garvey.
Qvortrup, L. (2005). Society’s education system – An introduction to Niklas Luhmann’s pedagogical theory. Seminar.net – International Journal of Media, Technology, and Lifelong Learning, 1(1), 1–21.
Rasmussen, P. (2014). Lifelong learning policy in two national contexts. International Journal of Lifelong Education, 33(3), 326–342.
Raven, J., & Stephenson, J. (Eds.). (2001). Competence in the learning society. Peter Lang Publishing.
Rychen, D. S., & Salganik, L. H. (Eds.). (2003). Key competencies: For a successful life and a well-functioning society. Hogrefe & Huber.
Saar, E., & Ure, O. B. (2013). Lifelong learning systems: Overview and extension of different typologies. In Lifelong learning in Europe: National Patterns and challenges. Edward Elgar.
Schön, D. (1987). Educating the reflective practitioner. Jossey-Bass.
Schuetze, H. G., & Slowey, M. (2000). Higher education and lifelong learners: International perspectives on change. Routledge/Falmer.
Spolar, V. A. M., & Holford, J. (2014). Adult learning: From the margins to the mainstream. In M. Milana & J. Holford (Eds.), Adult education policy and the European Union (pp. 35–52). Sense Publishers.
Sun, Q., & Chang, B. (2019). The 40 years’ evolution of the Chinese adult and continuing education: Where does it move driven by the China dream? New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education, 162, 11–23.
Torres, R. M. (2002). Lifelong learning in the north, education for all in the south. In C. Medel-Anonuevo (Ed.), Integrating lifelong learning perspective (Vol. ED 470 373). UNESCO.
Trow, M. (2006). Reflections on the transition from elite to mass to universal access forms and phases of higher education in modern societies since WWII. In J. Forest & P. Altbach (Eds.), International handbook of higher education (pp. 243–280). Springer.
Tuschling, A., & Engemann, C. (2006). From education to lifelong learning: The emerging regime of learning in the European Union. Educational Philosophy and Theory, 38(4), 451–469.
UIL. (2009). GRALE: Global report on adult learning and education. UIL.
UNESCO. (1972). Learning to be. UNESCO.
Usher, R., Bryant, I., & Johnston, R. (Eds.). (1997). Adult education and the postmodern challenge. Routledge.
Wain, K. (1993). Lifelong education and adult education: The state of the theory. International Journal of Lifelong Education, 12(2), 85–99.
Wain, K. (2004). The learning society in a postmodern world: The education crisis. Peter Lang Publishing.
Walters, S. (1997). Globalization, adult education and training. Zed Books.
Walters, S. (2006). Adult learning within lifelong learning: a different lens, a different light. Journal of Education, 39(1), 7–26.
Williams, J. (2013). Gilles Deleuze’s difference and repetition: a critical introduction and guide. Edinburgh University Press.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Section Editor information
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2023 Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this entry
Cite this entry
Han, S. (2023). The Institutionalization of Lifelong Learning in Global Scale. In: Evans, K., Lee, W.O., Markowitsch, J., Zukas, M. (eds) Third International Handbook of Lifelong Learning. Springer International Handbooks of Education. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-19592-1_6
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-19592-1_6
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-031-19591-4
Online ISBN: 978-3-031-19592-1
eBook Packages: EducationReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Education