Lifelong learning is a broad, generic term that is difficult to define with specificity. Its overlap, or its interchangeable use, with other closely related concepts, such as lifelong, permanent, recurrent, continuing, or adult education; learning organizations; and the learning society (society in which learning is pervasive), makes this even more true. For some it includes learning from childhood and early schooling, while others treat it in terms of the adult learning process. It has grown to a global concept, with differing manifestations that vary with national political and economic priorities, and with cultural and social value systems.
Photo: Dr. Hemmert
Lifelong learning is used here in an inclusive sense that accommodates this heterogeneity. A statement resulting from a collaboration of the European Lifelong Learning Initiative and the American Council on Education provides a workable expression of this broader acceptance:
