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This chapter contributes to an exploration of aspects of the relationship between learning, work organisations and change. The author examines how new organisational forms are influencing the organisation of learning, while at the same time, new approaches to lifelong learning are moulding changes in organisational processes. Two approaches for organisational learning during organisational innovation are presented. This analysis is followed by a discussion of the qualifications required by adult educators and consultants in new work processes. The chapter concludes with some preliminary findings from a case study of pilot projects from the Finnish National Workplace Development Programme.

This chapter contributes to an examination of the politics of lifelong learning in societies that are, or were formerly, broadly 'welfare' societies. Market-oriented educational policy has impacted all levels of education in Finland, particularly adult education. With the establishment of the Adult Education Committee in 1971, adult education policy entered a phase of centralised planning and since the beginning of the 1990s, has emphasised the role of market forces. This chapter explores the question of whether the implementation of a strategy of lifelong learning is possible in an environment where the dominant adult education policy is market-oriented. The author considers the extent to which educational equality has improved during this period of centralised and market-oriented planning, and the effects of the market-oriented planning model on several areas of adult education (employer education, open university, labour market training, adult education centres). The chapter concludes with an evaluation of the appropriateness of market-oriented planning for the development of lifelong learning in Finland.

This monograph examines the theoretical and practical aspects of lifelong learning from an international perspective and identifies the issues and forces at work in this important emerging field in higher education. It is divided into seven parts that address the key areas of debate and analysis in a range of national and international contexts. Themes and issues explored include the nature of 'learning society' and the implications for teaching and learning, ethics and gender. Case studies from a range of countries including Hong Kong, New Zealand and South Africa are used to illustrate the debate. The chapters are as follows: Part I - 'International policy': Edgar Faure after 25 years: down but not out / Roger Boshier; Public rhetoric and public policy: analysing the difference for lifelong learning / Colin Griffin; Lifelong learning and the European Union: a critique from a 'risk society' perspective / Barry Hake; Critical perspectives and new beginnings: reframing the discourse on lifelong learning / Michael Collins; Part II - 'Lifelong learning in the learning society': Paradoxes of the learning society / Peter Jarvis; Persuasive discourses: learning and the production of working subjects in a post-industrial era / Elaine Butler; Lifelong learning for social responsibility: exploring the significance of aesthetic reflectivity for adult education / Theo Jansen, Matthias Finger and Danny Wildemeersch; Lifelong learning through the Habermasian lens: providing a theoretical grounding to adult education practice / Brian Connelly; Part III - 'Lifelong learning and political transitions': From apartheid education to lifelong learning: assessing the ameliorative potential of emerging education policy in South Africa / Bobby Soobrayan; Lifelong learning: a cure for unemployment? From Betriebsakademien to Beschaftigungsgesellschaften in Germany / Marion Sporing; Schools run by social forces: the development of the private sector for lifelong learning in China / Xiao Fang; 'Through-life' perspectives and continuing education in Hong Kong: policy review and policy unformation / John Holford; Part IV - 'Learning, markets and change in welfare states': Demands and possibilities for lifelong learning in market-oriented society: a Finnish perspective on public policy and reality / Jukka Tuomisto; Market oriented policies and the learning society: the case of New Zealand / Michael Law; An analysis of lifelong learning policy in Japan / Hiromi Sasai; Can user choice contribute to lifelong learning? Implications of the Australian experience / Fran Ferrier; A market for lifelong learning? The voucher experience in the City of London / Peter Jarvis, Colin Griffin and John Holford; Part V - 'Learning and change in educational structure': How can university work-based courses contribute to lifelong learning? / David Boud; What would lifelong education look like in a workplace setting? / Paul Hagert and David Becket; Towards the learning society: an Italian perspective / Aureliana Alberici; Sentencing learners to life: retrofitting the academy for the information age / Cliff Falk; The role of the public library in lifelong learning: can Cinderella go to the ball? / Matthew J. Williamson and Margaret K. Wallis; Part VI - 'Learning and change at work': Beyond the threshold: organizational learning at the edge / Paul Tosey and John Nugent; Creating contingency workers: a critical study of the learning organization / Fred M. Schied, Sharon L. Howell, Vicki K. Carter and Judith A. Preston; Consultative and learning approaches in the context of the organizational process innovations / Annikki Jarvinen; Promoting learning networks for small business: how can group learning facilitate change? / Sue Kilpatrick; Part VII - 'Aims, ethics and social purpose in lifelong learning': The liberal instrument / Evan Alderson and Mark Selman; Teaching/learning and decision-making: the face-to-face versus the interface, some implications for ethical practice / Del Loewenthal and Robert Snell; Lifelong learning: the path to lifelong liabilities for women? / Venitha Pillay; Education of employees and business social responsibility: the question of political utilitarianism / Janko Berlogar.

This chapter contributes to an examination of the politics of lifelong learning from the perspective of societies in the process of major political change. The reunification of Germany has resulted in major restructuring within all sectors of society in the East German state and, as an outcome of this process, mass unemployment. This chapter examines the implications of the reunification process for lifelong learning opportunities through an analysis of recent education and training policies designed to lower unemployment in Germany. Vocational continuing education is perceived to be of key importance to the labour market and economic development of the Neue Bundeslander (former German Democratic Republic) and Germany in general. Using the example of the Hanseatic city of Rostock, the author describes the development of post-unification vocational training measures which have been funded by the government and European grants. It is concluded that continuing vocational education supported by extra funding can alleviate the problems created by restructuring but that education and training measures alone are not the solution to unemployment. A number of issues for consideration when developing policy are drawn from the German experience.

In discussions of lifelong learning, the notion is commonly represented as though it means postcompulsory education and training and this chapter contributes a corrective to this. It presents an example of the relationship between work-based learning and more traditional forms of education. The chapter focuses on the workplace as a site for lifelong learning in contrast to the more formal and structured learning occurring in classrooms and training environments. For the purposes of this discussion, the term 'workplace learning' is restricted to the informal learning taking place as people perform their work and to its role in lifelong education. The authors explore the differences between workplace learning and formal learning and the educational significance of these differences. Both learning process and learning product characteristics are involved in the differences between workplace and formal learning. The remainder of the chapter discusses these characteristics and attempts to demonstrate how traditional dichotomies between formal and informal learning can be resolved. It is argued that workplace learning is an important but neglected element of lifelong education and a new philosophy of workplace education is proposed which requires a new conceptualisation of the informal learning occurring in the workplace that confronts the divide between formal, and therefore high status learning, and informal, seen as low status learning.