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This report begins with the premise that, in order to participate effectively and with satisfaction as a citizen in the post-industrial information societies and knowledge/service economies of the 21st century, an individual needs to be better informed, to have greater thinking and problem-solving abilities, to be more self-motivated, to have a larger capacity for cooperative interaction, to possess more varied and more specialised skills, and to be more resourceful and adaptable than ever before. Rapidly changing circumstances and opportunities in contemporary work, social and recreational environments, demand the continuing acquisition of new knowledge, new skills and new abilities and their efficient application. This demand can be met satisfactorily only through a process of continual learning. For young people in particular, there is an urgent need to develop the confidence and the knowhow required to deal with the uncertainties and complexities which many of them face now in adolescence and which all will face as adults. The report presents the findings of a project undertaken to address the broad question of how to ensure the engagement with learning of all middle years students and how to encourage in them a higher order of learning objectives and outcomes both now and throughout life. It builds on current nationwide and international efforts at school reform, intended to provide learning programs that are intellectually demanding, connected to the real world, socially supportive, community linked, and engaged with the wide diversity of student abilities, preferences, circumstances, and needs. The project addressed the research question: What practices, processes, strategies and structures best promote lifelong learning and the development of lifelong learners in the middle years of schooling? The project and the report consist of four elements: (1) a literature review; (2) case studies of selected school sites; (3) a student survey; and (4) a discussion paper. The study demonstrates that schools can make a difference for students by encouraging them to have positive attitudes towards lifelong learning and to want to become lifelong learners. But it also indicates that the process of reforming a school so that it is more likely to achieve these outcomes is a long and usually difficult one. Show less