ABSTRACT
There is little in popular culture that focuses on the older learner or on vocational further education compared with the volume of school-based stories. Yet adult education, reconceptualised as lifelong learning, is central to the educational agendas of Western governments, concerned with new technologies, the ageing workforce and the need to keep people working for longer, to counteract an anticipated pensions shortfall. The only aspect of the post-compulsory sector that competes with school for coverage in popular culture is university education.1
