ABSTRACT
The first point to make about the three concepts which form the subject matter of this chapter is that – in terms of recent policy developments – only learning seems to matter anymore. As mentioned in earlier chapters, debate about the curriculum seems to have been replaced by skill-talk of various kinds, lifelong learning is now preferred to lifelong education, and teaching is described in terms of the management and support of learning. Much of this of course – as the perusal of any history of educational ideas would reveal – is not to be taken too seriously on the grounds that political rhetoric, professional sloganising and the natural cycles and changes of terminology and priorities seem to be an inevitable and natural feature of educational developments. However, changing educational discourse and language is often itself an external reflection of fundamental internal changes in educational systems, so it is always necessary to try to distinguish between deep and surface meanings in examining trends and issues.
