ABSTRACT
In contrast to countries (like Austria) with specialized institutions for adult learning, the US provides most lifelong learning within its mainstream educational institutions, particularly community college. As comprehensive institutions, community colleges provide a variety of programmes for students often described as non-traditional, including lifelong learning for adults seeking upgrade training to improve their skills, retraining to change their occupations, remediation to develop basic academic skills or avocational education of many sorts. Lifelong learning in community colleges takes place in several ways, often difficult to disentangle: in “regular” credential programmes; in evening classes geared to adult students; in non-credit programmes with particularly easy access; in customized training funded by specific employers. In addition, colleges have developed several practices to support adult students, and several ways of enhancing transitions both into and out of colleges. In contrast, lifelong learning in separate adult education and job training programmes suffers from more difficult transitions, a lack of transparency and often low-quality teaching. The chapter ends with some criteria by which the effectiveness of different approaches to lifelong learning might be judged. A conventional narrative about the role of education has developed in many countries, both developed and transitional, as well as in many international agencies including the European Union and OECD. I call it the Education Gospel because it expresses a faith that education, focused on preparation for occupations, can resolve many individual and social problems including access to well-paid jobs, equity, transition to the Knowledge Economy, growth and competitiveness in a globalizing world (Grubb and Lazerson, 2004). One strand of the Education Gospel emphasizes that individuals are more likely to find their skills becoming obsolete as technology and knowledge progress, and that they are more likely to change jobs, so that the need for lifelong learning is increasing. Often the need for lifelong learning is taken as an article of faith rather than demonstrated, like other strands of the Education Gospel.1
