Lifelong Learning Conference 2008

Universities and senior lifelong learners: quo vadis?

James H. Cook
Australian Catholic University

How far are Australian Universities developing policies and practices that advance lifelong learning opportunities for students aged 60 and older, referred to as ‘senior’ students? Senior students, in contrast to younger undergraduates and post-graduates, are generally less concerned with vocational training, and more interested in studying for interest and pleasure. Research and statistical data on older lifelong learners at university comes under the umbrella of “mature-age” students, considering their needs and concerns under the primary assumption of vocational training or upgrading of qualifications. What about the needs and concerns of students who are older and are studying for reasons other than career development? There are indications that seniors are beginning or returning to studies at Universities in ever increasing numbers (ABS, 2003), yet evidence about how Australian Universities develop policies and practices that advance lifelong learning opportunities for senior students is at best scant. Discovering what these older students think about their University experience will help inform stakeholders in Higher Education about appropriate policies and practices for this growing cohort. This information may be of benefit to current and future students and educators, to the institution they attend and to the community, as it can be used to either remediate and modify practices which inhibit full and meaningful participation in university life, or it can illuminate and promote those elements that encourage senior Australians to participate in and enjoy the benefits of a university education.

Learning later in policy, learning later in life reflection on life as an older, working class student in formal education in Scotland.

Brian Findsen & Sarah McCullough
The University of Waikato; University of Glasgow

This paper will examine empirical data on later life learning within the context of Scottish lifelong learning, widening participation and ageing strategies. Globally ageing populations are a well-known phenomenon; Scotland’s own population is projected to age markedly within the next fifteen years (GRO, 2005). Participation rates of over-50s in formal education have traditionally remained very low, prompting the West of Scotland Wider Access Forum to support project staff’s investigation into ways in which current levels of (dis)engagement can be enhanced. Lifelong learning policy in Scotland is consistent with international trends towards a vocational and youth-centric focus, while widening participation efforts are working towards more proportional engagement with learning among marginalised groups. The dominant ageing strategy in Scotland echoes the emphasis of activity theory on sustained societal engagement throughout the lifespan. Older adults’ learning, however, is receiving increased attention due in part to the need for sustained, internationally competitive skills of a ‘greying workforce’ in the global arena. The paper (and study) conceptually links with several areas of adult education literature: (older) adult participation in formal education; policy development in older adult education; social inclusion in lifelong learning. It is unapologetically linked to social justice for older adults because the recruitment of older adults used in this research is from officially identified areas of high deprivation in the West of Scotland. Its primary purpose is to depict the realities of older adults’ experiences as they connect with FE and HE institutions (Findsen, 2005). We use data drawn from our two-year empirical research project that engages with older adults in formal education in order to examine the impacts of policy reality (versus rhetoric) in their learning journeys. We examine the appropriateness of policy initiatives, successes, significant gaps that should be taken into consideration, and recommend directional changes for the future.

References:

Findsen, B. (2005) Learning later, Malabar, Florida: Kreiger Publishing Co.

General Register Office (2005) Projected population of Scotland (2004 based) (accessed online at http://www.gro-scotland.gov.uk/files/2004-pop-proj-paper.pdf on 10.12.05)

Lifelong learning, work, retirement and inalienable interconnectivity: reflecting on personal success and framing collective futures.

Geoff Danaher, Phyllida Coombes & Patrick Alan Danaher
Central Queensland University; The Lakes Retirement Village; University of Southern Queensland

Attaining a productive and sustainable work–life balance remains one of the central challenges of contemporary late capitalist economies. Despite evidence of intergenerational unemployment on the one hand and the development of portfolio careers on the other, formal, full-time work remains a powerful force in defining individual identity and communal acceptability. This situation generates a challenge for concepts of and policies for lifelong learning. In particular, what are the relationship and the dividing line between lifelong and lifewide learning; what is the association between lifelong learning and various enactments of work (full-time, part-time and casual; formal, non-formal and informal); and can lifelong learning be resuscitated from the excessively economic focus of its claimed contribution to enhancing work-based productivity? In short, what space is there for lifelong learning before, alongside and after formal, full-time work? This paper explores this complex and potentially contradictory connection between lifelong learning and work by analysing the authors’ separate and shared experiences of formal and informal work and retirement. One author has combined the responsibilities of raising a family with various combinations of full- and part-time work and is now a full-time retiree, yet is working productively in several respects, ranging from volunteer service for local groups to co-authoring a research book. Another author has moved from casual to permanent full-time to permanent half-time work as an academic, the most recent phase of his working life coinciding with a renewed interest in creative writing and travel. The other author is finding increased difficulty in achieving a work–life balance, and is seeking ways through lifelong learning to redress the balance. The analysis is informed by the concept of inalienable interconnectivity (Danaher, 2006), whereby resistance of alienation of education can be pursued by self-emergent groups. The authors argue that inalienable interconnectivity is a fruitful way of understanding lifelong learning, work and retirement that simultaneously reflects on personal successes and frames and builds on collective futures. Reference Danaher, G. R. (2006). Inalienable interconnective lifelong learning: Pathways, partnerships, and pedagogies. In D. Orr, F. Nouwens, C. Macpherson, R. E. Harreveld & P. A. Danaher (Eds.), Lifelong learning: Partners, pathways and pedagogies: Keynote and refereed papers from the 4th international lifelong learning conference Yeppoon, Central Queensland, Australia 13-16 June 2006: Hosted by Central Queensland University (pp. 56-60). Rockhampton, Qld: Lifelong Learning Conference Committee, Central Queensland University Press.

Reflective Practice

The eportfolio as a tool for lifelong learning: contextualising Australian practice.

Lynn McAllister, Gillian Hallam & Wendy Harper
Queensland University of Technology

Over the past few years, there has been a growing interest in the potential offered by electronic portfolios (ePortfolios) as tools to track and showcase student learning. Indeed, in Europe, the development of eLearning technologies and strategies has led to the vision of an ‘ePortfolio for all by 2010’. The focus on ePortfolios as a support for the concept of lifelong learning has been spearheaded by the establishment of the European Institute of ELearning (EifEL). In Australia, while there are a few examples of ePortfolio initiatives arising within the wider community, engagement with ePortfolios is apparent within the education sector. Studies have indicated that the ePortfolio processes can support personal and social growth and curriculum outcomes, as well as fostering ICT skills through the use of the digital tools. Importantly, the development of skills in reflective practice enables teachers and students to better understand the progress and achievements made by learners over time, to recognise individual strengths and weaknesses and to encourage planning and goal setting for lifelong learning. The proposed paper reports on a major national research project into ePortfolios currently funded by the Carrick Institute, with Queensland University of Technology partnering with the University of Melbourne, University of New England and the University of Wollongong. Using the research methodologies of surveys, focus groups and case studies, the project aims to investigate the use of portfolios/e-portfolios in order to gain a better understanding of what is happening in schools, higher education, vocational education and training and in employment, to inform and guide future policy and practice in Australia. The project links directly to international initiatives through collaboration with the Inter/National Coalition for Electronic Portfolio Research. One specific angle of the research seeks to establish a clearer understanding of the actual impact of ePortfolio use on learning outcomes by considering the value of the student experience in terms of effort, derived benefits, course planning, employment readiness, and career planning. In addition, the project explores the use of Web 2.0 or social networking activities such as blogs, wikis and web forums where personal information can be created and shared, to consider how people are using the online environment for activities of a reflective and learning nature.

Community service learning and reflection: insights from two case studies.

Anne Power
University of Western Sydney

Service learning has become an integral part of the preservice teacher education program at the University of Western Sydney in the Master of Teaching Secondary program. It has engaged both UWS students and academics in project based learning and research into practices. The participants in which service learning occurs vary from adolescents at risk to youth leaders, from migrants and refugees to community music ensembles. This paper reflects on that learning, the need to encourage metacognition in learners and the notion of competence as an attribute of groups and communities as well as of individuals in their growth.