‘Much in little?’: Revisiting ‘lifelong education’, ‘recurrent education’, and ‘de-schooling’ in the age of ‘lifelong learning’
Barry J. Hake, Narbonne, France
“Recent contributions to the literature have postulated the very different significations of the policy narratives of ‘lifelong education’ in the Faure Report for UNESCO in 1972 and OECD’s 1973 report on ‘recurrent education’. It has also been argued that the Faure Report incorporated the policy narrative of the ‘de-schooling’ of society. Furthermore, it is sometimes claimed that ‘recurrent education’ in the 1970s laid the foundations for the core elements of the ‘lifelong learning’ narrative that has emerged worldwide since the mid-1990s. This paper critically examines the empirical foundations of such arguments. Based upon a re-reading of primary texts and secondary sources, the analysis demonstrates that these widely accepted arguments constitute a problematic interpretation of the historical relationships between the key policy narratives in the 1970s. The conclusions identify a number of significant areas for further empirical research into the relationships between first generation policy narratives.”
Full text (pdf) Copyright 2015 Barry J. Hake
- Julia Preece, professor, University of Glagow,
Lifelong education and learning, 27 juin 2005- Our vision for lifelong learning must ensure south – north dialogue
- Examples from Europe and Southern Africa
- Definitions and contexts to provoke and stimulate discussion