An Exploration Into Whether Current Funding Policies Contribute Towards Lifelong Learning for Adults
...operates with Lifelong policy. Lifelong Learning Policy and Issues In this section are the detailed understanding of the selected Lifelong policy or issue: the content, purpose and main provisions, together with some indication of what is perceived as the values or principles which lie behind it in relation to as how it relates to other themes and influences and aspects of national policy making. It is generally accepted that the conceptual distinction between policy formulation and policy implementation is difficult since policy formulation basically seems to happen throughout the entire policy process. They propose to use the term ‘policy-making’ for the process as a whole, ‘policy formation’ for the early part of policy-making, and ‘policy implementation’ for the Since implementation activities may be very complex in terms of what types of activities are done with what aim/effect and by what type of actors. It is it useful to conceive of implementation as a mixture of activities. Clearly not all policies come “fully designed” at the end of the policy formulation process since we need to think carefully about what we mean by policy, as well as about what we mean by the 'social' or the 'public'. Traditionally, policy has been concerned with education, or learning in the public domain, or learning, which is publicly financed. The discipline of policy analysis has paid small attention to education, and concerned itself exclusively with provisions of the welfare state such as health care, social security, housing and community services (Griffin 1987). So up to this date, it is still be the issue of funding policies that affects the outcome of the Lifelong policy for adult education. If the meaning of lifelong learning is co-extensive with the further development of the public system of education and training, which it clearly is in many respects, then it is subject to policy analysis in the traditional sense. The analytic conditions of policy are formation, implementation and compulsion: 1. The state, or some other ultimate source of political authority and sovereignty over both the means and the ends of policy. 2. A system of bureaucratic institutions, ranging from departments and ministries of state to local administrations, down to individual schools or colleges. 3. Together, these constituted a system of compulsion or sanctions which ensured policy compliance (Griffin 1999a: 339). This meant that policy analysis was based on the assumption that it was possible to discover whether or not a policy had been implemented and its objects obtained. This is how policy analysis emerged as a response to policy research into the welfare state, despite the fact that education has not been generally included in its remit. But the idea of education as a welfare policy of the state has been recognized from the beginning in the social democratic model of lifelong learning as projected by UNESCO and other international agencies. These agencies have also begun to take notice of the ways in which the role of the state in respect of welfare is under threat from global market forces. The worldwide crisis of the welfare state is a crisis of social democracy with implications for the policy of lifelong learning itself. The role of the state is crucial to the achievement of a social democratic vision of lifelong learning : 'In common with all theories of the welfare state the "state" itself is at the heart of social democratic perspectives' (Lavalette and Pratt 1997). Nevertheless, lifelong learning remains a policy of government when the meaning of lifelong learning is identical with an expansion of the public education and training system. Wherever it is possible unambiguously to measure the outcomes of policies in relation to aims and objectives, then it seems appropriate to analyze such policies in conventional ways: 'targets' seems to have been widely adopted to describe this process, alongside performance and outcomes. The penalties for missing targets, usually financial, represent the terms of compliance and the existence of sanctions whereby the government retains control over the outcomes of policy with clear and unambiguous mechanisms of compliance. In the compulsory sector, for example, the overriding of local control in favor of direct control of schools by way of funding, audit and inspection is an example of policy formation, implementation and compliance in its most obvious form. However, lifelong learning policies are only partly addressed to quantifiable outcomes such as employability, human resource development, technological accreditation and global competition. They are also addressed to outcomes which are by no means measurable in the same way, such as social inclusion, or active citizenship, or even the quality of life itself. There are also the various sites of learning associated with lifelong learning, such as the family, the community or the workplace, which clearly lie beyond the scope of policy in the conventional sense. To understand the meaning of lifelong learning in these contexts we have to abandon altogether the conventional categories of policy analysis But is lifelong learning actually a system of public education in any case, or is it something different which traditional policy analysis, let alone foundation disciplines, could not address? Does it reflect the kinds of changing perceptions of the 'social' which can be detected in other policy fields? Even in the case of social welfare, it has been argued, a process of commodification has occurred (Lash 1990). The scale of current economic and social change, the rapid transition to a knowledge-based society and demographic pressures resulting from an ageing population in Europe are all challenges which demand a new approach to education and training, within the framework of lifelong learning. Lifelong learning is defined as "all learning activity undertaken throughout life, with the aim of improving knowledge, skills and competence, within a personal, civic, social and/or employment-related perspective." Lifelong learning is therefore about acquiring and updating all kinds of abilities, interests, knowledge and qualifications from the pre-school years to post-retirement. It promotes the development of knowledge and competences that will enable each citizen to adapt to the knowledge-based society and actively participate in all spheres of social and economic life, taking more control of his or her future. Another thing is that, it is the valuing all forms of learning, including: formal learning, such as a degree course followed at university; non-formal learning, such as vocational skills acquired at the workplace; and informal learning, such as inter-generational learning, for example where parents learn to use ICT through their children, or learning how to play an instrument together with friends. Learning opportunities should be available to all citizens on an ongoing basis. In practice this should mean that citizens each have individual learning pathways, suitable to their needs and interests at all stages of their lives. The content of learning, the way learning is accessed, and where it takes place may vary depending on the learner and their learning requirements. Lifelong learning is also about providing "second chances" to update basic skills and also offering learning opportunities at more advanced levels. All this means that formal systems of provision need to become much more open and flexible, so that such opportunities can truly be tailored to the needs of the learner, or indeed the potential learner. What are the tools that can better integrate learning environments and open up access for all European citizens to good quality learning opportunities appropriate to their needs at any time of life? There are basically six essential elements for coherent and comprehensive lifelong learning strategies like partnership working, insight into the demand for learning, adequate resourcing, facilitating access to learning opportunities, creating a learning culture and striving for excellence. And focusing on adequate resourcing, which can be directly related to funding policy, it involves a involving a substantial increase in public and private investment in learning. Thi...