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SOME QUESTIONS REGARDING THE DEVELOPMENT OF CONTINUOUS EDUCATION IN GREAT BRITAIN Y. V. Polyakova
"It’s never too soon or too late for learning”, goes an English proverb which has become a foundation for the philosophy of continuous education in Great Britain. The main task of continuous education, according to the UK Department of Education and Science, is to provide citizens the opportunity to learn at any age and in any context; at home, at work, at leisure, and not just through formal channels such as the system of secondary and higher education.
The concept of continuous education first appeared in Great Britain in the first half of the 20th century. In 1919 R.D. Walter, Head of the Adult Education Committee of the British Ministry of Reconstruction underlined in a report that "adult education must not be regarded as a luxury for a few exceptional persons”, but should become an inseparable part of the life of citizens, universal and ongoing. Among the Committee’s members at that time were such outstanding British public figures as Alfred Mansfield, R.H. Tawney and Eduard Lindeman. The works of Basil Yeaxlee (Lifelong Education, 1929) and Eduard Lindeman (The Meaning of Adult Education, 1926) are considered to be amongst the first works of research in this field. It is these works that became the foundation for the modern understanding of education as an intrinsic part of everyday life. In his classic work of 1926 The Meaning of Adult Education, Eduard Lindeman, correlating with the work of his friend and colleague John Dewey, put forward the following arguments: a) education is life. It is not merely preparation for an unknown future. The whole of one’s life is learning, therefore education can never stop; b) the education of adults should not be vocational. To be more accurate, the education of adults begins where vocational education finishes, and its purpose is to add some meaning to a person’s life; c) it’s starting point should be the situation, not subjects. In traditional education the student is supposed to adjust to an established curriculum, whereas in the education of adults the curriculum is constructed on the grounds of the student’s interests and demands; d) it is first necessary to establish the student’s life experience. The most valuable resource in the education of adults is their experience; the real education is in connecting words and deeds, theory and practice. Though these provisions could seem to us rather idealistic, we cannot but mention their close connection with modern tendencies in informal education - that education should not simply be
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continuous, but must become a part of life. Education as a part of life is the main subject considered by B. Yeaxlee in his fundamental investigation into lifelong education in 1929 based on the works of E. Lindeman and his own experience in the British Institute of Adult Education. In his book Lifelong Education, he addressed many questions raised in the Report of 1919, broadened their scope and added to them. Let us consider some of the provisions.
1. "We discover more, and not less, need of adult education as we make progress. On the other hand, we are unlikely to achieve a thoroughly sound and complete system of primary and secondary education until the adult members of the community realize how mischievous a thing it is to abbreviate or mishandle school education. But adult education, rightly interpreted, is as inseparable from normal living as food and physical exercise. Life, to be vivid, strong and creative, demands constant reflection upon experience, so that action may be guided by wisdom, and work to the other aspect of self-expression”.
2. "Attention must especially be given to elementary and informal types of adult education. Insignificant and troublesome to the expert, these have a charm for the common man: he can appreciate them precisely because they are not elaborate and advanced; they meet him where he is, and do not demand that he shall take a long journey, or make a violent and unnatural effect to reach them. They are the only opportunity to create ground for increasing the level of education”.
"Much adult education will never know itself as such, and will be recognized only by real insight. It takes place in clubs, churches, cinemas, concert halls, political parties, in the homes of people where there are books, newspapers, wireless sets ...”.
Yeaxlee emphasized three key features of continuous education. Firstly, the education of adults is represented as a secondary structure which influences the entire existing educational system, including schools and higher educational institutions. Secondly, it goes beyond the boundaries of formal education, involving different organizations and groups.
Thirdly, the education of adults is based upon the fact that, having recognized the value of continuing in education, individuals would become or would have the ability to become self-organizing.
The provisions put forward in the works of E. Lindeman and B. Yeaxlee have been re-thought and re-considered many times. Does education really mean life, as Lindeman was convinced? Is lifelong
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education simply redistribution or lengthening over a longer period, or is it preparation for learning? Until now a practical objection to lifelong education has existed. How could the priorities of school education, traditionally considered as ‘preparation for life’, be turned upside down? What are the financial implication and possibilities of lifelong education?
In the 1970s, lifelong education became one of the main focal points of UNESCO activities. Of the publications of that time, one of the most well-known is the work by Edgar Faure, Learning to Be (1972), which underlines two fundamental ideas: lifelong education and the learning society.
Education is no longer considered as the entirety of that which a student obtains before entering adult life, upon whatever intellectual basis and at whatever age he could do so. Modern British scientists (Ulrich Beck, Anthony Giddens, Field) believe that we can observe a certain shift in the attitude of common citizens towards continuous education. Economic, social and cultural changes have led to the formation of an “information society”, with strong tendencies towards individualization and constant learning. As a result, in Field’s opinion, the system of post-school education includes as many young people as it does adults, and is an important part of everyday life. Such activities as short-term courses, educational tours, sporting clubs and fitness centers, numerous guides and manuals for various self-taught activities, including electronic ones have become typical.
This new education of adults is becoming a part of a much broader process. Changes in the organization of production and management (so-called Post-Fordism), which include more flexible organization, multifunctional and adaptable labor forces and flexible production) focused on market and consumption, undoubtedly also draw attention to continuous education. Numerous governmental reports and researches (here we should mention the Report of the Department of Education and Employment The Learning Age, 1998) underline the progress in this direction. The effective implementation of an educational voucher scheme (the Individual Learning Account - ILA) increased interest in individualized learning. Initially the Government opens an account of £150 upon registration of an adult student paying £25. The account can be used to pay for any educational course.
Continuous education remains to this day the subject of numerous discussions in Great Britain. J. Field (2000) cites three reasons as to the urgency of the problem: the importance of maintaining the appeal of continuous education; the arrival of new approaches, concepts, and methods of putting continuous education into practice; and the fact that
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lifelong education is becoming a mechanism of limitation and control. There appears to be a problem of access to knowledge, which is creating the foundations for inequality. In a knowledge-based economy, members of society with low qualifications and reduced prospects for the constant upgrading of knowledge have fewer chances to find a decent job. Individualization also means the weakening of social support mechanisms.
Thus, in this way the ideas put forward by British politicians and researchers in the first half of the 20th century have helped further develop and support both state and society. The debates surrounding these questions only confirm their importance.
References
1. Dave, R. (ed.) Foundations of Lifelong Education. - Oxford: Pergamon, 1979.
2. Faure, E. and others. Learning to Be. - Paris: UNESCO, 1972. -312 p.
3. Field, J. Lifelong Learning and the New Educational Order, Stoke of Trent: Trentham Books, 2000. - 181 p.
4. Final Report of the Adult Education Committee, Ministry of Reconstruction (1919) - London: HMSO. 410 pages. Republished by University of Nottingham Department of Adult Education. Abridged version with an introduction by R.D. Waller published 1956.
5. Smith, M.K. (1996, 2001) 'Lifelong learning', the encyclopaedia of informal education, http://www.infed.org/lifelonglearning/b-life.htm.
6. The Learning Age: A renaissance for a New Britain/ Department for Education and Employment Report. - London: The Stationery Office, 1998.
7. Tight, M. Mythologies of Adult/Continuing/Lifelong Education Paper presented at SCUTREA, 29th Annual Conference, 5-7 July 1999, University of Warwick http://www.leeds.ac.uk/educol/documents/ 000001021.htm
8. Wain, K. Philosophy of Lifelong Education. - London: Croom Helm, 1987.
9. Yeaxlee, B. A. Lifelong Education, London: Cassell, 1929. Republished 1988. - 166 p.
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