the theory & practice of LEARNING
2ND EDITION

the theory & practice of LEARNING
2ND EDITION

Among the most basic of human activities, learning is as crucial as breathing. Learning is the process through which we become the human beings we are, the process by which we internalize the external world and through which we construct our experiences of that world. Without appearing to recognize the fundamental significance of this process, learning has assumed a centrality in the educational vocabulary in recent years. Now we talk of the learning organization, the learning society, and so on.

Like every other social institution, education has undergone many changes over the past few years: globalization, the emergence of the knowledge economy and lifelong learning have been among them. Significantly, people often now talk about lifelong learning rather than lifelong education, or continuing education, and so on. Understanding these changes and some of the forces that have generated them is important to everyone involved in education and human resource development. So in this first chapter we show what changes have occurred, while Chapter 2 provides an introductory analysis illustrating what forces in society have produced them.

PETER JARVIS, JOHN HOLFORD & COLIN GRIFFIN