Universities as Centres for Lifelong Learning: Opportunities and Threats at the Institutional Level

Abstract

The changing nature of employment and careers is causing governments, enterprises, educational providers and individuals to take seriously the concept of lifelong learning. Lifelong learning is a concept that has long been associated with the traditions of liberalism, highlighting the continuous development and growth of individuals within civilised societies. However, despite its potential to provide a broad integrating rationale for national educational policy, it is only in the past few years that the concept, with a new overlay of instrumentalism, has emerged as a practical policy for developed economies as they move into the Information Age. With the move of most developed countries into a post-industrial age, knowledge is seen as the primary resource for individuals and the economy overall. As both society’s needs and knowledge itself undergo rapid change, the lifelong learning skills involved in reaching and remaining at the cutting edge of knowledge are becoming crucial employment skills. Those institutions that are successful in providing their graduates with a lifelong learning capacity will gain a significant competitive edge in the marketplace. Through considering case studies involving two Australian universities, Monash and RMIT Universities, this chapter canvasses the changes required to implement effective lifelong learning strategies in traditional universities. Such institutions face substantial barriers to the implementation of lifelong learning at all levels; that is, at the individual level, at the departmental and the faculty level, and the institution itself. In discussing these barriers, particular attention will be given to those orientations, or mindsets, prevailing within higher education institutions that must be changed if lifelong learning is to be embraced.