This thesis examines the effects of de-industrialisation on the lives of adult learners attending adult education programmes in the former coal mining and steel working communities of County Durham. It presents the outcomes of a qualitative study of life history stories which are 'person centred'. Focusing on the subjective experiences of learners, both past and present, was an appropriate way in which the learner voice could be heard as well as helping to understand their experiences and views on the effects that de- industrialisation has had on their lives, and if lifelong learning was improving their life chances. The importance of social class and gender in configuring and understanding adult learner experiences are critical factors whilst, at the same time, the collective resources of these working class communities have been systematically undermined. Furthermore, the provision of publically funded adult education has declined dramatically since the 1980s. Through the prism of learners' lives the study explores experiences of employability skills programmes and community adult education programmes on shaping the position, disposition and identity of learners who have experienced a major trauma to their communities, their families and themselves. Ontological insecurity, a product of de-industrialisation, has a critical impact on the lives of these adults. The thesis adopts Hirschman's (1970) framework of 'Exit, Loyalty and Voice', originally used to frame the responses of workers confronting the possibility of job losses in a firm, as a way of understanding the reactions of adult learners to the impact of de-industrialisation on communities. In Hirschman's framework the relationship between exit, loyalty and voice followed a distinctive pattern. Loyalty, for example, was the opposite of voice, as people in a firm stayed silent in order to be saved from job loss. In this study, loyalty to the community has enabled individuals to benefit from support and community provision, which has given them a lifeline for survival and a step on the way to finding a voice. Exit, in the original framework, involved proactive workers getting 'ahead of the curve' by finding alternative employment before others. In this study, employability skills training - as a resource for exit - does not deliver. Instead, it systematically demoralises individuals and undermines their capacity to act. It involves churning learners between welfare and more training programmes and, where and when available, into short-term work. The overall impact has resulted in the social exclusion of these learners from the labour market and from the community - the opposite of agency. It is argued that this is a paradox given that social and economic inclusion was an aim of lifelong learning policies. The thesis challenges the claim of neoliberal ideology that purports to promote the freedom of individuals to determine their own fate. Those attending employability skills programmes are expected to find solutions to structural problems, and are subjected to coercive methods through psychological interventions that are expected to bring about attitudinal behaviour changes to achieve employability. It is argued that this is a paradox given deficient labour market conditions which are beyond the control of the learner. Attention is given to public sector community adult education that once offered liberating models of adult education, but have now been subjected to the logic of neoliberal governmentality. This is creating new 'subjectivities' for educators, who are being coerced to deliver learning for the economy rather than social purpose education. What has emerged is a new role of the employability trainer.

Healthcare professions educational programs have a responsibility to develop professionally engaged lifelong learners. Knowledge of the factors important to the development of these desirable characteristics may inform educational leaders’ decisions about program and curriculum design. This study aimed to investigate the relation between level of education and an orientation towards lifelong learning and future professional engagement. In addition, the influence of learners’ type of motivation for continued learning, and learning goal orientation on this relation was also assessed. A cross-sectional survey of learners from a single healthcare profession, physical therapy was conducted to investigate these relations. Physical therapist learners from across the United States at all levels of formal professional and post-professional education were included invited to participate in the anonymous online survey. Path analysis was used to analyze the relations between the included factors. A total of 251 usable responses were included in the analysis. Results suggest that physical therapist learners increase their orientation toward lifelong learning and future professional engagement as they advance through the physical therapy education continuum. Furthermore, having greater autonomous and less controlled motivation increases this relation. Mastery goal orientation also had a positive direct effect on lifelong learning and professional engagement but this effect was independent of learners’ current level of education. Implications for educational leaders in the physical therapy profession are discussed along with recommendations for future research.

The thesis deals with the use of competences and competency model as an effective tool of personnel management of the organization. Competency - based / HR / Management (CBM) is an actively used model primarily in the commercial sphere. However, in recent years, more and more government organizations have also approached this governance model. The theoretical and empirical part of the thesis deals with the issue of acquiring and using various types of competencies, compiling a competency model and their subsequent application in personnel management. The definition of basic terms and principles of competency management is based on the study of professional literature and binding documents that link the principles of competence management to the lifelong learning strategy and learning organization models. The empirical part first deals with the actual use of competencies and competency models in the conditions of public business academies in Prague and Central Bohemia. It describes the current state of use of human resources management by competency of the director of public business academies in the region. The observed state is compared with the results of the Trexima, spol. s r.o. in the commercial organizations, which was implemented in 2014. The empirical part is further focused on the...

The thesis deals with the issue of adult education and development, is specially focused on the group of personal fitness trainers, their development and further professional education. In the theoretical part of the thesis, great attention is paid to the conceptualization and systemization of adult education, instead of adult education within the concept of lifelong learning. The thesis deals with one of the most important areas of education, namely further education. It deals with individual subsystems of further education with an emphasis on further professional adult education. The work also brings information about the possibilities of education and development of people in organizations, it deals with the importance of company education. The need for strategic and systematic staff training is highlighted. The work describes individual methods of education, both in the workplace and outside the workplace. A separate chapter focuses on personal fitness trainer, its characteristics, professional competencies and selected forms of coaching education. The aim of this thesis is to identify and to analyze the educational and development needs of personal fitness trainers. Quantitative research is carried out by a questionnaire survey and the data are supplemented with the results of semi-structured...

<p>The aim of the research project is to investigate the effectiveness of an information literacy intervention for first year engineering students at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology. Information literacy has been identified as a necessary outcome of tertiary education. It refers to the life-long learning competencies of finding and using information in order to solve problems, to make decisions and to create new knowledge. Information literacy education has evolved from earlier forms of library user education, such as bibliographic instruction, and is central to the mission of academic libraries. However, librarians responsible for information literacy programmes seldom evaluate the effectiveness of their interventions. In today&rsquo / s climate of accountability and outcomes-based education, it is necessary to provide evidence of the benefits of the user education that libraries provide. The researcher uses the American College and Research Library (ACRL) Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education, which are internationally recognized and widely used by South African academic librarians, as a benchmark to evaluate an intervention for a group of first year students enrolled for a mechanical engineering course. The intervention consists of two workshops which aim to teach the students to find information relevant to their essays via the university&rsquo / s OPAC, various engineering databases and to teach them how to reference and cite their sources in their essays. The research methodology assessed students&rsquo / information literacy before and after the two workshops with the use of a questionnaire consisting of a set of questions based on some of the ACRL standards. The questionnaire also gathered data on students&rsquo / prior experience of libraries, reading and computers, which might impact on their information literacy...</p>

Literature on lifelong learning indicates that major life transitions lead to significant learning. However, compared to learning in paid jobs, learning in and through household work has received little attention, given the unpaid nature and the private sphere where the learning occurs. The current study examined the changes and the learning involved in three aspects of household work: food work, childcare/parenting, and emotion work among recent Chinese immigrants in Canada. This study draws on data from a Canadian Survey on Work and Lifelong Learning (WALL), 20 individual interviews, a focus group, and a discussion group with new Chinese professional immigrants in the Greater Toronto Area. The results indicate that food work and childcare increased dramatically after immigration due to a sudden decline of economic resources and the lack of social support network for childcare. Emotion work intensified due to the challenges in paid jobs and the absence of extended families in the new homeland. To adapt to the changes in their social and economic situations, and to integrate into the Canadian society, Chinese immigrants learned new beliefs and practices about food and childrearing, developed new knowledge and skills in cooking and grocery shopping, in childcare and disciplining, in solving conflicts with children and spouses, and in transnational kin maintenance. In addition, the Chinese immigrants also developed new views about family, paid and unpaid work, meaning of life, and new gender and ethnic identities. However, these dramatic changes did not shatter the gendered division of household work. Both the qualitative and the quantitative data suggest that women not only do more but also different types of household tasks. As a result, it is not surprising that both the content and the ways of learning associated with household work varied by gender, class, and ethnicity. By exploring learning involved in the four dimensions of household work: physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual, this dissertation demonstrates that learning is both lifelong and lifewide. By making household work visible, this research helps make visible the value of the unpaid work and the learning involved in it.

Literature on lifelong learning indicates that major life transitions lead to significant learning. However, compared to learning in paid jobs, learning in and through household work has received little attention, given the unpaid nature and the private sphere where the learning occurs. The current study examined the changes and the learning involved in three aspects of household work: food work, childcare/parenting, and emotion work among recent Chinese immigrants in Canada. This study draws on data from a Canadian Survey on Work and Lifelong Learning (WALL), 20 individual interviews, a focus group, and a discussion group with new Chinese professional immigrants in the Greater Toronto Area. The results indicate that food work and childcare increased dramatically after immigration due to a sudden decline of economic resources and the lack of social support network for childcare. Emotion work intensified due to the challenges in paid jobs and the absence of extended families in the new homeland. To adapt to the changes in their social and economic situations, and to integrate into the Canadian society, Chinese immigrants learned new beliefs and practices about food and childrearing, developed new knowledge and skills in cooking and grocery shopping, in childcare and disciplining, in solving conflicts with children and spouses, and in transnational kin maintenance. In addition, the Chinese immigrants also developed new views about family, paid and unpaid work, meaning of life, and new gender and ethnic identities. However, these dramatic changes did not shatter the gendered division of household work. Both the qualitative and the quantitative data suggest that women not only do more but also different types of household tasks. As a result, it is not surprising that both the content and the ways of learning associated with household work varied by gender, class, and ethnicity. By exploring learning involved in the four dimensions of household work: physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual, this dissertation demonstrates that learning is both lifelong and lifewide. By making household work visible, this research helps make visible the value of the unpaid work and the learning involved in it.

Syftet med denna studie har varit att söka förstå centrala aspekter för yrkesämnets didaktik inom gymnasieskolans industriprogram. Detta genom att lyfta fram exempel på situationer där lärarnas erfarenheter från tidigare arbete inom industrin ger stöd till elevernas kunskapsbildning. Tidigare forskning i form av tre olika studier samt en teoretisk utgångspunkt baserad på fyra begrepp – livslångt lärande, kunskap, mästarlära och kompetens fick utgöra en bas för det fortsatta arbetet med studien.Studien grundar sig på kvalitativa intervjuer med två lärare och fem elever, samt observationer av fyra lektionstillfällen. Det insamlade materialet från intervjuerna transkriberades och därefter analyserades data i perspektiv av studiens frågeställningar.I resultatet för studien återfinns beskrivande delar baserade på intervjuer och observationer samt en sammanfattning inklusive slutsatser. Lärarna ger uttryck för vikten av sin industriella yrkeserfarenhet som grund för sitt nuvarande läraryrke. De ger också en bild av olika didaktiska val, exempelvis för hur de motiverar och skapar intresse hos eleverna. Elevernas upplevelser av olika lärandesituationer visar på hur deras kunskapsbildning kan stödjas av lärarens agerande. Två centrala aspekter träder fram i min tolkning av data – vikten av ett varierat agerande hos läraren samt praktiskt arbete. Avslutningsvis följer en diskussion där studiens metod analyseras och resultatet återkopplas till den teoretiska utgångspunkten. I metoddiskussionen förs ett resonemang om valda metoder för datainsamling samt det faktum att ett fåtal informanter deltagit i studien. Diskussionen av studiens resultat förs i tre avsnitt – lärarnas yrkeserfarenhet relaterad till didaktiska val, kunskap och kompetens hos eleverna, samt livslångt lärande. / The purpose with this study has been to try to understand central aspects of didactics for professional subjects within the upper-secondary school industrial program. This has been done by highlighting examples of situations where the teacher’s experience from earlier work within the industry has been used to support the student’s building of knowledge. Three different examples of earlier research, and a theoretical background based on four conceptions – lifelong learning, knowledge, master learning and competence was used as a basis for the continued work with the study. The study is based on qualitative interviews with two teachers and five students together with observations of four classroom sessions. The collected material from the interviews has been transcribed and after that data has been analysed in the perspective of the main questions of the study.In the result section of the study there are different parts that describes the result of the interviews and the observations. There is also a summary including conclusions. The teachers express the importance of their industrial background as a base for their present profession as teachers. They also give examples of different didactical selections made to motivate the students and help them build an interest for the actual subject. The student’s experiences of different learning situations shows how their building of knowledge can be supported by how the teachers act in the classroom. Two central aspects are shown in my interpretation of data – the importance of a variated action from the teacher and practical work. Finally there is a discussion section where the method of the study is analysed, and the result is reconnected to the theoretical basis for the study. In the discussion of the method the selected methods for data collection, and the fact that the number of informants in the study is rather low, is argued about. In the discussion of the study result three parts are included – the teacher’s industrial experiences related to didactical selections, knowledge and competence among the students, and lifelong learning.

The thesis presents a model, suitable for the design of any type of qualification in integrative eGovernment education. The integrative approach combines education of adult learners and students and promotes international cooperation.

<p>The aim of the research project is to investigate the effectiveness of an information literacy intervention for first year engineering students at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology. Information literacy has been identified as a necessary outcome of tertiary education. It refers to the life-long learning competencies of finding and using information in order to solve problems, to make decisions and to create new knowledge. Information literacy education has evolved from earlier forms of library user education, such as bibliographic instruction, and is central to the mission of academic libraries. However, librarians responsible for information literacy programmes seldom evaluate the effectiveness of their interventions. In today&rsquo / s climate of accountability and outcomes-based education, it is necessary to provide evidence of the benefits of the user education that libraries provide. The researcher uses the American College and Research Library (ACRL) Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education, which are internationally recognized and widely used by South African academic librarians, as a benchmark to evaluate an intervention for a group of first year students enrolled for a mechanical engineering course. The intervention consists of two workshops which aim to teach the students to find information relevant to their essays via the university&rsquo / s OPAC, various engineering databases and to teach them how to reference and cite their sources in their essays. The research methodology assessed students&rsquo / information literacy before and after the two workshops with the use of a questionnaire consisting of a set of questions based on some of the ACRL standards. The questionnaire also gathered data on students&rsquo / prior experience of libraries, reading and computers, which might impact on their information literacy...</p>