In post-traditional societies, identity has been pervasively understood as a ‘thing’ one needs to and can endeavour to achieve or create. Many studies about identity in the humanities and social sciences have increasingly been approached in both reified and impersonal ways. These trends in understanding identity have made a significant impact on research into education and identity. This thesis aims to demonstrate the complexity of personal identity on a theoretical level and endeavours to rethink the theoretical understanding of personal identity in relation to the notion of learning. Based on Paul Ricoeur and Charles Taylor’s theories of personal identity, this thesis argues that personal identity needs to be understood both as sameness and as selfhood at a conceptual level. Ontologically, the former belongs to the category of ‘thing’, ‘substance’ in terms of permanence in time. The latter belongs the category of ‘being’ in terms of permanence in time. This thesis will argue that this conceptual understanding of personal identity suggests that identity is largely ‘shaped’ by social, cultural, traditional, moral and ethical dimensions in the human world over time, rather than merely being a result of personal endeavour as an individual creation or/and an adaptation to constant social changes. The moral and ethical dimensions of personal identity also suggest that the need for and ‘meaning’ of personal identity to a person in his/her life cannot be simply approached in an objective manner through impersonal terms. Rather, personal identity constitutively depends on self-interpretation, which highlights the role of narrative in understanding personal identity. This thesis further argues that a new understanding about reflexive learning relevant to personal identity can be drawn from this theoretical understanding of personal identity and narrative. This new understanding is based on a person’s reflexivity not only in the dialectical frameworks between sameness, self and others, but also in different moral frameworks. What this presents us with is a different view of lifelong learning as an alternative to lifelong learning implied in the notion of a ‘reflexive project of the self’.

This diploma thesis deals with the functioning of the labor market in the Czech Republic its status, development and related concept of lifelong learning and effective use of human capital. The introductory chapters focus on the theoretical definitions of the terms dealing with the concept of lifelong learning and offer a summary of current labor market situation including some statistics. The following part is specifically devoted to defining the National system of occupations and National system of qualifications. These systems are currently being put into practice to increase the effect of the labor market functions and to fulfill the vision of efficient use of human capital. With these systems is also connected to the European system of qualifications which is described in the following chapter. The final sections deal with the functioning of already established processes including the stage of completion. In these chapters I evaluated the effect of the real market and assessed the development of their implementation. Here I took into an account the role of educational and employment agencies and their impact on the successful fulfillment of the meaning of the whole project. This chapter is an analysis of subsequent developments and the effect on the entire market. It also includes a model of the Czech labor market, assuming successful incorporation of both systems and their functions in society.

Thesis advisor: Karen C. Arnold / There is a growing trend of colleges and universities to affiliate with retirement communities, often to enhance revenue sources. Little is known of the effect of this emerging phenomenon on the aging processes of elders living and learning on a college campus. This phenomenological study used focus group methodology to collect in depth interview data from a group of 31 elderly residents of a college-affiliated retirement community. Residents in this setting are required to complete 450 hours of continuing education per year. This continuing education requirement can be met through either age-segregated classes with other residents; or, intergenerational courses at the college with traditional aged students. The specific aims of this study included understanding the potential effects of the retirement community and campus settings on elders' ability to age successfully; and the impact of intergenerational engagement on the aging process. Findings from this study confirm that there are many opportunities which promote successful aging of elders in a higher education affiliated retirement community. Participants reported that successful aging is enhanced by the safety of the setting and access to: physical care; continuing education; dining facilities; socialization; intergenerational engagement; and the general disposition of intellectualism in the setting. In addition, the educational requirement results in self-selection of residents with interest in intellectual matters and continued learning that is then accentuated within the community culture. Conclusions include that more institutions of higher education should consider similar models, with careful attention to issues of enhancing both funding sources and opportunities for diversity within the program. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2009. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Educational Administration and Higher Education.

Partnerships between Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) and Further Education Colleges (FECs) were a specific recommendation of the 1997 Dearing Review and a major component of New Labour's 'Third Way'. Between 1997 - 2010 one of the key policy drivers was to widen participation in higher education with a target of 50% participation of 18 - 30 year olds by 2010. Funded partnerships were seen as the mechanism to achieve this target. Arguably partnerships between higher education (HE) and further education (FE) were not new. Many of the so-called 'post-92' universities which had previously been polytechnics had achieved growth through partnerships with FECs and considered themselves, perhaps, to be leading the way in widening participation. Among a plethora of policy initiatives, the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) embarked on its own innovative partnership scheme, Lifelong Learning Networks. Drawing heavily from examples in North America, these were conceived as a way of achieving planned progression into higher education for students with vocational qualifications at level three. The response from the higher education sector to the initiative was equivocal at best and the results uneven. This study draws from Bourdieu's early anthropological studies and combines aspects of these with his study of the fields of the arts and higher education to propose a new reading of the policy response and practice of widening participation in higher education through partnerships.

Continuing education (CE) in nursing is a critical element in assuring quality health care for the public. Rapid changes in technology and increasing emphasis on utilizing current research findings in practice increases the importance of participation in CE. Many nurses, however, do not attend CE sessions. As provincial professional associations are looking at ways to ensure competency in practice, the issue of who participates in CE and who does not is becoming more relevant to employers and educators. p*A review of the literature found that while many studies looked at factors that increase participation in CE, few examined deterrents or barriers to CE participation in nursing. Few studies were found comparing CE participants with nonparticipants. <p>This comparative descriptive study examined the similarities and differences between participants and nonparticipants of CE. Questionnaires, including the 40-item Deterrents to Participation Scale as well as some demographic and recent CE participation information, were distributed to a sample of acute care nurses in three different-sized hospitals in Saskatchewan. To maximize response rates, Dillmans Total Design Method for surveys was used where possible. <p>Means of the interval data was compared between the participants and nonparticipants. Cross tabulations were used to explore relationships among non-interval data. <p>This study provided valuable insights into participation and nonparticipation in CE, and will thereby help employers and educators develop a deeper understanding of possible strategies that could increase participation in CE.

A long-term care resident sits in front of a TV. With the push of a remote control button she instantly sees and visits with her children and grandchildren over 500 miles away. She last saw them on her 80th birthday, four years ago. She and her family are participants in a social action inquiry that explores video conferencing in order to understand the value of technology enhanced face-to-face interaction in a long-term care home. <p>This research, designed as a compassionate response to the serious problems of isolation, loneliness, helplessness, and boredom in long-term care, set out to determine what video conferencing can mean to long-term care residents and to the people they connect with. The study queried possibilities for improving the quality of social interactions of residents in long-term care facilities with family members living at some considerable distance from them. It involved setup of technical equipment, then three residents in a long-term care facility in western Canada were introduced to the practice of video conferencing with their families. Each conferencing event was supported with volunteers for a three-four month exploration period. <p>The research was intended to contribute to knowledge about learning in later life, to promote a way of increasing communication between the elderly and younger generations, and to address issues associated with elderly long-term care residents access to video conferencing technology. <p>Data collected through memory logs, observations, and interviews indicates that all study participants, including residents, family, and volunteers, responded favourably to the video conferencing experience. This study supports the claims that video conferencing can increase the frequency of contact between long-term residents and family members, and that the quality of this contact is enhanced through the visual presence and engagement of participants, through use of video conferencing technology. The video conferencing enabled family members separated by distance and unable to visit frequently to take on a "regular visitor role" and for residents to go visiting. The visually enhanced communication / visits transformed the otherwise limited audio interaction of phone calls or no interaction into socially substantive experiences of connectedness, inclusion about which residents reported feeling excited and connected with something to look forward to. <p>This suggests video conferencing could contribute to a good quality of life for residents. Future communications infrastructures should seriously consider inclusion strategies and availability of effective applications to long-term care residents.

ABSTRACT FOREIGN LANGUAGE FOR CONTENT: AIMING TO DEVELOP LIFELONG LEARNING DISPOSITIONS by Svetoslava Dimova In the context of emphasis on English language, mathematics and science within the American educational system (No Child Left Behind, 2001), foreign language education appears to be increasingly dissociated from educational priorities. Ways to create relevant goals and optimize the effects of foreign language teaching emerge through the use of communication technologies and connections to academic content. This qualitative study explores the relationship between high school students’ skills in French as a foreign language (L2), their cognitive strategies during reading in L2 for academic content, and their motivation to read authentic French texts. The following questions guided the study: 1) How do students internalize the task of self-selected online reading in L2 for content understanding pertaining to their History of the Americas course? 2) What processes and skills do students evidence and draw upon to locate and read for information in L2?, and 3) What are the implications for building a theory of student motivations for extensive reading in L2 beyond the classroom context? The study was realized in the setting of an International Baccalaureate (IB) program, where 4 key informants were selected, and analysis was presented in the form of 4 case studies. Informants’ French language proficiency ranged from intermediate-mid to advanced levels (ACTFL Guidelines, 1999). Data collection occurred during 8 weeks and included three rounds of formal, phenomenological interviews, classroom observations, and students’ learning journals. Data were analyzed through the lens of Activity theory (Engeström, 1999) and motivation theory (Keller, 2008) in order to determine emerging themes. While both L2 skills and interest in historical content influenced the task completion, and informants used multiple strategies to search and read, internalization and motivation aspects related to acquiring content superseded those related to increasing language skills. Informants’ differences in attitudes toward the curriculum integrative task were additionally caused by their ideas of content appropriateness in a L2 course. Development of cultural awareness and critical thinking was also primarily shaped by interest in content. Findings from the analysis suggested further directions for L2 classroom instruction that could lead to developing students’ lifelong learning dispositions.

Continuing education (CE) in nursing is a critical element in assuring quality health care for the public. Rapid changes in technology and increasing emphasis on utilizing current research findings in practice increases the importance of participation in CE. Many nurses, however, do not attend CE sessions. As provincial professional associations are looking at ways to ensure competency in practice, the issue of who participates in CE and who does not is becoming more relevant to employers and educators. p*A review of the literature found that while many studies looked at factors that increase participation in CE, few examined deterrents or barriers to CE participation in nursing. Few studies were found comparing CE participants with nonparticipants. <p>This comparative descriptive study examined the similarities and differences between participants and nonparticipants of CE. Questionnaires, including the 40-item Deterrents to Participation Scale as well as some demographic and recent CE participation information, were distributed to a sample of acute care nurses in three different-sized hospitals in Saskatchewan. To maximize response rates, Dillmans Total Design Method for surveys was used where possible. <p>Means of the interval data was compared between the participants and nonparticipants. Cross tabulations were used to explore relationships among non-interval data. <p>This study provided valuable insights into participation and nonparticipation in CE, and will thereby help employers and educators develop a deeper understanding of possible strategies that could increase participation in CE.

A long-term care resident sits in front of a TV. With the push of a remote control button she instantly sees and visits with her children and grandchildren over 500 miles away. She last saw them on her 80th birthday, four years ago. She and her family are participants in a social action inquiry that explores video conferencing in order to understand the value of technology enhanced face-to-face interaction in a long-term care home. <p>This research, designed as a compassionate response to the serious problems of isolation, loneliness, helplessness, and boredom in long-term care, set out to determine what video conferencing can mean to long-term care residents and to the people they connect with. The study queried possibilities for improving the quality of social interactions of residents in long-term care facilities with family members living at some considerable distance from them. It involved setup of technical equipment, then three residents in a long-term care facility in western Canada were introduced to the practice of video conferencing with their families. Each conferencing event was supported with volunteers for a three-four month exploration period. <p>The research was intended to contribute to knowledge about learning in later life, to promote a way of increasing communication between the elderly and younger generations, and to address issues associated with elderly long-term care residents access to video conferencing technology. <p>Data collected through memory logs, observations, and interviews indicates that all study participants, including residents, family, and volunteers, responded favourably to the video conferencing experience. This study supports the claims that video conferencing can increase the frequency of contact between long-term residents and family members, and that the quality of this contact is enhanced through the visual presence and engagement of participants, through use of video conferencing technology. The video conferencing enabled family members separated by distance and unable to visit frequently to take on a "regular visitor role" and for residents to go visiting. The visually enhanced communication / visits transformed the otherwise limited audio interaction of phone calls or no interaction into socially substantive experiences of connectedness, inclusion about which residents reported feeling excited and connected with something to look forward to. <p>This suggests video conferencing could contribute to a good quality of life for residents. Future communications infrastructures should seriously consider inclusion strategies and availability of effective applications to long-term care residents.

Abstract By way of interpreting relevant references, depth interviews, and consulting Public Affairs Management (PAM) (Wang, 2006), there are several opinions as follows: 1. From the macroscopic historic viewpoints, in order to examine the cross-strait communication, cooperation between two straits is not only the basic condition of Taiwan¡¦s development, but also the sequence of Chinese historical development. 2. Within globalization and regional economies conformity, connecting Taiwan with the mainland China is the most convenient way to the world. 3. Permanent civil servants have to get rid of the constraints of personal ideologies in order to realize the current mainland China¡¦s development with open-minded attitudes. Through visiting or traveling mainland China, they can directly experience the uprising big country. 4. The southern local organizations are always influenced by the party politics. Because political civil servants lack precise cross-strait policies, they might influence permanent civil servants¡¦ decisions and positions. 5. Regardless of Internet digital learning or annual institutional training courses in every organization, it is very deficient for our government to comprehend the related information for cross-strait¡¦s transmission and cultivation. Thus, it is faking to portray cross-strait situations in our learning institutions. In other words, we are short of various investigations. Besides, we also lack enticements of rewards and punishments for cross-strait¡¦s relationships. 6. We have to reinforce the combination of theories and practicalities in education. Besides, cross-strait knowledge training courses should match the development of cross-strait policies. The central government should declare the training policies in cross-strait education. And local organizations should follow the rules by implementing the administrative management. Based on questionnaires collecting and data analyses, the major findings of the study are as follows: 1. Permanent civil servants are concerned with relevant affairs of cross-strait communication, but they lack practical experiences of visiting or traveling mainland China. 2. ¡§Trainings by their own organizations¡¨ and ¡§Internet digital learning¡¨ are the major tools for permanent civil servants¡¦ lifelong learning. 3. The educational training institutions of Internet digital learning apparently lack courses about ¡§cross-strait communication.¡¨ 4. Through the educational trainings of lifelong learning, it is still can¡¦t get the amount of related information about mainland China. 5. Recruiting cross-strait professionals through testing is still slow. And it can not catch up with the actual development of cross-strait communication. 6. The percentage for permanent civil servants to browse news via mainland China¡¦s websites (including official and popular websites) is relatively low. 7. Permanent civil servants have inadequate information about the relevant policies of ¡§developing closer relationship of region cooperation between southern Taiwan and the related districts in mainland China.¡¨ 8. The southern local organizations are influenced by the party politics. Because political civil servants lack precise cross-strait policies, they might influence permanent civil servants¡¦ decisions and positions. According to the results of the study, there are several suggestions as follows. 1. The Central Training Organization of Central Personnel Administration, Executive Yuan, should provide precise guidance of cross-strait educational training policies for local organizations in order to reinforce the cross-strait training courses of their own organizations. 2. Central Personnel Administration, Executive Yuan, should fulfill the precise reward measurements of the lifelong learning and emphasize the practical effects of lifelong learning. 3. Civil Service Protection and Training Commission, Examination Yuan, should strengthen the cross-strait training courses for new, intermediate, and advanced civil servants in order to promote the high qualities of public man force. 4. Mainland Affairs Council, Executive Yuan, should offer Internet digital learning courses of cross-strait information to other digital learning websites and organizations, and build its own digital homepage. 5. It is not efficient to satisfy the related departments¡¦ needs for public servants in dealing with cross-strait relationships by the admission members of the national examinations. National Academy of Civil Service should set up cross-strait specialized courses in order to strengthen permanent civil servants¡¦ knowledge and education and solve the problem for the shortage of specialists in cross-strait relationships. 6. NACS e-college which belongs to National Academy of Civil Service should completely plan and design cross-strait courses, actively collect practical cases on cross-strait communication, supply teaching materials on Internet digital learning, and continue to review and reform the way of training and lectures. Besides, it also should offer research classes for civil servants to study cross-strait practical cases and have advanced seminars for administrative leaders, including chiefs and directors in all counties and cities to fully reinforce cross-strait knowledge and comprehension for all public servants in every level. 7. National Academy of Civil Service, right now, launches the ¡§One Book in a Month¡¨ activity. This activity should supply important books and films for people to understand mainland China, broaden the horizon of learning mainland China, and spread cross-strait knowledge toward mainland China. 8. National Academy of Civil Service and mainland China¡¦s training departments should cooperate with one another to train public servants in both sides in order to promote cross-strait substantial communications. 9. Local organizations should, step by step, offer various opportunities for both organizations to train their civil servants. It should start from some uncontroversial departments, such as fire bureaus and public welfare departments. Then, gradually, it can broaden the depth and range of cross-strait communication. 10. The Internet digital lifelong learning courses, designed by related organizations, not only bear the responsibility of training and broadcasting cross-strait communication, but also offer the detail information in current situations. It will be helpful for both sides¡¦ professional specialties. 11. Internet websites outside the public affairs¡¦ system should gradually loosen the restrictions of mainland China¡¦s websites. Thus, permanent civil servants can understand and be familiar with mainland China¡¦s organizations in order for their own improvements. 12. Local organizations should gradually share the experiences of dealing with administrative affairs in both sides by way of interviewing and traveling with one another for the purpose of learning and improvement. 13. Mainland China¡¦s regions would be the alternative choice for public servants to go abroad and study because they can know more about mainland China. 14. Actions speak louder than words. Permanent civil servants should be encouraged to visit or travel mainland China. Thus, they can realize the real situations of mainland China, and decrease misunderstandings because of different customs.