PIMA Bulletin 23

The PIMA Bulletin Number 23 for March 2019 can now be read in full below.

This issue of the Bulletin continues discussion started in Suwon, Korea of the idea and meaning of life-deep learning. At this time hype and fake news cause ever more widespread concern, corrupting words and draining them of meaning. Lifelong learning (LLL) is one such term; used loosely and vaguely it is sprayed surface-deep on many policies like a smell-good perfume.

Gumpanat’s simple question echoes the spirit of earlier views, showing also that learning is seen in this network to be as much about community and institutional learning as about that of individuals.

The Bulletin Editor has a chronic dilemma: to adhere closely to the world of learning, education and training where many network members belong, but risk thinking too much within a semi-closed, self-preoccupied system; or to focus on big critical issues of our time that threaten security, happiness, prosperity and even survival – issues manifest globally but best addressed very locally – where learning is involved

One of these critical issues is difficulty or failure of governance to be owned by and addressing ‘ordinary people’; guided and controlled by canny citizens imbued by values and confidence as well as knowledge to keep politicians and other leaders honest, capable and answerable. The bigger our nations, cities and institutions the harder it is to govern, regulate and monitor with respect to diversity of context and people. We see some rebalancing from nationally imposed curriculum and systems to local community learning centres and, in a recent UIL-led exercise, to quite informal study circles.

New technologies, whether social, for play, or intendedly for education and training, are at best enablers and at the worst dangerous threats. How well is new fast moving IT enriching LLL – including the formal education ‘sector’: with wide-vision and long sight or with magic-bullet naivety? What part does the formal sector, especially in its higher reaches, the universities, play? - long and lateral vision, quick fix, a means of civic passivity and social reproduction?  If we see imbalance or worse, how do we go about putting it right? These are questions that are open for members to explore.

This issue continues examining both lifelong learning and democracy; and offers the usual menu including the learning and roles of older adults, and progress in implementing the sustainable development goals (SDGs) with their 2030 timeframe. SDG 4 is the main focus of educators. Like lifelong learning it is only truly viable so long as it promotes, permeates and enables the other sixteen Goals outside the education sector.

On this occasion, in addition we also look at the longevity and achievements over time of different adult learning and education (ALE)-focused civil society NGOs, global and more local. We note how by means of public pronouncements in documents they seek to influence governments to support lifelong learning as part of ecologically sound social, cultural and economic development, especially, but by the term lifelong not only, of adults. We do well to keep asking how to make our voice heard in a time of ever more strident populism and permeative social media. An immediate example: in personal correspondence PIMA Vice-President Shirley Walters tells me that it sounds like with the meeting coming up in New York in July, it will be useful to get as many people making a noise about the impoverished understanding of LLL that appears to be dominant in SDG processes. How good at noise-making are we?

All the articles above are featured in full in the Bulletin below...