John Holford
I'm an adult educator interested in the sociology, history and politics of lifelong and higher education - especially how they contribute to citizenship, communities and social movements. My main current work is on the politics of lifelong learning in the European Union, on adult learning of citizenship, and on the history of adult education. In the past, I’ve written on learning in trade unions, on South East Asia, and on the sociology of labour movements.
Before moving to Nottingham in 2007, I was Professor and founding Head of the Department of Politics at the University of Surrey, where I also chaired the university's Academic Assembly and served on the university Council, Senate, etc. Before joining Surrey I worked in adult education for the University of Hong Kong and the Workers' Educational Association.
I edit the International Journal of Lifelong Education, I'm on the executive of the Universities' Association for Lifelong Learning (UALL), and I’m joint convenor of the European Society for Research in the Education of Adults (ESREA) Network on Policy Studies in Adult Education. I’m also a Governor of West Nottinghamshire College, and an Advisory Board Member of the Centre for Nepal Studies (UK).
Before moving to Nottingham in 2007, I was Professor and founding Head of the Department of Politics at the University of Surrey, where I also chaired the university's Academic Assembly and served on the university Council, Senate, etc. Before joining Surrey I worked in adult education for the University of Hong Kong and the Workers' Educational Association.
I edit the International Journal of Lifelong Education, I'm on the executive of the Universities' Association for Lifelong Learning (UALL), and I’m joint convenor of the European Society for Research in the Education of Adults (ESREA) Network on Policy Studies in Adult Education. I’m also a Governor of West Nottinghamshire College, and an Advisory Board Member of the Centre for Nepal Studies (UK).
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Books by John Holford
This is the first book in a new series from the European Society for Research on the Education of Adults, and draws on work within its Network on Policy Studies in Adult Education.
"
CONTENTS:
Introduction Riddell, Weedon & Holford
The lost honour of the Social Dimension: Bologna, exports and the idea of the university (John Holford): OPEN ACCESS at http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02601370.2013.873210
European higher education, the inclusion of students from under-represented groups and the Bologna Process (Sheila Riddell & Elisabet Weedon)
'Second chance’ routes into higher education: Sweden, Norway and Germany compared (Dominic Orr & Elisabeth Hovdhaugen)
From social rights to the market: neoliberalism and the knowledge economy (John Holmwood) OPEN ACCESS at http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02601370.2013.873213
Social class, ethnicity and access to higher education in the four countries of the UK: 1996–2010 (Linda Croxford & David Raffe)
Higher education in Scotland: differentiation and diversion? The impact of college-university progression links (Jim Gallacher)
"Making educational spaces through boundary work: territorialisation and ‘boundarying’" (Terri Seddon),
"Ducking and diving’ adult educator agency in testing times: insights from England and New Zealand" (Marion Bowl);
"Immigrants as active citizens: exploring the volunteering experience of Chinese immigrants in Vancouver" (Shibao Guo);
"Lifelong education and learning, societal project and competitive advantage: tensions and ambivalences in policy and planning of educational change in Portugal" (Fátima Antunes & Paula Guimarães);
"Filling the gaps: the role and impact of international non-governmental organisations in ‘Education for All’" (Pasqua Marina Tota);
"Global, regional and local influences on adult literacy policy in England" (Mary Hamilton);
"Comparative performance measures, globalising strategies and literacy policy in Scotland" (Lyn Tett);
"The media construction of an adult literacy agenda in Canada" (Judith Walker & Kjell Rubenson)
– Kjell Rubenson, University of British Columbia, Canada
‘Saar, Ure, and Holford have offered the definitive statement on the increasingly crucial area of lifelong learning across a vast range of European nations. The volume is far more than a collection of isolated and independent case studies, but is instead a tightly coherent and thematically unified piece of theoretical and empirical sociological work. Both researchers and policy makers will find much of value in Lifelong Learning in Europe.’
– David B. Bills, University of Iowa, US
Based on a five-year research project across thirteen countries, this comprehensive book analyses how national characteristics frame a central feature of European Union social and economic policies – lifelong learning.
Combining qualitative and quantitative methods in a wide-ranging international comparative study, the book explores how far the EUs lifelong learning agenda has been successful and what factors have limited its ability to reshape national adult and lifelong learning systems. The chapters also look at adults’ participation in formal education, what they see as the obstacles to taking part, and the nature of their demand for learning opportunities.
Using country typologies, the authors challenge assumptions – whether held by policy-makers or researchers – that there is just one economic trajectory for market economies and their lifelong learning systems. This book will therefore be valuable to scholars, researchers and policy-makers who are investigating, or trying to change, education and labour markets."
CONTENTS:
Introduction - Ellu Saar, Odd Bjørn Ure and John Holford
PART I: CONCEPTUAL CONSIDERATIONS
1. Lifelong Learning: National Policies from the European Perspective - John Holford and Agata Mleczko
2. Lifelong Learning Systems: Overview and Extension of Different Typologies - Ellu Saar and Odd Bjørn Ure
3. Seven Types of Formal Adult Education and their Organizational Fields: Towards a Comparative Framework - Günter Hefler and Jörg Markowitsch
PART II: COUNTRY STUDIES
4. Has Lifelong Learning Policy and Practice in Scotland Promoted Social Inclusion? -Elisabet Weedon and Sheila Riddell
5. ‘Renaissance’ Without Enlightenment: New Labour’s ‘Learning Age’ 1997–2010 - John Holford and Thushari Welikala
6. Rising to the Challenge of Realizing Lifelong Learning for One and All: The Role of Community Adult Education in Widening Participation for Traditionally Marginalized Groups in Irish Society and Beyond - Catherine Maunsell and Paul Downes
7. Flemish Formal Adult Education: (G)rowing Against the Stream?
- Ellen Boeren and Ides Nicaise
8. In Search of Building Blocks for Lifelong Learning: Motivation and Institutional Support in Norwegian Education and Training
- Odd Bjørn Ure and Bjørg Eva Aaslid
9. Nobody’s Darling: Dynamics and Inertia of Formal Adult Education in Austria - Jörg Markowitsch, Günter Hefler, Stephanie Rammel and Paul Ringler
10. Implementation of Lifelong Learning in Slovenia: Institutional Factors and Equality of Access of Adults to Formal and Non-formal Education - Angela Ivancic and Marko Radovan
11. Why are the Participation Rates in Lifelong Learning so Low in Hungary? Péter Róbert, Saida Ayupova and Szilvia Altorjai
12. The Lifelong Learning Hybrid: The Case of Bulgaria - Pepka Boyadjieva, Valentina Milenkova, Galin Gornev, Kristina Petkova and Diana Nenkova
13. Formal Adult Education in the Context of the Transforming Labour Market in Russia - Anisya Khokhlova, Vladimir Kozlovskiy and Maria Veits
14. Adult Education in Lithuania: Towards Increasing Employability and Social Cohesion, or Neither? - Meilute Taljunaite, Leta Dromantiene, Irena Žemaitaityte and Liutauras Labanauskas
15. Developing Human Capital in Post-Socialist Capitalist: Estonian Experience - Ellu Saar, Triin Roosalu, Eve-Liis Roosmaa, Auni Tamm and Rein Vöörmann
Conclusion: Lifelong Learning as a Social Field and Entrance Point to Policy-making for Education and Training - Ellu Saar, John Holford and Odd Bjørn Ure
Preface 5/ Ch.1 Introduction 9/ Ch. 2 Aims & Methods 17/ Ch. 3 Key Concepts 19/ Ch. 4 Population, Labour Market Trends & Patterns of Participation 27/ Ch. 5 The European Union & Lifelong Learning 45/ Ch. 6 Use of Lifelong Learning Concepts in National Policies 65/ Ch. 7 Lifelong Learning in National Policies 77/ Ch. 8 Public Sector Educational Policies & Initiatives 85/ Ch. 9 Lifelong Learning & Policy Co-ordination 91/ Ch. 10 Barriers to Implementation of Lifelong Learning 99/ Ch. 11 Lifelong Learning in National Policy: A Residual Role? 107/ Ch. 12 Towards a Typology of Approaches to Lifelong Learning in Europe 113/ Ch. 13 Summary & Conclusions 127/ References 137/ Appendices 141
- A directory of the main learning opportunities now available in Hong Kong, with 1,500 courses listed.
- Contact names and addresses for the provider of courses
- Practical guidance on questions such as how to choose the right course, how to judge the quality of a course, how to enrol, and many other points
- Useful information on overseas courses and access courses
- Advice on effective study techniques and on using study resources
- Tips from other successful adult students
Papers by John Holford
This is the first book in a new series from the European Society for Research on the Education of Adults, and draws on work within its Network on Policy Studies in Adult Education.
"
CONTENTS:
Introduction Riddell, Weedon & Holford
The lost honour of the Social Dimension: Bologna, exports and the idea of the university (John Holford): OPEN ACCESS at http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02601370.2013.873210
European higher education, the inclusion of students from under-represented groups and the Bologna Process (Sheila Riddell & Elisabet Weedon)
'Second chance’ routes into higher education: Sweden, Norway and Germany compared (Dominic Orr & Elisabeth Hovdhaugen)
From social rights to the market: neoliberalism and the knowledge economy (John Holmwood) OPEN ACCESS at http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02601370.2013.873213
Social class, ethnicity and access to higher education in the four countries of the UK: 1996–2010 (Linda Croxford & David Raffe)
Higher education in Scotland: differentiation and diversion? The impact of college-university progression links (Jim Gallacher)
"Making educational spaces through boundary work: territorialisation and ‘boundarying’" (Terri Seddon),
"Ducking and diving’ adult educator agency in testing times: insights from England and New Zealand" (Marion Bowl);
"Immigrants as active citizens: exploring the volunteering experience of Chinese immigrants in Vancouver" (Shibao Guo);
"Lifelong education and learning, societal project and competitive advantage: tensions and ambivalences in policy and planning of educational change in Portugal" (Fátima Antunes & Paula Guimarães);
"Filling the gaps: the role and impact of international non-governmental organisations in ‘Education for All’" (Pasqua Marina Tota);
"Global, regional and local influences on adult literacy policy in England" (Mary Hamilton);
"Comparative performance measures, globalising strategies and literacy policy in Scotland" (Lyn Tett);
"The media construction of an adult literacy agenda in Canada" (Judith Walker & Kjell Rubenson)
– Kjell Rubenson, University of British Columbia, Canada
‘Saar, Ure, and Holford have offered the definitive statement on the increasingly crucial area of lifelong learning across a vast range of European nations. The volume is far more than a collection of isolated and independent case studies, but is instead a tightly coherent and thematically unified piece of theoretical and empirical sociological work. Both researchers and policy makers will find much of value in Lifelong Learning in Europe.’
– David B. Bills, University of Iowa, US
Based on a five-year research project across thirteen countries, this comprehensive book analyses how national characteristics frame a central feature of European Union social and economic policies – lifelong learning.
Combining qualitative and quantitative methods in a wide-ranging international comparative study, the book explores how far the EUs lifelong learning agenda has been successful and what factors have limited its ability to reshape national adult and lifelong learning systems. The chapters also look at adults’ participation in formal education, what they see as the obstacles to taking part, and the nature of their demand for learning opportunities.
Using country typologies, the authors challenge assumptions – whether held by policy-makers or researchers – that there is just one economic trajectory for market economies and their lifelong learning systems. This book will therefore be valuable to scholars, researchers and policy-makers who are investigating, or trying to change, education and labour markets."
CONTENTS:
Introduction - Ellu Saar, Odd Bjørn Ure and John Holford
PART I: CONCEPTUAL CONSIDERATIONS
1. Lifelong Learning: National Policies from the European Perspective - John Holford and Agata Mleczko
2. Lifelong Learning Systems: Overview and Extension of Different Typologies - Ellu Saar and Odd Bjørn Ure
3. Seven Types of Formal Adult Education and their Organizational Fields: Towards a Comparative Framework - Günter Hefler and Jörg Markowitsch
PART II: COUNTRY STUDIES
4. Has Lifelong Learning Policy and Practice in Scotland Promoted Social Inclusion? -Elisabet Weedon and Sheila Riddell
5. ‘Renaissance’ Without Enlightenment: New Labour’s ‘Learning Age’ 1997–2010 - John Holford and Thushari Welikala
6. Rising to the Challenge of Realizing Lifelong Learning for One and All: The Role of Community Adult Education in Widening Participation for Traditionally Marginalized Groups in Irish Society and Beyond - Catherine Maunsell and Paul Downes
7. Flemish Formal Adult Education: (G)rowing Against the Stream?
- Ellen Boeren and Ides Nicaise
8. In Search of Building Blocks for Lifelong Learning: Motivation and Institutional Support in Norwegian Education and Training
- Odd Bjørn Ure and Bjørg Eva Aaslid
9. Nobody’s Darling: Dynamics and Inertia of Formal Adult Education in Austria - Jörg Markowitsch, Günter Hefler, Stephanie Rammel and Paul Ringler
10. Implementation of Lifelong Learning in Slovenia: Institutional Factors and Equality of Access of Adults to Formal and Non-formal Education - Angela Ivancic and Marko Radovan
11. Why are the Participation Rates in Lifelong Learning so Low in Hungary? Péter Róbert, Saida Ayupova and Szilvia Altorjai
12. The Lifelong Learning Hybrid: The Case of Bulgaria - Pepka Boyadjieva, Valentina Milenkova, Galin Gornev, Kristina Petkova and Diana Nenkova
13. Formal Adult Education in the Context of the Transforming Labour Market in Russia - Anisya Khokhlova, Vladimir Kozlovskiy and Maria Veits
14. Adult Education in Lithuania: Towards Increasing Employability and Social Cohesion, or Neither? - Meilute Taljunaite, Leta Dromantiene, Irena Žemaitaityte and Liutauras Labanauskas
15. Developing Human Capital in Post-Socialist Capitalist: Estonian Experience - Ellu Saar, Triin Roosalu, Eve-Liis Roosmaa, Auni Tamm and Rein Vöörmann
Conclusion: Lifelong Learning as a Social Field and Entrance Point to Policy-making for Education and Training - Ellu Saar, John Holford and Odd Bjørn Ure
Preface 5/ Ch.1 Introduction 9/ Ch. 2 Aims & Methods 17/ Ch. 3 Key Concepts 19/ Ch. 4 Population, Labour Market Trends & Patterns of Participation 27/ Ch. 5 The European Union & Lifelong Learning 45/ Ch. 6 Use of Lifelong Learning Concepts in National Policies 65/ Ch. 7 Lifelong Learning in National Policies 77/ Ch. 8 Public Sector Educational Policies & Initiatives 85/ Ch. 9 Lifelong Learning & Policy Co-ordination 91/ Ch. 10 Barriers to Implementation of Lifelong Learning 99/ Ch. 11 Lifelong Learning in National Policy: A Residual Role? 107/ Ch. 12 Towards a Typology of Approaches to Lifelong Learning in Europe 113/ Ch. 13 Summary & Conclusions 127/ References 137/ Appendices 141
- A directory of the main learning opportunities now available in Hong Kong, with 1,500 courses listed.
- Contact names and addresses for the provider of courses
- Practical guidance on questions such as how to choose the right course, how to judge the quality of a course, how to enrol, and many other points
- Useful information on overseas courses and access courses
- Advice on effective study techniques and on using study resources
- Tips from other successful adult students
and practice at governmental and institutional levels, in public and private policy. However, at times when social and economic crises have revealed the fragility of existing institutions and policies, it is important to consider how sustainability is –and could be – integrated into educational policies. In this theoretical contribution to a special issue on ‘‘Societal sustainability’’, the authors draw on available literature and knowledge. They begin their paper by summarising the conditions under which the concept of ‘‘sustainability’’ entered political discourse in the early 1970s and outline how it has influenced educational research. They then introduce the longstanding debate about the relative role of tradition (in terms of traditional cultural and social order) and change (in terms of efforts to provide learning opportunities for everyone) in adult education. Finally, they argue for a rethinking of the ontology of sustainability: this, they suggest, can shed new light on its relationships with adult education and learning and social justice.