Vision of a 'learning society'

Imagine, if you will, a society made up of people who are in the habit of taking courses, updating their knowledge and learning new skills well into old age - a society of "lifelong learners".

It would mean a society whose members are able to make full use of new technologies; who can adapt quickly to progress in their work and switch jobs easily if need be; who are well-informed on local and global developments and thus able to participate fully in democratic processes; who are comfortable with cultural change; and whose ability to learn new things immeasurably enriches their social and personal lives.

What's more, with such a flexible and enterprising workforce, the country would have no problem attracting investment and being competitive, especially in the "knowledge society" that is rapidly evolving.

Although there may be a Utopian flavour to this vision, it is the picture that springs to mind after an interview with Prof. Kenneth Wain, who has written a book on the philosophy of lifelong learning and is currently engrossed in finalising a draft national strategy on the subject together with a government-appointed committee which he heads.

Prof. Wain is a passionate believer in the personal, social and economic value of lifelong learning, but his feet are planted firmly on the ground. The committee, he concedes, is doing something "pretty ambitious", for its brief is to plan how to promote the creation of a "learning society" that encompasses all stages of life, from pre-school to old age, cradle to grave.

He defines a learning society as one that is motivated and whose resources are addressed towards lifelong and 'lifewide' learning - learning that not only takes place throughout one's lifetime but in both formal and informal settings such as the home, workplace, social club and so on.

Prof. Wain was reluctant to reveal concrete details of the draft strategy, which although nearing completion has yet to be presented to Education Minister Louis Galea, who commissioned it. After this is done, probably next month, it will be published as a public consultation document and the final version drawn up next year.

Prof. Wain did, however, give some hints of the broadness of the vision to be proposed:

"By implication, a learning society is one in which everybody is both a learner and teacher, so that whether it's in the family or at work, for example, people can learn from each other. Everybody finds himself in situations where they need to teach. The idea of teachers being exclusively professionals is not on any more.

"This process is something that should start in school. We need to produce students who not only go on to become lifelong learners, but who are also able to impart knowledge. Schools need to produce self-directed learners who can also teach."

He admits that although the new national minimum curriculum is replete with references to lifelong learning, the schools are still far from putting the concept into practice, and the idea of teaching them how to teach is not even on the horizon.

Schools and other formal learning institutions will be incorporated in the national strategy, and Prof. Wain hopes this will spark off a debate on redefining their role in the context of the learning society.

Another idea that might seem ahead of its time is to help people create their own "personal learning plan", so that they would be able to take responsibility for their continuing education and, by implication, their own lives. One benefit of this, Prof. Wain pointed out, would be far fewer people being dependant on the welfare state.

As a first step, the draft strategy will propose the setting up of a national resource centre for lifelong learning that would provide information and advice on the adult education opportunities available in Malta and Gozo.

It seems there are plenty of them. One of the committee's tasks was to carry out a survey of all course providers in order to compile a comprehensive adult education directory, which is now in draft form. So far, 1,077 courses have been listed, provided by 137 agencies from state, private, Church and voluntary sectors.

"There is a broad spectrum of courses on offer," said Prof. Wain. "They range from the cultural and environmental, to the industrial and managerial, to the social and personal.

"From the number of courses provided, we can also see that the demand for IT education is high and ever growing."

However, although the quantity may be there, this does not assure high quality, the right emphasis, or easy accessibility, Prof. Wain said. Standards may need to be looked at, some areas may need to be boosted, and people with low levels of education must be assured of new educational opportunities. These issues will be addressed in the national strategy.

"We need to look at the whole of society, whether from a social justice point of view or from the perspective of human resources: if we are moving towards a knowledge-based society and economy, we cannot afford to leave a large sector of the population out. We need to develop our human potential as far as possible."

Another sector of the population that needed to be included, he added, was the elderly. "We are living in an aging society. Elderly people can either be a liability or become a resource if they manage to stay socially, physically and mentally active. We have not yet realised the social and economic value of something like a University of the Third Age."

And if people retire later - because they want to translate their competencies into productive work - then the welfare gap may not loom so large any more.

Asked how he envisaged putting across the idea that people ought to start looking at themselves as learners for life, when figures from Europe (see accompanying story) show low interest in learning in many countries, Prof. Wain said the committee would probably be recommending an awareness campaign.

"The only way is through the media. It will be very important to bring the media on board."

May this be a small contribution.