Dear Ms. Olmoguez!

You spotted a major point that is absolutely essential in these days of COVID-19

1) Editorial (2020). "Online learning cannot just be for those who can afford its technology-The dramatic shift to online learning as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic risks widening educational inequalities. Nature 585, 482 (2020), 23 September 2020, doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-020-02709-3 Open Access:

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-02709-3

2) A case-study: Peter Ainsworth, Tom McKenzie (2020). On the benefits of risk‐sharing for post‐COVID higher education in the United Kingdom, Economic Affairs, Volume 40, Issue 3, 4 November 2020, Citation: "Combining the competitive imperatives of a risk‐sharing system with the accessibility and lower costs of a hybrid (part remote, part in‐person) delivery method has the potential to generate better employability outcomes for a wider share of the population while saving the government money. " Open Access:

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ecaf.12433

3) Lisa M Sullivan et al. (2020). Graduate public health education in the post-COVID-19 era, THE LANCET Public Health Volume 5 Issue 9, Open Access:

https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanpub/article/PIIS2468-2667(20)30181-X/fulltext#%20

4) Sarah J Prior et al. (2020). Delivering a work-integrated learning postgraduate course during COVID-19: Experiences, challenges and strategies, Journal of Medical Education and Curricular Development Volume 7: 1–5 , Open Access:

Article Delivering a work-integrated learning postgraduate course du...

5) International Literacy Day 2020 (2020). let's work together to help to break the cycle. 8 September 2020, © 2020 Emerald Publishing Limited, Open Access:

https://www.emeraldgrouppublishing.com/topics/education-and-learning/highlights/break-cycle-quality-education

Yours sincerely, Bulcsu Szekely

Dear Ms. Olmoguez!

You spotted a major point that is absolutely essential in these days of COVID-19

1) Editorial (2020). "Online learning cannot just be for those who can afford its technology-The dramatic shift to online learning as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic risks widening educational inequalities. Nature 585, 482 (2020), 23 September 2020, doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-020-02709-3 Open Access:

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-02709-3

2) A case-study: Peter Ainsworth, Tom McKenzie (2020). On the benefits of risk‐sharing for post‐COVID higher education in the United Kingdom, Economic Affairs, Volume 40, Issue 3, 4 November 2020, Citation: "Combining the competitive imperatives of a risk‐sharing system with the accessibility and lower costs of a hybrid (part remote, part in‐person) delivery method has the potential to generate better employability outcomes for a wider share of the population while saving the government money. " Open Access:

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ecaf.12433

3) Lisa M Sullivan et al. (2020). Graduate public health education in the post-COVID-19 era, THE LANCET Public Health Volume 5 Issue 9, Open Access:

https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanpub/article/PIIS2468-2667(20)30181-X/fulltext#%20

4) Sarah J Prior et al. (2020). Delivering a work-integrated learning postgraduate course during COVID-19: Experiences, challenges and strategies, Journal of Medical Education and Curricular Development Volume 7: 1–5 , Open Access:

Article Delivering a work-integrated learning postgraduate course du...

5) International Literacy Day 2020 (2020). let's work together to help to break the cycle. 8 September 2020, © 2020 Emerald Publishing Limited, Open Access:

https://www.emeraldgrouppublishing.com/topics/education-and-learning/highlights/break-cycle-quality-education

Yours sincerely, Bulcsu Szekely

Theory of relativity (Albert Einstein).

Good question! Very important subject, but I know not much of established special theories in the meaning of the word when I reflect over it. Some interesting stuff can be found in theories concerning adult education (”andragogy”). However, we do not have any impressive e-learning/online learning/distance learning grand theories either.

For researching this area for future theory formulation attempts, I would recommend looking at research about uses of MOOC courses, since they seem frequently used by educated people wanting to learn more.

I believe the learner him/her self should adopt what it's called as the "distributed Individual" and the "Distributed collective" ways of learning, where the assumption is that individuals and groups are Natural learners that do not need a 100% guidance of a hierarchical structure.

Person-centered approach and humanistic theory!

Anders Norberg I agree with you! I have noticed that lifelong learning has been usually approached through a pragmatic lens and there seems to be minimal understanding as to its essence. Though I did find several developed tools on lifelong learning. I will most definitely look into research studies about MOOC courses. Thanks so much!

Nice that you found the MOOC idea interesting Cheza Olmoguez ! There is a big body of research concerning different aspects of MOOCs. i found an interesting study here https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1149353.pdf . I have a small ”pragmatic” paper as well, but including some theoretical ideas. Attached.

Article Using MOOCs at learning centers in Northern Sweden

Bulcsu Szekely Thankyou so much for your response. I found the article Delivering a work-integrated learning postgraduate course during COVID-19: Experiences, challenges and strategies very helpful for my thesis.

I do not know of any particular theory on lifelong learning. I only know one thing be curious, ask questions and look for answers. Twenty years ago I retired as a researcher in molecular biology and epigenetics. At the time of retirement I started with my wife doing field research on the behavior of different animal’s species living in our country and we wrote popular books on the subject. We published so far 23 books on wild life and different aspects biological protection of plants and now at 83 I am still craving for more knowledge in different field. No theory, each individual is different.

I agree with others who say that there is a lack of grand theories of this. Perhaps it is just too broad. Most theories of learning and memory can apply at any age (although constructivism is quite focused on children), and when it comes to lifelong learning, I'd agree that it is as much about identity and motivation as it is about learning. Therefore things like humanistic theory, as Hassan Izzeddin Sarsak mentioned, would be relevant.

Dear Cheza Olmoguez Learning theories are partly embedded in life itself, and further influenced by the immediate growing environment. It starts from very begining of the life, and continues till the last moment of life. The continuous learning is culminated in what we call experience. We learn both from our own success, others' success, our own failures, and others' failures. This is the essence of learning theory which I usually understand.

Thanks!

In terms of this discussion, colleagues may be interested in this new book "Becoming scientific: developing science across the life course":

https://www.cambridgescholars.com/product/978-1-5275-5498-6

Yes. Situated Learning Theory as explained in this conference presentation:

Conference Paper Academic Supporting Strategies for Students' Graduate Research

Jonathan William Firth Yes, the concept of lifelong learning is too broad, I agree. Some related theories i've encountered are deep learning and e-learning. There are however, developed and validated scales on lifelong learning.

Sharing this for everyone in the discussion. Thanks!

Arbind K. Choudhary Thankyou! Your reply reminded me of Csikszentmihalyi's theory of the optimal experience, Flow. And how the flow experience is not only limited to sports activities and work, but also in the learner's experience.

Am suggesting three theories that are related to long-life learning. These theories are:

Andragogy developed by Malcolm Knowles in 1968, which described by its creator as the art and science of helping adults learn.

Transformational Learning theory by Jack Mezirow in 1978, transformative learning theory posits that all learners use different assumptions, expectations, and beliefs to make sense of the world around them, and

experiential learning developed by David Kolb in the 1970s, by drawing on the work of John Dewey, Kurt Lewin, and Jean Piaget, experiential learning requires a hands-on approach that puts the learner at the center of the learning experience.

Those are really helpful suggestions. Kayii. Numbarabari Emmanuel! I think that Mezirow's theory is a particularly good one, and it influences some approaches to teacher professional learning that are still widely used. It focuses on critical reflection and changing your world view. I'd be more wary about Kolb's work, though, as it centres around a 'learning styles' inventory that has now been widely discredited.