Forty Years of the International Journal of Lifelong Education, Volume I: Reflections on a Changing Field

Over the last forty years, the International Journal of Lifelong Education has become a global leader in the field of research on adult education and lifelong learning. Drawing extensively on articles published in the journal, scholars from Africa, Asia, North and South America, Australasia and Europe reflect in two volumes on how the field has evolved over four decades, and on the strengths and weaknesses of its contributions to knowledge.

The first of two volumes, this book offers rich insights into the nature of lifelong education, its development over the forty years of the journal (and more), and what challenges the field will be called upon to address in the future. Chapters cover global trends that have influenced lifelong education; the nature of the field as reflected in publications, based on detailed quantitative analysis; why connection with radical social movements justifies continuing optimism in the field’s capacity to help make a better world; the nature of ethical practice in the field; neuroscience research’s significance for transformative learning theory; international organisations’ role; the importance of critical social theory; and Paulo Freire’s significance for the field.

The two volumes will appeal to researchers, teachers and professionals in lifelong learning and adult education, as well as to those interested in the development of knowledge in fields of science and practice.

John Holford is Robert Peers Professor of Adult Education emeritus, University of Nottingham, UK. He was an editor of the International Journal of Lifelong Education 1998-2023. A sociologist by background, his research has explored European lifelong learning, trade union education, adult learning policy, and histories of adult education and labour.

Steven Hodge is Director of the Griffith Institute for Educational Research at Griffith University, Australia. His research focuses on curriculum across educational contexts, in particular how state-based curriculum impacts on teacher identity and professional practice. Steven is an editor of the International Journal of Lifelong Education.

Marcella Milana is an Associate Professor at the University of Verona, Italy, and an Honorary Professor of Adult Education at the University of Nottingham, UK. She has been editor-in-chief of the International Journal of Lifelong Education since 2023. She researches the politics, policy and governance of adult education and learning.

Richard Waller is Professor of Education and Social Justice at the University of the West of England, Bristol, UK, where he has worked since 1995. His research interests, which tend to be in the post-compulsory education sectors, focus on education’s role in reinforcing or challenging existing social inequalities, and on education and identity, particularly social class and gender. He is a former editor of the International Journal of Lifelong Education.

Sue Webb is a Professor (adjunct) of Education at Monash University, Australia, Emeritus Professor of Education at the University of Sheffield, UK, a member of the ILO/UNESCO Committee of Experts on the Application of the Recommendations concerning Teaching Personnel (CEART), and a former editor of the International Journal of Lifelong Education. Her research encompasses equity and social justice.