Renewing dimensions of lifelong learning in India and its consequences on the contemporary national higher education policies
A socio economic analysis in the age of globalization
Cargando...
Archivos
Fecha
2014-11-13
Autores
Título de la revista
ISSN de la revista
Título del volumen
Editor
Universidad de Deusto
Resumen
There has been a sea change in the perception of Lifelong Learning (LLL), both globally and in India in recent times. Presently, LLL is often being related with socio-economic and educational development of a society in the age of globalization and help promoting the idea of knowledge society and economy. This view of LLL is different from the traditional Indian understanding of LLL, which harnessed the philosophy of ‘learn as long as you live’ to find the ultimate wisdom. Hence, there seems to be a distinct difference between the traditional Indian dimension of LLL and the new dimension of LLL: perhaps resulting in a new kind of LLL in India where the renewing dimension(s) are still not well defined. The increased importance of higher education in the discourse of LLL seems also a part of this changing dimension, which is present globally and is unique for India. Hence, it demands detailed analysis. Therefore, this research answers the questions, how are the dimensions of lifelong learning changing in the Indian education policies in recent years and how is it influencing the recent higher education policies. The research approach was theoretical and it analyzed recent national level policies related to LLL and higher education to find the answer in a focused way. The research strategy divided the thesis into two major section, of which one addressed how the dimensions of LLL change in the national policy domain and the other analyzed how it is influencing the changes in the higher education policies in recent years. The analysis of the relevant socio-economic factors are analyzed with the selected theories of Jarvis (2007, 2008). Together, they test the argument and answer the questions critically. Along with the scholarly works and available secondary data sources, interviews with policy analysts, academics and educationists helped validating some ideas and providing deeper insights. It is found that globalization is playing an overwhelming role and along with the inclusion of other related factors such as the growth of tertiary economy, improved ICT, demographic dividend and dominance of English as a lingua franca, influencing both the dimensions of LLL and higher education in India in a complex way. The power structure is playing a crucial role, and combined with the speed of market economy, it significantly influences the national level policies to reform. However, the presence of a poor socio-economic-educational scenario of India resist the policies to embrace a neo-liberal paradigm of LLL and the policies rather try to balance the situation constantly while opting for faster development. The research concludes that the perception of LLL is in transition and changing significantly in India in recent years. Presently it is a multidimensional paradigm influencing the overall educational and specifically higher education reforms. However, all the changes in the higher education domain are perhaps not the sole consequences of the renewing dimensions of LLL. The factors at various levels are also independently influencing LLL and higher education in India. LLL, as an overarching framework channelizes and processes those factors to help guiding the education policies (including higher education policies) in certain directions through a complex interaction of global, national, regional and local situations, pressures and demands, in an intricate manner.
Palabras clave
Descripción
Materias
Pedagogía
Organización y planificación de la educación
Educación de adultos
Organización y planificación de la educación
Educación de adultos