Democracy, Lifelong learning and the Learning Society:
Active Citizenship in a Late Modern Age
This is the 3rd book in a "trilogy." Each volume can stand alone, but this third volume builds from the conclusions in the previous two. Therefore he begins the book with a synopsis of the arguments/conclusions of the other books. The introduction which I summarize below does just that. So, mine is but a synopsis of his synopsis (a metasynopsis??? *grin*) and those interested in more detail should consult the original books entitled:
Towards a Comprehensive Theory of Human Learning,
and
Globalisation, Lifelong Learning and the Learning Society
Much of the introduction involves his theory of LLL. It seems to me that his theory is more about Learning in General and that LLL is only that part in which we do...er....uh...well, lifelong. Here is his definition of LLL:
"...the combination of processes throughout a lifetime whereby the whole person--body (genetic, physical and biological) and mind (knowledge, skills, attitudes, values, emotions, beliefs and senses) ---experiences social situations, the perceived content of which is then transformed cognitively, emotively or practically (or through any combination) and integrated into the individual person's biography resulting in a continually changing (or more experienced) person" (p. 4)
The concept of "disjuncture" (which I personally haven't been able to differentiate from dissonance so far) is the stimulus that leads to learning, in his theory. He has a very nice diagram to summarize the processes involved in learning. If I had graphics-publishing talent I would venture to draw it here, and actually present it slightly differently. But, alas, I'm reduced to words. I refer readers to p. 6 for the original diagram.
1. The learner is seen as a whole person, a product of their experiences composed of mind and body (and emotion if you would like to separate that from mind). This person exists in the lifeworld (see Habermas) as they experience it.
2. The regular course of events is that they go through life/time....and THEN
3. They experience some sort of disjuncture. Some experience, sensory, cognitive, or emotional experience causes some sort of disconnect between the learner's view of the world and his or her experiences.
“Disjuncture itself is a complex phenomenon for it seeks to relate learning to a broken relationship between being and the social world” p. 11
4. Experiencing disjuncture, the learner (or potential learner) can do one of two things:
a) ignore it. fail to learn. accept the "broken relationship" (How many out there are saying, "oh, my ex is like that! *grin*) or
b) learn! how? read 5.
5. Disjuncture encourages thought/reflection, emotional response, and action. These may all occur to varying degrees within different disjuncture experiences. And this is how we make meaning of the experience.
By making meaning of the experience and relating it to prior experiences, we can accommodate the new experience into our "biography." Learning is the process by which we re-establish a harmony between our understanding and our experience.
6. The learner is now changed. The new experience and the learning is now incorporated into his or her "biography" This "new" person now exists as a whole person again in a lifeworld that they perceive differently.
Jarvis then goes on to differentiate primary and secondary experiences. Primary are mostly sensory, but with cognitive and emotive dimensions. They are your direct experience with the world. Secondary experiences are mediated and are experienced through sharing and interaction with others.
I am not sure why he included this in this chapter. Perhaps it will become clear in subsequent chapters. But on first blush, it doesn't appear exceptionally relevant to discussions of LLL and democracy.
He does present a more detailed account of the relationship between culture and learning. I will be insultingly brief here:
1. Culture represents all the shared knowledge (including things like values, which will be very important to his discussions on LLL and globalization) of a group of people.
2. We learn culture (enculturation) and pass it on imperfectly.
3. Culture is transmitted through social interaction. Traditionally, through other individuals. But in our contemporary society, the media has a significant role in (re)producing the culture of consumerism and the values associated with the KBE.
4. He refers to the Club of Rome's Report on learning entitled "No Limits to Learning" in which two types of learning were differentiated:
a) maintenance, and
b) innovative.
This reminds me of the question which has been often asked (and answers abound):
Is the goal of education to reproduce society or to change it?
No, I'm not entering that conversation here. And yes, the question posed refers to education, which is different than learning. But I still think the difference is foreshadowing what may come in subsequent chapters.
The discussion of culture is important because he positions learning as occurring within a culture: a culture that affects how and what we learn and what we value. He is specifically interested in the culture produced by a "sub-structure" of power that runs through all other cultures and is based on neo-liberal free-market global capitalist interests.
“...the dominant forces in the global economy stem from those who control the economic and technology (especially information technology) institutions. This sub-structure is actually supported by the political and military might of the United States….” P. 20.
He argues that although there is resistance to this culture, the fight is difficult. He points out that countries which do not participate in the global economy are finding themselves more impoverished. He explains that "the war on terror" is leveled against those countries who do not value the values of the global consumerist culture. And he suggests a self-perpetuating loop:
1. Culture is of a consumerist nature. We want more and more.
2. Media creates even more demand.
3. We work/learn to make more money so we can have more.
4. In the process more goods are made, and faster, and more media marketing creates more demand.
5. Organizations that want to survive have to create more new items faster than others, or the same items cheaper than others............so.........
6. We want more and more.
He explains that the substructure includes supranational organizations such as the World Bank and the EU. it also includes multinational corporations. Each have the power to strongly affect the culture. Media has a strong role. And he worries about the nature of democracy in such conditions:
“major corporations with their unelected directors and supranational organizations with interests far removed form the level of daily and private life exercise as much and maybe even more power over people than do elected governments" (p. 24)
“…law, democracy and civil society are all exposed to a source of power, other than the State…” p. 25
”…national politics have dwindled to more or less intelligent management of process of forced adaptation to the pressure to shore up purely local positional advantages” (Habermas)
He explains that internal competition within the sub-structure (which runs globally through all cultures), means that the speed of change in the core structure is much faster than the speed of responding change in the culture of the countries. Adaptation to change is slowest in the countries already most marginalized.
He argues that we need a different perspective on LLL: one that is both political and ethical. I suppose that is where he is going to take us in the rest of the book.
Tomorrow I will summarize the second chapter of the same book:
Global and local lifelong leaning policies in the knowledge economy.
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