HADMŰVÉSZET
KRIZSÁN ZOLTÁN
AZ ÉLETEN ÁT TARTÓ TANULÁS LIFELONG-LEARNING (LLL) Nincs olyan szakember az oktatásügy (elsősorban a szakképzés és a felsőoktatás) területén, aki ne találkozna folyamatosan a „Lifelong-learning, modul, kompetencia” fogalmakkal, írja bevezetőjében Udvardi-Lakos Endre. Ugyanakkor, aki alaposabban szeretne elmélyedni e fogalmak értelmezésében, sok zűrzavart, tisztázatlanságot, és ellentmondások tömegét tapasztalhatja folytja elmefuttatását. E fogalmak divatosak. Konferenciák hosszú sora, kisebb és főleg nagyobb projektek tömege használja ma már a fentebb említett három kulcs-fogalmat. Az alapfogalmak azonban még tisztázatlanok, azok használatában nincs konszenzus — így gyakran „elbeszélünk egymás mellett”. Az egyes projektek nem épülnek egymásra, nem állnak össze egységes rendszerré ezért a fejlesztési stratégiáknak nincs egységes és biztos háttere, eszköz-rendszere. Mindezek következménye, hogy így a legszebb elvek is ellentmondásosan (vagy még úgy se) találnak utat a mindennapos gyakorlatban.1 A Lifelong-learning, az életen át tartó tanulás az egyik olyan kiemelt fogalom, amely újfajta szemléletet, paradigma-váltást igényel. „Sokan úgy gondolják, hogy a Lifelong-learning a felnőttoktatás-felnőttképzés műszava, csak erre vonatkozik, és a jelenlegi alapképzéseknek egy kiszélesített és az eddigieknél hangsúlyosabb meghosszabbítása csupán. Valójában az egész képzési rendszer számára jelent kihívást és fogalmaz meg feladatokat. A hagyományozásra váró kultúra, a képzési rendszerek rendelkezésére álló teljes emberi tudás újraelosztásáról, újrastrukturálásáról van itt szó!” 2
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Udvardi-Lakatos Endre: Lifelong-learning, modul. Kompetencia (tézisek és magyarázatok) 2 Udvardi-Lakatos Endre: Lifelong-learning, modul. Kompetencia (tézisek és magyarázatok)
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There is no professional on the field of public education (first of all on the filed of vocational training and higher education) who would not meet the idea of „Lifelong-learning, module, competence”, Endre Udvardi-Lakos writes in his introduction. At the same time if somebody wants to become absorbed deeper in the interpretation of these ideas can experience a lot of chaos, unclearness and controversies. These ideas are in. A lot of conferences and a number of smaller and bigger projects use the above mentioned three key-ideas. The basic ideas are still unclear, there is no consensus in their usage – this way we very often just „talk next to each other”. The individual projects are not built on each other, they do not come together to a whole unified system, so the development strategies do not have a unified, sure background, tool system. The consequence of all these are that the most beautiful ideas find their way in the everyday practice with controversies (or not even that way).3 The lifelong-learning is one of the emphasized ideas that need a new approach, a change of paradigm. „A lot of people think, that lifelong-learning is a technical term of adult-education, adult-training, it relates only to these and it is only a widened and more emphasized prolongation of the present basic education. In fact, it means a challenge for the whole educational system and sets tasks for it. It is about the culture waiting for being traditionalised, about the new division, the new structuring of the human knowledge.”4 The new more cyclical educational system serving the Bologna Process must necessarily be adjusted to the line of Life Long Learning. From the present dual education system flexibility is missing, the inner walls can hardly be passed. The conception of Life Long Learning has become general since the 1970s. At the beginning this expression was used for the continuous, returning education of the adult in school system and a lot of people understand it this way even today. It has got its official meaning on the meeting of the OECD-countries in 1996. In this sense Life Long Learning means learning activity from the birth till the death the aim of which is the development of the competence and knowledge of the participants in the 3
Endre Udvardi-Lakatos: Lifelong-learning, module, Competence (theses and explanations) 4 Endre Udvardi-Lakatos: Lifelong-learning, module, Competence (theses and explanations)
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process. By the middle of the 1990s the agreement developed between UNESCO, OECD and the European Union concerning the aim of Life Long Learning. In this sense it does not only ensures the biggest improvement of the individual and helps the economic competitiveness and employment but it is also an effective tool for the effort against social discrimination.5 The European Parliament definitely supports the idea that in the interest of social integration and ensuring the principal of equal opportunities Life Long Learning is of key importance. On the field of the international policy the 8 biggest powers of the world (G 8) emphasised on their summit conferences in 1999 and 2000 the importance of life long learning accessible for everybody in the „new wealth” in the age of knowledge. The debate material published by the European Committee in 2000 „Memorandum about life long learning” makes it clear that from the point of view of life long learning all learning form a continuous process from the „cradle to the tomb”. Its statement must be thought over that life ling learning is an indispensable basis for the well-assured, good quality basic teaching from an early age. The memorandum considers it essentially necessary that during the basic teaching and the following vocational teaching and training every youngster should acquire the new knowledge and skills required by the society based on knowledge. With this the requirement is strongly related that youngsters „should learn how to learn” and they should have a positive view about learning. In other words they should not feel that it is a pressure, but it is a kind of rich activity done with responsibility and full of rich experience. Under these circumstances both the Young and the adults want to learn and they plan the study process for their whole lives states the Memorandum. If the individual fails during learning in their early phase of life and the personal experience is negative, they will not feel like learning later on and they do not want to continue learning. They also do not want to learn if the time, planning and place of learning cannot be fitted to their way of life and because of these learning is not accessible. In his study „lifelong Learning paradigm and its effects on the Hungarian common education”, László Harangi gives details of the idea of lifelong learning and its characteristics. 5
European Committee „Teaching and learning – in the direction of the society of learning” – published in 1995 White Book
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Lifelong learning is such a cognitive process lasting from an early age to the death which includes both formal, institutional teaching and the non-formal (giving no certificate, unbound, among the frames of selfactive organisations) teaching. The distinctive features of key importance in the paradigm of lifelong learning are the following: Firstly: the comprehensive view of learning. This means the lifelong learning is considered to include all formal, non-formal, informal activities during the whole life which are connected to each other, helped by other or a self-improving proves. Secondly: it is student oriented. This includes that initiative for the students and for meeting the diversified student demands stand in the middle of the strategy of lifelong learning. This means the movement of the attention from doing learning to the demand of learning, from teaching to helping learning focused on the student. Thirdly: the paradigm emphasises the motivation of learning and draws attention to the importance of self-planning, self-directed learning. Fourthly: Balanced teaching policy with more aims. This means that the aims are targeted at the realisation of economical, social or cultural tasks; and for enriching the personality, developing the active citizenship. The paradigm of lifelong learning admits that educational policy has count all aims and also that this changes on the level of the individual during the life circle. Among the key-important characteristics the first one is which differentiates lifelong learning from other paradigms of educational policy. All other conceptions are sector-specific. This comprehensive view has important consequences in educational policy. In this systematic strategy both young and adults get not only a determined opportunity in their different life periods (elementary schools, secondary schools, universities) but they also have to be motivated to continue learning that is organised according to the demands and they direct themselves. The curriculum, the educational practice and the organisation of the education must be examined from this perspective, from the point of view of education. The new more-cycle higher education serves in its structure and basic principles the desired change of paradigms. To teach the students lifelong learning is the task of the nowadays beginning future the executors of which the institutions are. The institutions have the task to fulfil the new system. The new system is the „learning paradigm”. The new paradigm 34
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concentrates on the development of the skills and independent work of the student. The change means the process instead of „teaching learning” „to teach how to learn”. The strategic tools of the paradigm change according to the study of Udvardi are the following: — To widen the scenes of getting information; — Organising the topics to learn in modules; — Separating the basic education and special professional education; — Creating the student-oriented learning environment; — Wide use of information and communication techniques; — Putting the independence and self-activity of the students in the middle; — Developing the creativity of the students which contributes to the development of the problem-solving thinking. The change of paradigms needs the renewal of methodology. The directions are set, it can be seen that besides the usage of the information and communication technologies the strategies for developing the way of thinking of the students must also have an important role.
Bibliography 1. László Zachár: Lifelong-learing 2. Udvardi-Endre Lakatos: The overview of the idea and measuring of competence
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