The Lifelong Learning in China:

Mission and Challenge

Dayong Yuan

Beijing Academy of Educational Sciences

Coordinator of International Cooperation

introduction

1972 20151996

1.The Understanding of Lifelong

Learning

Different understanding of lifelong learning

• Lifelong learning is a concept which emphasizes personal

responsibility of learning and promotes individuals’

initiatives to conduct learning (Green, 2002)

• It is a combination of personal learning and recurrent

schooling, including formal (school education), non-formal

(workplace courses) and informal (everyday experiences)

learning (Aspin and Chapman, 2000).

• lifelong learning is about learning but also about

education; it in a sense “falls between the individual

learning process and the formal bureaucratic educational

process”. （Jarvis ，2007)

Lifelong Learning in the Global Age

• The change of the work nature and lifelong

learning: mass higher education, skill-oriented,

practical-oriented

• From lifelong education to lifelong learning:

learning outside the school

• The consumer culture and lifelong learning as a

commodity: market rules and customers’ needs

The Policy Background of Lifelong Learning

in China

• The national Education and Development Outline (MOE

1993), by which the concept of lifelong learning was first

emerged in policy documents.

• In 2002, in the report of the Sixteenth National Congress

of the Communist Party of China (CCPCC, 2002),

promoting the lifelong learning became an important

agenda

• In 2010, China issue the Outline of China’s National Plan

for Medium and Long-term Education Reform and

Development (2010-2020)(MOE,2010)

National Comparative Advantage of Lifelong

Learning

• After 35 years of golden time for economy in China since

1978, the globalization process is turning into localization,

the GDP growth is from more the 10% to 6-7% in the

2016, some of the international company（MNC）s are

moving out of China.

• The labor force price is getting higher along with the aging

society, and also the pollution is getting serious, one of

the important reason is the civil society. The economy is

growing so fast that the society left behind.

2. the lifelong learning practice in

the process of globalization：

Some projects

Lifelong Learning Practices Responding to

Globalization

• Higher Education: Expansion, Commercialization and

Strong Pragmatic Orientation.

• Vocational Education: Skills Promotion, Rapid Expansion

and NQF, “spirit of the craftsman” , the spirit of the

craftsman includes determination, patience and the desire

to achieve perfection.

• Devoted Efforts to Promote Liberal Studies in

Communities: In Chinese context, community is the basic

unit of lifelong learning, as the course provider, resources

platform, education planner and organizer.

• Rapid Development of Senior Citizens College.

• A Learning City is a city which effectively

mobilises its resources in every sector

(UNESCO)

promote inclusive learning from basic to higher

education;

re-vitalise learning in families and communities;

facilitate learning for and in the workplace;

extend the use of modern learning technologies;

enhance quality and excellence in learning; and

nurture a culture of learning throughout life.

Feature project 1：Building the learning cities in China

4/11/2017 Yang Jin

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Mobilisation and Utilisation of Resources and Potentials

Governance and Participation of All Stakeholders

‘Lifelong Learning for All is Our City’s Future.’

Sustainable Development

Wider benefits of building a learning

city

Vision, Political Will and CommitmentFundamental conditions for

building a learning city

Incl

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Major building blocks of a learning

city

The Framework of the Key features

Yang Jin

Feature project 2：Building the New Open University

• As the main part of the adult university, From the radio

and TV, DVD to the internet, now the smart phone，China

open learning is changing so fast.

• In 2012 there is 1+5 Open Universities upgraded and

changed the name from Radio and TV University.

• The Open Universities provide lifelong learning courses,

mainly focus on the different profession and industry, the

students in Open University use their spare time to finish

the degree, and fixable and blended learning are the

learning method.

Feature project 3：Internet+ (Internet Plus) Education

• 《2016 China Internet Learning White Paper》， the

internet-based lifelong learner is 118 million until

September 2016, the mobile phone user is 59.3%, the

MOOC users is more than 10 millions(MOE, 2016).

• Since 2013, a new Internet+ (Internet Plus) policy was

published. The goal is to integrate mobile Internet, cloud

computing, big data and the Internet of Things with

modern manufacturing to encourage the healthy

development of e-commerce, so the Internet +education

was also include, more good internet learning companies

will join the online learning industry

One Belt One Road Strategy？

Email: yuandayong@bjaes.cn