Briefing Paper Supporting Learners Across the Educational Landscape: Providing Environments For Lifelong Learning - The Policy Context

The case for the development of a culture of lifelong learning was clarified in the 1997 Fryer report Learning for the Twenty-First Century and has underpinned much of the subsequent policy and strategy development in FE and HE. The 2005 DfES e-strategy Harnessing Technology: Transforming learning and children's services emphasises the use of technology to collate evidence of an individual's achievements over a lifetime of learning and employment. The 2005 HEFCE strategy for e-learning highlights the use of technology to support progression and lifelong learning, including workplace learning and collaboration between the education and employment sectors.

Lifelong and personalised learning policy drivers propose that all learners should be able to develop, record, repurpose and transfer a wide range of information about themselves electronically, as they progress through different levels and episodes of learning, training and employment.

To achieve widening participation in HE, institutions need to collaborate across sectoral boundaries to support learner progression and the achievement of potential. The development and management of collaborative relationships for the provision of HE qualifications in FE institutions is an increasingly important aspect of HE expansion.

The policy context also highlights the growing need to combine academic learning with the world of work by providing relevant courses and modules directly to the workplace, and the accreditation of professional experience as integral parts of academic qualifications.