Recent contributions to the literature have postulated the very different significations of the policy narratives of ‘lifelong education’ in the Faure Report for UNESCO in 1972 and OECD’s 1973 report on ‘recurrent education’. It has also been argued that the Faure Report incorporated the policy narrative of the ‘de-schooling’ of society. Furthermore, it is sometimes claimed that ‘recurrent education’ in the 1970s laid the foundations for the core elements of the ‘lifelong learning’ narrative that has emerged worldwide since the mid-1990s.

This paper critically examines the empirical foundations of such arguments. Based upon a re-reading of primary texts and secondary sources, the analysis demonstrates that these widely accepted arguments constitute a problematic interpretation of the historical relationships between the key policy narratives in the 1970s. The conclusions identify a number of significant areas for further empirical research into the relationships between first generation policy narratives.

Source:  available  in English and French on the website of the World Committee For Lifelong Learning/Comité mondial pour les apprentissages tout au long de la vie (CMA)

Barry J. Hake
Narbonne, France
Independent researcher
Founding member and ex-secretary of ESREA 1991-2007