Adult education and work life : a comparative study of Norway and Japan

Abstract

The main problem of this paper is the interaction between adult education and work life and the expression of it in two different countries. The globalization process is indicating that problems and issues are getting a common international degree. But the importance and influence of national context reveals the different levels of challenges and solutions. The topic is described from a comparative perspective presenting two countries, Norway and Japan. The chosen theoretical frame includes adult education and work life interaction, lifelong learning concept, national (culture and education system) dimension, organizational and individual dimensions which are hard to separate. How is the interaction of main aspects expressed in the context of chosen factors in both countries? Can traditional education system fulfill all the needs which appear from this interaction? The main method chosen to reveal the theoretical and practical aspects of the topic is literature analysis from the available sources. The variety of theoretical and empirical data is included to describe the picture of two national contexts. The method determined certain limitations which affects conclusions. There is just a small part of direct comparative data about two countries. So conclusions cannot be considered as actual facts, but more as descriptive facts and interpretations.

The emergence of lifelong learning lays the foundations for adult education and work life interaction. Traditional education is challenged by this process and the need for various educational opportunities is becoming very important for combining training and work. The interaction of the aspects in both countries is not leaving organizational frame and is mainly current-work related. The co-operation is active in theoretical and practical context of the countries in all chosen aspects. The foundations, problems are the same, the priorities and solutions are different.