Lifelong Learning in Norway and South Korea

Abstract

Global organizations’ influences on national education policies has been studied thoroughly in the context of globalization in the modern world. United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), The European Union (EU), and The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) are identified as key players in the field of global educational governance, and have been exercising their influence on various educational topics inter alia lifelong learning. This study examines how the global scene in lifelong learning influenced Norway and South Korea. Based on the theories of globalization, global educational governance, three models of education, and educational quality principle framework, lifelong learning on the global scene was mapped through document analyses of UNESCO, EU, and OECD’s lifelong learning agendas. Thereafter, using the coding frame generated through the analyses of the global organizations’ documents, the Norwegian and the South Korean lifelong learning white papers were analyzed using the qualitative content analysis method. Results of this study show that there is an isomorphic pattern within lifelong learning in the global and the national level. The three organizations and Norway and South Korea’s lifelong learning visions encompass values that adhere to rights-based, human capital, and capability approach. Furthermore, findings show that there is an emphasis towards achieving increased transferability of competency and qualifications across the domains of formal, non-formal, and informal education regarding one’s qualifications. Lastly, despite the debates about the terminologies of lifelong learning, lifelong education, and adult education, the principles, and the premises of the three concepts exhibit a merging pattern.