What do we mean by lifelong learning and knowledge?

Abstract

This article discusses how central words in education were transformed into a technocratic and economic language during the 1980s, and how the concepts of lifelong learning and knowledge are laden with other content. This means that they lose their humanistic and democratic content, and become wares to buy and sell at the market. The main answer to this international development is some kind of conservative humanism. This paper attempts to redefine concepts of lifelong learning and knowledge with a humanistic and democratic sense, of a new kind in a new situation. The opportunity is to widen our understanding of what we mean by knowledge, education and learning. For this work, the resources brought from history can be used and be transformed to a new form. This has to be done in multiple ways from different perspectives, depending on what aims we have and what values we believe in.