Lifelong learning: case study of adult students in portuguese technological schools and higher education institutions

Paper to be presented in ESREA 2007 ADC Network Seminar - Changing Relationships between the State, Civil Society and the Citizen: Implications for adult education and adult learning, 14 -16 June 2007 - University of Minho - Campus de Gualtar, Braga (Portugal).

Adult education, especially at the tertiary level, is significant when preparing citizens to work in today’s continuously evolving markets, a hallmark of the knowledge-based economies. This paper focuses on the identification of learning strategies used by Portuguese non-traditional adult students who embark on lifelong learning routes to obtain tertiary level education. The results of a case study undertaken within the project PRILHE (Promoting Reflective Independent Learning in HE) funded by the European Commission Socrates Adult Education Programme Socrates – (113869-CP-1-2004-1-UKGRUNDTVIG- G1) are presented and discussed. It seems that there is still a long way to go before non-traditional adult students can benefit from lifelong learning opportunities, at tertiary level in Portugal; nevertheless the study presents evidence of some “best practices” in TS which could be shared with HEI.