Cover	1
	Contents	6
	List of Figures and Tables	9
	Preface	10
	Acknowledgements	11
	Introduction	12
	Part I: Background	17
	1 Adult Lifelong Learning Participation: Definitions and Contexts	18
	Why participation	18
	The changing policy context	29
	The problem of participation	32
	The focus on benchmarks and indicators	35
	Conclusions	46
	2 Trends and Barriers in Adult Lifelong Learning Participation	47
	Trends in the participation literature	47
	Europe	51
	North America	54
	South America	57
	Australia	59
	Asia and the Pacific	60
	Africa and the Middle East	61
	General trends	63
	Barriers preventing adult lifelong learning participation	63
	Conclusions	66
	Part II: The Contribution of Disciplines toan Interdisciplinary Theory	67
	3 Lifelong Learning Participation: The Behavioural Perspective	68
	Participation as the result of an underlying decision-making process	68
	The role of motivation	72
	Participation persistence among current adult learners	81
	The role of the educator as facilitator of participation satisfaction	82
	Changes across the life span	83
	Conclusions	89
	4 Lifelong Learning Participation: The Micro Sociological Perspective	90
	Social class	90
	Social mobility	93
	Cost–benefit analysis	94
	Conclusions	102
	5 Lifelong Learning Participation: Institutional Barriers	103
	Lifelong learning offers	104
	Lifelong learning course modes	105
	Three levels of access indicators	107
	Workplaces as institutional learning environments	108
	The role of information	111
	Conclusions	115
	6 Lifelong Learning Participation: Country Level Determinants	116
	Macro level determinants of participation	117
	The role of country typologies	126
	Motivational differences across countries	135
	Standardising adult lifelong learning	137
	Participation outcomes differ by country	140
	Conclusions	141
	7 Lifelong Learning Participation: The Need for Integration	142
	Contribution of different disciplines to the understanding of adult lifelong learning participation	142
	The interplay of structure and individual agency	144
	Integrative lifelong learning participation theories	147
	Revisiting participation theories	153
	Part III: Advancing Research and Practice	156
	8 Measuring Adult Lifelong Learning Participation	157
	UNESCO-OECD-EUROSTAT	157
	Different surveys: different results?	163
	Surveys as research representing the positivist paradigm	166
	The vagueness of participation	167
	Alternative scenarios for measuring adult lifelong learning participation	169
	Conclusions	170
	9 Implications for Policy, Practice and Research	172
	Recommendations for policy	172
	Recommendations for practice	176
	Recommendations for future research	179
	Final conclusions	182
	References	184
	Index	208