National Policies of Adult and Lifelong Learning and Education, Volume 1, Number 1-5

New publication: National Policies of Adult and Lifelong Learning and Education, Volume 1, Number 1-5 

The reports found here are the first volume of five national reports on national adult and lifelong learning policies commissioned by the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) Lifelong Learning hub, and edited by Michael Osborne and Shalini Singh. In total some 51 reports will be published in successive volumes of five over the next few months, and […]

Date published: July 17, 2026

The reports found here are the first volume of five national reports on national adult and lifelong learning policies commissioned by the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) Lifelong Learning hub, and edited by Michael Osborne and Shalini Singh. In total some 51 reports will be published in successive volumes of five over the next few months, and will be updated regularly in further editions. The work has been supported by CR&DALL and the PASCAL Observatory’s Centre for Lifelong Learning Ecosystems.

Broadly each report is structured around the following matters:

  • A brief historical content
  • Processes for gathering evidence to create current policies
  • Challenges identified and Priorities for action, e.g. demographic change (ageing populations, youth), equity (e.g., gender, migrants/refugees, minority groups, disabled), digital revolution (AI, Robotics, etc), industrial change (new skills needs), literacy, health (including responses to pandemics), human-made and natural disasters (climate change etc), etc etc. 
  • Vision statements for ALE and LLL
  • Strategies for implementation and targets
  • Extent of Devolution of powers in ALE and LLL to regions and cities, and to social partners
  • Influence and/or policy linkages to Supranational organisations
  • Financing of ALE and LLL
  • The Role of Sectors and Involvement of community stakeholders (800 words)
    • Formal and non-formal
    • Within formal – schools, vocational colleges, universities and specialist adult education institutes
    • The extent to which the role of non-formal entities is planned and supported nationally (libraries, museums, galleries, parks, trades unions, etc)
    • Mechanisms of consultation with stakeholders
  • The tracking of the effective implementation of policies and indicators of success or otherwise

Many reports also contain an appendix with key resources (references to legislation, policy reports, significant academic publications) and links to exemplar nationally supported initiatives.

Copies are available at the British Library free of charge. PDFs of the reports can be downloaded here:

Volume 1 Number 1 ChinaDownload
Volume 1 Number 2 CyprusDownload
Volume 1 Number 3 DenmarkDownload
Volume 1 Number 4 KazakhstanDownload
Volume 1 Number 5 SloveniaDownload