Lifelong Learning
addressing the need for ongoing education throughout longer lifespans
As people live longer and careers are extended, the current model of education— where most formal training is delivered in the first quartile of life— is increasingly under challenge. A third wave of educational revolution is emerging, focused on continuous training throughout lives that may span 100 years. Over the arc of a longer career than was the norm in generations past, workers today will have the need for continual training and education in order to burnish skills required for their careers, to keep pace with technology change and to acquire new knowledge for new job opportunities. To be effective, this education system will need to be consumed in short spurts, rather than through traditional courses that would take workers out of the workforce for extended periods of time. How should the government, universities and businesses rethink education for an era of lifelong learning?
To learn more:
University of Australia’s Wicking Research Centre study proving that later-life education helps reduce risk of age-related cognitive diseases like dementia.
Harvard Business Review article on how lifelong learning benefits everything from your social life to your finances.
The Atlantic article about how schools are expanding education to help a changing workforce.
Our Research
Longevity Project - Morning Consult Poll on Online Education
The sudden switch to online learning in universities across the country raised concerns over whether or not the quality of an online education matches that of the traditional in-person approach. This poll found that surprisingly “33% of respondents said that they were “very satisfied” in their online version of college.” Read the full poll results here.
An analysis of the poll by Longevity Project Chairman Ken Stern can be found at the button below.
