Towards a Comprehensive Theory of Human Learning - Lifelong Learning and the Learning Society, Volume I (Hardcover)

In recent years the idea of lifelong learning and the learning society has become central to both society and to everyone involved in education throughout the world but, as yet, no truly exhaustive study has been made of these phenomena. This ground-breaking distillation of Peter Jarvis' thoughts on lifelong learning will comprehensively correct that omission.
This book, the first in a forthcoming series, concentrates on the processes of human learning and considers the fact that research into learning itself has hitherto been unsystematic and, for a while, mainly psychological. In the first section of this book the author argues that learning is existential, and so its study must be complex and interdisciplinary. A number of the existing theories of learning are then critically examined, in order to see how they can be reconciled with a more complex model. Applying his expert analytical approach to this wide-ranging topic Professor Jarvis looks in detail at
- Learning in the social context
- The transformation of experience
- The outcomes of learning
- Cognitive theories
- Emotions and learning
- Experiential learning
Although it is acknowledged from the outset that a totally comprehensive theory of learning is not possible, the ultimate goal of this book (and its forthcoming companion volumes) is nothing less than an endeavor to construct an integrated but critical theory of lifelong learning and the learning society.
It will be essential reading for students in education, HRD and teaching and learning generally, in addition to academics and informed practitioners.