Wide horizons and blurred boundaries: comparative perspectives on adult and lifelong learning

Abstract

This paper reflects upon Peter Jarvis’s contribution to comparative scholarship and the linked fields of comparative education and comparative adult education. Both have their own historical developments, literatures, issues and concerns; both have been influenced by Peter’s substantial works for close to fifty years – a period in time when the increasing demands of the global market economy have changed adult education beyond all recognition. His specific contribution to comparative scholarship is, we argue, that he has been an early and persistent voice locating and advancing the boundaries of adult education within the broader field of comparative education – long before the global concept of lifelong learning broke down seemingly distinct barriers between many domains of educational scholarship. Such fundamental changes are reflected in many of Peter’s publications, and here we reflect on this in exploring the distinctive nature and impact of his contribution to comparative and international scholarship.

Keywords:

• Comparative adult education
• comparative education
• adult education
• lifelong learning
• learning society
• Peter Jarvis