UNESCO, the Faure Report, the Delors Report, and the Political Utopia of Lifelong Learning

Abstract

Two education reports commissioned by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Learning to be, otherwise known as the Faure report (1972) and Learning: The treasure within, otherwise known as the Delors report (1996), have been associated with the establishment of lifelong learning as a global educational paradigm. In this article, which draws on archival research and interviews, I will explore how these two reports have contributed to debates on the purpose of education and learning. In the first half, I will shed light on their origins, the context in which they came about, how they have been received by the education community and by UNESCO member states and how they have been discussed in the scholarly literature. In the second half, I will discuss the key themes of the reports, in particular lifelong learning as the global educational ‘master concept’. In the last section, I will reflect on how the Faure report and the Delors report are still relevant for our debates about learning today. I will argue that the concept of lifelong learning, as put forward by these reports, was a political utopia which is at odds with today's utilitarian view of education.

Opening the Black-Box in Lifelong E-Learning for Employability: A Framework for a Socio-Technical E-Learning Employability System of Measurement (STELEM)

“…In fact, the vast majority of countries have been applying lifelong learning initiatives that have been based and have been very close to the human capital theory [6,7], itself based on the importance of skills and abilities learned by citizens as avenues for the economic and social development of countries. In this way, many criticisms are being put on the table, one being that its conceptualization is too utopian [8]; other examples of criticisms involve its economic orientation and mercantilist vision of education [9].…”

Percepción del empresariado de las competencias y características relevantes para el empleo - Perception of entrepreneurs about relevant competences and characteristics for employment

“…El diseño de tales políticas aconseja una apuesta decidida por una educación que fomente la actitud positiva hacia el trabajo, la responsabilidad, el espíritu de iniciativa, la creatividad, la adaptación al cambio y la disposición a aprender de los demás. Así, los centros escolares no sólo ofrecerán la oportunidad al alumnado de "aprehender" conocimientos, sino también de desarrollar habilidades y actitudes necesarias para el desempeño laboral (OCDE, 2011;Okabe, 2012;Wittmer y Martin, 2011;Santana Vega, 2013) El concepto de aprendizaje permanente, propuesto en el informe de Faure y en el informe de Delors, era una utopía política que pretendía cambiar la sociedad sobre la base de los principios de justicia e igualdad; esta visión de la educación está reñida con la visión utilitaria de la misma (Elfert, 2015). El actual clima político, caracterizado por el particularismo y la hegemonía de la economía, parece poco receptivo al mensaje lanzado por la UNESCO (2013) sobre la necesidad de "repensar la educación".…”

Learning from the Past, Looking to the Future: issues and agendas in education

“…science and maths literacy). The almost exclusive focus on skills, the enhanced valuation of competition, innovation, growth and other ideals have reinforced market‐based governance (see also Elfert, ; Ball, ; Torres, ; Kordik, this Issue, pp. 387–390).…”

“…Elfert () suggests that the instrumental approaches that dominate now have curtailed discussions on how education fits within the context of debates about society. This focus on education in a broader society was an important contribution of the Delors report.…”

“…Without epistemic literacy, Tuomi suggests, the democratic transparency of the Internet could create 'a global world of tribes and clans' (p. 24). Elfert (2015) suggests that the instrumental approaches that dominate now have curtailed discussions on how education fits within the context of debates about society. This focus on education in a broader society was an important contribution of the Delors report.…”