Toward a lifelong learning society for working adults across boundaries

Abstract

This article aims to examine how to improve the support for working learners in their learning and education based on the findings of the issue's articles. For this, I focus on describing what can be learned from the articles’ findings and, based on that information, discuss directions and practices necessary to support adult working learners. I begin with my reflections regarding the learning of working adults. I then provide an overview of the collection of articles to show how they address the main points of my reflections and recent field trends through their findings. Finally, while discussing their implications, I conclude with my thoughts toward creating a lifelong learning society for adult working learners highlighted by five aspects: (a) collaborative efforts and partnerships, (b) contextual and situational supportive systems, (c) government‐driven approaches, (d) interactions beyond isolation, and (e) interdisciplinary collaboration. In the end, I also present areas and agendas for future investigations not included in the issue.