Abstract
The future for all people in Africa lies in the provision of quality education, promotion and sustaining of lifelong learning. This chapter critically examines quality education, lifelong learning, and a learning society for Africa's sustainable development. Issues pertaining to quality education and lifelong learning are ever evolving and may not be completely addressed at any one time, hence the need for win-win solutions from within and without Africa. The chapter provides evidence-based guidance on how to implement rigorous approaches to quality education as an effective lifelong learning strategy to advance Education 2030 agenda and the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG4).
TopMethod
To successfully carry out this study, the literature review was conducted using academic literature databases, Ebsco, Proquest Research Library Plus, and Academic Search Premier. The search terms that were used are adult learners, adult learning, learning, lifelong learning, quality education, quality assurance, adult education, self-directed learning, experiential learning, curriculum development, human resources, teachers, and lifelong learning policies. The references from books and articles were used to identify additional material on the topic of quality education and lifelong learning with a focus on Africa. On the importance of literature review, as a method of research, it is noted, “Although the literature review is a widely recognized genre of scholarly writing, there is no clear understanding of what constitutes a body of literature. Each reviewer must decide which specific studies to include or exclude from a review and why” Kennedy (2007, p. 139). In the case of this chapter while a wide review of literature was conducted, only the studies relevant to adult learning, lifelong learning, quality education, quality assurance, adult education, lifelong learning practices were included in the final writing.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Learning Communities: These are communities that have four common themes, namely: The place where learning takes place, the content learned, production of knowledge, and the structure of learning societies.
Quality Education: Kind of education provided by an education system that emphasizes the importance of focusing on five important elements including: quality learners, quality learning environment, quality content, quality processes, and quality outcomes.
Sustainable Development: A multidimensional process involving the reorganization and reorientation of entire economic and social systems to meet people’s development goals such as improved health, increased purchasing power and increased literacy rates while simultaneously sustaining the ability of natural systems to provide the natural resources and ecosystem services on which the economy, people, and society depends.
Development: Refers to a multidimensional process involving the reorganization and reorientation of entire economic and social systems in Africa with the aim of increasing the capacity of people to influence their future through lifelong learning.
Learning: A process that results into change in the learners’ knowledge, skills, attitude, and behavior.