What is lifewide learning and personal development?
We learn and develop through all the experiences (good or bad) that make up our life. Our lifelong learning is developed through the continuous journey we all make ‘from cradle to grave’. The idea of lifewide learning draws attention to the fact that this is not a single linear journey. At any point in our lives we are involved in many experiences simultaneously and all of them help us learn and develop. Lifewide learning helps us appreciate the richness of our lives as opportunities and resources for helping us be and become the people we want to be.
We learn and develop through all the experiences (good or bad) that make up our life. Our lifelong learning is developed through the continuous journey we all make ‘from cradle to grave’. The idea of lifewide learning draws attention to the fact that this is not a single linear journey. At any point in our lives we are involved in many experiences simultaneously and all of them help us learn and develop. Lifewide learning helps us appreciate the richness of our lives as opportunities and resources for helping us be and become the people we want to be.
Lifewide learning and development are simple but powerful ideas
Most people, no matter what their age or circumstances, simultaneously inhabit a number of different spaces – like work or education, running a home, being a member of a family, being involved in a club or society, travelling and taking holidays and looking after their own wellbeing mentally, physically and spiritually. We live out our lives in these different parallel spaces and we have the freedom to choose which spaces we want to occupy. In these spaces we make decisions about what to be involved in and what abilities we want to develop to make best use of these options. We meet and interact with different people, have different sorts of relationships, adopt different roles and identities, and think, behave and communicate in different ways. In these different spaces we encounter different sorts of challenges and problems, seize or miss opportunities, try to achieve our ambitions, and aspire to live a useful and fulfilled life. In these spaces we 'author our lives'.
Most people, no matter what their age or circumstances, simultaneously inhabit a number of different spaces – like work or education, running a home, being a member of a family, being involved in a club or society, travelling and taking holidays and looking after their own wellbeing mentally, physically and spiritually. We live out our lives in these different parallel spaces and we have the freedom to choose which spaces we want to occupy. In these spaces we make decisions about what to be involved in and what abilities we want to develop to make best use of these options. We meet and interact with different people, have different sorts of relationships, adopt different roles and identities, and think, behave and communicate in different ways. In these different spaces we encounter different sorts of challenges and problems, seize or miss opportunities, try to achieve our ambitions, and aspire to live a useful and fulfilled life. In these spaces we 'author our lives'.
Lifewide learning includes both formal and informal learning
By formal learning we mean when you study at school, college or university, or when you are trained by someone at work, you are following a curriculum and being taught by someone. Informal learning is the learning you do outside these formal situations when you teach yourself or learn by doing something in everyday life.
Here is a simple example of lifewide learning and personal development. It depicts the way we learn in everyday situations, often with the help of others, in order to accomplish things we value. Through this experience we develop the knowledge, skills and capability to do new things - we develop ourselves into a different person. In the cartoon a boy learns to fly a kite and develops new capability and experiential knowledge in the process. He didn't learn these things by engaging in a formal education process, he learnt how to fly a kite through a self-determined, self-managed process encouraged and aided by a friend.
By formal learning we mean when you study at school, college or university, or when you are trained by someone at work, you are following a curriculum and being taught by someone. Informal learning is the learning you do outside these formal situations when you teach yourself or learn by doing something in everyday life.
Here is a simple example of lifewide learning and personal development. It depicts the way we learn in everyday situations, often with the help of others, in order to accomplish things we value. Through this experience we develop the knowledge, skills and capability to do new things - we develop ourselves into a different person. In the cartoon a boy learns to fly a kite and develops new capability and experiential knowledge in the process. He didn't learn these things by engaging in a formal education process, he learnt how to fly a kite through a self-determined, self-managed process encouraged and aided by a friend.