doing a research sometimes is really hard work. although at this point i run just a pilot i do have difficulties in connecting my theoritical reading with the practical directions and interests of the specific pilot. during this effort i -without much thought- wrote this:
What I have in mind is that I believe in lifelong learning as a new way to view things and I find it important for people to being able to construct an independent and critical self. Although I understand the challenges and dangers of this new neo-liberal stance of the conception of lifelong learning, I think it really is an opportunity, too. Mostly for individuals, to construct a more effective self for themselves in a society, or even an economy based on continuous change and increased competitiveness. I do have an agony for people that are not able to fight with the environment and just wait for a provision of opportunities from the “state” to do something with their lives. This may be a special characteristic of our culture down here in Greece, where we are able to blame anyone else than recognising our own responsibilities. I am not sure whether I become a believer of the liberal economy and I would like everything to be negotiated within the market. I think that this extreme view would be dangerous for minorities (I mean in the world of ideas or even in the social sphere). I am not sure that a balance between respect and competitiveness can be achieved by a specific economic and social system, known until now. The danger as Jarvis suggests is that the notion of knowledge society and lifelong learning can hide the fact that the state cannot pay for enough learning opportunities and resources, and without them we cannot speak of a learning society, or of a learning organisation –in my case-, as well. Anyway, what really determines my practice –professional and non-professional- is that I want to enhance autonomy and dynamism of individuals. Working in a large organization as a full time trainer and teaching stress-management, organizational skills, communication skills and teamwork my aim is to help my “trainees” understand useful values that can make their life better. At the same time I serve the aims of the organization, which needs a good and effective working environment, and this is the reason I am being paid for. This agony, to help them better their environment effectively, drove me to see their real working environment and the way they learn everyday. This may be a link: everyday learning comes in the centre of attention lately as a flexible way of learning. So… the notions of knowledge society and lifelong learning changes the way we see education and learning. Some policies are seen with scepticism. The idea of a learning organization is characteristic of these changes. The question whether an organization can learn and how, how change affects work and employees, and which are the implications in formal and informal learning. My values over these questions and my practice have to do with what Olesen said. (“Adopting the perspective of Lifelong Learning and at the same time being critical at the way it is being perceived, we can develop a new and contemporary view of social formation of independent personalities – not as a normative, directive view for their education, like in the past, but as a democratic vision of autonomous learning and consciousness.) So… with my research I wanted to see the reality of the employees concerning learning. How do they learn in everyday circumstances and does the working environment and everyday working demands allow them to learn? What do they do, what do they believe, how they see it?
