Maren Elfert - UNESCO’s Utopia of Lifelong Learning: An Intellectual History

With a focus on lifelong learning, this book examines the shifts that UNESCOs educational concepts have undergone in reaction to historical pressures and dilemmas since the founding of the organization in 1945. The tensions between UNESCOs humanistic worldview and the pressures placed on the organization have forced UNESCO to depart from its utopian vision of lifelong learning, while still claiming continuity. Elfert interprets the history of lifelong learning in UNESCO as part of a much bigger story of a struggle of ideologies between a humanistic-emancipatory and an economistic-technocratic worldview. With a close study of UNESCOs two education flagship reports, the Faure and Delors Reports, Elfert sheds light on the global impact of UNESCOs professed humanistic goals and its shifting influence on lifelong learning around the world.

Maren Elfert is a postdoctoral fellow at the Centre for Global Citizenship Education and Research in the Department of Educational Policy Studies at the University of Alberta, Canada.

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UNESCOs Utopia of Lifelong Learning

An intellectual history

Maren Elfert

First published 2018

by Routledge

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2018 Taylor & Francis

The right of Maren Elfert to be identified as author of this work has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

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ISBN: 978-1-138-24252-4 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-315-27813-1 (ebk)

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To my husband, Yvon Laberge, and my father, Heino Elfert

This book owes a great deal to Andr Elias Mazawi and Kjell Rubenson from the University of British Columbia. I cannot thank them enough for all the advice they gave me, and the tireless reading of and commenting on my drafts. I am also grateful to Jessica Wang, whose thorough feedback greatly helped me improve this text.

I owe gratitude to my interviewees Nicholas Burnett, Roberto Carneiro, Arthur Cropley, Sir John Daniel, Ravindra Dave, Alexandra Draxler, Jacques Hallak, Klaus Hufner, Henri Lopes, Adama Ouane, Ulrika Peppler Barry, Colin Power, Stamenka UvaliTrumpi and Peter Williams. All of them took time out of their busy schedules to respond to my questions and e-mails and graciously offer me advice. The memories of my interviews with all of these outstanding individuals will always stay with me.