Gender and lifelong learning : critical feminist engagements / Carole Leathwood and Becky Francis Routledge.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Introduction : gendering lifelong learning / Carole Leathwood and Becky Francis -- 1. Unprotected participation in lifelong learning and the politics of hope : a feminist reality check of discourses around flexibility, seamlessness and learner earners / Jill Blackmore -- 2. Locating the learner within EU policy : trajectories, complexities, identities / Jacky Brine -- 3. Gendered constructions of lifelong learning and the learner in the UK policy context / Carole Leathwood -- 4. Troubling trajectories : gendered 'choices' and pathways from school to work / Becky Francis -- 5. Masculinities, femininities and resistance to participation in post-compulsory education / Louise Archer -- 6. Fair access? : exploring gender, access and participation beyond entry to higher education / Penny Jane Burke -- 7. Community education : participation, risk and desire / Lyn Tett -- 8. From childcare practitioner to FE tutor : biography, identity and lifelong learning / Helen Colley -- 9. Disability, gender and identity : the experiences of disabled students in higher education / Sheila Riddell -- 10. The in/visible journey : black women's lifelong lessons in higher education / Heidi Safia Mirza -- 11. Older women as lifelong learners / Barbara Kamler -- 12. War and diaspora as lifelong learning contexts for immigrant women / Shahrzad Mojab -- 13. Conclusion / Becky Francis and Carole Leathwood.

"Lifelong learning is a key feature of the educational landscape today. This important book breaks new ground in examining issues of gender in relation to lifelong learning. Drawing on policy analysis and research in the UK, European and global arenas, Gender and Lifelong Learning demonstrates the ways in which patterns of access to, participation in, and outcomes of lifelong learning reflect gender divisions and power relations. The scope of the book is wide-ranging. Divided into three sections, the discussion encompasses school, adult, community, further and higher education. The issues covered include gendered subject 'choices', reasons for non-participation and pedagogies of lifelong learning. There are also fascinating chapters that explore the widening of participation, the experiences of disabled students, and the visibility/invisibility of black women in higher education. Utilizing many different theoretical and methodological approaches, the book offers a range of critical; feminist engagements to make visible, understand and critique gender inequalities in lifelong learning. A key theme throughout the book is a critique of neoliberalism and of the dominance of economic rationales in shaping the concept of lifelong learning. Yet the book offers not only criticism of current policies and practices, but also alternative visions, different possibilities and new ways of conceptualizing and doing lifelong learning that might better reflect social justice concerns. It also includes many ideas and suggestions that can be practically drawn upon, and the concluding chapter ends with a summary of key implications for both policy-makers and practitioners."--Publisher description.