The Future of Education

            In our presentation we make an attempt to survey the characteristics of life-long learning  among young adults studying in higher education, taking into consideration the gender of the individuals involved in the study.[1] For a long time, gender differences in life-long learning manifested primarily in issues of equal opportunities. Consequently, more and more women joined higher education in a wide range of fields. The intense activity of women in education is observed in the whole of Europe. In the northern countries of the continent, where education traditionally plays an important role in society, women have an edge of 10-15% over male students. In the member states of the European Union, women are overrepresented in higher education, there is an average of 124 women to 100 male students. Increasing one’s knowledge in the academic sphere is only possible through an effective cooperation of all the stakeholders in higher education, but the institutions of higher education may  also be involved in meeting the increasing demand of society for knowledge and permanent learning.

In our earlier nationwide survey we did not find any significant gender differences in terms of the performance and success of adults in higher education. The performance indicators were similar, suggesting highly similar results of, and commitment to learning at both sexes. It seems that the differences still tangible in public education and higher education vanish in adult education. In the continuation of research we wish to follow the educational career of young adults in order to chart their approaches to permanent learning and the differences between male and female attitudes.

In the research project Learning Regions in Hungary: From Theories to Realities[2] we asked part-time students in three dominant higher education institutions (N=1092).In our research we eximened these questions from gender aspect in the case of part-time students. The in-progress phase of advanced  studies is examined with a set of variables that are closely connected to the individual’s attitude to learning, to the demand and need for the acquisition of knowledge and skills. These are the factors that largely determine–reinforce or weaken–a person’s desire for life-long learning.