Lifelong learning is a key feature of society today, and is apparently embraced by a wide range of educators and trainers, as well as by governments and employers. In this wide-ranging book, Sue Jackson shows that universities have been slow to embrace a lifelong learning agenda, and argues that the lifelong learning experiences of women - and especially of working-class students - are seldom welcomed in the academy.

In its unique considerations of the experiences of women students and academics, this book expounds an innovative and critical analysis of women in higher education. It will give a clear indication of alternative strategies for learners, teachers and policy makers.

This book will be of key interest to anyone working in the fields of lifelong learning or continuing education who is interested in making learning accessible and meaningful for disadvantaged groups. It will also appeal to students of education, women's studies, gender studies and sociology; and to those interested in issues of gender, social class, feminist theory and feminist research.

Inhalt

Acknowledgements. Introduction - Of spinsters and mistresses. Editorial by Series Editors. 1 Setting the scene. 1.1 Introduction. 1.2 Women's studies and lifelong learning. 1.3 Lifelong learning in the academy. 1.4 Lifelong learning in Britain. 1.5 Conclusion. 2 Back to the future? 2.1 Introduction. 2.2 Henry Giroux and critical pedagogy. 2.3 Paulo Freire and liberatory pedagogy. 2.4 Basil Bernstein and educational rights. 2.5 Conclusion. 3 Women and social class. 3.1 Introduction. 3.2 The women. 3.3 In a class of their own? 3.4 Gender class and identity. 3.5 (Working-class) women's ways of knowing? 3.6 Restraints and silences. 3.7 Conclusion. 4 Differently academic? 4.1 Introduction. 4.2 Considering women's studies. 4.3 Subject matters. 4.4 Being 'academic'. 4.5 How 'academic' is women's studies? 4.6 Different writing? 4.7 The journals. 4.8 The essays. 4.9 Differently academic? 4.10 Conclusion. 5 Researching and teaching in the academy. 5.1 Introduction. 5.2 Researching women. 5.3 Teaching women. 5.4 Conclusion. 6 Language and discourse in the academy. 6.1 Introduction. 6.2 Michel Foucault and power/knowledge. 6.3 Jacques Lacan: language as the root of culture. 6.4 'French feminists': Luce Irigaray. Julia Kristeva and Helene Cixous. 6.5 Searching for our mothers' gardens. 6.6 From silence to speech. 6.7 Dreaming of a common language. 6.8 Speaking in different voices. 6.9 Conclusion. 7 Re-turning 'the academic' to women's lifelong learning. 7.1 Introduction. 7.2 Challenging meanings. 7.3 Finding new knowledges. 7.4 Moving on. 7.5 The future of higher education? 7.6 Conclusions and recommendations. Bibliography. Index.