Men learning through life

By Rob Mark, Barry Golding, Annette Foley

Subjects: Men, Cross-cultural studies, Men, psychology, Adult education, Education, Continuing education

Description: Concerns about men's attitudes to and involvement in lifelong learning have recently emerged in many countries. There is a growing interest in finding ways to increase men's participation and to promote practices that will contribute to men's learning and wellbeing, particularly in the contexts and life stages for men beyond paid work. As the definitive text on this subject, Men Learning through Life showcases international contributions that examine the evidence from theory, research, policy, and practice, and is illustrated with case studies. The book does so through a comparison with the learning and wellbeing experiences of women. As an implicitly connected issue, it also presents evidence and builds a case for the initial education of boys to receive particular attention, in order to break the inter-generational cycles of aversion to learning for some men and some communities. The book will inform national and international policies and practices related to the learning and wellbeing of men. This is of particular importance in the current context of: the rise of men's unemployment as an outcome of the recent global financial crisis; population ageing; the early withdrawal of predominantly working-class men from paid work; and concerns about men's functional literacies, health, and wellbeing in many developed nations.