From the Editors
The first issue of the journal "Lifelong Education: XXI Century" was released a year ago, in June 2013. During this time, 71 authors from 13 regions of Russia (Moscow, St. Petersburg, Novgorod, Volgograd, Kurgan, Kursk, Omsk, Orenburg, Petrozavodsk, Pskov, Rostov-on-Don, Taganrog, Cheboksary) and 11 foreign countries (Austria, the Commonwealth of Australia, the UK, Germany, Israel, Spain, Kazakhstan, Moldova, the Republic of Singapore, Slovenia, and the USA) have published 65 articles. We hope that we will continue to receive articles from all over the world.
The humanities context of lifelong education is continued to be discussed in a new (summer) issue. Specifically, the issue presents the results of methodological reflection on the right choice of subjects, scientific approaches, and research methods in terms of their correlation with the concept of education throughout a unique life. The potential of the art and art pedagogy is considered as an option for the integration of lifelong education into humanities context.
The journal continues to present the practices initiated in the Russian regions to develop the continuity of education. Readers may examine the results of the local surveys carried out in schools and universities of Karelia. The surveys revealed the readiness of 5th and 9th graders to continue education, as well as the place and functions of higher education within the educational and professional strategies of young people. Through the example of the Kurgan region, the opportunities to model a regional network of lifelong positive social adjustment are shown.
One paper discusses the methodological aspects of continuing education based on the assessment of foreign language communicative competence at the faculty of law. The “e-learning” system is considered in another paper as a way to prepare for intercultural interaction through the example of the University of the Arctic (Norway). Furthermore, education clusters are presented as an innovative way to integrate the efforts of the state and society in the field of lifelong learning. The foreign educational practices are discussed in the article on non-formal education of returnees in Israel. The author has a long and broad teaching experience and gives an overview of the Israeli lifelong education system, little known to a Russian reader.
An unconventional scientific paper dedicated to an author’s self-reflection on cruise travel as a specific type of informal education is particularly interesting because of the author’s great personal experience of visiting 102 countries and 5 continents. Another article raises a debatable issue of information heterogeneity within the academic community and suggests possible strategic solutions.
We encourage our readers to actively participate in academic forums and online surveys initiated by the journal. It is expected that the most interesting and controversial issues raised by the authors will be discussed online. We express our sincere gratitude to the authors, the reviewers, and active website visitors for kind attention to our journal. We wish you a happy summer!
The Editorial Board
