Lifelong learning in Norway

Norway is a test-bed for the implementation of a bold vision of lifelong learning. There is broad and strong political support within Norway for lifelong learning as a next logical step for a highly developed country with a highly educated population, confronted with challenges ranging from economic re-structuring, to an ageing workforce, the contradictions of labor shortages and increased leisure time, and an increasingly diverse society. But even in Norway the institutional arrangements and policies fall short of a systemic approach to lifelong learning. The most obvious shortcomings concern adults where there are daunting issues regarding the governance and finance of adult learning. Leadership is a vexed issue insofar as successful implementation depends on concerted action by several ministries as well as the social partners. Choice, equity, and quality are in many cases conflicting objectives and difficult trade-offs have to be resolved.