LIFELONG LEARNING AS A PRIORITY OF DEVELOPMENT OF EUROPEAN EDUCATIONAL PARTNERSHIP

Abstract

The article explores the phenomenon of lifelong learning as one of the key priorities for the development of a European educational partnership. The importance of lifelong learning as a recognized theory and practice of the concept, which is the benchmark of broad modernization processes in the European Higher Education Area, is demonstrated. The main interrelated areas of action (defining strategic priorities for development, outlining key competencies of lifelong learning, identifying forms of lifelong learning, funding and investment efficiency) are considered.The potential of lifelong learning a mechanism for promoting social stability and cultural convergence at the beginning of the third millennium is conceptualized. Productive links between lifelong learning and the processes of building a knowledge economy have been demonstrated. The methodological basis of the study was the analysis of the European Commission’s educational policy (conceptual, regulatory and programmatic documents) in the field of lifelong learning. The results obtained in the study may be useful to both domestic researchers and practitioners in the field of public administration of higher education, university staff, involved in international cooperation.