Introduction: Exploring Landscapes of Lifelong Learning Policies across Europe

Abstract

<p>This chapter introduces the approach to the analysis of lifelong learning policies adopted in the book. Departing from the debate about the meanings and aims of the lifelong learning policies over time, the topic is presented as a multidimensional object to be explored through a multi-method and multi-level analysis. This idea is supported by the introduction of a spatial metaphor, the imagery of landscapes of lifelong learning policies. The reconstruction of the theoretical framework and the methodology for comparative case study analysis provided in the following chapters are here justified according to their capacity to fit the purposes of the exploration of such landscapes. In addition, the chapter illustrates the empirical foundation of the materials analysed in the second part of the book and introduces the main topics of the different chapters.<br></p>