Arising from work by the Gender and Lifelong Learning Group of the Gender and Education Association, this book presents reconceptualisations of lifelong learning. It argues that the current field of lifelong learning is based on certain hidden values and assumptions and examines the mechanisms by which exclusionary discourses and practices are reproduced and maintained.

The book opens up ways of conceptualising learning that takes into account multiple and shifting formations of learners from different social contexts. The authors broaden what counts as learning and who counts as a learner, offering different understandings of lifelong learning that are able to include currently marginalised values and principles.

Organised in four sections the book looks at:

• reclaiming - it draws on feminist and post-structural conceptual frameworks to create a critical analysis of the current 'field' of lifelong learning
• retelling - it tells the tales of different multi-positions in lifelong learning
• revisioning - it moves from narrative to analysis and the authors present their revisioning of learning which provide the tools to reconceptualise the field of lifelong learning
• reconstructing - it furthers the discussion to outline new approaches to and practices in lifelong learning.

Dr Penny Jane Burke is a Senior Lecturer in Education at the Institute of Education, University of London, UK.

Dr Sue Jackson is a Senior Lecturer in Lifelong Learning and Citizenship at Birkbeck College, University of London, UK.

Section 1: Reclaiming 1. Reclaiming Conceptual Frameworks 2. Reclaiming Knowledge 3. Reclaiming Learning Section 2: Retelling 4. Retelling the Stories of Policy-Makers 5. Retelling the Stories of Educational Managers 6. Retelling the Stories of Teachers 7. Retelling the Stories of Learners Section 3: Revisioning 8. Revisioning Identities and Subjectivities 9. Revisioning Emotions 10. Revsioning Resistances Section 4: Reconstructing 11. Reconstructing Conceptual Frameworks 12. Reconstructing Knowledge 13. Reconstructing Learning