In this open access book, the authors argue that the policies, practices and politics of lifelong learning result in a range of unintended – and often unwanted – consequences. It demonstrates that while the multiple promises of lifelong learning remain unfulfilled, the policy discourses of lifelong learning embody a particular view of the subject (the citizen), who is invariably the object of its attention. The book interrogates the kind of subject the policy discourses seek to cultivate and shows how this subject is aptly characterised as neurotic. Based on the analytical examination of a great deal of empirical data collected in Finland, which is often regarded as the poster child of educational reform towards a knowledge economy, the book offers novel insights into lifelong learning by analysing its unintended consequences, such as feelings of inadequacy, difficulties in coping, anxieties and unfulfilled promises generated by the political demands for continuous self-development. It addresses the structures and mechanisms as well as the cultural presuppositions that result in those unintended consequences. The book contains critical social and cultural analyses that examine the unintended consequences of lifelong learning from macro, meso and micro perspectives.

The ebook editions of this book are available open access under a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 licence on bloomsburycollections.com. Open access was funded by the Research Council of Finland.

Heikki Kinnari is a university lecturer in the sociology of education at the University of Helsinki. His research interests include the politics of lifelong learning, governmentality in education and the politics of education.
Hanna Laalo works as a postdoctoral researcher at the Centre for Research on Lifelong Learning and Education (CELE) at the University of Turku. She specialises in educational discourses and entrepreneurial governmentality in education.
Heikki Silvennoinen is a professor of the sociology of education at the Centre for Research on Lifelong Learning and Education (CELE) at the University of Turku. His areas of expertise include selection in education and the labour market, the connections between education and social class, policies, discourses and practices of lifelong learning, the evaluation of education, and education policy.
Ulpukka Isopahkala-Bouret works as a professor at the Centre for Research on Lifelong Learning and Education (CELE) at the University of Turku. Her research interests include equality in and through education, access to higher education, graduate employability, educational credentialing, and lifelong learning.