MAKING COLLEGE STUDENTS LIFELONG LEARNERS

Abstract

In recent years, there have been growing concerns of the education stakeholders (the public, students and fac

ulty) regarding the quality of learning in college students. The public feels that graduates are unprepared to face

the workplace; the students note that learning is focused on the exams and note taking while faculty note a low

student morale to learning. While most stakeholders agree that the issues deserve attention, consensus dissolves

around how to respond to the concerns. This literature review looks at one of the approaches to addressing those

concerns: making students lifelong learners. In this paper, a student is considered a lifelong learner when they

are engaged in the process of gaining knowledge and skills in all stages of their lives and the outcomes can be

observed. Notably, many students after spending many years of their lives in school, they feel that the learning

phase of their lives has ended once they graduate. The paper is primarily intended to give an overview on how

to make student learners by looking at four aspects of lifelong learning: its benefits to the students; the implica

tions of non-lifelong learning, the teachers’ role in the process and the role of the students in becoming lifelong

learners.