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Learning to learn constitutes a key competence of life-long learning (LLL) and is a prerequisite to acquisition and improvement of skills and knowledge. It is a main resource of personal development and active citizenship. It is seen as a capacity for all that can eventually foster the development of democracy. To briefly explain its meaning it is about giving ownership to the learner over the activity of learning.
‘Learning to learn’ is the ability to take up and continue learning, to organise one’s own learning individually or collectively with the optimal use of time, information and learning opportunities. This entails the ability to set one’s own aims and objectives, identify the ways, means and obstacles to achieve them according to an individual learning strategy and to monitor and evaluate own learning process effectively.
Lifelong Learning as a Key Competence
This competence means gaining, processing and assimilating new knowledge and skills as well as seeking and making use of guidance. Learning to learn engages learners to build on prior learning and life experiences in order to use and apply knowledge and skills in a variety of contexts: personal, professional and social. Awareness of the ways of enhancing one’s motivation and confidence are crucial to learning to learn.
To enable learner/trainers to function as motivators and facilitators of the learning to learn process of the participants of their educational work, with a view to the development of a positive attitude to learning throughout the life course among those participants (EC, 2006; Hoskins, Fredriksson, 2008).
Generally, education does not only serve the short-term labour market goals, but in order to take ownership over the educational goals (either for the purpose of furthering one’s educational path or for the purpose of upskilling or reskilling), an individual needs to have awareness of the competences, knowledge, skills and qualifications required. Learning to learn requires an individual to know and understand their preferred learning styles at all times to be able to search for the education and training opportunities and guidance and/or support available (EC, 2006; Hoskins, Fredriksson, 2008).
Learning to learn competence requires the acquisition of the basic skills such as literacy, numeracy and ICT skills necessary for further learning. Skills that would enable an individual to access and acquire new knowledge and skills. Those education and training activities imply working specifically on habits and attitudes specific to situations or certain persons, and on learning practices, such as to concentrate for extended periods and to reflect critically on the purposes and aims of learning. Learners should have the ability to dedicate time to learning individually and independently, but also to work in teams as part of the learning process. As a part of learning to learn competence they should be able to learn how to organise their own learning, evaluate their own