Educational experiences throughout adult life - New hopes or no hope for life-course flexibility?

This article explores the allocation and nature of educational experiences throughout adult life. The authors are especially concerned with the opportunities and barriers associated with the pursuit of educational experiences during the middle years, in which work and family roles are typically well formed or at their peak. On the one hand, they explore a set of social factors that suggest there may be new possibilities for educational experiences throughout adult life and for life-course flexibility. On the other hand, they put forward another set of social factors that lead them to take a more pessimistic view of these possibilities. They also consider a third set of individual-level characteristics that may serve as either opportunities or barriers depending on their direction. Researchers, educators, and policymakers must turn their attention to the roles that these factors play in promoting or preventing educational experiences for adults. This will allow them to better facilitate these experiences and ultimately build more flexible life courses.