“Third Mission” And Lifelong Learning: An Innovative Partnership Among Educational Institutions

The paper is the result of a substantive interest concerning the mechanisms and the processes that are leading the Italian institutions to redefine the “Third mission” in a Lifelong learning perspective. What is the role of the different actors? The practices of Lifelong learning for European citizens have a number of specific characteristics of the different institutional contexts. According to a postmodern perspective, a welfare-oriented policy agenda allows to rethink of society or learning cultures as integrative ideologies of social policy. The implementation of any theoretical-operational model requires consideration of different national guidelines, and organizational structures at the local level, where most decisions are made in order to combine efficiency and flexibility of intervention. The research show a case study of cooperation between a network of adult education centers and universities, which transformed Adult education into Lifelong learning. Through the implementation of both research and teaching activities, the “LLL Regional Research Centre” has been building a learning community for the Vocational Education and Training system in Campania. Teachers and researchers have been involved to increase both human and social capital and develop capacity building. Educational institutions redefine continuously functions and objectives in order to expand the citizens’ dimensions of meaning since they represent a collective intelligence heritage. Lifelong learning Universities and Adult School Centers represent a “clearing house” of the institutional systems dystonias, which are observable through the “agency” of the decision makers.