Introduction
Lifelong learning is the continuous acquisition and development of knowledge and skills that last a person’s entire life. Such learning can be achieved formally – education, mentoring, training courses, and advanced training – and informal, that is, by extracting new experiences from life itself (Blaschke, 2021). Lifelong Learning is the concept of a relentless, voluntary search for new knowledge inspired by professional and personal causes. Such a lifestyle contributes to a person’s professional growth and competitiveness in the labor market and, at the same time, is an essential part of personal growth (Park & Kim, 2020). At the same time, on a national scale, the mass adoption of this concept has a beneficial effect on the formation of human and intellectual capital and its quality and thereby helps the development of the economy.
Factors Affect Academic Performance
Student achievement is an indicator of the effectiveness or inefficiency of educational institutions and the main factor determining the future of youth and the nation as a whole. Non-cognitive factors or skills are a set of attitudes, behaviors, and strategies that contribute to the development of academic and professional success (Al-Sheeb et al., 2019). These factors include self-efficacy, self-control, motivation, expectations and goal-setting theories, and emotional intelligence. To draw attention to factors other than those measured by cognitive test scores, sociologists Bowles and Gintis coined the term in the 1970s (Young, 2020). The term distinguishes between cognitive factors that teachers measure through tests and quizzes. Non-cognitive skills are becoming more popular because they better explain academic and professional outcomes.
Components of Lifelong Learning Skills
The research component is a necessary component of educational activity. Therefore it is advisable to form students’ creative interest in research activities. Since the scientific and creative nature is the most important feature of educational activity, the training system must be reoriented to the development of scientific and theoretical thinking of students (Foley, 2020). Critical thinking begins with asking questions and understanding the problems that must be solved. Information is the starting point, not the endpoint, of critical thinking. Knowledge creates motivation, without which the student cannot think critically (Romero et al., 2020). Problem-solving skills are also one of the most important for lifelong learning.
An individual’s internal skills have a key influence on the outcome of lifelong learning. The system of self-regulation includes time management/procrastination; concentration; monitoring understanding; a systematic approach to learning, and learning objectives (Zarouk et al., 2020). Self-regulation plays an important role in coping with academic anxiety, management of motivation for learning and achievement, and volitional control. Learning motivation is a conscious and purposeful desire to learn and develop (Ekşi et al., 2020). It is based on the understanding that education brings real benefits to a particular person.
The best approach to overcome these socio-emotional barriers to student academic achievement is to develop social-emotional skills. Such important skills are confidence, normal self-esteem, self-management, and self-control (Espelage et al., 2020). Combining these factors gives the student confidence in their ability to learn and exercise free will, providing a sense of control over tasks and their successful completion.
Impact on Career Readiness
Several psychological conditions form psychological readiness for career growth among students. One of the important factors is the formation and maintenance of a stable orientation of the student’s personality toward successful professional activity (Villares & Brigman, 2019). In addition, developing a motivational-value attitude to the profession and interest in it forms the need for career growth and conviction in the importance of career growth.
Conclusion
Successful lifelong learning implementation depends on many of the factors discussed in this paper. The whole life of a person is informal learning. Finding himself in a variety of situations, meeting a variety of people on his way and establishing certain relationships with them, joining his native culture and studying others, and resolving a variety of problems that confront him, a person learns. He acquires new values, attitudes, and views, gets acquainted with different points of view, discovers new problems, acquires new knowledge, and masters new skills. To a large extent, all this is the essence of continuous learning.
References
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