Is there a Matthew effect in adult learning? : results from a cross-national comparison

In a world with an accelerating economic and social change, there is an increasing need to keep workers’ skills continuously up-to-date during their working and private lives. In this paper we ask the question of how in modern societies unequal educational attainments at first entry into the labor market and later job career influence further participation in formal and non-formal adult learning. In answering this question, we summarize the empirical findings from 13 highly comparable country-specific studies on the process of adult learning. These analyses were conducted in the frame of the project "Education as a Lifelong Process" (eduLIFE). The particular aim of this cross-national report is to focus on the commonalities and differences regarding the so-called Matthew effect in adult learning in different societies.