Learning to Learn: What is it and can it be measured?

One of the basic skills for success in the knowledge society is the ability to learn. With
increasingly rapid changes in the work place, in part due to changing technology and as a
result of changing societal needs in the context of globalization, citizens must learn to
learn in order that they can maintain their full and continued participation in employment
and civil society or risk social exclusion. In this context learning to learn is a
quintessential tool for lifelong learning and thus education and training needs to provide
the learning environment for the development of this competence for all citizens,
including persons with fewer opportunities (those with special needs and school
dropouts), throughout the whole lifespan (including pre-school and adult learners) and
through different learning environments (formal, non-formal and informal).