This paper uses nationally representative survey data of adults Internet use in Britain to examine current patterns in the uptake of lifelong learning via the Internet. We develop and test a model that accounts for structure, agency and outcomes using structural equation modelling to address two questions: (1) how structure (as measured by age, gender, SES, Education and ACORN) is related to personal and capital enhancing outcomes of learning online; and (2) how agency (as measured by digital skills and engagement with online learning) mediates this relationship. We demonstrate that social structure remains an important factor in understanding patterns of uptake and outcomes of online learning, alongside an individual’s agentic behaviours. We suggest that countries such as the UK, which have become overly focused on individual interventions to increase the uptake of lifelong learning via the Internet, are going in the wrong direction. Such interventions have failed in the past, and we suggest that they will continue to do so unless policy makers reconceptualise lifelong learning and the Internet in ways that take social structures into account.

中文翻译：

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终身学习和互联网：谁从在线学习中受益最大？

本文使用英国成年人互联网使用的全国代表性调查数据来检验通过互联网吸收终身学习的当前模式。我们使用结构方程模型开发和测试一个模型，该模型使用结构方程模型来说明结构，代理和结果，以解决两个问题：（1）结构（按年龄，性别，SES，教育和ACORN衡量）如何与个人和增强资本的结果相关在线学习；（2）代理机构（通过数字技能和对在线学习的参与程度来衡量）如何调节这种关系。我们证明，社会结构仍然是理解在线学习的吸收方式和结果以及个人的代理行为的重要因素。我们建议诸如英国，那些已经过分关注个人干预以增加通过互联网进行终身学习的干预措施的研究朝着错误的方向发展。此类干预措施过去曾失败过，我们建议除非政策制定者以考虑社会结构的方式重新构想终身学习和互联网，否则它们将继续这样做。