Abstract:

Taking into account the international urgent focus on implementing and enhancing lifelong learning, the article focused on an exploratory research through experiential education and autobiographical methods as self-reflection and re-construction of self-identity tools, within adult education.

This research involved educators as professionals in a lifelong, life-wide and life-deep learning perspective. The tools used were: two cognitive questionnaires, one initial and one final, and an autobiographical format originally developed and validated, which consists of a series of stimuli (cognitive, perceptual, sensorial, emotional-affective) that help the participants to remember important events/experiences of their life path, in order to stimulate self-awareness and a deeper development of identity.

The methodology is qualitative/quantitative. The quantitative one used statistical tools. The qualitative one used an original model from the Grounded Theory by Glaser and Strauss.

The most significant results outlined interesting data that made us plan a subsequent research project that will begin in the coming months, involving a much larger sample of educators.

Keywords:

Lifelong learning, autobiographical methods, educators, metacognition, previous experience.