Lifelong Learning and Bandura’s Social Learning Theory: Rose Tremain’s The Road Home

Abstract

Lifelong learning, understood as an ongoing, intentional, and self-initiated engagement with knowledge or skill acquisition, serves as a cornerstone for personal and professional development throughout an individual’s life. This study evaluates lifelong learning through Albert Bandura’s social learning theory, which emphasizes learning via observation, modelling, and imitation. By combining these perspectives, the paper investigates skill acquisition across non-formal context. The analysis centres on the novel The Road Home by Rose Tremain, focusing on Lev, a Bulgarian immigrant in his forties who relocates to London. Facing numerous hardships, Lev secures a job as a kitchen porter in a restaurant, where he observes and emulates skilled chefs, eventually mastering culinary techniques. After one year, he returns to Bulgaria and opens his own restaurant, exemplifying the transformative effect of lifelong learning. The study demonstrates how Bandura’s theory highlights Lev’s skill development through observational learning, emphasising the roles of motivation, self-efficacy, and environmental factors. This synthesis presents the theoretical and practical connections between lifelong learning and social learning, providing insights into how individuals adapt and succeed in new environments through sustained knowledge acquisition.

Keywords

• Albert Bandura
• Lifelong Learning
• Rose Tremain
• Skill Acquisition
• Social Learning Theory

Hayat Boyu Öğrenme ve Bandura’nın Sosyal Öğrenme Kuramı: Rose Tremain’in The Road Home Romanı

Abstract

Hayat boyu öğrenme, bilginin veya becerinin sürekli, gönüllü ve öz güdümlü bir biçimde edinilmesi olarak tanımlanmakta ve bireylerin yaşamları boyunca kişisel ve mesleki gelişimlerinde temel bir rol üstlenmektedir. Bu çalışma, hayat boyu öğrenme kavramını, öğrenmenin gözlem, model alma ve taklit yoluyla gerçekleştiğini ileri süren Albert Bandura’nın sosyal öğrenme kuramı çerçevesinden incelemektedir. Söz konusu iki yaklaşımı bir araya getiren bu makale, bireylerin yapılandırılmamış ve deneyim temelli ortamlarda beceri kazanma süreçlerini ele almaktadır. Çözümleme, Rose Tremain’in The Road Home (Memlekete Dönüş Yolu) adlı romanındaki başkahraman Lev üzerinden yürütülmektedir. Kırklı yaşlarında Bulgaristan’dan Londra’ya göç eden Lev, karşılaştığı çeşitli zorluklara rağmen bir restoranda mutfak görevlisi olarak işe başlar ve burada deneyimli şefleri gözlemleyerek, onların davranışlarını model alıp taklit ederek mutfak becerilerini geliştirmeye başlar. Bir yılın sonunda ülkesine dönerek kendi restoranını açan Lev, hayat boyu öğrenmenin dönüştürücü gücünü somut bir biçimde ortaya koyar. Bu çalışma, Bandura’nın kuramının, Lev’in gözlemsel öğrenme yoluyla gelişen beceri edinimini nasıl açıkladığını ortaya koymakta; ayrıca motivasyon, öz-yeterlik ve çevresel etkenlerin bu süreçteki belirleyici rolünü vurgulamaktadır. Böylece, hayat boyu öğrenme ile sosyal öğrenme kuramı arasındaki teorik ve pratik ilişkileri açığa çıkararak, bireylerin yeni ortamlarda sürekli bilgi edinimi yoluyla nasıl uyum sağladıklarına ve başarıya ulaştıklarına dair önemli çıkarımlar sunmaktadır.

Keywords

• Albert Bandura
• Hayat Boyu Öğrenme
• Rose Tremain
• Beceri Edinimi
• Sosyal Öğrenme Kuramı

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