A Capital-Infused Ecological Model of Lifelong and Lifewide Learning: Towards Empowered Adult Education in Australian Higher Education Contexts

Abstract This chapter develops an integrated theoretical framework to understand and support the learning trajectories of international students – particularly Chinese and Indian students – within Australian higher education. Drawing on ecological learning theory (Davey, 1989), lifelong and lifewide literacy frameworks (Desjardins, 2003, 2019), adult learning and self-directed learning theories (Garrison, 1992, 1997; Knowles et al., 2005) and graduate employability models grounded in Bourdieu’s capital theory (Pham et al., 2019; Tomlinson, 2017), the chapter conceptualises international student learning as a multidimensional, adaptive and agentic process. The discussion highlights how international students engage in learning far beyond the classroom – through everyday encounters, structural negotiations and culturally situated practices – thus requiring a holistic understanding of learning as continuous and context-dependent. Each theoretical perspective adds unique value: ecological theory explains learning as behavioural adaptation; lifelong–lifewide perspectives capture the distributed and experiential nature of literacy development; and adult learning theories emphasise autonomy, motivation and experience. Meanwhile, capital-based models reveal how students strategically mobilise human, social, cultural, psychological, identity and agentic capital to navigate the labour market and institutional structures. The chapter argues that universities must move beyond content delivery and deficit discourses and instead cultivate inclusive ecosystems that recognise diverse learning histories, scaffold self-directed learning and support the accumulation and translation of employability capital. This integrated approach foregrounds the agency and resilience of international students, offering practical strategies for a more equitable and empowered higher education experience.