Strength in diversity – Towards a Community cohesion and Race Equality Strategy

NIACE, The National Institute of Adult Continuing Education, is a registered charity, and was founded in 1921 to represent the interest of adult learners, and of those who make provision for them, at all levels and wherever adults learn. Its membership is drawn from all sectors of post-compulsory education, and NIACE works within and across all these sectors.

We are grateful for the opportunity to respond to the Strength and Diversity consultation. We have record in working towards education and training for black and minority ethnic groups who are often excluded or have less access to the education and training infrastructure in Great Britain.

As a general overall statement: the importance of education as an essential agent in promoting and leading on social change cannot be overstated. Education in school has a crucial role to play here, but so does adult education. The role of adult education comes into its own for those adults who have not been to schools in culturally diverse areas and those who have not been exposed to curricular which have encouraged discussion around issues such as prejudice, discrimination and intolerance. These are typically explored now in schools as part of subjects such as Citizenship and Personal Social and Health Education (PSHE).

The challenge that adult education has in this area relates to the fact that it is not statutory, therefore, unless from another country applying to be a British citizen; adults do not have to learn about other cultures. There are, however, opportunities in all subject areas to explore issues of race, culture and most importantly the contribution that individuals, communities and countries have made to our understanding of science, art and the development of civilization.

Learning at work also provides opportunities for learning about and respecting the broad range of cultures that come together and make Britain as culturally diverse as it is.

It is clearly understood by those engaged in neighbourhood renewal initiatives, family learning and initiatives designed to make communities more cohesive that success is unlikely in any of these areas unless adults engage in learning. This has implications for Local Government, HE and FE institutions in particular. The learning offers of these institutions should be mindful of the changing nature of British society and the challenges that are thrown up when people from different cultures, religions, languages and ‘colours’ come together (often in competitive situations in the least desirable areas of town and cities across Britain).

NIACE welcomes the aim of Strength in Diversity which is to articulate a vision of a successfully integrated society and to provide a coherent framework through which a programme of action can be driven across government, public services and more widely. We also welcome the intention of the document to advance a more inclusive notion of citizenship beyond the merely legal to encompass notions of shared values and community activity. We are glad to see an acknowledgement of geography, class, age and increasingly, faith and cultural preferences in shaping individual and collective identity and also the recognition that Britishness is a highly contested concept and one that should be seen as dynamic and inclusive.

However, we would take issue with the emphasis in the document on the role of young people. We absolutely agree that young people are important in changing attitudes and that working with the young is one way of building a sustainable change. We know that schools are rightly recognised as significant in developing ideas about citizenship. However, experience shows that relying on young people to change things is a very long term strategy and that it is important that role of adults in securing change is recognised and dealt with. Adult learning is absolutely critical to building tolerance and change in our community. Learning in relation to community development, anti discriminatory practices, proper community consultation are all missing and all should feature in any successful strategy for community cohesion. The role of the voluntary sector is very much under stated in the document.

We are not answering all the questions in the document individually, but we would say that education and training have particular relevance in responding to the promotion of British citizenship.

The combating of racism and racial and religious harassment and responding to the threat of political extremism.

We believe that adult learning is very important in promoting good race relations and in building relationships and understanding between people from different backgrounds. Educational providers as public sector organisations have a clear task to do in both provide services that are appropriate for those from black and minority ethnic groups, and also ensuring that they have a workforce that reflects the community they serve. Education is clearly an issue in the supporting of new arrivals in this country. The approaches we consider are particularly relevant here are family learning, inter generational learning and work done in deprived communities in relation to community engagement and empowerment.