Overcoming social exclusion through online learning |
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Project Status: Completed
Website
What was this project?
The project "Overcoming social exclusion through online learning"
was funded by the Community Fund for the period
2002 - 2005.
The project investigated the potential of online learning to overcome some of the barriers that socially or economically disadvantaged adults encounter to access learning. Online learning was a very new development in education and was identified by the Government and many educational practitioners as having the potential to overcome social exclusion.
Why was this project important?
The Government recognised that education was the key to overcoming social exclusion. There were many research studies that indicate that learning can improve health, community participation, parenting, family life and economic and social life (Haggart, 2000; Aldridge and Lavender, 2000; Department of Health, 2000; Cabinet Office, 2000). However, the national education and training system did not address the needs of socially disadvantaged people (The Policy Action Team's report, 2000). Online Learning was a new approach which was seen as a way to address the problems that the traditional education system presents.
What were the main aims of the project?
This project investigated the potential of online learning to overcome social exclusion through a comparison of different approaches. It considered access (comparing home and public access), ICT competency, design of the online course, different models of online learning delivery, retention, learning skills and learning support (e.g. Tutors, learning centre staff and family and friends). This enabled the project to identify the factors that influence participation, drop out and successful completion in relation to learners who were socially or economically disadvantaged in particular focussing on older learners, young people, disabled adults and black and ethnic minority groups.
For more information about this project please contact:
| NIACE Alan Clarke or Lisa Englebright 21 De Montfort Street Leicester LE1 7GE Tel: 0116 204 4200 Fax: 0116 285 4514 Email: lisa.englebright@niace.org.uk |
The
Open University Mark Woodroffe and Lisa-Jane McGerty Cintra House12 Hills Road Cambridge CB2 1PF Tel: 01223 584601 Fax: 01223 355 207 Email: niace-project@open.ac.uk |
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