Young Adults

Research and Development

The main focus of our work is researching the personal and social circumstances and experiences that shape young adults' attitudes towards learning, such as:

• Young parents' experiences of family learning
• The role of informal education in literacy, language and numeracy development
• The learning needs of young adults with mental health difficulties
• Approaches to providing learning through youth arts activities
• Developing speaking and listening skills
• The needs and experiences of young adult carers
• Effective support for young care leavers

Information services

For practitioners working with young adults, we offer:

• Website information, including reports and publications
• Briefing papers
• E-mail briefings and information

These services are important for knowledge-sharing and in offering support and guidance to practitioners from a wide range of sectors.

Young Adults' Voices

The most powerful advocates for effective learning and support are young adults themselves. The views, opinions and experiences of young adults are fundamental in shaping NIACE's work and in driving change in policies and programmes designed to engage and support them. Click here to listen to podcasts of young adult learners speaking about their experiences, and to read case studies.

• Logic - Podcast - [2 MB] April 14, 2010 - 17:45
  Logic, 22, grew up in the London Borough of Lewisham. In this podcast he talks about his unstable family background and the experience of growing up in a disadvantaged area of London, as a young black man. Logic now combines youth work and music/lyrics to inspire other young people. In his mid-teens Lyric was motivated to step away the stereotype and better himself, in this podcast he explains how and why he did this and how he's committed to helping other young people to do the same.
• Jamie Pugh Podcast - [6 MB] April 14, 2010 - 18:01/div> Jamie Pugh left school with no qualifications; he was unemployed and quickly became involved in drugs, crime and anti-social behaviour. Things started to change for Jamie when he was referred to The Yard Project in Lowestoft. Being respected and treated like an adult helped Jamie to realise that he could achieve more in life. In this podcast Jamie reflects on how he has turned his life around and what it is about The Yard that made the difference.
• Jamie Dickinson Podcast - [5 MB] April 14, 2010 - 18:00
  Jamie Dickinson, 19, talks about the difficulties he experienced at school and how his life started going into a downward spiral when he experienced bullying at work and lost his job. He also talks about the benefits of volunteering and how his experiences as a volunteer have helped him to feel proud, valued and to gain a second chance.

Key principles underpinning our work

There are a number of key factors in promoting and developing learning with disadvantaged young adults:

• Each young adult is unique
• Age makes a difference. 16-18 year olds are more inclined to move in and out of programmes, sampling different options, but those aged 18 and over tend to be more vocationally-directed and decided.
• Outreach is effective in making contact with those who are disengaged from employment, education and/or training.
• Incentives remain important in motivating young adults to learn
• The curriculum should feature a combination of key and vocational skills and opportunities for personal development
• Clear pathways of progression and continuous support are vital in building on achievement

The Young Adults team has developed a framework of critical success factors in learning provision for young adults - [Word].