Background
Hosted by NIACE, the Inquiry into the Future for Lifelong Learning
was launched in September 2007 and reported on 17 September 2009.
Chaired by Sir David Watson, the Inquiry has brought together
experts from government, business, academia, trade unions, public
service, providers and the voluntary and community sector, as well
as learners, in a process to identify a broad consensus for the
future for lifelong learning in the UK.
“As a society we should be ambitious about the opportunities and capacity
for learning by all of our members. The Inquiry hopes to establish not only why
but also how we can achieve this. We need your help.”
Sir David Watson,
Chair, Inquiry Commission
“We want a broad vision to come out of this
Inquiry – one that doesn’t represent sectoral interests, and cuts
across boundaries. It will link lifelong learning with other areas
such as health, democratic participation and wellbeing, as well as
the economy. This challenges us all to rethink our approach to
strategy.”
Tom Schuller, Director of the Inquiry
“The
lifelong learning policy landscape is littered with policy
initiatives and good intentions, but for many adults there is
continuing instability of funding and variable opportunity. NIACE
is sponsoring the independent Inquiry to seek a national consensus
on the value of learning through the life-course, and to establish
a new settlement on who should pay, and for what in funding
learning opportunities.”
Alan Tuckett, Director, NIACE
What do we mean by lifelong learning?
The Inquiry’s interpretation balances breadth with
manageability.
Lifelong learning includes people of all ages learning in a
variety of contexts - in educational institutions, at work, at
home and through leisure activities. It focuses on adults
returning to learning rather than on the initial period of
education.
However, there can be no watertight definition. Initial education
increasingly stretches well into adulthood, especially with many
students mixing study and employment, and with the rapid growth of
postgraduate education. The Inquiry will therefore pay attention to
the relationship between initial education and lifelong learning,
especially in the way FE and HE are structured and funded.
While formal education and training are core elements of the
Inquiry, it must also extend to less formal modes. The intention to
learn and some degree of organisation should in principle be
recognisable features of an activity for it to fall within the
Inquiry’s remit, but there is no restriction to certified or
assessed learning.
Issues the Inquiry will consider include:
Geographically, the Inquiry covers lifelong learning in all four
nations of the United Kingdom. But we will also build in a strong
international dimension, inviting evidence from other countries and
testing our conclusions against their experience.
This is our working definition. We would welcome feedback and
comment on it.
The overall goal of the Inquiry is to offer an authoritative and
coherent strategic framework for lifelong learning in the UK.
This will involve:
The Inquiry is undertaking a detailed assessment of evidence from
the UK and beyond, including commissioned research and analysis and
the collection of written and oral evidence.
We are actively seeking contributions from the field. Through its
deliberative processes, the Inquiry aims to build consensus and
support for the resulting strategic framework and engage a range of
influential voices to advocate for the new agenda for lifelong
learning.
The Inquiry is split into two phases. Up to summer 2008 the focus is
on consulting widely, gathering evidence and listening to as wide a
range of perspectives as possible. From summer 2008 onwards the
Inquiry will formulate, test and refine elements of a strategic
framework for lifelong learning. Publication is planned for
September
2009.
The Commission of Inquiry is being chaired by Sir David Watson,
Professor of Higher Education Management at the Institute of
Education For details of the ten commissioners please follow the
link below:
The
Inquiry into the Future
for Lifelong Learning 
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