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The impact of Lifelong Learning on Poverty Reduction

Adult education is vital in the fight against poverty but it has to work alongside other measures aimed at improving people’s lives, a detailed study of the impact of lifelong learning on poverty reduction shows.

Research commissioned by the independent Inquiry into the Future for Lifelong Learning explores the public value of such learning, not only for the individual but for the family and wider community. The evidence suggests that lifelong learning works best when it is part of a broad set of initiatives and responses to the complex challenges people face at various stages in their lives.

The detailed study, including a reanalysis of more than 15 years of research into poverty reduction, was carried out by Ricardo Sabates, Senior Research Office at the University of London’s Institute of Education. He raises key issues around the potential of lifelong in helping cut the dependency of individuals on other often costly state-funded support services.

In the report, Dr Sabates says:

“Individuals engaged in lifelong learning are more likely to improve their livelihoods through better employment opportunities, higher income, broader understanding of financial markets, better health and healthier behaviours, access to health services, knowledge of health conditions, among others. However, the effectiveness of lifelong learning in reducing poverty is very much dependent on its integration with other policy measures.”

In addition to the crucial role lifelong learning plays in improving the skills of the current workforce and those seeking employment, Dr Sabates says, these other concerns should not be ignored. The need to provide financial literacy and support for all takes on a new urgency in the current climate of the credit crunch and people’s concerns about their mortgages, savings and pensions.

But the question of the need for a thorough grounding in financial literacy runs deeper through their everyday lives, he says. For example, it is the financially literate who know how best to access the welfare state and plan most securely for their futures. Similarly, health-literate people act fastest to spot problems, act on them and take control – living healthier lives.

The studies show the extent to which the health, welfare, financial and other benefits accruing from lifelong learning are passed on down the generations.

However, Dr Sabates' report goes further, offering new interpretations of research and exposing gaps in evidence that must be filled if politicians and policy makers are to make effective decisions on spending. For example, there is a lack of understanding of the role lifelong learning can play in providing people with autonomy and a sense of control – a crucial consideration as the government tries to promote citizenship.

Tom Schuller, Director of the Inquiry said:

“This is an invaluable study, not only for what it says about the positive things lifelong learning can and does bring to us all but also in identifying areas that still urgently need to be researched. Indeed, much of the paper touches on wider issues around which this Inquiry is calling for evidence, such as the impact of learning on well-being and the higher benefits different forms of learning can bring. It is the first of a series of analyses of the public value of lifelong learning.

“Clearly, lifelong learning can help substantially to reduce poverty through the impact it can have on so many aspects of people’s lives. We need to ensure that learning opportunities are offered in such a way as to reach all these aspects.”

Read Dr Sabates' paper here

Crime and Social exclusion

Evidence on crime and social exclusion commissioned by the independent Inquiry into the Future of Lifelong Learning suggests offenders should be offered a balanced curriculum with a strong focus on creativity.

While it is generally agreed that priority must be given to tackling the poor basic skills lacking in at least two-thirds of offenders, there is concern that the wider range of opportunities to help prepare people for work and social inclusion on leaving prison is being neglected.

There was a considerable shift of resources in favour of basic skills education and training following the Government’s 2005 Green Paper, Reducing Re-Offending through Skills and Employment.

But recent research, including studies carried out by the Ministry of Justice, suggests the complex problems of re-offending need to be tackled using a broader educational approach. Also, where basic skills learning is identified as a priority, prison education staff say they lack the time needed to help people reach the standards they require for work (level 2) while they are in prison.
Lack of basic skills does present a key problem. Another study for the ministry showed that half of all prisoners lacked basic literacy and two-thirds lacked basic numeracy. Also, two-thirds of offenders fail to move directly into work on leaving prison.

But studies by the ministry revealed little evidence to suggest poor basic skills could, on their own, be used to predict re-offending rates. In fact, in one study, 80 per cent of individuals considered to be at risk did not go on to re-offend. The evidence instead suggests a range of “indirect” connections, linked to school truancy, unemployment, social exclusion, low esteem and other cognitive and psychological problems.

Much of the evidence to the Inquiry also shows that community activities people choose for themselves are most likely to lead them to stop re-offending. Activities such as art and drama lead to greater confidence and self-esteem, particularly for those with mental health problems.
A wide range of evidence was submitted to the Inquiry by individuals and organisations including professionals, employers, government departments and agencies dealing with prisoners and re-offenders. There was broad agreement on the need to get the education and training balance right, in order not to squander scarce resources. For this to be most effective, there had to be one assessment to identify multiple needs and a sustained focus on lifelong learning with continued support and provision on release from prison and into work.

Other points from the evidence:

Guardian to take detailed look into the Inquiry

A special supplement in the Education Guardian (23rd September 2008) lookd at the key themes for the Inquiry into the Future for Lifelong Learning.

With contributions from Stephen McNair on demography, Leisha Fullick on poverty, an interview with Bob Fryer, ground-breaking research on Alzheimer's and the views of Labour, the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats on some of the Inquiry's key questions. This supplement will be invaluable as an update on the progress of the Inquiry as it moves into the next stage.

Inquiry holds first meeting in Northern Ireland

The Inquiry into the Future for Lifelong Learning, sponsored by NIACE, is developing an authoritative and coherent strategic framework for lifelong learning for the UK. As part of its work the Inquiry is running a series of expert seminars to explore the major themes of the Inquiry and to gain insights into perspectives from different parts of the UK. The next seminar will be held in Northern Ireland on Tuesday 9th September 2008.

Speakers at the seminar – to be held in Belfast at Malone House in Barnett Demesne – include Catherine Bell Deputy Secretary at the Department for Employment and Learning (DELNI), Paul Nolan, Director of Education at Queen’s University and Bernadette McAliskey from the South Tyrone Empowerment Network.

Also speaking at the seminar is Tom Schuller, Director of the Inquiry. He said:

“Economic regeneration in Northern Ireland is well underway. Investment and Skills Strategies have set targets aimed at improving competitiveness and enhancing the economy. Few people could deny that the Northern Ireland economy has much to gain from a highly skilled and a better-qualified workforce. Learning and skills are one important component of economic success.”

He continued, “However despite the dramatic improvement in levels of employment and corresponding reductions in levels of unemployment, economic inactivity remains stubbornly high at 27 – 30 per cent of the working age population - higher than all other UK regions. This must be linked to the fact that 24 per cent of the working age population lack qualifications compared to 14 per cent of the UK average.”

He ended, “Also, despite the significant and welcome progress on the political front, many citizens remain excluded and community divisions are, in some areas, deepening. Effective economic development is desirable but must be achieved

within a socially inclusive and cohesive society. This is a major challenge for Northern Ireland. Lifelong Learning has a critical role to play in helping the country to meet these challenges. . It's crucial for the Inquiry to understand the challenges and opportunities for lifelong learning in Northern Ireland.”

Press Release: "Inquiry holds first meeting in Northern Ireland" - [PDF] Released On 09/09/2008

Lifelong Learning, Citizenship and Belonging

A central purpose of lifelong learning is to challenge prejudice and irrationality and to enable citizens to take more control of their lives - in other words, to gain greater freedom through learning.

This is one of the main tenets of 12 core principles linking lifelong learning to Citizenship and Belonging, in a paper by Professor Bob Fryer to the independent Inquiry into the Future for Lifelong Learning.

As an advisor to successive Government ministers since 1997, Professor Fryer was chief architect behind some of the most significant lifelong learning and health service training reforms. Now, as a Commissioner on the Inquiry, he draws on his experience and knowledge to show how lifelong learning can be an instrument both of self-fulfilment and active citizenship.

Effective lifelong learning must start, he says, with individual interests, needs and priorities and expand to be “all-embracing” - focusing on family, community, work, leisure and politics, and the more intimate and personal aspects of people’s lives.

Evidence suggests values for citizenship are often best imbued in “incidental learning”. Therefore, lifelong learning must embrace all modes and forms of learning - formal, non-formal, informal and incidental.

In his paper, he challenges traditional education for “reinforcing, perpetuating and legitimising social injustice”. He sees the best lifelong learning as a democratic process rooted in the principles and practices of social justice and “open and subject to scrutiny and challenge in so far as its compliance with the declared canons of social justice are concerned”.

The need for an inclusive, democratic approach is particularly when exploring issues of race, diversity and difference, he argues, calling for “minimum common elements of citizenship” to apply to all learners.

“Bob Fryer’s analysis truly extends the debate”, says Tom Schuller, Director of the Inquiry. “It reminds us of the roots of democratic citizenship. We cannot train people to be citizens; they need to gain a real sense of power over their lives, as individuals and as members of wider communities, and that’s where lifelong learning is an essential enabling force.”

The 12 principles:

1. Focus on the learners’ own interests needs and priorities
2. Begin with people’s own experiences
3. Be genuinely lifelong and life-wide
4. Embrace all types of learning from formal education through to incidental learning
5. Help develop learners’ independent and critical thinking skills
6. Connect learning with action
7. Link learning to real prospects of greater autonomy for citizens
8. Base learning on principles and practices of social justice
9. Engage people in inclusive and democratic methods of learning for citizenship
10. Promote wide-ranging discussion around the importance of diversity and difference
11. Give all adults an annual “entitlement” to post-school learning
12. Provide public investment through a “community chest” to sustain lifelong learning for citizenship

Read Bob Fryer's paper "Lifelong Learning, Citizenship and ‘Belonging': a briefing paper" here - [PDF]