Adults Learning Back Issues

Volume 21, Number 6, February 2010 News Commentary: Goal of a learning society as remote as ever Adult learners look set to lose out no matter which party wins the election. As the storm clouds gather, those engaged with the sector are making the case for a radically different approach, writes Alastair Thomson Download commentary: Goal of a learning society as remote as ever - [PDF] Where now for university lifelong learning? Most universities have cut part-time ‘extra-mural' provision while some have dropped lifelong learning altogether as a concept. What's gone wrong and where do we go from here, asks Gary Holmes A university for the people These are hard times for university lifelong learning. Survival demands that departments not only adapt to what is valued by the public, politicians and the institutions themselves, but that they retain a principled approach to the purposes of higher education, argues Sue Webb Generation crunch Research shows that the recruitment of recent graduates by small and medium-sized businesses is a minority pursuit. Government attempts to boost demand will need to be grounded in the day-to-day reality of running a business, says James Kewin Not for the likes of you The Hills report’s findings on education demonstrate the extent of inequality in British society. Unhappily, the student finance regime introduced by the Government is making matters even worse, writes Sally Hunt Trust us to do what we do best The £200 million cut to funding for adult students is bad enough but, with no flexibility to transfer money from one pot to another, colleges are having to face up to course closures and the threat of redundancies. It’s time ministers trusted colleges to know what their communities need, Pat Bacon tells Paul Stanistreet Sample Article: Download commentary: Trust us to do what we do best - [PDF] Learning to learn Many negative experiences of education are a result of individuals not knowing how they learn most effectively. Giving students the skills to be independent learners can help them develop their learning in a way that is right for them, argues Dominic Roberts We need a genuinely demand-led skills system A succession of new policy initiatives and quangos has left the skills system with a serious case of reform fatigue. More fundamental change, dramatically paring down the role of the state and boosting the Adult Safeguarded Learning budget, will be needed to break out of the cycle, argues Ralph Hartley Putting the vision into practice The future of the Government’s longterm vision for informal adult learning lies in the hands of local authorities. Success will depend on linking informal adult learning both with other public services and with the rest of the learning and skills sector, writes Mark Ravenhall Lifelong learning at the heart of all we do The move to make local authorities ‘lead accountable bodies’ for informal adult learning is an opportunity not only to extend the reach of learning services to those who need them most but also to reinvigorate the founding vision of lifelong learning, argues Ross Willmott Speaking up for lifelong learning With a general election looming and, with it, the prospect of savage cuts to public sector funding, advocates of lifelong learning need to make their voices heard to ensure the next government recognises the value of our work, says Richard Bolsin It’s the journey that really matters Accountability is important, especially in publicly funded learning. But how do we go about achieving ‘intelligent accountability’ in informal adult education, asks Sheila Dainton It’s all about the learners E-technology played an important role in helping Gloucestershire adult education service improve its processes for recognising and recording achievement – engaging teachers and producing a more learner-centred service in the process. Jane Griffiths explains how it worked.
Volume 21, Number 5, January 2010 News Commentary: What's it got to do with us? Everything CONFINTEA VI, the world adult education conference, resulted in a new framework for adult learning to which the UK Government, among many others, has signed up. Just as important, though, it cemented the UK’s place at the heart of efforts to make adult learning central to the biggest issues on the global agenda, says Jan Eldred Download commentary: What's it got to do with us? Everything - [PDF] It’s in our hands now The failure of the world’s political leaders to agree emissions targets at the Copenhagen climate change summit makes grassroots action all the more important in combating global warming. Adult learning will have a key role to play, argues Jane Ward People get ready Adult education will have an important role to play in addressing the challenges facing the world in the wake of the Copenhagen climate change talks. But what can providers do to make a difference – and what is already being done? Peter Templeton, Elaine McMahon, Jane Wilkinson and Ruth Brook give their perspectives It depends on how you look at it CONFINTEA VI, the sixth world adult education conference, had notably less senior representation from governments and the United Nations than its predecessor, but, despite evidence North and South that adult education is more marginal now than in the 1990s, there were glimmers of hope, writes Alan Tuckett Download: It depends on how you look at it - [PDF] A framework for inaction? The final framework for action agreed at CONFINTEA VI shows that some advances were made, but it would have been much stronger had delegates been prepared to set clear benchmarks or targets for investment or to make the link between adult education and major crises such as climate change, says David Archer Alive and Kicking The Street Life Soccer project gives homeless and vulnerably housed people a chance to change their lives through football. Paul Stanistreet found out how the programme works and how football is kicking open the door to work, education and self-fulfilment Thinking big, aiming high Partnership working underpinned by flexible funding streams and knowledgeable staff will be critical in ensuring that provision for disabled learners continues to challenge and stimulate in times of reduced public spending, argues Viv Berkeley Connecting the classroom Becta’s second survey of the use of technology in adult and community learning finds providers thinking strategically about information and learning technology and teachers increasingly convinced of its benefits, writes Nigel Ecclesfield Not-so-soft skills In times of economic recession and increased pressure on public expenditure, the adult and community learning sector needs to produce evidence of the contribution it makes to the economy as well as to the personal development of its learners, writes Mary Curran Download commentary: Not-so-soft skills - [PDF]
Volume 21, Number 4, December 2009 News Commentary: Skills, yes, but growth? Not really With levels of provision for adult learners set to decline yet further we are as far as ever from the sort of coherent education strategy that is essential to a flourishing democracy, writes Peter Lavender Download commentary: Skills, yes, but growth? Not Really - [PDF] New strategy, same old story The Government’s latest skills strategy has met with a muted response, not least because, once again, the Government has failed to recognise the breadth of the contribution education makes to creating a good society, writes Alastair Thomson Download "New strategy, same old story" - [PDF] Whatever happened to opportunity for all? Train to Gain has made employers the gatekeepers for accessing public funding for adult learning – and left low-paid workers firmly stuck at the bottom of the educational ladder, argues James Rees Beyond public spending Bringing the deficit under control will require higher taxes and lower public spending. Where will we find the funds to help the unemployed remain employable and to develop workers for new industries, asks Mark Corney Is everybody happy? Last year’s Foresight report on mental capital and wellbeing has prompted much debate on the emergence of wellbeing as a key aim of public policy. For adult learning, obliged for so many years to justify its existence in economic terms, this should be good news, but it will be hard to shift ministers away from a narrow notion of ‘skills’, writes Stephen McNair Recession in the regions National policy stresses the key role of adult learning and skills in securing economic recovery. But how has the recession impacted on policy and provision in the regions – and what are the implications for learners, asks Helen Plant ‘A vital role in uncertain times’ In a challenging economic environment, the learning and skills sector needs to build on the strengths of its most successful providers and work closely with employers to make its programmes more relevant, more motivating and more productive, writes Ofsted’s Melanie Hunt Three cheers for the Government? Well, almost Higher Ambitions, the Government’s new framework for higher education, puts welcome stress on more flexible forms of provision, and looks forward to the abolition of the distinction between full-time and part-time study. But there is little recognition of demographic change or of what universities can do for older learners, says Tom Schuller It’s broken, so let’s fix it The current system of student fees isn’t working. That’s why the NUS is calling for a radical overhaul of the system that would see graduates contribute to the costs of their degree once in work, according to their income, writes Aaron Porter Ofsted inspected Ofsted’s new handbook for the inspection of further education and skills promises a ‘fresh approach’ to inspection. But the new framework’s excessive and unreasonable requirements are more to do with controlling colleges than promoting improvement, says Frank Coffield Why it pays to think global As delegates from across the globe converge on Brazil for CONFINTEA VI, the world adult learning conference, Jan Eldred reflects on the emerging themes and why they matter to adult educators, providers and learners in the UK Get up, stand up Ignorance about dyslexia meant a miserable school experience for Barrie Hughes. He was in his 50s when he found the courage to stand up in front of a classroom of learners and admit he couldn’t read. And, as he tells Ed Melia, he hasn’t looked back
Volume 21, Number 3, November 2009 News Commentary: Learning - it's a family affair NIACE is beginning to think about what a new model for family learning in the coming decades might look like. Whatever the social policy challenges we face, it is vital that we build on the core values and well-understood impact of family learning, writes CAROL TAYLOR Download commentary: Learning - it's a family affair - [PDF] Imagining a different life Britain is a less equal society now than it was in the 1960s. It is too early to assess the impact of current initiatives to improve social mobility by widening participation in education, but their long-term success depends on our changing the way we think about these issues, says Mary Stuart Learning to fail Young people from working-class backgrounds are being let down at every stage of their lives, but mentoring - good support and guidance from an adult who doesn't judge them - can be the key to turning things around for them, argues Fran Abrams Download "Learning to fail" - [PDF] The education gap is widening Despite well-funded attempts to widen university participation, where you live is still a major determinant of educational success, with constituencies with the lowest levels of participation doing progressively worse, writes Sally Hunt Learning for life and work The main report of the Inquiry into the Future for Lifelong Learning poses a number of key policy challenges for the development of union learning. The forthcoming White Paper on skills should take note, says Richard Blakeley Learning to cope with an ageing society Adult education has much to contribute to policy debate on the ageing of society. But making the most of adult learning's potential contribution requires both joined-up government and real engagement at a local level, writes Stephen McNair ‘Mind to mind, heart to heart' Over the past two decades there has been a huge growth of interest in the art of storytelling, with people in all sorts of different settings recognising its value as a tool for teaching and communication. Paul Stanistreet travelled to Scotland, with its centuries-old tradition of oral storytelling, to find out why Reading for life A focus on reader development is changing the way public libraries work, and transforming people's lives in the process. The Reading Agency has led many of these changes but they are only the start - with better, sustained funding, there is so much more that libraries could do, writes Miranda McKearney ‘They just don't get it' Young adult carers experience significant disadvantage as a result of their caring responsibilities - not least in education. While there is some creative and flexible provision out there, too often providers fail to take account of the specific needs and responsibilities of young carers, says Nicola Aylward It's about putting service-users first As the Government finalises plans for its universal Adult Advancement and Careers Service, Tony McAleavy considers what can be learned from services currently offering holistic support to disadvantaged groups
Volume 21, Number 2, October 2009 News Commentary: The battle for hearts and minds starts here Early responses to the main report of the Inquiry into the Future for Lifelong Learning have been encouraging but getting the report's key messages across - to politicians and, most importantly, to the public - will be challenging, writes Tom Schuller Download commentary: The battle for hearts and minds starts here - [PDF] Rebalancing the system The main report of the Inquiry into the Future for Lifelong Learning calls both for a basic rethink of the way we divide up our adult lives and a rebalancing of resources to enable people to take control at every stage. Tom Schuller and Jenny Williams report Download "Rebalancing the System" - [PDF] Realising the vision The Inquiry into the Future for Lifelong Learning proposes a strategy for lifelong learning for the next quarter-century. Here, four of the Inquiry’s commissioners – Leisha Fullick, John Field, Teresa Rees and Helen Gilchrist – reflect on some of the report’s key themes All we are able to be Effective citizenship in the twenty-first century requires that everyone be afforded opportunities, throughout the life-course, to develop their potential. Learning’s role lies in turning the potential into the actual, writes Bob Fryer The family way This month’s Learning Revolution Festival celebrates, among other things, the transformational power of family learning. It’s time its value was recognised across Whitehall, especially in the schools sector, write Tricia Hartley and Julia Wright An experiment in adult education The Swarthmore Educational Settlement was founded in Leeds in 1909. A century on, with thousands of students having passed through its doors, it remains an inspiring centre for innovative adult education with a social purpose. Tom Steele reflects on an experiment that has endured against the odds Resources of hope The Christian church can boast a long – and exceptionally varied – tradition of engagement with adult education. Joanna Cox reflects on the roots of this commitment and describes some of the ways in which today’s church contributes to encouraging adult learning Perfect weather to fly Failure to finish university left Hannah Ostermeyer depressed and suicidal. It was only through adult learning that she began to put the broken pieces of her life back together again. Ed Melia meets a remarkable learner as she prepares for university for a second time

Volume 21, Number 1, September 2009

News
Commentary: Another year of living dangerously
The last 12 months have been tumultuous ones for adult learning. With a new government department responsible for post-school education, and escalating pressures on the public purse, the next 12 months may be no less dramatic, writes Alan Tuckett.
Download commentary: Another year of living dangerously - [PDF]
Towards a digital future
An estimated six million people in Britain are both socially and digitally excluded. What will the much-vaunted Digital Britain White Paper do to reach them and why does it matter to adult learning policy, asks Rachel Thomson
Download "Towards a digital future" - [PDF]
The revolution will be digitised
The Digital Britain White Paper outlines the Government's vision for the digital future of the country. We asked a number of industry experts, stakeholders, politicians and commentators how they viewed the report and its likely repercussions
Download "The revolution will be digitised" - [PDF]
Learning through life
Beginning from the premise that the right to learn is a human right, the Inquiry into the Future for Lifelong Learning has set out a ‘framework of opportunity' for lifelong learning for the next quarter-century. Inquiry chair David Watson describes how his team went about its task and sets out its main proposals
'Only a wall - but what a wall!'
Bill Jones revisits Thomas Hardy's Jude the Obscure, a novel often identified with the movement to democratise educational opportunity, and wonders just how much has changed
Part-time learners need support too
Alan Milburn and Lord Mandelson talk eloquently about driving social mobility, but the Government's unfair treatment of part-time students makes such rhetoric seem hollow, argues Anna Fazackerley
Time out of mind
The ELQ policy may well prove the final nail in the coffin of lifelong learning courses in archaeology. Pretty soon it will need a Time Team-style excavation to remind us of what we have lost. Richard Lee and Adam Longcroft explain
What did Lifelong Learning Networks ever do for us?
Lifelong Learning Networks were established in 2004 to increase the number of vocational learners progressing into higher education. Five years on, Jill Ward asks whether they have succeeded either in widening participation or in effecting culture change in HE

Someone taking a phot of Gordon Brown

Volume 20, Number 10, June 2009

News
Commentary: We need an all-age learning contract
The Inquiry into the Future for Lifelong Learning is proposing a new model of the education lifecourse - it should help us get to grips with how investment in learning at each life stage helps those in other stages, writes Tom Schuller.
Download commentary: We need an all-age learning contract - [PDF]
Raising our sights
Making serious headway on the skills and jobs agenda during the current recession will be exceedingly difficult. But unless we take immediate and concerted action we will fall further behind our international competitors, argues Chris Humphries.
Download "Raising our sights" - [PDF]
Changing the way we work
Learning should not be seen as something separate from work. By reorganising working practice to recognise that all work involves and generates learning we not only improve opportunities to learn, we prepare the ground for economic recovery, write Alan Felstead, Alison Fuller, Nick Jewson and Lorna Unwin.
Investment in skills must be long term
In the recession of the 1980s, government schemes to improve people’s skills often provoked hostility and resentment among those who took part in them. This time around, can we avoid creating a generation of people condemned to a life of poverty and depression, asks John Field.
Power in a union
The work unions do in providing and supporting learning for their members rarely makes the news headlines, but it will be essential if we are to engage those workers who most need to acquire new and better skills to cope in the economic downturn, writes Pam Johnson.
How should we fund adult learning?
A funding system that trusted individuals and employers to make decisions about their own learning needs would not only be fairer – it would ensure we get better value for the money we spend on learning, says Stephen McNair.
Taking learning to the community
These are tough times for adult and community learning, with many providers struggling to sustain a broad curriculum offer that includes a wide-ranging adult learning programme. South Devon College was determined to keep its flourishing adult offer alive but realised that, with funding increasingly scarce, it had to find innovative ways of ensuring that the wider benefits of learning are available for all. Paul Stanistreet reports.
More than bricks and mortar
The 1875 Group was formed by volunteers in 2007 to restore and reinterpret a back-to-back house at Bradford Industrial Museum. The project has provided the museum with a wealth of new research material, objects for display and written and audio information for visitors, as well as inspiring a passionate interest among the volunteers. Paul Stanistreet found out what motivates a remarkable group of learners.
In their shoes
At the end of March adult educator Jane Mace travelled to Palestine to take part in a church programme to monitor human rights abuses and support peace efforts in the region. Nearing the end of her three-month stay, she reflects on the role adult learning can play in increasing understanding and promoting justice.
Learning from the future
Even before the revelations about MPs’ expenses there was widespread concern about a democratic deficit. Whatever the future holds for our society, adult education will have a key role in sustaining both self and citizenship, writes Kate Watters.
Letters

man sculpting

Volume 20, Number 9, May 2009

News
Commentary: It's not just about marketing
Campaigns such as Adult Learners’ Week are much more than exercises in marketing. They draw people back into learning, engage employers, and challenge popular prejudices, says Richard Spear
Download commentary: It's not just about marketing - [PDF]
Adult learning matters
The original funding proposal for Adult Learners’ Week pointed up the need to challenge the indifference to education of many British adults. Eighteen years on, campaigns such as Adult Learners’ Week still have a critical role to play in engaging more and different adults, writes Rachel Thomson
‘There’s light at the end of the tunnel’
In Touch, a volunteer programme run jointly by the Manchester Museum and Imperial War Museum North, does more than teach individuals about the museums and their collections, it gives them skills and experience they can transfer to their lives and future employment
‘Suddenly, I had a little bit of hope’
By the time she was 17 Lucy Bryson was hooked on crack cocaine and heroin, working the streets to fund her addiction. Her future looked bleak when she was imprisoned four years ago but a project that builds trust and responsibility in young people by teaching them to work with animals has transformed her life
‘It opens doors you thought were closed’
For 10 years, Liverpool University’s Go Higher programme has been helping adults with few or no formal qualifications gain access to university-level study. The standards of learning and teaching on the course are uncompromising – proving, for some, a springboard to postgraduate study – but the only criteria for entry are enthusiasm and a desire to learn
‘If at first you don’t succeed ...’
Adult participation in learning has clear benefits, to individuals, to communities and to the economy, but, with the learning gap between the educational haves and have-nots widening, it remains a minority activity among adults in the UK, write Alan Tuckett and Fiona Aldridge
Download "If at first you don't succeed..." - [PDF]
A question of priorities
The closure of university public programmes across England is a direct result of ministers’ decision to withdraw funding from students studying for a qualification at a level equivalent to or lower than one they already possess. It signifies the end of lifelong learning as an object of mainstream government policy, says Ian Ground
Download "A question of priorities" - [PDF]
Getting our hands on history
When the Leicester branch of the WEA wanted to mark its hundredth anniversary there seemed no better way than to get a class of adult learners to research and write the branch’s history. The process proved both challenging and hugely rewarding, write Cherry Heinrich and Cynthia Brown
Never too old?
Although policy objectives for older people are well aligned across government departments, in practice their needs are almost always overshadowed by those of other groups, reports Jay Derrick

Lady Juggling some tennis balls

Volume 20, Number 8, April 2009

News
Commentary: You say you want a revolution...
While the new money on offer is modest, the rhetoric of The Learning Revolution, the Government's informal adult learning White Paper, is a welcome echo of David Blunkett's preface to The Learning Age and in marked contrast to the language of the skills strategy, writes Alan Tuckett
Download commentary: You say you want a revolution... - [PDF]
The revolution’s here
There is consensus across the three main parties that adult learning, in all its forms, matters. As the Government publishes its White Paper on informal adult learning, we ask what they think needs to be done about it
Revolutionary road
Last month, the Government published The Learning Revolution, its long-awaited White Paper on informal adult learning. We asked some of the key players and commentators whether they thought the paper lived up to its optimistic title
Download "The revolution's here" and "Revolutionary Road" - [PDF]
Mind the funding gap
The Government’s decision to withdraw funding for students who already have a qualification of equal status has resulted in the closure of lifelong learning courses across England, with some universities shutting down their public programmes altogether. As the full extent of the damage becomes clear, the clamour for ministers to reverse the policy is growing ever more intense, reports Paul Stanistreet
Download "Mind the funding gap" - [PDF]
A perfect storm
The withdrawal of funding for students studying for an ELQ has created a near ‘perfect storm’ for university lifelong learning. The Government should reverse the decision and allow HE lifelong learning centres to focus on more than just survival, says Bill Jones
Credit where it’s due
The Credit for Patients project gives people with a long-term illness the opportunity to get credit for learning they do to cope with their condition. The positive results for both patients and carers demonstrate the strong links between health and education, writes Steve Johnson

Cover of Adults Learning April 2009

Volume 20, Number 7, March 2009

News
Commentary: Still out of reach
Practitioners used to pray for the kind of attention adult learning now receives from government but much more will be needed to reach those who still do not think learning is for them, writes Sue Meyer
Download commentary: Still out of reach - [PDF]
A university of the air
Next month the Open University, one of the most significant educational innovations of the twentieth century, turns 40.Paul Stanistreet reflects on its origins and early development.
Still imagining the future
As the Open University hits 40, shifts in Government policy are prompting it to reassess one of its founding principles, to widen access to university-level education to adults with few or no qualifications, writes Chris Baker.
Coming down from the hill
Lancaster University's Department of Continuing Education has a long tradition of engagement with older learners. Its latest innovation aims to reach out to older people sometimes suspicious of the ‘university on the hill'. Fiona Frank explains.
‘We risk failing to invest in the day after tomorrow'
More than 500 people from across the country attended the Campaigning Alliance for Lifelong Learning's February lobby of Parliament. They made sure their voices were heard, lobbying their MPs and ensuring politicians from all parties got the message that the loss of over a million adult learning places is unacceptable. Paul Stanistreet reports.
Download "We risk failing to invest in the day after tomorrow" - [PDF]
What's become of lifelong learning?
Sheila Dainton's father left school aged 13 at the start of the Great Depression. When he finally found work the wealth of educational opportunity he encountered inspired him with a lifelong love of learning. What happened to all that opportunity?
Listening to employers
When staff at Bishop Grosseteste University first tried to involve employers in course design they received only one response. A more innovative approach was called for, write Jan Machalski, Alison Riley and Karl Aubrey.
Serious games
The number and range of virtual worlds is growing exponentially. Sara De Freitas explains why adult educators should be interested.
Why awards matter
The Association of Colleges' Beacon Awards were set up 15 years ago to recognise the best teaching and learning practice in further education. As well as raising the profile of the sector, they provide organisations with models of improvement, writes Alice Thiagaraj

Lady with headphones on

Volume 20, Number 6, February 2009

News
Commentary: What's become of 'learners' voice'?
The Government has championed the idea of learner voice and providers have been quick to respond, but what difference has it all made, asks Peter Lavender
Download commentary: What's become of 'learners' voice'? - [PDF]
‘We're laying down a marker'
Almost 200 organisations have joined the Campaigning Alliance for Lifelong Learning, and more than 90 MPs have signed an Early Day Motion supporting it. On 25 February the campaign culminates in a lobby of Parliament. Paul Stanistreet found out what its organisers and supporters hope it will achieve
Adult learning matters
The Campaigning Alliance for Lifelong Learning is to lobby parliament for the restoration of the 1.5 million adult learning places lost over the past two years. The campaign has attracted supporters from an astonishingly wide range of backgrounds. We asked some of them why they believe the campaign matters
‘I'm about giving power to those without it'
A Conservative government would want to see a ‘massive growth' in adult learning, countering the loss of 1.5 million publicly funded places over the past two years, says shadow minister John Hayes. But beating the recession will inevitably mean prioritising employability, he tells Paul Stanistreet
Achieving all our ambitions
Policymakers remain fixated on fulltime higher education for young people. But to maximise the contribution of HE, and achieve our ambitions for both economic
prosperity and social justice, it is vital that we broaden our thinking, says Tricia Hartley
Re-planning our contribution
With the UK economy facing its worst downturn in more than sixty years we urgently need to rethink the contribution adult learning can make in mitigating the worst effects of the recession, argues Tony Uden
Download "Re-planning our contribution" by Tony Uden - [PDF]
Ready to launch?
What more can be done to ensure the successful implementation of the Foundation Learning Tier, asks Viv Berkeley
‘My award is for my students'
Award-winning ESOL tutor Lynn Evans has a simple recipe for success - make your teaching as relevant to the lives of your learners as possible. It's an approach that has transformed her department and the lives of many of her learners
‘A new world in our hearts'
John Payne reflects on the legacy of Francesc Ferrer, an anarchist and founder of Barcelona's influential Modern School, who believed that education could create ‘a revolution in people's hearts'

Man putting poster CALL poster on a brick wall

Volume 20, Number 5, January 2009

News
Commentary: The great FE robbery
The Government has had some success through its Train to Gain programme, but increases in work-based provision have been bought at the cost of a continuing decline in opportunities for adults overall, says Alan Tuckett
Download commentary: The Great FE Robbery - [PDF]
Know your place
While the virtues of lifelong learning continue to trip from the tongues of ministers, modern-day Jude Fawleys are no less likely to find the only forms of publicly supported adult learning available to be those that make them do their current jobs better, writes Alison Wolf
Download "Know your place" by Alison Wolf - [PDF]
The skills paradox
As the jobs market becomes more competitive adults with poor basic skills will suffer most. Yet the least skilled workers remain the least likely to receive training. A responsive training system will put public money into the hands of individuals and not their employers, say Beatrice Karol Burks and Richard Reeves
The feeling's mutual
The idea of a learning ‘bank' or ‘mutual', floated in the Dearing Report on higher education, is helping shape the Inquiry into the Future for Lifelong Learning's thinking about entitlement, writes Tom Schuller
A life of learning for all
As we begin 2009, the European Union is looking forward to the next phase of its strategy to create a ‘knowledge-based' society. The big challenge will be to ensure that people who currently have only basic skills are not left behind, writes Ján Figel
Skills for the future
The economic restructuring of the 1980s claimed many casualties. Only by overcoming resistance to continual learning can we forestall the same fate for those hit by the current economic disintegration, says Judith Armitt
A learning democracy
Adult learning has a critical role to play in the changing landscape of local government, not least in developing the essential tools of participative and representative
democracy, argues Lucy de Groot
A right to be different
The European Union has to accommodate difference not just in theory but in lived reality. Adult learning is critical to meeting the challenge of living in a heterogeneous environment, argues Mary McAleese
A duty to protect
As a nation we have a duty to ensure that those forced to seek protection in the UK are properly supported to live integrated, safe and fulfilling lives. You cannot achieve this without learning English, says James Lee
The way we write now
Computer technologies have brought tremendous benefits to learners, but we are in danger becoming over-dependent on them. Maybe it's time we went back to the basics, says John Arnett
Towards a health
literacy curriculum Recognition that health and education providers share a number of important agendas will be key to the successful development of a health literacy curriculum, argues Jan Novitzky

photo of man working at a vice

Volume 20, Number 4, December 2008

News
Commentary: Together we stand
A right to a voice
Many asylum seekers overcome unimaginably horrific experiences to rebuild their lives in the United Kingdom. Their success often depends on having ready access to English language training, writes Chris Taylor
Tough, but where's the love?
Every government wants to appear to be tough on asylum seekers. But in failing to offer newcomers immediate access to English language learning we run the risk of missing out on significant economic and social cohesion benefits, Mary Coussey tells Adults Learning
‘A virtually limitless resource'
With skills such as flexibility and originality increasingly required by an economy struggling to adapt to sudden and seismic change, there is renewed interest in what engagement in culture and creativity can offer. The difference such engagement can make to people's lives has long been recognised at Morley College, discovers Paul Stanistreet
Our people, our culture
Liverpool's emphasis on its people helped the city become 2008 European Capital of Culture. Bryan Biggs describes the key role public participation has played in making the process a vital and inclusive one
Our great journey
The work the Bluecoat does in giving people with learning disabilities access to art and artists is not therapy - it's about giving people freedom of thought and action, says Bec Fearon
A rare vocation
Since becoming artistic director of Liverpool's Metropolitan Cathedral in 1981 Sister Anthony Wilson has seen creativity make a positive difference to the lives of many of her volunteers. She told Paul Stanistreet why she sees people as the prime subject matter of her work
Seize the day
When the health of her son deteriorated Sarah Milne was forced to give up a good job and work part-time from home. She had no choice but to become more creative, grasping the opportunity to revive her passion for writing
Our creative futures
Digital media offer many new opportunities for learning and creativity but we need to make sure that those currently furthest away from engagement are not left behind, Screen WM Chief Executive Suzie Norton tells Adults Learning
Mind the reality gap
Can the Welsh Assembly Government deliver a new approach to adult and community learning that will work for Wales? Only if budgetary resources are there to match the ambition, writes Richard Spear
Out of reach
Ofsted's Chief Inspector has offered a hopeful message of general improvement for learners, but much more will have to be done to ensure that those with the greatest needs get the best deal, reports Kate Watters
Making the most of ourselves
The Foresight report on mental capital and wellbeing demonstrates that capitalising on the mental resources of older people could actually save the country money. Brian Groombridge takes a closer look

old photo of orchestra

Volume 20, Number 3, November 2008

News
Commentary - We must invest in the future
Where do we go from here?
The Government's informal adult learning consultation attracted 5,500 responses. Last month it published a reaction promising to work closely with partners to develop a strategy. We asked some of those partners what they wanted from the strategy
Daring to dream
When NIACE examined the low participation rates among Bangladeshi, Pakistani and Somali women in Britain, it found a significant gap between the aspirations of some of these women and the opportunities open to them. Jane Ward reports
Finding common ground
There are some positive messages in an Ofsted survey of the role of adult learning in community renewal. Let's hope it leads to greater policy cohesion in relation to neighbourhood learning, writes Kate Watters
Bridging the digital divide
As the Government publishes its action plan for consultation on digital inclusion, Alan Clarke, Helen Milner, Terry Killer and Genny Dixon consider some of the challenges and opportunities for the delivery of digital inclusion
Building communities, transforming lives
The first-ever Colleges Week took place this month. Here, David Collins reflects on the themes of the week and why they matter
A busman and his holiday
Philip Healy describes how seeing the summer school from the perspective of both tutor and learner confirmed his faith in adult learning and its role in civil society
Softly, softly
As we move into a period of economic uncertainty, ‘softer' skills are becoming increasingly important for families, communities and employers. Informal adult learning in the workplace represents the best way to cultivate them, writes Abigail Diamond
Change for the better
The LSC's new consultation to refresh its national mental health strategy represents real progress and a positive challenge to much else that is written about meeting the needs of learners with mental health difficulties, writes Catina Barrett

Student in workshop with face mask on

Volume 20, Number 2, October 2008

News
Commentary - Ready, Steady, Change
Get happy
The evidence for the contribution adult learning can make to wellbeing and mental capital is robust, but learning is only one of many possible interventions in policy, writes John Field
Whose evidence is it anyway?
When governments and pressure groups attend only to research that suits their political purposes, it makes a mockery of the idea of evidence informed policy and practice, says Stephen Gorard
Money, money, money
Mapping spending on lifelong learning - one of the key tasks of the Inquiry into the Future for Lifelong Learning - is proving highly problematic, writes Inquiry director Tom Schuller
You live, you learn
One of the key findings of the Learning Lives project is that learning means much more to individuals and their lives than is acknowledged in policies that focus on the economic function of lifelong learning. Learning is not only more complex, it is also much more intimately connected with our sense of self-identity, argues Gert Biesta
The future is grey
By 2020, a third of working people will be aged over 50. Their skills needs will have to be met throughout the learning offer, writes Bill Rammell
The secret of our success
By embedding Skills for Life across the whole organisation, Stoke-on-Trent College dramatically transformed performance among its adult learners. Head of Faculty at the college Maggi Rowland describes how they did it
Quick, quick, slow
As Strictly Come Dancing returns to our screens, Will Johnson takes his first slow, slow, quick, quick, slow steps into the world of ballroom dancing
Doors open
Ed Melia finds out what made bestselling author Ian Rankin write a Quick Read - and gets a glimpse into the mind of a writer who retains a childlike appetite for new ideas
High hopes
When the Scottish Government decided to commit new money to adult literacy it made working in partnership a condition of funding. The approach has been hugely successful in the Highlands where a ‘literacies partnership' enables providers to take learning to learners, wherever they are. Paul Stanistreet reports
Books

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Adults Learning Back Issues

Volume 21, Number 6, February 2010

Volume 21, Number 5, January 2010

Volume 21, Number 4, December 2009

Volume 21, Number 3, November 2009

Volume 21, Number 2, October 2009