The meaning of the learning society for adults with learning difficulties: bold rhetoric and limited opportunities

This chapter reports on a project conducted within the Economic and Social Research Council's (ESRC's) Learning Society Programme in the United Kingdom (UK). The program examined the ways in which lifelong learning can contribute to the development of knowledge and skills for employment and in other areas of adult life. People with learning difficulties are more likely to experience social marginalisation and problems in accessing the labour market. This project investigated possible opportunities for this group in the learning society and considered what could be learnt from their experiences and applied to wider social groups. The chapter begins with an outline of developments in a number of public policy arenas which contribute to the reality of the learning society for people with learning difficulties. This is followed by a discussion of the results of a survey which defined lifelong learning services and their underlying discourses for people with learning difficulties in Scotland. The chapter concludes with an exploration of how the dominant perceptions of the learning society affect the experiences and identities of people with learning difficulties through a series of ethnographic case studies (for the full report on this research see TD/TNC 66.396).

The volume from which this chapter is taken is indexed at TD/TNC 67.152. The first volume of findings from the ESRC Learning Society Programme is indexed at TD/TNC 67.145.

This chapter reports on a project conducted within the Economic and Social Research Council's (ESRC's) Learning Society Programme in the United Kingdom (UK). The program examined the ways in which lifelong learning can contribute to the development of knowledge and skills for employment and in other areas of adult life. People with learning difficulties are more likely to experience social marginalisation and problems in accessing the labour market. This project investigated possible opportunities for this group in the learning society and considered what could be learnt from ...  [+] Show more