Search results

This publication is the second of two volumes containing the findings of extensive empirical research into lifelong learning, undertaken by the Economic and Social Research Council's (ESRC's) Learning Society Programme in the United Kingdom (UK). The research 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. This second volume presents the findings from a national survey of the skills of British workers, and discusses the meaning of the learning society for adults with learning difficulties, the use of social capital to explain patterns of lifelong learning, the determinants of participation and non-participation in learning, innovation in higher education, and different 'trajectories' of lifelong learning. Each chapter provides an overview of a project, its objectives, methods, main findings and policy implications. The chapters are: The three stages of lifelong learning: romance, evidence and implementation / Frank Coffield; The meaning of the learning society for adults with learning difficulties: bold rhetoric and limited opportunities / Sheila Riddell, Stephen Baron and Alastair Wilson; Networks, norms and trust: explaining patterns of lifelong learning in Scotland and Northern Ireland / John Field and Tom Schuller; Learning culture, learning age, learning society: turning aspirations into reality? / Pat Davies and John Bynner; Teaching and learning in higher education: issues of innovation / Andrew Hannan, Harold Silver and Susan English; Participating in the learning society: history, place and biography / Gareth Rees, Stephen Gorard, Ralph Fevre and John Furlong; Skills in the British workplace / David Ashton, Alan Felstead and Francis Green.

This article reports on research carried out under the Economic and Social Research Council's (ESRC's) Learning Society Programme. The program comprised 14 projects involving research into the learning society and the ways in which it can contribute to the development of knowledge and skills for employment and in other areas of adult life. In this article, the authors present policy issues identified by an ongoing research study of the educational, work and home experiences of a small cohort of inner-city youth as they engage with a specific education, training and labour market setting in South West London. The research suggests that lifelong learning needs to begin from an early age rather than at sixteen as, to a large extent, the problems of participation, motivation and status differentiation in post-16 education and training are generated by compulsory education which does not facilitate inclusivity or maximum post-16 participation.

This publication is the first of two volumes containing the findings of extensive empirical research into lifelong learning, undertaken by the Economic and Social Research Council's (ESRC's) Learning Society Programme in the United Kingdom (UK). The research 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. The main themes explored in this first volume are the post-16 education market, key skills in higher education, adult guidance services, and the development of knowledge at work. Each chapter provides an overview of a project, its objectives, methods, main findings and policy implications. The chapters are: Introduction: a critical analysis of the concept of a learning society / Frank Coffield; 'Worlds apart' - education markets in the post-16 sector of one urban locale 1995-98 / Stephen J. Ball, Meg Maguire and Sheila Macrae; Unifying academic and vocational learning in England, Wales and Scotland / Ken Spours, Michael Young, Cathy Howieson and David Raffe (see TD/TNC 65.130); Skill development in higher education and employment / Elisabeth Dunne, Neville Bennett and Clive Carre (see TD/TNC 66.150); The variable contribution of guidance services in different types of learning societies / Will Bartlett and Teresa Rees; Changing patterns of training provision in the National Health Service: an overview / Jenny Hewison, Therese Dowswell and Bobbie Millar; Working and learning in Britain and Germany: findings of a regional study / Phil Cooke, Antje Cockrill, Peter Scott, John Fitz and Brian Davies; Development of knowledge and skills at work / Michael Eraut, Jane Alderton, Gerald Cole and Peter Senker.

This article reports on research carried out under the Economic and Social Research Council's (ESRC's) Learning Society Programme. The program comprised 14 projects involving research into the learning society and the ways in which it can contribute to the development of knowledge and skills for employment and in other areas of adult life. The National Health Service (NHS) is the largest employer in the United Kingdom and over the last twenty years, the service has undergone major reorganisation. This organisational change has been accompanied by changes in the provision of education for healthcare staff. Most professional training at pre- and post-registration level for nursing and other professional staff is now provided by higher education institutions. In addition, the demand for continuing education by nurses and other healthcare staff is high due to national guidelines for nurses that require continuing education to maintain professional registration, and a general sense among other health professionals that participation in continuing professional education is necessary to maintain their professional standing. This article presents research involving interviews with a number of participants in post-registration continuing education courses and NHS managers. Specifically, the research examined how participants' continuing education was funded, whether they had release from work to attend courses, and the effect of course participation on their domestic and working lives. However, in this article, the authors focus on issues of release from work and funding only.

This article reports on research carried out under the Economic and Social Research Council's (ESRC's) Learning Society Programme. The program comprised 14 projects involving research into the learning society and the ways in which it can contribute to the development of knowledge and skills for employment and in other areas of adult life. The authors explore the question of whether the 'learning society' is just a new version of utilitarian discourse in which individuals are reconstituted in response to the significant changes in the capitalist mode of production or whether it can be combined with a humanist discourse in which a learning society would be one in which all citizens are included. This possibility is investigated through an analysis of the position of adults with learning difficulties in a learning society.