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Western societies achieve generally high levels of educational attainment but there is great diversity amongst them in relation to levels of crime, tolerance, trust and social cohesion. This report explores the effects of education, training and skills on a broad range of macro-social outcomes such as crime, social cohesion, citizenship, civic and political participation. It is based on a review of literature that uses a cross-national comparative approach to investigate the relationships between education and these outcomes at a societal level. The implications for methodology of this approach and the policy implications of the findings are also examined. The authors found that the evaluation of the macro-social benefits of education requires a hybrid approach involving both modelling and formative evaluation and that various levels of aggregation, e.g. individual, regional and national, are necessary for policy formation concerning macro-social benefits. Distribution of educational outcomes and culture emerged as ways in which educational systems can have an effect upon the macro-social benefits investigated in this report. It is suggested that policies designed to reduce inequalities of educational outcomes and increase social mixing within education, have the potential to improve benefits at a societal level.

The report complements an earlier report, ‘Education, equity and social cohesion: a distributional model’, indexed at TD/TNC 75.167. Show less

With education extending further into adult life and careers becoming a major feature of adult life for growing numbers of people, decisions about the timing of marriage and parenthood are becoming more complicated and problematic. This report reviews evidence of the complex aspects of relationships in the contemporary context where education, qualifications and learning opportunities now play a major role. It reviews a broad range of literature from the UK, North America and Europe and focuses on findings concerned with the impact of learning on partnership and family formation, and on family breakdown. The report also reviews some of the evidence on the impact of learning in helping to reduce early pregnancy risks and on the benefits of learning for young mothers. Another aspect of the report is the timing of decisions relating to partnership and parenting. The findings reveal two extremes: the impact of learning, or rather lack of it, in motivating decisions, leading to early pregnancy; and the pursuit of qualifications and careers built on them, leading to postponement of the commitments involved in marriage and family formation, sometimes to the point where parenthood becomes no longer viable. The report concludes with a theoretical framework in which to situate the relationship between family formation and learning. Policy implications and key questions requiring further research are considered. The report suggests that government policy needs to recognise the complexity of the relationships between learning and the family and to provide support to ensure positive outcomes. It is argued that there is a role for educational as well as financial support to enable families to work effectively at different stages in the life course. Show less

The ideas of excellence and equity for all children and young people underpin [UK] Government policy. This demands that no child should receive less than the highest quality education, or achieve at levels that fail to fulfil their full potential. Nevertheless, there remain a significant number of low attaining pupils. We need to understand both the influences on low attainers in particular, and how policy can intervene to raise attainment levels: hence this review of literature on influences and leverages. The review explores the influences on progress and attainment throughout childhood and early adulthood. We first consider who the low attainers are, and provide a critical analysis of the different individual, family and school level factors associated with low educational attainment, particularly among 14-19 year olds. We identify the questions that remain in dispute and go on to review some of the policy initiatives attempting to improve standards for this group of young people. We conclude by summarising the evidence on the extent of the initiatives' impact, reviewing their limitations and examining the implications for policy design. The factors contributing to low educational achievement are many and complex, and it is not always possible to determine whether one factor is causing or being caused by another. However, there is convincing evidence that individual characteristics and family background have a significant effect on achievement, from the earliest years. This suggests that while there are some fixed factors that may act to disadvantage some children, there is also potential to improve the achievement of many low attainers. Successful approaches include: programmes to raise aspirations; incentives to stay in education beyond 16; supporting the development of a good home learning environment; and targeted support in school.

Excerpts from published summary. Show less

The commitment of the [UK] government to improving the education of the workforce has been emphasised both in the Five Year Strategy for Children and Learners [indexed at TD/IRD 88.391] of the Department for Education and Skills (DfES, 2004), now Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF), and in the recently published Leitch Review [indexed at TD/IRD 88.157], which calls for the UK to be a 'world leader in skills'. Leitch also called for over 90 per cent of adults qualified to at least Level 2, an increase from 69 per cent in 2005, with a commitment to go further and achieve 95 per cent as soon as possible. However, our understanding of the characteristics and motivations of individuals who participate in level 2 courses is limited. While their demographic features are well known, few studies have used longitudinal data to look at the life histories of participants and thus our understanding of what may influence or predict their participation in learning is limited. This report aims to address this issue, describing the characteristics of people who return to learning to take level 2 qualifications and their pathways to progression. The research draws on two nationally representative longitudinal studies, the National Child Development Survey (NCDS) and the British Household Panel Survey (BHPS).

Published summary. Show less

This report presents findings from a major piece of fieldwork carried out by the Centre for Research on the Wider Benefits of Learning (WBL) and begins with a summary of findings presented under the following headings: Conceptual and methodological; Initial education; Adaptation and change; Family lives; Health; Social capital and social cohesion; Policy implications. The main section of the report is structured as follows: Part A provides a brief introduction and presents the framework developed by the authors for data analysis summary typologies of learning effects and of causal relationships; Part B contains the thematic analysis of the data; Part C presents individual case studies; and Part D discusses the policy implications. Includes references and three appendices: (1) Respondents' background characteristics; (2) Information about interview topic guides; (3) NALS [National Adult Learning Survey] definition of learning activities. Show less

This review explores the concept of self-regulation, which includes the ability to concentrate, become involved in group activities, restrain disruptive and impulsive behaviour, and work autonomously, and its impact on learning and attainment. It also considers the recent high levels of interest in self-regulation, and provides a policy and educational context. The focus is on children aged 5-16. The literature shows that self-regulation skills have important benefits for the learning and attainment of children and young people: there is a positive overall relationship between self-regulation and academic achievement. Although the size of the effect of self-regulation is small compared with that associated with prior attainment, it exists independently of prior attainment. The literature also shows that these skills can be developed with appropriate teaching and support: aspects of self-regulation such as attention, persistence, flexibility, motivation and confidence can all be improved as a result of effective teaching and learning practices.

Published summary from the Centre for Research on the Wider Benefits of Learning website. Show less

This report presents the findings of research into the effects of adult learning on a range of measures of health and social capital and cohesion in the UK. The National Child Development Study (NCDS) is used for analyses. Changes in people’s lives between the ages of 33 and 42 are tracked and the links between these changes and adult learning are estimated. The findings suggest that adult learning has an impact on a wide range of outcomes and makes a significant contribution to small changes in attitudes and behaviours that occur during mid-adulthood. The report contains more detailed findings concerning specific outcomes of adult learning, types of courses taken, and groups of learners. These findings provide evidence about why and when adult learning makes a difference. They indicate some compelling effects of lifelong learning and demonstrate that educational participation produces a number of non-economic benefits that extend into personal life and into the community. Show less

This report presents the findings of research into how teachers in further education (FE) colleges perceive the wider benefits of learning. It is based on a survey of 10,000 practitioners throughout England which was carried out in collaboration with the Learning and Skills Development Agency (LSDA). The report is structured as follows. The first two sections provide the introduction and the methodology. Section three discusses the results from the quantitative data under the following headings: What are considered to be the most important benefits of FE?; How do perceived benefits group together?; Do perceived benefits differ by subject, qualification aim and level?; Do benefits differ by student ethnicity, age and college characteristics?; Do perceived benefits differ by practitioner characteristics?; What leads to wider benefits? Section four discusses the qualitative data under the headings of: Typologies of benefit; What leads to wider benefits?; Which students benefit the most?; The final section provides the conclusions and recommendations. Also included are a bibliography and three appendices: (1) A structural equation model of perceived benefits; (2) Coefficients and model fit for OLS regression; (3) Questionnaire. Show less

Aspirations vary for different sections of the population both in terms of parents’ educational and occupational goals for their children and the ambitions of the young people themselves. In this report, the authors review the current research literature across a range of disciplines to set out these differences and consider how educational and career aspirations are formed and developed in response to different environments and circumstances. They also examine the extent to which aspirations are related to eventual outcomes and discuss the implications for current policies and practices.

Excerpt from publication.

Key findings are grouped around the following questions: Who has high aspirations? When and how are aspirations formed? What are the barriers and facilitators for high aspirations? Do high aspirations lead to better outcomes? When and how can the development of high aspirations be supported? Show less

Research on learning and attitude change has suggested that there may be a role for adult education in changing attitudes. However, there is little evidence to suggest how or why adult education may change a range of opinions. Moreover, there is little rationale for the importance of changing norms in terms of their impact on behaviour. This report aims to examine these issues. Drawing on data from the UK National Child Development Study (NCDS), the authors construct seven attitude scales: racism, political cynicism, environmentalism, willingness to work, collectivism-markets, authoritarianism and traditional family values. Using changes in the lives of over 8,000 people between the ages of 33 and 42, the authors demonstrate that adult learning has effects on positive attitude change. The findings demonstrate that adult education is implicated in a movement towards more ‘open minded’ perspectives on race and authority and suggest that adult learning may be used as a policy instrument in influencing and sustaining key attitudes and concerns. The authors highlight the role for adult learning in increasing community cohesion and engagement through reducing racism and political cynicism. Show less