Vision of learning being lost

In 1997 Tony Blair and New Labour came to power dramatically stating that the three top priorities were ‘education, education and education.’ In government this was rapidly translated in the field of adult education into a commitment to promoting a culture of lifelong learning – there was to be a new learning culture for all with a special emphasis on those who had least benefited from education.

Lifelong learning

As slogans go ‘lifelong learning’ sounded good and was not without content. It acknowledged the value of learning. The then Education Secretary, David Blunkett, referred to the broad contribution learning can make to any society:

John F Kennedy said: ‘Liberty without learning is always in peril and learning without liberty always in vain’. The talk was of ‘a learning age’, the vision of which was said to be about more than employment; it was to be about the development of a culture of learning that would help to build a united society, assist in the creation of personal independence and encourage our creativity and innovation.

Skills agenda

Time passes. Today the vision and passion of ‘lifelong learning’ has degenerated into an obsession with rationalisation focused solely on the skills agenda and the economy. In England and Wales this already has had a savage impact. National Institute of Adult Continuing Education (NIACE) figures indicate that in the last two years a million adults have been lost from adult education as a result of changes in public sector funding.

In Northern Ireland we have begun to see the outworking of the Department of Employment and Learning’s 2004 consultation document Further Education Means Business. The most public manifestation is the restructuring of the further education (FE) sector into six new colleges. Less obvious but no less real has been a shift towards skills development for the economy and away from non-vocational or leisure courses.

Narrowing of the vision of lifelong learning

Whilst few, if any, doubt the central role FE must and will play in the development of utilitarian skills for the labour market, there is concern that the provision of ‘learning for learning’s sake’ will go the way of much of the provision in England and Wales. This learning not only has intrinsic value of its own but also makes a major contribution to personal development, promoting active citizenship, maintaining and developing community infrastructure and encouraging creativity.

Within this continuous narrowing of the vision of lifelong learning Ulster People’s College has a particular concern about the future of community education in Northern Ireland. There are short-term worries about the logic of DEL seeking to re-structure the support of adult and community education around six FE colleges which are not in a position to implement any proposed changes.

And longer term we are in danger of losing a whole community based infrastructure that has provided learning opportunities, often in communities which have been least well served by the formal education sector.

Community education provides accessible learning

Community education in Northern Ireland provides accessible learning at a number of different and important levels. It is geographically accessible – delivered literally on people’s doorsteps. It is financially accessible – often free at the point of entry. It is psychologically accessible – adults with no previous experience of learning since school participating in UPC courses frequently express their surprise and joy that learning can be fun and builds self-confidence.

The benefits of community education to the participants include gaining self-confidence and qualifications and being encouraged on to further learning opportunities.

Wider social benefits as evidenced by UPC’s work include:

• providing the skills base to support local community development;
• providing opportunities for dialogue and learning from others for those who wish to build good relations and a diverse and fair society; and
• opportunities for cross-generational learning, with older people assisting children in understanding the NI conflict and the peace process.

Adult education has been demonstrated to contribute to improved health, well being, civil participation and racial tolerance – all social goods.

Debate on the role of adult education

Although DEL has indicated the route it intends to follow, with FE responsible for a scaled down version of community education solely as a means to develop occupational skills, it has yet to consult on its Access and Engagement Strategy.

This can provide an opportunity for a much needed debate on the role that adult education does and can play and perhaps some hope of recapturing some of the vision of lifelong learning as a vehicle for personal and social change.

To find out more about UPC and its views on the debate on adult education visit www.ulsterpeoplescollege.org.uk.