Archives
Shaping European policies for adult learning
Posted on February 22, 2016 Leave a Comment
In 2009, the European Union set itself a series of objectives for education and training by 2020. This agenda, known in summary as ET2020, set four common goals, including that of ‘making lifelong learning and mobility a reality’. It also identified a number of benchmarks, one of which is that at least 15% of adults […]
The curious absence of older workers from the equity and skills agenda
Posted on February 15, 2016 Leave a Comment
One of the things I find admirable in current Scottish policy thinking is that skills policies are broadly aligned with policies for equalities and poverty reduction. Quite how this works out in practice is of course another – very difficult – matteer. But at least the general intention of marrying skills development with equity is […]
NIACE is dead, long live the Learning and Work Institute
Posted on October 27, 2015 Leave a Comment
The National Institute of Adult Continuing Education announced in the summer that it was to merge with the Centre for Economic and Social Inclusion. CESI, itself the product of a merger of the Unemployment Unit with other research and lobbying bodies, had already formed a ‘strategic alliance’ with NIACE. The merger was widely expected, and […]
How do mature students perform in higher education?
Posted on September 20, 2015 Leave a Comment
There has been a lot of research into mature students in higher education. My strong impression is that the main focus of it is on access – that is, the rate at which adult students enter institutions, the subjects that they study, the ways in which they study, and their experiences while studying. There has […]
