John Field
University of Stirling, Education, Emeritus
- Education, Sociology, Higher Education, Social Capital, Lifelong Learning, History of Education, and 24 moreWork and Labour, Economics of Education, Adult and Continuing Education, Education History, Workplace Learning, Citizenship (Anthropology), Vocational Education, Bourdieu, Intergenerational Relationships, Education and Labor Markets, Education and Policy-Making, Work Based Learning, Family Learning, History of adult education, Aging, Adult learning, Lifelong learning and adult education, Adult Education, Adult Continuing and Professional Education, Civic Engagement, Education Policy, Vocational And Adult Education, Active Citizenship, and Open Educational Practicesedit
Edited by Brendan Bartram
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Drawing on findings from a longitudinal study of adults' learning biographies, the paper focuses on different representations of time in the interview data. We distinguish three broad patterns: chronological time, narrative time, and... more
Drawing on findings from a longitudinal study of adults' learning biographies, the paper focuses on different representations of time in the interview data. We distinguish three broad patterns: chronological time, narrative time, and generational time; we then analyse how this impact on and serve as resources for reflection on and learning from life.
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This is the introduction to 'Working Men's Bodies: work camps in Britain, 1880-1940'
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Aging has emerged as a major and urgent issue for individuals, organisations and governments of our time. Current concerns focus on the implications of aging for economic competitiveness, innovation, public services, health and well-being... more
Aging has emerged as a major and urgent issue for individuals, organisations and governments of our time. Current concerns focus on the implications of aging for economic competitiveness, innovation, public services, health and well-being and education, as well as the implications for relationships and financial transfers between the generations. And this is a truly global phenomenon, affecting not only North America and Europe, but also many Asian and some Latin American societies. Framed by an authoritative introductory chapter, the SAGE Handbook of Aging, Work and Society offers a critical overview of the most significant themes and topics, with discussions of current research, theoretical controversies and emerging issues.
Research Interests: Discourse Analysis, Political Participation, Human Resource Development, Social Networks, Adult Education, and 30 moreResearch Methodology, Qualitative methodology, Immigration, Social Capital, Human Resource Management, Aging, Digital Culture, Generational Conflict, Qualitative Research, Quantitative methodology, Intergenerational Relationships, Informal Caregivers/Carers, Adult Development And Aging, Transnational Labour Migration, Civic Engagement, Ageing and Health, Aging & the life course, Workforce Development, Moral, Agency, Quality of Life and Elderly People, Work-Life Balance, Morality, Intergenerational Relations, Labour Market Dynamics, Life-Course Transitions, Cultural Gerontology, Family Care, Experiences of Old Age, and Working Carers
This was the first full-length scholarly study of the European Union's developing policies for education and training. It traces the origin of current policy back to the mid-1950s, when the Common Market was first taking shape. It then... more
This was the first full-length scholarly study of the European Union's developing policies for education and training. It traces the origin of current policy back to the mid-1950s, when the Common Market was first taking shape. It then examines the emergence of a growing interest in vocational qualifications as a potential barrier to labour mobility, and in the role of universities in creating a shared European identity among the young. It considers the role of education in the integration process, when the EU sought to mobilise citizens in favour of 'the European project'. This was replaced from the mid-1990s by an increasing concern with Europe's competitiveness in the face of intensified global competition and the rise of new technologies. These factors led the EU to focus its attention primarily on the role of education and training in upskilling and reskilling the workforce. While the EU also foregrounded social cohesion as a task for education and training, this was also largely to be achieved by reskilling and upskilling. The book concludes with an appraisal of the effects of EU policies to date.
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This book confirms the significance of social capital as an analytical tool, while challenging the basis on which current policy is being developed. It offers a wealth of evidence on a topic that has become central to contemporary... more
This book confirms the significance of social capital as an analytical tool, while challenging the basis on which current policy is being developed. It offers a wealth of evidence on a topic that has become central to contemporary government; provides a detailed empirical investigation of the relationship between social capital, knowledge creation and lifelong learning; relates the findings to wider policy debates; questions the dominant theoretical models of social capital; and confronts the assumption of many policy makers that the obvious solution to social problems is to 'invest in social capital'.The book is aimed at researchers in education, policy studies and urban studies, as well as those concerned with an understanding of contemporary policy concerns. It provides readers with a detailed analysis of relevant evidence, as well as a trenchant critique of current conceptual and policy preoccupations.
This book is now in a Japanese translation, published by Toshindo, Tokyo.
This book is now in a Japanese translation, published by Toshindo, Tokyo.
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"Open-minded, intellectually curious, and eminently balanced and lively in its approach, John Field's Social Capital (second edition) provides an astute contribution to the ongoing dialogue surrounding the importance of social... more
"Open-minded, intellectually curious, and eminently balanced and lively in its approach, John Field's Social Capital (second edition) provides an astute contribution to the ongoing dialogue surrounding the importance of social relationships…Field provides a thorough and finely-nuanced discussion of the complexities of this proposition, and in the process of doing so has accomplished an evenhanded, engaging assessment of a relevant and complex topic."
-- Teaching Sociology, 2009
-- Teaching Sociology, 2009
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"John Field’s Lifelong Learning and the New Educational Order (2000) represents a substantial contribution to the literature on lifelong learning. Whilst Field brings a wealth of policy-related and sociological learning to his work, this... more
"John Field’s Lifelong Learning and the New Educational Order (2000) represents a substantial contribution to the literature on lifelong learning. Whilst Field brings a wealth of policy-related and sociological learning to his work, this article focuses on a number of philosophical questions arising from the study. It is suggested that Field’s argument raises familiar questions about notions of ‘learning’, ‘reflexivity’, ‘personal autonomy’ and the conditions for knowledge. In each case, a number of considerations present themselves which have implications for our understanding of lifelong learning: its nature, prevalence and significance."
Journal of Philosophy of Education, 2002
Journal of Philosophy of Education, 2002
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The book draws on papers originally prepared as part of the UK Government Office for Science's Foresight project on mental capital and well-being. Further details of the project, and free downloads, are available at:... more
The book draws on papers originally prepared as part of the UK Government Office for Science's Foresight project on mental capital and well-being.
Further details of the project, and free downloads, are available at: http://www.bis.gov.uk/foresight/our-work/projects/published-projects/mental-capital-and-wellbeing
Further details of the project, and free downloads, are available at: http://www.bis.gov.uk/foresight/our-work/projects/published-projects/mental-capital-and-wellbeing
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Higher education participation has become an important focus for policy debate as well as for scholarly research. Partly this results from ongoing attempts to expand the higher education system in line with wider policies promoting a... more
Higher education participation has become an important focus for policy debate as well as for scholarly research. Partly this results from ongoing attempts to expand the higher education system in line with wider policies promoting a 'knowledge economy'; and partly it results from widespread policy concerns for equity and inclusion. In both cases, researchers and policymakers alike have tended to focus on access and entry to the system, with much less attention being paid to the distribution of outcomes from the system. This paper reports on a multi-country study that was aimed at critically understanding the experiences of non-traditional students in higher education, and in particular on the factors that helped promote retention. In doing so, the study straddles the sociology of social reproduction and the psychosociology of learner transformations.
Research Interests: Education, Adult Education, Adult Continuing and Professional Education, Educational Equity and Justice, Adult and Continuing Education, and 15 moreEquity and Social Justice in Higher Education, Adult Learners, Bourdieu, England, Equal Opportunities, Germany, Empirical Study, Deutschland, Adult, Biographical Research, Erwachsenenbildung, DDC, Adult training, Equal Opportunity, and Chancengleichheit
Research Interests: Adult Education, Disability Studies, Higher Education, Evaluation, Adult and Continuing Education, and 15 moreLearning And Teaching In Higher Education, Equity and Social Justice in Higher Education, Higher Education Management, Adult Higher Education, Higher Education Studies, Higher Education Policy, Medicine, Increasing and Widening Participation, Institution, Learning, Curriculum Theory and Development, methodology of teaching EFL, Access to Higher Education, Critical Education and Student Affairs Issues In Higher Education, and Equity Law
The notion of 'openness' is becoming increasingly important across education, particularly in contexts of digital education. The corona pandemic seems to catalyse these developments. This idea has been widely debated across the... more
The notion of 'openness' is becoming increasingly important across education, particularly in contexts of digital education. The corona pandemic seems to catalyse these developments. This idea has been widely debated across the educational sciences, as the move towards openness in terms of educational access and process begins to challenge established structures and assumptions about teaching, learning, understanding and knowing. It has also permeated recent debates about research and the nature of knowledge as well as its dissemination. However, it could be argued that these claims have been made at times uncritically and on the basis of limited evidence. Further, their specific relevance to the field of adult and further education-which has always understood itself as 'open' in the sense of openness to its participants-has yet to be explored. This special issue will consider such aspects as openness and social networking, the open educational resources movement, the notion of open practices, the prospects and pitfalls of open science. We are also looking to explore ideas of openness in relation to adult edu-cation's participation and belonging in social networks, changing political and cultural expectations in respect of secrecy and access to information, and the emergence of new social movements willing and able to challenge established economic and political actors. The editors invite contributions that present research into relationships between ideas and practices of 'openness' and the learning of adults, broadly understood. We welcome contributions from the field of adult education, as well as from researchers in neighbouring disciplines with an interest in openness and adult learning.
Research Interests: Education, Adult Education, Digital Literacy, Open Source Software, Digital Media & Learning, and 9 moreOpen Education, Open Educational Resources, Open Educational Resources (Education), Open and Distance Education, Open Educational Resources (OER), Open science, Open and Distance Learning, Open Distance Learning, and Zeitschrift fuer Weiterbildungsforschung
The chapter was written for a student reader. It aims to provide a brief overview of different adult education systems, and a summary some of the main types of approach in different countries. It argues that while national differences... more
The chapter was written for a student reader. It aims to provide a brief overview of different adult education systems, and a summary some of the main types of approach in different countries. It argues that while national differences remain strong, the combined effects of globalisation, technological change and intergovernmental policy developments mean that there are marked shifts towards (a) the weakening of national influences on adult education and (b) increasing heterogeneity of provision reflecting factors other than national differences. The chapter then considers the role of international organisations in exchanging knowledge and ideas about the role of adult education, and to some extent shifting policy-making further away from the nation state.
Research Interests: Adult Education, Lifelong Learning, Educational Research, International Education, Comparative & International Education, and 8 moreAdult Continuing and Professional Education, Vocational And Adult Education, Adult and Continuing Education, Comparative Education, CONTINUING EDUCATION, Lifelong learning and adult education, Educação de Jovens e Adultos, and Adult Education and Training
This is the introduction to a special issue of the Journal of Workplace Learning
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The Zeitschrift für Weiterbildungsforschung is the leading German journal for research in adult education and neighbouring disciplines. Papers can be published in either English or German. ZfW appears three times a year, and all papers... more
The Zeitschrift für Weiterbildungsforschung is the leading German journal for research in adult education and neighbouring disciplines. Papers can be published in either English or German. ZfW appears three times a year, and all papers are made available on an open access basis with author processing charges paid by the DIE (German Institute for Adult Education).
Research Interests: Adult Education, Lifelong Learning, Open Access, Adult Continuing and Professional Education, Vocational And Adult Education, and 9 moreAdult and Continuing Education, Open Education, Open Educational Resources, Open Educational Resources (Education), Open Educational Resources (OER), Lifelong learning and adult education, Funding of adult and lifelong learning education, Open Distance Learning, and Teaching and Learning In Adult and Higher Education
This final chapter explores the main implications of our research for policy and practice at institutional, regional and national levels in European higher education. This is a highly topical issue at present, as the Bologna process now... more
This final chapter explores the main implications of our research for policy and practice at institutional, regional and national levels in European higher education. This is a highly topical issue at present, as the Bologna process now requires universities and national policy bodies to address the 'social dimension' of the European Area of Higher Education. Our study has therefore come at a timely point in an emerging, and possibly highly contentious, European debate. To date, much of the debate in higher education has been inward-looking, with little evidence of deep-rooted change as a result. We argue that policy and practice will have a better chance of working if we listen to non-traditional students, as well as paying attention to the expectations and aspirations of those who work in the sector, and the wider expectations of society. The chapter identifies a number of areas and issues that inhibit the participation and achievement of non-traditional students, as well as exploring evidence of practices and approaches that promote them. Concrete proposals will then be outlined using the voices of students from this evidence based research.
Research Interests: Higher Education, Persistence/Retention, Learning And Teaching In Higher Education, Equity and Social Justice in Higher Education, Higher Education Policy, and 10 moreIncreasing and Widening Participation, Diversity in Higher Education, Retention of first generation college students, Student retention, Widening Participation, Retention and Strategies for Student Success, Diversity; Factors Impacting on Student Success; Harnessing Student Agency, Academic Developoment in Higher Education, Widening Participation in Higher Education, Retention and Persistence In Higher Education, and Participation of Adults In Higher Education
The paper addresses the past, present and future of comparative adult education research. 2016 marks the bicentenary of Jullien de Paris' outline of an approach to comparative education. We take this anniversary as an opportunity to... more
The paper addresses the past, present and future of comparative adult education research. 2016 marks the bicentenary of Jullien de Paris' outline of an approach to comparative education. We take this anniversary as an opportunity to reflect on the changing theoretical, conceptual, methodological and empirical dimensions of international and comparative adult education research.
Research Interests: Adult Education, Lifelong Learning, Comparative & International Education, Adult Continuing and Professional Education, Vocational And Adult Education, and 8 moreAdult and Continuing Education, Adult learning, Comparative Education, Lifelong learning and adult education, Erwachsenenbildung, Contexts of Adult Higher Education, Lifelong Education, and Teaching and Learning In Adult and Higher Education
Jointly edited with Gerald Normie, these are papers from a conference on residential adult education, held in Oxford in 1991. They encompass historical perspectives and contemporary reflections, with authors from Britain, Sweden and... more
Jointly edited with Gerald Normie, these are papers from a conference on residential adult education, held in Oxford in 1991. They encompass historical perspectives and contemporary reflections, with authors from Britain, Sweden and Australia.
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Many social theorists argue that late modernity is characterised by increasing change across all areas of adult life, leading to continuing experience of transition in the adult life course. Moreover, participation in education and... more
Many social theorists argue that late modernity is characterised by increasing change across all areas of adult life, leading to continuing experience of transition in the adult life course. Moreover, participation in education and training can itself provide a stimulus to further change, whether in employment or in other spheres of everyday life. This paper explores the role of social networks in adults' strategies for coping with educational transitions. It is informed theoretically by recent research into social capital and adult learning, which has pointed to a largely beneficial relationship between participation in learning and engagement in social and civic activity. It also attends to other, more intimate forms of social capital, above all family life. Drawing on life history data from a study of agency, identity and learning among British adults, a series of broad strategic categories are identified. These are explored through illustrative case studies of three individuals' life stories. On the basis of this discussion, it is suggested that some combinations of social support seem better suited to promote successful transitions than others. In short, social capital must be understood as a dynamic quality of changing relationships, which actors manipulate more or less consciously in response to change, and not as a static phenomenon that is 'owned' for once and for all by a particular group or individual.
Research Interests: Self and Identity, Lifelong Learning, Identity (Culture), Social Capital, Pierre Bourdieu, and 12 moreAdult learning, Bourdieu, Imagined Community, Zygmunt Bauman, Agency, Ulrich Beck, Anthony Giddens, Robert Putnam, Lifelong learning and adult education, James Coleman, Life-Course Transitions, and Zigmund Baumann
The book sets out to examine what universities can contribute to their communities and economies through lifelong learning. It provides a theoretical background, draws on recent research and practice examples, and demonstrates a variety... more
The book sets out to examine what universities can contribute to their communities and economies through lifelong learning. It provides a theoretical background, draws on recent research and practice examples, and demonstrates a variety of conceptual approaches. The 17 papers bring together the work of specialists from research and practice from across Europe and beyond who have first-hand experience in the field.
Research Interests: Adult Education, Lifelong Learning, Higher Education, Community Engagement & Participation, Community Based Education, and 24 moreService Learning, Public Universities, Adult Continuing and Professional Education, Adult and Continuing Education, Learning And Teaching In Higher Education, Higher Education Management, Adult learning, CONTINUING EDUCATION, Service Learning in Higher Education, Blended learning in higher education, Increasing and Widening Participation, Non-Traditional Students, Practitioner Research, Intergenerational Learning, Lifelong learning and adult education, Active Ageing, Widening Participation in Higher Education, Intergenerational Learning and Education, University-Community Engagement, Funding of adult and lifelong learning education, University Outreach programmes, Continuing Education for the Elderly, Age Diversity, and Teaching and Learning In Adult and Higher Education
In today's society, people and organisations increasingly undergo processes of transition. Experiences of change affect all areas of life: our jobs, relationships, status, communities, engagement in civil society,... more
In today's society, people and organisations increasingly undergo processes of transition. Experiences of change affect all areas of life: our jobs, relationships, status, communities, engagement in civil society, lifestyles, even understandings of our own identity. Each person must expect and make ready for transitions, engaging in learning as a fundamental strategy for handling change. This is where lifelong learning steps in. From career guidance to third age programmes, from'learning to learn'in kindergarten to MBA, from Mozart for babies to ...
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Résumé/Abstract The distinction between Bachelor's and Master's degrees is a well established one in the UK, which also has a long tradition of postgraduate study of adult education. Superficially, then, the... more
Résumé/Abstract The distinction between Bachelor's and Master's degrees is a well established one in the UK, which also has a long tradition of postgraduate study of adult education. Superficially, then, the British experience might be viewed as an early example of how other higher education systems will work when the Bologna process is completed. While there are several reasons for doubting whether this simple picture is adequate, there are nevertheless some general lessons from the British experience. In Britain, Master's ...
John Field, Professor of Continuing Education at the University of Ulster, Northern Ireland, examines in this article the relevance of consumer culture to open learning. Taking issue with some recent analyses of open and distance learning... more
John Field, Professor of Continuing Education at the University of Ulster, Northern Ireland, examines in this article the relevance of consumer culture to open learning. Taking issue with some recent analyses of open and distance learning in the post-Fordist context, he argues that there has been a fundamental ideological shift in many western countries towards regarding the citizen as consumer, and that open learning through its customer-centred focus and its use of contemporary technologies, often associated with ...
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Summary This review was commissioned with a view to exploring models of lifelong learning around the world. There are many such models, and this paper therefore focuses on the most significant as seen from the standpoint of UK policy... more
Summary This review was commissioned with a view to exploring models of lifelong learning around the world. There are many such models, and this paper therefore focuses on the most significant as seen from the standpoint of UK policy development. While the primary focus is on arrangements for post-compulsory education and training and adult learning, it takes account of all stages of learning, from infancy to old age. It considers: the principal sites of learning, both formal and informal; transitions between ages and sites; ...
In her recent contribution to the British Educational Research Journal, Pauline McClenaghan identified the link between social capital and community development, particularly community development education, as a core area where scholarly... more
In her recent contribution to the British Educational Research Journal, Pauline McClenaghan identified the link between social capital and community development, particularly community development education, as a core area where scholarly and policy interests overlap. She concluded that the concept of social capital is unable to grapple with the complex social divisions that characterise contemporary Europe. The authors of this
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Abstract The New Deal is one of New Labour's leading flagship initiatives. Its stated aim is to help clients in the target groups–the young unemployed, the long-term unemployed, lone parents and the long-term sick–to find work and improve... more
Abstract The New Deal is one of New Labour's leading flagship initiatives. Its stated aim is to help clients in the target groups–the young unemployed, the long-term unemployed, lone parents and the long-term sick–to find work and improve their prospects of remaining in sustained employment. It has been developed and presented as part of a wider welfare-to-work package, running alongside related supply-side measures such as benefits reform and increased labour flexibility (but not, so far, demand-side initiatives to increase the number ...
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Wider access to higher education, including greater numbers of mature undergraduates, is now inevitable. Institutional change will be required as the previously homogeneous undergradutate community becomes more diverse, both in its... more
Wider access to higher education, including greater numbers of mature undergraduates, is now inevitable. Institutional change will be required as the previously homogeneous undergradutate community becomes more diverse, both in its make-up and in its modes of study. Based on survey data, the author shows that mature students represent a considerable asset, bringing with them strengths and capabilities which teaching staff should recognise and support. Adult learners can act as role models for younger people; ...
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1994). Everling makes a number of important points, and this brief reply examines their implications for my original argument. In the earlier paper, I argued that a number of recent attempts to provide a theoretical account of open... more
1994). Everling makes a number of important points, and this brief reply examines their implications for my original argument. In the earlier paper, I argued that a number of recent attempts to provide a theoretical account of open learning were one-sided and flawed. First, I suggested that in general they concentrated excessively on the correspondence between the forms of production and changes in education and training; more particularly, some accounts relied overmuch on limited, and empirically unfounded,'post-Fordist'analyses of ...
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John Field, Professor of Continuing Education at the University of Ulster, Northern Ireland, examines in this article the relevance of consumer culture to open learning. Taking issue with some recent analyses of open and distance learning... more
John Field, Professor of Continuing Education at the University of Ulster, Northern Ireland, examines in this article the relevance of consumer culture to open learning. Taking issue with some recent analyses of open and distance learning in the post-Fordist context, he argues that there has been a fundamental ideological shift in many western countries towards regarding the citizen as consumer, and that open learning through its customer-centred focus and its use of contemporary technologies, often associated with ...
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Abstract Apprenticeship systems have come under scrutiny in a number of European countries since the 1970s. The article describes the introduction of a standards-based approach to apprenticeship in the Republic of Ireland in 1994 and... more
Abstract Apprenticeship systems have come under scrutiny in a number of European countries since the 1970s. The article describes the introduction of a standards-based approach to apprenticeship in the Republic of Ireland in 1994 and provides an assessment of its achievements in its first 5 years. Although the standards-based approach shows a number of similarities to new apprenticeship systems elsewhere, the Irish system was unusual in arising from the social dialogue between unions and employers, rather than ...
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Abstract Globalisation's relationship with education and training is a complicated one. This paper explores the impact upon education and training of the European Union, whose policies in this field have developed rapidly... more
Abstract Globalisation's relationship with education and training is a complicated one. This paper explores the impact upon education and training of the European Union, whose policies in this field have developed rapidly over the past two decades. It provides a detailed overview of policy-making within the EU, and shows how the Commission reached the conclusion that far-reaching changes are needed in the way that learning is promoted and managed within the Union—a radical conclusion exemplified in the Commission's ...
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In the past decade, attempts to give a numerical value to'quality'have spread throughout the public service sector. So far as research is concerned, though, quality has in Britain been measured largely by the... more
In the past decade, attempts to give a numerical value to'quality'have spread throughout the public service sector. So far as research is concerned, though, quality has in Britain been measured largely by the esteem with which each individual's and each department's work is regarded by the scholarly community in each discipline. This process of'peer review'is inherently open to challenge; it rests largely upon implicit rather than explicit assumptions, it takes the opinions of established scholars (largely male and inclined to take their own ...
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Focus group research is becoming a seriously hot topic. As a research method, the focused group interview is well established in the social sciences, dating back to Robert Merton's pioneering investigation of audience... more
Focus group research is becoming a seriously hot topic. As a research method, the focused group interview is well established in the social sciences, dating back to Robert Merton's pioneering investigation of audience reactions to government information films during the Second World War. More recently, though, focus groups have been largely associated with market research. Among their many reported achievements, famous and infamous, focus groups are credited with influencing the creation of New Labour, the'rebranding'of the ...
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Unemployment is disempowering. It reduces mobility, income, independence and confidence. It cuts people off from a working environment which used to offer access most importantly and obviously to a wage, but also to important forms of... more
Unemployment is disempowering. It reduces mobility, income, independence and confidence. It cuts people off from a working environment which used to offer access most importantly and obviously to a wage, but also to important forms of learning and cooperative endeavour. For most people, the last thing it suggests is a walk down to the local tech or adult centre: our educational institutions were reorganised or created during a period of relatively full employment, and designed to fill a role in that particular context. To speak of ...
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Abstract European integration has important consequences for post‐compulsory education (European Commission, 1995; Field, 1996). Yet while there is growing interest in the different continuing education systems of other European nations... more
Abstract European integration has important consequences for post‐compulsory education (European Commission, 1995; Field, 1996). Yet while there is growing interest in the different continuing education systems of other European nations (Jarvis, 1992) and in the professional development of continuing education teachers for a career within a wider European context (Arthur, 1994), little is known about the existing attitudes and interests of professionals in the field. This report outlines the findings of a survey in early 1995 of 134 ...
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Teaching is an aging profession. Largely unnoticed outside the staffroom, this fact has enormous significnce for the 1990s. In an increasingly efficiencyconscious political climate, human resource utilisation—as the economists call it—has... more
Teaching is an aging profession. Largely unnoticed outside the staffroom, this fact has enormous significnce for the 1990s. In an increasingly efficiencyconscious political climate, human resource utilisation—as the economists call it—has a particular prominence. Further, teacher salaries characteristically account for some 60-80% of the running costs of most educational institutions. Yet there has been little or no attempt to consider the planning implications of a steady, and largely predictable, change in the demography of the ...
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Secure, guaranteed and adequate funding has never been a feature of British adult education. The financial base has been characterised by uncertainty, convention, and extreme local diversity, so that standards of provision and levels of... more
Secure, guaranteed and adequate funding has never been a feature of British adult education. The financial base has been characterised by uncertainty, convention, and extreme local diversity, so that standards of provision and levels of fee—themselves subject to change and variation over time—depend more upon where you live than upon what your needs are (or might be). The financial base at local level is, moreover, almost invariably governed more by expediency than principle. One index of the confusion is that nobody ...
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Abstract There has been much discussion about what the Education Reform Act (ERA) means for racial equality in schools. This article explores the Act's consequences for post‐initial education and training, including its... more
Abstract There has been much discussion about what the Education Reform Act (ERA) means for racial equality in schools. This article explores the Act's consequences for post‐initial education and training, including its implications for anti‐racist education, and reflects on possible anti‐racist responses and strategies to it. Though broadly inequalitarian, ERA's provisions unwittingly contain some progressive potential, both for further education and local authority adult education. More general problems and dilemmas of post‐initial ...
Research Interests: Sociology and Demography
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Abstract The development of public training policy in Britain between the 1880s and 1930s was profoundly shaped by three continuing preoccupations. The first was political, and related specifically to unemployment: governments were... more
Abstract The development of public training policy in Britain between the 1880s and 1930s was profoundly shaped by three continuing preoccupations. The first was political, and related specifically to unemployment: governments were required to respond to unemployment in the interests of survival, and at times it was believed that agitation amongst the unemployed endangered the socio‐political order. Second, training programmes were developed, at first out of the poor relief system and subsequently out of the ministry of ...
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Particularly in recent years, academic achievements in Northern Ireland's schools have outstripped those of the rest of the United Kingdom. The statistics are impressive, both for performance in GCSEs at 16+ and in Advanced... more
Particularly in recent years, academic achievements in Northern Ireland's schools have outstripped those of the rest of the United Kingdom. The statistics are impressive, both for performance in GCSEs at 16+ and in Advanced Level GCEs at 18+(Table. l). This paper considers the relationship between the academic perfonnance of Northern Ireland's schools system on the one hand and the level of participation in lifelong learning on the other, starting with evidence of a substantial divergence between the two. Although the standard ...
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This paper examines the concept of 'learning careers' as a way of understanding the processes through which adults return to education. It particularly considers the ways in which adults from... more
This paper examines the concept of 'learning careers' as a way of understanding the processes through which adults return to education. It particularly considers the ways in which adults from groups who are at risk of social exclusion develop identities that enable them to engage with learning. The concept of learning careers is derived from symbolic interactionist theory, with its origins in the work of the Chicago School. To illuminate the concept of learning career, the paper presents qualitative data produced in a research ...
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While the goal of lifelong learning commands a broad policy consensus, it has been widely criticized by adults educationists for its conservatism. This paper explores the origins of the concept in the 1960s and 1970s, and compares key... more
While the goal of lifelong learning commands a broad policy consensus, it has been widely criticized by adults educationists for its conservatism. This paper explores the origins of the concept in the 1960s and 1970s, and compares key themes with the dominant approaches of the recent period. While there was a turning point during the 1990s, its chief feature was that lifelong learning was less a slogan than a tool for the reform and modernization of aspects of national education and training systems. Its rise has accompanied a wider ...
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Adult continuing education research has acquired growing policy significance in a number of European countries. We provide an analytical overview of current adult continuing education research in the UK, where organizational structures,... more
Adult continuing education research has acquired growing policy significance in a number of European countries. We provide an analytical overview of current adult continuing education research in the UK, where organizational structures, funding sources, topics and disciplinary parameters are all currently in a process of change. The policy significance of the field is exemplified by a major research council programme on The Learning Society; interest in this national programme of studies extends far beyond the traditional academic ...
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The idea of a learning society assumes that certain types of social arrangements are more likely to promote lifelong learning than others. Yet although the idea of a learning society has been widely and enthusiastically embraced by... more
The idea of a learning society assumes that certain types of social arrangements are more likely to promote lifelong learning than others. Yet although the idea of a learning society has been widely and enthusiastically embraced by politicians and educationists, there has been little debate over the precise types of social arrangement which promote communication, reflexivity and mutual learning over time (Ranson 1994, European Commission 1995). Specific studies of learning within social institutions such as the family ...
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Keynote for the European Conference on Higher Education Transitions & the Graduate Labour Market: The Non-Traditional Student Perspective, University of Seville, 7-8 September 2017
Research Interests: Employability, Higher Education, Learning And Teaching In Higher Education, Equity and Social Justice in Higher Education, Higher Education Policy, and 7 moreEmployability Skills, Social Mobility, Increasing and Widening Participation, Graduate employability, Pierre Bourdieu; Forms of capital and theory of social mobility, Widening Participation in Higher Education, and Teaching and Learning In Adult and Higher Education
Social movements in interwar Britain, as elsewhere, often shared an intense interest in developing new types of human being. While the language of 'character' was relatively rare, and largely confined to movements that focused on the... more
Social movements in interwar Britain, as elsewhere, often shared an intense interest in developing new types of human being. While the language of 'character' was relatively rare, and largely confined to movements that focused on the provision of social service, ideas about transforming human nature and building a new ideal self were commonplace, most obviously in such notions as Mussolini's search for the 'new Fascist man' or Communist archetypes of the 'new Soviet man/person' (in both cases the gendering was significant). These were particularly exaggerated, albeit influential, forms of a wider concern with structured resocialisation, but they were paralleled by a number of smaller attempts to rebuild character through transformative communities. The paper explores ways in which ideas of character were worked through in three attempts to establish transformative learning communities in interwar Britain.
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Seminar paper given at the Higher Education Research Centre, Dublin City University