Is this the Learning Age

1
Is this the Learning Age?

• Professor Bob Fryer CBE FRSA
• Assistant Vice Chancellor University of
  Southampton
• Member of Learning Skills Council
• Former Chair National Advisory Group for
  Continuing Education Lifelong Learning
• Board Director of Ufi Ltd

2
The UK Governments Agenda in 1997 Education,
Education, Education

• Improving Schools Standards Pupils
  Achievements
• Widening Participation in Learning Beyond School
• Attending to Early Years Childcare
• Enhancing Key Specific Skills for Work
• Improving Individuals Employability
• Increasing UK Competitiveness
• Extending E-awareness, ICT Access
  Competence
• Combating Social Exclusion
• Resourcing Communities Capacity Building
• Renewing Strengthening Citizenship
• Building Learning Cultures

3
The Goal Blunketts Lyrical Vision for
Lifelong Learning

• Fulfilling individual potential
• Skills for national prosperity
• Success in the knowledge-based global economy
• Creativity imagination
• Civilisation spirituality
• Love of music, art literature
• Enterprise scholarship of all
• Active citizenship social cohesion
• Contribution to family and community

4
What was the UK Learning Legacy in 1997?

• Low(er) levels of achievement (than might be
  expected)
• Limited aspirations expressed for learning,
  progression, attainment a lack of learning
  ambition
• Seeming indifference/opposition to learning
• Peoples preferences for almost anything else
  than learning as a priority
• Absence/exclusion of large particular social
  groups from learning activities achievement
• Association of learning with failure,
  inadequacy, ridicule, damage, bruising, fear
  anxiety
• Restricted self-identification by people as
  being learners

5
A UK Profile of Underachievement

• 9 of boys 6 of girls leave school with no
  GCSE or equivalent
• One third of workforce has only level one, or no
  qualifications whatsoever
• 80 young people from professional backgrounds go
  into higher education, but only 15 from the
  lowest social class
• Over one fifth of adults have serious literacy
  numeracy difficulties
• More than one third of workers say they have
  never had a single days training at work
• Amongst prisoners, 30 were truants and
  two-thirds have serious literacy numeracy
  problems

6
The UK Learning Divide - DfEE
Learners and Non-Learners by Socio-economic
Group - NALS
7
Learnings Lost Millions? Missing School Children
Dispossessed Adults

• The disappeared - absent, excluded, uninvolved,
  bunking off, just not there
• The disaffected - bored, uninspired, turned
  off, uninterested, hostile, difficult, disruptive
• The disappointed - frustrated, let down, poor
  experience
• The discouraged - damaged, ridiculed, feelings
  of failure
• The disillusioned - hopes dashed, feel
  betrayed, let down
• The disfranchised - excluded from the joys,
  pleasures opportunities multiple advantages of
  learning
• With apologies to Michael Barbers The Learning
  Game

8
The UK Literacy Numeracy Divide
British Adult Literacy Levels Prose, Documents
Quantification (IALS)
9
Early Learning Adult Basic Skills

• Adults with Poor Basic Skills (At Age 37)
• Are unlikely to have parents who stayed in
  education beyond the minimum school-leaving age
• Are unlikely to recall having many books,
  encyclopaedias or telephones at home
• Are likely to have shared a bedroom at age 11
  with two or more others
• Are more likely to have received free school
  meals at age 11
• Are more likely to have lived in Council
  accommodation
• Often themselves have children who experience the
  same sorts of problems as themselves
• Source Parsons and Bynner (1998)

10
Main UK Lifelong Learning Challenges Barriers

• Barriers of Confidence, Time, Cost, Opportunity
  Information
• Persistently Narrow Conceptions of Learning
• Overall, Insufficient People Actively
  Participating in Committed to Learning
  Post-School
• Marked Social Class Age Differences of
  Opportunity, Participation, Achievement
  Qualification
• Major Problems of Adult Literacy Numeracy
• Inadequate Employer Support, Provision
  Commitment (especially in SMEs)
• Skills Gaps overall at NVQ Level 3, especially
  ICT
• Problems of Funding Adult Learning equitably
• Need for More Responsiveness Flexibility of
  Supply
• A Growing Digital Divide

11
Elements of a Learning Revolution

• More Inclusive Conceptions of Types, Meanings
  Purposes of Learning
• Securing Step Changes in Demand
• Aggregate Increase
• Diversification
• Depth of Involvement
• Spread Across All Areas of Life
• Radical shifts in Aspirations, Orientations
  Attitudes
• Developing New Locations Times of Learning
• Recognising Meeting a Range of Learning Styles
• Enhancing New Forms, Ways Delivery of Learning

12
Key UK Lifelong Learning Initiatives (1)

• Additional Funding for Growth and Wider
  Participation in Further Higher Education
• Agreement of new National Learning Targets
• Creation of 1 Million Individual Learning
  Accounts
• Setting up of Local Lifelong Learning
  Partnerships
• Set up National Skills Task Force (4 Major
  Reports)
• Moser Adult Basic Skills Inquiry New National
  Strategy for Numeracy Literacy
• National Strategy for Neighbourhood Renewal
  Social Inclusion
• Union Learning Adult Community Learning Funds
• Pilot Studies on the Unitisation of Credit by
  FEFC/QCA

13
Key UK Lifelong Learning Initiatives (2)

• Establishment of the University for Industry
  (E-learning)
• Digitisation of Libraries (New Library
  initiative)
• Creation of National Network of ICT Access
  Centres
• Launch of UK On-Line
• Support for E-University
• Creation of national Learning Skills Council
  47 Local Councils for all Post-sixteen Learning
• White paper on The Knowledge-driven Economy
• Support for Corporate Universities
• Introduction of Foundation Degrees

14
UK Employees Receiving Any Job-related Training
in Last Month (Spring 2000) By Occupation
Source DfEE
15
UK Adults Attitudes to Learning Barriers
Source PAL Survey DfEE 1999
16
Highest Qualification of UK Workforce 1979, 1989
1999
17
Trends in Future Intentions Adults Unlikely
to Take up Learning
Source NIACE
18
Current Adult Participation in Learning Future
Intentions by Social Class 2001
19
UK Employees Receiving Any Job-related Training
in Last Month (Spring 2000) By Occupation
Source DfEE
20
Discovering Nurturing the Treasure Within

• none of the talents which are hidden like
  buried treasure in every person must be left
  untapped. These are, to name but a few memory,
  reasoning power, imagination, physical ability,
  aesthetic sense, the aptitude to communicate with
  others and the natural charisma of the group
  leader, which again goes to prove the need for
  greater self-knowledge.
• Jacques Delors
• Learning The Treasure Within
• UNESCO 1997

21
Delivering a Learning Revolution

• Raise the aspirations achievement of all
  children
• A huge programme of schools improvement
• Release the energy creativity of inspirational
  teachers
• Involve parents families in childrens their
  own learning
• Multiply diversify learning beyond school
  activities
• Sharply widen participation in FE HE,
  especially part-time
• Invest in ICT broadcasting to support learning
• Secure learning entitlements at, through for
  work
• Strengthen community capacity, confidence, social
  capital, self-activity trust
• Combat reduce sharply social exclusion
  inequality
• Reinvent citizenship -fit for the 21st century

22
Learning Citizens for the 21st Century

• Comfortable with own identity, with confidence
  self-esteem
• High levels of technical skills competences
• Curious , inquisitive eager to explore
• Creative, inventive innovative
• Tolerant of difference- open to the experiences
  of other
• A sense of both self society - independent
  cooperative
• Skills to shuffle back forth between ideas
  concepts and data, evidence experience
• Critical analytical thinking - including
  auto-critique
• Knowing how to know - having learned to learn
• Confidence to sift, evaluate, review synthesise
• Both learner teacher

23
Will it Never End?
24
Making Learning Normal

• Beyond fear and dread
• Confidence and self-esteem
• Achievement and progress
• Linked to own lifes priorities
• Where, when and how you like
• Woven into everyday life
• A sense of ownership control