Differing Visions of a Learning Society: Research Findings (ESRC Learning Society) (v. 1) | Date: 28 April 2011, 03:44
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Differing Visions of a Learning Society: Research Findings (ESRC Learning Society) (v. 1)
By Frank Coffield
* Publisher: Policy Press
* Number Of Pages: 288
* Publication Date: 2000-07
* ISBN-10 / ASIN: 1861342306
* ISBN-13 / EAN: 9781861342300
Product Description:
Lifelong learning has been an evidence-free zone for too long. It has been under-researched and under-theorized. This volume, the first of two, is the culmination of years of empirical work undertaken for the ESRC's Learning Society Programme, a major investment in lifelong learning research. It explores the ways lifelong learning can contribute to the development of knowledge and skills for employment, and other areas of adult life.
This book is the first of two volumes presenting the findings from a UK Education and Research Council research programme, The Learning Society (1994 - 2000). This programme was intended to develop social science research that inputted directly into post-compulsory education policy development and the associated political debate. It was also informed by a desire to engage with then education minister David Blunkett's expressed desire to take into account the `reality of many people's lives'.
The volume under review consists of an introduction by the programme director, Frank Coffield, who is also the editor of both volumes, and six chapters based on constituent projects of the programme. Each chapter describes one of the projects (there were a total of 13, the remainder being covered by the second volume) and is authored by the researchers involved in the particular project. Each of these chapters describes project objectives and methodology, and the main findings and policy implications. The projects, even in Volume 1 alone, are diverse, ranging from the qualitative and ethnographic through to a quantitative, large-scale survey-based one.
The diversity of the research projects discussed in the different chapters could inevitably make this a disjointed book. This problem is too some extent obviated by Coffield's useful and interesting introduction. It clearly sets out the arguments and implications of the other chapters, providing additionally an overview of the research domain. As part of this, Coffield makes a case for the utility of academic research evidence for both policy makers and practitioners. This may well be a point that can usefully be made today, several years after the research the book reports. The same can be said of Coffield's assertion that the `learning society' was much discussed and promoted, while at the same time being under-theorised and under-researched. This remains an important concept in the positioning of further education provision.
Many of the research chapters address issues that remain current and usefully contribute to the ongoing debates. The first looks at `education markets' in the post-16 sector, though it has the limitation of one urban locale in 1995 to 1998. The second looks at unifying academic and vocational provision and building parity of esteem. Particularly valuable is the comparison of different approaches in England, Wales and Scotland. The conclusion that there is a long way to go appears to hold true in 2006.
The third research chapter is a very interesting look at the development of generic skills sought by employers by higher education courses. The researchers concluded that there remained a tension between the pressures of getting good degrees/research assessments and rather narrow employer requirements: the academic and `real-world' divide is hard to mend. This would be an interesting question to address in a further education context, with its recent focus on basic and key skills; and also in the context of initial teacher training in universities, which is increasingly concerned with ensuring core skills.
The remaining chapters all address aspects of `live issues'. The fourth looks at guidance services in different types of learning societies. The fifth looks at training provision in the NHS. The research findings emphasize one of the worrying paradoxes of lifelong learning: rather than finding it empowering, employees often find it threatening, something that has to be done rather than is chosen. The remaining two chapters look at work-based learning: one is a comparison of Britain and Germany; and the other tries to develop an overview understanding of the development of skills and knowledge at work.
Overall the book is valuable on at least two levels. For the education student it provides examples of a very wide range of empirical, policy-oriented educational research. It demonstrates independent, critical research in an area dominated by unsupported assumptions and policy spin. For academics, practitioners, policy-makers and politicians it is a stimulating, research-based contribution to the debate on post-compulsory education. Most and probably all of the issues tackled remain active areas of concern.
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