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Edited by Sue Taylor and Helen Cameron, Learning and Skills
Development Agency, April 2002
In relation to other countries, the UK's record on levels
of qualifications in the workforce and participation in education
after the age of 16 is weak. This report draws upon papers
presented at an international seminar in July 2001 at which
international participants considered how we can remove some
of the barriers to learning that exist in the UK, particularly
for those who have been out of touch with learning for a long
time and those who in the past have benefited least from education
and training.
The key recommendation was that action to promote demand
for learning needs to be much more 'joined up', with stronger
links being made between the social and cultural objectives
and the learning and skills agenda, so that they reinforce
each other. Local learning and skills councils, with their
resources and scope for influence, should be at the heart
of this joining up process. The value of informal learning
should also be recognised, both in its own right and as a
route to more formal, organised learning. With school success
or failure being a key factor in the level of engagement in
learning in later life, much more should be done to set all
young people - not just those that follow an academic curriculum
- on the path to learning, both in their working life and
beyond.
Download the full report from the Learning and Skills Network:
www.lsneducation.org.uk
Samantha Parsons and John Bynner, Centre for Longitudinal
Studies, Institute of Education for the Basic Skills Agency,
March 2002
Social exclusion is characterised by a lack of education,
employment and community involvement, and failure to acquire
basic skills such as literacy and numeracy can place a person
at a distinct disadvantage in these areas. This publication
quotes an earlier study, which used data from the British
Cohort Study (of those born in 1970), to explore how reading
levels early in life - combined with known risk factors such
as social class, parents' education and overcrowded housing
- relate to the level of social exclusion at age 16 and 30.
It found that poor reading skills identified at age 10 are
likely to increase the negative impact on the lives of those
already at risk of social exclusion.
Apart from poor reading, the additional risk factors at age
10 include having parents with 'little' or 'unknown' levels
of interest in their child's education and who were 'unsure'
or 'did not want' their child to continue in education or
training post 16. Having a low family income, a mother with
no qualifications and an overcrowded home were additional
risk factors.
By the age of 16, over half of boys with a high risk of social
exclusion, and poor reading skills, thought school a waste
of time and found homework 'boring'. Negative attitudes among
girls were more likely to be associated with early reading
scores. Poor readers also had lower aspirations and were most
likely to think they would be 'working with their hands'.
Among men at age 30, high risk poor readers were least likely
to be in full-time employment and more likely to be unemployed.
They were also least likely to have been continuously employed
since leaving school. Early social exclusion rather than poor
reading appear to be the main obstacle to their employment
opportunities. For women, poor reading was the main barrier
to full-time employment, rather than early social exclusion.
Poor readers of both genders were less likely to report having
IT skills, any academic or vocational qualifications, or to
have ever received work-related training. Differences were
largely unrelated to social exclusion risk.
The report concludes that to address social exclusion it is
clearly important to tackle the associated risk factors given
above. There was evidence to suggest that reading can have
a protective role, if the outcomes for high risk poor readers
are compared with high risk good readers, although not in
all cases.
See below "Basic skills and crime" for how to obtain
this report.
Samantha Parsons, Centre for Longitudinal Studies, Institute
of Education for the Basic Skills Agency, March 2002
This basic skills and crime study used data from both the
British Cohort Study and the National Childhood Development
Study (of people born in 1948) to explore the relationship
between poor basic skills and self-reported police contact
and offending. It found that poor literacy scores in early
life had a statistically significant relationship with the
number of times men in both cohorts reported being stopped
and questioned by police and arrested. Gender is the strongest
risk factor of crime. Boys and men far outnumber girls and
women in crime figures and the prison population: 94% of the
current prison population is male (HM Prison Service, 2001).
Other studies show that a wide range of measures of social
disadvantage - including poverty, disrupted family environment,
poor education experiences and early signs of emotional and
behaviour problems - all have strong links with delinquent
or criminal activity. Having poor literacy skills (men) and
poor numeracy skills (women) directly increased the risk of
offending.
See companion reports Basic Skills and Social Inclusion
(above), Basic skills and
political and community participation and Do I want
to improve my reading, writing or maths?, based on the
same longitudinal studies (also published March 2002). Contact
Basic Skills Agency Publications on 0870 600 2400 or visit
www.basic-skills.co.uk
Joseph Rowntree Foundation, August 2000
Researchers interviewed 88 mostly white people aged 16 and
over in an inner city in the north of England to explore their
perceptions of a successful future. Below are some of their
main findings:
- Some were sceptical of the role of education in helping
them gain employment because of experiences of arbitrary
employment practices and of jobs that do not require qualifications
or training.
- Negative experiences at school and other colleges and
concern about academic competence were major concerns for
interviewees of all ages.
- Women with children who were accessing small supportive
centres were not inclined to use different, 'more formal'
provision. They felt positive about the confidence they
had gained and the progress they had made and were loyal
to the staff and peers that were supporting them. This made
them disinclined to access different, more formal provision:
"We have got to keep this centre going." (female aged 41-50).
From the conclusion
It would seem that a major issue is how to get members of socially
excluded groups to take the first steps into education and training.
Local and relatively informal educational settings, very close
to highly localised communities, may be a way into education
for some. Members of these groups require very substantial degrees
of support, both financial and social, in order to succeed on
courses which they take.
'Successful futures?' Community views on adult education
and training by Helen Bowman, Tom Burden and John Konrad,
published by York Publishing Services ISBN 1 902633 89 X,
£12.95
For a detailed summary visit the JRF website: www.jrf.org.uk/knowledge/findings/socialpolicy/810.asp
Basic Skills Agency, October 2000 Ref: A961
Twenty nine per cent of the 602 people interviewed for a
Basic Skills Agency survey said they felt their reading, writing
or mathematics needed improving. The survey, carried out by
MORI, aimed to find out what why and how adults want to improve
their basic skills.
When asked why they wanted to improve their skills, the
most often mentioned reasons were: to feel better about yourself;
to be able to perform basic skills in everyday tasks; to get
a job; to perform better at work; and to help your children.
Of those prepared to do a course of some kind 41 per cent
said they would prefer to learn at home, with 35 per cent
choosing a local college. Fifty per cent of respondents preferred
a teacher to assist them but 34 per cent said they would prefer
a computer. Over half said they would consider a short test
to gain a qualification an added bonus on joining a course.
Learning on a computer would motivate them to improve their
skills.
The survey followed on from Fresh Start the Moser report
on basic skills published in March 1999, which suggested a
survey be completed looking at what basic skills learner have
to say about what motivates them to learn.
Contact the BSA publications line on 0870 600 2400.
Almost a third of adults think that they need to improve
their mathematics, writing or reading but most are too busy
to do so, according to a survey commissioned by the Basic
Skills Agency and carried out by Mori.
Numeracy was the main concern of the 2000 adults polled
with spelling next on the list of shortcomings. Fewer than
one in 20 thought that their reading needed improving.
The Basic Skills Agency commissioned the survey to learn
what needs to be done to intervene effectively. More than
half of those in need of help said they could not spare the
time to take a course but almost one in five blamed a lack
of confidence. Almost all of those in need said they would
be willing to give an hour a week to attend an educational
programme. While more than half wanted a teacher as opposed
to a computer programme to guide them, most would prefer to
learn at home.
The agency said: "It is apparent that people want to learn
on their own terms and that by recognising and accommodating
this [we] can make progress in tackling the crisis in adult
basic skills that this country faces."
(The Times, 31 October 2000)
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