Creating a Learning Society?: Learning Careers and Policies for Lifelong Learning

CREATING A LEARNING SOCIETY?......Page 2
Contents......Page 4
List of tables and figures......Page 5
Acknowledgements......Page 7
Preface......Page 8
What is a learning society?......Page 12
The economic imperative......Page 15
Social exclusion......Page 18
The learning society: alternative visions......Page 20
Conclusion......Page 25
History, place and biography......Page 26
Human capital theory and participation in adult learning: a critique......Page 29
Towards a social theory of lifelong learning......Page 30
Participation in adult learning: operationalising a theoretical model......Page 37
Conclusion......Page 41
3. History, place and the learning society: the case of South Wales......Page 42
Industrial South Wales: an economic region......Page 43
Education and training in Wales......Page 45
Conclusion......Page 52
Learning trajectories......Page 54
Why do some people participate and others not?......Page 57
Time as a determinant......Page 58
Place as a determinant......Page 60
Gender as a determinant......Page 65
Other social determinants of lifelong learning......Page 71
Conclusion......Page 74
Family as a determinant......Page 76
Initial schooling as a determinant......Page 89
Learner identities......Page 93
Conclusion......Page 95
6. Lifelong learning trajectories and the two dimensions of change over time......Page 98
Predictive power......Page 99
The changing role of determinants......Page 100
Testing the two component model......Page 104
Barriers to creating a learning society......Page 108
Conclusion......Page 111
7. The role of informal learning......Page 116
Leisure learning......Page 119
Informal learning at work......Page 124
Conclusion......Page 130
Contingent labour......Page 132
Trends in work-based training......Page 133
Trainers’ accounts......Page 137
The economic imperative......Page 141
Conclusion......Page 144
The technical fix......Page 146
The future for the technical fix......Page 148
The National Targets for Lifelong Learning......Page 150
Progress towards the targets......Page 152
Conclusion......Page 154
Overview of main findings......Page 156
Future research......Page 158
The learning society: are we nearly there yet?......Page 159
The two components of participation......Page 160
Recognising the importance of informal learning......Page 164
Alternative paths to a learning society......Page 165
References......Page 168
Bridgend......Page 190
Neath-Port Talbot......Page 192
Blaenau Gwent......Page 194
Index......Page 196