Community education
It has long been critical of aspects of the formal education system for failing large sections of the population in all countries and had a particular concern for taking learning and development opportunities out to poorer areas, although it can be provided more broadly.
There are a myriad of job titles and employers include public authorities and voluntary or non-governmental organisations, funded by the state and by independent grant making bodies.
These methods and approaches have been acknowledged as significant for local social, economic, cultural, environmental and political development by such organisations as the UN, WHO, OECD, World Bank, Council of Europe and EU.
[14] In the Final Report the need for adult education is described as individuals desire for "adequate opportunities for self-expression and the cultivation of their personal powers and interests.
"[13] The 1919 Final Report identified a number of challenges that education may help to improve and these include; international cooperation, gender equality, maintaining democracy, and employment and the quality of work.
[24] The Seebohm Report argued that in order to prevent delinquency, social work should be involved in encouraging positive community values and empowering people to help themselves.
"[26] In response to concern about poverty and social inequalities in Britain, Prime Minister Harold Wilson introduced the National Community Development Projects (CDPs) in 1969.
[27] Subsequently this influenced creation of the Urban Aid Programme, which allocated grants to local authorities to support education, housing, and social care organisations.
"[24] The rationale of the CDPs, and similar American projects such as the Community Action Programmes for Juvenile Delinquency, was that social issues were local and caused by individual pathology.
A number of reports were published particularly by the North Tyneside CDP, following CDPs research, and these include Whatever Happened to Council Housing (1976), Gilding the Ghetto (1979) and Costs of Industrial Change (1981).
[33] 'Disadvantaged' is defined, in The Russell Report, as "[...] the extent to which integration into society" is influenced by physical or mental health, poverty or social deprivation, or lack of basic education, learning impairment or language barriers.
[33] In 1977 the Advisory Council for Adult and Continuing Education (ACACE) was established in 1977 after the Russell Report and was chaired by British sociologist Richard Hoggart until 1983.
[33][39] In his book 'Russell and After: The Politics of Adult Learning (1969-1997)', Peter Clyne argues that "by concentrating on vocational qualifications and work-related skills and knowledge, the NCVQ was moving against the flow of the conclusions and recommendations of the Russell Committee and ACACE.
"[33] The UK Government published the Green paper entitled 'The Learning Age: a renaissance for a new Britain' in February 1998 presented by the then Secretary of State for Education and Employment David Blunkett.
The paper also proposes setting up an Adult and Community Learning Fund "to sustain and encourage new schemes locally that help men and women gain access to education, including literacy and numeracy.
[49] The main agencies and services identified in the 2000 review are listed below as their current iterations: Adult education is devolved in the UK, as well as regional authorities in England.
Between 2018 and 2019, adult education functions were transferred to certain mayoral combined authorities (MCAs) under the Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Act 2009.
"[53] The White Paper made recommendations that aimed to deliver on the Lifetime Skills Guarantee by implementing a flexible Lifelong Loan Entitlement "to the equivalent of four years post-18 education from 2025."
[61] The ALP developed learning opportunities by conducting secondary source investigation into the local area, primary source investigation by making contact with people in the community, finding co-investigators by recruiting volunteers from the public, building codifications which involved codifying themes from their findings to understand objectives and actions for the project to meet the needs of the community, and lastly developing appropriate learning opportunities.
[66] The recommendations from this report were furthered and resulted in the creation of a Short Life Task Group (SLTG) in 2004 chaired by Professor Ted Milburn.
"[68] Findings from the SLTG resulted in the publication of the Milburn Report entitled "Strengthening Standards: Improving the Quality of Community Learning and Development Service Delivery" in January 2006.
Emphasis of the report was placed on "the extent to which CLD is contributing to delivering positive outcomes in line with Scottish Government priorities, including examination of the respective roles and responsibilities of those involved.
"[72] The review made a number of recommendations in six key areas (1) leadership and structures, (2) overarching policy narratives, (3) focus on delivery, (4) budgets and funding, (5) developing the workforce and standards, and (6) demonstrating impact.
Lastly, demonstrating impact involved recommendations such as funding Scotland's participation in the OECD International Survey of Adult Skills (PIAAC), and creating an annual celebration of CLD success.
[85] The White Paper encouraged lifelong learning to take account of individual personal, cultural, social and economic needs and emphasised the importance of adult education to target marginalised communities.
"[99] American-Canadian economist Jane Jacobs defined social capital as "people who have forged neighbourhood networks" in her 1961 critique of urban planning The Death and Life of Great American Cities.
[101] In Bourdieu and Wacquant's 1992 book An Invitation to Reflexive Sociology, he defines social capital as "the sum of the resources, actual or virtual, that accrue to an individual or a group by virtue of possessing a durable network of more or less institutionalized relationships of mutual acquaintance and recognition.
"[110] British social theorist Steven Lukes developed Foucault's theory to argue that community education can provide people with the ability to govern themselves outside of the state.
[136] In UNESCO's fourth Global Report on Adult Learning and Education published in 2019, that learner engagement is lower for "vulnerable and disadvantaged" communities.
These organisations allow young people to gain a voice, influence decision makers who affect their lives and provide them with a sense of self-worth and a place in society.
