The National Institute of Adult Continuing Education (NIACE) Adult Participation in Learning Survey 10 years ago showed that two-fifths of the adult population said that they had taken part in learning in the last three years. A decade later, the 2012 survey shows that little has changed--active participation in learning remains a minority…

The key message of NIACE's 2011 survey of adult participation in learning is that recession is bad for lifelong learning for anyone over the age of 25. The survey highlights the central importance of workplaces as sites of adult learning--and the challenges posed to a learning society when opportunities to learn reduce. It shows that the gap…

NIACE's 2010 representative sample survey of adult participation in learning in the UK shows something of a sea change in adults' engagement in learning. After years in which the numbers reporting participation in learning fell overall, and the gulf between the learning rich and the learning poor widened dramatically, there has been a major…

There is widespread agreement that participation in learning makes a difference to the economic and social wellbeing of individuals, families, communities and nations. Participation in learning through the life span matters. Yet, despite its clear benefits, active participation in learning remains a minority activity among adults in the United…

This article reports the 2008 National Institute of Adult Continuing Education (NIACE) survey of adult participation in learning in the UK. Its major finding, that participation has fallen among key target groups for the Government's learning and skills strategy, calls into question the balance of current policy instruments. Inevitably, since…

This article presents 2007 report on the National Institute of Adult Continuing Education (NIACE) survey on adult participation in learning. With overall participation among the poorest groups stuck at less than half that experienced by the upper and middle classes, the survey suggests the need to ask if the balance of public investment in adult…

A 2003 survey shows that adult participation in learning, which steadily increased in Britain since 1996, declined to 39% from a peak of 46% in 2001, although future intentions to participate remain high. Results indicate that 87% of adults over 65 and 75% in the lowest socioeconomic levels have not participated in the last 3 years. (SK)

In a British survey receiving 473 individual and 47 group responses, 87% reported physical health benefits from participation in learning; 89% cited emotional or mental health benefits. Most reported "disbenefits" at some time, but usually accompanied by significant benefits in other areas that provided motivation to continue learning. (SK)