With women bearing a disproportionate share of economic hardship, their poor representation on training designed to tackle barriers to work is a critical concern. The author asks what can be done to improve women's access to this sort of learning. As the underrecruitment of women to ESF pre-employment programmes demonstrates, the author suggests…

As people celebrate the 100th anniversary of International Women's Day this year, NIACE has organised an event, "Every woman's right to learn," that will offer an opportunity for educators and learners to celebrate women's progress and achievements in and through learning, to find one's hopes and aspirations for the future and work collaboratively…

Adult educators from across the world met at the eighth World Assembly of the International Council for Adult Education (ICAE) in Malmo in June. A significant question at the World Assembly was, "What kind of lifelong learning is needed in a climate-changing world?" Discussions addressing this strand immediately revealed that responses depend on…

The world's political leaders failed to agree a fair, ambitious and legally binding accord that would protect the planet from catastrophic global warming at the United Nations' Copenhagen conference on climate change. This makes grassroots action all the more essential to save the world from devastating climate change. The UK Government championed…

Bangladeshi, Pakistani and Somali women are among the most disadvantaged adults in British society. Research consistently shows that their participation and achievement in organised learning is dramatically lower than for the population at large. "Dare to Dream: Learning journeys of Bangladeshi, Pakistani and Somali women" is the report of…

In this article, the author reports from the World Social Forum, the annual gathering of campaigning groups and activists who believe that "another world is possible." The theme of the seventh forum, "People's struggles, people's alternatives," united 50,000 people from diverse cultures and backgrounds who gathered in Nairobi believing not only…

Confidence has an important role to play in encouraging people to engage in activities, step out into new territories and take risks in living, especially in relation to learning. But how can changes in confidence be captured and the outcomes of learning be recorded? With financial help from the Department for Education and Skills, these authors…