Over the past year lifelong learning in universities has come under the spotlight of politicians, educationalists, journalists and adult learners. For some, the concern has been about countering the fall-out from changes in public funding and challenging the reduction in provision--and even closure--of university departments. A number of…

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…

A new Labour government was elected in May 1997 and wasted no time in signalling its enthusiasm for the education of adults. Secretary of State for Education and Employment David Blunkett gave his first speech in office at the launch of Adult Learners' Week 1997 and announced the creation of a National Advisory Group for Continuing Education and…

The seventies and eighties saw the adult education movement renew and reexamine its commitment to opening up learning opportunities to "disadvantaged" groups. The National Institute of Adult Continuing Education (NIACE) was now part of the mainstream of public policy making in lifelong learning and had a significant role in delivering…

The author, chair of the new improvement organization for further education and skills, shares her optimism on what the emerging agency can achieve, but she is aware of the challenges facing a sector struggling to keep pace with inspectors' expectations. These struggles include: (1) The slow delivery of curriculum; (2) The sector's struggle to…

National policy stresses the key role of adult learning and skills in securing economic recovery. This close linking of adult learning policy to the recession agenda raises important questions. How has the recession impacted on the implementation of adult learning policy? What has it meant for service delivery? And what have been the consequences…

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…

Adult learning happens in many places and forms, and is paid for by a complex mix of public, employer and private funds. National Institute of Adult Continuing Education's recent survey of public attitudes to paying for lifelong learning shows clearly that people have not convinced the general public that adult learning deserves more public…

In September 2007 the Government withdrew HEFCE funding for students studying for a second higher qualification at a level equal to or lower than their first--the so-called equivalent or lower qualification (or ELQ) rule. This policy hit students and universities in England, though not those in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland. In a recent…

Since early 2011, the National Institute of Adult Continuing Education (NIACE) has been involved in supporting learning providers to prepare for and, more recently, to deliver provision through the Skills Funding Agency unit offer for the unemployed. The primary purpose of the provision is to equip learners with skills that will facilitate their…

Lancaster University's Department of Continuing Education has a long tradition of engagement with older learners. Its latest innovation aims to reach out to older people sometimes suspicious of the "university on the hill". This article discusses how Lancaster University develops a "Senior Learner' Programme", which is…

A decade after the National Advisory Group for Continuing Education and Lifelong Learning (NAGCELL) report, "The Learning Age", born in the first flush of the New Labour Government, the task of providing and securing an overall strategic framework for lifelong learning remains as large as ever. NIACE is the Inquiry into the Future for…

The Government says it wants to see a "revolution" in informal adult learning. It is calling on universities to take "a more strategic approach to the current and future needs of the economy". Yet, as it sets out its plans for both these objectives, higher education institutions across England are contemplating the closure of…

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…

Drawing on her experience with County Durham Learning and subsequently as a Recognising and Recording Progress and Achievement in Non-Accredited Learning (RARPA) Champion for the Learning and Skills Council and as a trainer for the National Institute of Adult Continuing Education (NIACE) and the Learning and Skills Network, the author outlines the…