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The Library and Information Commission believes that libraries can make a unique contribution to making the vision of lifelong learning a reality in the United Kingdom. Libraries and information services are intimately related to learner needs and already serve as gateways to learning by providing learners with learning materials and personal support and by championing learners in developing individual competence. Libraries should be positioned at the heart of the learning age and supported by evidence-based approaches to show libraries as catalysts for learning. The commission is well placed to help the government develop the policies and programs required for the United Kingdom to play a leading role in the global information economy. The commission supports the following key themes from recent policy consultation papers: libraries must be seen more widely as part of the mosaic of local and national provision; public libraries complement formal educational provision by providing a resource base and a platform for people of all ages to participate in lifelong learning; public libraries have a key role to play in stimulating a personal thirst for learning and self-improvement and helping to create an informed and information technology-literate society; and libraries can play a major role in widening access to essential services. (MN)

Cultural services and tourism are among the United Kingdom's fastest growing sectors in terms of employment and consumer demand. Cultural services and tourism bring the following elements to lifelong learning: active rather than passive learning; a means of interpreting the world around us; exposure to cultures other than one's own; confidence and interpersonal skills; innovative uses of new technology; team-building skills; an expanding sector that values training and development; an accessible and inclusive environment; buildings and spaces that cost nothing to enter; a powerful means of communicating ideas; the experience of risk in a controlled environment; an opportunity to test the body and the mind; introduction to the natural world and the world of our ancestors; flexibility; opportunities for independent learners; options for learners to determine their own level of engagement; and fun. The cultural services and tourism sectors should promote their contribution and be represented in Early Years and Learning Partnerships. The forthcoming Learning and Skills Council should seek to establish links with cultural services and tourism. The Best Value initiative and new duty to promote economic, social, and environmental well-being will present local authorities with opportunities to take a holistic approach to strategic planning in the areas of education, lifelong learning, culture, and tourism. (Seven case studies are included.) (MN)

This is the fourth paper published by The Centre for Literacy in its Working Papers in Literacy series, which present new perspectives on literacy-related issues relevant to researchers, to practitioners, and to policy-makers. This paper was written in 1998 as an advisory document to the UK Qualifications and Curriculum Agency (QCA) which manages all aspects of the National Curriculum for schools and for vocational training. In this paper, the author has touched on some of the major issues relating to information and communications technology (ICT) and literacy which have until now been treated as separate subjects. He argues for a convergence of the two and recommends that government agencies coordinate their visions instead of sending contradictory messages to teachers and students. His focus was the first three key stages of the literacy strategy, touching ages 5-14, but the concerns he raises are familiar to anyone working in adult basic skills as well and are relevant beyond the UK. A glossary of acronyms and terms used is included.

This paper examines trends toward cooperation and collaboration between colleges of further education and universities in the United Kingdom especially increasing political pressures for wider access to postsecondary education. It notes that the trend toward a single postsecondary sector within which students can move freely from one level to another is not accompanied with commensurate increases in resources provided to institutions of higher education. The paper reports on an analysis of retention, success, and failure rates of students (N=1329) who had either transferred from a further education college (N=465) or entered the university as first-year students over the period 1994-1998. Students were working at either regular or honors degree levels in accounting, commerce, and business studies. Overall, the students transferring from further education colleges were significantly more likely than first-year entry students to achieve the Degree or Honours Degree qualification. Results suggest that institutions in both sectors can increase student intake without prejudicing program quality or students' learning experience. However, this paper raises concerns about how the new "Advanced Higher" qualification will relate to accreditation requirements of professional bodies and governmental policy. (Contains 12 references.) (DB)

This paper examines the relationship between the study of management and the study of higher education (HE) management in the United Kingdom, focusing on the nature of the discourse between academics in the two fields. The paper has three parts. The first part defines the nature of discourse and a context for the discussion, looking at recent changes in HE and its management in the United Kingdom. This is followed by an analogous overview of British research into HE management and a review of the complex issues facing business and management research and the discord that exists in defining its rigor and relevance. The second part of the paper considers the nature of academic discourses; how disciplines, fields, faculties, and cultures are developed; and how they interact or not interact with each other. The third part explores the relationship between theory and practice in HE management and the extent to which management academics engage with the study of management in their own work context. A model is developed to express the inter-relationship between management research, HE management research, and HE management practice. The paper concludes by questioning how far the divisions articulated between the two fields are simply part of an inevitable language game between the disciplines. (Contains 104 references.) (MDM)

Education in the arts and humanities has always been important to the United States' arts and culture and to its competitiveness in a global economy. Providing all students with a complete education in the arts and humanities can help them cope with, and master, the fast-paced technological advances, forces of globalization, and major demographic and societal shifts that characterize today's world. In the United States and elsewhere, growth of arts, cultural, and intellectual property sectors is outpacing that of the economy as a whole. Other nations are forging education and workforce policies based on this fact. Research has provided evidence that K-12 arts education can help the United States achieve the following national objectives: (1) achieve school standards; (2) reach all learners; and (3) help youth develop positively. Education policy and action in general--and arts education policy and programs in particular--require the commitment and engagement of a multiplicity of stakeholders at the federal, state, and local levels. The United States needs a comprehensive strategy linking education--including education in the arts and humanities--with workforce development as the principal cornerstone for strengthening the country's social capital and developing the skills needed for U.S. workers to remain competitive in the 21st century. (Forty-six endnotes are included. The bibliography lists 22 references.) (MN)

The relationships existing among human capital theory, Australian public policy, literacy education, and the plight of Australia's long-term unemployed were examined. The following topics were considered: human capital theory-based public policies and literacy education; social capital and learning; building and using social capital; the "social justice" and "social coalition" approaches to policy; and the notion of "mutual obligation" in social welfare policies. Next, a case study of the effects of policy changes on the long-term unemployed was discussed. The findings of the study, which involved interviews with 23 people (including 15 long-term unemployed individuals who had been or were currently enrolled in adult literacy courses) were shown to support the following conclusions: (1) to be successful, welfare policy related to unemployed persons must address both human and social capital elements; (2) although the skills associated with human capital are important in accessing and controlling the kinds of social factors that come with globalization, they are not enough to prepare individuals to cope with the knowledge explosion accompanying globalization; and (3) adults requiring the "second chance" learning provided in adult literacy and communication education need help in developing the networks, social norms, and trust that is included in the concept of building social capital. (Contains 29 references.) (MN)

This "think piece" on ways to increase demand for learning in the United Kingdom is designed to stimulate debate among policy makers and managers in the new learning and skills sector. Section 1, on context, addresses these issues: low skill levels; delivering skills to employers; low adult participation; and negative attitudes. Section 2 identifies groups educators need to focus on to stimulate demand: captive audiences; boys and young men; young people leaving care; prisoners; and those with basic skill needs. Section 3 looks at these strategies to attract new learners: starting points (what learners want, communities, interest groups, existing knowledge and skills, and people's habits and desires); joining up the present system; media; marketing; engaging employers (developing a better system of vocational education, overcoming employers' reluctance to commit to employees' learning, carrots and sticks, and small and medium-sized enterprises); engaging employees (employee development programs, trade unions, guarantees, study in paid time, corporate university); financing learning (transport, loans, fees, individual learning accounts, incidental costs of learning, saving to learn, funding following learners, learning from others, financial barriers, and course support); reforming the supply side (initial education, promoting vocational education, and dealing with jargon); qualifications; and quality of teaching and learning. Section 4 lists actions for stakeholders. Appendixes include a glossary and 36 references. (YLB)

The linguistic behavior of individuals and people in the official literature on lifelong learning (LL) was examined and interpreted in light of the theories of individualization in late modern culture and society, particularly the theories of Ulrich Beck and Anthony Giddens. The analysis was performed to shed light on that literature's ideological stance toward participants in the "learning society" and to demonstrate that the analysis of language is crucial to social and cultural inquiry. A 900,000-word corpus of recent government and academic publications on LL was used to perform a concordance-based analysis of the collocations of "individuals" as members of institutionalized collectives, agents, rational citizens, and consumers and to compare them with "people". The 1 million word British National Corpus was used as a reference corpus. The LL corpus contained 1,775 instances of forms of the word "individual" and 1,450 instances of "people," whereas the British National Corpus contained 22,264 instances of forms of the word "individual" and 123,427 instances of "people." By demonstrating that "individual" occurs more frequently with societal institutions in the LL discourse than in general usage, that individuals and people are different, and that people is a far more frequent word in the whole language than it is in policy-making, the researcher concluded that the different usage of "individuals" and "people" show that the discourse of LL has close affinities with contemporary sociocultural models of individualization, consumption, production, and the risk society. (The bibliography lists 41 references. A list of 30 documents in the lifelong learning corpus is appended.) (Author/MN)

Colleges in the United Kingdom are currently undergoing significant shifts in how staff and faculty contracts are restructured and this paper takes a close look at why this process is going on, its legal ramifications, and how administrators can manage it. An introduction describes the background to the current trends and explores various ways of organizing and categorizing administrator levels and responsibilities. The next section looks at why a college might decide to change contracts and the following section explores how some college administrators have achieved contract change by offering significant improvements or by capitalizing on retirements, resignations, or promotions. A section on future possibilities suggests ways that faculty pay rates may be more directly related to their duties. The following section, on legal questions, reviews central features of a college employment contract, specific issues (such as contract variations), explicit variation with consent of all parties, termination of the contract, key features of the contract change process, imposed contract change through dismissal and re-engagement, and two phases of imposed contract change. A section on the administrator's role explores effective delivery of new terms and conditions, staff responses and relations, and a checklist of 14 key areas that administrators should address. An appendix lists 14 options for gradual change. (Contains 15 references.) (JB)

This paper promotes the adoption of the lifetime learning targets that form part of National Education and Training Targets (NETTS) for Lifetime Learning in the United Kingdom. Section 1 defines NETTs as goals for levels of participation in education and training. Section 2 considers the characteristics and current profile of adult learners. Section 3 identifies challenges to be overcome if there is to be a greater commitment to education and training, if individuals are to undertake more learning, and if current nonparticipants are to be attracted into education and training during adulthood. Employment issues considered include the priority given to training and development, investment in training for older workers, core and peripheral workers, and the self-employed. Issues are identified that affect participation in education and training of significant groups presently underrepresented in programs. The section concludes by identifying structural challenges relating to the provision of education and training: curricular/sectoral boundaries, student support, access to guidance, the qualifications jungle, access to assessment, and appropriately skilled staff. Section 4 describes current initiatives that seek to overcome the educational concerns and other difficulties in expanding learning activity. Section 5 outlines 10 steps for achievement of NETTs. Section 6 refines the issues identified into a set of general recommendations and a set of key short-term actions which should be taken by particular players. Contains 69 references. (YLB)

The British experience of nationwide research quality assessments and new measures to improve accountability are described. Consequences for the higher education system and for individual institutions are examined. Three national assessments of the quality of research in the United Kingdom (U.K.) in 1986, 1989, and 1992 have provided a standard rating of research programs in order to increase selectivity in allocating funds. In each assessment institutions prepared information for assessment by central panels, which judged the usefulness of certain statistics as indicators of research quality. Comprehensive peer review of research quality has demonstrated the usefulness of certain performance indicators. Information which is collected about faculty researchers is identified, including number of publications produced and number of research assistants. Issues related to quality ratings of departments are addressed. Efforts of the University of Glasgow (Scotland) to maintain and enhance its research quality ratings are discussed. Comparisons are made of U.K. research assessment approaches and U.S. research doctorate program assessment using measures of the National Academy of Sciences. Implications of U.K. approaches to assessment for U.S. institutional researchers are addressed. Generally, the British results give support to the use of some quantitative measures of research outputs and inputs as indicators of overall research quality; however the system would be unlikely to transfer successfully into a new setting if the underlying purpose diverges in any way from the British experience. (Contains 16 references.) (SW)

This discussion paper, which addresses the abuse of children in residential establishments, is presented in outline form and includes comments and contributions from a wide range of professionals working in various settings. An introduction notes the reported increase in sexual abuse of children in institutions, a variety of proposed monitoring and inspection requirements, and the need to integrate this issue with others concerning severely disabled children in institutions. The second section identifies particular concerns with independent and private institutions. Principles of inspection and monitoring are briefly considered next, followed by problems in the distribution of resources resulting from overreaction to the possibility of sexual abuse. A section on response to the issue of abuse stresses that child care must be emphasized equally with child protection and workers must not be intimidated from developing close, caring relationships with children. Considered next are assessments of institutionalized children (especially those deeply emotionally deprived or disturbed) and referrals to residential establishments. A concluding section offers general recommendations in the areas of assessment and referral, training for residential workers, consultancy and counseling, and research. (DB)

This position paper explores the potential of new technology to radically alter both distance education and conventional higher education. It hypothesizes that technological developments could even lead to the demise of the conventional campus-based higher education institution by the year 2000. Instead, people of all ages would be able to study at any period of their life through a mixture of home learning, study at work, and occasional visits to "old" campuses, whose primary function by then would be research and curriculum development. It is predicted that the determining factors for the materialization of this scenario will be political and institutional, not technological or even financial. The following sections are discussed in the context of this hypothesis: Print, Television and Culture; New Communications Technologies (Cable Television and Video-Cassettes, Computer Conferencing, and Computer-Based Audio-Graphic Systems); New Institutional Models; and Political and Institutional Barriers. (THC)

Prison education can play a positive role in challenging offending behavior of prisoners. A drop in recidivism rates can be achieved by education that works toward attitudinal change, according to programs being implemented in the United Kingdom. To ensure that staff in prison education understand the implications of working toward the reduction of offending behavior, they need to be aware of general theories of crime and have an understanding of criminology. Education should provide help for prisoners who have inadequate social skills, provide opportunities for prisoners to develop artistic and other skills to gain self-respect, to help prisoners to acquire family life skills, and to help prisoners to understand the emotions and needs of the opposite sex. In order to meet these needs, the correctional education system will have to work toward a more balanced system, stressing both academic content and attitudinal change. Moral education needs to be stressed, as well as thinking and problem-solving skills. In the future, educational programs in prisons should have three distinctive features: basic education, vocational education, and cognitive skills development. New or revamped programs should be evaluated, using such criteria as thoroughness and intensity, research base, well-trained staff, inmates selected according to risk potential, relevance to the outside world, and multifaceted approach. (Contains 11 references.) (KC)

Universities UK's response to the Higher Education White Paper outlines the principles that we believe will underpin a strong future higher education system. These principles form the basis of the specific recommendations we make to government in taking forward a programme of change. They also form the backdrop to our own commitments, which include improving the availability of information, developing effective partnerships, enhancing quality assurance and monitoring the impact of the changes. The combination of UUK's recommendations and the commitments that we have made would help ensure that the Government and universities play their respective roles in supporting diverse forms of excellence, promoting social mobility and social inclusion, delivering a more flexible regulatory framework, and achieving greater efficiency. Our response also calls on the Government to make timely, clear and consistent data widely available, to help ensure that future policy interventions are both transparent and evidence based. (Contains 1 figure, 1 table and 5 footnotes.)

This paper describes the findings of an OECD project examining ICT impact measurement and analyses based on official statistics. Both economic and social impacts are covered and some results are presented. It attempts to place ICT impacts measurement into an Information Society conceptual framework, provides some suggestions for standardising terminology and methodologies, and advocates for further work in a number of hardware and software areas. (A bibliography is included. Contains 19 footnotes, 4 figures and 3 tables.)

This paper touches on some of the major issues relating to information and communication technology (ICT) and literacy which until now have been treated as separate subjects. The paper argues for a convergence of the two and recommends that government agencies coordinate their visions instead of sending contradictory messages to teachers and students. Its focus is the first three key stages of the literacy strategy, touching ages 5-14, but the concerns it raises are familiar to anyone working in adult basic skills as well and are relevant beyond the United Kingdom. (Includes a glossary of acronyms and terms. Contains 15 references.) (NKA)

Ways of expanding workplace learning in the United Kingdom by making better use of individual and organizational potential were examined. The analysis focused on the following issues: ways of fostering, improving, and increasing learning in the workplace; ways of enhancing access to and participation in workplace learning; ways of making workplace learning opportunities accessible to people who are currently outside paid employment; and ways of helping workplaces play a more central role in the United Kingdom's plans for greater participation in learning. A policy case for workplace learning was made, and an expansive approach to workplace learning was outlined. The issue of creating the institutional capacity for supporting the approach was discussed. The following are among the 12 recommendations offered to policymakers: (1) establish greater coherence between the responsibilities of the organizations currently charged with improving workplace learning; (2) restrict public funding for workplace learning to organizations that are prepared to commit to moving toward becoming expansive learning environments; (3) place equal focus on adults and young people; (4) establish learning champions within and outside the workplace; (5) provide incentives to organizations to increase training for managers to enable them to foster and maintain expansive learning environments; and (6) make the public sector set the standard and reward exemplary private sector organizations. (Contains 33 references.) (MN)

This paper discusses policy regarding learning in later life in the United Kingdom. The following are among the topics discussed in chapters 1-12: (1) the importance of lifelong learning; (2) the importance of learning to older people; (3) opportunities for lifelong learning in the United Kingdom; (4) the United Kingdom's aging population; (5) older learners' participation in learning; (6) provisions for older adults by local education authorities and in the further education, higher education, and voluntary sectors; (7) the role of information technology and broadcast media in lifelong learning; (8) the government's role in lifelong learning; and (9) lifelong learning and issues and barriers. The following are among the 63 policy recommendations listed in Chapter 13: (1) make increasing older adults' participation in education and training a policy priority; (2) ensure that local education authorities prepare lifelong learning development plans that take account of older people's unique learning needs; (3) promote distance learning as a primary means of access for older people; and (4) increase learning opportunities at work. Nineteen tables/figures and a list of abbreviations are included. Eleven tables/figures containing additional statistics, acknowledgments, and a list of advisory group members are appended. The bibliography contains 166 references. (MN)

Past and present policies and practices in education and vocational training for offenders in the United Kingdom were examined. Changes in the content, delivery, and funding of education and vocational training for offenders over the past decade were reviewed. Special attention was paid to the following changes that took place in 2001: (1) transfer of responsibility for support of education and training in prisons from Education Services to the new Prisoners Learning and Skills Unit; (2) for the first time, education for prisoners received its own clearly allocated funding, and funding for prisoners was increased; and (3) inspection and evaluation of funding for prisoners were strengthened by adding inspectors from the Office for Standards in Education and from the Further Education Council's Funding Inspectorate to the team of prison inspectors. Forty-seven specific recommendations pertaining to areas such as the following were presented: (1) revision of the core curriculum to meet the needs of particular groups within the overall prison population; (2) procedures for awarding contracts for prisoner education; (3) development of an overall strategy for vocational training within the prison system and within individual establishments; (4) development of an information and computer technology strategy for prisons; and (5) universal application of screening to identify prisoners with learning difficulties and language and basic skill needs. (MN)

This paper attempts to raise awareness and stimulate debate about the family as a focus for developing learning in the United Kingdom (U.K.). The discussion focuses on the following aspects of the issue: the nature and scope of family learning; families as a place for learning; context; development of family learning; patterns of provision; provision for family learning in practice; partnerships in family learning; aims and objectives of family learning; principles for supporting family learning; policy and resourcing issues; and the future of family learning. The main recommendations stemming from the discussion are as follows: (1) wider opportunities for family learning, including parent education, should be available to all families; (2) coordination of policy and provision for families is in urgent need of improvement at the national and local levels; (3) television and other media should take a lead in raising the family's learning profile and participation in family learning programs; and (4) the U.K. government should aim to secure adequate funding for family learning so that everyone has access to affordable, appropriate, and effective support at each stage of life. Specific recommendations for 13 different U.K. agencies are also presented. The bibliography contains 11 references. A list of policy working group members concludes the paper. (MN)

The Department of Education and Employment is responsible for the system of education and training in England, including careers information, education, and guidance. After the age of 16, when education is no longer compulsory, young people have a variety of choices. Training is available from private and public sector providers. Career information for young people is discharged through 66 local career services, which are organizationally independent of the education system. Guidance for adults is provided on a local level by a variety of organizations. Some employers provide advisory services, and private providers meet the needs of fee-paying clients. The main current policy issues related to career development services in England fall under the following topics: structures; quality assurance; funding; social exclusion; staff training, development, and qualifications; technology; data; and branding. The key issues which may affect public policy on career development in the future concern: trends in the labor market and how they may increase demand for career development; increase in the labor market of women, minorities, and people with disabilities; increased international mobility of labor; more accessible technology leading to more electronic interactions; and changes in public expenditure for services. (JDM)

Although employment has increased, Great Britain faces rising unemployment due to the large number of school leavers. New jobs are there, but many are in the service sector, traditionally for women and mostly part-time. Unions demand high starting wages that are a disincentive for employers to hire young people and pay raises that make job creation more difficult. The United Kingdom has been complacent about training. Firms are not keen to invest in training and cut back funding for training programs during recessions, and the government is skeptical about formal training systems. Four approaches are now underday to clarify what employers should be doing and to identify where training needs are and where the skilled requirements of the future may lie. These approaches are: (1) to convince managers to assume a greater role in training, (2) to improve students' perception of their future and of the jobs and skills they will need, (3) to meet specific requirements to prevent specific shortfalls in skills, and (4) to ensure the adaptability of the work force. (Questions and answers are appended.) (YLB)

Like the rest of British life around them, Great Britain's universities of adult and continuing education are currently in the midst of a period of great change. There has been much debate surrounding the relative importance of instruction, research, and community service in the overall mission of adult and continuing education in universities. It appears clear that university adult education still has a significant contribution to make. Universities need the kind of experiences and approaches in the university adult education tradition to manage their new circumstances. Industrial partnerships, community and commercial consultations, and continuing education of professionals can and do enhance the life and work of universities. Universities need older students for two reasons: for their motivation to learn and for the financial gains continuing education programs bring universities. Besides being able to respond to changing community needs by providing a variety of course lengths and formats, continuing education can offer and revive a recurrent education market. Perhaps one job of universities from the standpoint of their continuing education programs is to help breathe new life into social movements as vehicles for learning that can, in turn, define and codefine what Great Britain in the nineties needs of its universities. (MN)