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A study in South Wales developed the insights provided by previous research into further education and job training by exploring the ways in which the determinants of participation in lifetime learning vary systematically over time and from locality to locality. In addition, the study looked at empirical patterns of participation in lifetime learning through the concept of "trajectories." Data were gathered through a questionnaire survey and semi-structured interviews with 1,104 families in South Wales, as well as through examination of educational information from the institutions in the area. The study found these five lifelong learning trajectories: non-participant, transitional, delayed, lifetime, and immature. The full model of lifetime learning trajectories includes more than 40 independent variables that can be summarized in these five broad factors: time, place, gender, family, and initial schooling. The study found that the pattern of trajectories has changed over time, with lifelong learning and transitional learning increasing and apprenticeship decreasing. In addition, findings indicated that early success or failure at school lays the foundation for learner identity and participation in further education. The study concluded that additional research is needed to improve understanding of the processes of lifetime learning and motivation. (Contains 20 references.) (KC)

Although public policy debate centers on education and training (ET) as a primary determinant of economic success, this study suggests that instead the economy determines patterns of participation in education and training. Research over time shows that planned government ET policies have little ability to affect the economy because the effects of the economy on patterns of participation in ET are so strong. This study of ET trends and the economy in South Wales identified 31 potential variables, including year of birth, area of residence, gender, ethnicity, family religion, language spoken at home, pattern of school attendance, residence, family structure, type of secondary school attended, educational level, and socioeconomic and educational characteristics of parents. The study also determined that work-based training has not increased in frequency since 1945, remaining at just over 39 percent of all work episodes. The most important factor pushing workers to get further education was found to be lack of jobs. Study respondents noted that in a tight labor market employers ask for more credentials, whether or not the qualifications are related to the actual jobs, but when jobs are more plentiful, there is less emphasis on further education. The study concluded that for government policy encouraging further education to succeed, policymakers would have to entice or coerce employers to change their attitudes towards jobs, restructuring jobs to meet the demands of the new economy and thus actually requiring workers with more training. (KC)

This study is part of a regional study in industrial South Wales on the determinants of participation and non-participation in post-compulsory education and training, with special reference to processes of change in the patterns of these determinants over time and to variations between geographical areas. The study combines contextual analysis of secondary data about education and training providers with a regional study of several generations of families in South Wales (a door-to-door survey of 1,104 representative householders), semi-structured interviews, and taped oral histories conducted in 1996-97. This study begins by questioning the narrow definition of learning used in much present writing concerning lifelong learning, which tends to focus on the purported economic and societal benefits of prolonging and widening participation in formal education and training programs. In contrast, much valuable learning already goes on, and has always gone on, outside formal programs of instruction, both at work and at leisure. The study concludes that if such informal learning continues to be ignored by proponents of a learning society, as it has been by the authors of the recent green papers, for example, then the result will be an unnecessary exclusiveness in definitions of a learning society and an unjustifiable reliance on certification. (Contains 24 references.) (KC)

This study is part of a regional study in industrial South Wales on the determinants of participation and non-participation in post-compulsory education and training, with special reference to processes of change in the patterns of these determinants over time and to variations between geographical areas. The study combines contextual analysis of secondary data about education and training providers with a regional study of several generations of families in South Wales (a door-to-door survey of 1,104 representative householders), semi-structured interviews, and taped oral histories conducted in 1996-97. This study examines the relationship between patterns of participation in education and training within families and considers the respondents' own explanations for the patterns observed. The analysis uses these three indicators of participation in lifelong learning: the highest lifetime qualification so far; the age of leaving full-time continuous education; and the individual's learning trajectory. The study found that the role of parental background in children's educational attainment and lifelong learning is much stronger than has been posited in other studies. The study found considerable reproduction of learning trajectories within families--strongest among lifelong learners and non-participants, and weakest among delayed and transitional learners. Although the role of family background decreases with age of children, the study suggests that families continue to play a key role in the transition from initial to postcompulsory education and beyond. (Contains 27 references.) (KC)

This study is part of a regional study in industrial South Wales on the determinants of participation and non-participation in post-compulsory education and training, with special reference to processes of change in the patterns of these determinants over time and to variations between geographical areas. The study combines contextual analysis of secondary data about education and training providers with a regional study of several generations of families in South Wales (a door-to-door survey of 1,104 representative householders), semi-structured interviews, and taped oral histories conducted in 1996-97. This study uses brief accounts from the interviews to examine the social determinants of adult participation and training as identified in earlier papers (Working Papers 7 and 9). The individuals' participation in adult learning is defined in this study within an empirically derived typology of learning trajectories. Treating these types as a dependent variable, the analysis identifies age, cohort, period, and location effects as well as considering their relationships to other variables such as respondent characteristics, personal and societal opportunities, and economic conditions. The study found that the most important determinants of participation in further education are time and place. The study concluded that ameliorating inequalities in society could make alternative learning trajectories available to more people, and it is worth doing, even if economic benefits do not accrue. (Contains 42 references.) (KC)

This paper considers the social and structural determinants of adult participation in education and training. Section 1 deals with 11 lifetime learning trajectories identified from a systematic stratified sample of 1,104 education and training histories collected from respondents aged 15-65 in industrial South Wales. For the purposes of the paper, they are analyzed at a higher level of abstraction, with only five categories: non-participant, delayed, transitional, lifetime, and immature. This section is a simple report of empirical findings relating to the similarities and differences between the trajectories in terms of the major variables. These findings form the basis of an outline hypothesis of the social and structural determinants of participation in lifelong learning, which section 2 makes explicit. Section 3 tests the hypothesis by attempting to predict which post-compulsory trajectory each respondent will follow, using only variables not used in the classification into trajectories. A conclusion finds the determinants of participation in adult education and training are not linearly progressive; the two-component model of determination suggests that immediate further and higher education histories are predictable from privileged family background, while later learning is more dependent on changing opportunities, motivation, and learner identity. Appendixes include classification of trajectories, data tables, and trajectory determinants. Contains 25 references. (YLB)

This study is part of a regional study in industrial South Wales on the determinants of participation and non-participation in post-compulsory education and training, with special reference to processes of change in the patterns of these determinants over time and to variations between geographical areas. The study combines contextual analysis of secondary data about education and training providers with a regional study of several generations of families in South Wales (a door-to-door survey of 1,104 representative householders), semi-structured interviews, and taped oral histories conducted in 1996-97. This study examined learning trajectories, defined in an earlier study, by area of residence, for non-participants by area and age, for delayed learners by area and age, for transitional learners by area and age, for lifetime learners by area and age-cohort, by place of birth, and by number of area moves. Ethnicity was also examined. The study found that traditional Christians of working-class families are more likely to be lifetime learners, as are middle-class families speaking Welsh and those who are more mobile, while fundamentalist Christians are less likely to engage in learning activities. Over time, the trend has been for all types of families to engage in more learning, including ethnic groups from other countries. (Contains 23 references.) (KC)

This working paper is a product of a regional study in industrial South Wales of the determinants of participation and non-participation in post-compulsory education and training, with special reference to processes of change in the patterns of these determinants over time and to variations between geographical areas. This paper describes the notion of learning trajectories and considers determinants of an individual's participation in education or training. It discusses a door-to-door survey of 1,104 householders in industrial South Wales to obtain their life work and educational histories that were analyzed to identify trajectories--characteristic patterns of participation and non-participation in post-compulsory education and training. These 5 categories with 11 trajectories are identified: disaffected learner (non-learner, near non-learner); delayed learner (delayed learner, deferred student, twilight learners); transitional learner (false-start trainee, false-start student); immature learner (still at school, still in full-time education); and lifetime learner (work-based learner, early learner). The analysis that led to determination of six predictor variables--area of residence, gender, type of school, attempting qualifications, qualification at age 16, and occupational class of father--is explained. Appendixes include development of learning trajectories. Contains 57 references. (YLB)

This working paper is a product of a regional study in industrial South Wales of the determinants of participation and non-participation in post-compulsory education and training, with special reference to processes of change in the patterns of these determinants over time and to variations between geographical areas. It examines the notion of a learning society in Britain, suggesting that markedly different interpretations of the term are in common use among politicians, economists, policymakers, and educationalists. The paper outlines chief arguments currently being used to advocate the establishment of a learning society in Britain. These arguments have two strands--the claim that the standard of education and training in a country has a direct impact on its economy and that, therefore, expenditure on learning by the state and employers will be recouped, and the claim that there is a lack of justice in the distribution of education and its rewards in Britain today. Since this involves a brief description of the availability of education and training in Britain, the paper allows a preliminary consideration of the extent to which a learning society already exists or can be said to have existed in the past. It concludes that to some extent the "learning society" is used as a term of convenience. Appendixes include definitions and acronyms. Contains 103 references. (YLB)

These two working papers are products of a regional study in industrial South Wales of the determinants of participation and non-participation in post-compulsory education and training, with special reference to processes of change in the patterns of these determinants over time and to variations between geographical areas. The study combines contextual analysis of secondary data about education and training providers with a regional study of several generations of families in South Wales via survey, semi-structured interviews, and taped oral histories. Paper 1, The Region of Study, describes the region and provides secondary data used both in the creation of the sample and as a background for the analysis of research findings. It discusses how these three sites that typified the focus area were selected: Blaenau Gwent in the heart of the depressed coalfield; Neath Port Talbot, a large urban center historically linked with heavy industry; and Brigend, a rapidly expanding town south of the coalfield which also shows recent impact of Japanese investment in the area. Paper 1 contains 48 references; background data of the sites; and maps. Paper 2, Outline Methodology of the Study, describes the survey, data collection, pilot study, coding, and these forms of analysis that were carried out: factor analysis, causation, temporal sequences, standard regression, logistic regression, and loglinear models. Paper 2 contains include 63 references. (YLB)