Search

There has been a debate over many decades concerning the benefits of lifelong learning that have been expressed both in economic and non-economic terms, the latter often expressed in terms of contributions to health and well-being, and to civic solidarity. The extent to which these benefits can be evidenced however remains somewhat elusive and at best mixed. In this paper, I trace the ways in which lifelong learning has emerged in policy discourse in the UK since the 1980s, the arguments and evidence for its benefits and the means by which it has been supported and implemented. In particular, the paper is concerned with the role of the higher education sector in the UK with a particular focus on Scotland. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As part of the impetus to increase and widen participation in the UK, and in Scotland in particular, there has been considerable effort put into creating links between Further Education Colleges (FECs) and Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). However, because no unique identifier is used to track students between the two sectors, little is known in quantitative terms of the nature of this progression. In this article using substantial datasets, and an approach known as Probability Matching, we are able to provide novel data on the proportions of Scottish domiciled former FEC students within Scottish HEIs, and are able to compare the characteristics of this subset of all students with the whole cohort within HE in a given year, 1999–2000. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examines the age groups in higher education institutions and further education colleges in Scotland during the 1980s. Information on the increase in heterogeneity of the undergraduate population; Reference to research conducted on the performance of mature non-standard and non-traditional students; Indepth look at the study performance of students admitted to the University of Stirling.