Equality and Human Rights Commission Triennial Review: Education (Lifelong Learning) Participation in Adult Learning

Transcription

1 Equality and Human Rights Commission Triennial Review: Education (Lifelong Learning) Participation in Adult Learning Peter Jones i School of Education University of Southampton May p.d.jones@soton.ac.uk 1

2 Contents Headline Findings 3 1. Introduction 5 2. Participation in Adult Learning 6 3. Evidence on Adult Participation in Learning Established Data Sets and Indicators 3.2 Indicative Data 4. Analysis of Adult Participation in Learning Gender Ethnicity Religion Age Disability Sexual Orientation Participation in Adult Learning Key Drivers and Barriers Prior Learning Employment Funding Adult Learning The Geography of Adult Learning Gender Disability Recommendations References 39 Tables Table 1. Participation in Adult Learning by Gender 11 Table 2. Participation in Adult Learning by Disability and Non-disability13 Figures Figure 1. Participation in adult learning by socio-economic group 11 Figure 2. Participation inadult Learning by ethnicity 12 Figure 3. Participation in adult learning by religion 12 Figure 4. Participation in adult learning by age 13 Figure 5. Participation in adult learning by gender 14 Figure 6. Participation in adult learning by socio-economic category 15 Figure 7. Participation in adult learning by employment status 16 Figure 8. Participation in adult learning by age 16 Figure 9. Participation in adult learning and terminal age of education 17 Figure 10. Participation in adult learning and ethnicity 18 Figure 11. Participation in adult learning and ethnicity 18 Figure 12. Types of learning: taught learning and self-directed learning 19 Figure 13. Learning towards a qualification by ethnic group 19 Figure 14. Participation in job-related training 20 Figure 15. Participation in adult learning by ethnicity and gender 21 Figure 16. Participation in adult learning by ethnicity and employment status 21 Figure 17. Participation in adult learning by occupation and ethnicity 22 Figure 18. Adult learning, terminal age of education and ethnicity 23 Figure 19. Adult learning, religion and ethnicity 24 2

3 Headline Findings 1. Adult Learning consists of a range of activities (formal, informal, nonformal, work-based, qualifications bearing, adult and community learning and so on). The differences between participation levels and outcomes for the protected equality groups in each kind of activity are important and global measures of participation in adult learning in established data sets make it difficult to investigate these differences. 2. The Labour Force Survey (LFS) provides opportunities for further investigation because of its sample size, coverage and range of questions. Analysis of the LFS of participation in adult learning by ethnicity, demonstrates the potential for more fine-grained analysis. This is irrespective of whether the questions in the LFS are refined more adequately to address the need to follow patterns and trends for the protected equality groups. 3. The potential of the LFS should be further explored by commissioning research to determine to what extent questions of interest can be pursued by means of the existing data. 4. Robust investigation of participation in adult learning by disability, sexuality and religion is not currently facilitated by the LFS. The development of harmonised cross-sectoral and internationally comparable data which can capture the circumstances, experiences and barriers faced by people from these groups is consequently required. 5. It is consistently the case that around 40% of adults are participating in learning. Men and women participate at equal rates. England, Scotland and Wales have broadly similar participation rates. Most ethnic minority groups participate at higher rates than the White group, with the exception of the Pakistani and Bangladeshi communities who participate at around the same rate as the White population except in Wales. Pakistani and Bangladeshi women are the least likely to participate in adult learning and there is a significant gap between the experience of Pakistani and Bangladeshi men and women. There is a steep decline in participation rates by age, particularly for the over-64 age group. Disabled people participate at roughly half the rate of the non-disabled. 6. Socio-economic and employment statuses are strongly related to adult participation in learning with opportunities for work-based learning by employment sector of particular significance. Those who are selfemployed or working for small firms, those employed in routine occupations and the long-term unemployed participate at less than half the rate of the professional and higher managerial groups. 7. It remains the case that prior educational achievement and highest level of qualification achieved strongly influence patterns and trends in adult learning. The position of boys and men throughout the formal 3

4 education system is a key driver in later participation in adult learning. The underperformance of boys in relation to social class and ethnicity produces unequal educational outcomes from initial education onwards and this plays a role in subsequent patterns of adult participation in learning. 8. Public sector employment is a significant factor in opportunities for adult learning particularly for women and the disabled. In 2008, the public sector employed 24% more disabled women and 11% more disabled men than in Shifts in priorities and funding arrangements for adult learning have particular implications in terms of the experience of protected minority groups by age, gender, disability and ethnicity. Expectations of increased individual funding have an impact for reasons of the close relationships between, for example, the position of women with low prior levels of educational achievement seeking to re-train. Age and poverty is particularly important with shifts in funding associated with a 38% decline in the numbers of the over 60s participating in learning between 2005 and Analysis of participation in adult learning by individuals in terms of their sexuality is currently difficult on the basis of existing data. It seems likely that forms of process discrimination are important however, with 25% of lesbian and gay people expecting to be discriminated against in the provision of public services and with older people, and in particular, those from lower occupational groups, experiencing bullying in the workplace. Quantitative and qualitative studies of lesbian, gay and transgender groups and their experiences of adult learning are not currently available. 11. In addition to consideration of the impacts of income, employment and prior education, it is important to recognise that participation and nonparticipation in adult learning is a reflection of culturally- based preferences, decisions and choices. There are a range of factors at play through the development of personality and sub-cultural attributes and preferences. Further research and analysis is required into the ways in which adult participation in learning intersects with other factors, if patterns and trends in rates of participation are to be placed in a meaningful context. 4

5 1. Introduction This report explores available data and presents evidence of patterns and trends in adult learning. Analysis of current evidence is then used to identify the key drivers of existing levels of participation and the barriers to greater equality for the protected equality groups. Existing evidence clearly shows that levels of participation are under-cut by the influence of socio-economic factors and intense forms of inter-sectionality for particular equality groups (based on class, gender, ethnicity and age). For other groups (based on disability, sexuality, transgender status and religion) evidence is only patchily available. Despite this, some robust conclusions can be drawn and used to identify recommendations for future work on this issue. While it is possible to provide evidence of participation rates for some equality groups, analysis is made more difficult by the problem of the range of learning types which are captured by the adult learning category. Existing data do not adequately distinguish between formal, informal, non-formal, work-based training, adult and continuing learning and so on. Existing measures, including that adopted by the Equality Measurement Framework, subsume different kinds of adult learning within a global measure. This makes it more possible for disaggregation by equality group but tends to obscure the kinds of learning and the patterns for those equality groups. This report presents a more complex picture of adult learning by type, duration and outcome so as to place existing headline indicators in context and to make it possible to identify what the key drivers and barriers to adult participation in particular kinds of learning are likely to be. The report draws on evidence from the Labour Force Survey (LFS) and the Adult Learning Survey (ALS) which in combination make it possible to identify what the key questions are with regard to adult participation in learning by equality group. In addition the work of the Inquiry into the Future for Lifelong Learning (IFLL) (Schuller and Watson, 2009), the Leitch Review of Skills (2006) and the National Equality Panel (Hills et al., 2010) are drawn upon as the most authoritative recent investigations into the patterns and trends in adult learning in the UK. The UK context of low skills, limited duration and work-related scope of adult learning is used as a way to identify the importance of placing adult participation in learning into its employment related context. Despite the potential of participation in lifelong learning to embrace the broad interests, needs and motivations of adults to learn, participation is driven by prior educational achievement, employment type and sector, socio-economic status, gender and age. Within these centrally important conditions there is some variation by equality group in particular in relation to ethnicity. Beyond the stark inequalities faced by disabled people, on the basis of existing evidence little can be said about the ways in which different kinds of disability produce different patterns of participation in adult learning. In terms of sexual orientation, the best which can be done is to pursue the possibility that issues of process discrimination apparent in the school and workplace literatures have some bearing on adult learning too. 5

6 2. Participation in Adult Learning This report sets out a series of priorities for investigating the nature and degree of inequalities experienced by protected equality groups in terms of participation in adult learning. Firstly, it adopts a particular stance to lifelong learning. The definition of lifelong learning established by the IFLL is that it: Includes people of all ages learning in a variety of contexts in educational institutions, at work, at home and through leisure activities. It focuses mainly on adults returning to organised learning rather than on the initial period of education or on incidental learning (Schuller and Watson, 2009, p. 10). In this report the focus is on organised and purposeful, formal and informal learning. This focus is justified by the picture of the key inequalities identified by both the Leitch and IFLL reports: One in eight adults of working age have no qualifications A quarter are not qualified to Level 2 Just under half are not qualified to above Level 2 One third of adults do not hold the equivalent of a basic school-leaving qualification One half of adults (17 million) have difficulty with numbers One seventh (5 million) of adults are functionally illiterate Over 70% of our 2020 workforce have already completed compulsory education There is insufficient quantity and quality of vocational skills A focus on the degree to which participation in formal and informal learning is addressing these inequalities and the extent to which particular equality groups display patterns of these key inequalities are then the urgent issues of equity, equality and potential for change on which the report focuses. Secondly, the focus throughout is on exploring the implications of the IFLL s assessment that social class fundamentally shapes the participation profile (Schuller and Watson, 2009: 65). Of central importance therefore is the identification of patterns and trends by qualification level, occupational status, occupational sector and income which are all taken as markers of an individual s class position. Given the importance of employment status in opportunities for work-based and work-related learning and the centrality of work in participation in adult learning, a particular focus therefore is on the relationship between work and learning by equality groups. The importance of employment and poverty in explaining patterns and trends cannot be overlooked: more than 20% of the population are economically inactive (not in work or looking for work). Many of this group want to work and opportunities to 6

7 learn and to train are of central importance in providing them with the skills and aptitudes to work (Leitch Review of Skills, 2006). The OECD s analysis of vocational education and training in England and Wales found that up to one third of those who are economically inactive lack a Level 2 qualification (GCSE equivalent), that they are impossible to reach by work-based learning approaches and probably very hard to reach through other programmes (OECD, 2009). Employment and participation in formal and work-based learning are then crucially inter-twined. Thirdly, the report considers both the extent to which social class, gender, ethnicity and age interact and the extent to which the experience of particular equality groups has trends and patterns which are relatively similar irrespective of social class. Under-cutting drivers and inter-sectionalities need be addressed but it is equally important that the complex experiences of equality groups are not obscured by a focus on social class. Finally, the report has at the core of its approach, investigation of the dominant views of participation in adult learning and the extent to which these are confirmed by the data examined here. These views are that: Participation is stratified by social class and educational attainment; those from higher socio-economic backgrounds benefit disproportionately from the education system in terms of qualification outcomes and recurrent engagement in lifelong learning (the so-called Matthew Principle to those who have, more will be given, European Group for Research on Equality in Educational Systems, 2005). Participation declines with age and beyond what can be explained by any objective decline in individual capacity (McNair, 2009). Those with disabilities are disproportionately under-represented in lifelong learning. Patterns of participation in the forms of learning to which most benefits accrue (e.g. higher and professional education) remain disproportionately the preserve of already advantaged groups. 3. Evidence on Adult Participation in Learning 3.1 Established Data Sets and Indicators The Equality Measurement Framework (EMF) sets out to use the UK Labour Force Survey (LFS) for its key indicator on participation in lifelong learning; this presents a number of problems. The EMF is explicitly about providing a baseline of evidence so as to inform policy priorities and identifying patterns and trends that need further investigation (Alkire et al., 2009), but there is a question of whether the existing measurement is fit for purpose. ii The selected indicator for the EMF is based on the following question (LFS Transitional Questionnaire, 2009: 115): 7

8 During the last 12 months have you participated in any of the following activities with the intention of improving your knowledge or skills in any area, including hobbies? 1. Lesson or course, either practical or theoretical including classroom instruction or lessons? 2. Courses conducted through open and distance education? 3. Seminars or workshops? 4. Guided on the job training? 5. None of these? The question is geared to providing a global measure and subsumes the different kinds of learning within it. While this is useful as a way to gauge the level of participation in the full range of activities which might fall under the umbrella of life-long learning, it does not allow for distinguishing between type, duration, purpose and potential outcomes of learning. Key potential aspects of inequality by group are therefore obscured. The LFS has the potential to be developed further with regard to distinguishing between types and consequences of learning by equality group. It provides a series of opportunities to explore formal and informal, workrelated and adult and community learning by a range of equality group indicators. What is required is concerted action to mine the existing data, using ongoing research to suggest modifications to the questions; this will make the LFS more fit-for-purpose for investigating the questions of who is participating in which kinds of learning and with which kinds of outcomes. The LFS contains questions relating to adult participation in a range of workbased training programmes (New Deal, Training for Work, Worktrack, Entry to Employment and so on) and so in principle the evidence on participation in work-related training programmes by equality group is available. In addition, there are questions relating to employer, college or training-centre provided work experience or practical training. The LFS is able to track employment by industrial sector, the public or non-private sector and provide evidence of work-base learning by the size of workforce in the employing context. In terms of Education and Training, the outcomes of learning in terms of qualification type (secondary education, higher education, BTEC, City and Guilds, Basic Skills, Entry Level skills and so on) are traced in the survey together with evidence of qualification gained over the previous 12 months. The survey also collects data on the location and mode of study (solely through school, college or some other formal educational institution, combination learning involving workplace and formal educational institution, solely in the workplace, government training, self-directed learning, qualifications oriented programmes and so on). These are the kinds of questions which are of interest when considering who learns what, how, when, where, under which conditions and with which outcomes (Robertson and Dale, 2008). The patterns of answers to these questions by equality group are in principle available from analysis of the LFS. This report would suggest that the potential of the LFS should be further explored by commissioning research based on LFS data which can determine to what extent questions of interest can be pursued by means of the existing collected data. 8

9 Data for disability present a different set of issues. In part this is to do with inconsistent definitions and gaps in indicators in the LFS. This is a well-known problem in studies of education at all levels where questions of disability may or may not overlap with those concerning Special Educational Needs (SEN) for example. The EHRC has indeed recognised the importance of this in its work on educational qualifications where SEN is often considered to be a proxy for disability when in terms of relevance, more direct measures are required (Li et al., 2008). The effect of this is to produce an indicator which groups what should be quite distinct forms of disability with particular patterns, trends and outcomes under the headings of either disabled or non-disabled. The Purdam et al. (2008b) review of data on disability called for the development of harmonised cross-sectoral and internationally comparable data which can capture the circumstances, severity of impairment and barriers faced by disabled people of all ages. This clearly would also have the potential to go some way towards making it possible to capture the experience of disabled people by other equality group characteristics. The problem with the data on disability is reflected too in the data on religion where the adequacy of the question and its coverage make it difficult to identify the relevance of the patterns, trends and outcomes which are indicated. The annual Adult Learning Survey (ALS), which has been conducted by the National Institute for Adult and Continuing Education (NIACE) since 1997, provides a useful way to both compare and update the finding of the EHRC commissioned analysis of the LFS data on adult participation in learning (Li et al., 2008). The ALS suffers from the same weakness as the EMF indicator in that the question asked is very broad and makes it difficult to investigate the kinds and importance of participation in adult learning. The question asks participants to identify participation in learning, with learning defined as: Practising, studying or reading about something. It can also mean being taught, instructed or coached. This is so you can develop skills, knowledge, abilities or understanding of something. Learning can also be called education or training. You can do it regularly (each day or month) or you can do it for a short period of time. It can be full-time, or part-time, done at home, at work, or in another place like a college. Learning does not have to lead to a qualification. We are interested in any learning you have done, whether or not it was finished (Aldridge and Tuckett, 2009: 9). The time period considered is perhaps rather too broad and therefore less helpful than the LFS since it focuses on learning during the preceding three year period. Participants are asked to identify which of the following statements applies to them: 01: I am currently doing some learning activity 02: I have done some learning activity in the last three years 03: I have studied or learned but it was over three years ago 04: I have not studied or learned since I left full-time education 05: Don t know 9

10 Unfortunately, the ALS is based on a sample of 5,000 individuals and as a result it is not possible to use the survey to provide statistically valid breakdowns by all equality groups. It does nevertheless provide a way to compare the findings produced by analyses of the LFS. 3.2 Participation in Adult Learning Indicative Data As part of their work in developing the EMF, Alkire et al. (2009) examined the proportion of the population who had participated in formal and informal learning over the past twelve months using the LFS data for January to September 2008 (Alkire et al., 2009: 231). The findings of this study as discussed here establish a useful set of questions for further investigation. Scotland performs strongly across the measures in relation to that of Wales and GB as a whole; men and women participate at roughly the same rates; minority ethnic groups participate at higher rates than the white population with the exception of the Bangladeshi and Pakistani communities; disabled people participate at half the rate of the non-disabled; participation by employment group and age reveal striking differences. In 2008, 41% of all adult participants in the survey had participated in formal or informal learning in the previous 12 months. There were differences between the figures for GB (41%) and those for Scotland (42%) and Wales (39%) but these were not found to be statistically significantly different. Disaggregation by employment group did reveal some important patterns and trends (See Figure 1). At the GB, Scotland and Wales levels of analysis, Scotland performs strongly in adult learning particularly for professional groups. What is most striking however is the decline in participation by socioeconomic group across the board with those in routine employment, the longterm unemployed and economically inactive, participating at less than half the rate of the professional groups. As a consequence of Scotland s strong performance for the professional groups, the disparity between the professional and the routine/long-term unemployed/economically inactive groups was even more marked. 10

11 GB Scotland Wales Higher Lower Managerial and Managerial and Professional Professional Intermediate Small Lower employers and supervisory and self-employed technical Semi-routine Routine Never worked/long Term GB Scotland Wales Figure 1. Participation in adult learning by socio-economic group (GB, Scotland and Wales compared) Source: Alkire et al., 2009: 231 In regard to gender, the headline figure was of equality or statistically insignificant differences between men and women with the exception of Wales where women participated in adult learning at a somewhat higher rate than men (See Table 1). GB Scotland Wales Male 41% 43% 37% Female 41% 42% 40% Table 1. Participation in adult learning by gender (GB, Scotland and Wales compared) Source: Alkire et al., 2009: 231 With regard to participation in adult learning by ethnic minority groups, it is important to recognise that the patterns for GB, Scotland and Wales again reveal the strong performance of Scotland and the relatively strong performance of Wales in relation to the overall picture for GB. It is also important to recognise that minority 11

12 GB Scotland Wales White Black and Black British Indian Pakistani- Bangladeshi GB Scotland Wales Figure 2. Participation in adult learning by ethnicity Source: Alkire et al., 2009; 231. ethnic groups participated at higher rates than the white population with the noticeable exception of the Pakistani/Bangladeshi community; this group participates at an even lower rate than the other communities in Wales. In comparison with the white population, the picture in 2008 overall was one of strong rates of participation by the minority ethnic groups (See Figure 2). Mixed Other GB Scotland Wales No Religion Christian Buddhist Hindu Jewish Muslim Sikh Other GB Scotland Wales Figure 3. Participation in adult learning by religion Source: Alkire et al., 2009:

13 Participation in adult learning by religious groups is clearly related to ethnicity; indeed ethno-religious group is potentially a more useful way of thinking about the experiences of groups whose ethnicity and religion are most closely related. The size of the relevant populations in the survey clearly has a bearing on the adequacy of these data but nonetheless, the strong performance of Scotland is again noticeable here (See Figure 3). Data on the participation of disabled people in adult learning reveal a stark picture of inequality. Across the board, disabled people participate at half the rate of the non-disabled (See Table 2). GB % Scotland % Wales % Non-disabled Disabled Table 2. Participation in adult learning by disability and non-disability Source: Alkire et al., 2009: 231. In terms of age, the pattern is one of inexorable decline in rates of participation and the decline is clearly in excess of anything which could be related in a decline in capacity to participate. From a rate of participation of around 70% for year olds, the rate drops to around 50% for year olds before dropping below 40% by the end of working age. The headline figure of 40% participation for the whole adult population bears no relation to the experience of those over 64 years of age. Participation and the years of economic activity have a very strong relationship (See Figure 4) GB Scotland Wales GB Scotland Wales Figure 4. Participation in adult learning by age Source: Alkire et al., 2009:

14 The NIACE analysis of its 2009 ALS produced a series of findings which can usefully be compared with the 2008 analysis of the LFS considered above. The overall picture of around 40% adult participation is confirmed (the figure is 39%) and refers to current and recent learning in the previous three years. The picture for gender again confirms the picture of broad parity between women and men across the categories (current/recent learning, past learning and no learning/don t know) (See Figure 5) Total Men Women Current Learning Recent learning All current or recent learning Past learning Total Men Women Figure 5. Participation in adult learning by gender Source: Aldridge and Tuckett 2009: 11. None/Don't know The Adult Learning Survey uses socio-economic classification (A, B, C1, C2, D and E) to investigate rates of participation. As with the analysis of LFS data, the picture is of a clear drop in participation with the professional and associated groups participating at more than twice the rate of the unskilled. The steep decline in rates of participation by socio-economic group is a clearly established pattern, the reasons for which need to be investigated (See Figure 6). 14

15 Current Learning Recent Learning All Current or Recent Learning Past Learning None/Don't know Total AB C1 C2 DE Current Learning Recent Learning All Current or Recent Learning Past Learning None/Don't know Figure 6. Participation in adult learning by socio-economic category Source: Aldridge and Tuckett 2009: 13. The ALS is also able to produce a perspective on the participation in adult learning by employment status. A number of important patterns emerge. The retired and economically inactive participate least; part-time workers tend to participate at higher rates than the full-time employed. Importantly, the unemployed participate at about the same rate as the total population. The type, duration and purpose of learning would need to be investigated further in order to understand the implications of this. It seems however that there is a relationship between unemployed, employed full-time and employed part-time status in relation to participation (See Figure 7). 15

16 Current Learning Recent Learning All current/recent Learning Past learning Nons/Don't know Total Full-time Part-time Unemployed Not-working Retired Current Learning Recent Learning All current/recent Learning Past learning Nons/Don't know Figure 7. Adult participation in learning by employment status Source: Aldridge and Tuckett 2009: 15. In terms of participation in adult learning by age, the findings of the 2009 ALS largely confirm the picture from the 2008 LFS data. There is a steep decline between the ages of and After that, however, the 2009 data show that under this more expansive definition of adult learning and with a longer timeframe, the 25 to 54 year olds participate at around the 40% rate. The advantage of the data here is that it is possible to identify the point at which adult participation tends to drop again: the over 55 age group sees a further steep decline from the 40% rate. It would seem that the nature of the employment and life-course trajectories of older people are closely related to participation in adult learning (See Figure 8) Current Learning Recent Learning All current or recent learning Past learning None/don't know Total Current Learning Recent Learning All current or recent learning Past learning None/don't know Figure 8. Participation in adult learning and age 16

17 Source: Aldridge and Tuckett 2009: 15. A further important aspect of adult learning is the relationship between prior educational achievement and participation in adult learning. The Adult Learning Survey captures this in terms of the terminal age of education; in principle investigation of the LFS would also be available on this basis. In 2009, NIACE found that it was those who left formal education earliest who were least likely to participate in adult learning. Importantly too, the survey found that it was those who left formal education at who faced a participation penalty being less likely to participate than those whose terminal age of formal education was Perhaps unsurprisingly, it is those with higher education who were most likely to participate (See Figure 9) Current Learning Recent Learning All Current or Recent Learning Past Learning None/Don't Know Total Up to Current Learning Recent Learning All Current or Recent Learning Past Learning None/Don't Know Figure 9. Participation in adult learning and terminal age of education Source: Aldridge and Tuckett 2009: 17. In terms of participation and minority ethnic status, NIACE data would confirm the picture of higher rates of participation by ethnic minority groups overall. The size of the survey sample makes it impossible to give greater texture to this finding (See Figure 10). However, in order to investigate the links between ethnicity and participation in adult learning more comprehensively, every three years NIACE commissions an investigation of the LFS data. The 2008 investigation (Aldridge et al., 2008) provides a series of important perspectives about the relationship. 17

18 Total White Minority Ethnic Current Learning Recent Learning All Current or Recent Learning Past Learning Total White Minority Ethnic Figure 10. Participation in adult learning and ethnicity Source: Aldridge and Tuckett 2009: 19. None/Don't Know The 2008 study found that LFS data indicated that over a twelve month period, adults of working age from the minority ethnic communities were somewhat more likely to participate than adults overall from that community. Within the working age population, the Black African population participated at the highest rate with the Black Caribbean population just behind the rate of the white population. The sharpest contrast however is between the Pakistani (50%) and Bangladeshi (40%) groups and the rest (See Figure 11) All Adults All Adults of Working Age White Black African Black Caribbean Chinese Indian Pakist-ani Bangladeshi Mixed Ethnic Origin All Adults All Adults of Working Age Figure 11. Participation in adult learning and ethnicity Source: Aldridge et al., 2008: 8. Other 18

19 This study also found significant patterns in terms of the mode of learning by ethnicity with the implication that the groups with higher rates of participation in adult learning are more likely to be benefiting from taught learning whereas the less likely to participate would tend to be involved in self-directed learning. This is an important indication of the different kinds of participation and the degree to which this is evidence of particular barriers to participation (See Figure 12) Taught Learning Self-directed Learning Only White Black African Black Caribbea n Chinese Indian Pakistani Taught Learning Self-directed Learning Only Figure 12. Type of learning: taught learning and self-directed learning Source: Aldridge et al., 2008: 9. Bangladeshi Mixed Ethnic Origin Other Total % Total % White Black African Black Caribbean Chinese Indian Pakistani Bangladeshi Mixed Ethnic Origin Total % Figure 13. Learning towards a qualification by ethnic group Source: Aldridge et al., 2008: 13. Other 19

20 There are related patterns in terms of whether participants in adult learning do so as part of seeking to gain a qualification with the least likely to participate also least likely to be working towards a qualification (See Figure 13) and least likely to be participating in job-related training (See Figure 14) Total % Total % White Black African Black Caribbean Chinese Indian Pakistani Bangladeshi Total % Figure 14. Participation in job-related training Source: Aldridge et al., 2008: 14. Mixed Ethnic Origin Other Patterns of participation by gender and ethnicity would tend to confirm the preceding picture; lower levels of participation by Bangladeshi and Pakistani women (and to an extent, Indian women) set against participation levels at or above those of white women for other minority ethnic communities. Women tend to participate less than men in adult learning, although the differences in the proportions of men and women from the Black Caribbean and Chinese groups who do so are not statistically significant. The gap between women and men is highest for the Bangladeshi, Indian and Pakistani communities (See Figure 15). 20

21 All Men Women White Black African Black Caribbean Chinese Indian Pakistani Bangladeshi Mixed Ethnic Origin All Men Women Figure 15. Participation in adult learning by ethnicity and gender Source: Aldridge et al., 2008: 16. In relation to participation in adult learning by employment status and ethnicity (See Figure 16), further interesting patterns emerge. There is a tendency for the employed to participate at a higher rate than the unemployed and the economically inactive, but the differences between these categories vary by ethnic group. Black African economically inactive people are much more likely to participate in adult learning Other All In Employment Unemployed Inactive White Black African Black Caribbean Mixed Ethnic Chinese Indian Pakistani Bangladeshi Origin All In Employment Unemployed Inactive Figure 16. Participation in adult learning by ethnicity and employment status Source: Aldridge et al., 2008: 20. Other 21

22 than those from the White, Black Caribbean, Indian, Bangladeshi and Pakistani communities. In contrast, when investigated in terms of employment status there is a dramatic shift. For those who are employed, the Pakistani, Bangladeshi and Mixed Ethnic Origin individuals who are employed in managerial and professional positions are most likely to participate in adult learning. The source of the low rates of participation overall by particular groups seems to lie in the low rates of participation of those in intermediate and routine/manual occupations (See Figure 17) All Managerial and Professional Occupations Intermediate Occupations Routine and Manual Occupations All Managerial and Professional Occupations White Black Black Chines Caribbe African e an Indian Pakista ni Bangla deshi Mixed Ethnic Origin Intermediate Occupations Routine and Manual Occupations Figure 17. Participation in adult learning by occupation and ethnicity Source: Aldridge et al., 2008: 21. Aldridge et al. (2008) emphasise the importance of the terminal age of education. Their findings are in line with those from the 2009 ALS that those who remained in formal education the longest participated in adult learning the most. However, this was not the case for the Bangladeshi community where it was the year old leavers who would be more likely to participate in adult learning. The penalty for those who left formal education at age as identified in the 2009 survey was not confirmed for any of the groups. The Pakistani and Bangladeshi groups who participated by far the least in adult learning were those who left school at age 16: the likelihood of them participating was roughly half that of white 16 year old school leavers. Early school leaving was the major barrier to adult learning and the penalty was highest of all for the Bangladeshi community (See Figure 18). Other 22

23 Up to White Black African Black Caribbean Chinese Indian Pakistani Bangladeshi Mixed Ethnic Origin Up to Figure 18. Adult learning, terminal age of education and ethnicity Source: Aldridge et al., 2008: 23. In terms of participation in adult learning by religion and ethnicity a number of insights are promoted by the 2008 study (See Figure 19). Firstly, that there is a close relationship between religion and ethnic minority status. Figures for Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs are almost identical for all adults declaring a particular religious belief and the minority ethnic population doing so. Indeed the only group for whom there were significant differences here were those for Christians and Buddhists. Christians from minority ethnic communities were more likely to participate in adult learning than was the case for the Christian population as a whole. For Buddhists this position was reversed. The least likely to participate were Muslims, confirming the position with regard to the Bangladeshi and Pakistani communities but making it all the more important to identify the position with regard to Muslims more generally. Other 23

24 All Adults All Minority Ethnic Adults Christian Buddhist Hindu Jewish Muslim Sikh All Adults All Minority Ethnic Adults Figure 19. Adult learning, religion and ethnicity Source: Aldridge et al., 2008: 25. Any Other Religion No Religion 4. Analysis of Adult Participation in Learning 4.1 Gender Gender, class and employment clearly interact in particular ways in relation to adult learning. A comparative analysis of cohort data by Dale et al. (2006) reveals the important finding that women with few or no qualifications have increased their labour market attachment much less and are more likely to be working part-time than women with degree-level qualifications (Dale et al., 2006: 461). It remains the case that men are more likely to receive job-related training and that Modern Apprenticeships, for example, remain heavily gendered in terms of the types of training which young men and women are offered and in which they participate (Breitenbach, 2006: 43). As people move through their life course, different patterns begin to emerge and in relation to gender one of the most significant is the participation in adult and continuing education. Women make up 77% of participants in adult and community education (Schuller and Watson, 2009; National Skills Forum, 2009). In 2005/06, 61% of the adult learners in FE colleges and external institutions were female showing that FE colleges are particularly important as a site for the adult learning of women. Funding in this sector, or rather the withdrawal of public funding therefore has particularly gendered effects. White and Weaver (2007: 22) found that female learners participated at a higher rate across all ethnic backgrounds. Clearly the participation of men in adult learning also has a number of dimensions which should be of concern. Employment rates, provision of workbased learning, support for independent learning and so on are an important 24

25 part of the patterns of participation of men in adult learning. The position of boys and men throughout the formal education system is a key driver in later participation in adult learning. In this regard boy s underperformance in relation to social class and ethnicity produces unequal educational outcomes from initial education and this plays a role in adult participation in learning. On the basis of an analysis of gendered participation in Higher Education, the Higher Education Policy Institute (HEPI, 2009) cautioned against seeing males as advantaged and females as disadvantaged concluding that this is emphatically not the case in higher education. These are not questions of either/or of course since within-gender difference is as big an issue as between-gender group difference. While the educational under-performance of boys from low socio-economic groups and some ethnic groups has caused concern, it is also the case that girls in low socio-economic status groups, and in some ethnic minority groups, also perform poorly, with the consequence that they have very limited opportunities in the labour market (Breitenbach, 2006: 43). Global assessments of gender equality would tend to be supported by the argument that it is prior educational achievement which is the key driver to women s increased levels of participation in adult learning. 4.2 Ethnicity It is the position of Bangladeshi and Pakistani adults, and women from those communities above all which constitutes the most persistent and extreme form of inequality of all the minority ethnic groups. The gender dimensions of this are particularly striking. Women learners with a Bangladeshi background over 35 years of age participate at less than half the national rate (Aldridge et al., 2008: 5). For Dale et al. (2006), Black Caribbean women have patterns of employment and therefore opportunities for participation in adult learning which are consistent with the roles of both bread-winner and parent. In contrast they see Bangladeshi and Pakistani women s economic activity and opportunities for adult learning as associated with motherhood and full-time care of children (Dale et al., 2006: 459).The dimensions of process discrimination and the inter-section between religion and ethnicity potentially have a number of dimensions. The IFLL was concerned by the ethnic composition of FE staff in a situation where in , 16.8% of learners were from black and minority ethnic groups compared with only 7.7% of staff (Schuller and Watson, 2009: 186). In addition to concerns with inequalities by ethnicity in global measures of adult learning and in particular in terms of learning which leads to qualifications, there are additional dimensions with regard to adult and continuing education. Funding issues are particularly important here since as White and Weaver (2007) identify, many Black and minority ethnic learners engage in learning which is practical, functional and frequently inextricably linked to culture, tradition and/or religion (White and Weaver, 2007: 12). However, these are precisely the courses which people have to pay for. Funding and participation in adult learning therefore have particular dimensions of inequality by ethnicity. Nonetheless, and as White and Weaver (2007) go on to demonstrate, there are low levels of participation in adult and continuing education by Black and minority ethnic groups with white sub- 25

26 groups continuing to account for almost all adult and continuing education learners. A number of features of the position of Black and minority ethnic adults with regard to participation in adult learning can be identified. Firstly, the Black and minority ethnic adults (61%) and the larger White population (62%) participate overall in broadly similar proportions. However, for adults of working age there is a gap of 7% between White adults (71%) and minority ethnic groups (64%). (Aldridge et al., 2008: 5). As discussed above, participation by Bangladeshi and Pakistani adults has patterns which are particularly concerning in particular because despite the fall in the numbers of Bangladeshi adults with no qualifications between 2004 and 2006, the proportion of Bangladeshi learners taking taught classes dropped from 66% to 57% over the same period (Aldridge et al., 2008: 5). Modood et al. (1997), identified the significance within Black and minority ethnic populations of the drive for qualifications. It seems plausible that this would be reflected in the drive for adult learning too and in particular with regard to the kinds of learning which could result in qualifications of a range of types. The particularly high levels of qualifications of the Black African population and also the strong performance of Black Caribbean, Mixed Ethnicity and Other categories, can be seen as part of the attempt to make up for lack of equality of outcomes in employment or income terms by gaining more and more education, training and qualifications. This is in the expectation that some process inequalities will be compensated for. Prior educational qualification is of particular interest here given that by age 16 Pakistani, Black African and Black Caribbean boys in England have median examination results which are well below the national average for all pupils. For young people in receipt of Free School Meals (FSMs), White British, Black Caribbean and mixed White and Black Caribbean boys have the lowest average attainment of any group identified by gender and ethnicity with the exception of Gypsy and Traveller children (Hills et al., 2010). The impacts of this are clear in terms of higher education with pupils from minority ethnic groups with GCSE results which are around the national median for all pupils more likely to go on to higher education but with Black, Pakistani and Bangladeshi young people less likely to go to more prestigious universities or to get higher class degrees (Hills et al., 2010). And this despite the fact that people of adult age from Chinese, Indian and Black African groups have higher education qualifications than their White British counterparts (Hills et al., 2010: 16). Poverty (as measured by the FSM proxy for example) and the occupational status of parents have impacts for young people with broadly similar educational qualifications in terms of participation in Higher Education, employment and participation in adult learning. As the National Equality Panel (NEP) (Hills et al., 2010: 393) found, Low income acts as a barrier to postcompulsory education. The ongoing implications of this for participation in adult learning constitute a significant driver of patterns and trends. Li et al. (2008) identify two other important factors. Firstly, they note the gender dimension whereby the educational achievement and aspiration of 26