Responding to the mental health and well-being agenda in adult community learning

Abstract

In the United Kingdom, changes in the policy, funding and commissioning landscape for mental health and well-being are posing opportunities and challenges for adult community learning (ACL). Opportunities include increased recognition of, and funding for, the ‘wider benefits’ of learning, whereas challenges include the risks of ACL provision becoming hijacked by a health and well-being agenda that compromises its primary educational purpose and values. This paper engages with these policy debates through reporting on a study of mental health ACL that employed the capabilities approach along with two other complementary areas of social theory – recognition theories and theories of capitals. Its aim was to explore the means through which ACL impacts mental health and to draw out implications for policy and practice. Findings from focus groups with adult learners and tele-discussions with ACL practitioners revealed three main means through which the provision helped generate interlinked mental health and educational capabilities: providing recognition, generating resources (capitals) and enhancing agency freedom. Elaborating these findings, the paper sets out an argument for interpretation of the mental health and well-being agenda in ACL in terms of a humanistic, liberatory pedagogy that encompasses feminist praxis and draws out policy implications across the areas of ACL and mental health.

Keywords:

• adult community learning
• mental health
• well-being
• policy
• liberatory pedagogy

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank the adult learners and practitioners who contributed their experiences and insights to this study and all the WEA staff who helped with organising the research. Additional thanks also to Claire Nussey at the WEA for her help at the reporting and dissemination stage and to Professor Kathryn Ecclestone for comments on the paper. The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the WEA.

Notes

1. ACL is learning with people in their communities, ‘somewhat removed from more formal educational provision’ (Coare and Johnston 2003, xi). In the UK, it often involves outreach to less advantaged people and encompasses a social justice agenda (Coare and Johnston 2003; Lewis 2012a).

2. The full research report (Lewis 2012b) gives further consideration to the development of the economic, human capital dimension.

Additional information

Funding

Funding. This work was supported by a University of Leicester College of Social Science Knowledge Exchange Post Doctoral Fellowship.