‘A permanent national necessity’ - a manifesto for lifelong learning

1. A Manifesto for Lifelong Learning

Our country is in what feels like an unprecedented state of crisis. The economy hasn’t recovered from the 2007–2009 international financial crisis and global recession – the first since the 1930s. In Britain, the devastation was made worse by a decade of austerity, estimated to have caused thousands of deaths. This exacerbated inequalities in wealth, income, geography, and power. Unregulated new technologies could make matters worse. Pandemics are forecast to become more common. The climate crisis threatens human life on the planet. We face a mental health and wellbeing crisis. Democracy is under threat.¹

If there is a precedent, it would be the First World War, when a Ministry of Reconstruction was established to consider how society and the economy might recover from massive devastation. Its most impactful legacy was the Final Report from its Adult Education Committee, which argued that lifelong learning for all was both central to reconstruction and a ‘permanent national necessity’.

Britain once again needs massive investment in education – including life-long and life-wide adult education. For that is what it is – an investment for the future: in people, communities, the economy, and society. This is needed for the changing world of work, individual wellbeing, societal resilience, community cohesion, and a rejuvenated democracy.

What is needed from national, regional, city and local government; from business; and from universities and colleges? First and foremost, we need the UK Government to commit to a National Strategy for Adult Education & Lifelong Learning, recognising the importance of devolved decision making. Local delivery should be through partnership working by local and regional government, universities and colleges, trade unions and local employers, and a vibrant network of community, educational and voluntary organisations. For these Adult Learning Partnerships to rejuvenate local communities and economies – playing a role in policy formation, not just delivery – local authorities and universities should be required to provide lifelong learning, with funding provided to enable this.

We need a properly funded Lifelong Learning Entitlement, with Individual Learning Accounts providing funding for education – not just the right to get into debt. Community Learning Accounts could support informal, community-based learning initiatives led by local groups. A trusted digital platform should be funded to support such education. Learning at work should be encouraged – at the workplace, or with paid time off for courses off-site, and with provision for those in the ‘gig economy’. The Union Learning Fund should be reinstated. All this would promote social inclusion, across diverse ethnic communities, and for all those with protected characteristics within the Equality Act. There should be a regular – ideally triennial – review of the state of the nation’s lifelong learning. Investing in education helps the economy, as well as individuals and communities – in Rochdale Borough Council, for example, for every £1.00 spent on adult education and lifelong learning, £4.50 was saved on other service costs. Our country cannot afford the continued massive waste being created by the lack of adult education and lifelong learning.

2. A summary of the evidence

The Manifesto for Lifelong Learning is an initiative from the ‘Adult Education 100’ Campaign, the Universities Association for Lifelong Learning, and the National Educational Opportunities Network. Support for the Manifesto is sought from all organisations and individuals that wish to see our country recover and prosper. This appendix to the Manifesto provides references to evidence that supports its statements of fact and recommendations. Evidence is listed in the order issues are covered in the Manifesto.

2.1. The challenges

The crisis of the British economy and society, their failure to recover from the shock of the international financial crisis, and the damage caused by ‘solutions’ such as ‘austerity’ and Brexit have been widely discussed: for see Dorling (2022); Goldblatt (2024); Hill (2023); Martin et al. (2021); Stuckler, Reeves, Loopstra, Karanikolos and McKee (2017); Walsh et al. (2022); Watkins et al. (2017). For a recent and readable, albeit polemical, overview, see Younge (2024).

The extent and gravity of inequalities of wealth, income, geography and power in the United Kingdom are now well-established – see for example Arrieta (2023); Dorling (2018, 2023); Gray and Barford (2018); Jenkins et al. (2021).

The threat posed by fast-advancing technologies, such as Artificial Intelligence, are the subject of constant debate. Recent and significant scholarly and well-evidenced contributions include Acemoglu and Johnson (2023); Goldin and Katz (2008); Korinek, Schindler and Stiglitz (2021); Lohr (2022); United Nations (2020).

On the continuing risk of epidemics and pandemics, see R. E. Baker et al. (2022); IPBES et al. (2020); Marani et al. (2021).

The existential threat to humanity and the planet arising from the (human-induced) climate crisis is now generally accepted – see IPCC (2023a, 2023b).

Recent evidence on the growing problems of mental distress and illness is provided in C. Baker and Kirk-Wade (2023); Gagne et al. (2022); Mahase (2023); National Audit Office (2023).

Aspects of the current crisis of democratic governance – which is by no means confined to the UK – are explored by Anderson and Rainie (2020); Brady, Chaskin and McGregor (2020); Curtice and Scholes (2021); Dommett (2021); Harris (2018); Heydecker, Ormston and Wallace (2022); James (2023); Uberoi and Johnston (2022).

2.2. The precedent

The Ministry of Reconstruction’s Adult Education Committee was chaired by A.L. Smith, Master of Balliol College, Oxford. Its Final Report (Ministry of Reconstruction 1919), a classic in the debates about adult learning and personal and democratic growth, provided a basis for debate and policy over the following seventy years, as those who read subsequent official reports on adult education – see for example Ministry of Education (1954), Department of Education and Science (1973), and ACACE (1979, 1980, 1982) – will quickly realise. The Russell Report went as far as to quote the following paragraph from the 1919 Final Report, saying it was ‘even more relevant today’ (Russell 1973, 4):

We do not wish to underrate the value of increased technical efficiency or the desirability of increasing productivity; but we believe that a short-sighted insistence upon these things will defeat its object. We wish to emphasise the necessity for a great development of non-technical studies, partly because we think that it would assist the growth of a truer conception of technical education, but more especially because it seems to us vital to provide the fullest opportunities for personal development and for the realisation of a higher standard of citizenship. Too great an emphasis has been laid on material considerations and too little regard paid to other aspects of life.

(Ministry of Reconstruction 1919, 153)

Strong echoes of this perspective will also be seen in the Secretary of State’s Foreword to the Green Paper, The Learning Age (Department for Education and Employment 1998), where David Blunkett wrote:

As well as securing our economic future, learning has a wider contribution. It helps make ours a civilised society, develops the spiritual side of our lives and promotes active citizenship. Learning enables people to play a full part in their community. It strengthens the family, the neighbourhood and consequently the nation. It helps us fulfil our potential and opens doors to a love of music, art and literature. That is why we value learning for its own sake as well as for the equality of opportunity it brings. …

We are fortunate in this country to have a great tradition of learning. We have inherited the legacy of the great self-help movements of the Victorian industrial communities. Men and women, frequently living in desperate poverty, were determined to improve themselves and their families. They did so through the creation of libraries, study at workers’ institutes, through the pioneering efforts of the early trade unions, at evening classes, through public lectures and by correspondence courses. Learning enriched their lives and they, in turn, enriched the whole of society.

The Learning Age will be built on a renewed commitment to self-improvement and on a recognition of the enormous contribution learning makes to our society. Learning helps shape the values which we pass on to each succeeding generation. Learning supports active citizenship and democracy, giving men and women the capacity to provide leadership in their communities.

(Department for Education and Employment 1998, 7–8)

2.3. What we need now

The importance of investment in adult education and lifelong learning – as well as ‘initial’ education for children and young adults – has been argued by many committees and commissions. For classic international policy-statements, see: Delors et al. (1996); European Commission (1995); Faure et al. (1972); OECD (1996); UNESCO (2015); United Nations (1948). For more recent international policy, see: Council of the European Union (2021); ILO (2023); OECD (2019); UNESCO (2015); United Nations (2015). Important historic UK official reports and policy statements include: ACACE (1982); Department for Education and Employment (1998); Department of Education and Science (1973); Ministry of Education (1954); Ministry of Reconstruction (1919); Scottish Education Department (1975).

Significant contributions to recent policy debate in Britain include, in addition to the Centenary Commission on Adult Education (2019), CBI (2019); Centre for Social Justice (2019); Civic University Commission (2018, 2019); House of Commons Education Committee (2020, 2021); Independent Commission on Lifelong Learning (2019); Labour Party (2019a, 2019b); and Social Mobility Commission (2019). While these vary somewhat in emphasis, they concur in stressing the importance of adult education, and criticising the recent deterioration in provision and participation.

On the importance of adult education’s being life-wide (addressing all dimensions of human experience, rather than on improving work-skills alone) the literature is enormous, but among the classic and recent contributions are: Bélanger (2016); Delors et al. (1996); Faure et al. (1972); Lido, Reid and Osborne (2019); Tuckett (2017); UNESCO (2015, 2020); UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning (2022). In the UK, policy took a strong turn towards a narrow ‘skills for work’ agenda from the 1990s; significant policy statements taking this approach included: Department for Business Innovation and Skills (2010); Department for Education and Employment (1999); Department for Education and Skills (2003); Department for Innovation Universities and Skills (2007); and Leitch (2005, 2006).

There is now an extensive evidence-base on the benefits of adult learning. Much of this was generated by the ground-breaking Centre for the Wider Benefits of Learning, one of David Blunkett’s initiatives while Secretary of State for Education and Employment, and led by Professor Tom Schuller. Important Centre publications include: Schuller, Brassett-Grundy, Green, Hammond and Preston (2002); Schuller et al. (2001); Schuller, Preston, Hammond, Brassett-Grundy and Bynner (2004). Similar findings have emerged in international research: see for example Desjardins (2017); and Schuller and Desjardins (2007). Taken together, they show that learning affects many aspects of individuals’ adult lives, as well as the prosperity of communities and organisations. Reviewing the literature recently for the Government Office for Science, Schuller (2017) found ‘strong evidence of the positive benefits of learning and skills’ on ‘health, employment, and social and community’.

Watson and Schuller (2009) recommended a regular – ideally triennial – review of the state of the nation’s lifelong learning. In addition to its intrinsic value, this would be a mechanism for trying to ensure that we move beyond the regular (every 5-year or so) enthusiastic rediscovery of the importance of adult education and lifelong learning which then lacks follow-through.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1 This Manifesto was drawn up and agreed collectively by the members of the Adult Education 100 Campaign, the Universities Association for Lifelong Learning, and the National Educational Opportunities Network. The Journal requires named authors, hence John Holford and Jonathan Michie’s names appearing, as Jonathan wrote the first draft of the Manifesto (Part 1 of the document) while John wrote the supporting evidence (Part 2 of the document). Many others commented and contributed, including most notably Chris Butcher of the WEA, Sharon Clancy, and Uzo Iwobi of Race Council Cymru.