WEA Education Blog

Learners - who called us that?

Over the last 10-15 years the term student has gradually been replaced with 'learners' -not happened in schools or universities and this has led some adult 'learners' to ask 'why?'.

Historically the WEA has used the term students. However, 'learners' is pretty solidly what government, inspectors and funders call the recipients of provision in the Learning Age. But what do adults on courses call themselves when they talk to friends, family or colleagues about their course? I find it hard to believe they say 'I'm a learner'.

Some WEA learners have clearly given this some thought. Here is a poem they wrote on the matter:

Most of the time we’re a jolly, hard-working crowd and happy to do our bit for the WEA.  But there’s one thing that gets our goat it’s being labelled “learners” – especially by people who tick boxes and deliver targets.  And of course there’s the paperwork too. That goes without saying.  We try hard not to complain but …

Ever the optimists, rather than moaning and groaning we penned this little ditty (with apologies for the rhyming couplets) dedicated it to WEA students and tutors around the world, had a little chuckle and moved swiftly on …

Ten eager learners

Ten eager learners

All feeling fine

The tutor brought the forms in

Then there were nine

 

Nine eager learners

Waiting for their fate

“Please complete in triplicate”

Then there were eight

 

Eight eager learners

Yes, learning can be heaven

But someone runs a cheaper course

Then there were seven

 

Seven eager learners

One is feeling sick

Performance targets to be met

Then there were six

 

Six eager learners

No-one wants to skive

But up went the course fees

Then there were five

 

Five eager learners

A knock at the door …

In comes Ofsted

Then there were four

 

Four eager learners

Bless the LSC (not!)

One dug her heels in

Then there were three

 

Three eager learners

One named Sue

She couldn’t get to class that day

Then there were two

 

Two eager learners

Raring for some fun

More forms landed

And then there was one

 

One eager learner

Sitting all alone

Why not call us people?

I might as well go home

 

 

Common Inspection Framework for FE & Skills published

Ofsted has published the revised common inspection framework for 16+ learners. You can download it (16 sides) here.

No surprises but it is worth noting that Adult Community Learning (ACL), which briefly became Personal & Community Development Learning (PCDL) now seems to be down as 'informal adult learning'. This makes the implementation of the proposals in the 'Learning Revolution' White Paper particularly important to Adult Education providers like the WEA.

'Control Shift' Conservatives policy on local government

LSIS has provided a useful summary of the Conservatives policy document on local government 'Control shift'. The summary can be downloaded here and the paper itself is available here.

It has a radical underlying theme and one which, if implemented, would have an impact in many areas. Adult Education may not be the first you'd think of but the concept of a 'general power of competence' going to local authorities. This could have a number of effects beneficial or otherwise. If nothing else, it suggests the Tories will fight the election claiming to massively devolve power and reduce process targets and agencies that supervise them.

Peer Review Development Group lessons for self regulation

I attended the review session of a Peer Review and Development Group formed by three local authority adult education services: 

Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire and the WEA’s Southern Region. The group, which has met for well over a year, reported on the developments they had shared around self assessment, observation of teaching & learning and RARPA (Recognising & Recording Progress and Achievement on non-accredited learning).

It has been a very successful piece of work – which covered the period where all four had been inspected by Ofsted. It reinforced the value of honest self assessment and effective observation in driving improvement and there was a genuine and significant effort to respond to comments from Ofsted in each provider’s inspection about RARPA. Alongside that, it was an excellent piece of reflective continuing professional development by the colleagues involved.

However, for me, it also raised questions on the whole direction of self-regulation and the extent to which providers, working honestly to improve, need to be ready to challenge demands made by regulators and inspectors.

The RARPA situation is a particular case that I have written about before. The LSC's original statement on RARPA says that it intends to 'put the experience, aspirations and success of learners at the heart of what we do’. In reality we know that decisions by the Information Authority at the request of Ofsted have made the learner central only in the way a fish is central to the activities of an industrial fishing fleet. If the reductionism of regulators' view of RARPA continues, how can anyone be sure the approach is valued by tutors or learners? Whilst the last couple of years has at last shown we are at the limits of managerialism, ‘outstanding’ practice in RARPA seems now to require more extensive moderation than some GCSEs with none of the 'currency' provided by the qualification. The confirmation that Ofsted will not inspect provision that has no public funding suggests that this is either about driving non-accredited learning out of the hands of people on modest incomes or about finding ways to get through tick-box AKA ‘light touch’ inspections.

The implementation of the Learning Revolution gives us the opportunity to challenge the sorry slide in the direction of RARPA and refocus attention on devising great teaching and learning experiences for adults that they recognise as being of value.

 

 

Celebrating the Oakfield animators in Liverpool

I was lucky to be invited to attend the premiere of a short animated film at the FACT centre in Liverpool on Friday. The film, made in a WEA project involving a partnership with the care provider, United Response and Mersey Rail, was screened in the cinema in front of an audience of friends, family, workers and the film makers themselves – from the Oakfields Day Centre in Anfield. The film makers received a red carpet reception and the audience enjoyed both the current film – 'From Oakfiends to Ironmen’ see it here along with fascinating short documentaries on how the film, and an earlier one, had been made - see here.

For me, it was the combination of enjoying the film on a big screen with an enthusiastic audience plus the insight into the process that the ‘behind the scenes’ films gave that made this such a celebration of success.

The group are now moving onto a project working with bus staff to look at how access to bus services for adults with learning difficulties can be improved. Another animation is planned.

 Now, back to thinking how to comply with regulators’ requirements that individual achievement data is neatly recorded in non-accredited learning!

WEA on Trafalgar Square fourth plinth

It’s a couple of weeks ago now but I want to congratulate Chris Sharman for getting onto the fourth ‘plinth’ on the first day. Chris is a great advocate of the WEA and really took the initiative in a way which got the WEA into the national newspapers. So, this year, we can say that WEA art has been exhibited in the highest profile way. Apart from that, I love her comment that ‘adult learning make your brain tingle’.

WEA ICT provision on Channel 4 News

WEA computing classes in the East Midlands were features on  Channel 4 News recently. The item looked at the decline in places for adult learners on ICT (Information, Communication, Technology) and the difficulty this presents for learners and providers.

The video is just over three minutes and puts the case for growth in ICT in the interests of learners very effectively.

Well-being and happiness through learning

The ongoing Inquiry into the Future of Lifelong Learning has published another Thematic paper. This one, written by John Field from the Centre for Research in Lifelong Learning at the University of Stirling. It is a really timely case for standing back and asking more about what education is for.

You can get the full report from the IFFL website click here.

The report ends with 13 key points. In summary, (with author's italics) these are:

1. Well-being is of growing significance in policy circles and in wider public debate, and adult learning makes a small but significant, measurable positive contribution to well-being.

2. adult learning is likely to be particularly effective in enhancing the wellbeing of our most vulnerable citizens.
   

3. Professionals in adult learning may need to align themselves with other services and campaigning bodies that are concerned with well-being.

4. We need to tackle the persistent gap between medical and other approaches to  wellbeing and we need much closer alignment between interventions designed to cure or limit the damages of mental ill-health, and those designed to promote positive flourishing throughout life
   

5. There are important examples of public health bodies that acknowledge the important role of learning in improving health outcomes, including mental health outcomes.

6. Organisations providing adult learning should consider how to promote well-being more effectively.
   

7. Teaching approaches should actively seek to promote well-being. While this may involve therapeutic interventions for those who are most vulnerable to poor mental  health, it must also involve taking account of the ways in which adults’ biographies interact with learning environments.

8. Work plays a central role in most people’s lives, and is critical to their well-being. The entire workforce requires skills, resilience and flexibility to cope and thrive in the changing landscape of work.

9. there is a strong case for looking at a new learning life balance for employees
   

10. Organisations providing adult learning also need to consider the well-being of their workers.

11. Learning providers and policy-makers need to develop agreed approaches to Measurement of well being

12. a lifelong learning system that takes well-being as its primarypurpose is likely to differ significantly from present models.
    

13. Governments, employers and public institutions on their own can make individual action possible, but individual behaviour is also required – and indeed can, if duplicated across entire societies, help to shift the priorities and goals of the other actors.

WEA Education & Strategy Conference - sharing experience and ideas

The first Education and Strategy Conference successfully brought together over 40 WEA tutor organisers and tutors from across the English regions and Scotland to share their views on the operation and future direction of the WEA. The conference was held on held 20 and 21 May in Sheffield.

This is Claire Nussey's note of the event that also appears in 'WEA News'.

The opening speech 'What is to be done?' was given by Professor Frank Coffield, Emeritus Professor of Education at the Institute of Education at the University of London.

Professor Coffield gave a lively and provocative talk on ways to develop and improve learning and teaching and provided his thoughts on what action needs to be taken by the government, senior managers in further education, tutors and students to help achieve this.

A key point of the speech was that that these are not separate groups - they must work together to improve teaching and learning. Professor Coffield used examples from his experience of teaching in FE where senior managers in FE, tutors and learners regularly sit round a table to discuss key issues together. Professor Coffield also talked about developing a partnership between tutors and learners - that they learn should from each other. For example, feedback on work should help the learner know what they have done well and where they could improve but should also help the tutor plan what they teach next.

The speech was a fantastic opening for the rest of the conference, which focused on some of the WEA’s new strategic priorities. Workshops over the two days included Sustainability and Climate Change where tutors and tutor organisers shared interesting examples of how issues around sustainability are being introduced into many different subjects.

Other workshops included looked at what is happening in the classroom – how to develop effective learning relationships between tutors and learners; how field staff support and work with tutors; time-management and how do we meet the needs of students with mental health issues.

As key themes throughout the workshops were communication and sharing ideas This has always been a complex matter in the WEA with its dispersed provision. A workshop on the development of Moodle was very relevant. Moodle is like an internet site with a password where WEA tutors can download WEA documents and information and share ideas with each other for teaching.

The conference provided a great opportunity for tutor organisers and tutors to meet colleagues from other regions and share their experience of what helps to develop good learning and teaching and how improvements could be made.

The conference generated lots of suggestions for improvement around communication, engagement and ideas for the classroom between tutor organisers and tutors. Many agreed to keep in contact with each other by e-mail and phone. Those attending agreed that the conference should become an annual event, with a clear focus on looking at the progress which has been made on the actions and issues that were raised at the previous conference.

DIUS becomes BIS - so will the Learning Revolution continue?

The Cabinet reshuffle led to the move of John Denham from the Department of Innovation Universities & Skills to the Department of Communities & Local Government. In a less publicised development, DIUS itself has been merged with BERR (The Department for Business Enterprise & Regulatory Reform). This places Lord Mandelson, a pivotal figure in the current cabinet, in charge of post 19 education in England (see 'Guardian' article).

DIUS was short lived and a number of people had anticipated that it might change or be closer linked with industry after the next election. This move indicates the government's view that skills and training and the role of universities are important to the recovery of the economy.

One question arising is around the implementation of 'The Learning Revolution' white paper recently published by DIUS. As Secretary of State, John Denham had taken a close personal interest in the development of this policy and the debates and definitions around 'Informal Adult Learning'. This policy has moved the argument around the purposes of education for adults and the role of all government departments in its promotion. It may be that his move to DCLG will allow him to continue his interest in this area. Either way, it will be important that the progress made over the year in articulating a wider vision than the Leitch report and one which sees education as key to developing individuals, communities and resilience in the face of change. The future as seen by Leitch preceded the financial crisis, the government is currently saying how important FE will be in getting people through the recession. The cross government agenda set out in the Learning Revolution needs to continue after John Denham's move.