What is the impact of recent Government policy on adult learning? A survey of managers, tutors and learners.

This study examines the effects of Govemment policy on adult leamers in England. It is located within the broader context of adult education provision with particular emphasis on the cultural and economic issues surrounding adult and community learning in England. It seeks to investigate the perceptions of practitioners who are responsible for developing and delivering the adult education curriculum and the perception of adult learners. Two data collection methods were employed: questionnaires and semi structured interviews. Questionnaires were emailed to 36 respondents across England consisting of 12 managers, 12 tutors and 12 learners. A further 12 respondents were interviewed with the quota sample consisting of four managers, four tutors and four learners in the South West of England. All respondents are either engaged in providing or accessing adult education courses. The anonymity of respondents and organisations will be maintained. Analysis of the questionnaires informed the direction of areas probed during the interviews. The data from the interviews were analysed where categories emerged from the data. The emergent themes were then categorised and analysed to enlighten the research area. The results indicate that the traditional purpose of adult education has changed with an increasing move towards providers offering further specific vocational qualifications in an attempt to support the global economy and thus offering fewer recreational courses. What is unclear is how effective these strategies have been in supporting UK competition in international markets and further research is required. There is evidence that there has been a significant loss in adult learner numbers over the last two years. There is also evidence that those with the lowest level of qualifications are the least likely to participate in voluntary education. Page