What does the Big Society mean for us?

Adult education should be an essential element of David Cameron’s Big Society project. But providers will need to work hard to demonstrate the wider benefits of all adult learning, writes PETER DAVIES

L

ike a lot of people, I have been trying to get my mind around David Cameron’s Big Society agenda, and what it means for my own institution, City Lit. There

has already been a lot written about this subject, especially in the press, much of it reflecting a degree of scepticism. Where to start? Well, I think the Prime Minister tried to spell out his main themes in his February speech relaunching the idea. These, I think, boil down to three elements: Why? What to do about it? and How? I look at each below. Why? According to the Prime Minister, too

many parts of society are broken: families; communities; crime rates; people stuck on benefits unable to work. I suspect that most people would agree with some or all of this. Equally, I feel there is one key element not reflected in these characteristics, namely the inability of some people to live independently for reasons of disability, income or social exclusion. What to do about it? David Cameron

believes that if society is broken we ‘need a social recovery to mend [it] ... that’s what the Big Society is all about’. For Mr Cameron this is not just a new political mantra – it is aimed at solving some deep-seated social problems. More about this later. How? Here the Prime Minister spells out

some of the key ways in which he sees this being achieved: People taking responsibility; communities taking more control; more volunteering; more charitable giving; social enterprise taking on a bigger role. In other forums he and others have also spoken about more open government to ensure people are informed and able to make decisions and

16 ADULTS LEARNING APRIL 2011

choices, as well as greater involvement of business and self-help groups. In starting to think more about our part in

all this, my first reaction is that an awful lot of what we do already aligns very clearly with this agenda. I also think we can take heart from the substantial work undertaken by the NIACE-sponsored Inquiry into the Future for Lifelong Learning (IFLL), which has a wealth of evidence to demonstrate that learning touches all these areas. Indeed, in thumbing through my copy of the report again, I was struck by how easy it would be to find a statement or evidence which substantiates the view that lifelong learning does indeed play a vital role in the Big Society. As an example, compare the elements of the broken society David Cameron identifies with this quote from the IFLL report, Learning Through Life: ‘Almost every advantage is positively associated to some degree with better levels of education. For individuals it tends to go along with: higher earnings; less unemployment; better health; better access to technology; lower crime rates; higher civic participation; and longer lives.’ And yes, the IFLL report was written before the Big Society appeared on the horizon. The general contribution of adult learning

to the ‘How’ agenda could be approached from two different angles. We could rightly argue that learning as currently configured already plays a crucial role. For example, again from IFLL: ‘The evidence shows that if parents are involved in almost any form of learning, for their own pleasure or advancement, they will take a more active interest in their children. Therefore, investment in parental learning

is a classic win-win.’ Or we could look at specific areas where changes to learning can positively help the ‘How’ of the Big Society agenda. Equally, at times of limited budgets, we must be very careful not to throw out good programmes, projects and methodologies purely on the basis of the mantra that significant change is definitely needed. As usual, the actual solution is probably going to involve a bit of both!

Taking responsibility You could go further and look at the key aspects of the Big Society talked about by the Prime Minister. First, people taking responsibility – learning can give people the personal and vocational attributes and skills needed to be able to take more personal responsibility. Indeed, it could be argued that learning is key to people being able to take more responsibility for their own lives and behaviour. So often, we hear students tell us that not only was the learning valuable in its own right, but it has changed their whole outlook. Take this comment, for example, from Rob Ryder: ‘My world has now changed radically. I am more confident, self-assured and a better-informed learner’.

Communities taking more control – it is often

the more disadvantaged communities that would benefit the most from taking more control, but they do not have the knowledge, confidence and skills to do so. Almost any form of learning will increase confidence and help communities work better together. Can this be taught or is it more a function of increased levels of learning, especially community- based learning? Mouna Bouheniche started