Lifelong learning in Scotland: cohesion, equity and participation

Abstract

The Scottish Government, in common with governments elsewhere in Europe, is committed to promoting high and inclusive levels of participation in adult learning. The paper reviews currently available evidence on participation, and concludes that while overall participation in Scotland is high by international standards, there are some indications that it falls slightly below the UK average in some respects. Data for particular sub-groups suggest that participation levels vary considerably, and in some cases there are strong indications that on some criteria, inequality rates are higher for Scotland than for England and Wales. In particular, there is some evidence that older adults and the least well qualified are particularly disadvantaged in Scotland. This suggests that Scottish policy makers face considerable challenges in achieving an inclusive learning society and high skills knowledge economy.  The full text of this work will be available from the Scottish Educational Review web pages: http://www.scotedreview.org.uk/content/2009/41[2]/