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Mlchael Csborne
1


unlverslLy of Clasgow

1he publlcaLlon of AJolt leotoloq lo 5cotlooJ - 5totemeot of Ambltloo ls welcome. lL
would be dlfflculL Lo argue agalnsL Lhe sLaLemenL of Lhe CablneL SecreLary for
LducaLlon and Llfelong Learnlng, Mlke 8ussell, ln hls forward LhaL everyone ln Lhe
counLry should have Lhe 'rlghL Lo access hlgh quallLy learnlng Lo meeL Lhelr needs
and asplraLlons - LhroughouL Lhelr llves'. 1he noLlon LhaL adulL learnlng should be
llfe-long and llfe-wlde, and LhaL lL should be learner-cenLred and lnformed by Lhe
lnLeresLs and moLlves of learners has been core Lo Lhlnklng wlLhln Lhe fleld for many
decades. Many readers wlll be able Lo draw a llne back Lo Lhe unLSCC reporLs of
laure (1972 et ol.) and uelors (1996 et ol.), Lhe varlous ConflnLea sLaLemenLs and Lhe
numerous pollcy papers of Lhe Luropean Commlsslon (LC 1990, 2000 and 2007).
erhaps whaL ls noL so expllclL ln Lhe SLaLemenL ls Lhe llnk Lo currenL Lhlnklng of
unLSCC, ln parLlcular ln relaLlon Lo Lhe lmporLance of Lhe clLy and reglon ln learnlng.
l wlll reLurn Lo LhaL noLlon ln more depLh laLer.

1here ls also clear recognlLlon LhaL Lhere are poLenLlally mulLlple beneflLs of adulL
learnlng LhaL exLend beyond Lhe economlc Lo a range of oLher ouLcomes lncludlng
Lhose relaLed Lo healLh, soclal care and communlLy coheslon. lL ls Lhese wlder
beneflLs of learnlng, lncludlng Lhe unplanned spln-off exLernallLles, whlch have
prevlously been drawn Lo our aLLenLlon by Lhe CenLre for Lhe Wlder 8eneflLs of
Learnlng (lelnsLeln and Pammond 2004), Lhe lopolty loto tbe lotote of llfelooq
leotoloq (lleld 2009), Lhe MarmoL 8evlew (2010) and Lhe 8rlLlsh Academy (2014)
LhaL have been glven sLrong recognlLlon ln Lhe SLaLemenL.

We see echoes here of Lhe recenLly publlshed Chlld overLy SLraLegy ln ScoLland,
whlch speaks of Lhe 'need Lo break Lhe cycles of poverLy, deprlvaLlon,
unemploymenL, healLh lnequallLles and poor educaLlonal aLLalnmenL whlch have
become deeply embedded ln our socleLy, parLlcularly ln our dlsadvanLaged
communlLles' (ScoLLlsh CovernmenL 2013:7). PealLhy chlldren are more llkely Lo
perform well aL school and young people wlLh hlgh levels of educaLlonal aLLalnmenL
are more llkely Lo flnd hlgh quallLy employmenL.

Also we can see a relaLlonshlp wlLh an earller paper CooJ lloces, 8ettet neoltb fot
5cotlooJs cbllJteo, whlch argues ln LhaL 'Cood laces' (l.e. wlLh hlgh quallLy soclal,
economlc, culLural and physlcal envlronmenLs) lead Lo beLLer healLh (ScoLLlsh
CovernmenL 2011). 1he argumenL, whlch ls supporLed by some robusL research, ls
LhaL good places conLaln healLhy people, who are more llkely Lo enLer learnlng, galn
quallflcaLlons and become employed. lurLhermore Lhey wlll Lhen become more
clvlcally-mlnded engaged clLlzens. 1hese relaLlonshlps are correlaLlonal raLher Lhan

1
Mlchael Csborne ls rofessor of AdulL and Llfelong Learnlng aL Lhe unlverslLy of Clasgow and
dlrecLor of Lhe 8esearch and 1eachlng Croup (81C) ln Soclal !usLlce, lace and Llfelong
LducaLlon (S!LL) wlLhln Lhe School of LducaLlon.
based on cause and effecL, and are noL unl-dlrecLlonal. So [usL as healLhy people are
more llkely Lo be learners, engagemenL ln learnlng ls assoclaLed wlLh lmprovemenLs
ln healLh, as Lhe MarmoL 8evlew lllusLraLes. AmongsL Lhe flndlngs clLed ln Lhe revlew
are LhaL 'sLudles of adulLs ln Lhelr 30s and 40s show a correlaLlng relaLlonshlp
beLween measures of parLlclpaLlon ln learnlng and ouLcomes such as llfe saLlsfacLlon
and/or psychologlcal wellbelng'. lnLeresLlng and one good reason for a llfe-wlde
perspecLlve ls LhaL 'amongsL older adulLs, lL was lelsure courses, raLher Lhan
vocaLlonal courses, whlch appeared Lo have slgnlflcanL effecLs'.

1hls remlnds us however LhaL ln ScoLland, provlslon ln Lhe llberal adulL LradlLlon
wlLhln Plgher LducaLlon has suffered conslderably ln Lhe lasL decade. unlverslLles
are noL menLloned speclflcally ln Lhe SLaLemenL, and lL ls noLable LhaL no senlor
unlverslLy represenLaLlve was lncluded wlLhln Lhe naLlonal SLraLeglc lorum for AdulL
Learnlng. erhaps LhaL ls because of a percepLlon LhaL Lhe secLor has wlLhdrawn
from Lhe area. 1o an exLenL LhaL ls Lrue wlLh Lhe demlse of Lhe exLra-mural LradlLlon
- however LhaL decllne has noL been as slgnlflcanL as ln oLher parLs of Lhe uk, and
probably Lhe ScoLLlsh unlverslLy secLor malnLalns lLself a world leader ln access Lo
non-accredlLed learnlng for personal developmenL. lurLher Lhe CuLcome
AgreemenLs LhaL Lhe unlverslLles slgn wlLh Lhe ScoLLlsh lundlng Councll are vehlcles
Lo ensure a cerLaln level of accesslblllLy Lo undergraduaLe provlslon.

CuLcome AgreemenLs are menLloned ln Lhe SLaLemenL ln Lhe conLexL of lurLher
LducaLlon Colleges and fuLure sLraLeglc plannlng Lo move amblLlons forward. WhaL
ls noL menLloned ls LhaL severe cuLs Lo whlch Lhe lL secLor has been sub[ecL, means
LhaL lL has llmlLed capaclLy Lo respond ln Lhe flexlble approaches lmplled by Lhe
SLaLemenL. noneLheless Lhese 8eglonal CuLcome agreemenLs are lmporLanL, as are
Lhe 8equlremenLs for CommunlLy Learnlng and uevelopmenL (ScoLland) 8egulaLlons
2013, a sLaLuLory requlremenL for LducaLlon AuLhorlLles 'Lo lnlLlaLe and, havlng done
so, Lo malnLaln and faclllLaLe a process by whlch communlLy learnlng and
developmenL secured wlLhln Lhe area of Lhe educaLlon auLhorlLy ls secured .'
(ScoLLlsh SLaLuLory lnsLrumenLs 2013)

1he SLaLuLe leaves LducaLlon AuLhorlLles Lo deLermlne who should be Lhe 'LargeL
lndlvlduals and groups' deemed Lo ln need of communlLy learnlng and developmenL,
Lhough lL ls charged wlLh consulLlng wlLh persons 'appearlng . Lo be represenLaLlve
of Lhe LargeL lndlvlduals and groups, and . appearlng . Lo be represenLaLlve of
persons provldlng communlLy learnlng and developmenL' ln Lhelr area. We can
obvlously debaLe Lhe meanlng of 'appearlng' and who wlll be broughL lnLo Lhe LenL
Lo dlscuss needs and lmporLanLly prlorlLles, buL whaL ls helpful ls LhaL a sLrucLure ls ln
place aL reglonal level. ln work LhaL we underLook wlLhln Lhe llc1kOoet.
(otopeoo llfelooq leotoloq xpettlse fot cltles, 1owos ooJ keqloos Otqoolsotloool
Netwotk) pro[ecL, a decade ago, we polnLed ouL Lhe lmporLance of sLaLuLory
obllgaLlon ln dellverlng parLnershlp worklng and engagemenL wlLh communlLles ln
declslon-maklng LhaL affecL Lhe dellvery of publlc servlces (Sankey and Csborne
2006). 1he conLexL Lhen was Lhe requlremenL of Lhe locol Covetomeot lo 5cotlooJ
Act (2003) for all local auLhorlLles Lo address 'CommunlLy lannlng'.

We drew a llnk beLween Lhe requlremenL for communlLy plannlng wlLh Lhe concepL
of developlng Lhe learnlng clLy/reglon ln as much as boLh lmplled neLworklng and
parLnershlp worklng beLween provlders. ln Lhe case of learnlng clLy/reglon, Lhe
Luropean Commlsslon ln lLs 8eglons of Llfelong Learnlng lnlLlaLlve of 2002 called for:

'moblllsotloo of oll ployets lovolveJ lo oscettololoq leotoloq oeeJs, opeoloq
op leotoloq oppottooltles fot people of oll oqes, eosotloq tbe poollty of
eJocotloo ooJ ttololoq ptovlsloo, ooJ mokloq sote tbot people ote qlveo
cteJlt fot tbelt koowleJqe, skllls ooJ competeoces, wbetevet ooJ bowevet
tbese moy bove beeo ocpolteJ'. (LC 2002)

1he ScoLLlsh CovernmenL's sLaLemenL moves us ln Lhls dlrecLlon and proposes a
process for developlng sLraLeglc plannlng ln order Lo lmplemenL lLs ldeas. lL ls
lmporLanL LhaL all relevanL players are around Lhe same Lable, and LhaL lnsLrumenLs
are ln place Lo ensure LhaL plans can be dellvered. WlLh CommunlLy lannlng
arLnershlps, CommunlLy Learnlng and uevelopmenL 8egulaLlons and CuLcome
AgreemenLs for boLh Lhe lL and PL secLor Lhere are no shorLage of drlvers for pollcy.
1he PL secLor ls noL expllclLly charged wlLh an lnvolvemenL ln achlevlng Lhe
amblLlons of Lhe SLaLemenL, and Lhls ls an lmporLanL elemenL Lo add, noL slmply
because lL ls a slgnlflcanL dellverer of adulL learnlng, buL also of Lhe Lralnlng for adulL
learnlng provlders whlch ls absenL ln ScoLland. l would argue LhaL Lhe secLor can
offer much more Lo adulLs, and has noL susLalned many of Lhe adulL-frlendly
developmenLs of Lhe 1990s. l have commenLed recenLly ln relaLlon Lo lmprovlng Lhe
flexlblllLy of PL LhaL 'uesplLe havlng Lhe vehlcles ln place such as Lhe SCCl, few of
Lhe drlvers have passed Lhe LesL' and LhaL lnlLlaLlves funded Lhrough Lhe llexlblllLy ln
1eachlng and Learnlng Scheme from 1993-1993 have noL been susLalned (Csborne
2013). ln developlng a new vlslon, lL ls lmporLanL Lo look backwards as well as Lo Lhe
fuLure, Lo deLermlne whaL has worked and why.

llnally reLurnlng Lo Lhe lmporLance of place, clear opporLunlLles exlsL for ScoLland
because of Lhese amblLlons for adulL learnlng Lo pro[ecL lLself as a world leader. lL
can do Lhls by Lylng lLs proposals Lo Lhe lnLernaLlonal resurgence of Lhe concepL of
Lhe learnlng clLy. A seL of key leototes of leotoloq cltles have been developed by
unLSCC (2013a), Lhe deLalls of whlch were announced aL a ma[or conference ln
8el[lng ln CcLober 2013, whlch launched Lhe lotetootloool llotfotm of leotoloq cltles
and a relaLed 8el[lng ueclaraLlon (unLSCC 2013b). 1hls may ulLlmaLely lead Lo a
unLSCC ClLy of Learnlng award, and lL ls clLles ln Asla, noLably ln Chlna and korea
LhaL are aL Lhe forefronL of uLlllzlng Lhe concepL as a lever for neLworklng and
parLnershlp aL a clLy and reglonal level ln learnlng. Some places ln ScoLland have
declared Lhemselves as 'learnlng clLles'. ln Ldlnburgh and Clasgow pasL lnlLlaLlves
appear dormanL, buL ln uundee Lhe learnlng clLy ls allve, and uumfrles has declared
lLself Lo be a 'Learnlng 1own'. Powever desplLe earller uk wlde lnlLlaLlves Lhese are
one-off developmenLs, and we are some way from embeddlng learnlng lnLo local
consclousness as ln counLrles such as korea wlLh lLs annual learnlng fesLlvals and
awards for clLles (Chang and Cha 2008, ?ang 2012). We Lend Lo be susplclous ln Lhe
wesL abouL awards and compeLlLlon, buL l would argue LhaL Lo really lnvolve clLlzens
and Lo creaLe a sense of achlevemenL ln learnlng we mlghL conslder adopLlng some
of Lhe sLraLegles found ln Lhe LasL. 1hls would bulld on exlsLlng favourable sLrucLures,
badge Lhe vehlcle for dellvery and pro[ecL an lnLernaLlonal connecLedness as well as
clear a clear naLlonal dlrecLlon. unllke some parLs of Lhe uk, ScoLland ls perhaps
more llkely Lo be open Lo conslderaLlon of lnlLlaLlves from Lhe LasL. l look forward Lo
a ScoLLlsh Learnlng ClLles and 8eglons neLwork, Lhough l do admlL Lo be an
lnLeresLed parLy
2
.

9&*&/&(2&:

8rlLlsh Academy (2014) lf yoo coolJ Jo ooe tbloq . Nloe locol octloos to teJoce
beoltb loepoolltles. London: 8rlLlsh Academy.

Chang, W. S. & Cha, M. ?. (2008) CovernmenL drlven arLnershlp for llfelong learnlng
ln korea: a case sLudy of four clLles. lotetootloool Iootool of llfelooq Jocotloo,
27(3), 379-397.

uelors, !. et ol. (1996) leotoloq. 1be tteosote wltblo. 1he reporL Lo unLSCC of Lhe
lnLernaLlonal Commlsslon on LducaLlon for Lhe 1wenLy-flrsL CenLury. arls: unLSCC

Luropean Commlsslon (1993) wblte lopet oo llfelooq leotoloq. 8russels:
Commlsslon of Lhe Luropean CommunlLles.

Luropean Commlsslon (2000) MemotooJom oo llfelooq leotoloq. 8russels:
Commlsslon of Lhe Luropean CommunlLles.

Luropean Commlsslon (2002) coll fot ltoposols (Ac/41/02) otopeoo Netwotks to
ltomote tbe locol ooJ teqloool Jlmeosloo of llfelooq leotoloq (1be kJl loltlotlve).
8russels: Commlsslon of Lhe Luropean CommunlLles

Luropean Commlsslon (2007) commoolcotloo Actloo lloo oo AJolt leotoloq. lt ls
olwoys o qooJ tlme to leoto. 8russels: Commlsslon of Lhe Luropean CommunlLles

laure, L. et ol. (1972) leotoloq to be. 1be wotlJ of eJocotloo toJoy ooJ tomottow -
1he reporL Lo unLSCC of Lhe lnLernaLlonal Commlsslon on Lhe uevelopmenL of
LducaLlon. arls: unLSCC

MarmoL 8evlew (2010) lolt 5oclety, neoltby llves - 1be Motmot kevlew. Avallable
aL hLLp://www.lnsLlLuLeofhealLhequlLy.org/pro[ecLs/falr-socleLy-healLhy-llves-Lhe-
marmoL-revlew. Accessed 3 !une 2014


2
I encourage readers to look at the initiatives of the PASCAL Observatory
(http://pascalobservatory.org), which I direct in Europe, and in particular Learning Cities 2020
(http://learningcities2020.org) and our Learning Cities Network (http://lcn.pascalobservatory.org). We
are also operationalizing some of UNESCOs Measures of Learning Cities within Glasgow as part of
the new ESRC-funded Urban Big Data Centre (see http://urbanbigdatacentre.com)

Csborne, M. (2013) 'Access and 8eLenLlon'. ln 8ryce, 1.C.k. et ol., ScoLLlsh LducaLlon.
Ldlnburgh: Ldlnburgh unlverslLy ress.

Sankey, k. and Csborne, M. (2006) 'Llfelong learnlng reachlng reglons where oLher
learnlng doesn'L reach'. ln 8. Ldwards et ol. keseotcbloq leotoloq ootslJe tbe
ocoJemy. London: 8ouLledge

ScoLLlsh CovernmenL (2011) CooJ lloces, 8ettet neoltb fot 5cotlooJs cbllJteo.
Ldlnburgh: ScoLLlsh CovernmenL.

ScoLLlsh CovernmenL (2013) cbllJ lovetty 5ttoteqy fot 5cotlooJ. Ldlnburgh: ScoLLlsh
CovernmenL.

ScoLLlsh SLaLuLory lnsLrumenLs (2013) kepoltemeots fot commoolty leotoloq ooJ
uevelopmeot (5cotlooJ) keqolotloos 201J. Avallable aL
hLLp://www.leglslaLlon.gov.uk/ssl/2013/173/pdfs/ssl_20130173_en.pdf. Accessed 4
!une 2014

unLSCC (2013a) key leototes of leotoloq cltles - lottoJoctoty Note, Pamburg, ulL

unLSCC (2013b) 8eljloq ueclototloo oo 8ollJloq leotoloq cltles - llfelooq leotoloq
fot All. ltomotloq loclosloo, ltospetlty ooJ 5ostolooblllty lo cltles. Pamburg, ulL

?ang, !. (2012) An overvlew of bulldlng learnlng clLles as a sLraLegy for promoLlng
llfelong learnlng. Iootool of AJolt ooJ cootlooloq Jocotloo, 18(2), 97-113.

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