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academics with disabilities, chronic illnesses and/or neurodivergences, but the nature of the topic clearly affected and interested that group of scholars the most. I know that every single delegate had one form of need or another. Second, and related to the fact that every delegate had disclosed some need, the conference was the first of its kind by way of accessibility and inclusion. The event was organised in such a way that delegates could participate in and contribute to within the halls of the conference setting, but also remotely from home. The organisation had
Introduction Academia is directed by policy and government legislation when managing students and, as such, the requirements of the Equality Act 2010 to meet the accessibility needs of disabled students are fulfilled. We can see, however, that even within society the inequalities and needs of individuals are not always met (Smith, 2017 ). Alongside this sits the discussion about the terminology we use and how that impacts on the social construct of disability. By exploring some of the historical perspectives and definitions that have emerged, and in
Introduction In this chapter, I reflect critically on my experiences of making my disability visible in teaching, through the process of asking students to engage in particular behaviours which improve the accessibility of my role as their lecturer. I use critical and feminist disability studies work to reflect on how this has been – and still is – a difficult, discomforting decision and process. I conclude with some reflective questions for disabled academics, and some recommendations. This is personal Before starting, I want to make clear that my
experiences of those with embodied differences, such as those with disability, chronic illness or neurodivergence. Embodiment The term embodiment is contested (Sheets-Johnstone, 2015 ), and part of the battle of using the word is the need to continuously define and determine what we mean by it. For some sociologists the idea of embodiment relates to how we perform our identity, the clothes we wear, whether we choose to have tattoos, piercings, or the way that we display to others how we choose to identify ourselves within society (Evans et al, 2004 ). When it comes
323 Reconstructing disability, childhood and social policy in the UK John Davis, Nick Watson, Mairian Corker and Tom Shakespeare Introduction This chapter examines the medical and social ‘models’ that have underpinned social policy aimed at disabled children. It suggests that both ‘models’ are premised on notions of deficit and dependency. By drawing on ethnographic data, this chapter challenges some of the ‘taken-for-granted’ assumptions that inform policy approaches to disability and childhood. We want to suggest that what pertains is not natural, or obvious
There is a growing concern about the social exclusion of a range of minority groups, including people with learning difficulties. Lifelong learning is seen as one of the central means of challenging the exclusion of this group, but also of enhancing their economic status. This book demonstrates that policy based on human capital premises has produced forms of lifelong learning which exacerbate the marginalisation of people with learning difficulties.
The Learning Society and people with learning difficulties: reviews the range of policy fields which increasingly intervene in the lifelong learning arena; maps the agencies involved in service delivery and describes their (sometimes conflicting) ethos; provides in-depth accounts of the lived experiences of individuals with learning difficulties as they navigate lifelong learning options.
Its exploration of the links between community care, education, training, employment, housing and benefits policies in the context of lifelong learning is unique.
This book makes a significant contribution to debates about how people with learning difficulties may achieve social inclusion, and the part which lifelong learning may play in this. It is therefore invaluable reading for policy makers, practitioners and academics interested in these issues.
Is lifelong learning the big idea which will deliver economic prosperity and social justice? Or will it prove to be another transient phenomenon? Picture lifelong learning, the editor suggests, as making its way through three overlapping stages - romance, evidence and implementation. Lifelong learning is tentatively entering the second stage, where research evidence is beginning to challenge the vacuous rhetoric of the stage of romance.
The findings from the Economic and Social Research Council’s programme of research into the Learning Society are presented in two volumes, of which this is the second. The editor, Frank Coffield, begins by surveying as a whole the findings of the 14 projects, and summarises them in a number of recurrent themes and policy recommendations. The chapters which follow present the aims, methods, findings and policy implications of six projects. Volume 1 contains similar chapters on the other projects. Taken together, the conclusions suggest very different ways of thinking about a Learning Society and very different policies from those in operation at present. The two volumes demonstrate from empirical evidence the continuing weaknesses of current policies and make proposals, based on hard evidence, for more effective structural changes.
This second volume presents findings from a national survey of the skills of British workers, and it discusses both the meaning of the Learning Society for adults with learning difficulties, and the use of social capital to explain patterns of lifelong learning. Other chapters present for the first time five different ‘trajectories’ of lifelong learning, explore the determinants of participation and non-participation in learning, and examine innovation in Higher Education.
Finally, two differing visions of a Learning Society are contrasted. The first extrapolates existing policies and practices into the next 5-10 years and finds them seriously wanting. The second option calls for more democracy rather than technocracy and develops a kaleidoscopic array of possible futures which find their source in the empirical work of the 14 projects. These volumes are essential reading for politicians, policy makers, practitioners, employers, and all teachers with responsibility for lifelong learning.
This is the first book to draw together the evidence on the ‘case’ for skills and to examine the policies appropriate to achieving ‘skills for all’.
Learn to succeed: argues that raising skill levels is crucial to both economic success and social inclusion; demonstrates the benefits of higher skill levels to people, to companies and to communities; synthesises a wide range of materials in one convenient volume, providing a reference source on the issues; deals with the issues at both national and local levels; sets out a clear agenda for action.
Learn to succeed is essential reading for policy makers and practitioners in national, regional and local government departments and agencies, and is also recommended for students and academics on courses at undergraduate and graduate level in applied economics, education or public policy.
At a time when education and school choices are under increasing scrutiny, this topical book considers education more broadly than ever before. The author, an experienced teacher and researcher, highlights what happens when parents discover that an alternative to school education exists and is legal. This under-researched topic highlights the lack of governmental interest in alternative education and also considers the human rights issues, conflation with safeguarding, the relationship of the state to education and parental education choice.
Focusing on the discovery of elective home education (EHE) in England as a case study for new and necessary arguments, the ideas discussed are also relevant internationally. The book considers the global fact of education as not just mainstream schooling, but how the dominance of schooling has affected our ability to conceive of education as diverse and different. This thought-provoking book will appeal to academic, teaching and policy-making audiences.
Social capital and lifelong learning are central to current policy concerns both in the UK and internationally. This book confirms the significance of social capital as an analytical tool, while challenging the basis on which current policy is being developed. It:
· offers a wealth of evidence on a topic that has become central to contemporary government;
· provides a detailed empirical investigation of the relationship between social capital, knowledge creation and lifelong learning;
· relates the findings to wider policy debates;
· questions the dominant theoretical models of social capital; and
· confronts the assumption of many policy makers that the obvious solution to social problems is to ‘invest in social capital’.
