This article outlines Labour ideals and values, and demonstrates the tensions between egalitarian and meritocratic imperatives for the reform agendas Labour governments pursued in office and the educational settlements reached. It challenges 'common sense' interpretations of elites and elite education and fixed 'ability' thinking, and promotes the…

It has been suggested that higher education institutions (HEIs) may develop different activity profiles (including research, teaching and socio-economic engagement) in their attempt to maximise the fit between institutional resources and strategic opportunities; the latter include strategies of engagement with different groups of external…

The attainment gap associated with socio-economic status is an international problem that is highly resistant to change. This conceptual paper critiques the drive by the Scottish Government to address the attainment gap through the Scottish Attainment Challenge and the National Improvement Framework. It draws upon a range of theoretical…

Communities are at the heart of the government's vision for the Big Society. And it's the author's strongly held view that skills should be at the heart of each and every one of those communities. If one grows the skills of an individual then the community will flourish. There is a job to be done in building skills to build communities--skilled…

Democracy has been weakened in the United Kingdom with citizens increasingly frustrated at not being able to shape government decisions in any meaningful way. State actions at the local and national level are at risk of becoming even more influenced by vested private interests. This poses a major challenge to the democratic health of the country.…

It's almost a year since the revolution--the "Learning Revolution," that is. This was the Government's long-term vision for the development of "informal adult learning", as laid out in the White Paper of March 2009. The vision was expansive, embracing informal learning in the workplace, promoting a "new" culture of…

The twelfth in a series of research reviews investigating adult education in Great Britain, this paper focuses on adult education activities in local geographic areas and on the concept of "community" and its enhancement of adult education services. After part 1 summarizes the other reviews in the series, part 2 discusses the role of…

This paper details the work of Demos and the Learning and Skills Development Agency to examine how new institutional structures for supporting lifelong learning can develop in ways that best support community-based learning activities in the United Kingdom. Three seminar background papers and notes are provided, each followed by seminar notes.…

A top-down approach to British community development is rooted in Victorian paternalism, a bottom-up approach in radical action. The case of ACHIEVE (Academic Centre for Health Improvement and Evidence of Effectiveness) shows how the current government's top-down approach is inadequate and potentially exploitive. It emphasizes development and…

This collection of essays was assembled to provide coverage of the subject of community nutrition--the whole of nutritional sciences applied to consumers as groups or individuals. The two main concerns are the food itself and the consumer (his physical, mental, and social well-being). It is pointed out that biochemists have analyzed food and…

Oxfam is using a sustainable livelihoods framework in its antipoverty programs. Identifying assets and asset gaps illuminated gender difference in asset bases and survival strategies as well as the huge impact of the state on livelihood choices. (SK)

This second of two linked papers reviewing social exclusion focuses on models of communities and roles of the State and applies them to economic and political systems in different countries. Discusses exclusive diversity; voluntary inclusion; required inclusion; inclusive diversity; performance indicators; education, literacy, and libraries; and…

Considers village and district councillors' role in educational decision making, focusing on the "Pukhun maliks" and tribal chiefs in northwestern Pakistan's frontier's tribal areas. In this case study, the notion of community involvement in development planning is actually entrenching the people's powerlessness. (17 references) (MLH)

Analyzes the diverse services available for preschool children in the United Kingdom and considers the nature of the demand for such services. Discusses local initiatives, such as those undertaken in the Strathclyde region of Scotland in the 1980s, to coordinate and integrate services for preschool children. (MDM)

This book examines the achievements of teachers from all over Great Britain in furthering their professional development. Part 1 presents four case studies of school-based inservice activities. The first is a teacher-initiated inservice activity in a middle school in West Sussex. The second is an Open University student-initiated inservice…