The premise of this brief opinion piece is that the fundamental paradigm of education appeared with Plato. It is that there is a co-location in time and space of learners, teachers, and resources. The absence of any of these elements can lead to shortcomings in the meaning of the term "to be educated". Recent events such as COVID-19…

In recent years, there has been a rhetorical shift from "deficit" to "dialogue" and "engagement" in UK policy and institutional discourse about science communication. Past efforts to reduce public scientific literacy deficits have been overshadowed by calls for dialogue between scientists, science communicators and…

This study explored the influence social capital had over parental sports volunteers who are considered to be of paramount importance in the delivery of UK sports initiatives. A review of the relevant literature identifies and discusses the complexities within the debate to define social capital while human and cultural capital emerge as an…

The idea that communities need to be inclusive is almost axiomatic. The process, whereby, community members engage in inclusive practices is far less understood. Similarly, UK universities are being encouraged to include the wider community and extent campus boundaries. Here, I suggest a particular theoretical lens which sheds light on engagement…

This article evaluates the use of a "case study group" method for teaching social movement theory. The aim was to give students the opportunity to practice theorizing actively rather than simply learning theory passively. The method provides this by requiring students to undertake case studies on social movements of their choice for the…

Based on extracts from an ethnography produced during the ESRC 2009-10 research project, ""Preparedness Pedagogies" and Race: An Interdisciplinary Approach," this article explores the racialized culture of civil defence in the UK whilst also critiquing the world of higher education. The ethnographic artefacts of interviews,…

The paper presents an enabling framework for experiential learning that connects with reflexive modernity. This framework places an emphasis on learning with others and on the role of theory, practice and reflection. A sociological argument is constructed for an alternative framework for experiential learning that derives from social theory. It is…

Public policy in the UK has adopted employability to define the relationship of globalisation, work and learning. This article claims that employability serves the interests of capital. It helps capital to exercise its domination/hegemony over labour and employs a redefined vision of learning as its principal vehicle. Employability is a term that…

This article draws on material from a case study of a group of young people involved in ongoing public decision-making in a local authority. The group of young people is compared to a political interest group and insights from the literature applied. It is argued that two of the strongest resources the group had to offer adult decision-makers were…

Criticizes the consensus that lifelong learning, on its own, has the power to solve a wide range of educational, social, and political ills. Presents alternative visions of lifelong learning and stresses the relevance to policy of viewing lifelong learning as social control. Reflects on possible ways forward. Includes references. (CMK)

This article is concerned with the development of social scientific knowledge (exemplified by the case of sociology of education) and its relationship to education policy. It draws on and contrasts the experience of the author in working at the interface between theory and policy in two very different contexts: the United Kingdom in the 1970s and…

In British adult education Marxism has been a persistent if marginalised current that has consistently informed its more radical movements and practitioners. This article firstly introduces some contested Marxist perspectives on adult education, particularly around the issues of ideology and incorporation into bourgeois society. Secondly, it…

A whole flurry of new thinking and research about young people in the USA has been stimulated by Jeffery Arnett's theory of 'Emerging Adulthood'. This argues for recognition of a new stage of the life-course between adolescence and adulthood reflecting the extension of youth transitions to independence brought about by globalization and…