The purpose of this paper is to engage critically with debates surrounding the mental health and wellbeing agenda for adult community learning (ACL), with particular consideration of creative arts provision. It draws on a qualitative research project involving five creative arts ACL groups in the English West Midlands and two mental health…

This paper explores young people's aspirations and the influence of community drama in shaping these arts-focussed aspirations. Research was undertaken using creative drama methods with young people who attend a youth drama group. The young people identified career and personal aspirations, recognising the hard work and support that it can take to…

This study investigates how bullying and banter are conceptualised and rationalised by those in male adolescent community football. The authors employ a social constructivist, interpretative phenomenological analysis approach using qualitative, semi-structured interviews. These methods explore the meanings behind the perceptions and experiences of…

Extra-curricular activities, such as playing sport and participating in mentoring programmes, have physical and mental health benefits for individuals. For adolescents particularly, nurturing these interests has the potential for positive outcomes in academic attainment and personal development, an increase to self-esteem, and positive development…

Purpose: This paper reviews changing government policy on adult education in England over the past 20 years and the funding regimes affecting adult and community learning and union-led learning, which play a major role in learning opportunities for socially excluded adults. Design/methodology/approach: A review and analysis of extant literature,…

This paper explores the implementation of an innovative three-year (2017 to 2020) community learning initiative led by a partnership of third sector organisations in a district in the north of England. It explores the initiative's arrangements for the design and delivery of a varied curriculum and assesses its impact on the lives of participants…

This article explores the methodological impact of building and curating a transnational archive of working-class literacy practices, spanning themes of vocation, immigration, gender, race, and disability, from the ground up alongside the "Federation of Worker Writers and Community Publishers." The article focuses particularly on how our…

Heritage language education is not included in the national curriculum in England, and therefore formal learning and teaching of heritage languages are primarily achieved through complementary schools, which are part-time, community-led and linked to various ethnic and national backgrounds. This study focuses on Arabic complementary schools and…

Based on a three year self- study (S-STEP) into interrupting heteronormativity on youth and community work courses at a higher education institution, this article explores the reaction to the interruption of heteronormativity on youth and community work courses in a range of HEI institutions. Reactions were nuanced and contextual but concurred…

Science festivals are seen as a success story for public engagement with science, with numbers rapidly growing. However, research has shown that attendees at such events tend to be more affluent, better-educated and more interested in science than populations at large. This has led to calls for research into how festivals can widen participation…

Arts and cultural practice are gaining attention in numerous disciplines and sectors as a vehicle for community building, and to promote wellbeing and social change. In this article we overview the links between community and liberation psychologies, community arts, and public pedagogy. We put forward the notion of community pedagogies to capture…

Community-based interventions have long been seen as mechanisms via which to target marginalised youth in relation to personal development. Research surrounding such interventions has often highlighted the promotion of a range of pro-social behaviours and attributes which, in turn, facilitate an increased sense of social inclusion. This paper…

This paper explores the potential of an online TimeBank for inclusive research to address some of the challenges related to the unequal distribution of power and money for researchers within and outside the academy working in collaboration. The problem, the concept of TimeBanking, and the relationship of TimeBanking to inclusive research…

Four drama programmes for at-risk youth run by a community theatre formed the basis for a 9-month participant observation and interview study. This paper focuses on the concept of roles, using this as a lens to explore participants' experiences, and to suggest ways in which taking part in the programmes enabled young people to "be Other"…

This paper presents the findings of an interview study (phase one of a three-phase doctoral research project) that attempted to establish practitioners' and parents' views of why parent-child group music making activities are offered in interdisciplinary Children's Centres in England for the 0-3 years age range. These settings are community hubs…