Good ideas have many parents, bad ones are often orphans. And since it is now 20 years since the first Adult Learners' Week in England, and the idea has been adopted and adapted to local circumstances in 55 countries, there must be something going for it. As the twenty-first Adult Learners' Week gets underway, the author reflects on the origins of…

A 2003 survey shows that adult participation in learning, which steadily increased in Britain since 1996, declined to 39% from a peak of 46% in 2001, although future intentions to participate remain high. Results indicate that 87% of adults over 65 and 75% in the lowest socioeconomic levels have not participated in the last 3 years. (SK)

Reports on two British surveys: (1) one of 5,054 adults found that more than 1 in 5 currently participate in education, and 87% of those who do not are unlikely to; and (2) one of 3,967 adults found that nearly 6 in 10 speak no second languages, but 49% of those whose first language is not English speak at least two other languages. (SK)

A survey of 5,184 adults in the United Kingdom delineated differences in participation in learning and intent to continue education by region, age, and social class. Choice of subjects and information sources were also identified. Results suggest two nations: one convinced of the value of learning and others choosing not to join the learning…

Adult participation in education and learning in the United Kingdom was examined through a Gallup survey of a stratified (by region and town size) national sample of 4,673 adults aged 17 years and over from England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. Interviewers were given quotas for sex by respondents' age, class, and employment status.…

Adult participation in learning in England and across the nations of the United Kingdom was examined in 2002, and the survey findings were compared to those of earlier surveys. Overall, 42% of the 4,896 people interviewed in the weighted sample survey of adults aged 17 and over reported having engaged in learning in the past 3 years. For the first…

Adult participation in the United Kingdom in 2001 was examined through interviews with a weighted sample of 6,310 adults over age 17 across Great Britain with a boosted sample in Wales. The following were among the key findings: (1) for the first time in 20 years, there was a marked upswing in adults' participation in learning from the previous…

Adult participation in education in the United Kingdom in 1999 was examined in a survey during which a sample of 5,054 adults over the age of 17 (2,366 men and 2,688 women) throughout the United Kingdom were interviewed. The following were among the major findings: (1) 23% of adults enrolled in courses were taking computer courses; (2) the rate of…