The name is absent

people relate to each other. The essential difference in our treatment of the two
concepts lies in the rather broader range we attribute here to social cohesion, without
attempting to force too neat a distinction.

9.1 Social capital

We break down social capital into the following: civic skills and engagement; social
networks; and social values such as trust and tolerance. In each case we present
evidence on the links with learning.

Civic skills

We need first to make a distinction between two ways in which learning leads to the
development of civic skills. These illustrate the distinction made in Section 1 above,
between direct and indirect effects. Directly, participation in learning enables people
to acquire relevant skills as part of their learning, whether or not the course explicitly
sets out to deliver such skills. Indirectly, taking part in the courses gives people access
to opportunities for civic engagement, through which they can develop or exercise
skills. Again this is irrespective of whether or not the course is related to the activity.
We concentrate on the direct links, since these have most salience, but we need to
recognise the ways in which the institutions and networks that provide education also
offer people opportunities to take part in civic activity.

Learning was instrumental for many of our respondents in providing competences that
were of use in their civic life. Three broad categories of civic competence were
identified:

• meta-competences enabled individuals to coordinate other civic aptitudes such
as core skills, local knowledge and networks in a holistic fashion in order to
achieve personal and community goals.

• generic competences were broad skills that were applicable to civic situations
such as computer skills and the ability to run a meeting.

• conditional competences were required for participation as an active citizen.
These include basic language and literacy skills, but also an understanding of
the system.

However, not all learning aptitudes that individuals brought to their civic life could be
neatly placed into the competence framework. For example, some individuals used
their cultural skills or talents to enrich civic life, such as performing music in local
bars or making political points through music.

44

<<   50   51   52   53   54   55   56   >>

More intriguing information