The name is absent

28. We found striking examples of civic activity relating to particular life cycle
stages. In addition to the targeted population of parents of young children, older
people’s contribution to such activity is strongly aided by learning. The
gendering of civic activity reinforces the need to recognise informal as well as
formal types.

Policy implications

This fieldwork cannot provide precise estimates of the outcomes of learning. But it
can supply definite pointers and policy implications.

29. The sustaining effect of education on personal lives and the social fabric
demands much fuller recognition. Education transforms people’s lives, but it
also, less spectacularly, enables them to cope with the multifarious stresses of
daily life as well as continuous and discontinuous social change; and to
contribute to others’ well-being by maintaining community and collective life.
This sustaining effect is particularly significant in underpinning rationales for
more intersectoral policy-making, especially between education and health.

30. Learning is of fundamental importance in sustaining and improving
communication at every level and in every form, from basic and linguistic to
advanced and social. Policies and provision should address the development of
appropriate and effective communication competences in many different
contexts: within schools and colleges; between professionals and consumers in
the public services; within families; between different age groups. Provision
here refers not only to courses and formal learning opportunities, but to the
physical structures and social contexts within which communication takes place.

31. One specific aspect of communication is the importance of ESOL. Knowing
English is fundamental to the social integration of migrants, refugees and
asylum-seekers, and can transform their lives.

32. Communication and community are obviously linked. Colleges and other
educational institutions are places where people can feel part of a community,
participating in a learning culture. This includes those who have been on the
margins. The institutions need support in developing this function, in the
mission they have and the facilities they provide. Improving the design and
quality of education’s physical environment should be a high priority.

33. Good teaching matters, though its effect may not show up until much later.
Teachers at all levels need support in sustaining learning cultures within
different student peer groups. Central to this is adequate time for teachers to do
the appropriate job, especially in relation to learners at the foot of the ladder,
who require close personal support.

vii

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