across different spheres of life. The skills that she has developed in relation to her
occupation as a manager of dance training have certainly impacted upon other
domains, so that she can offer a positive problem-solving approach.
As is evident even from the sketch provided here, Lydia is self-consciously holistic in
her approach to life. It would be difficult to imagine her compartmentalising her
activities such that her family life would not be affected if her dance training were not
going well. As far as the effects of education is concerned this obviously raises the
stakes. On the one hand it multiplies the positive impact; on the other, it increases the
risk of damage where the learning does not turn out well. Happily, in Lydia’s case, the
risk has paid off handsomely.
10.4 Conclusions
The three women come from different backgrounds and have very different learning
trajectories. What can we learn from them? At a general level their cases demonstrate
the salience of health issues, especially mental or psychological health. At a time
when there is substantial public debate on health spending, the relevance of learning
opportunities to health outcomes is very high. If one third of GPs’ time is taken up
with mental health issues, then services that prevent, mitigate or resolve these should
be looked at seriously (for an interesting initiative, see James, 2001). Our data
generally show how pervasive health issues are, without usually being presented to
doctors or other professionals. The health-maintaining function of learning is almost
by definition hard to identify systematically, but is fundamental.
The effects of learning on family lives can be very strong. Generally our evidence is
that they are highly positive, primarily but by no means solely in influencing the
involvement of parents in their children’s education. In other words, the general
increase in cultural capital enhances the next generation’s human capital. But the
process is not always straightforward; affecting one part of the family has effects on
other parts, especially where there are quite complex family structures, as Kali’s case
illustrates.
Thirdly, we should not look only to the more obvious forms of civic participation in
order to measure social capital. Juliet’s account of her own involvement in voluntary
organisations is very valuable for us, because it shows such a direct link between
organised learning and organised civic activity. But the contribution Lydia is able to
make via her enhanced organisational and problem-solving abilities may count
equally, even though she does not appear to be involved in specific civic activity.
Transferability of skills and expertise emerges strongly in all three accounts. Often
self-esteem is the motor, enabling people to perform in a variety of spheres. But it is
clear that practical competences often go well beyond the course or the activity
through which they are acquired. This raises nitty-gritty questions about how such
competences are to be developed through curriculum design and pedagogical
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