Figure 7: Gareth
Lydia and Gareth offer very contrasting cases. But they are united at least in the way
their accounts describe growth through education leading them to a capacity to cope
with change, and generating a shift in the balance between dependence, independence
and interdependence. In their different worlds, enhanced independence is central to
social cohesion as they both quite consciously come to acknowledge the way in which
their lives and their identities are interwoven with those of others. Fundamental to this
interdependence is the way they refer to their improved communicative competence,
by which is meant their ability to gather information and to articulate their own views;
but also their capacity to empathise with others so that the communication is not only
two-way but also sometimes implicit. The contribution of their various forms of
learning - formal and informal - illustrates a fundamental way in which learning
strengthens social cohesion.
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