We should, however, note that learning can generate friction within families, and lead
to effects that are, at least from the perspective of some participants, negative. The
transformative effect leads to changes of role or values, and this may go against the
interests of some of the learner’s family members. If education is a modernising force,
it brings with it some of the costs of modernisation also. A general conclusion from
our work is that both the benefits and the costs of learning are felt by more than the
learners themselves, and the same learning may have both a positive and a negative
impact.
12.3.1 Policy conclusion 5
Family learning involves more than generating parental involvement in their
children’s education, though this is a central element. Many different sets of
relationships are potentially affected, within and across generations; in every case,
learning can play a significant role in sustaining and strengthening these relationships,
notably by improving communication skills and mutual respect. More support for
initiatives and policies that promote family members learning together in a variety of
ways will have multiple benefits, for educational achievement and more widely for
family relationships.
12.4 Health
Probably the most powerful manifestation of our case that education plays a
sustaining role was in relation to health, and especially to mental health and
psychological well-being. This introduces again the pervasive theme of self-esteem,
so central to well-being and competence. Learning keeps at bay resignation from an
active life and dependency.
It may do this by pre-empting decline into ill health, or by enabling or supporting
recovery. Whether its effect is preventative or recuperative, this effect is vitally
important, socially and economically. By sustaining people in a degree of personal
autonomy, learning prevents them from losing their capability and from becoming a
burden on their families or the wider community. This may be a rather functionalist
way of expressing the benefit, but its intrinsic value is surely obvious.
We argue that these effects require appropriate analysis that can feed directly into
policy, especially at a time when health is so far up the policy agenda. Ironically, the
effectiveness of learning as part of health policy may be ignored because of the
priority given directly to the health sector. There is great scope for a genuinely
intersectoral approach here.
The quality of relationships between health consumers and professionals is also
affected. Education, especially but by no means only ESOL, enables people to
communicate better with doctors, nurses and other professionals, so that they can
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