Exploring the place of adult learning for refugees and asylum seekers in migration policy for integration in England and Scotland

Abstract

Learning, particularly learning English is presented as a key part of integration for adult migrants in the UK. England and Scotland differ in how their policy approaches to integration include adult learning. This article aims to explore and uncover the ways in which adult education, particularly for refugees and asylum seekers is embedded and included in policy for integration of new migrants in England and Scotland. This is based on a discourse analysis of policy documents, through which themes were developed and explored. In these documents, adult education can be included in explicit ways, particularly when it comes to language learning, while informal learning is not always explicitly considered. In England, British values are highlighted as an important area for learning, while Scottish policy uses a different tone, referring to newcomers as 'New Scots'. The ways in which certain groups, particularly people seeking asylum are politically constructed, appear to impact greatly on how they are included in policy. This paper argues for the need for an explicit policy for adult learning for refugees and asylum seekers, the need to consider informal learning in policy, and identifies areas for future research in the field of adult learning relating to migration.