The impact of higher education on lifelong learning

Abstract

The UK's National Adult Learning Survey has emphasised that graduates are more likely than other groups of people to engage in further learning, and to be motivated by the intrinsic nature of the subject matter. However, beyond this we know relatively little about the learning of graduates as a specific group. In particular, we know very little about how experiences of higher education affect attitudes towards learning in the years after graduation. To start to redress this gap, this paper draws on in-depth interviews with 90 graduates from six different UK higher education institutions, five years after they completed their first degree. It argues that, in the case of many of these young adults, the influence of higher education on further learning was exerted at three levels, in relation to: the process of learning; the construction of learner identities; and understandings of the relationship between learning and the wider world.

International higher education and the mobility of UK students

“…While a considerable number of our postgraduate respondents had been motivated to enrol on master's or doctoral study to distinguish themselves from peers with only an undergraduate degree, an overseas education per se was not believed to offer the same kind of distinction. Indeed, their assessment of the benefits of further education and training strongly resemble those of graduates in other studies (Brooks and Everett, 2008;Bowman, 2005).…”

“…Thus, many students (and their families) have come to recognise the importance of gaining relevant experience -through paid work as well as extra-curricular activities -during one's degree, to gain advantage over others who 8 graduate with 'only' their academic qualification (Brooks, 2006). Finally, researchers have pointed to the role of further learning as part of wider strategies to secure positional advantage, whether this be through a postgraduate qualification (Bowl, 2003;Duke, 1994) or other forms of education or training (Brooks and Everett, 2008). In developing this analysis, we consider whether distinction from other graduates is also sought through overseas study.…”

New European Learners? An analysis of the ‘trendsetter’ thesis

“…However, from our data on the types of learning our young adults were taking up on completion of their first degree, there was scant evidence of formal educational institutions losing their appeal. Indeed, as we have argued elsewhere (Brooks and Everett, 2008), many of our respondents went on to postgraduate study, maintaining a strong belief in the importance of certified qualifications from formal institutions. While some respondents did talk in very positive terms about the non-formal learning they had undertaken since graduation -often from learning from colleagues within their place of work -considerable weight was placed on the importance of being able to document learning and thus include it on one's CV (thus reflecting the UK government's own emphasis on certificated learning (Wolf et al, 2006)).…”

Digital mismatch: Expectations and realities of digital competency amongst pre-service education students

“…Digital competence, the confident and critical use of information and communication technologies (ICT) for employment, learning, self-development and participation in society (Ala-Mutka, Punie & Redecker, 2008, p.4) is an expected attribute of a skilled workforce. This movement parallels developments in teaching and learning which have seen the embedding of ICTs via online learning, and the use of digital tools and learning platforms across higher education institutions (Brooks & Everett, 2008;Duncan-Howell, 2008;Duncan-Howell & Lee, 2007;Lofstrom & Nevgi, 2007).…”