Scottish Government

The elusive nature of the learning society: a profile of adult participation in education and training in Scotland

4 Duration of learning: how long is a piece of string?

Recent learners were asked about the length of time their course of learning was expected to last. Table 4.1 shows their responses, compared to the responses for the whole United Kingdom.

Table 4.1: Length of time altogether that learning is expected to take/has taken

Over half were undertaking learning which lasted for more than one year, although students in Scotland were slightly less likely (54%) to be undertaking learning of this duration than the UK total (58%). This contrasts with the Munn and MacDonald study (1988) which found only 23% of 'returners' had taken a course lasting more than one year. Learning of less than one month was not particularly common with only 13% of Scottish learners and 9% of UK learners undertaking such learning.

Table 4.2: Expected duration of recent studies, by gender

Table 4.3: Expected duration of recent studies, by age

Men expected to study for shorter periods of time than women: 43% of men, but only 30% of women, were expecting to study for up to six months. Half of the women, but only 31% of the men, were expecting to study for over two years. There is no clear pattern relating to the age-groups: although only one in five of the youngest age group expected to study for less than six months, all age groups, including those over 65, were represented amongst those expecting to study over two years.

Table 4.4: Expected duration of recent learning, by employment status

What is interesting here is the relatively high percentage, in all groups apart from the unemployed, who were committed to studying for over two years, including 36% of those not working, 48% of those who had retired, and 78% of full-time students.

Table 4.5: Expected duration of recent learning, by socio-economic group

Respondents defined in socio-economic group AB were more likely to be engaged on longer programmes of study, with 59% expecting to study over two years; but approximately one in three of the learners in the other groups was also expecting to study over two years. It would be interesting in future research to extract those learners who have progressed from initial education directly to full-time study in order to look more closely into the inter-relationship for those from different social classes of issues access, duration of study and progression.

In her recent analysis of progression routes for new groups of adult learners McGivney (2003) highlights the strong view of many experienced practitioners, supported by some research evidence, that participation should be valued regardless of direct progression outcomes as, over time people will effectively continue to engage in learning 'by default'- in other words, the best way of ensuring that people will wish to continue in learning is to help them to get over the first hurdle of participating in what is to them an enjoyable and satisfactory learning experience.

Concentration on participation alone, however, can lead to an imbalance, with the provision for adult learners weighted at the basic or introductory learning levels. While research consistently shows that short programmes of any kind can lead to a continuation of learning, there is also evidence that courses to attract new learners are often offered only at basic levels with no follow-up opportunities at a more advanced level. Although support for short introductory programmes is vital, the downside is that the individuals who get involved in such learning may not be offered any options to go further. (McGivney, 2003: 50-51)

Learners were also asked how many hours per week they spent on their learning. Table 4.6 compares the time commitments of Scottish learners with those throughout the UK.

Table 4.6: Hours a week spent on new learning

As table 4.6 shows, learners in Scotland appeared slightly more likely to be engaged in learning for 21 or more hours a week than their counterparts throughout the UK, and 13% were spending 31 hours or more on their learning activity. The mean number of hours spent on learning was 14.23 in Scotland, although the majority (54%) spent less than 10 hours a week on learning their main subject. Tables 4.7 and 4.8 look in more detail at duration of learning in Scotland, by gender and age.

Table 4.7: Hours a week spent on new learning, by gender

Table 4.8: Hours a week spent on new learning, by age group

Fifty per cent of men and 57% of women were spending less than 10 hours each week on their learning. One in five of the men, but only one in twenty of the women, said they were committing over 30 hours a week to learning.

Those learning for nine hours or less included 22% of the 17-24 year olds; 56% of those aged 25-44; 69% of those aged 45-64 and 81% of those aged 65 and over. Unsurprisingly, younger age groups were more likely to be committing over 30 hours a week to learning: 24% of those aged 17-24; 15% of those aged 25-44; only 5% of those aged 45-64 and none of those aged 65 and over.

Analysis by employment status, table 4.9, confirms that none of those committing over 20 hours a week to learning was retired, and that full-time students comprised only 16% of the 56 people who said they were studying over 20 hours a week. A further 14% of this group described themselves as unemployed or not working, but the great majority (70%) of those learning more than 20 hours a week were also in employment, 54% in full-time employment and 16% working part-time.

Table 4.9: Hours a week spent on recent learning, by employment status

Table 4.10:Hours a week spent on recent learning, by socio-economic status

Table 4.10 suggests that respondents in category AB were least likely to be committing 21 or more hours a week to learning than the other groups, but the small numbers involved prevent any firm conclusions about this.