The Learning Society and People with Learning Difficulties

There is a growing concern about the social exclusion of a range of minority groups, including people with learning difficulties. Lifelong learning is seen as one of the central means of challenging the exclusion of this group, but also of enhancing their economic status. This book demonstrates that policy based on human capital premises has produced forms of lifelong learning which exacerbate the marginalisation of people with learning difficulties.

The Learning Society and people with learning difficulties:

reviews the range of policy fields which increasingly intervene in the lifelong learning arena;

maps the agencies involved in service delivery and describes their (sometimes conflicting) ethos;

provides in-depth accounts of the lived experiences of individuals with learning difficulties as they navigate lifelong learning options.

Its exploration of the links between community care, education, training, employment, housing and benefits policies in the context of lifelong learning is unique.

This book makes a significant contribution to debates about how people with learning difficulties may achieve social inclusion, and the part which lifelong learning may play in this. It is therefore invaluable reading for policy makers, practitioners and academics interested in these issues.

Sheila Riddell is Professor of Social Policy (Disability Studies) and Director of the Strathclyde Centre for Disability Research at the University of Glasgow, Scotland. Stephen Baron is Senior Lecturer in the Faculty of Education, University of Glasgow. Alastair Wilson is Research Fellow in the Strathclyde Centre for Disability Research, University of Glasgow.