Download Are EBD Schools promoting a Learning Society

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Are EBD Schools promoting a Learning Society: bridging the gap
between real world and classroom education
Margo Allison Shuttleworth
Open University
Doctorate project report submitted to University of Sheffield, November 2002
Table Of Contents
1. Introduction
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2. Lifelong Learning with Its Focus on Human Capital
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3. Learning Society with Its Focus on Social Capital
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4. The Building Blocks Created Through Schools
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5. But what about those children who are excluded?
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6. EBD Schools’ Role in the Learning Society
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7. The Hidden Agenda Behind the Policies
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8. Conclusion
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Bibliography and References
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1. INTRODUCTION
In this paper, I will examine the ideas of lifelong learning and the learning
society1 to determine whether they are like or dissimilar ideals. I will draw parallels
between lifelong learning and human capital, and the learning society and social
capital. What values do they advocate and how is society able to support these
values? I will then focus more closely on opportunities of children within an EBD
school. How are they given opportunities to participate in the learning society? Does
their education within school support their opportunities within the real life world
more appropriately than that afforded within a mainstream environment?
Tomorrow’s society will be a society which invests in
knowledge, a society of teaching and learning, in which
each individual will build up his or her own
qualifications (CEC, 1995, p. 5).
Lifelong learning and continued educational growth for members of society
are central themes in both lifelong learning and the learning society. Though this
educational growth must continue through a lifetime, there is still a need to begin with
the educational building blocks produced through foundation schooling during the
early years of its members. Children must be given opportunities where they learn
how to learn. They must gain a self interest in their education and the value it will
add to their lives. Education must be viewed as an investment in their future. School
plays a major role in developing and shaping children’s attitude toward and view of
learning. This is not to say that schools make children love to learn (as many children
will never admit they enjoy school), however, it does provide a venue for social
opportunities and can also give children strategies to organise their thinking. Schools
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Lifelong learning and the learning society have been cited using both capital and lower case letters.
For the purpose of this paper they will be referred to using lower case letters.
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allow children to experience a social venue which expands their educational as well as
social encounters within a wider audience.
Not all children, however, are able to cope in a mainstream school
environment. There is a population of children who are often excluded from
mainstream schooling due to Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties (EBD). These
children have been viewed as ‘idle thieving bastards’ (Bagguley and Mann, 1992)
who have little or no chance of success in later life. It is often the case that family
disruption is the root of many of these children’s problems as they are raised without
boundaries and come into contact with negative influences outside of school. These
children are often unable to work in a large group situation, as they have learned to
gain attention through disruptive and often violent behaviour. This anti-social
behaviour limits their success as they often disrupt other’s, as well as their own,
education.
Some of these children are offered a second chance through enrolment in a
special school for children with EBD. EBD schools are often seen as ‘sin bins’ of
education, however, on closer inspection, these schools may be providing children
with opportunities which allow them success in their journey through continual
lifelong learning.
Lifelong learning and the learning society are initiatives that the government
has implemented since the 1970s. They were introduced to cope with the everchanging nature of the economy. People must continually educate themselves of the
current innovations that continually change the shape of society and its economy. The
economic market is in a constant state of revolution with new and innovative ideas
changing how people approach work. These innovations make it necessary to have
open learning opportunities available to all. Through these opportunities it is hoped
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that all people will continue to have the education necessary to reduce inequality and
social exclusion which may be created through these innovations and changes.
Over the past thirty years, there has been a great deal of socio-economic
change which has lead to the government’s focus on lifelong learning and the learning
society.
The problems of disaffection, non-participation and social exclusion
of sections of the population… have resulted in a new relationship
between education and work… with an increasing moral panic
about the direction of society and particularly the plight and
behaviour of young people and a deepening of social divisions
(Hodgson, 1999, p.13).
The government has instituted policies over the years beginning with a focus on
compulsory schooling and moving towards further education and training institutions.
In this shift of focus towards further education, has the role of foundation schools
been forgotten?
Both lifelong learning and the learning society are concerned with promoting
economic success which is gained through the capital produced. There are noted
differences between types of capital which are gained by society: financial capital
having a product of wealth and/or money, human capital in which benefits are
associated purely with the individual, social capital in which communities or groups
benefit directly from the capital produced. Though each of these capitals has its
foundations in economic factors, they each focus on the benefits in a slightly different
manner. Social and human capitals, in particular, are addressed through lifelong
learning and the learning society. How are these capitals beneficial to our future
generations?
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2. Lifelong Learning with Its Focus on Human Capital
Lifelong learning is an incentive to increase education throughout the life span
of all citizens of a specific society. Many European governments, including Britain,
have produced policies to promote this learning (The Learning Age, DfEE, 1998;
Teaching and Learning, CEC, 1995). Lifelong learning offers something for everyone
promoting understanding through active experiences. It looks at individualism as
being key to advanced economic prosperity focusing primarily on an expansion of
human capital. This focuses on the development of an individual’s educational
experience and its benefit to the individual which, in turn, benefits the society at large.
It sees society as growing increasingly individualistic with people focused on their
own progression no matter the consequences they may hold to the greater society.
“Human capital is created by changes in persons that bring about skills and
capabilities that make them able to act in new ways” (Coleman, 1997, p 83). Human
capital focuses on the good of the individual. It is a self-satisfying capital with an
intention to benefit the person in question. “Human beings invest in themselves, by
means of education, training or other activities, which raises their future income by
increasing their lifetime earnings” (Woodhall, 1995, p.24). Lifelong learning and its
focus on human capital draw a direct link between individual wealth and prosperity
and education.
Children are the starting blocks for lifelong learning, as it is from their early
starts in school where lifelong learning begins as “the more education someone had,
the more likely they were to earn above the national average” (Ball, 1991). Though
lifelong learning’s focus is mainly concerning further education, foundation schools
play an important role in shaping children’s perceptions of learning. Children attend
schools and learn textbook knowledge assigned to them in order to achieve high
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standards in national academic tests. They then have the option to progress onto
university or college to receive their degrees and graduate into the outside world.
Lifelong learning focuses on understanding through active experiences. How
is it that schools provide these active experiences for children? With the increased
focus on performance indicators, schools are being driven to conform to strict
National Curriculum guidelines. Foundations schools are finding it hard to cope with
the competing drives of the government. The government while espousing the values
of lifelong learning does not always remember the pressures on schools to score well
in National Tests.
Some children with social and emotional disadvantages, who are unable to
attend mainstream schools, are given a chance through attendance at an EBD school.
Some people see EBD schools as a venue for children who are disturbing others
individual achievements, therefore ‘getting rid’ of them, however it also allows for
those children to gain some educational value no matter how limited. These children
are still expected to study the National Curriculum, however, lower levels of
achievement are expected. It is here where EBD schools have a slight advantage in
the pursuit of lifelong learning. As the pressure is not so great for high performance
in national testing, EBD schools have licence to focus more on practical skills which
may benefit these children in the ‘real world’. However, through the concept of
lifelong learning, are EBD children given a chance to be individually competitive or is
their role in society diminished?
The difficulty I encounter with lifelong learning focusing on human capital, is
that it does not account for the importance of society and how it directly influences a
person’s capital gains.
Human capital… concentrates on individuals, since it is individuals
who spend the years in school and to whom qualifications are
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awarded, and to the extent that it does this it ignores wider social
context within which much learning takes place, and the
relationships- personal and institutional- which actually constitute
the vehicles or channels through which learning takes place
(Schuller, 1996, p.6)
Human capital and its individualistic focus tend to neglect the institution of change
that is inherent within our society. It looks at how we can change our own lives,
however, it neglects the impact society has on these changes. Yes, of course we can
benefit from individual trainings and education, however these benefits will always be
seen in relation to their contribution to society. By focusing on our individual
knowledge, the human capital aspect of lifelong learning tends to ignore new and
innovative knowledge that people within our society may have which may enhance
our own learning. It neglects the importance of communication. The learning society
builds upon the human capital created through lifelong learning and changes it into
social capital. For the purposes of this paper, I will look at the learning society as the
next step to lifelong learning.
3. Learning Society with Its Focus on Social Capital
The learning society is an
Investment in skills and ideas, together with the
development of a culture of lifelong learning for all…
[this is] ‘essential’ to continue to compete, to generate
new wealth, and to equip individuals and organisations
to cope with enormous economic and social change
(Parry and Fry, 1999, p. 95)
The learning society has the society as a whole in mind as its aim. It sees individual
gain in relation to the larger society and what it produces. Whereas the human capital
I associate with lifelong learning begins with the individual and extends itself to
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benefit society, a learning society begins with society and looks at how an individual
is able to make contributions to it.
The learning society places a great emphasis on social capital. Social capital
can be seen in a variety of levels: close family bonds, tight knit communities, good
relations within the greater society. Social capital fosters a sense of responsibility for
how individuals are viewed by others, giving a need for a good reputation to be
maintained. Social capital can be seen as “the features of social life - networks,
norms and trust - that enable participants to act together more effectively to pursue
shared objectives” (Putnam, 1996, p. 66). It is important to remember that within a
community which promotes high social capital ‘everybody knows everybody’communication is paramount to success.
Through a learning society with a focus on social capital, a more collective
vision is focused upon. People are seen as a member of a community or society
which is interdependent upon its members.
The ‘collective’ strand is seen as focusing on the internal resources
of groups and communities and their engagement with society,
socially, politically and economically, on collaborative learning and
shared tasks relevant to their living and working circumstances
(Johnston, 2000, p. 3)
The social aspects associated with schooling allow children to begin to see the
importance of a learning society. Schools often encourage group work for certain
projects and through this, children are able to benefit by sharing their strengths with
others. Schools aim to give children the confidence to go forward in the world with
the knowledge that they are never alone. True, final exams and other schools tests are
testing individual knowledge, however in preparation for these exams, schools focus
on study groups and teacher’s input and advice. Communication within and across
social groups brings maximum achievement.
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At school, children are able to rely on their teachers and fellow pupils in order
to succeed. Through communication and interaction children become aware that
collaboration provides shared benefits for everyone. Sharing success with those
around you is much more rewarding than celebrating alone. Success of the
individual is important and though we must not lose sight of each child’s human
capital, it must be viewed in relation to whom it is shared with, forming a link with
society and affording social capital.
Within an EBD school, children need re-introduction to the learning society.
Their initiation into the learning society took an abrupt halt when they were excluded
from their original mainstream environment. They may begin to view the world as an
‘us against them’ scenario therefore becoming hostile and violent to those around
them. An EBD school attempts to bring children back into the social world. It
provides a sense of community and tries to give children an understanding of the
importance of education.
The goal, for better or for worse, is to help young people cope with
and adapt to society, not to give them the ambition or the tools to
change it. Empowerment is seen as an individualistic concept, with
no suggestion of disaffected young people working together as a
group in order to understand and alter the conditions which lead to
social exclusion and inequalities (Merton and Parrot, 1999, p.25)
Children in an EBD school come into the school realising that the world can be a very
lonely place. Though it is important to remember the human capital of each
individual child, it is equally important to have each child feel an important member
of a community. EBD schools provide children with an atmosphere of acceptance.
This acceptance allows children to experiment with the knowledge they gain, learning
how to relate it to their everyday experiences.
A learning society does recognise that though learning should be viewed in
relation to society; each individual has the responsibility for his or her own learning.
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It is through this responsibility that learning is able to expand an individual’s potential
within the structures of society.
The individual explores the constraints and opportunities of the
organizational context in which she works, while the organization
similarly questions the limits of the wider society in which it is
located. Learning continually extends the cycle of learning
(Ranson, 1998, p. 14).
EBD schools reinforce the boundaries and routines which a society sets for children.
Though to the children, these boundaries may at first feel constricting, teachers and
staff within an EBD school demonstrate to children the benefits which exist. Soon the
children are able to realise that boundaries and routines are there to aid in social and
economical development.
It is with this focus on social capital that I feel we can see the true benefits for
our future generation. It gives children a sense that although we are responsible for
our own individual learning, working together achieves greatness for all.
As can be seen, both lifelong learning and the learning society focus on
learning for all, however, I feel that for children attending an EBD school, a learning
society perspective including social capital provides more hope for their future.
These children have been excluded from their regular community, they want to
belong, to become part of a group again and have people whom they can rely upon.
As seen in the diagram below, lifelong learning can be viewed as having an individual
focus, reinforcing the ‘aloneness’ a previously excluded child may already feel. By
focusing more on the group, the child is able to share his or her strengths and
weaknesses whilst being able to share in a learning community.
Lifelong Learning
With a Focus on Human Capital
 Something for everyone
Learning Society
With a Focus on Social Capital
 Learning benefits society as a
whole
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
Understanding through active
experiences

Understanding through active
experiences

Expansion of human capital,
benefits to the self

Expansion of social capital,
benefits to the group

Focus on individual benefits

Collective vision

Independence in learning

Learning through communication
and interdependence

Personal change and advancement

Shared objectives enhancing
one’s skills within the group

Responsible to oneself

Responsible to others
4. The Building Blocks Created Through Schools
Children begin their formal learning in schools. Though many children have
supportive families who encourage learning, the beginning of their formal education
usually begins outside of the home within the environment of a school. This in itself
is a step towards participating in the learning society.
Children go to schools to learn. They learn about maths, literacy and science.
They learn all of the subjects prescribed by the National Curriculum. What we
sometimes tend to forget are the other issues that are encountered in school through
the learning process. As Armstrong (1998) points out “different kinds of knowledge
and the values which underpin them are transmitted by schools in ways which support
and promote differences between pupils” (Armstrong, 1998, p.56).
Children learn how to relate to one another. Attending schools give children
the opportunity to meet many different children from many different backgrounds,
they are able to become part of a diverse community through the school. They are
able to make friends and form relationships. Children come to understand
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competition and participation, rivalry and camaraderie. Though they may be part of
the same community, at times it may be an unsettled one. Effective schools show
children how to solve disputes amongst peer groups.
Schools show children the importance of values. They learn about fairness in
game situations and, more importantly, everyday encounters. Schools show children
the importance of communication with their peers. They show children how they are
able to help each other out in work and play and “instead of working on your own, if
you’ve got a problem you’ve got another person next to you to ask to help you out
with it”. (Cocklin and Davis, 1996) The activities in which children participate in at
school within a group begin to formulate how children view themselves in relation to
one another. They begin to attach a value to their actions and realise that they are
important in the greater scheme of life. They begin to understand that their actions do
not only benefit themselves but also those around them.
Most importantly, schools teach children to learn how to learn. It is often easy
for people, such as myself, to think of learning as a natural activity, something that
comes naturally to everyone. But this is not always the case. To learn, children must
realise how to explore, create, question and discover ideas and events which occur in
their lives. Schools allow children to experience new ideas and teachers enable
children to look at different ways through which this knowledge can be understood.
This gives them the essential knowledge necessary to progress in social, educational
and work circles throughout their lives.
5. But what about those children who are excluded?
As mentioned, there is a population of children who are socially and
emotionally unprepared to function in a mainstream classroom setting. Whilst in the
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mainstream classroom, they detract from other children’s opportunities to learn and
are unable to gain a useful education themselves. But why is it that they are unable to
cope?
This question provokes a wide variety of answers depending on whom you
ask. There are those who will assign blame to the children themselves. The children
will be tagged as lazy, involved in criminal activities, or planning their disruptions to
get themselves out of school. They will see these children as having no hope in the
field of education as they have already decided to opt out. Colley (2001) quotes a
woman interviewed as stating:
[The government] are saying about tackling social exclusion… it’s
too late. These people, they’ve experienced so much exclusion
throughout…. They don’t stand a chance (Colley, 2001, p. 8)
The blame is taken away from society and placed solely with the individual child.
The view expressed above is one that gives no hope to these children. It is mentioned
that ‘they don’t stand a chance’: is this the feelings of the children or society’s
feelings imposed upon them?
Others will see problems as being outside of a child’s control stemming from
poverty, family difficulties, academic failure, emotional and psychological problems
and other learning difficulties. There is a great difference in the placement of
responsibility for these problems. Deviant children (those who are lazy, criminal or
disruptive) are solely responsible for the excluded situation they find themselves in,
whereas those children who are in deficit (victims of poverty, family difficulties etc.)
are seen as a product of their environment (Colley, 2001). The deviant model places
individual responsibility on the child. The deficit model calls upon all of society in
helping these children in difficult situations. This can be associated with the learning
society having all parties involved and active in the pursuit of social capital.
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Having personal experience with children with EBD, I have a great difficulty
understanding the deviance model. These children are just that – children. Though
they are by no means ‘normal’ in relation to children within a mainstream
environment, they still deserve the chance to succeed. The problem is, if they remain
in a mainstream environment they are ostracised and labelled in a way that will
reinforce the negative situation they are in. ‘Education cannot account for society’
(Bernstein, 1970) and children who are socially disadvantaged will not gain any
valuable knowledge by being ‘thrown into a classroom’ where the social norms are
foreign to them.
It is often the parents who create their children’s problems. EBD children are
often socially inept due to parents poor modelling of ‘socially acceptable behaviour’.
Of the children with whom I have come into contact with, it is rarely I find parents
who are able to provide these children with a stable and nurturing environment.
Parents are often drug dependant, reliant on state support, involved in abusive
relationships or quite often a combination of all of these. They have no role models to
turn to and it becomes the responsibility of society to provide opportunities for these
children to move forward in their lives.
However, by being excluded from mainstream schooling, children with EBD
are missing out on many valuable educational and social opportunities which will
allow them to flourish within a learning society. They are not given the opportunities
to create productive friendships or learn how to effectively deal with competition or
disagreement. In these situations, they have their parents to look to and often there is
no positive feedback.
“[L]earning how to learn, and doing so with confidence and independence, has
been identified as the single most important competence that citizens of a learning
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society need to acquire” (Chrisholm, 1996, p.5). When children are permanently
excluded from mainstream schools they, until recent government legislation, would
not be guaranteed an education. This education is important in providing children
with knowledge, but also the skills to obtain and organise this information to benefit
their future.
As mentioned, schools help children to learn how to learn:
To learn, then, is to develop understandings which lead into, and
grow out of, action: to discover a sense of agency that enables us,
not only to define and make ourselves, but to do so by actively
participating in the creation of a world in which, inescapably we
live together (Ranson, 1998, p.20)
Learning to learn allows children to make decisions about their future. Schools give
them the knowledge to make choices about what they want to be, where they want to
go, and how they want to do things. It defines people as individuals and their role
within society. Those children excluded miss out on these decisions and in the case of
children with EBD, they often have nowhere else to turn.
If a child is brought up in a disruptive family environment it is difficult for
them to gain any positive definition of whom they are and what their role in life
should be. Children without the social and educational encounters provided through
school are denied a chance to play a more pivotal role in the creation of their society.
For some of these children, there is hope provided through an EBD school.
6. EBD Schools’ Role in the Learning Society
EBD schools play an important role in the learning society. Children who
attend these schools have often become social outcasts to society. As the learning
society has a pledge towards an inclusive society, EBD schools works towards
keeping children included in the education system and provide these children with
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support in building relations within the greater society. In doing so, EBD schools
provide children with social and educational opportunities which they have previously
been excluded from.
When speaking of EBD schools, my view may be a biased one. I have worked
as a senior teacher in a day school for children with EBD, ranging in ages from eight
to sixteen. It had been deemed as centre of excellence through government
inspections. How I profile an EBD school is based on my experience and may not be
the norm for all EBD schools across the country, however, it does provide an
excellent case study for both the strengths and weakness of the roles associated with
EBD schools within a leaning society.
Children who attend EBD schools have experienced forms of social exclusion.
They have been expelled from their mainstream environment and some of these
exclusions have involved long periods of time. As Corbett notes “unless they are
highly resilient, they are likely to absorb these negative images of themselves and take
on the roles of passive victim or social outsider (Corbett, 1999, p. 181). EBD schools
take on the important role of giving their pupils a sense of social inclusion, which is
one of the central tenets of the learning society.
An EBD school provides children with a safe environment where they are able
to work alongside their peers, giving each child a sense of importance within its
society. It gives pupils a sense of security, allowing them to regain their confidence
in their academic and social ability. A small class size allows trusting bonds to be
formed between the pupils and their tutor. They are expected to work together to
achieve weekly goals on both individual and group levels.
Some people find it difficult to understand that pupils within an EBD school
need to feel secure and safe, after all it was their ‘unsafe’ behaviour which got them
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there in the first place. As mentioned, many people see these schools as ‘sin bins’
where ‘deviant children’ are banished. Though this is a crude and primitive
interpretation, there is some truth to it which cannot be ignored. Children within EBD
schools are there, in part, due to their inability to conform to societal norms. They
often do not understand what acceptable behaviour is. Their violent or unacceptable
reactions to social and educational situations have been negatively reinforced through
the attention gained and poor role models they have been exposed to. Though it is
negative attention, for some children it is the only attention they are able to achieve,
which is better than being ignored. An EBD school individually targets its pupil’s
behaviour with a focus on improvement. Children are guided to behave in a socially
acceptable way. Teachers often address problems as a consequence of the children’s
lack of exposure to socially acceptable behaviour, rather than purposively deviant.
The children are made responsible for their behaviour to themselves and others in
their peer group. Individual and group rewards and sanctions are used to reinforce
socially acceptable behaviour and discourage deviant behaviour.
Reshaping children’s behaviour can sometimes be difficult due to the
influence these children are exposed to within their homes. Children’s inability to
cope with mainstream schooling often stems from difficult home lives, with parents
who exhibit similar unacceptable behaviour. EBD schools are faced with the role of
not only teaching children skills for both in and outside of the classroom, but also the
battle of external forces which combat against the school in its quest to teach children.
EBD schools need to give their pupils the opportunity to succeed, and in order to
succeed children must learn to act in a successful way. An EBD school provides
images of success for its children; praise for achievement, a welcoming and safe
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environment, a committed and caring support network of teachers and support staff
and acceptance regardless of ability.
Children within an EBD school have already been denied the right to a
mainstream education. In some cases, children’s emotional and behaviour problems
are compounded by learning difficulties they encounter within a mainstream
classroom, while others learning capacity may be above and beyond that of his or her
peers. In either scenario, an EBD school must make learning relevant to each
individual child. The knowledge they gain should make a personal impact upon their
lives, therefore showing the children the importance of learning. As Johnston points
out:
an approach to social inclusion which involves collective and proactive learning with an explicit focus on the development of ‘really
useful knowledge’…[is] geared specifically towards influencing
and changing our everyday lives (Johnston, 2000, p. 5).
Social inclusion, in the long term, equates to inclusion within the labour
market. Children within an EBD school often have limited options of work force
participation. Teachers within the school must employ a multidisciplinary approach,
working together with outside agencies to re-expand children’s options and choices.
It is important for teachers to promote links within the greater society. Children are
encouraged to take an interest in organising work experience for themselves. They
are guided through the process of looking and applying for a job. Though this process
occurs within a mainstream environment, an EBD school begins from a deficit
position. Many of these children have been exposed to a negative image of work
participation. All schools, in particular EBD schools, must work to discourage “a
scenario where the learner/worker might easily become the object of training he does
not want, from which he hardly benefits” (Johnston, 2000), as this would be an image
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of failure rather than success. Children need to feel that they are valued and able to
work to contribute to society in a way that benefits themselves as well as society.
They should be given a sense of ownership about their work.
Society has realised that in order for a learning society to flourish, the
foundations must be laid through broad and well-balanced educational opportunities
for all young people. Educationally, children with EBD need to understand the
importance of learning. EBD schools allow “pupils to have control over their own
learning process, and ownership of the knowledge produced, which is relevant to their
concerns” (Cocklin and Davis, 1996). Before entering the world of ‘really useful
knowledge’, children must be taught how to use the knowledge they are imparted
with. Key skills lessons play an integral part of the daily timetable. The acquisition
of these key skills is reinforced through programmes of accreditation such as
ASDAN, Trident and VTS.
ASDAN (Award Scheme Development and Accreditation Network) was
developed by practitioners involved in education and training and “offers a flexible,
activity based programme of learning for all those within the 14 to 25+ age range”
(ASDAN, 2001, p. 3). It allows children to prepare themselves for the move into
adult life with an “emphasis on co-operation and collaboration, rewarding
achievement and assisting progression of learning” with “the primary purpose of
enabling students to have an increased sense of ownership and control over their own
learning” (p.3). This programme is used in mainstream schools as well, and its
institution within an EBD environment helps to give children an equal chance in the
work environment
Trident (2000) is a work experience programme used within many mainstream
school environments. It gives students a step by step guide to prepare themselves for
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work through target setting, planning and assessing their work experience. This
programmes aims to give students ownership over their development in career
orientated situations, making them more confident in the processes involved in job
application and initiation.
VTS (Vocational Training Services) is an outside agency which students
within an EBD school in Southern Essex are encouraged to communicate with. It
trains individuals in areas of Adult Care, Early Years and Playwork with training
programmes designed to meet specific situations and requirements. They provide
training and job opportunities for its students.
This is an opportunity for young people still at school to choose a
vocational course and … opens up further pathways for future
learning opportunities and assists the transition between
compulsory schooling and employment, making it smoother
(Vocational Training Services, 2002, p.10).
These programmes help to provide students with the active experiences and
‘really useful knowledge’ necessary for them to succeed in later life. There are able
to feel valued as a contributing member of society. They are able to gain the
confidence to go forward with the knowledge that they can make a difference and
there is a place for them within society. It contributes to the aim of keeping children
included socially and educationally. Chisholm (1996) notes the importance of having
actively centred learning:
To promote social inclusion effectively in the learning society of
the future, we need to be much more courageous altogether in
redefining the concept and practice of schooling as a field of action
and organisation (Chisholm, 1996, p. 2).
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These work related programmes take that step in redefining the concept of schooling.
They move away from the textbook knowledge to the active experiences which truly
add value to its pupils lives.
7. The Hidden Agenda Behind The Policies
Both lifelong learning and the learning society appear to be for the benefit of
society at large and its members, but there is a greater political and economic
rationale which justifies both programmes. The government gains through a reduced
dependency on social services, but also gains an amount of social control by only
giving out the information they want people to learn. Cynics are able to accredit
lifelong learning and the learning society with a great deal of negative press. They
see the learning society and lifelong learning as forms of social control for the
government to move people into areas of work necessary for a prosperous economy.
“Lifelong learning is underpinned by a clear economic rationale,
put[ting] an emphasis on human capital and employability
appearing to flourish within an increasingly marketised and
consumer-oriented world” (Johnston, 2000, p. 1)
Though these are benefits for the government, are they not also benefits for individual
societies and the people who make up these societies?
Lifelong learning does, of course, benefit the individual through enhancing
their earning potential through education and training. When looking at the full
impact of lifelong learning, however, this individual benefit translates into mass relief
on financial support given through the social service. Through focusing on benefiting
the individual, the focus is taken away from any economic benefits lifelong learning
may afford the country. It is automatic to assume that the person who makes the
investment in increasing their qualifications gains the capital. With this self-centred
viewpoint it is easy to forget that lifelong learning is an investment by the state to
22
relieve the burden of support for its uneducated members. It is in the best interests of
the government to promote and support lifelong learning.
Lifelong learning and the learning society do have benefits for individuals and
for the government. So where do schools fit into the whole scenario and more
specifically, where do special schools for children with EBD come in? Is their focus
taking the positive slant of including children in the work force, or does it focus more
negatively on a last hope to keep children off social income support and keeping these
troublesome children off the street? EBD schools can be viewed as the ‘sin bins’ of
education, or the emancipation of children with nowhere else to turn. I prefer to side
with the latter stance. Though, when children enter into an EBD school they exhibit
socially unacceptable behaviour and prescribe to way of life which may not be in their
own or societies best interest. In most cases, however, they are able to leave the
school with a more positive outlook on life. They understand the importance of
making a contribution to society rather than taking from it. I think it is important that
this positive outlook must be the focus of an EBD school’s role within the learning
society. It looks at social inclusion of each and every child as an important member
of society.
8. CONCLUSION
Lifelong learning and the learning society have an increasingly important role
in the education of children. EBD schools, in particular, need to recognise the
important role they play in promoting a learning society. Though human capital and
the importance of each individual child must not be forgotten, social capital must play
a central role in shaping children’s images of themselves and their role within society.
The learning society reinforces this ideal through its collective focus on social capital.
23
The role of an EBD school is important in including children both
educationally and socially. They allow children to learn how to learn, giving them
valuable information which is essential to their success in later life. This is done not
only through exposure to the National Curriculum but through practical programmes
which emphasise the importance of ‘really useful knowledge’.
Though lifelong learning and the learning society are programmes which the
government institutes in order to gain financially through lessening dependence on the
state, the benefits for individuals must not be forgotten. A learning society is a place
where people are able to depend on one another, feeling included in their contribution
towards a better society. EBD schools must be seen in this positive focus of the
learning society. They allow children to remain included within a society which they
were formerly excluded from. They give children a chance to feel valuable in the role
they define for themselves within the learning society.
24
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