Attracting New Learners: a Literature Review
This report provides a review of the literature on initiatives to stimulate demand for post-16 learning. Examples of policy and practice initiatives from the UK, America, Europe and Australia are categorised into three broad types:
- stimulating mass demand, through widespread publicity, provision of advice and guidance or funding and making the provision of learning more flexible
- stimulating demand for learning among targeted groups of individuals and communities
- stimulating demand among employees and for work-related learning.
Critical success factors include high profile use of the media for raising awareness, the highly targeted nature of many community-based programmes, and employing a partnership approach. In addition, initiatives aimed at preventing young people from dropping out of education appear to be important in sustaining interest in later life.