Community Focus  Learning for the love of it

In spite of the governments continuing emphasis on accreditation in adult learning, the desire to learn for learnings sake is greater than ever. Daniel Carpenter argues that, in view of current funding priorities, the voluntary arts are in an excellent position to step in and meet this need.
Most people who do art, do it for the love of it. And most people first learn the skills that enable them to take part in this enriching activity at an evening class or a weekend workshop. Classes like these have always been popular because they are unthreatening, open to all ages and abilities and often just around the corner from home.

Sadly, however, this informal, non-accredited learning is increasingly at risk; unlike accredited courses, non-accredited arts classes do not always provide the tangible benefits that are so attractive to policy-makers and potential funders. Although the benefits of such classes  increased self-esteem, new friends and new skills  are obvious to all those involved, they do not appear to have the immediate economic impact most politicians are seeking. Consequently, organisations offering traditional adult leisure classes are being forced to provide evidence of skills-related outcomes and contributions to social inclusion, community cohesion and public health. Those that fail to do so, for whatever
reason, face the loss of their funding.

Adult learners who wish to study merely for the love of learning are finding that the classes they would have enrolled on in previous years, at further education colleges and local authority arts centres, are either no longer available or are too expensive  because organisations that have been reliant on central government funding have been the first to experience the debilitating effects of funding cuts for non-accredited learning.

However, herein lies an opportunity for the voluntary arts to shine. While provision for non-accredited learning is decreasing, demand for such learning is increasing: this years Green Shoots survey, commissioned by the National Institute of Adult Continuing Education, shows a major increase in the proportion of people who intend to take up learning in the next three years.

The benefits of voluntary arts participation are many and varied. Attending an arts workshop or class, or participating in arts activity  putting on a play, singing in a choir, staging an exhibition  can help people sustain independence and enjoy social interaction on a regular basis. Activities like these raise confidence and enable people to cultivate skills that are used every day  at work, in the home, everywhere. Additionally, they suit our multicultural and ageing population  many people prefer to learn where there is no bureaucracy and formal qualifications.

These participatory opportunities give those who might be wary of education (due to lack of opportunities or bad experiences in earlier life) a safe place to learn, without the pressure of exams and marking systems. They provide learners with the chance to experience achievement, perhaps for the first time in their lives. Furthermore, unlike non-accredited classes or participatory events, where payment is usually made on a daily or weekly attendance basis, many accredited courses are sold in pre-paid units, which represent the minimum tuition needed in order to gain the qualification. This constitutes a significant financial commitment on the part of the learner, who may not enjoy financial security and who may have other demands in their life that could interrupt their studies. Additionally, those in rural areas may already have to pay travel costs to and from a distant course venue.

Culture Minister, David Lammy, recently set out a democratic vision for culture and cultural policy makers and funders have begun to respond, among them Arts Council England, which has demonstrated a strong leaning towards the participatory arts in its recently published set of priorities. Voluntary arts organisations are much more likely to benefit from this vision than further education colleges and local authorities whose funding tends to come from the Department for Education and Skills, which remains heavily invested in the need for strict educational benchmarking. In an education system driven by accreditation, surely too much time and money is spent on demonstrating acquired skills and collecting evidence  resources that would be better spent on fostering the humanising aspects of participatory arts and widening our opportunities to learn? The arts sector is well placed to deliver these opportunities to those who wish to learn for the love of it.

Daniel Carpenter is Information and Research Officer for Voluntary Arts Network.
t: 029 2039 5395;

w: http://www.voluntaryarts.org