Adult education, social transformation and the pursuit of social justice

At first sight, adult education lacks capacity to contribute significantly to social transformation for social justice. Except perhaps in the Nordic countries, adult education sits, overwhelmingly, at the margins of public educational systems with limited budgets, modest levels of professional staffing, and, at best, variable facilities. The 2015 Education For All Global Monitoring Report (GMR) reports that ‘adult education in high income countries appears to have mostly served those who completed secondary education rather than adults who lack basic skills’ (UNESCO, 2015, p. 109; OECD, 2013). It states that, after 25 years of global targets giving priority to reducing illiteracy, 781 million adults still lack literacy, and, of them, 64% are women, a percentage that has remained unchanged since 1990; and that ethnic and linguistic minorities, disabled adults, rural and indigenous communities benefit little from programmes. It also finds that such literacy gain as there has been in most countries can be explained by cohort change – better-schooled young people displacing less-skilled older adults in the population (UNESCO, 2015). To borrow a memorable phrase of Helena Kennedy, it seems that ‘If at first you don’t succeed, you don’t succeed’ (FEFC, 1997)

Assessment of the quality and content of website health information about herbal remedies for menopausal symptoms

Objective: To assess quality, readability and coverage of website information about herbal remedies for menopausal symptoms. Study design: A purposive sample of commercial and non-commercial websites was assessed for quality (DISCERN), readability (SMOG) and information coverage. Main outcome measures: Non-parametric and parametric tests were used to explain variability of these factors across types of websites and to assess associations between website quality and information coverage. Results: 39 sites were assessed. Median quality and information coverage scores were 44/80 and 11/30 respectively. The median readability score was 18.7, similar to UK broadsheets. Commercial websites scored significantly lower on quality (p=0.014), but there were no statistical differences for information coverage or readability. There was a significant positive correlation between information quality and coverage scores irrespective of website provider (r=0.69, p<0.001, n=39). Conclusion: Overall website quality and information coverage is poor and the required reading level high

Self-management toolkit and delivery strategy for end-of-life pain: the mixed-methods feasibility study

Background: Pain affects most people approaching the end of life and can be severe for some. Opioid analgesia is effective, but evidence is needed about how best to support patients in managing these medicines. Objectives: To develop a self-management support toolkit (SMST) and delivery strategy and to test the feasibility of evaluating this intervention in a future definitive trial. Design: Phase I – evidence synthesis and qualitative interviews with patients and carers. Phase II – qualitative semistructured focus groups and interviews with patients, carers and specialist palliative care health professionals. Phase III – multicentre mixed-methods single-arm pre–post observational feasibility study. Participants: Phase I – six patients and carers. Phase II – 15 patients, four carers and 19 professionals. Phase III – 19 patients recruited to intervention that experienced pain, living at home and were treated with strong opioid analgesia. Process evaluation interviews with 13 patients, seven carers and 11 study nurses. Intervention: Self-Management of Analgesia and Related Treatments at the end of life (SMART) intervention comprising a SMST and a four-step educational delivery approach by clinical nurse specialists in palliative care over 6 weeks. Main outcome measures: Recruitment rate, treatment fidelity, treatment acceptability, patient-reported outcomes (such as scores on the Brief Pain Inventory, Self-Efficacy for Managing Chronic Disease Scale, Edmonton Symptom Assessment Scale, EuroQol-5 Dimensions, Satisfaction with Information about Medicines Scale, and feasibility of collecting data on health-care resource use for economic evaluation). Results: Phase I – key themes on supported self-management were identified from evidence synthesis and qualitative interviews. Phase II – the SMST was developed and refined. The delivery approach was nested within a nurse–patient consultation. Phase III – intervention was delivered to 17 (89%) patients, follow-up data at 6 weeks were available on 15 patients. Overall, the intervention was viewed as acceptable and valued. Descriptive analysis of patient-reported outcomes suggested that interference from pain and self-efficacy were likely to be candidates for primary outcomes in a future trial. No adverse events related to the intervention were reported. The health economic analysis suggested that SMART could be cost-effective. We identified key limitations and considerations for a future trial: improve recruitment through widening eligibility criteria, refine the SMST resources content, enhance fidelity of intervention delivery, secure research nurse support at recruiting sites, refine trial procedures (including withdrawal process and data collection frequency), and consider a cluster randomised design with nurse as cluster unit. Limitations: (1) The recruitment rate was lower than anticipated. (2) The content of the intervention was focused on strong opioids only. (3) The fidelity of intervention delivery was limited by the need for ongoing training and support. (4) Recruitment sites where clinical research nurse support was not secured had lower recruitment rates. (5) The process for recording withdrawal was not sufficiently detailed. (6) The number of follow-up visits was considered burdensome for some participants. (7) The feasibility trial did not have a control arm or assess randomisation processes. Conclusions: A future randomised controlled trial is feasible and acceptable

Catching the tide Areas of consensus and debate in the recognition and recording of achievement in non-certificated learning : a policy discussion paper

Includes bibliographical referencesSIGLEAvailable from British Library Document Supply Centre- DSC:m03/24410 / BLDSC - British Library Document Supply CentreGBUnited Kingdo

Light and shade A NIACE briefing on participation in adult learning by minority ethnic adults

SIGLEAvailable from British Library Document Supply Centre- DSC:m03/24402 / BLDSC - British Library Document Supply CentreGBUnited Kingdo

A sharp reverse The NIACE survey on adult participation in learning 2003

SIGLEAvailable from British Library Document Supply Centre- DSC:m03/24380 / BLDSC - British Library Document Supply CentreGBUnited Kingdo

Training for change A training pack to support adults with learning disabilities to become trainers

SIGLEAvailable from British Library Document Supply Centre-DSC:3661.958F(ED-429-206)(microfiche) / BLDSC - British Library Document Supply CentreGBUnited Kingdo

Learning to live in a multi-cultural society Home-school liaison

Final report of a series of workshops sponsored by the European Commission in 1994Available from British Library Document Supply Centre-DSC:98/07388 / BLDSC - British Library Document Supply CentreSIGLEGBUnited Kingdo