Report by the RECOVEU Consortium (December 2016). RECOVEU: A participative approach to curriculum development for adults in addiction recovery across the European Union. Report for Deliverable 7.2: Qualitative Feedback Review (Final). EU Lifelong Learning Project. Project No. 538955-LLP-1-2013-UK-GRUNDTVIG-GMP.

The RECOVEU project is aimed at developing a coherent EU approach to adult learning in addiction recovery. Social reintegration is a key factor in addiction recovery. Alongside housing and employment, adult education is a critical measure in supporting social reintegration. However, while there are many programmes focusing on the target group across Europe, many national social inclusion plans do not specifically address the educational needs of drug users (EMCDDA , 2012). The RECOVEU project was aimed at producing a set of ‘Access to Learning’ resources for people in recovery from addiction, together with a Draft Facilitation Pack to be used to support piloting of the materials: This Review presents qualitative feedback from service users on the Pilot Phase process. It forms a part of a series of three reviews (the two others being Del. 7.1: Pilot Delivery Review and Del 7.3: Evaluation Toolkit Feedback Review) which together give an overview of the effectiveness and impact of the pilot. The findings from these reviews will be used to revise the course materials, Evaluation Tools and Facilitation Pack

Report by the RECOVEU Consortium (December 2016). RECOVEU: A participative approach to curriculum development for adults in addiction recovery across the European Union. Report for Deliverable 7.1: Pilot Delivery Review (Final). EU Lifelong Learning Project. Project No. 538955-LLP-1-2013-UK-GRUNDTVIG-GMP.

The RECOVEU project is aimed at developing a coherent EU approach to adult learning in addiction recovery. Social reintegration is a key factor in addiction recovery. Alongside housing and employment, adult education is a critical measure in supporting social reintegration. However, while there are many programmes focusing on the target group across Europe, many national social inclusion plans do not specifically address the educational needs of drug users (EMCDDA, 2012). The RECOVEU project is aimed at producing a set of ‘Access to Learning’ resources for people in recovery from addiction, together with a Draft Facilitation Pack to be used to support piloting of the materials. This Review presents qualitative feedback from trainers on the Pilot Phase process. It forms a part of a series of three reviews (the two others being Del. 7.2: Qualitative Feedback Review and Del 7.3: Evaluation Toolkit Feedback Review) which together give an overview of the effectiveness and impact of the pilot. The findings from these reviews will be used to revise the course materials, Evaluation Tools and Facilitation Pack

Report by the RECOVEU Consortium. RECOVEU: A participative approach to curriculum development for adults in addiction recovery across the European Union. Report for Deliverable 4.4: Focus Group Overview. EU Lifelong Learning Project. Project No. 538955-LLP-1-2013-UK-GRUNDTVIG-GMP.

Work Package 4 – Focus Group Phase has supported an understanding of the part played by adult education in an individual’s recovery process and provides a way in which people in recovery could be supported to engage in adult education opportunities. The aim of this specific WP was to obtain feedback from service users and providers on what they require from an Access to Learning course and identify key aspects for developing such a course. The Objectives were: 1. To develop the Focus Group Plan to provide guidelines for organising and delivering the research by each partner involving service users and service providers/trainers (i.e. practitioners working in the field of drug recovery/education who are directly involved with delivering learning related activities to the target group). 2. Each partner to hold a series of focus groups for services users and service providers/trainers to identify barriers and enablers to participation in learning. 3. Collect and summarise the focus group data to produce a Focus Group Overview. The main criterion for inclusion of service users was to target adults in recovery who are capable of moving towards Higher Education. Some of the partners had direct access to potential adult learners in the target group, and their own workers/trainers both participated in the focus groups and set the parameters for which service users to target

Report by the RECOVEU Consortium (December 2016). RECOVEU: A participative approach to curriculum development for adults in addiction recovery across the European Union. Report for Deliverable 7.3: Evaluation Toolkit Feedback Review (Final). EU Lifelong Learning Project. Project No. 538955-LLP-1-2013-UK-GRUNDTVIG-GMP.

RECOVEU is aimed at producing a set of 'Access to Learning' materials for people in addiction recovery. A key factor in the project is the development of an Evaluation Toolkit, designed to support educators to assess the effectiveness of the ‘Access to Learning’ course materials and their impact. The Evaluation Tools were designed in a way to aid on-going evaluation of learning activities and are presented in the form of questionnaires to be completed by service users. The Evaluation Toolkit includes two different types of tools: 1. Four Psychological Evaluation Tools used to assess whether there are meaningful outcomes for participants: for example, an increase in self-efficacy for education and/or the contribution of learning activities to sustained participation in learning. a) Learning Self-Efficacy Questionnaire. b) Employability Self-Efficacy Questionnaire. c) Self-Esteem Questionnaire (Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale; Rosenberg, 1965). d) Recovery Capital Questionnaire (Assessment of Recovery Capital: ARC; Groshkova, Best and White, 2013). 2. A Module Feedback Form designed to provide a generic assessment of the usefulness of the modules. These evaluation and feedback tools were completed by service users undertaking a pilot of the course materials. This review provides an analysis of the data provided by these participants. Also provided is an overview of service users’ qualitative feedback on use of the Evaluation Tools. The review forms part of a series of three reviews (the two others being Del. 7.1: Pilot Delivery Review and Del 7.2: Qualitative Feedback Review) which together give an overview of the effectiveness and impact of the pilot. The findings from these reviews were used to revise the course materials, Evaluation Tools and Facilitation Pack

Report by the RECOVEU Consortium. RECOVEU: A participative approach to curriculum development for adults in addiction recovery across the European Union. Report for Deliverable 3.4: Final Policy and Practice Review. EU Lifelong Learning Project. Project No. 538955-LLP-1-2013-UK-GRUNDTVIG-GMP.

The RECOVEU project brings together partners from the United Kingdom, Cyprus, Romania, Italy and Ireland with the aim of developing access to learning resources for people in recovery from addiction . This policy and practice review seeks to support project partners to develop a more nuanced understanding of the impact of drug policy and EU strategy in each of the partner countries, with a particular emphasis on how this influences practice in drug treatment. The aim was not to replicate the existing evidence base but use it as a foundation to develop a thematic approach to the overall project. With this in mind, RECOVEU partners have completed individual reviews of current drug policy and reflected on practice in their own country. In order to reflect on similar issues a structured questionnaire was developed which drew on the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) Structured Questionnaire 28 on Social Reintegration and Reduction of Social Exclusion of Drug Users (EMCDDA, 2012). The review draws, therefore, on both existing data (for example, National Focal Point data ) and the experiential knowledge of the partners working in the field of addiction. This process has facilitated the development of a thematic framework to inform future work and, most importantly, gain a shared understanding of some of the contextual and structural issues affecting each partner. As we complete this review (October 2014) the EU Commission on Narcotic Drugs (EUCND) met in Vienna to discuss their input into the United Nations General Assembly special session. The consensus was to support an increased focus on the international drug control framework . In the RECOVEU project the partner countries do not have forced labour in place of drug treatment or the death penalty but this is not the case around the world. As such, we are fortunate to be developing resources with people in recovery that aid their access to adult education and an opportunity to make positive changes in their lives

Understanding the information needs of users of public information about higher education

Report to HEFCE by Oakleigh Consulting and Staffordshire University. "This study's aims were to carry out research into understanding the needs of intended users (primarily prospective students but with some focus on their advisors and employers) of public information on higher education (HE). The work focussed on England, but also took into account Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland where relevant." - Page 1

Intra-class differences in the post-16 educational trajectories of young people from lower socioeconomic groups

This paper draws on research with young people from similar working class backgrounds in a deprived urban area in England. Although all the participants achieved a high enough attainment level to remain in full-time education beyond compulsory schooling, they each elected to follow different post-16 pathways. Drawing on in-depth interviews with nine young people, the paper focuses on the social and educational lives of these young adults as they reflect on their schooling and the decisions they made regarding their post-16 pathway. The analysis and discussion draws on the concepts of approaches to learning and self-efficacy to support a more nuanced understanding of intra-class differences in the educational experiences of these young people that may have influenced the pathway they followed when they left compulsory schooling. The findings of this research suggest a potential relationship between these concepts, the nature of which may influence educational outcomes and notions around possible futures post-16

Knowing Where to Study? Fees, Bursaries and Fair Access

This study investigates the impact of financial considerations on sixteen to twenty year-old students’ decisions about participation in higher education. It focuses on intentions to live at home whilst studying at university and the extent to which bursaries influence institutional choice. The results are based on questionnaire and interview data drawn from a large sample of school and college students from two large urban areas in the Midlands

Higher Education Institutions and Work-Based Learning in the UK: Employer Engagement within a Tripartite Relationship

Higher education institutions (HEIs) in the UK are increasingly engaging in work-based learning. The tripartite relationship between the HEI, the employer and the employee is viewed to be of great significance in work-based learning, not only in the initial stages of procurement of a contract, but also in designing and delivering the programme to meet the employer and employee needs, and those of the HEI, to make the programmes successful. This paper is based on one theme related to a larger EU-funded project on work-based learning leading to qualifications. Based on in-depth interviews at a post-1992 university in the UK with a range of staff including executive, senior management, managerial, teaching and administrative staff, we focus on this theme, to analyse employer engagement from the perspective of the HEI. We recommend strategies to enhance the tripartite relationship for the benefit of those involved and to improve policy and practice in the field. These include a strategic approach to work-based learning and regarding it as an integral part of higher education activity rather than a supplementary pursuit

DJ-1 interacts with and regulates paraoxonase-2, an enzyme critical for neuronal survival in response to oxidative stress.

Loss-of-function mutations in DJ-1 (PARK7) gene account for about 1% of all familial Parkinson's disease (PD). While its physiological function(s) are not completely clear, DJ-1 protects neurons against oxidative stress in both in vitro and in vivo models of PD. The molecular mechanism(s) through which DJ-1 alleviates oxidative stress-mediated damage remains elusive. In this study, we identified Paraoxonase-2 (PON2) as an interacting target of DJ-1. PON2 activity is elevated in response to oxidative stress and DJ-1 is crucial for this response. Importantly, we showed that PON2 deficiency hypersensitizes neurons to oxidative stress induced by MPP+ (1-methyl-4-phenylpyridinium). Conversely, over-expression of PON2 protects neurons in this death paradigm. Interestingly, PON2 effectively rescues DJ-1 deficiency-mediated hypersensitivity to oxidative stress. Taken together, our data suggest a model by which DJ-1 exerts its antioxidant activities, at least partly through regulation of PON2