The principal purpose of this book is to present the results of research in an accessible form and thereby contribute to the development of more effective policies for fostering lifelong learning and creating a learning society. However, it is important to acknowledge that lifelong learning is an intensely political issue in Britain and elsewhere. There are conflicting views as to the nature of a learning society, the benefits that derive from lifelong learning, as well as the most effective ways of bringing these about.

Accordingly, this first chapter examines the notion of a learning society by outlining some of the chief arguments currently being used to advocate the establishment of such a society, and the policies that these have entailed. These arguments have two main strands. The first is that standards of education and training have a direct impact on the economy, and therefore expenditure on lifelong learning is an investment that will be recouped. The second is the claim that a lack of fairness exists in the distribution of education and its rewards in Britain today, and that widening participation will bring about an increase in social justice. It is important to note that, at this stage, we are talking about the vision that underlies the policies rather than the reality. We begin by considering what lifelong learning and a learning society are.

What is a learning society?

Frank Coffield, the Director of the ESRC's Learning Society Research Programme, has described a learning society as one:

On this view, therefore, a learning society involves a comprehensive postschool education and training system, in which everyone has access to suitable opportunities for lifelong learning.

Although it remains a contested notion (Ranson, 1992), this is a fair summary of what a learning society is deemed to be in the official discourse of contemporary British policy.