Attitudes to adult education in disadvantaged areas

Broadly understood, the focus is on work and training as the principal means of dealing with poverty and social exclusion and this is reflected in programmes such as the New Deal. Part of the Work and Opportunity series, this study focuses on the perceptions of those targeted by these policies, in this case people living in a disadvantaged area in the North of England.

The study explores:

• How people perceive the relationship between work, education and training
• How this affects attitudes towards participating in education and training as an adult
• How people perceive the credibility of qualifications, in particular in the eyes of employers
• What employment practices promote or inhibit participation in education and training
• To what extent people feel policy implementation matches its stated aims and intentions.