The NIACE (National Institute of Adult Continuing Education) was an educational charity in England and Wales, with headquarters in Leicester and Cardiff plus a subsidiary office in London. The organization, founded in 1921 as the British Institute of Adult Education, was dedicated to advocating for and promoting adult learning. [1] It was the main advocacy body for adult learning in England and Wales and probably the largest body devoted to adult education in the world. [2]
On 1 January 2016, NIACE merged with the Centre for Economic and Social Inclusion to form a new organisation, the Learning and Work Institute.
The main aim of NIACE was to promote the study and general advancement of adult continuing education by improving the quality of opportunities available, by increasing the number of adults engaged in formal and informal learning, and by widening access for those communities under-represented in current provision. This was summed up by the words "more, better and different".
NIACE undertook this work through:
From 1988, Alan Tuckett OBE was the Director of NIACE. [3] [4]
The predecessor of Alan Tuckett was Arthur Stock. Its President from 2006 was David Sherlock CBE (former Chief Inspector of the Adult Learning Inspectorate), and before that Christine King (Vice Chancellor of Staffordshire University), and before that Richard Smethurst (Provost, Keble College, Oxford).
With effect from 1 January 2016 NIACE merged with the Centre for Economic and Social Inclusion to form a new organisation, the Learning and Work Institute.
A community college is a type of educational institution. The term can have different meanings in different countries: many community colleges have an "open enrollment" for students who have graduated from high school. The term usually refers to a higher educational institution that provides workforce education and college transfer academic programs. Some institutions maintain athletic teams and dormitories similar to their university counterparts.
Adult education, distinct from child education, is a practice in which adults engage in systematic and sustained self-educating activities in order to gain new forms of knowledge, skills, attitudes, or values. It can mean any form of learning adults engage in beyond traditional schooling, encompassing basic literacy to personal fulfillment as a lifelong learner. and to ensure the fulfillment of an individual.
Further education in the United Kingdom and Ireland is education in addition to that received at secondary school, that is distinct from the higher education (HE) offered in universities and other academic institutions. It may be at any level in compulsory secondary education, from entry to higher level qualifications such as awards, certificates, diplomas and other vocational, competency-based qualifications through awarding organisations including City and Guilds, Edexcel (BTEC) and OCR. FE colleges may also offer HE qualifications such as HNC, HND, foundation degree or PGCE. The colleges are also a large service provider for apprenticeships where most of the training takes place at the apprentices' workplace, supplemented with day release into college.
Student voice is the individual and collective perspective and actions of students within the context of learning and education. It is identified in schools as both a metaphorical practice and as a pragmatic concern. Tech educator Dennis Harper noted that student voice gives students "the ability to influence learning to include policies, programs, contexts and principles."
Jisc is a United Kingdom not-for-profit company that provides network and IT services and digital resources in support of further and higher education institutions and research as well as not-for-profits and the public sector.
The Society of Business Practitioners (SBP) UK, founded in 1956, is a senior examining UK institution providing vocational qualifications in business, computer studies, management and marketing. The Society's Diploma awards attract recognized credits and exemptions from other institutes and educational establishments from the UK, the US and Australia. The Society also has a collaborative credit recognition arrangement with the New Zealand College of Business.
The Higher Education Funding Council for Wales (HEFCW) is the Welsh Government Sponsored Body responsible for funding the higher education sector.
Community education, also known as community-based education or community learning & development, is an organization's programs to promote learning and social development work with individuals and groups in their communities using a range of formal and informal methods. A common defining feature is that programmes and activities are developed in dialogue with communities and participants. The purpose of community learning and development is to develop the capacity of individuals and groups of all ages through their actions, the capacity of communities, to improve their quality of life. Central to this is their ability to participate in democratic processes.
Skills for Life was the national strategy in England for improving adult literacy, language (ESOL) and numeracy skills and was established as part of the wider national Skills Strategy to increase the numbers of young people and adults with adequate skills. The strategy was launched by the Prime Minister, Tony Blair, in March 2001.
The Teaching and Learning Research Programme (TLRP) was the United Kingdom's largest investment in education research. It was initiated in 2000, ended in 2011 and was managed on behalf of the Higher Education Funding Councils by the Economic and Social Research Council. The programme engaged 700 researchers in some 70 major projects. These covered all education sectors - from Early Years to Higher Education and Workplace Learning. The TLRP researchers work closely in partnership with practitioners to ensure the relevance and application of findings to policy and practice. Thematic work across the diverse range of projects enabled analysis of themes and the identification of 'ten principles for effective teaching and learning'.
Naomi Ellen Sargant, Baroness McIntosh of Haringey was a British academic specialising in adult education and a television executive.
Adult Learners' Week is an international festival of adult learning. It is a UNESCO initiative that was first celebrated in the United States in the late ’80s, where there was a move to create a broad celebration of adult learning by the American Association for the Advancement of Education (AAAE).
The Centre for Economic and Social Inclusion, known as Inclusion, was a research organisation that existed to promote social inclusion in the labour market. It was a not for profit, politically independent organisation based in London but also had two regional bases: Inclusion North West in Liverpool and Inclusion US in New York City. All its surpluses were invested back into developing its products and its employees. Inclusion's research and labour market expertise was often cited in the media, from the Guardian to the BBC to the Financial Times.
The National Careers Service is the publicly funded careers service for adults and young people in England.
The UK Data Service is the largest digital repository for quantitative and qualitative social science and humanities research data in the United Kingdom. The organisation is funded by the UK government through the Economic and Social Research Council and is led by the UK Data Archive at the University of Essex, in partnership with other universities.
The Roma Education Fund (REF) is a non-governmental organization established within the framework of the Decade of Roma Inclusion by Open Society Foundations and the World Bank in 2005. The organization's goal is to reduce the educational achievement gap between Roma and non-Roma in Europe through the provision of scholarships to Roma students, supporting the development of quality education, and supporting the removal of segregation of Roma students.
The National Open College Network (NOCN), formerly known as the Open College Network (OCN), is a United Kingdom organisation developed to recognise informal learning achieved by adults.
TVET refers to all forms and levels of education and training which provide knowledge and skills related to occupations in various sectors of economic and social life through formal, non-formal and informal learning methods in both school-based and work-based learning contexts. To achieve its aims and purposes, TVET focuses on the learning and mastery of specialized techniques and the scientific principles underlying those techniques, as well as general knowledge, skills and values.
Education 2010 Agenda refers to the global commitment of the Education for All movement to ensure access to basic education for all. It is an essential part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The roadmap to achieve the Agenda is the Education 2030 Incheon Declaration and Framework for Action, which outlines how countries, working with UNESCO and global partners, can translate commitments into action.
Sir Alan John Tuckett, is a British adult education specialist and campaigner. He was the Chief Executive of the National Institute of Adult Continuing Education (NIACE) from 1988 to 2011, and President of the International Council for Adult Education from 2011 to 2015. He is currently Professor of Education at the University of Wolverhampton.