3.6 Inclination, interest and motivation represent another set of obstacles to establishing a learning culture for all. Although over 90% of adults say that education helps individuals and the country at large (Sargant et al, 1997), disaffection amongst some school pupils, school drop-out rates and adult non-participation in learning suggest that lifelong learning is not an especially attractive option for many. If it is, the obstacles remain too great. Neither exhortation nor pleading is the answer, and nobody can be or should be, forced to learn.

3.7 This is a major issue for those whose political, professional and managerial responsibilities in society give them scope to influence attitudes and motivation, to stimulate and encourage people and to demonstrate the existence of real links between learning and personal well being. It is about creating new demands from a much larger constituency. There are many excellent examples of good practice in reaching out to, and motivating, individuals and communities that have traditionally been absent from lifelong learning. Some of these have been reported in the second volume of the Kennedy report on widening participation in education (How To Widen Participation: A Guide To Good Practice, FEFC 1997).

3.8 Successfully reaching out to underrepresented groups is a highly skilled and painstaking process, requiring imagination, scope for trial and error and time. It deserves to be properly recognised and adequately funded. The same goes particularly for initial development work in under-represented communities, which is often the vital prelude to eventually wider participation in learning. It is essential that funding regimes and the deployment of resources recognise the valuable contribution of these activities. Their precise outcomes may be difficult to calibrate, but their general benefits are not at all to be doubted.

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