Living Today: BBC Local Radio Education. INSTITUTION British Broadcasting Corp., London (England).; Workers Educational Association, London (England)

DOCUMENT RESUME

ED 064 602 AC 012 694 AUTHOR Jones, Bob; Lovett, Tom TITLE Living Today: BBC Local Radio Education. INSTITUTION British Broadcasting Corp., London (England).; Workers Educational Association, London (England). PUB DATE [71] NOTE 36p.

EDRS PRICE MF-$0.65 HC-$3.29 DESCRIPTORS Action Research; *Adult Education Programs; Blue Collar Occupations; *Disadvantaged Groups; *Educational Radio; Interagency Coordination;Lower Class; Programing (Broadcast); *Radio; Sociology IDENTIFIERS Liverpool England; Workers Educational Association ABSTRACT This booklet describes the setting, conductand results of an action research project in whichthe Workers' Educational Association and the BBC local radio stationin Liverpool jointly prepared an educational radio series forworking class adults. In February 1971, sixprograms were broadcast under the series title 'flaying Today. Eachprogram dealt with a topic relevant to the target audience. The general themewas to examine the influence which particular institutions haveon people's lives and behavior, and the effect on the individual,group and community when these institutions lose power and influence ina rapidly changing society. The objectives for the serieswere: extension of vocabulary; critical awareness; use of concepts; and action.The project represented a new approach to neglectedareas of adult education, using local radio as a vital instrument ofcontact between educationists and those whose needsare overwhelming and almost totally unsatisfied. (Cm) U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH. EDUCATION & WELFARE OFFICE OF EDUCATION THIS DOCUMENT HAS BEEN REPRO-on DUCED EXACTLY AS RECEIVED FROM THE PERSON OR ORGANIZATION ORIG- INATING IT. POINTS OF VIEW OR OPIN IONS STATED DO NOT NECESSARILY REPRESENT OFFICIAL OFFICE OF EDU- CATION POSITION OR POLICY_

LIVING TODAY

V7e1:

3:.

;,."

. BBC LOCALRADIO EDUCATION

Living Today

This booklet describesa venture undertaken jointly byBBC Radio Merseyside and the West Lancashireand Cheshire Branch of theW.E.A. Introduction

BBC Local Radio onlydates backto 1967 when the first opened. For station many years prior to the opening,the BBC hadgiven planned attentionto local radio asa desirable future form of broadcasting. The sound experiment, defined by theGovernment,was to test the practical validity ofthe BBC Local Radio partnership in broadcasting. concept of It was to determinewhether thenew stations would developas diluted attenuated copies ofnational regional sound broadcasting and or whether they wouldgrow robust- ly reflecting thestrengths and charactersof their individual ities by offering local- an accessible means ofcommunication to their constituents. Local Councils were invited to join in theexperiment by contri- buting fmancially to the costs of stationoperation during the period and, test at their invitation, the BBCestablished eightstations in Leicester, Sheffield,Merseyside, Nottingham, Leeds and Durham. Brighton, Stoke, In August 1969 thePostmaster-General (now Posts and Telecommunications) the Minister of declared theexperimentsuccess- fully concluded andauthorised the BBC- at its own cost entirely- both to continueits existing operationand to extend its opening scope by a further twelve stations. All theseadditional stationsare now in full operation from theirstudios in Bristol, London, Oxford, Manchester, Birmingham, Chatham,Southampton, Middles- brough, Newcastle,Blackburn, Hull andDerby. There isan Education Produceron the sta of each station and, from the start, education has beenan important feature of local broadcasting. The Producer's basic taskis to determine withlocal advice andco-operation those needswhich can be helped radio working by local in consort with localeducationists. In view of the educational this, outputs of the stations showmarked differences character and emphasis. of Different mixtures ofprogrammes for schools and for adultsare four 4. Within the adult sphere don, it sometimes happens of opera- that a station's mainwork is with the WEA while its neighbour enjoys a close relationshipwith the University's Extra-MuralDepartment. A third stationmay have 3 strong connections with the LEA's Adult Education Department and yet a fourth may be in wtive association with all three of the main providers. On BBC Radio Merseyside, there has been an active response from both schools and adult educationists and so the output of educational programmes has ranged widely across the spectrum of educational activity in the area. This has enabled the station from a solid base of educational commitment to prospect outwards into areas of educational potential not yet fully developed. This booklet describes the setting, conduct and results ofone instance ofan educational body combining skills and resources with those af a BBC Local Radio station. It has been written jointly by Bob Jones, lie Education Producer at BBC Radio Merseyside, and Tom Lovett, Adult Education Officer (WEA) to 'Priority'-the Centre for Urban Community Education. The situation described is one in which enthusiasm, effort and specialist skills have come equally from the two parties (in this case, the WEA and BBC Radio Merseyside) and yet one in which each separate set of facilities brought into the common pool has required the presence of a complementary set for the achievement of the common aim-the creation of an educational enterprise. It is not simply the dose co- operation nor the unity of purpose which distinguishes this joint venture but the thoughtful realism ofapproach to educational communication which has throughout been the constant target. Hal Bethel Local Radio Education Organiser

4 4 CHAPTER I The Background

At the end ofour experimental clays, the of local radio Government's approval was seen by those working in themediumas an endorsement of the valuesof our operationin a social thinking which sense. The gave rise to local radio, and whichcontinues to govern its efforts, lay directly in linewith the in the late fifties anti awareness so marked sixties of the importanceof community development to the health ofsociety. Perhaps nowhere insociety has this need been in the run-down so acutely felt as areas of industrial cities caughtin thecross- currents of stress and instabilityswept in by social change. In areas the work of Community such Centres and CommunityDevelop- ment Officers has been invaluable in helping residentsto retain an identity anda community spirit. The Plowden Reportrecommended theestablishment of Educational PriorityAreas in deprived urbanlocalities. In the Liverpool E.P.A.a great deal of work has beendone under the direction ofDr Eric Midwinterto make the schoola more effective instrument ofcommunity life.This has been done bystrengthening the links between schoolsand the children'sparents and by drawing the parents into a closer engagement with theeducation of their childrtn. Although theE.P.A. Projectas such has now ceased, it is encouraging that a new orFanisation hasbeen formed the work forward. to carry 'Priority,, aNational Centre forUrban Com- munity Education, is financedby such bodiesas the Liverpool Education Committee,the W.E.A., theAdvisory Centre for Education and the JohnMoores Trust. Against this backgroundin Liverpool, itwas felt that BBC Radio Merseyside particularlythrough its Education an important contribution Department had to make. It was this shared feelingthat brought the radiostation into a dose workingwith the W.E.A. on an adult education project. TEatthe needwas, and continues to be, great has recently been underlined by Lady Plowden'swords in which she describesE.P.A. parentsas 'frightened, angry, be- wildered and bored. They move in, to them, unchartedseas of $ officialdom. . .buffeted by forces completely outside their control ..which tell them only too often why something they want is not possible-all this emphasises to them their failure.' Some years ago, the Liverpool W.E.A. attempted to launch a course for adults in a denselypopulated down-town area of the City using as a centre a school in a well-established district of the community. The course was well-publicised. No one from the target area turned up. Those who did attend camefrom middle- class areas and were attracted by the sound of the course which had been planned as an inter-disciplinary scheme associated with the theme 'Conflict'. It may be that failure could be put down to ineffective publicity too intellectual in appeal. The tutors felt, however, that had students from the working class come along they would have found the course both challenging and interesting. This experience underlined a twofold problem : how to make the contents ofa course attractive and how to persuadc those whose attention and interest was sought to break the habits of a lifetime and voluntarily associate themselves with an educational scheme. No amount ofknocking on doors, no amount ofdistributing pam- phlets had saved the 'Conflict' scheme from failure. Other things apart, publicity was ineffective because the tutor hadavailable no way of engaging the minds ofpotential students for long enough to convince them of the worthof such a course in personal terms. Local radio could now put adult education schemes on offer to people in their own homes and so much the better if programmes could be made specifically for groups with common problems but no working systemof problem-sharing and problem-solving. Much thought was given to the possibility of using this medium in the attempt to reach a new educational audience. It was seen that the producer would have to devise his programmes extremely carefully and that the exercise would have to be so organised that the results could be in some way evaluated. No special funds were available for this purpose either from the BBC or from the W.E.A. and therefore stringent economy overlay the entire scheme. Hap- pily, the W.E.A. and BBC Radio Merseyside, faced with a com- monproblem and sharing a similar view of its nature and its imperatives, came together in a co-operative scheme in which the W.E.A. undertook the organisation of a novel venture and BBC Radio Merseyside undertook the production of the radio programmes which were toform an integral part of the scheme. 6 In February 1971 six programmeswere broadcast under the series title Living Today. Each programme dealt witha topic relevant to the target audience. No runaway success is claimed for the series or for the experiment to which it contributed. What is claimed, though, is that the joint endeavours exposedmany problems which in themselves are capable of solution and also pointed the way to a fruitful and,so far, unique line of development in adult education. These first lessons indicatea new approach to neglected areas of adult education using local radioas a vital instrument of contact between educationists and those whose needs are overwhelming and are almost totally unsatisfied.

7 CHAPTER II

The problem of adult education ineducational priority areas

The Liverpool Educational Priority AreaProject -was one of five set up throughoutthe country in 1968 to explore ways and means of tackling the educational problemsof deprived communities. It was the only project with a teammember specially responsible for the development of adult education inworking-class communities. The team member concerned was infact a Tutor Organiser from the West Lancashire and Cheshire Districtof the Workers' Educa- tional Association, seconded to the project inSeptember 1969, after it had been in operation for one year.The W.E.A. had for many years beenacutely conscious of the need to involve itselfinthe vast and seemingly intractable problemof adult education for the un- skilled and semi-skilled working class. InLiverpool thc W.E.A. District Secretary took one of thefirst practical steps in such involvement with the E.P.A. appointment. A number of recmt educational reports,Crowther, Newsom, Plowden, had all emphasised the disadvantageunder which working-class children laboured in the schoolsthey attended and the fact that notwithstanding the 1944Education Act their oppor- tunities for higher education were severelylimited. Such reports also underlined the importance ofparental support and the fa-.:t that working-class parents lacked the necessaryskills and knowledge to assist their children. The picture painted was oncin which a verysizeable minority of the population sufferedunder grave educational, social and economic disadvantages. It was this section of the populationthat the W.E.A. - and other bodies responsible for further and adult education -had singularly failed to attract to its classes. A number of reasons wereadvanced for the unwillingness of the working class totake advantage of a second educational opportunity. For the morepessimistic the rcason wassimply sheer apathy. However, this naive view was soon discardedwhen more information became availablefrom the 8 Reports referred to above and from research fmdings indicating that. (a) The educational experience ofrnzny working-class adults had not been a happy or constructive one. (b) The education they did receivewas often totally irrelevant and many left school lacking the elementary skills common to more affluent sections of the cr-mmunity. (c) The school itselfwas a middle-class institution emphasising middle-class values and decryingor ignoring working-class cultural values. Thus thc reluctance of working-class adultsto involve themselves in adult education could beseen, in some measure, to be a direct result ofpast educational experience. In addition, the W.E.A. and other educational organisations had, like the schools,a middle- class image, offered subjects which hadno meaning or relevance for such adults, and held their classesor courses in typically middle- class surroundings. It was clear that many of the problems facing residents in the Liverpool E.P.A.were of a very practical nature such as bad housing, lack ofplay facilities for children, the breakdown ofestablished communities and of the traditionalways oflife. The W.E.A. Tutor Organiser decided that it was essential thatany adult educational 'service' he had to offer in these circumstances should deal with real problems, in a language thatwas common to the communities he was concerned with and in surroundings in which they felt at ease. This approach did not proveeasy to put into practice during the first year of opernion. Against this setting, the tutor became involved ina variety of community exercises, e.g. helping residentsset up a community cenm; running a summer play scheme; assisting the residents in the Shelter Neighbourhood Action Project with their housing problems; offering advice and informationto a number of residents' associations, tenants'groups and community councils. In this way, he gained detailed insight of the problems facing local residents. He also establishedcontact with a wide range ofworking- class groups of a formal and inforanlnature as well as with a number of voluntary and professiona! organisations involvedin various aspects of community development. Having established a rapport with suchgroups he then decided to try something slightly more formal than the 'learning through 9 9 doing' exercises of the initi.11 year.A list of 'Talking Pointsfor Adults' was drawn up based onthe sort of topics which seemed to reflect the caresof the area,i.e. 'The Family' 'Childrenand their Education% 'Your Rights% ' Healthand Safety in the Home% 'Damn Politicians', etc. These topics were publicisedattractively on W.E.A. paper but even so theyfailed to stimulate any response. At anE.P.A. exhibi- tion of school work in alarge department store, frequentedby many residents inthe E.P.A., an adult educationstall was set up and over 8000 of these leafletsdistributed. The response was negligible. However, when the tutorasked a number of gtoups whether or not they wouldbe interested in meeting regularly todiscuss such topics as divorce, abortion,drug addicts, permissive society, etc., they responded very enthusiasticallyand a number of discussion groups were set upin schools, pubs, churchhalls, community centres and privatehomes. Arrangements weremade for a dozen part-time tutors to lead theseinformal discussions. In spite ofthe inherent interestof the topics chosen by the groups, it soon became clear that manyof the tutors lacked the necessary skills to develop this educationalopportunity. They lacked the intimate awareness of theproblems, background and cultureof the adults concerned and fos Ind itdifficult to translate concepts into relevant analogies. A focus ;discussion was needed whichpeople could easily accept and well .chwould stimulate and encourage a rapport between,and among, the group and the tutor.Such a focus would act as a tool for the tutor inthe same way that books and lectures are educational tools in aformal middle-class educational setting, but conditions requiredthat here it should be based on the language, culture and problemsoflocal people. This would appear to be, in fact,the crux of the whole problemfacing adult educationists attempting to workwith working-class communities. Generally speaking the great majorityof tutors employed by the W.E.A. and other responsiblebodies are specialists in one or moreacademic disciplines. Their trainingand academic background reflects the emphasis onthe breakdown of knowledge into watertight compartments.Their particular professional skills are normallyexpre:sed in their ability to encourage someunder- standing of these clplines amongstadults with a largely non- academic backgroun6 However, despite thie aof academic background thetypical 13 student usuallyrecognises the relevance ofthe academic approach 4-o learning. He shares with histutor a commonly accepted intellectual heritage which values the exercise ofcognitive skills. Tutor and student tendto speak the same languagecode. The responds to tutor a need or request for k.lult educationwhich fits into a generally accepted culturalpattern. In working-class communities, however,there is usuallyno such shared intellecturalheritage between student nitive skills and tutor. Cog- are at a premium. Academicdisciplinesare seen as divorced froro the realitiesof life andas having no meaning. The emphasis ison the affective, the sharedexperience, the here-and- now. The formulation of ideasunrelated to specific andconcrete realities is difficultfor most adults insuch communities. language Their - often rich, colourful and perceptive- depicts this concern for the immediate, the sharedexperience, the emotional response. In such a situation adult Educationists needan entirely different approach. They needto construct 'learningsituations' where people will discussproblems they feelare important whilst the tutor, instead of providinganswers, helps the group work slowly towards increasedawareness of the various complex factors volved in in- many everyday problems and thus,it is hoped, point the way to some solutions. This is difficultin working-class ties because communi- so many attitudes and opinionsare tied up in emotions, symbols, songs and other cultural artefacts. Ifan educationist can key into this vitally important but largelynon-analyticalcommu- nications network then hecan awaken a response that is deeply embedded in the cultureand personality of adults. many working-class For these reasons, the tutor organiser's thoughtsturned increasingly towards the mass media. Cinema, TV, radio andthe popular press are very much part of working-class culture.Interest and involvement in themass media is not confinedto the working class but in no other class is it so importantan element of the total cultural framework.Educationistsare becoming increasingly aware of the importance of themass media as ed.ucational aids although theiruse of them is often in traditional tural terms with middle-class cul- an emphasis on discussion andexposition. The tutor organiser decided that in his localsituation, local radio was an ideal ed.ucational medium.A radiowas an easy educational 'tool' fortutors to carry with diminto the various informal I I venues around which adult education was developing. Tapes could be produced and used if a gaup could not meet on the night of the programme or if they withed to listen to a repeat. Local radio also offered the possibility of a communications facility for residents in deprived communities to voice their cares vid problems publicly. For all these reasons the tutor organiser decided to approach Radio Merseyside's Education Producer, Bob Jones, with a plan for producing a series of educational programmes specifically designed for residents in the Liverpool Educational Priority Area. BBC Radio Merseyside responded very enthusiastically and it was decided to produce a series of programmes called Living Today which woulii be written by the tutor organiser and produced by the Education Producer.

12 Oh,

CHAPTER III

Living Today:a local radio series fir E.P.A. residentsaims andcontents Initially the title for the serieswas You and Authority but thiswas dropped becauseit soundedtoo forbidding and academic. general theme, however, The remained unaltered andthis wasto examine the influence whichparticular institutionshave on people's lives and behaviour and the effecton the individual,group and community when theseinstitutions losepower and influence in a rapidly changing society. Thustheprogrammes were designed as a sort of layman's sociology. Suchprogrammes are notnew either on TV andradio but itwas quite new for them duced with to be pro- a working-class audience inmind and local radio offered an opportunity to translateconcepts into terms ordinary working people couldunderstand. W.E.A. work in theLiverpool Educational shown that Priority Area had notwithstanding theparticular problems facing various communities the in the E.P.A. an sharedcertain generalcon- cerns. These general problemsarose from the breakdown of estab- fished communitylife. The familywas no longer the strong unit it had been in thepast. The neighbourhood it - as many understood - with its system of socialnorms and controls had almost appeared. The Church, dis- in an increasinglypermissive society, longer exercised no any great authority in moralmatters. The school was no longer part of thecommunity and had created new teaching methods a gulf between school and home.The local authority was increasing its power to shape people's lives whilstthe government itself was also greatlyinfluencing thepattern of community life, butto most people was completely remote and detachedfrom their everydayproblems. For some middle-classcommunities all - although by no means for - this decrease in the influence ofcertain established has opened institutions up new areas of personal freedom.However, formany ofthe working class-especially those inEducational Priority - it has only contributed to Areas a general air of confusion andisolation. 13 13 A series of problems has arisen from these changes. Theseare problems that working-class communitiesare meeting for the first time, yet without the educational training andbackground of other, more educated, communities. Institutions like thefamily, neighbourhood, school and church had createda network of rewards and restraintson individual and group behaviour and had built up asense of community concern and awareness. Much of this social framework is disintegratingor has already broken down in E.P.As for a variety ofreasons. The local authority and government - acting through various social agencies- are attempting to fill the gaps that have been left in society. However, for the communities concerned-if one can still call them communitiesthe result has been devastating. Problems of control and responsibilityonce within the province of the family, neighbourhood, school and church, have fallenon the shoulders of the individual citizen andvery few have received an education adequate to the demandsnow being made on them. The radio series was designedto explore all these problems in a Liverpool context in the hope that suchan examination might enable people in the E.P.A. to understand the complexity of their origin and that the understanding subsequently gained mightpoint the way to solutions. That thiswas a tremendous task to under- take in an area where the adult population had received littleor no benefit from its formal educationwas recognised from the begin- ning. It was decided thereforeto set a range of objectives for the series :

Low Level Extension of Vocabulary Getting people used to the idea of discussion and becomingmore confident in discussion. Listeningto another's point of view. Accepting the tutor's role in sucha discussion, i.e. attempting to link various views andcomments.

Middle Level Critical Awareness Becoming more aware of the possibility of other points ofview; of 'facts' being introduced intoa discussion; of the complexity of many social problems in terms of the various factors responsible. Accepting the causal nature ofmany factors in creating a problem. 14 14 High Level Use of concepts Becoming conscious ofthe link between thevarious in terms of the programmes concept under scrutiny, i.e.authority, its influence on individual andgroup behaviour and its changing society. role inour

Action Practical action arising out of increasedunderstanding. Each of these objectives was important in itsown right for it was realised that ina series of sixprogrammes it would be unrealistic to expect a progression through the range of objectives.For some of the adultgroups, vocabularywas not a problem. For vocabulary limitation others, was the major obstacle. If thiscould be come then a great over- step forward would have beenmade in solving the linguistic problemthat Bernstein andother sociologists major difficulty facing see as a working-class communitiesin their attempt to combat bureaucracy and compete on equalterms for the various resources - social, educational andeconomic The -of our society. programmes themselveswere designed to last fifteen utes, and to sustain interest by min- their emphasison variety and enter- tainment. Thus, use was made of drama, popularsongs and interviews with local residents. Drama was includedon some occasions to compare a scene from the past with comments fromresidents facing similar problemstoday or torecreate an everyday problem which people wouldrecognise and wishto express views songs were seen as a on. The means of giving vicariousexpression to hopes, desires, memoriesabout the problemunder examination. dents' Resi- comments were included becausethe strength of theiroral expression gavea sharp authenticity which, the E.P.A. would we hoped, adults in recognise and respondto with comments oftheir own. The idea was tocreate a 'montage' which would and stimulate encourage discussion by establishinga sympathetic bond between the programmes'contents and the listeners' ence. own experi- Earlier programmes in this vein have usuallyhad a middle-class educational setting with all that impliesin terms of cultureand understanding. Ourseries was anattempt to utilise popular working-class culture, and to awaken response andawareness in the firm belief that this approach helda key which educationists,with Is 15 certain notable exceptions,have failed to graspfully in their attempts to meetthe problem ofeducation for working-class communities. The series was thus seen as aninnovation with itscharacter of a 'structured' educational exercisefor working-class communities. number of The programmes offeredthe opportunity to pursue a educational objectives within aninformal structure. Theybrought together a wide varietyof problems commonly metand discussed by residents in the areaand offered the possibilityofa deeper understanding. It was therefore alogical progression from the very informal discussions whichhad been organised in theE.P.A. during the first year of the W.E.A.project. Finally the series differed in anumber of fundamental respects from other adulteducational courses utilisinglocal radio : (i) It was aimedspecifically at the mosteducationally deprived section of the community. communities as an (ii) It made wide useof the culture of such educational method andtechnique in its own rightrather than following traditionaladult education techniques. (iii) The programmes were notto bebroadcast in the exclusive hope that residents inthe E.P.A.would listen independently. Rather the aim was to arrangefor various groups ofresidents to listen tothe series with a W.E.A. tutor.Such an arrangement wassomething new, not only in termsof adult education for working-class communitiesbut also whencompared with earlier radio exercises inadult education on thelocal station. (iv) Formal arrangements were tobe made for 'feed-back'both from tutors andstudents to discover theirreactions to each programmeand to indicateif possibleif any of the edu tional objectives,referred to earlier, were met.

16 CHAPTER IV Producing the Living Todayseries

Before Living Today could bewritten and later produced itwas important that everyone concerned shouldunderstand its aims and, objectives clearly. First, itwas essential to define and describe the audience interms of interests and susceptibilities. The serieswas designed and directedat a known established group of thepopu- lation among which pilot discussiongroups had been pioneered by the W.E.A. Tutor Organiser attachedto the Educational Priority Area Project in Liverpool. Itwas this group that made up the prime target audience. Othergroups in other parts of Mersey- side may well have found theprogrammes stimulating but in the first instance the organiserswere concerned to see what success the programmes would have with families and parents, especially, living roughly within the bounds ofour local Eclucational Priority Areamainly the central Liverpoolarea with a population of approximately 100,000. The series would be catering for the educationalneeds 1)fa section of the community which hada certain background in common. The majority of the listeners would have leftschool at the earliest possible legal opportunity. Many of them wouldhave unhappy experiences of their schooldays and would consequentlynot have had the motivationto attend conventional evening classes. Other factors would have militated againstan interest in adult education. Economic stringency, shift workpatterns and family commitments would have made attendance difficult. Thosefew who had attended conventional adult education classes wouldhave needed more than the usualperseverance and stamina to see the course through because of" thepressures of their everyday life. Moreover, the majority of the studentsat the usual adult education classes tend to be middle class witha favourable educational background, and this factor would have hadtwo possible effects on the listeners we were hoping to reach. Firstly it wouldhave created an overawingatmo- sphere in whichour potential students would feel inadequate and, secondly, the lecturers would tendto adjust their approach to those in the class withsome degree of academic training. 17 17 Thus, three important criteria emerged : (a) Living Today should present subjects which would clearly relate to the lives of listeners. The chosen subjects (e.g. role of the family, neighbourhood, the Church, school) were relevant to the basic patterns ofliving of the audience and moved outwards from the family circle to less familiar areas. Concentrating therefore on the significance ofprogramme content, it was hoped to engage and sustain an interest for long enough to establish a stimulus upon which the tutor would be able to build. (b) Presentation was to be of paramount importance. Clearly the didactic approach was not suitable. Level of language was to be given close consideration, although the temptation to over-simpli- fy the level of language to a patronising extent was to be avoided. Another danger to be avoided was that of making the narrator seem to speakwith the voice of authority. He was to be used as little as possible. He was to allow the important points to be made by people whom the listeners would recognise as speaking with the authority of experience in their own social field. The directness of opinions spontaneously expressed would provide a stronger contact between speakerand listener than would be possible by other means. (c) The third aspect of presentation was that strategically placed resting points were to be provided in the programmes. At these points the flow would be halted for a while so that listeners could absorb the points made. At these resting points, usually either folk or popular songs were tobe introduced. Many popular songs are concerned with social problems and by selecting a snatch or a phrase of a song it was possible not only to use the music for relaxa- tion but also to reinforce the points previously made. The use of popular songs would be an important factor because of their importance in the culture of the target audience. In the event, for many people inthe classes, these songs provided points of identification with the problems under consideration. By stressing these three aspects, relevance of content, directness of presentation and the use of popular culture, it was hoped to provide a platform of interest upon which discussion might be built. Generally speaking this proved to be the case. It was significant that the momentswhen the thread of communication seemed most tenuousoccurred when officials found difficulty in explaining their functions in language which could be clearly understoodby

18 the layman. Thiswe felt illustrated how very easily officialdomin spite of good intentionscan become estranged from thevery people it existsto serve. A great deal of editingwas usually necessary to present the opinions ofsome of the officials effectively but even the most sensitive editing and productioncannot entirely soften the deadening effectof official jargon andbureaucratic speech patterns. The adoption of the techniqueof buildingprogrammes around people's commentsmeant a great deal of detailed editingand compilation which fully strewiedthemanpower resources of the studio. In retrospect this methodof presentation provedpreferable to the discussions or straightforward lectureswhich could have been used. These approacheswould have beenmore suitable for students whowere used to listening o expositionsor accepting academically based forms oftuition. Another demandingaspect of this type of productionwas that the people who tookpart were interviewed on location in schools and homes. People unusedto the studio were helped in thisway to express their ideas in a relaxedmanner. The extra attention and effort was thought wellspent because many of the listeners felt that the points of view naturallyand easily expressed by peopleof their community helpedto establish the integrity of theprogrammes and the relevance of their intent. The production ofLiving Todayhas made it quite clear that ifthe interest of educationally underprivilegedadults is to be engaged then everythingmust be done to develop techniques ofpresenta- tion which will accurately matchtheir needs. It is hoped thatas we gain experience in this field thebarriers which excludea large proportion of the population fromeducational advantage will be further broken down. Time will tell how successful thisexperiment and approach will be. Certain it is that conventionalmethods of teaching adults cannot claim great success with this substantialsection of the population. Orthodox approacheshave been proved inadequate. Conventional methods havebeen found wanting. Almostcon- ventionally,a large section of the adult population have beenleft wanting I

19 CHAPTER V

Organisation of series. Students' and tutors' background

Organising any sort of adult-education exercise in working-class communities is a task beset with problems. In the Liverpool Educa- tional Priority Area a year had been spent exploring, defming and eventually overcoming some of these difficulties. The skillsre- quired to define needs and then organise adult education inresponse to such circumstances are of a specialised nature and require further research and development. However, the E.P.A. experience prior to the setting-up of the radio series had pointed to the need for flexibility and a high degree of informality, witha deliberate attempt made to minimise the 'explicitly' educational nature of activities involving adults. The radio series was a muchmore structured exercise with well- defined educational aims. Explicitly, theywere meant to be easy to listen to and enjoyable for their own sake. Implicitly, they provided a wealth of material for `organised' discussion. Such 'organised' discussions call for an abilityon the part of the tutor concerned to manage the discussion without dominatingor im- posing personal viewpoints. He needs to become chairman rather than leader; to be one of the group, yet aware ofa wider purpose and thus make the best use both of the radio material and of the comments of listeners. What was required was an ability to organise informally ! The programmes themselves were designed for this type of development. It was then necessary to bring the local residents together in this fashion and to equip the tutors for the opportunitiespre-. sented. So far as the residents were concerned, a number of informal discussion groups in pubs, schools, communitycentres, church halls and private homes had already been successfullyset up. A 'selling' tour of all these groups was undertaken inan attempt to gain their support for the project. Interest was immediate. Most of the groups concerned were excited at the prospect of talsingpart 20 in an exercise specificallyconcerned with their livesand problems. They respondedvery enthusiastically to the idea ofhaving a look at such things as the family, the neighbourhood, the school,especially when they heard ofthesort ofproblems theprogrammes would deal with. Earlier experience in working withcommunitygroups andawareness of many of theircommon problems was of invaluable assistance at this stage ofpromotion.Many of thegroups were brought into the actual makingof theprogrammes by recording their comments on the problems to be dealt with in theseries. Thus some groups contributedto the series and then tookpart as students, listeningto the programmes and enteringinto the discussion with thetutor provided by the W.E.A. In addition to the existinggroups, it was decided to `offer' the series in threeextra centres- two pubs and a community centre. In the case of the pubs thiswas done with the full approval of the brewery concerned- Tetleys Ltd. All in all, elevengroups were to be involved meeting in thefollowingvenues: Pubs 3 groups Schools i group Church Halls I group Commuaity and Youth Centres4 groups Private homes 2 groups All three pubswere in the north end of the city.One was in Everton, in an area ofhigh-rise development with all theassociated social problems. The othertwo were in the famous ScotlandRoad area, where old neighbourhoodsare now being torn apartto make way for the new tunnel approach road. The school group was in the most socially deprivedarea of the city, witha high incidence of multiple deprivation- an area of multi-lets witha large coloured population. Thepatents, however, by their stoicism and goodhumour showedgreat strength in the face of their variousdeprivations. The group meetingin the church hall lived ina very close-knit working-class community,probably typical ofmany in Liverpool before slum clearance. Thearea is scheduled for demolition intwo or three years' time. The houses doneed to be replaced,but unfortunately it willmean the loss of the strong localsense of community. Thiswas reflected in the attitudes andpersoralities of the mothers in thegroup who tended to bemore articulate and self-confident than those in othergroups. A survey of adult educa- 21 tion needs carried out by the E.P.A. team inthis district had shown a high degree of interestin various forms of further education thus emphasising : (a) The differing nature of various working-class communitiesin central Liverpool and the fact that even in suchso-called 'de- pressed' areas, deprivation is a relative term. (b) The possibility that stable working-class communities mayoffer even moreopportunities for adult education than deprived areas. The groups meeting in youth and community centres wereall in the E.P.A. with one exception - a community centre group on a new housing estate onthe outskirts of Liverpool. Actually, it was a housing estatewith all the problems of an E.P.A. but with hot and cold running water ! Finally, two groups met in private homes. One was onthe outskirts of the E.P.A. in a more affluent working-class area.The other was a residents' association which met inthe converted base- ment of thechairman's home in the docks area of Liverpool. The degree of informality in structure and compositionof the groups ran all the wayfrom t.he total informality of the pub group to the morestructured grouping of the ri.,:aents' association and the mothers' club. However, our mostsauctured group was probably extremely informal compared to the averageAdult Education class. The groups represented a very good sampleof the various informal groups to be found inLiverpool working-class communities. The great majority of theresidents who agreed to participate in the series :were unskilledand semi-skilled working class with no previous exinrience of adulteducation. Ages ranged from 2 5 to 45 with a small sample of older people. As inadult education generally, women predominated. The tutors came from variousbackgrounds in education. They included a primary -3chool teacher, two secondary schoolteachers, a lecturer in aCollege ofFurther Education, a Polytechnic lecturer, anunemployed graduate, an Adult Education Diploma student, a ResearchOfficer and a Curriculum Development Project Direc- tor. All were keen towork in these communities. Most had some experience of adult education, but not withpredominantly working-class students. Therefore, meetings were heldinvolving the tutor/organiser, the part-time tutors andthe BBC Radio Merseyside Education Producer. At these meetingsthe nature and 22 purpose of the series as wellas the list of the graded objectiveswere fully explained to the tutors. The tapes ofthe firstfewprogrammes were played. Problems and difficultieswere thrashed out. Arrange- ments were made to provide radiosfor thetutors and tapes and tape recorders for thosegroups not able to listen inon the night of the broadcasts. Itwas also decided to havetwo further meetings one in the middle of the series, the otherat the endto discuss the tutors' and the students' reactions and to plan futureactivities. The stage was thus set for a unique experiment in adult educationand local radioco-operation.

23 3 CHAPTER VI

Tutor and student reaction to the Living Today series Tutor's Reports While Living Today was being broadcast,group tutors were asked to record details of attendance and reaction to each programme. Tutors were asked to observe how far the series appearedto be meeting the objectives set for it. In addition thetutors met together during this period. At these meetings the procedure for recording reactions was fully explained and the tutors hadan opportunity to discuss how the serieswas progressing both amongst themselves and with the producer of theprogrammes. Low-Level Objectives Reports from tutors indicated that the programmes sparked off plenty of discussion during which thegroup members drew largely on their own experience. In most cases the tutors agreed that these discussion sessions provoked talk ofa high degree ofarticulateness. It seemed that the low-level objective had been generally achieved in all the groups. These reports from two tutorsare typical : (i) 'The discussionwas well sustained. Although a number of people began try pining for the old days, they became increasingly aware of the advantages ofa more relaxed and friendly atmosphere between parents and children.' (ii) 'One significant fact that should be mentioned is thatmany of those who took part in the discussions hadnot had such an experience since leaving school.' From the fuller reports ofthe tutors, two conclusionscan be drawn : (a) The serieswas sufficiently stimulating to hold and stimulate its audience. (b) The low-level objectivewas attained. Middle-Level Objectives There was evidence in the tutors'reports that discussion developed 24 24 from the recounting ofpersonal experience butin some groups some programmes did not change the members'views. This report was received following theprogramme on 'Local Authority'-produced a very heated discussion.They hated the LocalAuthority official. A lot of "anti-corpy"moans followed by good resolution to keep reminding themselves that ifwe join together we can do something about it. None ofthem had heard accurately ofcommunity councils. Noneever visited a city councillor.' It seems that thisgroup found it difficult to appreciate both of the sides case. Understandably, they viewed thelocal authorityas responsible for the bad livingconditions they hadto face day by day. From the tutor'sremarks, theywere unwilling to make any concessions to the local authority.In this case the middle-level objective hadnot been achieved. Therewas little evidence of criticalawareness in recognising the weaknesses andthe strengths of conflicting viewpoints. This reactioncame out in another report, this time froma residents'group. The group had been particularlyactive in its relationship with the local authority.The local authority formedthe subject of the particular pro e- 'Most controversialprogramme so far (connectedpossibr wminththe fact that thegroup concerned appeared in it). Incensed byofficials' contribution.Programme structure reflects their own feeling ofimpotence.'The final remark presumably implies that thegroup members felt that the producer had distorted the facts.In fact, a great deal ofcare was taken to present a balanced view. This reactiontherefore does indicatea failure to appreciateopposing views andan exclusive reliance on personal experience. There is, however, alsoevidence showing thatgroups on occa- sion did show critical qualities.The residents'group just mentioned revealed critical capacitywhen discussing the role ofthe Church. As the tutor reported,'There's a healthy individualismwhich refused toaccept the Church's teachingon contraception as a problem.' Itmay well be that when topics closeto their experience like the quality of theneighbourhoodwere under discussion they found it difficultto be objective whereascontrary arguments concerning a moreremote subject like the Church, could beappre- ciated. Further, reactions like thisone to the programme on the family show a widening of horizons- 'Programme produced a well- focused discussion- mainly concerned to see what perceptible 25 progress had been made for the individual in family life over a generation. Individual responsibility felt to be more now.' This comment from a discussion on the Church-'The feeling was that the Church has in some way failed its people and contributed to the decline in social stability'-also shows a groping towards individual opinions and a flexibility of thought Considering all the evidence obtained, it would be reasonableto claim that the middle objectives were achieved in somecases, but certainly not by any one group consistently on all occasions. When the topic of the programm- was remote enough from personal and frequently emLittered experience, objectivitywas often attainable. High-Level Objectives It is difficult to say how far the members of the groups were encouraged by the programmes to conceptualise. It could be claimed of course that the ability to see associations between ideascomes with practice in expressing oneself in discussion. Several of the tutors commented that their groups were so unfamiliar with the subjects dealt with in the programmes that they lacked confidence to express ideas which might have ultimately led them towards the percqtion of concepts. The programme on local government, for example, brought reactions of which these reportsare typical : 'This was the least interesting of the discussion. Most members of the group felt they did not know much about the subject andwere not deeply interested.' Another comment from a different group reflects a similar lack of background knowledge, 'General depres- sion after this. The interviews recorded were 'boring", "off the point", "full of long words and jargoe.' This latter comment was interesting. The producer has already commented on the officials' difficulty in choosing appropriate language and thereby putting at risk the continued attention of his audience. It is interesting to see that his opinion was confirmed by the listeners. Unfortunately, the conceptual level of language is customarily burdened with jargon. This need not be thecase. A serious attempt must be made to help listeners conceptualise without language being used as a barrier to understanding. If the expression of basic ideas is obscure then it should not be surprising if the progress towards high-level objectives is not achieved especially by people who had had few opportunitiesto try out emergent ideas in discussion.

26 Some general observationsfrom Tutors Each tutorwas asked to judge the impact of theLiving Today series on his group. These two comments speak forthemselves: (a) 'The group seemed to enjoy most of the broadcastsand discussion and Iwas emphatically told that they had foundthe meetings interesting and worthwhile.To some extent, ofcourse, this may have been politenesson their part, and it will be interestingto see whether they ask forany similar discussions duringnext winter and spring.' (b) 'Inmy opinion after a term's work with themthese women represent a huge pool of scarcely-tappedability, talent andre- sourcefulness. Their humour,candour, generosity andrealism, is hard to describe. Theyare brave, resilient and independent-minded andmonuments to the irrelevance ofa formal education system in which they "failed" andwere neglected. The tragedy of their educational "failure" in earlylife is that they havebeen left witha kind of humility whichis ludicrous when measuredagainst their manifest intelligence, strengthand articulateness. Theywould keep referring (with,as I pointed out, quite uncharacteristicmeek- ness) to "ordinary people"(meaning themselves andimplying that such ordinary peoplecould notexpect to effect much in the way of change however much they desiredit, even if they had sound practical ideas abouthow to doso. The radio series was an excellent means of challenging this feeling of inadequacy,directly or deviously, and I counted ita triumph to read on one completed questionnaire at the end of theseries that one of the things learned had been that thereis more to the ordinaryperson than meets the eye.' Many felt thatprogress would be faster when thetutors became better known and confidencebetween them and theirgroups is greater. Their comments reflect thisdifficulty. 'The major difficulty, however,was caused by the suspicion with which thetutor was viewed in this situation.' Thistutor held his class ina public house. Hegoes on, 'Morally, it is intolerable fora complete stranger to drop into a pub with the deliberateintention of getting regulars to discuss specific issues. If itwere not for the basic generosity and courtesy of the regularsat this particular pub, then the whole enterprise might have been disastrous.'The point is taken further by a tutor who explainedwhy hisgroup did not talk of plans for positive action at the end ofthe series. 'Action couldhave been 27 27 posed more positively if there were greater confidence in me, but that would require contact for more than a couple of hours weeldy to show I was in earnest and to overcome the hesitations about someone of my age and background. But if the role of the discussion leader is to be extended outwards the question must be raised: 'To what extent does the adult educationist involve himself in the practical activity of the people he works with. In short, can the professional ethic of remote involvement survive if there is conflict with another need, the need to maintain confidence between both parties?' From all the comments the following points may be drawn : (a) There is great potential in the people who attended these discussion groups. (b)Generally speaking, the radio series was considered worthwhile. One important point was that the members of one g, roup expressed satisfaction that a local radio station had broadcast a series especially for their needs. (c)The response varied according to the content ofthe programme. (d)A close relationship between tutor and class must be cultivated on a more permanent basis in future and not merely while the series is being broadcast. Reaction of discussion group members At the end of the series each group-member was asked to fill in a questionnaire. In reply to the *question`Have you ever been in a discussion group of this kind since leaving school?'approximately half stated that they had not. The other half who had had experience of expressing views in public belonged to organised groups like residents' associations or church-based groups. No one had had experience of discussion at a conventional adult education class run by the Workers' Educa- tional Association or the University Extra-mural Department. Another question asked if it was a help to have somebody from outside the group to ask questions and guide the discussion. The general feeling was that the leader was necessary (a) to keep the discussion going; (b)to extend the knowledge of the group where this was lacking; (c)to help the inexperienced individual to express opinions in public;

2 8

28 (d) to actas chairman or, as one personput it, as 'an arbitrator and nuisance controller'. The most revealing repliescame in answer to the question, 'Do you think you have gained anythingnew from any of these programmes?' Most people felt theseries had widened theirhori- zons, and had encouraged them to appreciateother people's points of view. Two repliesin particularare worth quoting because they reveal the problem underly:ngadult aluca6on of thisnature. The first reads, 'I have learntto think twice before condemning the other person's point ofview or belief. I have learntto look further afieldto entertain my children. Thereare more places and people togo to for help than I thoughtever existed. I now know more of what goes on in Liverpool behindthe scenes. Thereare lots of people whoare spending their time justto help us. There is also moreto the ordinary person thanmeets the eye.' Secondly `I feel I have learneda little more concerning the communityand also seeing that Ican play a part as an individual in thiscommunity while learning too that I have rights to which I didn'tthink Iwas entitled.' No one would claim that all theobjectives ofLiving Todaywere achieved. Somewere, some were not, but clearestevidence supports the belief of those involved thatwork on this frontier of education should continuein its aim of developinguntapped potential. 'There ismore to the ordinary person thanmeets the eye?

29 CHAPTER VII

Class breakdown and events arising out of programmes

The number of residents actually taking part fluctuated from programme to programme but, with a few exceptions, the groups listening to the series remained fairly stable. Average attendance was approximately ten residents per group. Total average attendance for all six programmes was ios. The table below i breakdown of attendance figures for all eleven groups A - K.

Group Attendance Figures Total Programmes ABCDEFGH IJIC Attend- ance

Neighbourhood 946 10 198 TO7 164 6 99 Family 96 II8 189 12 II 1899 120 Churcl 124 3 8 io 8 8 13 12 106 96 School 1248 II 149 TO 10 20 176 121 Local Authority 124 9979 108 17 3 6 94 Government 1247 II99 10 10 16 86 102 Average Attend- ance for all 6 Programmes II4 8 9 139 10 10 17 8 6 ios

Various factors were responsible for the fluctuation in class numbers. For instance in the three pub groups (A, B and C) account has to be taken on the competition of Everton and Liverpool games on at least three occasions ! On another during the broadcast on 'The Neighbourhood'-the tutor taking the group in a pub (Group C) found his numbers diminished because the regulars had gone off to a darts match co raise some funds for a neighbour who had fallen on 30 30 hard times ! Only in the pub where discussions had already taken place regularly before the radio series was the group a stable one (Group A). In the other two the composition of the group tended to change from week to week. This would seem to suggest that some time is required to build up a regular group if meetings are to be held in pubs. People need time to become acclimatised to such an unusual activity in their normal surroundings. This confirmed earlier experience ofpub discussions. The Tutor Organiser's famili- arity with the district, its problems and its local leaders helped greatly in establishing Group A and gaining the acceptance and support of the regulars. Almost all the other groups were much more stable in composition and attendance. The programmes on 'The Family' and 'The School' were far and away the most popular. The large attendance for these two aspects of Living Today is inline with the findings of those who have explored the educational interests of working- class adults, and the evidence collected by the Liverpool E.P.A. Project illustrating the interest of working-class parents in their children's education. A number of other interesting points are illustrated by the high attendance throughout the series in Groups E and I. Group E meet in a Youth and Community Centre and the high attendance was, in large measure, due to: (a) the efforts of the E.P.A. team (referred to earlier) in carrying out a survey of adult educational needs in the area. The discussion group was one of a number organised after the survey. (b) the efforts of local students and community leaders who kept reminding residents about the series and encouraging them to attend regularly.

Group I was a Residents' Association which meets t egularly every week. They had taken part in other activities organised by the Tutor Organiser in co-operation with the Local Community Development Officer. These groups illustrate two different approaches to organising adult education for working-class communities. (I) door-to-door surveys with assistance from volunteers then organising activities arising out of survey results; (2) close co-operation with existing working-class informal organisations and local community workers. Neither approach excludes others, and they are only two

3 31 amongst a number.However, the Liverpool experience suggests that they are locally the most successful. A detailed breakdown of theattendance figures by sex, occupa- tion and class is not possible. Thedeliberate attempt made to make the whole exercise as informal aspossible meant that the class registers had to be kept in thebackground to be filled in by the tutor after theclass. In some instances even this proveddifficult because of the changing compositionof the class. However, all of the tutors managed to keep a registerof numbers and most suc- ceeded in gaining names and addresses. Fromthis information and previous surveys carried out by the E.P.A.Project it appears that the majority attending were women(80 per cent) from the un- skilled and semi-skilled working class. As a result of the series, a numberof events took place, or are planned to take place. One group decided to have acloser look at education in their neighbourhood as a resultof their interest in the 'School' programme. The tutor concernedorganised a series of discussions with local school heads. The groupthen became involved for the first time in a summer playscheme, and one of their number became secretary of the local communitycouncil. They also agreed to begin a new series of discussions on'The Family' to last eight or ten weeks. Another group decided tohave a closer look at the family, while aresidents' association is planning a course on 'Community Action', i.e., an explorationof the structure and activities of the various community groupsin Liverpool. This will be rather like the short six-week coursetaken immediately after the series by some members ofa pub groupand a group from the local community council. Their interesthad been aroused by the programme on the localauthority, and they spent six profitable meetings looking at the structure androle of the community council, and its relationship with the localauthority. If the success of this experiment in working-classadult education is assessed in terms ofpractical action andincreased interest in adult education, then this, and the other examples quotedabove, vindicated the hope, time and effort put into the series.

32 CHAPTER VIII Conclusion

In an article on the value oflocal radioin the Guardian (8 April Igr) Keith Dewhurst argued that theidea 'that people wouldbe able to participate through local radio wherethey cannot in the ballot box is a romantic illusion'. Thisaccount ofthe Liverpool E.P.A. experiment contributes evidence that the idea ofa community participation is not illusory but isvery much a practical proposition. Dewhurst wenton to assert, however, that 'when thecommunity talks most vitallyto itself it discusses not facts but values,and values aremost effectively defined and analysedin plays and lectures and documentaries whichpresent a point of view'. This is exactly what the living Todayseries set out to do,not in terms of a Lcyaventional play, lectureor documentary, however, butpre- senting this 'point of view' throughthe comments and theculture of the people themselves. Theuse of the still strong oral radition in the materialmeant that the people were, ina sense, responsible for creating their own educationalprogrammes. Thus they partici- pated in a realsense, using the medium of local radioas a vehicle for expressing theirviewpoints, and asan educational aid in discussing those viewpoints, inan attempt to deepen understanding and provide an effective basis foraction. Increasingly the value ofre- cording the voice of 'the people',ofmaintaining the oral tradiiions, stimulating its survival and growth,is recognisedas an important and valuable contributionto the recording of social change. History can be recorded andwritten, not just froman ilitist point of view but alsoas seen and felt by those caughtup personally in the process. The txtent to which thissort of material can be used for educa- tionalpurposes should not be overlooked. Not onlycan it be used as material for adult educationamongst working-class comnrmi- ties but alsoas project exercises for schoolchildren andstudents. Local Radiocan provide the bodies responsible for adulteducation with one of themost effective and economicalmeans of extending the benefits of adult educationto the larger mass of the population. We have seen that in the LiverpoolE.P.A. situation (and in 33 33 similar areas throughout the country) tutors working in the field require special aids. The sort of material and educational 'hard- ware' associated with traditional curriculum development projects depend to a large extent on an institutional setting with all that entails. In the vastly different informal situations common to working-class adult education, from pub to community centre, a simple effective aid is essential. Local Radio and the use of tapes match the need admirably. BBC Local Radio can provide an extremely valuable educational service in its c wn right and at the same time provide the 'workshop' for other material for use with working-class communities. It thus can become truly a 'community' radio service, parti- cularly for those in most need of education and of a communications outlet for their frustrations. As the social services, education, and local government become increasingly community-minded, local radio has an increasingly important role to play in developing links between these services and the community by: (a) providing effective information on these services in a language that the ordinary layman can understand. The mass media has much more relevant experience in this sort of work than many of the officials concerned with social, educational and economic adminis- tration in the community. This experience can effectively support those working in these fields. (b) using local radio as a vehicle for the expression of opinions by the various community groups in our large cities, as well as providing information on their activities and on the varying responses to their efforts. Our experience in Liverpool showed the desire amongst many residents to know more about the activities of other residents' groups and their dealings with the local authority. (c) extending the more formal educational service for adults in ways detailed in this booklet. The Living Today series was carried out with a very small budget. Its achievement owed much to the time and effort given by BBC Radio Merseyside even though it placed daunting demands upon existing resousces. It was not adesigned as a piece ofpure educational research but as an action/research project. However, the experiment did illustrate that it is possible to engage working-class communities in adult education given the right format. If we are to build upon the results of this experiment, then financial assistance is

34 necessary to explore more fully the potentialdisplayed. In other sectors ofeducation largesums of raoney are spent on research and development. Adult education,Iwwever, is financiallyvery much on the periphery of the educational world. Littleor no money has been made available for researcharid action. This work hi theE.P.A. points out the real needsamongst that large section of the population who have benefited lease fromtheir educationalexperience. The breakdown in establishedcommunities ; the change taking place in so many of our institutions ; the climate ofmoralupheaval ; the gap between bureaucracyin all its forms and the people;all these provide adult educationwith a great opportunityto demon- stsate its effective and vital role in the educationalsystem. That role is both remedial andsupportive. It is remedial in helpingto rectify the defects of the formaleducationalsystem. It is supportive to communities tackling problemfor which their educationhas left them inadequatelyequipped. Much has been said of theimportance of adult educationin providing for the increasedleisure time ofan advancedtechnologi- cal society. Such determinationsdo noteven touch on the real need, for they ignoreyet again the current, pressing needs ofthose who, impressed with the 'failure'oftheir youth, and lackingopportunity and support in later lifeare impeded in their personal lives by what are so frequently spurious feelings of inferiority. The need is for financeto provide these adults- ever so per cent of the population accordingto the Newsom Report-with the sort ofeducationai material that ismost likely to succeed in eradicat- ing these attitudes aad inassisting them with dignityto take a stabil- ised place in thecommunity. Thisaccount of our experiment suggests that further work of thissort would be very well worth while. Th e Workers' EducationalAssociation with its network oftutors and branches throughout thecountry is anxious to expand work in this field. However, extensivesupport is a prerequisite toan en- largement of its workamongst working-class communities. Tradi- tibnal adult teaching materialand methodsare in many instances neither relevantnor appropriate. An extension of the partnership with BBC Local Radio togetherwith a more detailed development project to provide teaching material,and undertakenew forms of in-service training would,-we are convinced, open theway for a major advance in adult education andcommunity participation in community affairs.

35 35 a°

ERIC Clearipehouse

JUL2 5 194 on AdultEducation

Published by the British Broadcasting Corporation, 33 Marykbone H(gh Street, London W 114 4AA, and printed in England by The Broadwater Press Ltd, Welwyn Garden City, Herts. ISBN: 0 563 1234$ 1