Jo Forster, PhD 2018
'I found my PhD research study the best thing that I have done in my life...It was a great opportunity to continue to learn new knowledge and skills, to become a critical thinker, as well as find different ways of working (e.g. digitally) and finding time to write academically.'
Thesis:
'Exit, loyalty and voice:’ the experience of adult learners in the context of de-industrialization in County Durham
Supervisor
Where are you from?
North East England, United Kingdom
How did you fund your PhD?
Self -funded and also paid my own travel costs between North East England and Edinburgh
How did you find postgraduate research study at Moray House?
I found my PhD research study the best thing that I have done in my life. It enabled me to bring together so many strands such as the philosophical, sociological, political, economic, all of which influence and re-configure adult education precarious times. It enabled me to critically question if the dominant model of adult education of learning for the economy was working. It was a great opportunity to continue to learn new knowledge and skills, to become a critical thinker, as well as find different ways of working (e.g. digitally) and finding time to write academically. It was a transformative experience that has changed my life.
What made you choose Moray House School of Education and Sport?
Many of the universities in England closed down their Community Adult Education Departments that educated Community Adult Educators and Community Development Workers for the field. I therefore looked to Scottish universities that had fought back against such restructuring out of very valuable departments that offered a higher education to the working classes.
As a working class woman I chose Moray House School of Education because it employed working class academics who came from working class backgrounds and who were passionate about educating the working class to work in different roles in community adult education in disadvantaged communities. This is where Moray House School of Education is different to the two other universities that I attended for my BA Hons and MA - it understood the working class and made their learning journey enjoyable and achievable.
Where are you now? What are you working on and how has your time with us influenced your current work?
My thesis has deepened my understanding of communities in crises and the rise of social, economic, health, cultural and political inequalities that exist and have been exacerbated by Covid-19. I work across projects and networks that address these inequalities and raise the importance of community adult education and popular education as lifelines to bring about social change in communities.
What impact did your research have on your area of study?
I contributed to The Centenary Commission on Adult Education Report: Adult Education and Lifelong Learning for 21st Century Britain (2019) that was published in pre-pandemic times. We are now at a critical time, as we face a series of social, political, economic, health, technological and demographic challenges. The report, is visionary in scope and practical in its detail, for the good of our democracy, society, economy, and for the health and wellbeing of our citizens.
Debates have now taken place on ‘A New Passion for Lifelong Learning’ chaired by John Bercow that calls for a new movement to persuade Government to put adult education at the heart of its plans to ‘build back bolder’.