Developing an evaluation framework: Assessing the contribution of community-based and work-based approaches to lifelong learning amongst educationally marginalised adults

Abstract

In the United Kingdom and Europe ‘lifelong learning’ is often propounded to bring both economic and social returns, although the former, rather than the latter is more frequently the focus of policy prescriptions. Despite the significant increases in participation in post-compulsory education, certain socio-economic groups are still poorly represented. This article presents two case studies that promote lifelong learning to adults: a community-based initiative and a work-based scheme. Drawing on a comparison of these initiatives (based on a grounded theory approach) an evaluation framework for assessing the contribution of different approaches to further lifelong learning amongst educationally marginalised adults is proposed. This is then elaborated and utilised to explore the two case studies. This systematic analysis helps to highlight the complexity of the issues pertaining to lifelong learning amongst educationally marginalised adults. In addition, this article presents a substantive theory of evaluation that can be applied by others both to evaluate their work and to contribute towards a formal theory of evaluation. © 2003 Taylor and Francis Group, LLC.