Education must link citizenship and sustainability
Stories
Hands-on adult education for local democracy
By James Derounian
As in many parts of Europe, Britain’s age of austerity has resulted in major cuts in public funding across the board. For example, parish and town councils, the lowest tier of local government in England, must now function on reduced budgets, while facing an ever increasing demand for public services. Like most Britons, employees of parish councils are feeling these pressures intensely.
“In truth I started [a] University course because my job was under threat. I wanted a qualification that was practical and made me more employable,” says Clare Nelmes, a councillor in Gloucestershire in the English West Country. “I didn’t go to college when I was younger, because I had no idea what I wanted to do. But as a 30-something local councillor I knew my patch but I didn’t know how the system worked.”
Nelmes enrolled in the community engagement course at the University of Gloucestershire in 2010. Over 1,000 graduates now work across England and Wales on projects ranging from how to deal with climate change at the council level to how to improve community relations.
“Education has given me the confidence to act on what I knew. It has also made me look for alternative ways of doing things,” says Nelmes, whose years of experience in politics and community activism are brought to life in her university assignments. “For example, working in partnership with a local church to develop a new youth centre for my town, rather than each group operating in isolation and duplicating. This is not without its challenges, but knowing it could work, and the benefits it can bring, helped give it momentum.”

A youth forum member and one of the project team consulting with passers-by about the planning application and design for the new Dursley youth centre
Photo credit: Clare Nelmes
University modules on partnership working and her own political know-how inspired Nelmes to set up a new venture to deliver youth services. “A partnership between the church, which will be providing the building, the town council who are committing the finance to convert and staff it and the local youth forum that represent users. This structure has helped us to manage the venture as it moves from a building project to service delivery,” she explains.
University learning through community-based activities can hone the range of skills that employers demand, like team working and problem solving. Final year humanities’ students at Sheffield Hallam University have practised work-based learning for seventeen years. Though they are long gone, their legacy includes a handbook for volunteers working with dementia sufferers, publicity for a city farm, scores of youth leaders, and projects supporting new parents.
Community and employer-based learning can also help charities, as non-profit organisations are called in Britain, to survive in times of crises – and even to flourish – through longer-term collaborations between universities, communities and businesses.
“Education has the benefit of improving democracy. My parish council staff are now able to engage more effectively with the community, which in turn helps residents understand what we can do for them,” says David Griffiths, clerk to a council near Telford in the English Midlands and an online course student.

Axbridge Active Living in full swing
Photo credit: D Croley
Vicky Brice is studying part-time for a foundation degree in community engagement. By day she works as clerk to Axbridge Town Council in Somerset in the English West Country. In 2012 she reviewed an over-55s group for an assignment.“This gave me the confidence and knowledge to start up a similar group in my hometown. Those attending are meeting new people and enriching their lives. Those of us helping are learning fresh skills and making new friends. I love the mix of young and old.”
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