Glasgow as a Learning City: Towards a Renewed Vision

Glasgow, which once saw itself as a learning city, is reassessing its position and considering how to present itself in the current global climate. It is argued here that cities cannot afford to stay still but must adapt to new economic and social circumstances. Glasgow continues to reinvent itself, yet remains committed to the values of a learning city. The debate is therefore about recognizing that global competition forces a constant re-visioning of image and identity of a city; but that to ensure success it must firmly hold on to the values of citizen participation, adaptation to diversity, and learning as a lifelong activity for all.

Glasgow launched itself as a learning city in 1999 and still claims that this concept is a driving force for the city’s development. As a Learning City, Glasgow remains committed to the development of a culture of lifelong learning so that it can thrive in the complex global environment of the 21st Century.

The initial impetus came partly when Glasgow found that it was in a position to take advantage of initiatives such as the establishment of the new Scottish Parliament which engendered a renewed interest in Scottish culture and identity. A substantial budget of around 5 million pounds was set aside by Glasgow to take the learning city initiative forward. The challenge facing the city has to be understood in the context of its socio-economic and historical development. Glasgow currently has a population of around 600,000 and is Scotland’s largest city. Large investment was clearly needed in 1999 and even more today in a city with some of the highest rates of deprivation in Europe as evidenced by relatively low life expectancy, poor housing stock and high levels of unemployment concentrated in some parts of the city, especially in the East end of Glasgow. In 2000, educational disadvantage was found to be higher where there were multiple factors of deprivation that included lower skilled employment, high rates of public housing tenancy, higher rates of illness and death, poorer nutrition and higher levels of drug use and crime (Glasgow Learning Alliance, 2000).

The decision by Glasgow to become a learning city was seen as a logical response to facing up to the challenges of the loss of traditional industries, and to wanting to compete in the developing knowledge-based economy of the 21st century. The central place given to lifelong learning was also in the spirit of the traditions of a city whose oldest university had been built on the traditions of the Scottish enlightenment to bring opportunities for learning to the broader community. 

A significant factor in the development of Glasgow as a learning city was the decision to consult with local people on the strategies which evolved. When discussing partnerships and their role in learning cities, it should not be forgotten that the people are the resource in any city. Even positive marketing of the learning city tends to be the kind which celebrates the involvement of citizens at the local level. It can be argued that regeneration depends upon learning to reconstruct communities through partnerships and public participation, while reflecting back on what has been achieved.

Learning cities can only fulfill their potential if their citizens are involved in determining future policies for the development and direction of the city. Glasgow has aspired to develop the kind of learning city where all of its people and organisations flourish through lifelong learning. The intention was to encourage individuals, employers and organizations to see themselves as lifelong learners, and to help the city learn how to link this learning to social and economic regeneration. An overall objective was to understand how different parts of city life could connect together i.e. in social, cultural, political and economic ways.

Scottish Enterprise Glasgow led a Learning Inquiry which was undertaken from 1998 to 2002 with 5 themed action groups (TAGs) which utilized a process of consultation, investigation and action and was led by Young (2003). A Citizens Jury in 1999 on learning had shown that ‘ordinary learners could make sensible decisions about complicated policy issues and add vital new contributions to a complex debate’. Young (2000) This was a strategic collaboration between the private and public sector that sought to involve both in a problem-solving and decision- making process. Research has suggested that it is crucial for learning cities to foster partnerships between the public and private sector in order to contribute to the European knowledge-based economy and stimulate knowledge creation and diffusion (Longworth and Osborne, 2010). The key in Glasgow was to understand the reasons why so few citizens participated in learning, and why so few of the population achieved education and training qualifications. The Inquiry led to the creation of a Learning Network and Lifelong Learning Information Service. The Glasgow Development Agency (GDA) had a key role to bring together sectors and institutions which encouraged lifelong learning and through the resulting emerging partnerships engaged with citizens on the way forward for their communities in the area of lifelong learning. The partnerships which developed eventually took over from the GDA, which can be seen as a mark of success.

Glasgow’s example of good practice: REAL

Developments in Glasgow included a community project with an online component and arose out of the expressed interests of community users of local learning facilities. ‘REAL’ was the name given to a city-wide network of learning centres designed to drive up the participation rate. The REAL partnership was established in 1999 to include representatives from Further and Higher Education, the City Council and Scottish Enterprise Glasgow with the aim ‘to provide Glasgow’s citizens with the highest quality learning possible at all levels and in accessible ways’ (Clark, 2001:13). Young (2003) who was directly involved in setting up the initiative explains that it was developed ‘in response to Glasgow's learning needs. REAL disseminates creative learning content for individuals, including accredited courses. REAL was developed in response to Glasgow's learning needs’. She goes on to explain that it was, ‘a committed partnership of services which provide Internet-enabled learning centres across Glasgow. Real disseminates creative learning content for individuals, including accredited courses. Real will continue to expand, turning lifelong learning into a reality for Glasgow’. p. 45 

According to the International Futures Forum (2011), the 'REAL learning project' was originally based in community libraries and has spread to workplaces. It now has over 85,000 members. Delivery is mostly through the web, backed up by specific physical courses and mentoring. The programme was successful in attracting the disaffected back into learning, principally by offering them courses in things that interest them - music, DJing, web radio etc. ‘Local Investigations’ became accredited and included programmes such as Family History, History of Football Teams and Local History, and continued to be developed as people used REAL for personal investigative work. REAL clearly required ongoing development to maintain the momentum and this has been evidenced in a number of ways. Initiatives have included a drive to tackle literacy issues among the population of the city, leading to the training of literacy tutors of adults. A package of measures was introduced to encourage different target groups to see themselves as lifelong learners, e.g. to encourage more positive attitudes to education among young people and men.

Other strategies to increase visitor numbers to galleries and museums have enhanced the reputation of the city for excellence in arts and culture. Glasgow has taken seriously the link between learning cities and social capital, and active citizenship. The city demonstrated from the outset that social capital is an indicator of success for learning cities. Cara et al (2002) argue for the importance of embedding a culture of learning into ‘the genetic code’ of the city. They maintain that any city can be a learning city. It should also be more than an educated city, and the idea of learning is central to the development of the city (Cara et al, 2002).

Glasgow - The Re-visioning of the learning city

Although some momentum has been lost along the way, Glasgow has continued to invest in the concept of a learning city with lifelong learning policy initiatives driving the strategy. Other past examples included a ten-year development plan launched in 2006, a Step for Glasgow, which placed education at the heart of economic development in the city. In 2010 a super-college, New Glasgow Campus, was established which would serve to create a learning district in the city.

Glasgow is undoubtedly continuing to seek to create a knowledge-based society in line with the best principles of a learning city. However, in tandem with this central Glasgow development, the regional Further Education (FE) institutions are being forced to merge due to funding cuts. The issues of the current Glasgow learning city need responses which are born of collaboration and collective action. The FE Colleges do not wish to appear as second class citizens to the higher education (HE) institutions. Like many in the HE field they too want to see the FE and HE systems accessible to learners in the more deprived communities.  More recently the FE sector has seen the merger of Scottish colleges from 11 to 4 super-colleges. This has brought job cuts and implications for students; this is certainly not the vision of a learning city.

As a learning city, Glasgow needs to continue to reach out into the areas which need support for learning most, and to extend, not reduce, the provision. The HE and FE sectors are working on their international links but this needs to be at developed at home as well as abroad. The communities which are most deprived need to be encouraged to be self-sufficient and sustainable, given changes in local and public services, but these communities need support to do this from learning organisations of all shapes and forms.

Informal and collective learning successes in the community need to be highlighted and promoted as examples of good practice, for example, the Activate programme which is run by the University of Glasgow as a community-based activist course. This provision is a partnership between the disadvantaged communities and HE which builds skills and knowledge leading to increased leadership and the enhancement of social capital. There are so many other examples of good practice from the HE, FE, voluntary and community sectors which need to be shared. The Pascal conference in Hong Kong in November 2013 is an opportunity to start off this learning process.

Lynette Jordan and Stephanie Young

References

Cara, C, Landry, C and Ranson, S, (2002) in, Cartwright, M, Edwards, R and Reeve, F (eds), Supporting Lifelong Learning, Volume 2, Organising Learning, London, Routledge

Clark, J, (2001) Glasgow the Learning City: Lifelong Learning and Regeneration (PDF), Scottish Enterprise Glasgow

Glasgow Learning Alliance, (2000) Glasgow the Learning City, Barriers to Access to Learning

International Futures Forum (2011) Longworth, N and Osborne, M. (2010) Perspectives on Learning Cities and Regions, Leicester, NIACE

Young, S. (2000) Building the Learning City unpublished notes from Australian visit.

Young, S. (2003) Passive consumers or co-creators?: listening to learners. The future is upon us: challenges from keynote presenters to the 2003 ACE national conference Deakin West, Australian Capital Territory: Australian College of Educators