A team from the Government-backed Centre for Research on the Wider Benefits of Learning at the Institute of Education in London carried out 145 interviews with learners aged 16 upwards to discover how learning affected their personal well-being and family relationships. The research also drew on the British birth cohort studies, which involved analysis of the lives of 10,000 people.
The report, The Benefits of Learning, published last week, showed that when parents went out to study their children broadened their range of social relationships at college creches or playgroups, while getting out of the home and daily routines alleviated stress and depression. Many of those interviewed for the study reported that studying made them more confident as parents, better able to communicate with their children and more understanding and patient even if the content of the course had nothing to do with parenting.
Angela Brasset-Grundy, one of the co-authors of the report and a research psychologist and psychotherapist, said, 'Learning helps parents relate to their children's own learning, and gives them new ideas of how to enjoy family life. They are more likely to take their children on outings with an educational focus, and they would be more likely to turn something mundane like a shopping trip into an educational learning experience.'
Pauline Henniker, director of family programmes at the Pre-School Learning Alliance, said the findings reflected her own experience in working with parents. 'It's the process of understanding learning and commu- nication which is important. If you improve parents' communication and understanding then you can have a domino effect in helping their children.
'The more parents feel empowered, the more they feel valued. That translates to how they cope and live with their children.'
Co-author Cathie Hammond said that doing courses 'changed women's attitudes, hopes, plans, social circles and self-perception'. Sometimes this caused difficulties in their relationships with their partners and other relatives, but 'on the other hand, some relationships improved as a result of learning because there was more to talk about and the partner respected the learner's commitment and achievements'.
