Objectives and methods• The aim of this research is to investigate the effects of adult learning upon a range of measures of health and social capital and cohesion.• The study has a broad scope. We estimate effects of adult learning on a wide range of outcomes. We break down participation in learning in a number of ways, and we assess the different impacts of participation on different groups. The primary objective is to assess the nature and extent of wider effects of adult learning. More detailed findings relating to specific outcomes, types of courses taken and groups of learners are extremely interesting and indicate directions for further research.• The National Child Development Study is the database used for analyses. We use data relating to almost 10,000 adults born in Britain in 1958, focusing upon changes in their lives between the ages of 33 (in 1991) and 42 (in 2000).• The effects of participation in learning between the ages of 33 and 42 are estimated.Participation in learning is broken down according to the type of course takencourses resulting in academic and vocational qualifications, work-related training and leisure courses.• Previous, closely related research on the effects of adult learning focused on wage effects only and neglected non-accredited learning of the kind considered here. The current project is, therefore, a timely reminder that many learners take courses in adult learning that are not accredited and for reasons other than wage returns. A proper assessment of the value of adult learning must take these wider benefits into account.• The outcomes considered are changes between age 33 and 42 in social and political attitudes, civic participation, health behaviours (smoking, alcohol consumption and exercise), self-reported life satisfaction and onset and recovery from depression.• Effects of participation upon these outcomes are estimated for the whole sample. In addition, the different effects of participation are separately estimated for men and women, and for those without Level 2 qualifications at age 33.• We restrict selection bias by exploiting the fact that our data are longitudinal. We attempt to consider effects on individuals as they change over time, making before and after comparisons. We also control for a wide range of life-course background, achievement and developmental factors. Headline findings• Adult learning plays an important role in contributing to the small shifts in attitudes and behaviours that take place during mid-adulthood.• Participation in adult learning has positive effects on a wide spectrum of health and social outcomes. iv• The evidence for effects is robust to changes in specification. The same picture of wide-ranging effects of adult learning on changes in health and social outcomes is found when alternative specifications are used to measure participation in learning (linear, categorical, dummies, and quadratic functions).• Effect sizes are small in absolute terms. However, there is little change in attitudes and behaviours during mid-adulthood an...

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We use quantitative and qualitative methods to investigate the links between participation in adult learning and self-efficacy, particularly for the subgroup of adults who had low levels of achievement at school. We focus on self-efficacy because it translates into a range of wider benefits and because it may afford protection from depression and other forms of social exclusion. Quantitative analyses of data from the National Child Development Study (NCDS) provide evidence for an association between taking courses and transformations in self-efficacy for all cohort members, but the association is greatest and the evidence is strongest for our subgroup. A related fieldwork project involving in depth interviews with 15 women with poor school attainment sampled from the NCDS provides insights into some of the processes that underlie the associations found: (i) perceptions of achievement in adult education increase self-efficacy; (ii) adult education leads to more challenging occupations, which build self-efficacy; (iii) resistance to participation in adult education is reduced as self-efficacy increases; and (iv) learning on the job can build self-efficacy, and although participation in employer-provided training courses does not appear to play an important role, it reflects engagement in occupations where the value of learning is recognized. The interviews also illustrate how school impacts on self-efficacy and motivation to learn throughout the life course, and how important background and life circumstances can be in shaping the impacts of adult learning on self-efficacy.

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