Previous literature has highlighted the predominant use of qualitative research methods within the field of adult education. While a wide range of opportunities to exploit and gather large scale quantitative data are available, these avenues remain underexplored. The aims of this chapter are twofold. First, it familiarises readers with a range of datasets gathered through international survey programmes managed by International Governmental Organisations. Examples include the European Commission’s Adult Education Survey, the OECD’s Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC), UNESCO’s Literacy and Assessment Programme (LAMP) and the World Bank’s STEP Skills Measurement Programme. It links the existence of these survey programmes to a wider debate on the use of benchmarks and indicators underpinning data-driven policy approaches. Second, it discusses examples of the application of novel and innovative methods that have been used to capture lifelong learning data in real-world projects. It highlights the work undertaken by the University of Glasgow’s Urban Big Data Centre, and zooms in on research undertaken within the Integrated Multimedia City Data (iMCD) project. Its work is being discussed against wider developments in relation to the use of ‘big data’ in the social sciences. Throughout the chapter, we reference the limitations of large survey and innovative data work, such as issues relating to privacy and the difficulties in including hard-to-reach groups. We focus on cooperative work in interdisciplinary teams with colleagues from varying methodological backgrounds who can contribute to projects underpinned by triangulation to provide comprehensive answers to relevant research questions.
University of Glasgow, United Kingdom - ORCID: 0000-0002-2285-5814
University of Glasgow, United Kingdom - ORCID: 0000-0002-6255-9905
Chapter Title
Capturing Lifelong Learning Data through International Surveys and Novel Innovative Methods
Authors
Ellen Boeren, Catherine Lido
Language
English
DOI
10.36253/979-12-215-0253-4.22
Peer Reviewed
Publication Year
2023
Copyright Information
© 2023 Author(s)
Content License
Metadata License
Book Title
Adult Education and Social Justice: International Perspectives
Editors
Maria Slowey, Heribert Hinzen, Michael Omolewa, Michael Osborne
Peer Reviewed
Number of Pages
324
Publication Year
2023
Copyright Information
© 2023 Author(s)
Content License
Metadata License
Publisher Name
Firenze University Press
DOI
10.36253/979-12-215-0253-4
ISBN Print
979-12-215-0252-7
eISBN (pdf)
979-12-215-0253-4
eISBN (xml)
979-12-215-0254-1
Series Title
Studies on Adult Learning and Education
Series ISSN
2704-596X
Series E-ISSN
2704-5781