On the 16th May we met to celebrate the Alexander Report at 50. We started with Stuart Moir, University of Edinburgh, who set the context to the discussions, please see his presentation here: Alexander at 50
Lyn Tett, Professor Emerita, University of Edinburgh – Creating spaces that disrupt the ideology of fatalism
Lyn drew on the research she has undertaken with CLD practitioners as well as the literature review of the ‘benefits of community-based adult learning’ to illustrate how Alexander’s aims of promoting of social justice and human flourishing have been translated into practice. She began with a summary of the main benefits that the literature shows of participation in CLD experience, then moved on to show how practitioners have created imaginative, democratic spaces that enable learners to participate in ways they desire and that build their confidence. She concluded with a call for us all to identify resources of hope that will help us to disrupt the negative ‘ideology of fatalism’ (Freire, 2014) through practising stubborn agency that resists the dominant neoliberal regime.
See Lyn’s slides here: Creating spaces that disrupt the ideology of fatalism
Dr Lorna MacBean, Independent Scholar – Practitioner Perspective
In her presentation, Lorna reflected on the relevance of the Alexander Report to her current practice in adult education today.
Lynne McCabe, CLD Development Officer, City of Edinburgh Council – Practitioner Perspective
In her presentation, Lynn reflected on the relevance of the Alexander Report to her past and current practice in Community Learning Development today.
The presentations were followed by group discussions on ways in which we can we reassert Alexander’s aims for CLD purpose & practice today. For notes from these discussions, see the notes here: Small Group Discussion notes
Learning Link Scotland will facilitate an online meeting in August 2025 to discuss potential future developments.
Please contact Jackie Howie at jhowie@learninglinkscotland.org.uk if you would like to be informed about this event.
Read the full report here: The Alexander Report
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