Wider benefits of education: skills, higher education and civic engagement

Abstract

In this paper we do the following: First we describe the remit and programme of the University of London’s Wider Benefits of Learning Research Centre, which studies the noneconomic effects of learning, at individual but also collective level. We set out a theoretical framework for our programme, organised around three ‘capitals’: human capital, social capital, and identity capital. After that we report results drawn from two large-scale longitudinal datasets. We use the data collected in the 1958 cohort study at ages 33 and 42 to assess the wider benefits of participating in any form of education over the period 33 to 42. This focusses on four clusters of outcomes: health; wellbeing; social attitudes; and political involvement. Additionally, we trace a variety of relationships, and discuss the issues involved in establishing causality. Our conclusion is that education is not so much an option for government but an absolute pre-requisite for the promotion of personal well-being and a cohesive society. (DIPF/Orig.)