Universities’ adult education courses are too focused on developing economic and technical skills, rather than on forming rounded, socially informed individuals, a leading educationalist will tell a major international conference on the history of higher education.

The ‘Beyond the Lecture Hall’ conference, organised by the Faculty of Education and the Institute of Continuing Education at the University of Cambridge, will be held from 5 to 7 September and will look at the history of universities’ engagement with the wider world.

80 delegates from countries ranging from Japan, India and Singapore to the US and Canada will look at the history of developments such as university printing presses, exams and adult education and see what lessons can be drawn for the present day.

Professor Chris Duke, Secretary-General of the third sector and virtual-community Pascal International Observatory, will say that the tradition of liberal adult education is dying, with the final straw being the Government’s policy of removing funding for those studying towards a qualification which is equivalent or lower to one they already have.

This will “all but privatise” adult education for those already qualified, he will say, adding that the seeds of the current situation were sown from the very inception of continuing education.

Fittingly, as the conference anticipates the 800th anniversary of the founding of Cambridge, Bill Jones from the National Institute of Adult Continuing Education will outline how university community outreach began at Cambridge, when James Stuart of Trinity College inaugurated his innovative lecture tours in manufacturing towns and cities.

This led to the creation of the university extension movement which resulted in the formalised and government-funded university adult education system which we know today.

In addition to Professor Duke, the keynote speakers at the conference will be:

Professor David McKitterick, Wren Librarian and Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge, who will speak about the changing nature of how university printing presses have adapted over the centuries to reach different audiences in new ways

Dr Sandra Raban, emeritus fellow of Trinity Hall, Cambridge and editor of Founding the World, who will look at the development of university-backed local examinations, how early complaints were about exams being too hard rather than the current concerns about dumbing down, how, until recently, university involvement skewed secondary education in favour of technical rather than academic subjects and how it has helped the UK play a leading role in education systems worldwide, including countries where post-colonial sensitivities would have made official British examinations unacceptable.

Professor Sir David Watson of the Institute of Education, will talk about the lessons history can teach university leaders which will help them tackle issues such as globalisation, ethics and balancing obligations to the state and civil society in a changing world with an increasing focus on profit and entrepreneurialism

Professor Rosemary O’Day, professor of history at the Open University, will outline how universities have influenced the development of modern professions and how they need to move with the times and not seek to exclude new vocational specialisms from their formal curricula.

Other speakers at the conference will look at everything from the role of universities in building peace in Iraq and the rise of media dons at Cambridge in 1960s to teachers’ attitudes to higher education after the First World War.

The conference will also host the launch of Routledge’s five-volume History of Education, edited by Rob Lowe, which traces the history of British higher education since 1760, comparing it with developments in other countries.

Dr Peter Cunningham, senior lecturer in Cambridge’s Faculty of Education and one of the organisers of the conference, says: “The conference is not just about celebrating how universities have engaged with their communities throughout history. There will be a distinct critical edge. We are taking a long, historical and international perspective on how universities have disseminated their learning and the impact this has had.”

For more information, contact Dr Cunningham on 01223 767563.
 

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