Young Graduates and Lifelong Learning: The Impact of Institutional Stratification

The National Adult Learning Survey and the 1970 British Cohort Study have pointed to considerable differences by level of educational qualification in attitude to and participation in adult or ‘lifelong’ learning.They suggest that graduates are more likely than other groups to engage in adult learning, generally, and to be motivated to do so by the intrinsic interest of the subject matter. However, exploring the wider meaning attached to participation in such activities has been outside the remit of these studies. In an attempt to redress this gap, this article draws on life history interviews with recent graduates to consider the significance they attribute to taking part in lifelong learning. In particular, it focuses on the extent to which decisions about education and training after graduation can be seen as consonant with ‘individualized’ life plans, and the degree of similarity between these decisions and previous processes of ‘educational choice’.