Workers’ Educational Association
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Workers' Educational Associations (WEA) are not-for-profit bodies that deliver
further education Further education (often abbreviated FE) in the United Kingdom and Ireland is additional education to that received at secondary school that is distinct from the higher education (HE) offered in universities and other academic institutions. It ...
to adults in the UK, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada.


WEA UK

WEA UK, founded in 1903, is the UK's largest voluntary sector provider of adult education and one of Britain's biggest charities. The WEA is a democratic and voluntary adult education movement. It delivers learning throughout England and Scotland. There was a related but independent WEA Cymru covering Wales, though it is now known as
Adult Learning Wales Adult Learning Wales () is a registered charity and adult education provider serving the whole of Wales. History The present body was formed on the merger of Workers' Educational Association WEA Cymru and YMCA Community College on 1 August 2015, ...
since a merger in 2015 with YMCA Wales Community College. The WEA's provision is usually local to its students. In 2015–16 there were over 8,000 courses delivered in over 1,800 community venues and 75% of WEA students travelled less than 2 miles to their class. The WEA has throughout its history supported the development of similar educational initiatives and associations internationally. It is affiliated to the
International Federation of Workers' Education Associations The International Federation of Workers' Education Associations (IFWEA) is an international organisation of associations, foundations, non-governmental organisations and trade unions involved in adult education for working people. It is based in Cap ...
(IFWEA), which has consultative status to
UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...
. The WEA is divided into nine regions in England, a Scottish Association and over 500 local branches. It creates and delivers about 9,000 courses each year in response to local need across England and Scotland, often in partnership with community groups and local charities. These courses provide learning opportunities for around 65,000 people per year, taught by over 2,000 professional tutors (most of whom work for the WEA part-time). The WEA is supported by the Government through funding from the Skills Funding Agency in England, and in Scotland by the Scottish Executive and Local Authorities. It also receives fees from learners on many of its courses and is often successful in funding bids from government, lottery and other sources for educational projects in local communities around the country.


History

Albert Mansbridge Albert Mansbridge, Order of the Companions of Honour, CH (10 January 1876, Gloucester, Gloucestershire, England – 22 August 1952, Torquay, Devon) was an English educator who was one of the pioneers of adult education in Britain. He is best know ...
(10 January 1876 – 22 August 1952) and his wife
Frances Frances is an English given name or last name of Latin origin. In Latin the meaning of the name Frances is 'from France' or 'the French.' The male version of the name in English is Francis (given name), Francis. The original Franciscus, meaning "F ...
(née Frances Jane Pringle, 1876–1958) established ''An Association to promote the Higher Education of Working Men'' in 1903 (renamed 'Workers Educational Association' in 1905), funded by two shillings and sixpence from the housekeeping money. Archbishop of Canterbury William Temple was a strong proponent of workers' education. The first Scottish branch of the WEA was in Springburn, Glasgow, although this only lasted until 1909 at that time, the Edinburgh and Leith Branch coming into existence on 25 October 1912 after a meeting held at the Free Gardeners' Hall, 12-14 Picardy Place, Edinburgh. The meeting was chaired by Professor Lodge and addressed by Albert Mansbridge and Dr. Bernard Bosanquet. The meeting was attended by 200 people, including James Munro who became Secretary of the newly formed branch. WEA branches for North and South Wales were established early in the 20th century. An instrumental figure was David Thomas, who taught classes for the WEA in Caernarfonshire from 1928 to 1959, and instigated the founding of ''Lleufer'' (Light) as a Welsh-language WEA periodical, which he edited it until 1965. Coleg Harlech was founded in 1925 as a residential college for workers' education, and in 2001 merged with the WEA (North Wales). Further mergers in 2014 unified North and South, then in 2015 WEA Cymru merged with YMCA Community College to form Adult Learning Wales - Addysg Oedolion Cymru. WEA NI was first set up in Belfast in 1910. It would come to operate across Northern Ireland and in the Border Counties in the Republic. It eventually had around 6,500 learners in any given year. It ceased to function in June 2014, when it ran into a cash flow problem and its bank refused to extend credit. It provided adult education in community and workplace settings. Its title was somewhat misleading as it provided education for all types of people and in particular tried to reach out to those who missed out on learning first time round. It worked mainly with those over 18. Its courses were organized mainly in venues such as community halls, arts centres and training rooms in workplaces.


Leadership


Presidents

:1908: William Temple :1924: Fred Bramley :1926: Arthur Pugh :1928: R. H. Tawney :1944: Harold Clay :1958:
Asa Briggs Asa Briggs, Baron Briggs (7 May 1921 – 15 March 2016) was an English historian. He was a leading specialist on the Victorian era, and the foremost historian of broadcasting in Britain. Briggs achieved international recognition during his lon ...
:1968: Ellen McCullough :1971:
Billy Hughes William Morris Hughes (25 September 1862 – 28 October 1952) was an Australian politician who served as the seventh prime minister of Australia from 1915 to 1923. He led the nation during World War I, and his influence on national politics s ...
:1981: Bernard Jennings :1990s: Bill Conboy :2008: Colin Barnes :2016: Lynne Smith :2020: Pat Kynaston


General Secretaries

:1905:
Albert Mansbridge Albert Mansbridge, Order of the Companions of Honour, CH (10 January 1876, Gloucester, Gloucestershire, England – 22 August 1952, Torquay, Devon) was an English educator who was one of the pioneers of adult education in Britain. He is best know ...
:1916: J. M. MacTavish :1928:
John William Muir John William Muir (15 December 1879 – 11 January 1931) was the editor of ''The Worker'', a newspaper of the Clyde Workers' Committee, who was prosecuted under the Defence of the Realm Act for an article criticising World War I. Born in Glasgow ...
:1931: Alec Firth :1934: Ernest Green :1951: Harry Nutt :1970: Reginal James Jefferies :1982: Robert Lochrie :2003: Richard Bolsin :2012: Ruth Spellman :2020: Simon Parkinson


Australia and New Zealand

In 1913, the
University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne (colloquially known as Melbourne University) is a public university, public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in the state ...
invited Mansbridge to visit Australia to help set up branches there. The Mansbrige family arrived on 8 July on a 17-week mission aimed at forming branches of the association in New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, South Australia, West Australia and Tasmania and WEAs were initially set up in all states. During this trip the Mansbridges then made a brief visit to New Zealand where WEA branches were established in 1915. Seven branches are still operating. Branches in Waitakere,
Kāpiti Coast Kapiti or Kāpiti may refer to: * Kapiti (New Zealand electorate), a former Parliamentary electorate *Kāpiti Coast District, a local government district *Kapiti Island * Kapiti Coast Airport * Kāpiti College *Kāpiti Expressway * Kapiti Fine Food ...
,
Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...
,
Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, in the county of Kent, England; it was a county borough until 1974. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. The city has a mild oceanic climat ...
,
Te Anau Te Anau is a town in the Southland, New Zealand, Southland List of regions in New Zealand, region of the South Island of New Zealand. In Māori language, Māori, Te-Anau means the Place of the Swirling Waters. It is on the eastern shore of Lake ...
, Gore and Southland provides flexible learning to over 12,000 students each year. The Canterbury branch initially held its classes in a dingy rented room down a back alley; now it is homed in the central city villa it purchased in 1957, where it teaches over 130 courses a year. From the 1920s, it took adult education to nearly every nook and cranny of the Canterbury and Westland provinces through a travelling library book scheme. Early work was patterned on the WEAs in the UK. As in the UK, the WEAs in Australia became general adult education agencies. Reorganization in 1994 saw the WEA in New South Wales split into WEA Sydney, WEA Hunter in Newcastle (now Atwea College) and WEA Illawarra in Wollongong. WEA Sydney has many clubs and societies associated with their operation. A typical example is the WEA Film Study Group based in
New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...
. As of 2012, WEA South Australia claims to be 'Australia's largest non-government adult community education organisation'. After being in recess for many years, WEA Victoria was briefly revived in 2015.'Get Involved' at http://www.weavictoria.org/get-involved.html (assessed 15/07/2015). Similar Australian organisations include Melbourne's Centre for Adult Education, and historically, the many
mechanics' institutes Mechanics' institutes, also known as mechanics' institutions, sometimes simply known as institutes, and also called schools of arts (especially in the Australian colonies), were educational establishments originally formed to provide adult ed ...
across the country.


Canada

There are also some branches in Canada which have presently and currently opened in March 2014 although however its services has been established since 1917 (98 years old) and is part of the WEA International; it operates mainly in Toronto, Ottawa, and Halifax as well as St Johns. it is currently operated under the Canadian government licences and jurisdictions of division branch companies ltd.' (LLC).


See also

*
Adult education Adult education, distinct from child education, is a practice in which adults engage in systematic and sustained educating activities in order to gain new knowledge, skills, attitudes, or values. Merriam, Sharan B. & Brockett, Ralph G. ''The Pr ...
*
Community college A community college is a type of undergraduate higher education institution, generally leading to an associate degree, certificate, or diploma. The term can have different meanings in different countries: many community colleges have an open enr ...
*
Continuing education Continuing education is the education undertaken after initial education for either personal or professional reasons. The term is used mainly in the United States and Canada. Recognized forms of post-secondary learning activities within the d ...
*
Lifelong learning Lifelong learning is the "ongoing, voluntary, and self-motivated" pursuit of learning for either personal or professional reasons. Lifelong learning is important for an individual's competitiveness and employability, but also enhances social in ...
*
Vocational education Vocational education is education that prepares people for a skilled craft. Vocational education can also be seen as that type of education given to an individual to prepare that individual to be gainfully employed or self employed with req ...


References


Further reading


UK

Lawrence Goldman, past President of the former Thames and Solent District WEA, has written: *''Dons and Workers: Oxford and Adult Education Since 1850'' (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1995). *'Intellectuals and the English Working Class 1870–1945: The Case of Adult Education', ''History of Education'' 29:4 (1999), 281–300. *'Education as Politics: University Adult Education in England since 1870', ''Oxford Review of Education'' 25:1-2 (1999), 89–101. * 2003: A Century of Learning 1903–2003 Timeline. Workers' Educational Association Scotland. © WEA Scotland. * Joe England (ed.), 2007. ''Changing Lives: Workers' Education in Wales 1907–2007''.


Australia

*


External links


Official website
{{Authority control Australian vocational education and training providers Educational organisations based in the United Kingdom