Community Learning and Development in Scotland and internationally: literature review

Methodology

This section of the report sets out the approach taken to searching, sifting and reviewing the literature included in this review. The methodology was agreed by Scottish Government researchers, the Independent Reviewer and the Independent Review Secretariat.

Literature review questions and themes

The review questions included:

• What are the barriers and enablers to participation in CLD in Scotland, particularly for marginalised learners such as those living in poverty or with protected characteristics?
• What is the impact of CLD in Scotland, particularly on marginalised learners, and what evidence is there on monitoring/evaluation?
• What works in the delivery of CLD in Scotland?
• What can the evidence tell us about CLD in rUK and internationally?

In answering these questions, the review sought to take into account the key themes identified in the Independent Review of CLD Terms of Reference (Scottish Government, 2023a), with a focus on data, the needs of learners, and the workforce

The Independent Reviewer also identified priority areas for evidence gathering:

• Awareness and Visibility of CLD
• Availability and Accessibility of CLD
• Learning and Support provided in CLD
• Pathways and Progression from CLD

The literature review is not structured according to these areas, as the evidence on some, particularly in the Scottish context, is sparse. However, Annex 2 draws together a summary of evidence from Scotland that provide insight into these key themes.

Parameters of the review

The first stage of the literature review involved developing a literature search strategy and parameters for the review. The agreed parameters included research:

• Published within the last five years, increasing to eight years if necessary to fill evidence gaps
• Published in English
• Published by a reputable journal or source
• Based on robust research methods
• Based on data gathered in the UK or a selection of comparable international contexts. These include:
  • European Union, especially focusing on Denmark and Finland
  • New Zealand
  • Canada

The review excluded:

• Analysis that was primarily theoretical in focus, with limited analysis of practical CLD contexts.
• Policy papers or ‘think pieces’ with no or limited basis on research evidence.
• Evaluation and inspection reports.

Some research articles based on evaluations were included in the review, when the evaluation was used as a case study or example within a wider analysis that considered the implications of the findings upon the broader CLD sector. Evaluations that only assessed the outcomes of a particular project or activity were not included.

Limitations

The review sought to summarise a range of evidence relating to the various practice domains within of CLD. Each domain is underpinned by an extensive evidence base, including research that focusses on specific or nuanced areas of practice. In the interests of space and accessibility, it has not been possible to fully consider research relating to highly specific aspects of different practice domains. Rather, the focus has been on documenting the most robust and relevant evidence to answer the research questions.

The review is also limited by the specified date range (research published in 5 years prior to the commencement of the review in 2023). A small number of sources outside this time window were included in the review, either because they were of particular relevance or there was not a more recent alternative. Two literature reviews on youth work in Scotland and Europe, published in 2015 and 2014 respectively, were included in this final sample, as well as an article on the health benefits of adult learning from 2017. Three sources on adult literacies in Scotland, from 2009, 2015 and 2016, are included because of the limited data available on this topic.

Choice of international comparators

International comparators were chosen due to similarities with Scotland or because of high participation rates in CLD. In selecting countries to compare, factors such as population and economy size, language, and wellbeing-economy status were considered. A wellbeing economy is an economy designed to sustain the wellbeing of the population and planet, rather than pursuing economic growth as an end in itself. Transitioning to a wellbeing economy is a priority for the Scottish Government (Scottish Government, 2023b).

The focus on Nordic countries was due to high participation rates in community learning, because Denmark/Finland are comparators in terms of size, and because Finland is also a wellbeing economy country. Canada and New Zealand were also selected due to their wellbeing economy status and because they are primarily English-speaking contexts. New Zealand has a similar sized population and economy compared to Scotland.

The review did not yield sufficient research evidence, within the parameters specified above, to provide a comprehensive overview of CLD in each of the comparator countries. Therefore, Annex 2 includes a summary of CLD in each of the selected countries, which draws on a more diverse range of evidence such as policy documents.

Literature search and sift

An initial literature search was carried out by a Scottish Government librarian, using search terms supplied by Scottish Government researchers (see Annex 1). A wide range of search terms were included because of the different names by which CLD is known and the range of practice domains.

This search identified 79 sources. An initial sift of titles and abstracts was carried out to identify relevant material. This excluded 16 sources from the analysis. A second sift was carried out based on a full reading of the source, which resulted in the exclusion of a further 33 sources. While a significant number of sources were excluded at the sift stage, this is a result of the wide variety of search terms used.

An additional 64 sources were identified by additional searches carried out by Scottish Government researchers, by following references from identified sources, and from materials submitted to the Independent Review call for evidence. A further 26 sources were identified following circulation of the draft literature review among external stakeholders.

This literature review is based on a final sample of 120 articles and other sources. The articles were analysed using an Excel table to note publication details, methodology and key findings. This table was then used to identify key themes from the sources.

A limited number of sources were identified that included data from the international comparator countries. For this reason, the parameters of the review were expanded to include policy sources from these international contexts, to enable comparisons with the delivery of CLD internationally. This analysis is contained in Annex 2 of the report.