Mental health research and adult learning Recent Workers’ Educational Association research related to health and wellbeing Reflections on collecting research data from students during the pilot stage of the Mental Health adult education research project

WEA research - context Campaigning member movement as well as an education provider ‘to build an education movement for social purpose’ ‘inspiring students, teachers and members to become active citizens’

WEA research – capturing impact Curriculum offer; course outcomes for students; individual student impact focus on Employability Health and Wellbeing Community Engagement Culture WEA Impact Report & WEA Research Unit

WEA Impact Report 2015 – students who declared a mental health disability (1) Curriculum – half chose arts and crafts; a quarter literacy/numeracy; 19% humanities or science and 14% health and wellbeing courses 69% had concurrent disabilities 82% interested in finding a job, 12% employed Half had no qualifications or qualifications up to Level 2

WEA Impact Report 2015 – students who declared a mental health disability (2) Communication skills 77% Organisational skills 66% Problem solving 58% Analytical skills 48% Critical skills 55% Teamwork 61% Learning skills 83% Self confidence 88% Meeting new & different people 85% Sharing new knowledge with friends & family 90% Gaining volunteering skills 73% or job skills 82% Making the community a better place 44%

WEA research – reports and activities WEA health and wellbeing project information

Adult Education Mental Health pilot 1 April 2015- March 2016 What happened to data collection during initial research pilot? Students did not always complete the research tool accurately but reflected what they thought might be expected in order to join a course Some students said they were always being asked to complete tools such as this and resented completing them and/or completed them quickly Privacy and ‘where is the data going? ’ was a concern Many students and assessors complained the categories on the forms did not adequately capture their moods or frequencies and saw the tool as not useful Some students found it distressing to complete the research tool IAG assessors (with lived experience of mental health) were resistant to turning students away ‘they should let distressed people come on the courses they want and choose to be assessed for, even if their scores can’t be used in the survey, don’t just make them failures again!’ IAG assessors used their own judgement about who should join a course.

Adult Education Mental Health pilot 2 April-July 2016 What happened to data collection during second research pilot? What we did differently - the research data collection tool was embedded into enrolment and student induction processes and tutor briefing pack + IA interviews were conducted by education staff who arrived separately at the beginning and end of each course BUT …… Some staff and students did not know they were part of the research and thought they were completing additional WEA paperwork Research tools were referred to in evaluation by staff and students as ‘burdensome’ ‘archaic‘ and at times ‘an upsetting’ process. Students experiencing mental health conditions did not enjoy completing forms sometimes seen to be ‘intrusive’ and ‘insensitive’.

Learning points Assumptions about the cultures of research and adult education Mutual understanding of constraints Communication, communication, communication…..

Further ideas and questions? Action Learning for Living Project Nottingham WEA East Midlands Project lead team: Alan Carter-Davies, Ann Creed, Julie Lane and Caroline Keep WEA Mental Health in Further Education research project website