Campaign for Learning

In a recent MORI survey 90% of adults said that learning was important to them personally and more people enjoy learning new things (28%) than either doing physical exercise (24%), watching TV (22%) and going to the cinema (5%).

For those that said learning was important the same proportion (24%) said it was to improve the quality / variety of their life or to improve / better themselves. Eighty three percent said that learning will become more important in the next millennium.

Nearly half (47%) of young people said they liked learning new things as it will help them get a job, get qualifications (45%) and go to college / university (34%).

In the past twelve months nearly half the adults had taken part in some form of taught learning. Even more adults (56%) had been involved in some form of non-taught learning.

Just over three-quarters (77%) of adults said that they would prefer to work for an employer who provides time, money and support for training than one who gives big salary increases but little opportunity for training. Thirty four per cent said that a work related factor would influence them most in deciding to start learning again.

Adults felt they learnt the most in home (57%), at work (43%) and in libraries (36%). Young people said in class at school (78%), from the TV (50%) and at libraries (32%). The same proportion of adults (45%) said that they prefer to learn through doing practical things and through self study. Young people said in groups (52%), by doing practical things (35%) and from teachers and by using computers (29%).

Adults said that to learn something new they would use books / written materials (72%), lectures (42%) and videos and TV programmes (32%).

Nearly three-quarters of adults (74%) agree that advances in new technology are making learning easier.

Technical details

MORI interviewed 1,043 adults aged 16+ throughout Great Britain, between 20 February and 12 March 1998, in-home and face-to-face. The young peoples survey was carried out as part of MORI's national Schools Omnibus survey, which involved self-completion questionnaires among 4,245 pupils aged between 11 and 16 years old in England and Wales, between 19 January and 13 February 1998. Data were weighted to match known population profile.