This research report examines the longitudinal impact of conducting visits to cultural venues (architectural and lanscapes connected to history) with disadvantaged students on their educational attainment and overall improvements in life quality, which was recognised as missing in published research at the time of the study.
The project focused on building qualitative and quantitative data that demonstrated the positive impact of visiting cultural venues, and to look at the longitudinal impact of taking students to these venues in relation to the four key themes of the WEA (employability, health and well-being, community engagement and culture). It did this through questionnaires designed to understand why the learners wanted to visit these venues, what they remembered of their visit, and what perceived benefits there were a year after the visit took place.
This research project found that the impact of visiting a cultural venue is individualised according to the disadvantaged learners background and specific difficulties in learning, which led to the impacts being more readily qualified than quantified. These visits were found to create lasting memories, provided the learners with experiences they can draw and reflect upon in future learning, to be inspirational in ways specific to each learner, and that the learner acquired on the visits was broader than the objectives of their own courses.
emCETT