About SCUTREA
SCUTREA is a lively and innovative professional network. It provides a focus and meeting place for institutions, departments and individuals engaged in the education and training of adults and/or in research in the broad field of continuing education.
SCUTREA was established thirty-nine years ago with the membership initially drawn from university adult education departments throughout the UK. Today, with the broad spread of continuing education activities, membership is open to all institutions and individuals with professional interests in the education of adults. As a result, the membership is now quite diverse and makes our annual conferences very interesting and lively events to be at.
CONFERENCES
SCUTREA holds a three day conference each year in early July, the proceedings of which are refereed and published. Past conference papers can be found in the Education-line collection. The theme chosen is always at the forefront of current debates in continuing education and the format of the conference deliberately reflects contemporary adult education practice. Details of this year’s conference may be obtained from here.
SCUTREA conference papers reflect members’ interests in both research and teaching. Postgraduate students are encouraged to contribute and a special award, in memory of the late Tilda Gaskell, is made to the presenter(s) of the best student paper each year. The prize is the refund of the conference costs plus a certificate. A limited number of bursaries of up to £100 (sterling) are made available for supporting attendance the annual conference each year for students and those on low incomes.
SCUTREA conferences are friendly and welcoming and include an introductory session for newcomers as well as plenaries, symposia, space for special interest groups to meet and evening social activities. The conference venue is usually a higher education institution in the UK with relevant teaching and research interests.
AWARDS
SCUTREA has four annual awards including the Tilda Gaskell Award. A second award is made at the conference for the papers that makes the most signficiant contribution to social justice, and is named after, and judged by, Ian Martin (formerly of the University of Edinburgh). Those submitting papers need to indicatge that they wish to be considered for this award. The other two awards are, firstly, the Michael Stephens Award. For this applicants must submit a research proposal with a maimum claim for £500.00 which can be used to pump prime a research project. It is unlikely to pay for the costs of the whole research project, but could make the difference between the project goining ahead or failing to materialise. Applications need to be with the Chair of SCUTREA by 1 April in any year. A conditioon of the award is that a paper based on the co0mpleted research is expected to be delviered at a subsequent SCUTREA Conference. The successful applicant will have the full conference fees and accommodation costs met by SCUTREA, though the applicant will be responsible for meeting their own travel costs.The final award made by SCUTREA is being introduced for the first time in 2010. This award is named in honour of the late David Jones, a former secretary and chair of SCUTREA. The focus on creative arts and/or international/comparative perspectives reflects David's interests in adult education. The criteria for consideration of this award are being finalised. Check back here in February 2010 when the details will be confirmed here.
MEETINGS
SCUTREA also organises various one-day events throughout the year, usually in conjunction with the Universities Association for Lifelong Learning (UALL) and the Society for Research In Higher Education (SRHE), on subjects of immediate concern to members. Details of the next events are provided here.
PUBLICATIONS
In addition to the conference proceedings, SCUTREA publishes a newsletter, SCOOP, to which all members are encouraged to contribute. SCOOP provides a notice-board on which to draw attention to new books, interesting articles, conferences and events, a forum in which key issues can be aired - and a way of keeping in touch with the activities of colleagues in adult and continuing education across the world. SCUTREA is also involved in the publication of the journal Studies in the Education of Adults. Current and previous editors have had significant involvement with SCUTREA, and SCUTREA have an elected representative on the Studies Board. The current representative is Barbara Merrill (Warwick). You may download the latest SCOOP from here.
INTERNATIONAL LINKS
SCUTREA maintains active links with comparable organisations around the world, including the American Association for Adult and Continuing Education (AAACE), the Adult Education Research Conference (AERC), the Australian Association of Adult and Community Education Research Network (AAACE), the Canadian Association for Studies in Adult Education (CASAE), and the European Society for Research on the Education of Adults (ESREA)
SPECIAL INTEREST NETWORKS
SCUTREA encourages the development of special interest groups in response to members' expressed needs and interests. Such groups provide an opportunity both to share mutual concerns and to develop theory and practice in specific aspects of adult education and training.
BENEFITS OF MEMBERSHIP
Access to a lively and supportive professional network. Reduced rates for individual members and full-time academic staff in member institutions attending the annual conference and some one-day events. Reduced subscriptions to the journals Adults Learning and Studies in the Education of Adults. Regular copies of SCOOP. Access to SCUTREA's email membership list (scutrea@jiscmail.ac.uk). We look forward to welcoming you into membership of SCUTREA.
INDIVIDUAL AND INSTITUTIONAL MEMBERSHIP
If you are interested in either individual or institutional membership, please contact Pam Coare: e-mail p.j.coare@sussex.ac.uk or join SCUTREA online by clicking here.
Preferential NIACE Journal Subsciption Rates for SCUTREA Members
Members of SCUTREA are entitled to a 10% discount on the NIACE journals listed below:
Adults Learning
www.niace.org.uk/Publications/Periodicals/AdultsLearning, a monthly magazine offering a forum for debate on all issues affecting policy and practice in adult learning (Published 10 times a year)
Studies in the Education of Adults
www.niace.org.uk/Publications/Periodicals/Studies.htm, published in association with SCUTREA, this international refereed journal offers a forum to keep abreast of scholarship, theory-building and empirical research in the broad field of education and training for adults. (Published twice a year)
Journal of Adult Continuing Education www.niace.org.uk/Publications/Periodicals/JACE, a refereed journal offering theoretical and empirical work in the fields of adult, community and continuing education. (Published twice a year)
Journal of Access Policy and Practice www.niace.org.uk/Publications/Periodicals/JAPP, informs and supports development in access and widening participation. A refereed journal, it explores education policy and practice as it affects access to learning.
(Published twice a year)
Convergence www.niace.org.uk/Publications/Periodicals/Convergence, presents critical perspectives on policies and practices in global and comparative lifelong learning.
(Published occasionally)
To receive your discount, send your order to NIACE clearly stating your SCUTREA membership number:
NIACE
Subscriptions Department
21 De Montfort Street
Leicester
LE1 7GE
United Kingdom
Tel: +44 (0)116 204 4215
Fax: +44 (0)116 204 4276
email: subscriptions@niace.org.uk
*NB The SCUTREA discount cannot be activated using the online facility.
SCUTREA Info - Email Distribution List
SCUTREA manages an email distribution list. This enables both individual and institutional members to receive and send materials from and to SCUTREA members by subscribing to this list. You can join or leave the SCUTREA list by going to SCUTREALIST at www.jiscmail.ac.uk. Or, if you prefer, send your email address to the SCUTREA Communications Officer.
MICHAEL STEPHENS BURSARY AWARD
Purpose of the Award
For some time now, members of SCUTREA have recognised that there are individuals carrying out research into adult and continuing education who may not be supported in this work by an institution. Members are also aware that some projects are not completed because of lack of resources. SCUTREA Council has acknowledged the importance of encouraging and supporting such initiatives by introducing this scheme for small scale bursaries. The bursary was renamed in 2007 in honour of the late Professor Michael Stephens of University of Nottingham, who was a significant contributor to adult education research in Britain.
Details of the Award
The award is a grant to assist with research expenses for a single study, over and above normal living costs. The kind of applicant we would expect is someone who might be working in a part-time post in adult and community education or a student wishing to undertake research. Research expenses are normally considered to be travel associated with the research, administrative costs, books and stationery. A maximum of two awards will be made annually, up to a value of £500 each.
Criteria for Eligibility
The applicant will:
be an individual or institutional member of SCUTREA
carry out research in keeping with the aims of SCUTREA
carry out innovative research that contributes to the knowledge base in adult and continuing education
undertake a specific study to be completed within a set time present their findings at an annual SCUTREA conference
account for monies spent in support of the research to the satisfaction of the Treasurer of SCUTREA
The decision will be made by at least four members of the SCUTREA Council, one of whom must be an officer. The decision will be final and there is no appeals procedure.
How to Apply
Researchers should submit a proposal on one side of A4. This should include a description of the research, including the time scale, and a budget. On a separate sheet, note the title of the research, your name and address and, if attached to an institution in membership of SCUTREA, the name of the institution.The proposal should be returned to the secretary of SCUTREA by 1st April each year - address details can be found on the Officers page.Michael Stephens Award
The names of successful applicants will be announced at the Annual Conference in July. Holders of the award will be expected to present their findings at a subsequent conference. For more details email the SCUTREA Communications Officer.
Events
If you want to promote your event on this page, please email the SCUTREA Communications Officer . We can E-Publish your publicity materials too. Please supply, as a file attachment, your brochures in either Microsoft Word or in the Adobe Acrobat PDF format.
Ethical Policies
Several members have asked us if SCUTREA has an ethical policy. Since ethical issues are often related to the nature and content of research and writing, Council decided to refer members to the ethical policies of the the British Educational Research Association, the British Psychological Society and the British Sociological Association. Follow the links below to download each organisations policies. The documents are in PDF format.