Social Partnerships in Learning: Connecting to the Learner Identities of Disenfranchised Regional Learners

Abstract

The ways people interpret, operate within or make decisions about their education is based on their identities and institutions’ identities, and the connections between them, or in other words, their perception of the underlying relationships between them and institutions. These relationships are informed by the perceptions of individuals, communities and institutions of their own and others’ identities. These learner identities impact on their engagement in learning activities. Understanding the key factors of learning engagement that impact on the different learner identities is dependent on understanding the aspects of the multiple identities on which individuals draw, and the efficacy of those identities in negotiating new learning experiences. These identities are situated and negotiated in each context, time and place. This chapter reflects on the key drivers of disenfranchised learners’ identities and the role of learning partnerships in developing learner identities that support the engagement of regional learners in formal education. The implications of considering the role of learner identities in the provision of adult education programmes and associated support services are discussed, in particular the implications for educators that meet the expectations of learners and educational institutions and recognize disenfranchised learner identities.