Learning through ICTS in the environmental justice movement: case studies from Scotland

Historically, social purpose adult education was linked with progressive struggles for social justice, equality and democracy, and its contribution waxed and waned depending on the vibrancy and demands of wider social forces in society. However, these forces have altered considerably over the past century. This is not the only important difference in today’s context. Information and communication technologies (ICTs) are having an impact on the nature of social and political conflicts by creating new sites of struggle and new means of participation in social action. They also have a potential impact on the process of individual and social learning in movement activities. If social purpose adult education is to reassert itself as a resource for progressive social movements, it will have to reconnect with these struggles and adopt new ways of allying itself to their cause. In this paper we draw upon ongoing research into the environmental justice movement in Scotland, which focuses on the contribution of ICTs to learning and participation.