As part of ongoing research into the lost spaces of adult education within the UK, Sharon had the honour of interviewing Derek Tatton in 2021. The video of this interview is available online and the following blog post provides Sharon’s initial thinking and reflections. As a former adult educator and teacher, Derek first encountered the
My research will explore the meanings and memories associated with former places and spaces of adult education in the UK, particularly residential adult education. By ‘lost spaces’, I refer to physical sites or locations which were used for pioneering adult education purposes in the past but are no longer in existence or have been repurposed. Nonetheless, such spaces provide a focus for the memories, experiences and voices of those who benefited from them, and many sites have stimulated educational developments beyond their life span. These elements are what I want to explore in my research.
