Persistence, Progression and Achievement (PPA)

Motivating Skills for Life Learners to Persist, Progress and Achieve was a two-year national research and development project commissioned by the Quality Improvement Agency (QIA). It was led by the National Research and Development Centre for Adult Literacy and Numeracy (NRDC), in partnership with the National Institute for Adult and Community Learning (NIACE) and Tribal Education Ltd. The aims of the project were to increase the evidence base and to develop tools and techniques to support learners, practitioners and managers as they try to overcome the barriers to completion and continued learning.

The first year of the project involved research, examining such areas as the impact of ICT, systemic barriers such as funding and targets, impact of initial, formative and summative assessment and pastoral support. In the second year the emphasis was on development. 14 providers looked at how the research messages could be transformed into development programmes to help address specific issues relevant to their organisation.

A full account of this project can be found by visiting http://excellence.qia.org.uk/stickwithit