Using Zemiology to explore the potential social harms of a lifelong learning entitlement

The Lifelong Learning Entitlement (LLE) policy aims to provide equal access to loan funding for all adults aged 18–60 pursuing level 4–6 courses in both further and higher education in England. Its goal is to address the 'problem' of funding access to vocational training and retraining throughout an individual's life course. The study employs a novel analytical approach, combining Bacchi's 'What's the problem represented to be?' (WPR) approach with a zemiological lens to examine the harms generated by the LLE's problem representation. It demonstrates how various harms, including financial, psychological, and cultural harms, are produced. The paper further argues that the LLE policy's focus on economic value may restrict individuals' opportunities to follow education and training paths that reflect their personal aspirations, as it prioritises specific types of provision. This paper makes an original contribution to education policy studies by showing how analysing the harms produced by the LLE policy through a zemiological lens can offer ways to consider how to mitigate these harms. Although the analysis centres on a single policy in England, this combination of the WPR approach and a zemiological lens offers a systematic method for examining policy harms, with potential applicability both nationally and internationally.