Alan Tuckett, PhD

Hall of Fame Class of 2006 - European

Alan Tuckett, PhD, celebrates 37 years of leadership and involvement in the adult and continuing education field as a conference keynote speaker, mentor, administrator, researcher, author, publisher, innovative professional practitioner, and successful negotiator with governmental bodies nationally, in the United Kingdom, and internationally in more than 50 countries around the world. His research interests include adult learning policy, motivation, outreach and engagement of adults, and low waged workers’ access to learning.

Since 1988, Tuckett has served as director of the National Institute of Adult Continuing Education (NIACE), a non-governmental organization working for more and different adult learners, with the formal aim to promote the study and general advancement of adult continuing education, through maintaining numerous vibrant publications and public forums. With his leadership NIACE staff has grown from 18 people to 240, with specialist expertise in literacy, older learners, learning and technology, minority learners, health equality, women, young learners, and voluntary sector learning. NIACE has research programs advocating for the public good: Black practitioners, family learning, health and disability quality, higher education, asylum seekers, literacy, communication technologies, support to local authorities, science and adult learning, older learners, women learners, voluntary sector learning, and adult participation in learning surveys. NIACE has been successful as a critical friend to the government, and has places on the key committees on planning and funding adult learning, and the ministerial led Skills Alliance in the UK. 

He has written and published extensively, and he initiated Adult Learners’ Week (an annual learning festival) in the UK, which has spread to almost 50 countries with the assistance of UNESCO. Tuckett has been a keynote speaker and undertaken consultancy in more than 40 countries, notably promoting Adult Learners’ Week and learning festivals. These are to bridge the learner week activities, to learn from the experiences of other countries, to share celebration with people in other contexts, and to amplify the cooperation between agencies active in the promotion of adult learning at the international level. 

Tuckett has been awarded honorary doctorates from seven universities, and in 1995, the Queen appointed him officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE), for service to adult further education.