About SCUTREA
Welcome! SCUTREA is the Standing Committee on University Teaching and Research in the Education of Adults. We are a welcoming professional network of international researchers, practitioners and scholars who recognise the importance of adult education as a tool for social change.
SCUTREA was established in 1970 with the membership initially drawn from university adult education departments throughout the United Kingdom. We hold a three day conference each year. Past conference papers can be found in the Archives, a collection assembled by Professor Bonnie Slade of the University of Glasgow. These historical documents showcase the work of noted contributors from adult education who were active in SCUTREA. The archives show how the chosen themes reflected current debates in adult education, with the format of the conference designed to reflect innovative adult education practice.
In our 50+ years of history membership of SCUTREA has included the active participation of leaders in the field. SCUTREA values and celebrates the contribution made by long-standing participants, as well as those who have served (in a voluntary capacity) as officers of SCUTREA.
In 2024 we officially merged with UALL, joining together on a shared mission. We are a Standing Committee within UALL and no longer a stand-alone charity.
SCUTREA Committee
Dr. Nic Dickson, University of Stirling
SCUTREA Lead Co-Chair 2025-2027
Nic is an adult educator, visual artist and participatory arts-based researcher. She gained a Ph.D. from the School of Education at the University of Glasgow in 2023. Nic has been involved with SCUTREA since 2017, when she attended and presented at her first SCUTREA conference in Edinburgh. She became an active member of the charity and vocal advocate for accessible and engaging adult education for marginalised groups. She became SCUTREA’s Honorary Secretary in 2019 and held the role till 2023. In 2025, Nic became lead Co-Chair and will continue in this role until June 2026.
Nic specialises in utilising participatory arts-based research approaches to capture the lived experiences of seldom heard communities. She works in both the community and academia as an educator and practitioner. As an early career researcher, she has been employed as a Research Associate in various roles since graduating her PhD and works across disciplines. Previously with the University of Glasgow’s School of Education, School of Health and Wellbeing (where she remains as an honorary research fellow), she now works as a Community Embedded Researcher at CTSI and the University of Stirling as part of the C4 programme.
Dr Anil Awesti, University of Warwick
SCUTREA Deputy Chair, 2026-2027
Anil is an Associate Professor in the Centre for Lifelong Learning (CLL) at the University of Warwick. His research and practice are in the field of inclusive education, in particular analysing and working to make higher education a more socially just space for students from ‘non-traditional’ backgrounds. At Warwick, Anil leads on institutional work to inform and develop current university policy/practice on issues of mature students’ access and experiences. Within the CLL, he leads on the pastoral and academic-related needs of the department’s diverse student body and has developed a programme to support the CLL’s mature students in order to ensure a positive learner experience across the student lifecycle. Anil has also been a driving force behind Warwick’s anti-racism work, leading transformative change in staff development, teaching practice, and institutional policy. His leadership has been central to embedding anti-racism into Warwick’s Inclusive Education Model, Race Equality Charter, and wider sector engagement, with over 800 staff trained and measurable progress in understanding, confidence, and action taken. The impact of Anil’s work in the space of inclusive education has been recognised both internally and nationally. He has published and presented in the fields of anti-racism and lifelong learning in higher education.
Professor Bonnie Slade, University of Glasgow
SCUTREA Archivist
Bonnie Slade is the SCUTREA Archivist. She has been involved in SCUTREA since 2006 when she attended the conference in Leeds as a PhD student. Bonnie has served SCUTREA as an Honorary Secretary (2016-2019) and Honorary Chair (2019-2024). She is interested in preserving and reinvigorating SCUTREA’s rich history embedded in the Conference Proceedings Archives. She is interested in exploring how the Archives can shine a light on current issues in adult education and lifelong learning.
Dr. Nalita James, University of Warwick
SCUTREA Representative for Studies in the Education of Adults
A key principle of SCUTREA is about making connections with international researchers, practitioners and scholars in the field of adult education, and bridging the link between practice and research. Historically, SCUTREA has worked closely with the journal Studies in the Education of Adults, by having representation on its editorial Board and this will continue as we move into the new era of SCUTREA. Studies in the Education of Adults a scholarly international refereed journal that theorises and critically examines the education of adults as well as engages with international debates and national issues. It is also equally focused on lifelong-learning, adult learning, the nature of adult curriculum and on the role of the educator. Further information about publishing in the journal can be found here Studies in the Education of Adults | Taylor & Francis Online (tandfonline.com)
Dr Nalita James is the SCUTREA representative for the Studies Journal. She is a Reader in Lifelong Learning at the University of Warwick, and Fellow of the Warwick International Higher Education Academy where she leads a Learning Circle on adult learners’ experiences of higher education. Nalita is Co-Editor and Board member of the Studies in the Education of Adults journal. In June 2022, she was awarded Honorary Membership of SCUTREA in recognition of her contribution to adult education. Nalita’s research interests lie in the sociology of education and include: access to higher education; changing patterns of voice and identity in adult education, and lifelong learning and education policy.
Dr. Sharon Clancy, University of Nottingham
Community of Practice Facilitator
Sharon is Associate Professor at the University of Nottingham, specialising in post-16 and adult education. Her writing focuses on class, community, culture and social justice issues with a socio-historical lens. She has been attending SCUTREA conferences since 2016/17 when she first moved into academia, being then Senior Research Fellow on the Enliven project under the leadership of Professor John Holford. In 2017 she completed her PhD on a historic adult education college. She became a Commissioner on the Centenary Commission on Adult Education in 2018, representing the Raymond Williams Foundation for which she is Chair. In 2019 she became Communications Officer for SCUTREA, and she served as Co-Chair from 2024-25.
Since 2020 she has co-led with Dr Iain Jones the Research Circle on Fostering Democracy, Debate and Dialogue which emerged from the Centenary Commission’s work. A passionate advocate for community voice, she was a voluntary sector/public engagement leader before entering academia, as CEO of Mansfield Council for Voluntary Services between 2000 and 2007 and Head of Community Engagement at the University of Nottingham between 2007 and 2013.
Marijana Asprovska
Early Career Engagement Lead at SCUTREA
Marijana is a University of Glasgow Alumna dedicated to inclusion and equitable access to education and research for all. She is the Early Career Engagement Lead at SCUTREA, and within her role, she leads initiatives that create meaningful opportunities for emerging scholars and practitioners to share, develop, and strengthen their research. Through this role, she is developing an inclusive symposium model (Tilda Gaskell Emerging Research Symposium) that supports early-career researchers by providing constructive feedback, international networking, and equitable access to academic dialogue beyond traditional university settings