Community Education Driving the Lifelong Learning Model

1
Community Education Driving the Lifelong Learning
Model

• Hannah Weste Fitzpatrick
• Course Administrator, Centre for Adult Continuing
  Education, U.C.C.

2
Introduction

• Education is being attributed the key strategic
  role in driving economic, social and political
  change, what then is the role of community
  education and what part does it play in the
  overall process of education? This paper will
  explore the concepts of community, education and
  partnership and will outline the principles of
  adult learning as practiced by the Centre for
  Adult Continuing Education in its work in
  community education.

3
Community as a concept

• God word status, positive connotations
• Lack of critical analysis
• Notions of participation, mutuality, identity,
  solidarity and cohesion
• Negative aspects of harassment and isolation tend
  to be ignored
• Concept often high-jacked by politicians

4
Community organisations and Higher level
institutions

• Increased engagement, primarily research based
• Institutions gain access to rich sources of data
• Communities need to gain access to
  project-related resources
• Mutual benefits

5
Partnerships

• Adult education providers and communities results
  of community animators activities
• Partnerships challenge accustomed ways of working
  and requires new skills
• Mutual respect must be demonstrated

6
Social partnerships

• Core value of public policy in Ireland especially
  since the 1970s
• Tradition of community involvement in the
  provision of social services
• Currently increased commitment to social change
  in combating social exclusion and promoting
  equality

7
Community Education

• Diversity in concept and approach
• Designed to support articulated needs and local
  skills gaps
• Focus on interaction

8
Progression

• Variety of forms, at a personal level, no less
  important than more formal routes
• Increased community participation and recognition
  of existing skills and development of more
  structured skill development pathways, i.e.
  Centres case study will illustrate later

9
Pedagogy-Androgogy-Heutagogy

• Continuum of educational paradigm from pedagogy
  which is teacher-centred, controlled and
  directed top-down to androgogy which is
  learner centred and validates prior experiences
  bottom-up to heutagogy which is self-determined
  and chosen learning

10
Centre for Adult Continuing Education Community
Education Case Study

• Operates from the principle of androgogy
• Teaching methods and approaches reflect this form
  of learning and assessment
• Facilitates adults to learn in ways that are
  meaningful, relevant and develops capacities
  towards self-directed learning

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CACE Community Education Programme

• Responds to requests from local development
  groups and agencies
• Listen to needs, develop responses and negotiate
  an appropriate programme
• Shared teaching ensures local examples utilised
  to increase relevance for participants and to
  apply the learning locally

12
CACE Outreach Programmes

• Overcomes geographical, transport and
  psychological barriers and facilitates access
• Wide range of programmes on offer
• Designated disadvantaged areas covered in both
  rural and urban centres
• Programme, time and place chosen by participants
• Average 30 outreach centres per year
• Lack of State funding for part-time programmes is
  proving a major barrier to participants accessing
  funding

13
Conclusion

• Effective community education partnerships reach
  agreement around shared objectives, ways of
  working, goals and expected outcomes
• Flexibility of institutions and a commitment to
  the community partners
• Mutual trust, openness and transparency
• Clear communication channels, clarity of purpose
  and structures which deliver continuity

14
Future

• Increasingly community education participants are
  availing of opportunities to progress through to
  degree level and beyond
• For success it is necessary that a guidance and
  support system be in place
• The community education principles need to be
  incorporated at degree level to support the
  lifelong learning model