There is some interesting work in the USA in using community learning it is I promise neighbourhoods. it is interesting website which has many exaples and includes one teacher from London speaking about her community.
What is a Promise Neighborhood?
The federal Promise Neighborhoods program is a bold new initiative to break the cycle of generational poverty by improving the educational outcomes and overall life prospects of low-income children and their families. Inspired by the success of Harlem Children’s Zone (HCZ), the Obama Administration has followed through on campaign promises to alleviate poverty with a national commitment to this comprehensive place-based approach to support children from birth through college. Organizations interested in Promise Neighborhoods can draw on a rich body of knowledge about what works. Harlem Children’s Zone marks the starting point for understanding proven strategies. Communities seeking to create their own approaches need to understand key elements of comprehensive community initiatives and community schools to lay a strong foundation.
Vision and Purpose
The Promise Neighborhoods' vision is that “all children growing up in Promise Neighborhoods have access to effective schools and strong systems of family and community support that will prepare them to attain an excellent education and successfully transition to college and career.” The program will support innovative strategies that improve the outcomes for children in our most distressed communities across the country by:
Supporting efforts to improve outcomes that are communicated and analyzed by leaders and members of the community;
Identifying and increasing capacity of eligible entities focused on results from cradle through college to career;
Building a continuum of academic and family and community supports with effective school(s) at the center;
Integrating programs and breaking down silos between agencies;
Working with local governments to sustain and “scale up” solutions; and
Learning about overall impact of Promise Neighborhoods and relationship between particular strategies and student outcomes.
Federal Funding and Grant Cycle
The 2010 competitive planning grant application deadline has passed and 21 diverse communities from across the country were awarded with one-year planning grants between $400,000 and $500,000. 339 communities submitted their planning applications electronically to the U.S. Department of Education in June 2010. The grantees were announced on September 21, 2010 and have one year to develop a plan to deliver a continuum of solutions that address their most pressing neighborhood challenges.
Creative Apprenticeships are currently being developed at Levels 2 & 3 - is this something to explore at Levels 4 and above?
A study of the perceptions and intentions towards entering higher education of working adults aged between 22-55 with no university level qualifications in England.
Students and employers perceive a range of benefits that Foundation Degree (FD) study brings to individual students and the workplace. But many programmes have yet to capitalise on integrating academic and work-based learning and employer engagement.
The US have had a series of developments in linking Career Pathways which include a mix of learning in an education setting and learning through employment - the National Career Pathways Network which builds on the Tech-Prep programmes outlined in the Transitions page.
This paper looks at the use of blended/e learning in the workplace environment (I've also linked to it in the TEL section).
The University of Glamorgan has a shell framework through which it is able to accredit learning in employment with toolkits for Learners, Employers and Lecturers
My colleagues and I have also been working on a paper about the way we can accredit informal learning based on the framework above. The paper is currently being reviewed for a journal, so this should be considered a draft at this point. Accrediting informal learning Paper.doc
Employability and work-based learning, 2006, Little, B. et al, A Guide in the ESECT Learning and Employability Series, York: The Higher Education Academy.
This publication explores the learning that a student can gain from work experience, the term 'work-based learning' being taken to mean learning that is derived specifically from doing a job of work and taking on a workplace role. It considers the various ways in which it can be linked to a programme of study, and identifies a number of conditions that should be met if good quality learning, and maximum enhancement of initial graduate employability, is to result.
Higher Education – Skills in the Workplace: Delivering employer-led higher level work-based learning, 2008, UVAC.
This document contains the conference proceedings from the 2008 University Vocational Awards Council's conference offering a series of institutional perspectives on key aspects of employer engagement.
Integrating work-based learning into higher education: A guide to good practice, 2005, Brennan, L., UVAC.
This comprehensive guide has been produced for colleagues in higher education institutions and further education colleges (with higher education provision) to support and recognise work-based learning in HE delivery and award of all types of higher education and related qualifications.
Think Through the Implications of Work-based Learning, 2002, Noble, M., Paulucy, B., and Healey, M., Exchange (2), 26-30.
This article looks at the issues relating to work-based and negotiated learning programmes that are increasingly being developed within higher education, and the associated challenges for academic and administrative staff. The requirements for students with special needs are touched upon.
Work-based learning: a new higher education? 2001. Boud, D. and Solomon (eds), Buckingham: Society for Research into Higher Education, Open University Press.
This three-part book contains 16 chapters exploring work-based learning from a theoretical and case study perspective in the United Kingdom.
Work-based learning future II, 2008, Garnett, J. and Young, D., UVAC.
As the proceedings from the Work-based Learning Futures II Conference, this publication offers insight into the ways a range of institutions are interpreting and are implementing work-based learning.
This report summarises the current ‘state of play’ of work-based learning in higher education (HE). Examples of successful work-based learning initiatives in higher education, including Foundation Degrees and the provision of part-time undergraduate and postgraduate courses, are given. The report focuses on the issues and challenges for HE to address.
Work based-learning Workforce development: connections, frameworks and processes, 2008, Tallantyre, F., York: The Higher Education Academy.
This collection of essays and case studies brings together the outputs of a group of ten HEIs involved in a one-year project concerning the principles and pedagogy associated with workforce development. It includes a contribution from CeLL at the University of Glamorgan on demand for WBL amongst voluntary organisations in SE Wales.
Informal Learning in the Workplace by John Garrick (Routledge 1988) is a welcome reference for colleagues who might be getting a little frustrated with the descriptive content of training publications on WBL. It offers a theoretical context for WBL, drawing on sociology in particular. There is also an important focus on HRD managers in organisations, and their training interests when it comes to helping workforces learn from their every day functions at work.
Learning has often been divided into three tiers: formal (curriculum and qualifications based), non-formal (with certification but outside the set of formal awards offered by educational institutions), and informal (self-directed, in all kinds of locations outside the classroom, and without so much structure or convention). Proponents of informal learning – such as Coffield and McGivney – emphasise just how much lifelong learning has this informal base. Others warn about the dangers of this huge “catch all” category, making analysis of outcomes very difficult given the numerous variables which influence learning outside formal educational settings. It is worth looking at Michael Eraut’s chapter in Coffield’s excellent edited book the necessity of informal learning (Bristol: The Policy Press) . Eraut suggests that it might be more useful to consider learning at three levels: that which is conversation based, that which has a negotiated curriculum, and that which has a set curriculum. He then maps on to this learning which can be implicit (almost subconsciously making sense of experience) , reactive (as a response to an immediate stimulus) , or deliberative (involving premeditated commitment to studying and to gaining qualifications and skills). We can therefore start to unpick informal learning methods through the identification of activities and projects which lead to conversations and dialogue within communities, making sense of the past and solving real-life problems and challenges along the way. A useful summary of issues is contained on the Informal Education homepage:
But see also Mark Harrison’s very practical guide for education managers who are designing programmes for workforces and communities, within which he offers 13 steps for action:
Informal learning has also been discussed in some detail through a case study based in Merthyr Tydfil. The GATES project encourages people to drop in to a high street shop to discuss projects and ideas that interest them - the GATES team then help to plan and develop the skills that are needed to solve problems. The case study presents examples of informal learning as well as pen portraits of individuals who have participated in GATES over the past few years:
And for an example of how the broadcasting media can develop informal learning why not try this paper, based on BBC Wales coverage of rugby which also introduces careers pathways and key skills:
A very practical guide to the use of participatory techniques has been drafted by Sarah James and Alain Thomas (2008). It provides examples and reviews of the strengths and weaknesses of numerous techniques and methods - including mapping methods, timelines, hot-seating, spider plant diagrams, icebreakers and SWOT methods.http://wales.gov.uk/docs/drah/publications/100311whatworkstoolkiten.pdf
A series of dilemmas are presented by staff from the University of Glamorgan's Centre for Lifelong Learning for education providers who might be challenged by employers and their workforces when using work based learning methods. The challenges are close to home for many teachers and trainers! They include learner and employer confusion about accreditiation frameworks, frustration with mystifying language, using inappropriate assessment methods, and designing irrelevant curriculum areas. work based learning dilemmas
7 years ago the accreditation of prior experiential learning was investigated throughout the EU by a TRANSFINE project which presented a series of country case studies: APEL Transfine country case studies for the UK . The Wales, England, Scotland and Northern Ireland case studies reveal that APEL procedures and regulations are well formulated by most colleges and unversities as well as some professional associations - but the actual volume of APEL activity is relatively low. The major assessment method seems to be the learning portfolio, and learning time associated with the calculation of credit covers the following workplace activities:
- Formal learning (including training sessions, coaching, seminars and tutorials)
- Practical project work in various locations
- Relevant IT applications
- Information retrieval in libraries
- Private study and revision
- Work based activities which lead to assessment
- Programme planning
- Educational counselling and mentoring
RCT has supported an innovative programme, Step in the Right Direction, targetting young people who are leaving care. The programme provides traineeships for these young people and is highly successful. See below for information about the project and a video of a recent celebration event.
Sometimes it is helpful to have a resourcing argument ready for work based learning, especially when accountants say it is too expensive! A study was undertaken during by three universities to develop a costing model for work-based learning and to apply it to compare costs between work-based and campus-based provision where possible. Two universities looked at three work-based learning programmes but only one of these could make direct comparisons. A third university looked at a broader range of programmes but at a lower level of detail. http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/resources/detail/ourwork/employability/EmployerEngagement/work_based_learning_costing_study
The Employer Challenge to higher education institutions, drafted by the Wales Employment and Skills Board, is based on good practice in a number of universities including Birmingham City and Liverpool John Moores. It details a wide range of work based learning initiatives promoting employability. It is also relevant to further education and school contexts. Employer Challenge
The Higher Education Funding Council sponsored an all-Wales project led by UWIC which focused on methods and issues associated with developing advanced skills in a wide range of public, private and voluntary sector workforces. It was published as two reports, the first offering policy recommendations and the second providing scoping and case studies. Workforce Development Project
David Simpson and colleagues at Cardiff University are publishing very interesting reviews and case studies of TUC Wales Union Learning Fund projects Union Learning TUC report.pdf
Here is the flier for the FACE annual conference - at the University of Glasgow in July 2011
A very interesting review of vocational qualifications has been published in England. The Wolf Report achieves a rare balance between promoting vocational training whilst also ensuring that maths and literacy cannot be marginalised via vocational routes for 14-19 year olds. It also makes some powerful reommendations about reducing the overall number of vocational qualifications that have less relevance or appeal to learners and employers, and encouraging FE lecturers to work in schools in order to develop vocational pathways.
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