This topic is an both an invitation to join in discussion
about Aboriginal adult and community education and a request
for ideas, sharing of experiences and critical comment. What
follows is pretty basic (we are new at both working on Pegasus
and at looking at adult education!) but hopefully will provide
enough information to encourage interested people to join in.
Our various addresses etc appear at the end of the topic!
Being new to Pegasus, I will pace this topic in a couple of
conferences with a view to finding the 'right' one - sorry for
the repetition!
The Orana Regional Council of Adult and Community Education is
a community owned and managed (and non-profit!) organisation
with a brief to promote and support quality adult and
community education ('ACE') in the Orana Region of N.S.W.
The Council is one of nine in N.S.W. which are supported by
the NSW Board of Adult and Community Education and, although
our base is Dubbo, our geographical area is bordered by
Wellington, Mudgee, Coonabarabran, Narrabri, Lightening Ridge,
and then across to Hungerford and down to Cobar.
The Council is not a direct provider of education but has more
of a planning and support role (with limited ability to
provide small amounts of funding).
ACE providers in this Region run a vast variety of courses
ranging from leisure subjects to literacy/numeracy. Given our
sparse population we reach a surprising number of people but
we are well aware that there are gaps - particularly in
provision for Aborigines.
The Region is home to many Aboriginal communities and the
Council is keen to address the adult and community needs of
these communities.
PRINCIPLES:
Our reading of various State and National Policies on
Aboriginal education and of the work done by the University of
Technology in Sydney (and we apologise if our summary of their
work is inaccurate) suggests:
1. The keys to successful Aboriginal adult education are the
principles of self-sufficiency and the adoption of a community
development model.
2. Aboriginal communities express a need for literacy, basic
education and business skills courses as their priorities.
3. The communities are uncomfortable with 'institutionalised'
learning - they want flexibility in terms of content, venue
and 'teachers' for their courses.
The ACE sector should be well suited to the flexibility and
community oriented approach which many people argue are the
necessary conditions for successful Aboriginal adult
education.
However, the problem which emerges is that it's fine to have
these principles from which to work but not so easy to
translate them into a workable and practical plan.
OBJECTIVES:
Our objectives include:
1. Providing Aboriginal communities with better access to
adult education;
2. Ensuring that there is increasing equity of access;
3. Helping communities identify, design and run courses which
they see as relevant and useful.
HELP WANTED!!
Given the principles and objectives outlined above we now have
to come up with a way of developing and implementing a
workable plan.
We'd welcome feedback, suggestions or criticisms on this
outline. We'd very much like to hear from people with thoughts
and ideas on Aboriginal adult education and hope that some
people will be able to share their experiences with us.
THE SECOND PART OF THIS TOPIC IS A (BRIEF) INTRODUCTION TO THE
ACE SECTOR IN NSW. IF YOU DON'T WANT TO READ IT, DON'T BOTHER
BUT PLEASE NOTE OUR CONTACT DETAILS AT THE END...thanks!
..........................................................
Adult and Community Education (ACE) is often called the
'fourth sector of education' because it works alongside the
school education, vocational training and tertiary education
sectors.
ACE has experienced considerable growth in recent years and is
continuing to do so. The sector was formally acknowledged at
the national level in the 1991 Report of the Senate Standing
Committee on Employment, Education and Training called 'Come
in Cinderella - The Emergence of Adult and Community
Education'.
In 1991 a statutory Board (the NSW Board of Adult and
Community Education - BACE) was established in New South Wales
to promote the provision of ACE following the introduction of
the Board of Adult and Community Education Act 1990.
Features of ACE
ACE cannot necessarily be distinguished from the other sectors
by the content it deals with nor the teaching/learning style
it offers. Rather it is distinguished by the way in which it
is managed and by its flexibility.
Management:
Like the other sectors there is some provision by privately
owned commercial organisations, churches and charities.
However, unlike the other sectors, the ACE sector is not, in
the main, owned or managed by government agencies. While some
government bodies provide adult and community education
related to their own functions, most adult and community
education is provided by community owned and managed
organisations.
ACE is largely adult education provided by the community for
the community.
Flexibility:
The sector's other distinguishing feature is its flexibility.
This is largely a consequence of being community owned and
managed meaning that ACE is community driven rather than
bureaucracy driven. Courses reflect, as far as possible, the
wishes and needs of the communities in which they are
delivered and their venues and methods of delivery usually
reflect the nature of their local community.
The Basic Premises of Adult and Community Education
* Learning is an empowering process which takes place at any
stage of life. Adult learning often empowers by removing the
limitations earlier years and experiences have placed on a
person.
* Adults have individually amassed a substantial knowledge
and skills base. Adult and community education is often a
forum for enabling them to recognise how much they already
know and can do.
* Teaching styles that best suit adults are different from
those which suit children.
The empowering that results from participation in ACE can take
the form of a person:
* coming to believe that he or she is capable of learning
specific skills or knowledge despite society's stereotypes of
his or her gender, age, race, disability or economic status or
despite the fact that parents, a former teacher or an
education system may have previously said the person was
incapable of learning the specific skills or knowledge;
* improving his or her self esteem by updating his or her
skills;
* improving literacy or numeracy skills which may be
inadequate because she or he has suffered social or
educational disadvantages.
There is obviously a lot more which can be said about this
topic and I have hardly done it justice. I hope that this
will serve as an acceptable introduction for those to whom the
subject is new - my apologies to 'old hands' who will no doubt
find this discussion somewhat superficial....
Hoping to hear from various people....
Roger Petheram
Orana Regional Council of Adult & Community Education
33 Carrington Avenue
DUBBO NSW 2830
Australia
Tel: 068 829120
orace@pegasus