context for communities: social inclusion this unit is intended for community-based learning staff...

Context for Communities:Social Inclusion

This unit is intended for community-based learning staff and community activists who are involved in a range of community learning activities.

Context for Communities: Social Inclusion

OverviewThis section seeks to provide you with the background and context for people working with communities in community-based learning activities.


What is Community Learning?

Community Learning is an educational approach that uses educational methods to develop peoples’ skills, knowledge and abilities and to do this within their communities.


What does Community Learning do for the learner?

The focus of the Community Learning approach or way of working is on developing people’s motivation and confidence. This can be achieved for either groups or individuals.


This way of working with people can have many different results for different people and groups:

• for some people or groups, the experience of community learning can help them to have a better quality of life

• for other people and groups, the experience of community learning can help them to become more involved in the life of their community and make their community a better place to live in its own terms

• for other people and groups, the experience of community learning can help them to take the next steps by giving them the confidence and qualifications to join other courses or enter college or university.


What is the difference between Community Learning and learning in a school or college setting?

There are two major differences:

1. Community Learning works with people within their communities and not within the educational establishments such as schools, colleges or universities.

2. Community Learning takes a different approach to working with people that are based in the values and principles of community learning.


What are the values of Community Learning?

The underlying values of Community Learning is that education:

• respects the individual• respects the right of people to self-determination• values the equality of people and groups• challenges discrimination in society• is a life-long process• encourages people to work together in achieving their common

aims• enables people to play their full part in our democratic society.


What are the principles of Community Learning ?Encourage people to become involved in their own learning by:

• encouraging the learners to get involved in the learning process with the goal of expressing their learning needs

• recognising that learning can relate to people’s experiences as well as academic subjects

• being flexible in terms of the content, location and style of learning

• matching the educational content to the needs of the people concerned

• matching the delivery of the educational content to the needs of the people concerned.


From the learners’ point of view, following these principles should:

• encourage them to make positive changes in their lives• enable them to cope with other changes and new demands

made of them.


The range of community learning activities is vastExample 1:

Involvement with a local childcare or creche projecthttp://www.childcare.castlemilk.co.uk/


Working with people from the Black and minority ethnic communities

http://www.walsall.gov.uk/

cultural_services/library/

branches/ethnic.htm


Example 2:

Working with local people with disabilities

Example 3:

http://www.lead.org.uk/


Working in a community arts project

Example 4:

http://www.whalearts.co.uk/


This section aims to

• explain the values and principles that lie beneath the practice of community based learning

• help you list the values and the principles and be able to give examples of them from your community work at the end of the section.


context for communities: social inclusion this unit is intended for community-based learning staff...

Documents

community learning approach

communitybased learning

learning needsrecognising

learning process

community activists

different people

equality of people

right of people