17th September 2021 – Building Community Democracy and Dialogue: Adult Education for Change (Part 3: Higher Education, Partnership and Voice)
This was the first event in 2021 that followed the theme within the difficulties introduced during COVID:
Resources for Hope
Events in 2021 provided an opportunity to learn about existing practices, meet and think about different forms of democratic adult education and imagine new forms of critical engagement. 50 adult educators, from across the UK, Italy, Bulgaria and Canada, joined together to listen to presentations and discuss key questions and emerging themes in small and large groups. During, and after, this first event series participants highlighted the power of learning about existing practices and ways of re-shaping new forms of adult lifelong education with an explicit social purpose.
This event is split into three different parts, all of which can be accessed using the menu on the left:
- Part 1: Adult Education on the Edge
- Part 2: Inclusion, Life Stories and Life Histories
- Part 3: Higher Education, Partnership and Voice
Part 3 is split into 3 videos, which can be found below.
Engagement for the Common Good at GCU and Community Partnerships
Presentation from Dr Angela Shapiro and Susan Grant [now based within the University of Glasgow] from Glasgow Caledonian University (GCU)
Community and Public Engagement at Glasgow Caledonian University is about connecting community and university for the ‘Common Good’ through partnerships which add value to existing activities and develop innovative and meaningful ways of knowledge exchange with new audiences and under-represented groups in higher education. Since 2012, students and staff from across the university have been developing their skills as community engaged learners, lecturers and researchers through engagement with over 22,000 members of the public. Activities range from small scale adult research talks to larger family science days and online workshops such as with black, asian and minority ethnic young people during the pandemic on topics such as vitamin D and climate change.
One of GCU’s longest community partnership is with the refugee and holocaust testimonies project, Gathering the Voices whose website now contains over 45 interviews with men and women who came to Scotland to escape from nazi persecution. This small charity has developed educational resources, some in partnership with GCU staff and students. In relating these stories to the experiences of refugees today and connecting with the digital generation, the project aims to teach about the dangers of intolerance using innovative practices, with the most recent ones being a podcast channel, utilising a twitter feed and digital comics.
Dr Angela Shapiro started working life as a community worker and then moved into adult education. Following 14 years in a further education college in the east end of Glasgow, she moved to work in The Effective Learning Service at Glasgow Caledonian University, supporting students in their critical learning and writing. She retired a few years ago as a senior lecturer supporting students in the School of Computing, Engineering and Built Environment. Whilst working in that school, she collaborated with students and staff for the Gathering the Voices project. Her PhD focused on ‘Engaging adult learners with independent learning and critical thinking to enhance citizenship and employability’.
Susan Grant has been employed by Glasgow Caledonian University (GCU) since 2000 after graduating from the University of Strathclyde with a BA in Business. Before moving over to establish GCU’s flagship widening access project, The Caledonian Club in August 2008, she held positions in human resources, organisational development and The GOALS Project (Greater Opportunity for Access and Learning with Schools). Since 2012, she has been the main point of contact for Community and Public Engagement (CPE) at GCU, making links between community and university to add value to existing research and teaching, and develop new initiatives for meaningful engagement with the public. She does this by building trust and reciprocal partnerships with community organisations in Glasgow such as Gathering The Voices. All of her work aims to address inequalities in line with the UN Sustainable Development Goals and is achieved through supporting staff and students to develop their skills and experience as community-engaged learners and researchers. Under the GCU Engagement and GCU STEM brands, she has directly engaged with or supported the engagement of over 22,000 members of the public as part of our mission as the University for the Common Good.
“Athena Musaeum*” – A Learning Community
Presentation from Vijayita Prajapati and Nicola Robertson, doctoral researchers at the University of Strathclyde.
This submission started with the possibilities of radical re-imagination of an intersection of designed intentions, community life and self-directed, autonomous pursuits of learning for a (speculative) future time. The questions asked for this presentation were:
- What if community-based learning was intentionally embedded in experimental micro spaces that fostered mentors & peers based development opportunities?
- What if the said learning allowed self-directed immersions with the subject through facilitation, experimentation and a problem-solving approach?
- What if these experiential learning communities also created models of an egalitarian society that nurtured the planet, focussed on the human spirit and encouraged the pursuit of happiness?
From these questions the concept of an intentional learning community is presented, designed to create opportunities for adults to explore passions, build skills and solve problems. Learning is supplemented by the space that promotes both sensitivity and respect for ecology, learning to live together, and creating alternate models of economics, success, and measuring life quality. It is a utopian vision that as yet does not exist. Still, the presenters wish to sow the seeds of possibilities of alternative learning spaces that can add value to the adult education dialogue and focus on the more significant challenges of the globe like inequality, social injustice, and climate crisis. Furthermore, engagement with the fictional novum of a speculative future allows for opening a dialogic evaluation of our present context’s limitations.
Vijayita is studying for a PhD at the University of Strathclyde, and has been teaching, training and learning for the last 18 years. She completed an M.Ed at the University of Glasgow in adult education, community development & youth work, and has worked within corporate training, development teams and educational institutes. Along with also studying for a PhD at the University of Strathclyde, Nicola has completed an MSc in Education Studies in 2019. Her interests lie mostly in the philosophy of technology and Education, and she has also written and presented on a variety of other topics.
Building Bridges: Opportunities and Obstacles in Community – University Partnerships
Presentation from Tim Palazon, Senior Lecturer at Cardiff Metropolitan University; and Carolyn Strong, Reader in Marketing at Cardiff Business School.
The presentation provides a brief overview of attempts to establish a community – university partnership via a process of co-production between Cardiff Metropolitan University, the Crumlin Navigation Community Trust and more recently, engagement by colleagues from Cardiff University. The Crumlin Navigation Community Trust members have responsibility for the stewardship of the eleven grade two listed surface buildings of the former Crumlin Navigation Colliery. The long term intention is to establish the buildings as an education and enterprise hub. The varied size of the buildings potentially enables an incubator facility for a variety of start up enterprises. Additional assets include artesian water at 18.C. and a weir to enable hydro electric generation. The presentation will provide an overview of progress and obstacles encountered to date. Questions raised include maintaining the continuity of engagement by team members and overcoming internal cultural barriers within HE institutions that preclude community – university partnerships. Arguably, attitudes toward community – university partnerships differ within and between Welsh HE institutions. The presentation enables further discussion regarding the value of appropriate resourcing and central cohesion within and between HE institutions to establish community – university partnerships.
Tim has taught in the field of adult education for over twenty years. This has encompassed teaching in both Further and Higher Education: prior institutions include Coleg Gwent, University of Wales College Newport and the then University of Glamorgan. Widening access initiatives have formed a core element of his teaching career. Becoming a mature student and a subsequent career in the teaching of adults has given a deep insight in respect of the transformative power of adult education and a commitment to student centred learning. More recent activity has focussed upon the development of multi-disciplinary teams of academics with the aim of undertaking action research to enable co-production with community groups to facilitate regeneration and social enterprise via the establishment of learning organisations. This activity now involves working in partnership with academic colleagues from Cardiff University.
Carolyn teaches marketing with a focus on ethical, environmental and social issues. She is currently the BSc Business Management Programme Director and a Cardiff Business School (Public Value Engagement Fellow). She is also Cardiff Business School’s Academic Director of Estates, a role which to date has successfully implemented sustainability and circular economy into all of the Business Schools space development and refurbishment projects. Carolyn as published in Journal of Business Research, Marketing Letters, European Journal of Marketing and Journal of Advertising, among others and published an edited collection of ethical and social marketing contributions. Carolyn is the long standing Editor in-Chief of the Journal of Strategic Marketing where she strives to support publications from established academics, and to encourage early career academics to develop their work from conception to publication. Current research interests focus on marketing’s contribution to society and the community; public value engagement in circular economy and branding and brand engagement. Her research is collaborative and has an impact on small businesses, policymakers and society engaging in dialogue to improve society and the environment.