This learning community is a collaboration of partners
of the Bernard van Leer Foundation (BvLF) for the purposes of sharing
experiences and learning, of building knowledge and of collaborating in
various ways to improve practice and policies in the ECD sector.
2. Membership (click on any
for their websites or more info)
To top
▲
Doug Reeler of the Community Development Resource
Association (CDRA) has been appointed by the members to coordinate and
moderate the work of the Learning Community for two years.
To top
▲
-
to have a collective learning process and mechanism functioning
effectively and that clearly interacts with existing practice(s) and
policy provisions in country;
-
to document and share locally, and internationally, the learning
community’s collective wisdom of ECD practice, both conceptual and
practical through a website/wiki;
-
to improve practice of the member organisations as a result of
conscious sharing of experiences, the development of learnings and their
implications for practice;
-
to develop a substantial resource/publication of ECD practice
within the two years through the writeshop process;
-
to
influence policies and the implementation of policies by different levels
of government as will be informed by the results of the learning process.
To top
▲
The ECD practice container will essentially be a collective depository of
knowledge of ECD practice. It will comprise of an ordered set of
headings covering all the different elements of an ECD practice under
which learnings and knowledge about all the various aspects of ECD
practice can be gathered and made accessible to members and other
practitioners.
The exact articulation of the elements of an ECD practice has yet to be
decided but the container is likely to be structured around such headings:
m
Theories of ECD and ECD practice
m
Values and principles of ECD practice
m
Contextual analysis
m
Purpose, outcomes and indicators of effective ECD practice
m
Strategies and approaches of effective ECD practice
m
Methods, activities, exercises and resources for
practitioners
m
Case studies and examples of good practice
m
Integrated themes
The container will be held on the LC website. A Wiki approach is being
investigated as a possible approach to making the container as interactive
as possible.
The website will have various other functionalities like a database of ECD
organisations and resources, good articles, news of important events,
linkages to other websites etc..
To top
▲
Three x 4-day workshops will be held over the two years
bringing together two representatives from each partner for the purposes
of sharing experiences, generating learning and planning further
collaboration in line with the overall purpose of the LC.
The workshops will be driven by needs and questions
derived from current practice and draw on experiences and the input of
experienced members
Learnings and other products of these workshops will be
documented and made available on the website via the practice container.
To top
▲
Each partner will have the opportunity to undertake one
cross-visit each year – ie. 2 cross visits for the two years of this
proposal. A sample budget of a cross-visit is appended. Approaches to
preparing and running cross-visits will be shared as experience is
gathered. Partners undertake to submit a report of their experience and
learning for distribution via the website.
Cross-visits may also take the form of bi- or
tri-lateral workshops to enable practical collaborations.
To top
▲
Each member will take one month of the year and write a
reflective report on their practice, highlighting intersting experiences
and innovations of interest to other members. This will be distributed by
the LC email list and posted on the website
The email list-serve will hopefully provide a vehicle
for ongoing conversation between members.
To top
▲
Some of the member organisations may require assistance
with their organisation development and learning processes, helping them
to develop their capacity as practitioners and as more effective
contributors to the LC. This may take the form of accompaniment with OD
practitioners or of courses for staff.
To top
▲
It is proposed here that the LC produce, through a writeshop, a
substantial ECD practitioners publications, perhaps a resource book or
field-guide as a culmination of the 2-year process. The process is
adaptable to the needs and resources but involves a writing/preparation
process which typically culminates in an intensive 7 to 10 day workshop
involving practitioners, a facilitator, an editor and an illustrator.
An 8-day process is envisaged here for 12 experienced practitioners who
have committed to writing or developing drafts of the “product” and then
who meet to pull the final publication together.
Post-production work is then required to give final shape.
The budget does not include any reproduction. This would depend on the
nature of the product – it may even exist best as a downloadable
publication from the LC website.
Here is an excerpt from Leisa magazine about writeshops:
“A ‘writeshop’ is an intensive, participatory
workshop that aims to produce some kind of written output. This may be a
set of extension brochures, a bound book, a set of leaflets, or a training
manual. Participants may include scientists, researchers, government
personnel, teachers, NGO staff, extension agents, farmers and other local
people: anyone who has, in one way or another, been involved in the
experiences to be documented. These participants are assisted by a team of
facilitators, editors, computer operators, artists and logistics staff.
The basic writeshop process was pioneered by the
International Institute of Rural Reconstruction in the Philippines and has
been adapted by related institutions and the authors of this article.
Altogether, this writeshop method has yielded more
than 30 user-friendly manuals on a range of topics.”
(LEISA Magazine
•
22.1• March 2006)
To top
▲
