1. Purpose of the Learning Community

 

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 here to view the members of the ECDLC.

 

3. Coordination

 

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.

 

4. Objectives

 

• 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.

 

5. Approaches and Methods of collaboration

 

5.1 ECD Practice Container and Website

 

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:

• Theories of ECD and ECD practice
• Values and principles of ECD practice
• Contextual analysis Purpose, outcomes and indicators of effective ECD practice
• Strategies and approaches of effective ECD practice
• Methods, activities, exercises and resources for practitioners
• Case studies and examples of good practice 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..

 

5.2 Learning workshops

 

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.

 

5.3 Cross-visits and joint workshops

 

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.

 

5.4 Sharing learning via reflective reports

 

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.

 

5.5 Organisational development and support for learning

 

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.

 

5.6 Writeshop

 

It is proposed here that the LC produce, through a writeshop, a substantial ECD practitioners’ publication, 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)