A role for civil society in the design and delivery of basic education: the experience of the Association Al Jisr and the ALEF Project of USAID
Mr. M’hammed Abbad Andaloussi, Directeur, Association Al Jisr; Dr. Joshua Muskin, Director, ALEF Project of USAID
In launching the National Initiative for Human Development, His Majesty King Mohammed VI summoned all sectors of Moroccan society to muster their resources to combat the country’s poverty. He also situated the education sector at the center of all poverty alleviation efforts. Similarly, Morocco’s National Charter for Education and Training calls upon the country’s business and nongovernmental sectors to mobilize resources in support of schools and the education system. And indeed, there is a long tradition of civil society’s providing financial and material assistance to respond to the urgent needs of schools.
However, while such contributions are often important and impressive, they only scratch the surface of a school’s true needs and of what the broader "school community" can do to help fulfill the education system’s mission. Traditionally, community support to schools is limited to infrastructure and equipment needs – "peinture, clôture, toiture" -, with the doors of the classroom closed to any outside "interference." However, the broader school community is eminently suited to assist schools in ways in which the education system is traditionally weak. The first is the introduction of relevance into the academic program, or preparing students for the world of work. Teachers, having rarely spent time outside the education system, are inherently ill-equipped to orient students towards the world of work (other than the teaching profession) and to discover practical applications for their academic knowledge and skills. The education system’s second classic weakness is that of management, including of human, financial and material resources and of a long-range planning process.
Since its inception, the Association Al Jisr, a Moroccan NGO launched in 1999 with support from the Wafa Bank and USAID, has operated a model of "one business – one school" whereby an individual enterprise "adopts" a school, providing technical assistance in the area of management along with financial assistance. Working in close collaboration with the Regional Academy for Education and Training (AREF) of Casablanca, Al Jisr has been an active matchmaker for many schools and businesses, with impressive concrete results. The ALEF Project of USAID has joined with Al Jisr to broaden its model by involving businesses also in the area of relevance, joining teachers to bridge the gap between the classroom and the "real world." With ALEF, Al Jisr is now also primed to move into other regions of the country.
The proposed paper and presentation will provide an overview of the broad range of ways by which private businesses, and civil society and even technical, public organizations, can join strategically with schools and education authorities to strengthen quality and relevance and thus raise both the internal and external efficiency of the system. Also presented will be the specific case of Al Jisr and the newer experience of ALEF, ending with an analysis of the political and practical implications of the model for the national education system.
Teaching Success Thought To The Marginalized People Of The World.
Chet W. Sisk Author/Lecturer/Teacher
One of the biggest challenges facing our world today is the growing number of marginalized people in our societies (ie: the homeless, the poor, convicted criminals etc). This growing number of disenfranchised people experience difficult lives and are constantly negotiating their survival. Many of those people have found successful ways of managing through these life changes with a great deal of creative energy and insight. I have written a book about this insight. I have spent 4 years working with drug abusers, the homeless, convicted criminals as well as alcoholics and have discovered seven consistent steps taken by those who were able to break the cycle of their condition. I have written a book about these methods called Seven Steps To Success I Learned From Homeless People (Stratford Books on Amazon.com). I teach these methods to other homeless and disenfranchised people as a template for whole life change. My belief is that changing people’s conditions is a fruitless endeavor without changing the way that person thinks about their relationship to all things first. I reject the Maslov’s Pyramid model that says full actualization by a human being occurs when they have first secured food, shelter, relationships, etc. My four year observation, using my journalism training, tells me the opposite is true. Those who first lose everything are more likely to re-evaluate the way that they view their method of approach to this life, thus, more open to self-actualization.
In my work, I have discovered seven constants in the marginalized mind set. These constants are:
1. Quantity of food is better than quality.
2. Life is about reaction to events instead of intention.
3. Education is valued as an abstract, but not a reality
4. The world is based around a 12 block area where they live.
5. The family structure is primarily matriarchal.
6. All love is conditional. Unconditional love is an abstract idea.
7. The driving force of life is survival and entertainment.
While many of these constants are not detrimental in and of themselves, their combination in an individual’s life over a protracted period of time produces what can be called a cycle of marginalization. After spending a lot of time watching how some of my homeless students break this cycle, I discovered another set of constants they seemed to rely on that seemed to work over the long run. These constants are:
1. Taking a break from family and friends for an extended but set period of time.
2. Reducing the number of hours watching television.
3. Retelling personal stories about themselves from tragedy to triumph.
4. Having a spiritual buddy.
5. Making visualization a practical, tangible exercise.
6. The ability to see opportunities when others see trouble.
7. The willingness to interpret or re-interpret all of life’s events through the filter of spirituality, even those life events that have happened in the past.
These contemplations were often thought of as the domain of the privileged and well-to-do and could not be taught to other classes of people. I have discovered marginalized people have the same if not greater capacity to obtain and process higher thought if the teacher is resourceful in identifying these approaches in the lives of marginalized people and teaches those approaches back to the people. It is a method of teaching people what they already know. This method creates resonance and greatly increases identification with the subject matter, making it easier to understand and implement. I will show conference attendees this method and how it can be useful in reaching people we have previously called unreachable.
Transformation in Property Education in South Africa
C E Cloete- Professor in Real Estate, Department of Construction Economics,
University of Pretoria
Samuel H.P. Chikafalimani- Lecturer in Real Estate, Department of Real Estate,
University of Johannesburg
Keywords: Education, real estate, capacity building, training
Abstract: Pre-1994 apartheid laws prohibited black ownership of property in South Africa. This paper describes the transformation of the property market and especially real estate education programmes since the election of a democratic government in 1994. Issues related to capacity building i.e. student enrolment, the structure of formal real estate courses offered, skills development, the role of the SA Qualifications Authority and adult educational programmes are discussed. The increasing participation by women and by blacks in educational programmes are quantified. Proposals are given as to the approaches to be considered with regard to changes in real estate education and industry in South Africa.
Transformative Education: The Example of the Museum of World Religions
Maria Reis Habito, Museum of World Religions,
Kurt Schreiber, Vanderbilt University, USA
Addressing Transformative Education from a Buddhist point of view, two closely related concepts come to mind. The first one is that of upaya - the skillful means in expounding and applying the teachings. The second concept is that of prajna - the wisdom that realizes the intimate interconnectedness of all aspects of existence. Skillful means are founded on wisdom, and wisdom in turn expresses itself by skillful means. In Buddhism, the figure that embodies both wisdom and skillful means is that of the Bodhisattva. Based on deep compassion, the Bodhisattva has made a life-long vow of studying "all the dharma gates" that free sentient beings from wrong notions causing suffering to self and others. It is through this process of studying, teaching and devoting oneself to the welfare of all beings that the Bodhisattva reaches perfect wisdom or enlightenment. Perfect enlightenment is the highest goal of transformative education in Buddhism. The skilled teacher on the religious path -usually designated as a Dharma Master-is both a bodhisattva and someone who invokes in the student the passion of becoming a bodhisattva himself, of devoting all his skills to the enlightenment and welfare of others. This model of teacher and teaching can also serve as a source of inspiration to teachers in the other fields of knowledge.
It is proposed that Taipei`s Museum of World Religions be introduced in the workshop on the role of educational institutions. The Museum is an example of skillful educational means chosen by its founder, Dharma Master Hsin Tao, founder and Abbot of Wu-sheng monastery on Ling-jiu mountain. The Museum is an educational institution that teaches about religions and religious life in the world by exploring the fundamental values that are at the roots of all religions. The mission of the Museum is to encourage mutual respect, tolerance and love by introducing young people to the wisdom of all of the major religious traditions, and by fostering dialogue among people of all religions and cultural backgrounds. The workshop will give an introduction to the guiding principles of the Museum intended to create a transformative experience. This introduction will use visual material. The workshop will further discuss interactive methods the Museum uses to attract young people`s attention, and also give accounts and opinion polls about how the Museum visit or involvement with the Museum`s youth group has made an important impact on young people`s understanding of themselves and on their understanding of cultural and religious diversity. It will also open up the discussion about how the Museum can serve as model for similar museums in other parts of the world. As outlined in the introduction, the true purpose of education, especially of religious education, is to bring out the Bodhisattva spirit of wisdom and compassion in young people, in order to heal the wounds inflicted on self, others and the earth by ignorance, greed and hate on both the individual level and the level of society. The Museum is one of the building stones of this path towards transformation and healing.
Spiritually Intelligent Educators Leading the Educational Environment
Assistant Professor Mujde Ker-Dincer- Ege University, Faculty of Communications,
Public Relations and Publicity Department, Izmir-TURKEY
In today’s highly competitive world many subjects that are contrary to each other are continuously spoken over as if they are in competition such as; wealth-poverty, peace-war, love-hate, materialism-spiritualism…etc. This list is endless but one, especially one term plays a single leading role, and that is spiritualism. Since many people have lost or gave up their unique personal characteristics in favor to gain success, power or control in uniformed individualistic cultures, many on the other hand are trying hard to achieve self full filling, happy lives. The hard working ones are trying to obtain inner peace by focusing on their spiritual intelligences and trying to find ways to improve them.
Spiritual intelligence (SQ) means much more than spirituality. Spiritual intelligence is a way of thinking. It is what we use to cover our longing and capacity for meaning, vision and value. Also it establishes a dialogue between reason and emotion, between mind and body. SQ allows the integration between intrapersonal and interpersonal in order to surpass the gap between self and other. And all these aspects in a broader sense cover the need to understand and know the others’ "hearts."
Spiritually intelligent people can be seen performing different jobs, but especially spiritually intelligent educators are the most valued and preferred ones since the future of the world is shaping in their hands. Educators who want to gain a broader perspective on this issue can take a journey into their inner-selves by the help of integrating the skills of emotional intelligence with specific spiritual qualities. After gaining enough insight to the topic, educators then, they themselves can be the illuminators of tolerance, unity, understanding, love and peace.
Since sharing knowledge is seen as the main purpose of educators, teaching how to be "happy in life" is also a job to be performed by educators. From this perspective in this paper the main aim is to discuss SQ, the ways to improve SQ levels of educators and its positive results on educator-student relationship, and its reflections in the educational environment.
Good Teaching Characteristics of Hail Technical and Vocational Training Teachers
Dr. Sulayman Nasser Althwaini, Hail Technical College, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia drsulayman@yahoo.com
General Organization or Technical Education and Vocational Training is a governmental organization in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) deals mainly with technical and vocational education and training units. Council of Hail Technical Education and Vocational Training supervises three training units in city of Hail in (KSA). In Hail, there is a technical college, a secondary technical institute, and a vocational training institute. That council is one of about 24 councils across KSA. The researcher will investigate the teaching characteristics of Hail technical and vocational training teachers using a self-developed survey to find out about the perceptions and opinions of the teachers about their personal and professional teaching characteristics.
The paper will include the keywords of the research, an introduction, experimental details, a literature review, and definitions of concepts like caring, respect, commitment, knowledge, enthusiasm, fun, and effective teaching. Besides, the research will have some limitations and delimitations. The survey of the paper contains two sections. First one is about general information of the participants like qualification, teaching experience and level of teaching. The second section has 39 questions that are divided into six major teaching characteristics. The research questions will investigate the teaching characteristics and the relationships between them and the general aspects of the participants. The study will be conducted with the following objectives: First, to assess the predictive efficiency of teaching characteristics of Hail Technical and vocational training teachers. Second, to assess the predictive power of professional variables of the teachers (such as the qualification, the schooling level, and the teaching experience) those are checked in the first section of the survey.
After reading the related literature about teaching characteristics, the researcher built a close ended survey of 39 statements that answered by checking one answer of five: Totally agree, agree, not sure, disagree, or totally disagree. To assure the survey validity, the researcher reviewed the survey questions and statements with four experts in education and research. All agreed on the final draft of the survey. To assure the survey reliability, the researcher will use Cronbach's Coefficient Alpha. The findings of the study will show how much the teachers are respectful, caring, committed, knowledgeable, enthusiastic and fun in their teaching. Furthermore, the findings will show the significance relationship between the good teaching characteristics and the teacher's qualification, number of teaching experience, and level of teaching. The study will discuss the findings and relate them to the literature review to develop some research recommendations.
Developing non-technical skills through vocational education
Stefan Kruger, Walter Sisulu University for Technology and Science, Eastern Cape, SOUTH AFRICA
This paper presents the views of Tourism and Hospitality industry workstation providers regarding the non-technical skills required from graduate students. Self-administered questionnaires were completed by 50 respondents (20 Tourism Supervisors and 30 Hospitality Managers) from Buffalo City, who had supervised Border Technikon final year students during experiential training. The data analysed revealed that verbal communication (66%) was cited as the most important communication skill, followed by listening (62%) The most important creative thinking and problem solving skill was problem analysis (54%) and the least important was formulating (14%). The highest ranked component of the information management skills was logical thinking (58%). In the self-management and personal style skills components, motivation (72%), and self-confidence (71%) were reported as important in descending order. In terms of work related dispositions and attitudes skills, the willingness to learn and to be trained (70%) were the highest ranked non-technical skills in this cluster, includes a number of related skills required to function effectively in the workplace such as interpersonal skills, human relations skills, negotiation and other teamwork skills. The most important non-technical skill in the group effectiveness and teamwork skills cluster was co-operative (72%), followed by punctuality (66%). In so far as organisational effectiveness and leadership skills, all the employers rated the meeting of deadlines and prioritisation as the most important non-technical skills components of this cluster. It is interesting to note that the leadership components in the cluster were rated to be of lesser importance. This study provides valuable information regarding the non-technical skills that could be included in the Tourism and Hospitality Curricula or work preparation programmes for the National Diploma Tourism and Hospitality Management.
From take-a-job to make-a-job: A transformative learning model to develop agri-entrepreneurship mentality in College of Agriculture
Kiumars Zarafshani- Razi University, College of Agriculture, Department of Agricultural Extension and Education, Kermanshah, Iran.
Amir Hossein Alibegi- Razi University, College of Agriculture, Department of Agricultural Extension and Education, Kermanshah, Iran.
The agricultural industry and the rural community are undergoing significant changes as agri-food system consolidation occurs, and rural communities search for their niche. Much of the economic activity in rural communities in Iran has been historically based on agriculture. As agricultural industries become more technologically and business-focused, agri-entrepreneurship may play a key role in reshaping and revitalizing rural communities. According to Parcell & Sykuta (2005), an agri-entrepreneur is one who organizes, manages and assumes the risks of an agri-business or agri-enterprise. Adequately developing entrepreneurship mentality among college students may require changes in mode of learning. Can colleges of agriculture encourage transformative learning among their students in order to become successful entrepreneurs? Based on theory of transformative learning, students can be transformed from taking-a-job to making-a-job if they are provided with hands-on experiential learning. Experiential learning is based on the premise that experience is the basis for all learning. The purpose of this article is to provide a guide to using experiential leaning as the methodology to transform students' mentality from taking-a-job to making-a-job. Using David Kolb's (19084) experiential learning model, a four distinct phases were followed to make learning transformative. The concrete experience phase is the usual starting place for transformative learning. During concrete phase, students were given a small area of cultivated land for a minimum lease price to put into practice those which they have learnt in classroom. This concrete experience lasted throughout the growing season and students were to manage their small enterprise until the harvest. In the second phase, students were provided with opportunities to reflect on their experiences from the concrete experience phase. Small group discussions or written descriptions of what they experienced were used as reflective activities. During these activities, students commented on what they liked most about the experience and what was the most difficult part as well as how they perceived the experience. During the abstract conceptualization phase, I posed a series of guiding questions to elicit the desired generalizations, rules, and hypotheses. Overall, students were satisfied with gained experience and they showed great interest in taking on a larger project in the future. Active experimentation phase is the last phase of experiential learning process. Students who participated in this project have graduated and are currently agri-entrepreneurs. Moreover, they are actively experimenting entrepreneurship as successful agricultural producers. These newly transformed students are no longer job finders, they are indeed job makers. Utilization of Kolb's experiential learning model provided an actualization of the relationship between learning and transforming among agricultural students. Adherence to such models is to improve education and learning for our students.
When the universe unites to help…
Nuria Widyasari- Université Paris
This is my personal experience in achieving the goals I set to myself. The goals that are usually very unfamiliar to others. I aimed to study cyberculture in my home country where food is the hotter topic on everyone’s lips. I was off to study in France where scholarship is not a common talk at home. I chose a research subject about Information Technology in Aceh that makes people look deeper into my eyes, as they see it impossible to draw a line between the term of the latest advanced information technology and Aceh as a ravaged region caused by tsunami.
These goals did sound very awkward to my surroundings. Some even said I was crazy. They did not know that I set goals within my reach, based on my understanding and knowledge on my personal capacities – strength and weakness, and a strict schedule I run.
In this presentation, I will share not only my plans, my strong will, my stubbornness, my tears, my despairs, and the barriers and rejections from others, but also the life lessons I learnt along the way, including the roles of other people around me. All these strengthen my belief that if one has the will, the universe will then unite to help one achieving the goal.
From Personal Experiences of Transformative Learning toward Educational Change
Tetyana Koshmanova- College of Education, Western Michigan University, USA
The transition of the former Soviet republics of the Eastern Europe, Central Asia and Caucasus took a tortuous road. The gulf is wide between the initial hopes for change and the current state of reforms. Transition was an imagined journey from totalitarian regimes and a planned economic system to pluralism, democracy and market economy. Yet the realities of historic development are such that instead of a smooth guided journey the countries of Eastern Europe, Central Asia and Caucasus are taking difficult and diverse paths with the points of destination still distant and debated.
Ukraine, one of the largest post-Soviet countries, is an example of the situation we face today in Eastern Europe in terms of the transition from post-communist regimes to civil societies. Following the recent presidential elections of November 21, 2004, massive falsifications were exposed, causing great social crisis. The outrage of the Ukrainian people indicated a democratic awakening as they strove for human rights and the end of the authoritarian regime. However, along with the new democratic mood, the Orange Revolution brought great political instability into the region, revealing deep ethnic, religious, economic and political divisions and eventually split the Ukrainian nation into two opposing parts – East and West, with the agrarian West that is ardently nationalist, predominantly Catholic and anti-Russian, and the industrial East which is predominantly oriented toward Russia in speech and religion.
Since the Orange Revolution is clearly moving Ukraine in a more European direction, changing students’ intolerant beliefs and attitudes about other ethnicities is crucial. Accepting core democratic values, such as caring for others, kindness, fairness, equity are vital elements for the civic development of most post-conflict societies of Eastern Europe, as well as for peace and stability in the region.
The study focuses on exploring the method of transformative learning for democratic educational change. The purpose of the study is to test, or try out, an approach for changing beliefs and attitudes of teacher candidates towards peacebuilding, humanism, and accepting others. The procedure for this study involved several stages: (1) investigating teacher candidates’ attitudes or ethnic stereotypes about different nations bordering Ukraine and about themselves as well; (2) conducting attitudes/stereotypes’ intervention by means of transformative learning towards the formation of teachers’ peaceful attitudes, and (3) analyzing the consequences of this intervention. The paper specifically analyses the research experience for teacher candidates as they reflected on their multi-ethic practices of personal transformative learning. It also utilizes the research findings of cultural-historical theory of activity to inform the field of transformative teacher education for peace and democracy.
The assessment of student knowledge at "A. RUSSO" Balti State University, Republic of MOLDOVA
Dr. Valeriu CABAC and Dr. Adelina STEFARTA
Department of International Relations and European Integration,
Balti State "Alecu RUSSO" University, Republic of MOLDOVA
Traditional pedagogy, that was a basis of the process of the specialist`s formation in higher education was not searching for assessment of students. In fact, the assessment of its contemporary meaning, did not exist on that time. At the end of each particular academic discipline or at the end of the course (or academic year) student`s acquisitions were controlled by the professors during the exams and Final State Exams. In that case where examinated mostly the knowledge of the students. That verification had "a social" character: the final decisions where made on students academic acquisitions. In another word – the assessment was very genereal.
At the end of last century (80`) the assessment procedure changed into diversification. That was the beginning of written exams period. Some of professors begun to use tests during the examinations. In the last decade of XXth century at "A. RUSSO" Balti State University there were made changes in order to introduce and to use new ways of students assessment. There are used different models of student`s evaluation: are used a large variety evaluations: miscroexams, essays, microprojects, debates, presenting research or practical work; there were introduced the practice of test`s administration on rector`s or dean`s levels; during the academic semester all students are examinated regularly in written form that give "a picture" of the academic results of each particular student. There were decided to considerate the semester results (SR) at the final examination as 40% for SR and 60% for final examination result (FER). The final mark is composed on the student`s results accumulated during the semester and final examination.
One of the objectives of the Bologna Process is the quality of specialist’s formation in higher education. There is planned to build a multilevel system of management of quality (university level, national level, European level). A part of this system is the assessment of student`s acquisitions. It is supposed to be flexible, accessible and open but, for that it is necessary to create formation standards.
Life Skills Training for Children and High School Students
Sheena Payton- Wisdom Factors International
Kim Payton, (Ph.D.)- Honolulu Waldorf School
Purpose
To identify critical life skills that may have a global applicability and propose some approaches to teaching those skills to children.
Young people are subjected to unprecedented challenges in the evolving modern world, especially in adjusting to complex social pressures as the traditional family support structure deteriorates. This workshop examines the need for and basic life skills training for high school, and pre-high school students, especially in relation to the basic qualities and skills required by employers in modern organizations.
In the workshop, we intend to explore the fundamental root life skills that must be supported in a viable education if young people are survive the pressures of the modern world and succeed in at work.
• Overview of the subject and workshop
• A presentation on essential life skills from the perspective of a graduating high school senior (SheenaPayton), and a description of the life skills/peer counseling program she developed for implementation at the Walodorf High School in Hawaii.
• Essential life skills that are required in the workplace as viewed by a practicing organizational psychologist (Kim Payton), and a description of how these life skills may be developed.
• Dyad interviews among workshop participants on the question "What fundamental life skills do you believe should be taught to children and why?"
• Group discussion and identification of primary themes.
• Group discussion of the essential core life skills that should be provided to all children.
Note: The foregoing agenda can be accomplished in 60 minutes. The following additional agenda items will require a longer time slot, perhaps 90 minutes.
• Breakout groups on primary themes to refine the definition of the life skill and to propose approaches to teaching the skill to children.
• Presentation of the group results and discussion.
Teaching Teachers to Transform Lives
A Workshop Facilitated by:
Reynold Feldman (Ph.D.)- Wisdom Factors International
Christine Feldman (M.A. A.B.D.)- University of Pittsburgh- Department of Communication
Although great teachers may be born, we believe everyone who teaches can be helped to become more transformative. What we mean by transformative is, in addition to conveying subject-specific knowledge, skills, and understanding, the teacher also assists the students in becoming their best, highest selves.
We plan to begin our workshop the evening prior to it by showing a one-hour documentary video we made 12 years ago called "Changing Lives—Sr. Eileen Rice, O.P." In the video we interview a brilliant 49-year-old nun and teacher of teachers, some present and former students, and her colleagues two months before her death from cancer. All conference participants are welcome to see this video, but we especially want workshop participants to attend.
Workshop – Double Session (1.5 hours) - Preferred
1. Give self-introductions—name, country, status (student, teacher, other). (5 minutes)
2. Have participants briefly free-write about their most life-changing teacher, then share with a neighbor. (5 minutes - writing; 5 minutes – sharing)
3. List in plenum session the non-duplicating (a) personal traits, (b) behaviors, and (c) methods of these exemplary teachers. (15 minutes)
4. Vote (secret ballot) on the top-three most important traits, behaviors, and teaching methods of transformative teachers. (5 minutes)
5. Break while the two of us tabulate ballots. (5-10 minutes)
6. Based on the outcomes, ask random small groups (4 – 5 people each) to rough out strategies for helping teachers become more transformative. (15 minutes)
7. Briefly share and discuss group strategies, after which the plenum will vote on its favorite. (Alternately, create a new strategy with the best elements from the group strategies presented.) (30 minutes)
Workshop – Single Session (45 minutes)
1. Give self-introductions—name, country, status (student, teacher, other). (5 minutes)
2. Have participants briefly free-write about their most life-changing teacher, then share with a neighbor. (5 minutes - writing; 5 minutes – sharing)
3. Have participants briefly free-write three (3) or more ways to help teachers become more transformative in our sense of the term. (5 minutes)
4. Have random small groups create a non-duplicating list of methods to help teachers become more transformative. (10 minutes)
5. Ask a group reporter to write their group’s lists on the blackboard or newsprint. (5 minutes)
6. Have participants discuss the items listed. (5 minutes)
7. With items numbered sequentially, have participants vote on their top 3 – 5, depending on the total number of items. (5 minutes)