Report #3
August 2006
UPTER receives recognition in the “Our Excellency” Report
UPTER among the 100 success stories in the Italian system
Rome, August 3rd 2006
- L’UPTER University Popolare di Roma (The People’s University)
has been included among the 100 success stories in the institutional, and
associative sectors in the “Our Excellency Report” published
by Eurispes with the contribution of Postel Spa.
The 100 cases selected serve as the metaphor of a country which, despite organizational and cultural lags and the obstacles of bureaucratic red tape, is making a comeback even if with contours which are still very fragile and uncertain.
According to the Eurispes report, there is an Italy that is moving forward, an Italy which has been able to capture important segments of the productive and labour sector. This is the Italy of excellence, an excellence that is not confined to certain areas but can be found in both the southern and northern regions, with brands which are often unfamiliar to the public at large.
Nineteen years after its constitution, UPTER, a non-profit association, has been held up as an example in terms of the quality of its activities, organization and dissemination of culture and learning open to all, offering real opportunities for the personal and professional growth of individuals.
UPTER President Francesco Florenzano comments: <<I am extremely pleased with this important recognition. When a cultural and educational project like UPTER’s is carried forward with constant commitment and determination, it becomes possible to build something big. In the Italian and European context, the association is committed to promoting the creation of a knowledge society in the Italian and European context where citizens of every social class, nationality and educational background can accede to lifelong learning opportunities in every circumstance and at any age>>.
Already last year UPTER won the EAEA Grundtivig Award 2005.
Francesca Landi ¦ Tel. 06.69204325 cell. 335-5478571 – landi@upter.it
THIRD Meeting of the “QualiFLY” project
Dublin, 8-10 May 2006
The theme of the 3rd meeting of the QualiFLY project which was held from 8 to 10 May 2006 in Dublin, was "working with parents". The aim was to discuss best practice in relation to aspects such as recruitment and motivation, approaches, materials and the role of parent leaders. The meeting was hosted by the National Adult Literacy Agency (NALA) which was represented mainly by Celia Rafferty, member of the executive committee and vice-chair of NALA. Apart from the project partners, two “guests” from England and South Africa attended the meeting. Following the detailed lists of participants:
Ms Desislava Stoykova, Ethnoculturen Dialog, Bulgaria
Mr Todor Gjurov, Ethnoculturen Dialog, Bulgaria
Dr. Gabriele Rabkin, Institute for Teacher Training and School Development,
Hamburg, Germany
Ms Antje Zingel, School Hammerbrook, Hamburg
Ms Ute Stather, School Osterbrook, Hamburg
Ms Aysen Çiker, School Chemnitzstraße, Hamburg
Ms Celia Rafferty, member of the executive committee and vice-chair, National
Adult Literacy Agency, Ireland
Ms Maria Angela Schembri Meli- Programme Co-Ordinator, Hilti Programme,
Foundation for Educational Services, Malta
Mr Victor Galea, Head of Programme, Hilti, Foundation for Educational Services,
Malta
Ms Snoeks Desmond, The Family Literacy Project, South Africa
Ms Ceren Lordoglu Tuz, Mother-Child Education Foundation (ACEV), Turkey
Mr Hasan Deniz, Mother-Child Education Foundation (ACEV), Turkey
Ms Maren Elfert, UNESCO Institute for Education
Dr. Ulrike Hanemann, UNESCO Institute for Education
Ms Carla Barozzi, Università Popolare di Roma, Italy
Dr. Luciano Daina, Università LUISS di Roma, Italy
Ms Elizabeth Jarman, Akoya Ltd., UK
The following participated temporarily in the meeting:
Mr John Stewart, National Adult Literacy Co-ordinator, NALA
Ms Janet Webb, Clare Family Learning Project
Ms Margaret Keating, FL Co-ordinator, Bray Adult Literacy Service
Participants
of the meeting in Dublin
Education, adult education and literacy in Ireland
The meeting started with an introduction into family literacy work in an adult literacy and education context in Ireland by John Stewart, National Adult Literacy Co-ordinator, NALA. NALA is a membership organisation with voluntary status concerned with policy, lobbying, research, training, development, mainstreaming, promotion and awareness in the field of adult literacy. NALA’s mission is to ensure that all adults with literacy difficulties have access to a range of high quality learning opportunities.
Irish education system: A caracteristic of the Irish education system is
the important role of the catholic church for education. Most of the schools
have a religious denomination, but multi- or non-denominational schools
are growing. Primary and secondary education is free since 1967.
12% of all persons aged 18-24 are early school leavers, this is below the
average in the European Union. However, the situation is improving. In 2005,
61% of all persons aged 15-64 attained education levels of higher secondary
level or above. Economic growth is considerable and the population is young.
The adult learning and literacy field have hugely developed in the past ten years. Also in terms of budget many investments have been made. The most recent development is English as a second language (ESOL) for migrants. In adult literacy, many tutors are volunteers (of 5,500 literacy tutors over 4,000 are volunteers). There is a strong tradition of volunteering in Ireland.
The TV programme “Read Write Now” targeting adults with problems with reading and writing ran for five years, with great success. It was accompanied by books and learning materials to reinforce its effect. The programme is now followed by “The Really Useful Guide to Words and Numbers”.
At the Dublin Adult Learning Centre (DALC) the group had the opportunity
to get a more concrete idea of adult education in Ireland. 600 students
a year enrol in the centre every year, 25% of them come for unemployment
programmes. When they arrive, students are assessed. Those with low level
of reading and writing or low level of confidence are recommended to do
individual tuition. All individual tutors are volunteers.
The Centre did a research among the men coming to courses and developed
a men’s family learning programme. To attract more men, computer courses
are offered exclusively for them. Once they have attended a course and know
the Centre, it’s more likely that they come back.
Learners'
Charter in the Dublin Adult Learning Centre
Family literacy and family learning in Ireland
In the Irish constitution it is said that the parent is the primary teacher
of their child.
The first family learning programme was “Read to Succeed”, a
13-week accredited programme which was run for 10 years by the Open College
Network in Northern Ireland.
At the DALC the group learned more about accredited family learning courses. There are three levels, level three is the highest with the least participants. To get the accredition, participants submit folders showing their work and progress during the course. For some participants the assignment is scary. There are also non-accredited courses including several modules that are more flexible.
The work with story sacks in family learning courses were at the centre of the visits at the Crumlin College of Further Education and the KLEAR local education project. Mothers and children enjoy producing sacks around story books which contain the most important figures as well as central objects appearing in the story. The little figures and objects help to make the story livelier and give a personal touch to reading. At the Crumlin college, the group had the opportunity to see literacy courses and one-to-one tutoring. The volunteers holding these courses are usually retired people or young people working in jobs during the day and doing volunteer work in the evenings.
The group had the opportunity to meet Janet Webb, Co-ordinator of the Clare Family Learning Project. The Clare Family Learning Project is one of the best-known family learning initiatives in the country. Clare offers several courses for families, e.g. the “Family Learning Course”, a programme for parents of young children, aged 0-7, including learning, oral language, spelling, reading and writing, maths and communication. Clare has developed the “Family Learning Resource Guide”, an extremely useful manual for practical work.
Another important publication for the support of family literacy work in Ireland was presented by Margaret Keating, FL Co-ordinator at the Bray Adult Learning Centre, a resource book for parents developed on the initiative of NALA, called “At Home with Family Literacy”. Margaret Keating also presented the range of family learning courses offered by the Bray Adult Learning Centre (from Storytelling to Help your child at secondary school). She also focused on the work with story sacks which is an important element of family learning activities in Ireland.
An important actor in the Irish school system is the home-school-liaison officer. This person has a crucial role in involving parents in parenting courses. Home-school-liaison-officers are teachers who work for a couple of years as mediators between the schools and the families.
Family literacy in South Africa: Snoeks Desmond reported on the “Family Literacy Project” in South Africa which started in 2000 and works in seven sites in the Southern Drakensberg area of KwaZulu Natal. The project is based on the work of local women. It consists of child to child groups, home visiting, the development of community libraries and other materials creating a literate environment in the community. A big difference of the South African project to the European projects represented in “QualiFLY” is that the women participating in the project attend the groups for an average of 3.5 years. In Europe attendance is shorter as projects are usually limited in time, although a family literacy project may be a starting point for parents to continue with adult education courses.
One focus of the meeting was the sharing of best practice in relation to the work with parents in family literacy programmes. Most of the participants brought presentations on their work with parents.
The Turkish presentation covered the “Mother Child Education Program”, the “Parent-Child Preschool Training Program” and the “Father Support Program”. When the Mother Child Education Program started, real lobby work was done to recruit mothers, e.g. through information stands on markets. In the meantime, the programme is well-known as it has run for years, and recruitment is easier. Mothers get certificates at the end of the course. The group discussed how the use of certification and “oral contracts” made between the course leaders and the parents (a practice which is common in the Father Support Program) can improve the commitment of the participants to the programme. The trainer and the fathers agree on the “rules” of the group and the sessions. This agreement commits the participants to the course.
The English presentation repeated many of the points that had been discussed with regard to recruitment and retention of parents, so that it is worthwhile to quote two of the slides here:
Recruitment of parents: Ideas to try
- On the playground
- Video running in a foyer
- Photo displays from sessions/ ideas sheets
- Tasters
- Enrolment at school
- Celebration event from last cohort with certificates
- Letters- get the children involved/ make them visual
- Is the school a welcoming environment?
- Dads- where are they? Different promotion
- Children/community leaders recruiting
- Translators
- Frontline staff
Retention of parents:
- Quality experience
- Relevant, well-planned content
- Staff fantastic communicators who understand the social context that parents/carers
live in
- Benefits for children/ parents/carers must be obvious
- Ongoing nurturing, encouragement and praise
- Progression
- Right pace
- FUN!
Elizabeth Jarman also recommended some useful websites, e.g. the observatory on the website of the Basic Skills Agency (www.basic-skills.co.uk) and a list of approved programmes on www.lsc.gov.uk. She also presented a folder with interesting materials for family literacy programmes, “Walking ten feet tall” by Jeanne Haggart from NIACE.
The German presentation focused on activities with parents, reading and writing projects (such as a family book done by the parents for their children), but also activities that are related to reading and writing such as phonological awareness (e.g. drumming), inviting “experts” from the community such as a policeman or going to a museum. The German team presented a new project for parents, a “literacy suitcase” which is donated to schools running family literacy programmes and which contains literacy games, but also music, a book of recipes and all kinds of material for supporting interaction between parent and child with regard to reading and writing. The material can be borrowed from parents to be taken home.
The Maltese presentation on “Working with parents” stressed that parents are seen as partners. The Foundation for Educational Services runs the Id f’Id programme for parents to become “parent leaders” and take an active role in family literacy programmes to encourage them to become lifelong learners. The programme consists of four projects: 1) Parent-to-Parent-Meetings; 2) Parent-to-Parent-Courses; 3) Community literacy outreach and 4) parent leaders. The community literacy outreach project is currently being developed. The idea of it is to reach people where they are, for example through the summer programme organised by the communities.
The Bulgarian team presented a project which has been carried out from January to June 2005, targeting young Roma women whose children attend kindergarten.The project entitled „Week school for mother’s knowledges and skills” consisted of training modules on civil and health education, vocational training, social skills and comptences. The complex training not only provided the Roma mothers with key skills and knowledges but also contributed to the creation of a better environment for the positive development of their children.