CREATING OUR FUTURE Building Towns and Cities as Learning Communities Edmonton, CANADA 3-4 June, 2004

1
CREATING OUR FUTURE Building Towns and Cities
as Learning CommunitiesEdmonton, CANADA3-4
June, 2004

• PALLACE PROJECT
• Schools and the Learning Community

2
Education in SA

• 1200 government and non-government schools
• Average size of primary schools 250-300
  students
• Average size of secondary schools 600-850
  students
• 65 of education funding is from the State
  government
• 35 from the Federal government
• Moving towards a national curriculum and
  standards
• Pressure on limited resources

3
Adelaide Partnership

• Aim
• Role of the school in building learning
  communities and regions
• Outcomes
• Describe contribution to the building of a
  learning community
• Establish international links between
  Adelaide-Finnish schools
• Develop an e-learning module for schools
• Support other communities and schools to develop
  the concept of a learning community and region
• Project Managers
• CLLD, DFEEST,DECS
• Other State Partners
• Mawson Lakes School, St Columba College, other SA
  schools
• International Collaborative Partner
• The City of Espoo, Finland
• Secondary Project

4
Methodology

• Project Manager
• Guidelines and timeline for schools
• Reporting template for schools
• Adaptation of the Longworth model (1996)
• Introductory workshop and collection of school
  profile data
• Series of follow up workshops, seminars and
  meetings
• Discussions with the Queensland PALLACE project
  officer
• Email communication with City of Espoo Project
  Manager
• Matching SA and Finnish schools

5
Description of PALLACE Schools

• 12 participating schools
• Provided a representative cross-section of the
  range of SA schools
• Metropolitan and country schools including
  remote schools
• All levels of schooling pre-schooling, junior
  primary, primary, secondary, single sex schools,
  co-educational, adult re-entry, specialist focus
  schools, aboriginal schools
• Both sectors of education government and
  non-government (Catholic and Lutheran)

6
Participating Schools
School PALLACE Theme/Topic to Building Learning Communities
Aberfoyle Park / Heysen Primary School Develop interactive Internet site which will address community services for parents Compile show bag of print materials for parents enrolling children in the school
Hamilton Secondary College Adult Campus Flato Special Education Centre Document curriculum development and formation of partnerships for adult secondary education Report on strategies to enhance extra curricular activities for students with severe and multiple disabilities Document on-going staff training and development
Immanuel College Seaview Downs Primary School Seaview High School Modify Longworth Model of lifelong learning to meet the needs of individual school environments
Mawson Lakes School Document formation of Mawson Lakes Education Services (joint facility) Develop e-learning module with Finnish school Engage with the community to develop sense of ownership
McLaren Vale Primary School Document helping and hindering factors in role of school in building learning communities
7
Participating Schools
School PALLACE Theme/Topic to Building Learning Communities
Seaford 6-12 Establish Lifelong Learning Interest Group Develop common understanding and culture of lifelong learning at the school Focus on connecting the school with the local and global community
St Aloysius College Document study tours program as an effective means of cultural exchange Create database of community resources and how they shape the schools curriculum
St Columba College Develop community education courses and volunteers Form Partnerships with key stakeholders community houses, TAFE, schools, employers, community groups, training organisations, universities Develop student pathway plans
The Pines Junior Primary Develop Integration of services birth to 13 years model of learning Report links to formed with Vietnamese community
Woodville High School (Wiltja Program) Develop website and school-home video link across the Wiltja (aboriginal program)
8
PALLACE JOURNEY

• Mawson Lakes School
• Alison Hennessy
• Key Teacher
• St Columba College
• Paul Coughlin
• Director, Community Education and VET

9
Highlights

• Stimulated significant interest in learning
  communities
• Schools have ongoing role in developing links
  with their communities
• Schools could benchmark their learning community
  development
• Schools at different stages in the learning
  community journey
• Involved wide cross section of community in
  debating role of schools in creating a learning
  community
• Case studies of a diversity of school learning
  community initiatives
• Database of good practice
• Created international links for schools to pursue
  in the future

10
Difficulties

• Transfer of project management
• At school level
• transfer of key staff
• changing school priorities
• schools working to status quo
• Formation of links between South Australian and
  Finnish schools proved to be a difficult exercise
• Development of an e-learning module has not
  progressed very far

11
Characteristics of Successful Learning Communities

• Access to education services for everyone
• Brokerage of educational services
• Social and cultural development of the community
• Sustainable economic development
• Critical partnerships and innovative
  collaboration
• New resourcing models
• Sale of education services
• Development of educational signatures
• Optimal use of ICT to generate access and
  connectivity
• Educational services to the surrounding region
  and beyond
• International programs
• Culture of continuous improvement
• Transferability and influence

12
Lessons for Lifelong Learning

• Critical role for schools in building learning
  communities
• Vision ? commitment from stakeholders ? action
• Importance of a local group of stakeholders led
  by high level champions
• Collaboration between (traditional) providers
  under a guideline of more value from no greater
  input
• Ownership by the community
• Establishing social environment for community
  capacity building
• Integration and brokerage of education services
  for all
• Importance of establishing education access
  portals
• Flexible entry points to learning for everyone
• Develop a culture that values continuous learning
• Link between learning and work

13
LIVE, LEARN, WORK and PLAY

• Creating a successful learning community is not
  something that is done to people
• It involves creating an environment (social,
  physical and economic) in which the learning
  community itself can evolve within the context of
  its region
• Education (learning) contributes to the economic
  sustainability of a community
• Learning?Work ?Wealth ?Sustainability