Community Learning Development Resource 103-02
INDIVIDUAL PROGRESS AND PROGRESSION
SUMMARY
How can we develop our role in working with clients and in the delivery of accessible, coherent, sensible provision and services, in order to ensure inclusion for all individuals and access to relevant, comprehensive and progressive learning and development opportunities, which enable them to progress and move on.
Key Ideas
- When individuals learn successfully they make learning progress. If the learning they are experiencing no longer addresses their learning needs or does not satisfy their desires and choices, they may need to move on to new learning opportunities – this is progression
- It is important that individuals understand and have positive feelings about being successful and making progress
- As individual learners they should be encouraged to choose when to progress and move on. The role of the worker is to support their capacity building, which enables the client to make effective choices
- How can we ensure that community development and neighbourhood regeneration workers, advice and guidance workers, volunteers, managers and ‘teachers’ are able to encourage progression by supporting learners, before entry, at entry and through a learning experience, and when they are ready to move on?
- Can we ensure that holistic learning for personal development, which builds individual capacity and contributes to collective capacity building, plays a major part in informing and shaping a learners’ progress and progression
- Can we develop a coherent understanding of progression frameworks, local partnership arrangements and operational procedures, which cross the boundaries between providers?
- Can we address the need for the provider co-working, collaboration, co-operation and coherence, necessary for the development and support of a learner-centred progression framework for learners?
- Can we establish working partnerships and plan strategies, which will support learner progress and progression?
- Can we develop linking structures with other providers so that a coherent and supportive pattern of progressive learning opportunities emerges in any given priority area?
- For workers to make effective referrals in support of learner progression, the process of referral should be well-understood and training about signposting or referral includes identifying best practice and what constitutes a ‘good’ signposting/referral and a ‘good’ signposting/referral system
- How can providers put in place arrangements to enable learners travelling learning routes to see the advantages of other learning journeys, which may be more attractive and rewarding?
- How can we ensure that learner empowerment and choice is at the heart of our progression strategy and practice?
- Do we need to agree systems, processes and protocols for operating effective ’joined up’ client-centred progression routes?
- How can learner progression contribute to individual capacity building?
- How can learner progression contribute to community capacity building?
- If after a period of formal learning, a learner stops attending and chooses to do some local voluntary work, is this a form of progression and if so, would agencies offering educational and training advice & information, recognise this as progression?
PROMPTS FOR REFLECTION AND DISCUSSION
- What is your judgement about progression if it means that a learner leaves your agency or work arena and moves on elsewhere?
- If you see progression as ‘moving-on’, even across agency boundaries, is that a view shared by your organisation and colleagues?
- Do you believe that learners who need to move on, should be encouraged to do so?