|
|
Travellers |
|
|
|
|
|
February, 2003
2 Tuckey Street. Cork. The Travelling population in Cork City is approximately two hundred families. They reside in houses, halting sites and on the roadside. Adult Education for the Travelling Community since 1993 is organised and based around the four official city halting sites. Literacy is a major issue in the adult population and a key factor to their social exclusion. task force report 1995].To redress these issues progress to date include
2001 Data In addition to a substantial Traveller Literacy Allocation, 300 hours were allocated to Traveller Education from the AEB. 255 of these 300 hours were used. The number of adults partaking in courses in traveller education that were funded by the AEB totalled 65. All participants recorded during 2001 were female. The course selection was focused on personal development, Art & Craft, Needlecraft and cookery.
Peer Tutoring for Travellers Report for the Adult Education Board. Introduction The Travelling Community is the largest minority group in Ireland. There is a need to tackle the many disincentives and barriers which prevent Travellers from participating in adult education. Illiteracy is still a major barrier in allowing adult Travellers to participate fully in society. The Vocational Educational Committee, set up a pilot project in order to train tutors from within the Travelling Community. The students who wished to participate were living in all areas of Cork City and County. To facilitate their needs the course was held in St Johns Central College. Accessing books, childcare and transport caused some problems at the start. These issues were resolved by the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul and The Cork City Partnership. The Society supported the students by given them a grant to cover their costs while the Partnership met the cost of materials and books. The childcare grant has enabled all the students to complete the course. The grant is paid at Christmas and on the completion of the course in June. .Illiteracy It is estimated that up to 80% of Adult Travellers have literacy difficulties. It is still a major issue in the adult Traveller population and a key factor in their social exclusion. Special literacy programmes need to be developed by each V.E.C and other interested bodies The programmes that are developed need to build in a high level of flexibility so as facilitate the transient life style of the Travelling Community. Planning The course was designed to meet the needs of the participants. This was done in conjunction with The Cork Travellers Women’s Network and the City of Cork VEC This training is seen as a vital component in the development of the Literacy programmes in the Cork Area. Entry requirements and structures These were sufficiently flexible to facilitate access. Information guidance and support were built into the new programme. AIM
Selection process After an intensive information campaign an information Workshop took place in La Vern Hall Gratin Street on September 9th 1998. Interest in the course was very high and 28 people expressed a desire to take part in the training. One of the issues that concerned people at the workshop was that of accreditation. The participants expressed a need for formal accreditation, they have done many courses before and while they did receive certification they were not of any educational value. Selection Criteria There were only 16 places available on the course so interviews were held to select candidates.
Course Outline
Module one - English/literacy To meet the expressed need of the participants it was decided to follow the N C V A foundation Communication Module. In April 1999 seven participants submitted their portfolios for certification. The examiner commented on the extremely high standard set and maintained throughout all the portfolios Module two -Numeracy The N C V A foundation mathematics module was followed, but due to the students diverse range of abilities it will not be completed until spring 2000. Module three - Motivation / Leadership The leadership and motivation that the students showed throughout the course was phenomenal. This has manifested itself by a huge demand among other Travellers to access local literacy training courses. The attendance at these courses has risen by over 100%. To facilitate the students needs for accreditation the Personal effectiveness module has been followed and all students will submit their portfolios in September 1999. Module four - Individual support This support underpins the success of this project. This support was offered in a various ways.
EVALUATION Ongoing evaluation was part of the course structure. The tutors and students carried this out together at six to seven weekly intervals. The course was designed to meet the educational needs of all the participants. This caused problems regarding the expected outcomes. The time frame of one 2 hourly sessions per week was unrealistic given the educational reality of the students. The educational experience of the students ranged from one year in Primary school to one student attending 2nd level school for six months. Their lack of formal education caused some problems at the beginning but these were over come by the tutors. The success of the project was achieved by the huge commitment given by the tutors, At the planning stage the time allocated for tutors was totally underestimated This meant that the tutors worked many unpaid hours. This situation needs to be redressed if we are to value the expertise and professionalism of our Tutors. The tutor’s approach was learner Centred and the needs and goals of the students were the central focus at all times. The majority of students attended regularly and were highly motivated. Due to the transient nature of Travellers some of the students were unable to fulfil the 80% attendance that is required in all courses .The course was designed to facilitate the Traveller way of live and success can be measured by the fact that all the participants returned to complete the course ... The participation level of the students has been unique in the experience of the Cork Traveller Adult Education Organiser Funding As the project developed it became clear that the tutoring costs were miscalculated. The allocation of 200 tutor hours was unrealistic as it failed to take into consideration time needed for planning the course. The very high standard set by the tutors was as a result of the many unpaid hours that the tutors worked. This commitment cannot be taken for granted and extra hours need to be allocated to ensure that the tutors are properly remunerated. Other funding was received from Society of Saint Vincent de Paul and the Cork City Partnership. This enabled the participants to receive grants to cover the cost of books, travel and child care Sandra Brett Course Co-ordinator. , May 15th1999
|
|
|
|
