Pedagogy
3.1
In its formative years the Northern College saw itself as operating
within the extra-mural tradition of tutorial teaching and learning
that was essentially university inspired, and regarded itself as a
part of the higher education sector. The values, assumptions and practices
of its pedagogy were based on:
- the
'liberal adult education' tradition of the universities' extra-mural
movement and the Workers' Educational Association (WEA) over the
years, following the First World War and up to the 1980s
- the
ideas of some of the 'radical' adult educational theorists and
practitioners of the 1960s and 1970s
- the
critique of the feminist scholars and activists who began to have
a major impact on university curricula and research from the late
1960s
3.2
The College was established in 1978 as a charitable company by a consortium
of four South Yorkshire local authorities (LAs): Barnsley, Doncaster,
Rotherham and Sheffield. These local authorities, as well as other
local authorities and trade unions which joined the Company as either
full or associate members, made an annual financial contribution to
the College in order to benefit from the College's educational provision.
This unique partnership arrangement still continues and has influenced
the College's recruitment strategy and curriculum offer.
3.3
In 1991, after a review of the adult residential colleges by the Department
of Education and Science (DES), the College phased out the existing
two-year full-time Diploma Programme, and by 1993 replaced this with
the current one-year, modular programme with external accreditation
and validation by the Open College Network (levels 2 and 3) and Sheffield
Hallam University (CATS level 1).
3.4
In 1992 the creation of the Further Education Funding Council (FEFC)
led to the adult residential colleges being designated as Further
Education institutions, whose work was subject to the provisions of
Schedule 2 of the Further and Higher Education Act. This led to the
restructuring of the College's short course programme to contain largely
Schedule 2 or accredited courses and a small proportion of non-Schedule
2 or non-accredited courses. A major part of the College's income
henceforth came from the FEFC.
3.5
Both the requirements of accreditation, moderation and quality assurance
set by outside bodies and the criteria laid down for inspection by
the FEFC have profoundly changed the College's culture. While these
factors have influenced some aspects of teaching and learning, the
College is still primarily committed to:
- accept,
respect and build upon the informal learning and experience that
adult students bring to any new learning situation
- recognise
and help them overcome the lack of self-confidence (often due
to previous negative experiences of education) that many mature
students feel when they return to learning in a formal situation
- help
students acquire the knowledge, judgement and skills and competencies
that will enable them to develop their learning and realise their
individual potential
- encourage
students to become independent, self-motivated and creative thinkers
and learners, capable of translating ideas into practical action
for the benefit of their families, communities and employers
Significantly, although these have all been expressed as teaching
aims, they could equally well have been stated as learning aims.
3.6
The College has also consistently recognised that staff and students
teach and learn from one another in each other's company. This experience
is often challenging, creative and passionate. It invariably leads
teachers and learners to examine and alter their beliefs, ideas, values,
conduct and actions.
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Learner
Comments
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"The
staff show a real interest in what students have to say. They
not only listen to students but learn from them."
"You
get the impression that tutors feel that they have something
to learn from students."
"Here
tutors and students are on the same level. They learn from
us, and we learn from them. It works both ways."
"Tutors
here appear to be down at our level. At other places tutors
seem to be standing above you and seem to think that they
can play around with you."
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3.7
The College's approach to teaching and learning has been based on
a range of broad and non-prescriptive principles:
- Teaching
should be student-centred so as to give those engaged in the learning
an opportunity to determine what they learn and how, and to set
the pace of their individual and collective progress.
- Learning
should occur in a non-oppressive, facilitative and tolerant environment
so as to give all participants an equal opportunity to participate
in educational activities and to achieve desired learning goals.
- All
College teaching and non-teaching services should be geared to
support the learning process, and to provide a responsive, well-resourced
and comfortable environment, in which learning can take place.
- All
students should be afforded equal opportunities to learn in a
way that takes account of individual circumstances and learning
difficulties.
3.8
It should be emphasised that the core values and assumptions of the
College have been shaped not only by the educational tradition of
which it is a part, but also by contemporary circumstances. The two
most significant are the social and economic situation in the College's
home region, and the growth of IT supported learning:
- An
increasing number of people are now being taught in local venues
outside the College, and the development of learning centres with
access to computer-based education and the Internet is now part
of the strategy of learning partnerships across South and West
Yorkshire.
- Since
the early 1980's South and West Yorkshire, North Derbyshire and
North Lincolnshire have suffered industrial decline of such a
magnitude that they are now among the poorest regions not only
in the United Kingdom but also in Europe. In these areas levels
of qualification and skills have fallen below the national average.
Nearly all have Objective 1 or 2 status for European Social Funding
(ESF). Thus the College has, since 1993, provided programmes to
help people develop the skills and expertise for designing and
running local regeneration schemes, and for entering the labour
market and further training.
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Case
study
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Here
a tutor talks about the sort of things that people in areas
of industrial decline do in order to retrain and re-enter
the labour market. He uses the example of an ex-miner who
enrolled on courses that he taught…
After
being laid off as a miner and being on the dole for 18 months,
the individual decided to do the College's Learning to Learn
programme, consisting of three courses. He explained: "I
wanted these courses to help me with my future studies and
with beginning another stage of my life." The courses
helped to renew his self-confidence and to develop his enthusiasm
to return to study. "I," he remarked, "appreciate
the need of people from different backgrounds to take this
second opportunity to achieve life goals." He went on
to do short courses in Information Technology at the College
and then applied for and got a position as a Trainee IT Technician
under a scheme operated at a local university department.
Since occupying this post he has also achieved other qualifications.
Recently he applied for a full-time post and was short-listed.
He was happy to report: "I got very positive feedback
from the department and will stay on in my current post to
gain more experience."
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