Proposal #37: Everybody's Educating.
I propose to disolve Education and Research Committee and to share its responsibility between the Programs/Activities committees, International Leadership Training Committee and the Educational Officer.
Rationale
All committees are/should be formed by people experienced in education ("on the field" or accademically). There is therefore a redundance of efforts between the committees, unless EDR job will be reduced only to link with the academic world which at this point can be integrated into the pubblication team of the External Relation Committee. For any other need the Educational Officer should be enough of help to all committees that need an educational consultant.
Rspectfully submitted, Teo (ITA)
{ Check out EDR at http://www.cisv.org/edr and ILTC at http://www.cisv.org/iltc. The educational officer is a new position at the International Office (IO) in Newcastle, Great Britain. }
5 Comments:
Hm... I agree with part of this proposal. I understand and support the idea that each committee should have its "specialists" on the programme's educational process (especially for the sake of programme development) - and that this is very rare these days.
(perfect example is that the "best way" found to develop the village programme in many years was to amputate it)
However, I think one of the key goals of EDR is to network with other educational organisations and - most importantly - with the academic world. I think it's obvious that this was one of the key development-factors of CISV in its early years and for a long time has been very lost. It seems that now it's getting back in track with the Newcastle University projects and others that I've heard about out (Modena?).
Last but not least - I think maybe the committee to do this is not EDR. The reason is that this networking cannot be only done in the Educational field, but also in International Relations, Peace & Conflict, cultural studies and others.
So, my suggestion would be to make the role of the Educational Officer permanent (fundamental.) and to change the role of the EDR towards something more wide and focused on academic cooperation.
oh, and I really disagree with the suggestion of putting the job of connecting to the academic world together with ERC.
The work is of very different natures and even if perhaps what is currently done could maybe not be big enough to be its own committee - it must be.
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I can understand the rationale and I also see the need of some changes being made in EDR. Since more and more committees are taking care of issues that used to be EDRs responsibility, slowly, the role of EDR has changed.
Being the educational organisation we are, I find it very important having a committee overlooking the quality and standards of our educational programmes.
I say, instead of erasing EDR from the board and distributing their areas here and there where it might(!) fit, a group of interested people should join the EDR and re-think this committee.
So much else has been re-thought in this organisation the past years and now time has come to EDR.
If then, after re-thinking the committee, they decide that EDR can be put to sleep I would agree, but not before.
I think there is an increasing focus on the "educational process" within CISV, and I agree with Teo that this should be integrated (or streamlined) into the program committees. However, I don't think that necessairly means dissolving the EDR. In fact I believe it probably means putting MORE of a focus and emphasis on EDR.
Perhaps part of the role of EDR should be to support and integrate the "educational process" into these other committees, through trainings and consultation? The educational officer would/could be an integral support in this.
If this was done successfully, perhaps the size/workload of program committee and ILTC could shrink....?
Whatever the role, I agree with Astrid that there needs to be a re-thinking of the structure/practical work of the committe, and a re-visting of what the purpose of EDR is within CISV, now many years after it was originally created.
There needs to be people whose main purpose is to theorize and the EDR does (should?) focus on doing this (and publishing it!). This is "talking on the same terms" as the academic world (writing, theorizing, publishing) and I think we have much to learn from other education-based organizations (aside from unesco, which only has education as a SMALL part of their mandate) if we strategically use our resources to make those connections.
for those interested in educational quality and processes of the non-formal type check out:
www.educationrevolution.org
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