What is Quality Development Education? Bobby McCormack

1. What is Quality Development Education? • Bobby McCormack • Development Perspectives - www.developmentperspectives.ie • Lecturer in Development Studies / Former Youth worker • Role in DEEEP Summer school – Quality and Impact • The Story so far… (DP from 2006 – 2008) • Before we start… • Do Development Education practitioners need to adhere to key principles or cornerstones to achieve high quality work? If so, what are they? Would a quality framework be helpful for guiding our work? What dimensions of our work should a quality framework address?

2. What is Quality Development Education? Two Pillars – Development and Education “the development process is in fact an educational process; or rather it should unfailingly be viewed as such. We cannot therefore conceive of development in the absence of education any more than education in the absence of development” (Faundez as cited in McGivney and Murray, 1991). “Quality is about learning what you are doing well and doing it better. It includes finding out what you may need to change to make sure you meet the needs of the people who use your services or who work with you, or in order for you to better achieve your intentions” (DARE forum, 2011). “researching ones practice is the ultimate expression of what it is to be professional” (Lomax,2002:131). What do you think? Gaps?

3. What is Quality Development Education? Impact is “the positive and negative, primary and secondary, long term and/or significant effects in people’s lives and environment produced by several interventions, directly or indirectly, intended or unintended” (CONCORD, 2010: 6). or “The set of sustainable changes that result from the education activities and the effects (intended or unintended) that a programme has on the community / target group” (Think Global, 2001) What do you think? Anything missing? Does high quality lead to deep impact?

4. What is Quality Development Education? • Important to note • Active Citizenship • Problem Solving • Critical Thinking • Systems Thinking • Some considerations. • Are we involved in Global Learning / Campaigning and Advocacy? • Focus of our work? • How inclusive/exclusive is our practice? Stakeholders involved? • Link to Political and/or funding cycles? • Do we plan/implement/evaluate and reflect with quality and impact in mind?

6. What is Quality Development Education? Key questions What Development Theories are informing your work? Does your work address critical literacy? How? Diversity of perspectives? What Development issues/challenges are you addressing? Can you describe the action component to your work? Does your work address Power analysis? How? Who has set the Learning Objectives? How participatory/interactive is your project? Why does this matter? What depth and level of support can you offer to learners? How do you reflect the complexity of Development? How do you illustrate Systems Thinking? Does problem solving form part of your programme? How?

8. What is Quality Development Education? Tension “Whoever funds development education often drives the objectives of the activities undertaken and thus determines indicators of success. Typical indicators are increased public support for aid or debt cancellation. But this can cause conflict with educationalists who, for example, consider that successful learning does not necessarily result in more public support or public mobilisation. Success may be a learner who becomes more critical of the aid budget. Similar conflicts also occur in evaluation, which is regularly a donor condition and contributes to the perception that it is used for control rather than lesson learning or a combination of both” (Scheunpflug, OECD).

9. What is Quality Development Education? • How can we maximise the quality and impact of our Development Education practice during the implementation phase? • Depends on what you are doing….. Global Learning or Campaigning or both... • We are trying to get participants to become critical thinkers / problem solvers / active citizens. Our learning opportunities should allow people to cut deep. How does this happen? • Focus on Three areas • Multiple Intelligences • Experiential Learning • Emotion

10. What is Quality Development Education? In “Frames of Mind – the Theory of Multiple Intelligences” (1983), Gardner classified 7 intelligences 1. Logical/mathematical 2. Linguistic 3. Musical 4. Spatial 5. Bodily-Kinesthetic 6. Interpersonal 7. Intrapersonal Gardner later added another intelligence 8. Naturalist

11. What is Quality Development Education? • In 2003 – 2005, Gardner spoke about a ninth intelligence • 9. Existential • General points • All of us have the 8/9 intelligences but to a differing degree • No two individuals have the same intelligence profile • Having an intelligence does not mean that you will behave intelligently • Activity – Gravity Stick • Does Development Education as currently practiced cater for multiple intelligences? • Does Development Education cater for theorists/pragmatists/activists/reflectionists? • Are we catering for the range of potential that exists in learners? • Are our traditional pedagogical / andragogical approaches effective?

12. What is Quality Development Education? Experiential Learning Question 1 – What has been the most important/significant learning moment/event in your life so far? Question 2 – What do you think experiential learning is? Question 3 – Is the Dev Ed sector too preoccupied with mainstreaming? Does Experience = Learning ? “Experiential Learning is, in essence, the underpinning process to all forms of learning since it represents the transformation of most new and significant experiences and incorporates them within a broader conceptual framework”. (Beard and Wilson, 2006: 19) “Experience forms the basis of all learning”. (Rogers, 1996: 107) Do we understand how learning occurs? Do we understand what learning is?

13. What is Quality Development Education? The importance of offering meaningful experience “Experience is created in the transaction between the learner and the milieu in which he or she operates – it is relational. An event can influence the learner, but only if the learner is predisposed to being influenced”. (Boud, Cohen and Walker, 1993: 11) In 1997, Peter Senge defined learning as “The process through which new knowledge, value and skills are acquired. At a deeper level, it involves a movement of mind”. (Senge, 1997: 13) Does the transformation of society require a movement of mind? What part does experiential learning play in that transformation?

14. What is Quality Development Education? The role of emotion in Learning Conclusion The findings and analysis chapter illustrates the effectiveness and importance of experiential learning theory within development education settings. Learning based on first hand experience has also been proven fundamental in the occurrence of change. Active participation and observation through living, working, playing and sharing with people in a new environment created an emotional opportunity for participants to engage in meaningful learning. Development education aims to increase awareness and perspectives about local and global issues focusing on interdependence. It is apparent from this study that the most effective approaches to bring about such awareness are those rooted in emotional, physical and practical experience and this concurs with many of the theories explored in the literature. (Downey, 2008)

15. What is Quality Development Education? Evaluation “The challenge is not simply to provide appropriate methods and tools for evaluation, but to work in ways that build a collective sense of purpose and commitment… development educators form a dynamic learning community with a responsibility to contribute to an open and supportive culture that shares experiences, allows mistakes and encourages risk-taking” (McCollum and Bourn, 2001). “Evaluation is a political act as well as an investigatory process”. (Lincoln and Guba, 1986) “Evaluation looks at the total value of the learning event, not just whether and how it has achieved its learning objectives. It therefore puts the event in its wider context and provides information essential to future”. (Harrison, 1988) Why do it? According to Harland (1996) – Proving, Improving, Learning and Controlling.

16. What is Quality Development Education? • Four Generations of Evaluation (Lincoln and Guba, 1989) • Measurement Generation – Early 20th Century • Descriptive Generation – Ralph Tyler / Veers towards description / Examines patterns • Judgement Generation – “Why bother?” • Responsive Generation – Personal and organisational development / Not about making definitive objective judgements. • Paradigm wars between first three and fourth generation? Where does Development Education sit? Which generation is most appropriate for Development Education? • Functionality is key and context is vital. • Goal Free Evaluation – Michael Scriven • Avoid consideration of formal objectives in carrying out an evaluation

17. What is Quality Development Education? • 10 Key points – Quality and Impact – What can we do? • Practitioners need to understand and be experienced (in a hands on way) in Learning and/or Development • Offer meaningful experience and relevance (Include the Local and Global Dimension) • Recognise the significance of blindspots • Engage in Action Research and Reflective Practice (Reflection In and On Action) • The Action Component (Dev Studies + Informed Action = Dev Ed) • Optimise learning opportunities (MI, Learning Styles, Experiential Learning, Role of Emotion in learning) • Keep a close eye on impact (Honestly…) • Recognise the role Systems Thinking plays in Learning and Development. Development isnt an issue for over there somewhere…… • Advocate for greater levels of support for Development Education – Why? • Partnership and Solidarity – Vague values or actively practiced?

19. What is Quality Development Education? Humans are teleological. What about organisations? Movements? Networks? The psychological well being of the organisations we work within is important. The ceiling on our behaviour is our beliefs. The ceiling on the quality of our work is our beliefs. Raise our beliefs and…… “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate….. “