Template for presentation of examples of good practices/ policies Presentation of Ireland Policy N* 1

Transcription

1 Template for presentation of examples of good practices/ policies Presentation of Ireland Policy N* 1 Identification of practice/ policy Title: Adult Educational Guidance Initiative (AEGI) Name and full contact details of key informant: Ms. Eileen Fitzpatrick, Director, National Centre for Guidance in Education (NCGE) 1 st Floor, 42/43 Prussia Street, Dublin 7. Ireland. Tel: /6. Fax: director@ncge.ie Keyword(s): Consciousness raising, citizenship, capacity building, social cohesion, learner/client centeredness, accessibility,quality, transparency, personal empowerment, competitiveness and cultural and community development Duration of practice/ policy: Outline/ Summary: The AEGI service offers information, advice and guidance on an individual and group basis to assist people to make the best choices for learning. In 2003 the AEGI consists of 25 projects located throughout the county in urban and rural areas. These projects aim to provide a quality adult educational guidance service to participants on the Vocational Training Opportunities Scheme (VTOS), literacy and other adult community education programmes. The outcome of the projects is informing mainstreaming of the service in the period The projects set out to establish and inform the guidance needs of their target groups, with the aim of providing a responsive service on a local basis. The Green Paper on Adult Education: Adult Education in an Era of Lifelong Learning (1998), was the first Green Paper on Adult Education published in Ireland. It recommended the development of a service which would cover a spectrum of needs ranging from initial outreach, particularly in the fields of literacy and basic education, vocational information, guidance and orientation, advice in dealing with learning fears, the development of good study skills, managing time, as well as and access to more specialised services, where necessary. The Green Paper was followed by an extensive consultation process to obtain a wide range of views and opinions. The publication of the subsequent White Paper on Adult Education: Learning for Life (2000) marks the adoption of lifelong learning as the governing principal of educational policy and highlighted the need to invest systematically in the development of core supporting services for adults in and addressed the need to provide a National Adult Guidance and Counselling Service. The White Paper proposes that this service will include personal, educational and career guidance and will cover the pre-entry, entry, on-going and pre-exit stages. The AEGI, funded by the Department of Education and Science, with the assistance of the European Social Fund, forms part of the National Development Plan

2 2006. The National Centre for Guidance in Education (NCGE), an agency of the Department of Education and Science, has been given the lead role in managing and supporting this initiative. The nature of the service includes: o The provision of a coherent information base which can be self-accessed by learners, allied with a help-line; o Initial consultations with a trainer advisor to help clarify needs, indicate o appropriate pathways and/or referral; More specialised support such as counselling (career, educational) and assessment Mindful of the White Paper, all providers of adult education are encouraged to develop a policy on adult educational guidance, taking into account the framework of this document. Specify if the policy support innovation or mainstream implementation or generalisation: This programme is one of a number of measures supported under the National Development Plan (NDP) to implement EU policy on Lifelong Learning, development of a knowledge-based society and social cohesion, The New Deal on Education Disadvantage1999 and the Education Act Contextual information Law framework: The Green Paper on Adult Education: Adult Education in an Era of Life Long Learning 1998, The Education Act 1998 and The White Paper on Adult Education Learning for Life The White Paper proposes to put in place a National Adult Guidance Service over the period of the National Development Plan. The White Paper proposal for the development of an adult educational guidance service recognises that it is necessary to ensure integrated linkages with existing services. It also clearly states that a number of integrated steps must be put in place to develop an effective service and to deal with gaps in current provision. This includes the provision of a coherent information base which can be self accessed by adults with a telephone help-line and of a wide range of specialised guidance and counselling supports. This will be supported by a national ICT policy. It is planned to develop a national website of learning opportunities and a national telephone help-line service + ICT information points in libraries and community education centres. Link with previous national policies: New Deal on Education Disadvantage 1999 Link with other national policies: The White Paper on Adult Education Learning for Life 2000 Who thought there was a problem? At the suggestion of the Association of Adult Education Officers in Ireland, research on guidance provision for adults in education in Ireland was commissioned by NCGE in The research identified major 2

3 deficits in provision and the wish of adult education participants for a range of guidance support services. Is it a good practice that want to support a new policy? Yes Content of policy Needs attended to, issues, problem solved: Guidance for those wishing to gain fully from second chance education, thus leading to greater social inclusion Aims and objectives: To connect adults with learning opportunities by the provision of information, advice and guidance support, on an individual and group basis. The AEGI in particular aims to support adults engaged in, or interested in engaging in second-chance education, Vocational Training Opportunities Scheme (VTOS), Back to Education Initiative (BTEI), Literacy Schemes and Community Education. Implementation: National Service on a phased basis by 2006 to support adult learning Scope or level: regional, national Target group(s): Any adult engaged with; Vocational Training Opportunities Schemes (VTOS); Back to Education Initiative (BTEI); Literacy Schemes; Adult education courses; and Community Education. Partners involved: The Department of Education and Science, The national Centre for Guidance in Education, Vocational Education Committees, Irish Business and Employers Confederation, NALA, Access Officers Association, Aontas, Local Employment Services, FÁS etc. Financial support: Publicly funded by DES under NDP Overhead and other costs incurred by the practice/ policy: Staff recruitment to administer and direct implementation of initiative, development of materials, course funding (EMAG), national data base funding, accommodation and support services, jointly funded collaborative programmes at local level, general programme development costs Outcomes and results Perceived strengths: Bringing information and guidance to local communities, a free service, streamlined to suit the targeted client-groups and with outreach to a wide range of learning groups. Access for adults to Higher Education Courses is also facilitated. The service is community based in local communities and is collaborating and responding to local needs. In the various piloted guidance 3

4 services a number of different models have been developed to suit specific needs. An Educational Management of Adult Guidance (1997 to date) accredited (NUI, Maynooth) course has been designed to support development of the Managers of the projects. This course originally commenced with the support of the Leonardo da Vinci programme and was subsequently mainstreamed by teh Department of Education and Science. Staff in the projects have been very involved in the devising of innovative approaches to meet client-need, in the design of in-service training, in the development of new materials and in the piloting a new client data base system. Perceived weaknesses and areas requiring further improvement: Although a range of in-service training is arranged for personnel working in the AEGI, there is a perceived need for the development of a dedicated initial training course in guidance skills for guidance practitioners wishing to work exclusively with adults. In addition, there is a need to develop and provide a number of modular inputs to allow guidance practitioners to gain added expertise to move into this specialised area. In addition, some of the projects, especially those in more rural areas have found if difficult to recruit qualified staff. Finding suitable premises has posed some difficulty. Outcomes, specific achievements: While the main thrust of the initiative has been to look after three main identified groups, other adults have come forward to use the service. These include: women working in the home in urban and rural areas, members of the Traveller community, single parents, asylum seekers, refugees and men attending literacy programmes in the workplace. There are more than one million Irish Adults in the age-group who have less than upper secondary education this is a staggering 42% of the age cohort. Free secondary education was only introduced in This contributes to intergenerational poverty and studies have shown that the children of early school leavers and the unemployed are most at risk of not completing school. The introduction of the AEGI is one of a wide range of education initiatives and is striving to enable all adults to play a full role in society whether through personal and /or economic capacity building. In addition, the NCGE has produced a Resource Handbook to guide existing projects and to inform those at the set-up stage. Progress (qualitative and quantitative) and financial reports are sent to both the Department of Education and Science and to the National Centre for Guidance in Education on a quarterly basis. Service delivery is at the heart of the business of information, advice and guidance activities providing good quality services which meet the client needs, at a time, place, and in a way which assists them to consider options and make choices, is really what it s all about. A Service Level Agreement is agreed by each AEGI project and this must be a most important reference point for pilot projects, as this highlights the agreement, which has been made between the AEGI project and the Department. ISSEE Quality Guidelines are also utilised to guarantee quality of delivery. ISSEE Guidelines were developed as an outcome of the Loenardo da Vinci funded project Developing Guidelines for Adult Guidance. The guidelines can be used as a tool for self-audit and planning for a quality adult service. 4

5 External evaluation is provided by Open Campus Learning -Glasgow Caledonian University. Resource Materials have been developed and are regularly up-dated. Guidance practitioners and other staff in the projects have been asked to contribute to the development of materials, structures and training and have responded well to these requests. Internal reporting structures: VEC senior management CEOs/ AEO. Open Campus Learning Glasgow Caledonian University conduct a final evaluation of each phase at the end of two years at the time of assessment for mainstreaming of funding. For example, the final report for evaluation of Phase 1 (September 2002). Final evaluation of the overall Initiative: external evaluation either by Glasgow Caledonian University or invited to tender. This is not yet decided. Number of clients accessing the service: Phase 1. Average number of clients in the target groups: 188 per quarter. Average number of clients NOT in the target groups (e.g. travellers, disability, non-nationals): 64 per quarter. Phase 2: Average number of clients in the target groups: 162 per quarter. Average number of clients NOT in the target groups: 75 per quarter. Phase 3: Average number of clients in the target groups: 80 per quarter PLEASE NOTE: this is an average figure from the first quarter of 2003 when many of the projects were still in the set-up stages. It is expected that this number will increase within the next couple of quarters and be on a par with the projects in Phases 2 and 3. Average number of clients NOT in the target groups: 30 per quarter. The goal is to mainstream the projects. Each phase of the projects was set up on a two-year pilot basis. The first phase was mainstreamed on the basis of a final report in 2002 and each of the next two phases will be evaluated for mainstreaming in due course. Sustainability: Successful pilot projects are being mainstreamed to guarantee continuity and implementation of good practice. The first phase was mainstreamed on the basis of a final report in 2002 and each of the next two phases will be evaluated for mainstreaming in due course, to support LLL. European dimension: how does the policy contribute to the objectives of education and training as set out in the detailed work programme, especially about the objectives 2.1 and 2.3? It supports lifelong learning and equality objectives, the promotion of active citizenship and empowers adults to make informed and supported decisions to engage in second-chance education. Is the example suitable/ recommended for further peer review Yes. September