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_ A self-study-group in a non-universitary institute
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_ _ Concluding Report
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A self-study-group in a non-universitary institute

Stand:


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The U3A and a self-study-groupAt that moment when the Arnhem U3A workgroup (as a non-university institute) starts a self-study-group a careful preparation will be needed.


Financial issues:

The U3A / Volksuniversiteit has no permanent paid teachers. The management is mainly organising and administrative. The teachers are being contracted by lecture or course. Seen in the budgetary way, it is acting carefully. The costs can’t often be covered by the contribution of the participants. Thereby, the costs will finally often be covered by the municipal grants.

Coaching:

A project like a self-study-group needs a co-ordinator who’s also a coach, preferably with knowledge of theories of education. Although there is a comprehensive arsenal of teachers available, the U3A cannot assign the coaching of a self-study-group to a regular teacher like in a regular university. For the most non-formal institutes, attracting a paid project co-ordinator will encounter financial difficulties. A possibility worth considering is to engage a part-time co-ordinator for the first project. During this project participants can be selected on their coaching skills. They will work closely with the external co-ordinator, so they can extend their own co-ordinating and coaching skills. It is advisable that after the first project, these new coaches will stay in contact with the professional co-ordinator / coach.

Coaching is needed, although it seems in contradiction with self-studying and autonomy. Coaching is needed to prepare organisation and participants for a good start. And it is wise to arrange, directly from the beginning, a number of meetings in which agreements will be made about theme, organisation, relation and communication. Coaching is also needed for evaluation.

Participants:

It is not vocational education, but non-formal education. It is a development which has to contribute to the personal well-being of the participants. The philosophy of Forschendes Lernen can be a good starting point in this.

A school-journey or a voyage of discovery?

Does this metaphorical language fit? We see regular education as a firmly organised school-journey, while the Forschendes Lernen is more a voyage of discovery.

Forschendes Lernen asks more

Our interpretation

Our interpretation is that Forschendes Lernen is in addition to thematic working, also self-organised research and above all meeting learning. It is enquiring learning with emphasis on relational aspects. Forschendes Lernen gives the participants autonomy. Autonomy gives the participants choices, so that the involvement will increase. With the possibility to go through a self-determined development a feeling of competence can be reached. But there is also self-expression through working together, discovering new items with others, working with others on and in a project, helping others, confirming the other and being confirmed by the others.
In short: being accepted and being respected.
In this way Forschendes Lernen contributes to giving meaning.

Prior conditions

Prior conditions or a framework have to be offered. Because through these conditions self-realisation can be realised. Some of these conditions are enough time, a good balance between autonomy and structuring and attention to relational aspects.

Enough time:

It is important that there is sufficient space to let a process develop. At first, because it just takes time to form a closely connected group. But also because of the time it takes for the participants to learn new definitions, new methods of study and making them their own. Making choices asks for time to discover the choices, in order to develop insight about which choices are possible. Another aspect of time is the too large pressure of time. It doesn’t matter through which cause it arises, too great time pressure has direct negative effect on the process.