John D’Arcy praised the work conducted in the area of adult and community education during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the “flexibility and agilty” of the groups and organisations’ collective efforts. He spoke of the importance of “building good educational practices”, and having structures in place which “keep people engaged” and “keep people on board”.
Discussion Sessions
The meeting featured an open discussion, during which various members gave feedback about their organisations’ experience of providing, facilitating, or supporting online learning during the pandemic. Themes emerging from this discussion included the challenges of planning for the long-term and adapting to a constantly changing environment. The effects of the pandemic on socio-economic and educational disadvantage were also discussed, as COVID-19 has exasperated existing inequalities. Attendees also described how the reach of online learning can be limited, depending on the needs of learners.
Deirdre Quinn of the Women’s Resource Development Agency in Belfast, shared her concern that there would be a lot of challenges if another lockdown is pending in 2022, and that the pandemic and online learning “heightens the inequalities already out there”. It was agreed that it is difficult to plan for the long-term and adapt to a constantly changing environment.
Cheryl Ball of the NOW group, which supports people with learning difficulties and autism into employment, stated that actually there were some positives to online learning or a blended approach (i.e. some sessions online and some face-to-face). Cheryl noted that, with online learning, there was a “greater geographical spread” and that people from different areas across the region could come together in a way that was never possible before. “Some people are more comfortable learning from their own homes,” she said.
AONTAS Member Engagement
Martin Flynn of the Open College Network (OCN-NI) shared some of their work, and also mentioned the benefits of being a member of AONTAS, including the valuable opportunity to share best practice, to develop networks and to increase the visibilty and impact of community education in Northern Ireland. Learn more about OCN in this video.
AONTAS – An All Island Organisation
AONTAS CEO Niamh O’Reilly provided an overview of AONTAS’s work in Northern Ireland, and noted that, AONTAS, as an organisation, “listens to our members and to the people on the ground to determine what we should be doing”. Niamh spoke about the opportunity to support community education in the Ulster region and about the group’s collective commitment to education equality across the island of Ireland. She raised the question of how AONTAS can be beneficial to education and advocacy organisations across Ulster in order to meet the needs of their learners:
“AONTAS has been running for over fifty years, and we have a body of knowledge and expertise to draw on across further, higher and community education.”
Niamh mentioned existing links with Ulster, including AONTAS’s work with Rosemary Moreland, editor of the Adult Learner Journal and co-ordinator and lecturer at Ulster University. AONTAS seeks to continue to build further relationships with organisations across Ulster. According to Niamh: “It is about collective action for social change and educational equality.”
Colin Neilands, of Communitis and the Forum for Adult Learning in Northern Ireland, gave an overview of recent research findings on supporting educational equality in the adult learning sector in Northern Ireland. Colin presented research identifying the needs and concerns of Northern Ireland organisations including funding, recognition, visibility, support, collaboration, and voice.
He pointed out, for example, that in Northern Ireland there is a lack of promotional campaigns around adult education, or a Festival of Learning in support of lifelong learning, and that greater visibility is required in order to further goals of educational equality and access to adult education across regions and communities.
Some of the key takeaways from the event include:
- The need to continue to bring all stakeholders together and encourage North-South dialogue
- To build a space for sharing experience and to develop a Community of Practice (COP) in order to share common concerns and progress towards collective objectives
- To promote AONTAS further in Ulster and to continue to share the benefits of membership and collaboration with AONTAS
- To engage in further discussions about how to communicate with policy-makers and ensure community and learner needs and voices are incorporated into policy decisions
Following discussion session, participants shared suggestions of ways that AONTAS can help to support adult learning organisations in Ulster. These include:
- Continuous Professional Development (CPD)
- AONTAS can work to ensure quality training is available across Ulster. As it stands, educators can deliver a specific course without needing specific training, which can negatively impact learners. AONTAS can assist with the establishment of more rigorous training protocols and standards
- Highlighting the Impact and Value of Community Education
- Qualitative data on the positive impacts of community education is often more difficult to capture, such as information about mental health benefits. An evaluation system is required, as well as research into how experiences change over time.
- Further accountability is required in order to embed community and adult education into existing structures and systems across Northern Ireland. Further data is required in order to present findings to Government departments and to secure funding. AONTAS could assist with developing a Community Education Network (CEN) census, and with devising a research report with both qualitative and quantitative data in order to provide evidence of the impacts of community and adult education in Northern Ireland.
- Communications and Promotion
- AONTAS can work to share the benefits and value of community education through promotional work and marketing campaigns. AONTAS has successfully run events such as the STAR Awards, which encourage funders to see value in of community education projects. Through events such as the Adult Learner Forum and the Adult Learners’ Festival, AONTAS ensures the typically hard-to-reach adult learner is central to the systems and structures being developed in community and adult education. These practices and experience can be shared with organisations and groups across Ulster, with the goal of adapting them to suit various contexts and needs in Northern Ireland.
AONTAS would like to thank all of the organisations who engaged in this valuable discussion. We will focus on outcomes of this event in 2022 and formulate a strategy for further supporting groups in the Ulster region.
For more information, please contact Barry Dolan, AONTAS Communications and Membership Officer at: bdolan@aontas.com
Learn more about the Shared Island initiative.
