Consultation: Adult and Community Education (ACE)
The Tertiary Education Commission (TEC) has issued a consultation paper ("Professional Development for ACE"). This consultation paper summarises the findings of the Professional Development Report, which was the first step in developing an ACE professional development plan or strategy. It is the first time a specifically funded, sector-wide approach to professional development has been started.
TEC believes ACE requires its own professional development programme as it differs fundamentally from other education sectors. Unique characteristics of the sector include:
- being based in a community and working with groups and communities to identify and meet their learning priorities (it starts where learners and communities "are at");
- being easily accessible - culturally, geographically, and financially - with learning provided in ways that engage people in the process of learning;
- "taking learning to the learners" rather than providing a venue and programmes that learners need to find out about; and
- the learner may become the teacher and the teacher becomes the learner.
In a nutshell, TEC suggests an approach to professional development that incorporates core areas, strengthens sector-wide development and is designed around:
- supporting the linking roles of pivotal ACE practitioners to reinforce and spread the impact of professional development throughout the sector;
- building on existing mechanisms such as the ACE networks and peer learning; and
- assisting ACE professional development leadership.
Submissions close 16 November. The consultation paper can be downloaded from; http://www.tec.govt.nz/downloads/a2z_publications/professional-development-in-the-ace-sector.pdf |
Contact for Enquiries
The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry
Pastoral House
25 The Terrace
PO Box 2526, Wellington
Tel: 0800 00 83 33
Fax: +64 4 894 0720
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