Faculty of Education, Health and Professional Studies, University of New England, Australia.

Keywords: University of New England, community development, peacemaking, adult and professional workplace education, applied learning, flexible learning,cooperative learning.

Article style and source : Peer Reviewed. Original ultiBASE publication. Paper originally presented at the Seventh International Literacy and Education Research Network (LERN) Conference on Learning, RMIT University, Melbourne, 5-9 July 2000.

Contents

• Abstract
• Rationale for paper
• A multi-disciplinary approach to the analysis of community building, peacebuilding and post-war reconstruction
• Reflective Learning as a Principle in Curriculum Development
• Assessment Strategies
  • Case Study 1
  • Case Study 2
• Re-conceptualising student - lecturer relationships
• Conclusion - Critical Reflections
• Notes

Abstract

This paper presents an opportunity for our reflection on the motives, process and outcomes of efforts to develop a dynamic course structure in which to teach current community development practice and peacemaking. We recognise the need for more applied learning to better support our student profile which is increasingly made up of community development practitioners and peace workers. The learning environment we seek to provide at the University of New England, a regional based university in New South Wales, Australia, offers students the opportunity to: 1 Consolidate and monitor their own practice in the field; 2 Evaluate their own workplace environment and learning experiences in the field with reference to other students' comparative experience; and 3 Interact with teaching staff who act as providers of resources, networking contacts and people with whom to engage in critical reflection The paper concludes that a dynamic, flexible and cooperative approach to learning is highly appropriate to suitable to contemporary adult and professional workplace education. back

Rationale for paper.

The past ten years has seen a marked shift in the type of student wishing to enrol in peace and development study focussed courses. This shift has occurred for the following reasons.

There is an increasing recognition amongst academics and their student base that theory based learning though of merit in itself, does not always equip students with the skills needed to perform at their best in the workplace. This is particularly true of students who undertake courses in peace and development studies who are hoping to work, or already live, in areas in conflict or in developing countries and who are faced with the difficult tasks of reconstruction, recovery and reconciliation.

Another consideration is that recent years have seen expanding Australian involvement in conflict areas around the globe whether it be as United Nation Peacekeepers (as in the case of Cambodia, or East Timor) or as non government workers supplying humanitarian aid and relief or engaging in longer term projects with indigenous NGOs, or as observers or government department delegates. This has translated down to our student base and we have seen a rise in the numbers of students who apply to study peace and development because they are already working in the field or are about to be sent to the field and wish to equip themselves with more contextual knowledge. Their educational needs are closely linked to their professional practice.

The specialisations in Peace Studies and International Community Development have thus been developed within the Professional Studies Directorate in the Faculty of Health, Education and Professional Studies.1 They have been designed to better equip students and practitioners with the skills and knowledge that will enable them to participate in community development, peacemaking and peacebuilding tasks. We have found increasing interest and enrolments in our course from overseas-based students and although the sequence was initially developed mainly for Australian-based students an external module has been developed for people from other nations working in remote and overseas locations to consolidate and support their professional practice and achieve better community development outcomes. In part, this student interest is because the units are offered on an external basis enabling students to remain in their work situations. It also reflects the possible absence of appropriate and relevant professional training and learning opportunities in the region and surrounding countries.

We also recognised a need to "practice what we preach". There has been a movement in peace and development research towards a recognition of the benefits of participation and capacity building in recovery and development processes.2 The development of local skills and abilities and encouraging and empowering local actors to play a part in developing their own community convinced us of the need to cater to these changing demands. Thus when we translated this into an educational context, it seemed vital that our courses be more contextually and practically focussed allowing for increased student participation, increased student inclusion in the design and execution of research and increased cross student communication so that a diversity of opinions and ideas be available to all studying.

Consequently, we have developed a more explicitly vocationally oriented stream which examines both the techniques and skills of community development and peacemaking as well as fostering critical understandings of the professional challenges and complexities of working in cross cultural environments, difficult social and political circumstances and working in partnership with local agencies and authorities. Students critically examine the strategies adopted by leading development practitioners and agencies in the field to develop an awareness of best practice models. Particular emphasis is given to learning to work with communities in ways that are culturally sensitive, participative and collaborative. Attention is also given to fostering the development of local institutions and processes that are consistent with fostering just and equitable social outcomes within communities. We have an emancipatory approach to course design and student learning in that we focus on how to effect positive change in the workplace. We encourage our students to be pro-active in their approach to learning and advocate the need for critical reflective research which stimulates and encourages strategies and visions for change. 3 back

A multi-disciplinary approach to the analysis of community building, peacebuilding and post-war reconstruction.

This sequence has been developed in response to the demand expressed by practitioners for an alternative and relevant approach to community development and peace studies that emphasises training and preparation for working in culturally different and challenging environments. It provides for an authentic multi-disciplinary approach incorporating contributions from Land and Natural Resource Management, Geography and Planning, Health Studies and Asian Studies and Indigenous and Intercultural Studies. We are especially interested in identifying the limits to more conventional approaches in Development Studies and International Relations and to identify new ideas and practices. 4

As Camfens well describes in his review of the evolving concept and practice of community development, we are interested in contemporary practices that emphasise pluralism, popular participation and redressing uneven and unequal outcomes of national development strategies and maintaining separate and unique cultural identities 5 It is an emphasis taken up in much contemporary literature. McCaskill and Kampe's 1997 study identifies a similar concern:

Our definition of development reflects that which the people themselves desire. . . the right to determine for themselves the type of social order they want. Development is a long term commitment to improving the lives of people in its totality, through a process of providing opportunities and decision making authority to indigenous people in determining their own future, and to what extent and in what from they desire external assistance. 6

These studies support the contention that traditional approaches to development and external assistance have frequently correlated with significant costs for communities targeted for development or assistance due to the encroachment of western values, consequences for loss of habitat, environmental degradation, disruption to subsistence economy and lifestyle, loss of capacity for autonomy and self-determination and so on. The insights underline the rationale for a new approach to preparing and supporting people involved in new and more appropriate ways.

In order to tailor our learning strategies so as to reflect contemporary development and peacemaking practice we have adopted various techniques and knowledge that elicit a variety of contemporary theories of change and adult and professional learning. The first emphasis here is in fostering awareness of the implications of direct involvement with communities in facilitating or impeding change. Experiences including the involvement of military, police and volunteers from Australia involvement in Peacekeeping and reconstruction work placements in Cambodia have encouraged us to think critically and reflectively on the roles undertaken and their consequences. So, we encourage those enrolled in the course to undertake critical reflection of their workplace practice and we offer examples of contemporary cases and experiences in development and peace-building as cases for critical reflection. These case examples more vary from unit to unit but may include analysis of community development and peace-keeping and building cases in Bougainville, Cambodia, Vietnam, East Timor, the Solomon Islands and so on. Consideration of practices and theories are garnered from reviews of recent developments and we supplement these with reflections on our own experiences of working in conflict and development situations and also include the experiences of people within our collegial network.

Our aim is to offer a variety of contemporary case studies and through these opportunities to reflect on theories and practices which students can experiment with in their own workplace context. We hope to create learning strategies and experiences that readily will translate into different cultural contexts. Thus we avoid emphasis on prescriptive learning, i.e., we do not tell the students which is the best theory and practice but rather allow them to find, through experimentation the practice most appropriate to their particular setting. That we encourage interaction between students broadens the database of learning experiences they have to draw on and their input creates a community of learning which is focussed on ameliorating not only their workplace practice but creating awareness of how best to transform the lives of the people with which they are working.

The critical issues of focus in the case studies reflect new emphases in approach to peace studies and the incorporation of specific focus in community development. Alger's study in 2000 reflects on the new trends in the most recent peace studies research emphasising multifaceted approaches, multiple tasks and an applied focus.7 Other recent research also identifies that a number of endeavours in international assistance and aid are directed at societies in conflict and attempting to recover from armed conflict. 8 The focus is increasingly on peacemaking and peacebuilding and we recognise that this corresponds to a critical focus on aid and development assistance issues. An exemplary study in the vein is Kumar's 1997 study, which identifies the critical relationships between development assistance in rehabilitation of war-torn societies amongst developing nations He writes:

The broadening of focus of peace research and the currency of an applied focus of sustaining peace and maintaining inevitably invites the focus on broader issues of community development. It provides a core rationale for our efforts in curriculum development to bring these two areas of focus together. back

Reflective Learning as a Principle in Curriculum Development.

On consideration of our own philosophy and approach to learning and the needs of our students, we deemed it necessary to remodel the mode in which Peace and community development studies were offered at UNE and the content of the units themselves. Recognising that there were significant cross over points in both fields of study we decided to integrate the courses and offer students Masters and PhD in peace and community development studies. Hence we offer the following courses:

We currently have over one hundred under graduate students, fifty masters students and six Doctoral students.

There was a need to cater to those students in the workplace who wanted to learn how to better manage issues arising in their field yet neither had time or possibly inclination to design and implement a research project. We had to devise a structure that would allow research reflections within the scope of course work units. One of our main assumptions in the remodelling of units was to provide a forum in which students could assess and evaluate how to improve upon their professional practice; how to tailor their working environment so that it reflects current models of peacemaking and development practice.10 This approach requires educators to meet the continuing education needs and demands of professional groups in new and innovative ways with particular emphasis on drawing upon people's prior experience and provide opportunities to reflect on their experience in meaningful ways. 11 Traditional methodologies based on the class room and lectures are discouraged in favour of work-centred learning strategies based on the identification of work groups as learning groups. 12

Carkhuff's model identifies that adults learn best by being active and the workplace itself provides a suitable place for learning. The idea is drawn from earlier scholarship of Kidd who suggested that adults learn well when the learning is concentrated in the areas of their interest and expertise.13. The model reflects the underlying assumption for the requirement in our degree programs of a minimum of three years professional experience in a relevant professional field of practice. Learning is centred around relevance to workplace practice and continuing involvement and experience in the workplace provides the ideal setting for reflective learning, defined by Boud as:

Our own consideration of the learning needs of those involved in community development and peace work prompted similar thinking and assumptions. Our belief is that it was people’s interaction with peers and networks and critical reflection on their past and continuing professional practice that provided the ideal learning model.

Accordingly, we began to re-write the units to reflect the professional needs and development of the professional practice of our students. Previous peace studies units had been theoretically based - For example, One unit, "The Philosophy of Non violence" concentrated on theoretical aspects of non violence and relied heavily on literature written by or about Gandhi and Martin Luther King. "Geographies of peace" examined peace theory from a Cold War perspective. We made a conscious decision to re write and remodel courses so that they became tailored to professionals working in areas recovering from armed conflict - our new student base.

For example "Building peace in post conflict situations" explores processes of peacekeeping, peacemaking and peacebuilding after conflict. It focuses on the main tasks of recovery and reconstruction and using detailed case studies from the Asia Pacific and Europe, explores best practice for creating a stable peace through community education and governmental intervention. Topics covered include: the role played by government and non government organisations; decommissioning of weapons and demobilisation of combatants; economic and socio-cultural reconstruction; the rebuilding of the education and health sector and peacebuilding at a community level. Students are expected to complete two assignments, one of which is a detailed case study. Furthermore we have developed an entirely practically based unit in which students critically reflect on their performance, aims and objectives in their place of work.

Another example is Social Development, Environment and Peace. This unit was re-developed to allows students to undertake applied social analysis of changing social and environmental conditions in local communities in a developing nation. Vietnam is selected for case study analysis as a post-conflict society with recent experience of rapid and widespread social change. Issues considered include new patterns of land and resource use, experiences of social dislocation, environmental degradation and resulting pressures on family and community life. The unit provides the opportunity for students to critically analyse the professional practice and operation of those external bodies and agencies working with and for local communities.back

Assessment Strategies

In formulating a program of research for a dissertation and in designing assessment tasks for course work, we work with students to develop topics and projects that relate to their work experience and provide an opportunity for critical reflection upon that experience. We encourage to consider some critical points:

Attention to these points allows better scrutiny of areas of existing and prospective involvement of workers and practitioners involved at the community level in community development, peacekeeping and aid-related activities. We recognise that these kinds of activities are best grounded upon a firm understanding of the social and political contexts in which these roles are undertaken. We encourage students to develop and apply their knowledge to specific areas of interest in a nation in the region and research topics on which they have vocational interests. Our commitment to applied learning is also reflected in the assessment tasks. Students are no longer expected to argue philosophy or theory but instead critically reflect on their own practice, evaluate their workplace practice, and design and implement proposals and projects relevant to the area in which they are working.This may involve completing a case study of a current work project with the aim of evaluating outcomes and process in order to better situate that project within development practice. back

Case Study One.

A PhD student, a lecturer at a university in Papua New Guinea recognised the need to introduce peace education into the tertiary curriculum. She undertook research into peace studies courses offered at tertiary institutions in other developing countries and then designed a peace studies stream at her place of work. This involved teaching the units she designed to tertiary students and then receiving feedback from them as to their relevance in the PNG context. The end result was that she and her students produced a strand of study which catered specifically to the socio cultural context in which it was being offered. back

Case Study Two

Another exemplary study we are supervising is being undertaken by a student with extensive involvement in policy and community development work Indigenous communities in the Northern Territory. The focus of the study is on the ethical dilemmas professionals encounter in advocating and supporting communities and interests in the context of un-supportive government and racist policies and values. The study does not seek to resolve the policy paradoxes but examines how people who work with communities in program areas can cope and survive in experiencing ethical dilemmas. The study applies peace and conflict theories to conceptualise the contemporary workplace and explores the potential for peacebuilding approaches, the role of professional ethics and records a range of response to professionals dealing with such dilemmas in their daily working environments. back

Re-conceptualising student - lecturer relationships.

The new course design with its emphasis on practically based learning demanded a new approach to staff student interactions. Previous interactions with students centred around feedback on student performance in written assignments. This was an inadequate system for our new student body. Our roles and responsibilities have thus changed and grown. We work with our students as initiators and facilitate new learning (rather than act as instructors or imparters of traditional disciplinary knowledge).

From the outset, we encourage a close working relationship with our students. When students are applying to be admitted to course work masters or masters/ honours, we advise on which units will be best suited to their particular working environment and design a course sequence relevant to their specific needs. This will necessarily differ from student to student. For example those working in the area of peace keeping will undertake mostly peace studies units with an emphasis on those units which provide insight into peace keeping and post conflict processes. Those students working in a developing country with a non government organisation are advised to follow a development studies stream. However, if the country in which they are working is also in conflict or recovering from conflict, they will be advised to combine their development and peace studies units.

As the students commence their study we keep in contact with them either electronically or by telephone and fax and encourage students to have input into how each particular unit, particularly assessment strategies and topics, can be tailored so as to best suit their needs. Given that we have broad flexible assessment tasks, students can be the creators of their particular assessment task. We as staff design the focus questions around which the students can base a structure for identification and reflection upon key issues. For example a student working in East Timor completes an assignment monitoring the progress of UN involvement in the reconstruction process. They then do a comparative study with Cambodia and Bougainville. Their final assessment task is to glean from their learning, best practice in post conflict situations and put forward recommendations for improvements in post conflict delivery processes.

We also recognise that many of our students will be working in developing or conflict ridden countries where there may or may not be access to libraries. Thus we do not expect students to keep up with the literature and theory on their particular topic but rather expect them to use their daily experience and grounded theory, to elicit ideas and suggestions for improvement or change. This combines well with the traditional approach to distance based learning at the University of New England where we provide necessary resources to undertake the units of study, including lecture notes and a resource kit of selected readings for every enrolled student. We also maintain a comprehensive database of source materials and suggestions and recommendations for students for accessing these via mail order or directly through the world wide web. Through these means we can ensure that students have access to a reasonable amount of resource material that in many cases a more adequate resource than is available in country. In some cases we find it necessary to do extra photocopying and sending out material to individual students either because they cannot gain access to this specific material due to lack of libraries or whatever.

We also act as networkers between ourselves and the students and across the student base. By creating chains and links of information and contact, we build relationship in an informal way .We encourage students to contact other students or relevant professional people who are working on similar projects or have access to relevant information or resources and thus hope that they will learn from each other’s experiences. Gilchrist asserts that networks have five main functions: information exchange, developing relationships of support and solidarity; developing a sense of common purpose on the basis of shared values and identity; providing a forum for debate and discussion, and, negotiating and articulating a collective view on issues which are relevant to participating members.15 Certainly our networking function has proved extremely useful to students who are working in remote areas and do not have other colleagues in the vicinity with whom to share experiences. By working individually with students and in broader networks and relationships with our community of learners, we seek to provide a framework that supports reflective learning. back

Conclusion - Critical reflections

This new model requires an enormous amount of energy from the staff, given that we are tailoring assessments and research proposals to suit particular students needs. It requires us to be engaged with the issues that each student is tackling and also it requires us to seek out potential networks for the student to link up with. This has both benefits and disadvantages. It does mean that our working life is hectic and we are often on the phone to or in email contact with a number of students each day. These sessions may take up to an hour or more and require preparation before and follow up after.

However, it is exhilarating work as we provide the sounding board for the student to explore how to facilitate an improved working environment. There is a higher level of practical engagement with students and it means we are not solely espousing theory or imparting knowledge ‘from ivory towers’ but through networking and contacting students, helping formulate practice and develop proposals which will improve the lives of people in conflict situations and developing countries. There are many associated benefits. It is extremely satisfying to put students in touch with relevant people and watch new ideas and projects grow out of that contact. It is also satisfying to be in touch with so many interesting people working in relevant areas and it promotes a stronger sense of a community of scholarship and learning amongst interested and motivated people. The final objective of our course is to stimulate reflective learning which will enable students to ameliorate their workplace practice and effect positive change. back

NOTES

1. The Professional Directorate exists to facilitate tertiary learning for people within the workplace. The aims of the programme are to enable students to acquire understandings and skills relevant to contemporary workplace practice; further students’ understanding of the social context of their career roles; provide opportunities for students to enhance their understanding of issues relevant to their professional devleopment; and develop skills of analysis, synthesis and problem-solving.

2. The shift from external actors making decisions to internal actors designing and implementing projects best suited to their needs has gradually been gaining prominence in related literature. See for example, Bopp, M. 1994, "The Illusive Essential: Evaluating Participation in Non-formal Education and Community Development Processes", Convergence, 27(1), 23-46, and, Craig, G. & Mayo, M. 1995, Community Empowerment: A Reader in Participation and Development, Zed Books, London and New Jersey, and Gilchrist, A. 1998, 'A more excellent way': Developing Coalitions and Consensus through Informal Networking", Community Development Journal, Vol 33, No 2, 100-108 and Ife, J. 1995, Community Development. Creating Community Alternatives -Vision, Analysis and Practice, Longman, Australia

3. In their paper, Davinski, R., Hubbard, A., Kendrick Jr, J.R . & Noll, J. 1994, "Social Change as Applied Social Science. Obstacles to integrating the Roles of Activist and Academic", Peace and Change, Vol 19, No 1. 3 - 24, the authors argue that the integration of practice and scholarship is vital for the advancement of knowledge about social change.

4. In part, this interest is based on the recognition in recent social policy research that recognises that conventional development approaches have achieved ambivalent results and have offered little respite for the world’s poor. The work of Morales-Gomez, D. (ed),1998, Transnational Social Policies: The New Development Challenges of Globalization, International Development Research Centre, Ottawa, p.1 and McCaskill, D. 1997, "From Tribal Peoples to Ethnic Minorities: TheTransformation of Indigenous Peoples: A Theoretical Discussion", in D. McCaskill and K. Kampe, eds, Development or Domestication? Indigenous Peoples of Southeast Asia, Silkworm Boooks, Chiang Mai. p.6, discuss in detail the ambivalent results acheived by conventional development models .

5. Campfens, H. 1997, "International Review of Community Development", in H. Campfens, (ed), Community Development around the World: Practice, Theory, Research, Training, University of Toronto Press, Toronto, pp 23 - 24.

6. McCaskill, D. 1997, "From Tribal Peoples to Ethnic Minorities: The Transformation of Indigenous Peoples: A Theoretical Discussion", in D.McCaskill and K. Kampe, eds, Development or Domestication? Indigenous Peoples of Southeast Asia, Silkworm Boooks, Chiang Mai. p.6

7. In his article, Challenges for Peace Researchers and Peace Builders in the Twenty-First Century:Education and Coordination of a Diversity of Actors in applying what we are learning,published in the International Journal of Peace Studies, Vol 5, No 1, Spring 2000, Chadwick Alger discusses a number of current peace research publications. These indicate a broadening interest and growing literature on post-conflict strategies to sustain peace and an emphasis on prevention of extremely violent and disruptive conflicts.

8. See, for example, Mary B Anderson, 1996, Do no Harm: How Aid can Support Peace - or War, Lynne Rienner, Boulder CO, and, Shepard Forman and Stewart Patrick (eds), 1999, Good Intentions: Pledges of Aid for Post-conflict recovery, Lynne Rienner, Boulder CO, and Kumar, K. 1997. "The Nature and Focus of International Assistance for Re-building War-Torn Societies", in K. Kumar (ed), Rebuilding Societies After Civil War: Critical Roles for International Assistance, Lynne Reinner Publishers, Boulder, CO.

9. Kumar, K. 1997. "The Nature and Focus of International Assistance for Re-building War-Torn Societies", in K. Kumar (ed), Rebuilding Societies After Civil War: Critical Roles for International Assistance, Lynne Reinner Publishers, Boulder, CO, P 2.

10. Our remodelling and redevelopment efforts have been guided by principles of reflective learning and the methodology of workplace learning developed by Carkhuff and Boyd, Keogh & Walker in their respective works: Carkuff, H. 1996, "Reflective Learning: Work Groups as Learning Groups", in The Journal of Continuing Education in Nursing, Vol. 27, No. 5, Sept/Oct and Boud, D., Keogh, R, & Walker, D. (eds), 1985, Reflection: Turning Experience into Learning, Kogan Page, London.

11. Boud, D., Keogh, R, & Walker, D. (eds), 1985, Reflection: Turning Experience into Learning, Kogan Page, London, pg 7.

12. Carkuff, H. 1996, "Reflective Learning: Work Groups as Learning Groups", in The Journal of Continuing Education in Nursing, Vol. 27, No. 5, Sept/Oct, p 209.

13. Kidd 1973, cited in Carkhuff, op cit, p. 211)

14. Boud cited in Carkhuff, op.cit, p. 210)

15. Gilchrist, A. 1998, 'A more excellent way': Developing Coalitions and Consensus through Informal Networking", Community Development Journal, Vol 33, No 2, 100-108. back

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