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Adult Education: What's in it for black learners?
Annual Race Equality Event
| Date: | Thursday 1 December 2005 |
| Venue: | Sheffield Hallam University, Sheffield |
| Ref: | C12-63/11/2005 |
| Fee: | £75.00 (includes lunch, tea/coffee) |
[Background] [Audience] [Programme]
Background
The main purpose of the conference will be to explore the levels of achievement, areas of engagement and the experience of black and minority ethnic learners in adult education. The rational for this relates to the following issues and findings relating to black and minority ethnic participation (and non-participation) in adult education:
 | Certain minority group adults do not participate in adult education to a representative extent, particularly African Caribbean men and Bangladeshi and Pakistani Women. |
| Some minority group learners don’t do as well as they might when they do participate. |
| Students from certain minority groups are absent from a range of curriculum areas, and in some instances, are confined to a very narrow band of subject areas. This is particularly true in relation to construction and work-based learning. This is also true for some groups of learners in the arts and higher-level subjects. |
| Many students do not progress when they do engage – this is particularly true for ESOL students who tend not to progress from ESOL into mainstream subject areas. |
The conference will take a thematic approach exploring a broad range of areas that bear on participation and success. These will include:
| Leadership, management, policy and strategic approaches to issues of race and racism. |
| Organisational structure and institutional ethos. |
| The curriculum, what is offered, how it is offered and by whom. |
| Intercultural competencies - what teachers and educationists should know about their learners. |
| Fostering dynamic links and good relations with black and minority ethnic communities. |
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Audience
The audience for the conference will be cross-sectoral and will include a good representation of black colleagues from the regional Black Practitioners and Learners Network (BPLN) as well as representatives from a number of strategic and governmental bodies.
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Programme
| 09:15 | Arrival and Registration (Tea/Coffee available) |
| 10:00 | Welcome and Introduction to the
Day Sue Meyer, Director for Programmes and Policy, NIACE |
| 10:20 | Adult Education – What’s in it
for black learners? Alyson Malach, Education and Equality Consultant, Inclusive Learning Development Services |
| 10:50 | Questions and Answers |
| 11:05 | The impact of (black)
leadership on black and minority ethnic learners Anthony Wilkes, Consultant, Crystal Consultancy |
| 11:25 | Coffee Break |
| 11:40 | Faith Communities Toolkit Engaging with Faith Communities as part of building a diverse organisation Deborah Persaud, Equality and Diversity Project Manager, Centre for Excellence in Leadership |
| 12:00 | Developing dynamic links with
black and minority ethnic communities Janak Patel, Director for Access and Equal Opportunities and Kalina Georgiades, Deputy Director for Adult and Community Learning, South Birmingham College |
| 12:20 | Professional developments for
staff and progression for black and minority ethnic learners Sophia Din, Diversity and Equality Manager, Bradford College |
| 12:40 | Developing partnerships and
preparing learners for non-traditional curriculum areas – a VCS perspective Irshad Akbar, Chief Executive Officer, Pakistani Muslim Centre (PMC), Sheffield |
| 13:00 | Lunch |
| 14:00 | Panel Discussion |
| 14:30 | Workshops Please indicate your choice on the application form 1) Intercultural Competencies What should teachers and educationalists know about their learners? 2) What does research tell us about the experience of black learners and staff in adult education? 3) Models of good practice - FE Two colleges will present their policy and practice to ensure progression for all learners throughout the college 4) Models of good Practice VCS and LEA/FE partnerships Getting non-traditional learners to participate and take advantage of mainstream provision 5) Access issues: Refugees and Access to ESOL, why isn’t it fair? 6) Innovative ways of working with and meeting the needs of adult learners from the Gypsy and Travellers community An LEA perspective |
| 15:45 | Plenary Session and Conclusion |
| 16:00 | Close of Conference (Tea/Coffee available) |
This programme is correct at the time of going to press. The organisers reserve the right to make changes to the published programme in the event of one or more of the advertised speakers being unable to attend. Delegates will have no claim against NIACE in respect of such changes.
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