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This is the April 2009 eBulletin from FACE (the Forum for Access and Continuing Education), offered to practitioners, policy-makers, researchers and others with an interest in access, widening participation and lifelong learning. The eBulletin is sent to colleagues in the sector, members and non-members alike. If you would prefer not to receive it, please contact Jim at James.Tate@uwe.ac.uk and your details will be removed from the circulation list.
Escalate provide a FREE PLACE at FACE 2009 for someone new to Access/WP
SPECIAL CALL FOR APPLICATIONS FROM
EARLY CAREER ACCESS/WP PRACTITIONERS OR RESEARCHERS
FACE is delighted to announce that ESCalate the Education Subject Centre has kindly agreed to sponsor a full fees paid place at this year's annual conference. This includes all conference fees, university accommodation and access to the social programme. (Travel expenses are not included.) Thank you ESCalate!
So if you have been working in the areas of Access or Widening Participation for less than two years you are eligible to apply for this sponsored place at this year’s FACE conference which takes place at Staffordshire University from the 1st-3rd July.
For further information on the conference, please go to the FACE website conference 2009 page at www.f-a-c-e.org.uk/conference2009.html
Applicants should submit a title and abstract for a conference paper and will be expected if successful to give a full conference presentation and have the opportunity to have this included in the conference publication.
The closing date for applications will be Wednesday 13th May 2009 (not the regular deadline of 28th April mentioned on the website) and applications should be sent electronically to the conference organiser, Pete Jones, at pete.jones@staffs.ac.uk
Download an Application Form (Word)
"Listening to Learners" Conference - Partnerships in Action
University of East London, April 2009
A resounding success
A report by Tony Hudson on the FACE-supported conference held last month.
Over 120 education practitioners, academics and policy makers gathered at UEL's Docklands campus to share research findings, participate in workshops, and hear speakers including Wes Streeting, President of the National Union of Students; Professor Michael Fielding from the Institute of Education; Mick Waters of the Quality and Curriculum Authority; Gill Mullis of the Specialist Schools and Academies Trust; Pippa Lord of the National Foundation for Educational Research, and Kathy Wright from The University of East London.
The Student Voice agenda provides students and young people with the opportunity to have a say, to contribute to their communities, and to have a more active role in their education, including the evaluation of their own learning. Young people themselves also took part in this innovative conference, contributing to plenary presentations as well as facilitating one of the workshops. The day was punctuated by electrifying performances and images from Thrift Music Theatre Company whose work on Student Voice has been acclaimed by both QCA and SSAT.
Opening the conference, UEL’s acting Vice-Chancellor, Professor Susan Price said: “As a diverse university, we are always looking at new and exciting ways to provide the best possible education for our students. This conference is a great way of seeing what teaching methods and styles are in use and how we can improve them to meet students’ needs. I am delighted to see such a high level of participation and interest in today’s discussions as we look at what inspires and motivates students.
Wes Streeting, President of the National Students Union said: It’s good to see the Learner Voice high up on the agenda as it’s a critical topic. Through every aspect of the education system it’s important to listen to the voice of students and there are a lot of government initiatives in place that are looking at student voices to help shape their experiences. This is how teaching and learning takes place and it also empowers students to think about their education and gain a passion for it.”
The conference was organised by Continuum, the Cass School of Education and UEL’s Education and Community Partnerships team. The event was supported by ESCalate, the Education Subject Centre of the Higher Education Academy, and FACE.
The conference organisers will be setting up a wiki as a resource for colleagues with an interest in Learner Voice and as a space to continue conversations started at the conference. Please e-mail Tony Hudson (a.hudson@uel.ac.uk) for further details.
Tony Hudson will be giving a paper on Learner Voice at the FACE conference.
Advance Notice of a FACE co-sponsored Event
Download Information on
PASCAL UNIVERSITIES REGIONAL ENGAGEMENT (PURE) Project
The final dissemination of the PURE project will be in Gaborone, Botswana and will be organised as part of a PASCAL conference of which FACE is a co-sponsor. This notice is an early announcement of an opportunity to visit Botswana from 30th November to 3rd December 2010.
The project will be part of discussions at this year’s PASCAL conference and during a PURE meeting in Vancouver between 18th and 21st May 2009, also providing an opportunity to meet board members of PASCAL and individuals from participating regions.
Speakers Corner
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As a member-oriented organisation FACE would like to invite individual colleagues to have their say on any issue of concern in UK education policy and practice. This is a purely personal point of view and should not be thought to represent any institution, organisation, or official body. To have your say, email James.Tate@uwe.ac.uk As Speaker's Corner as been a regular feature of the eBulletin since January 2008, this month we thought we might finally let the Chair get a word in. So here is John on the subject of "Beanz Meanz . . . . . Fairness?" |
"The HE widening participation agenda both in the UK context and internationally is often difficult to define in any holistic sense. However, it is crucial that it is situated and in turn helps to shape the emerging lifelong learning policy debate so many colleagues do so much to promote. This issue was highlighted for me at a recent seminar I participated in concerned with lifelong learning policy in the UK. During the seminar I was struck by a comment made by a colleague who I have known for many years. He said that the trouble with fairness and lifelong learning policy (and, I guess, by extension practice) is that there is not enough of it to go around. Not enough fairness to go round, I replied, but you make it sound like baked beans! This was of course precisely the point he was trying to make and one that he went on to develop. The essence of his argument being that fairness is often seen, presented and understood in much policy debate in relation to HE access as if it were a commodity that could be packaged up and redistributed through a mix of WP policy and funding arrangements. It is not a new argument and one which I am sure is familiar to many readers. I can't say I agreed with all of the analysis made on the commodification of fairness but my strong sense is that such words are often used without sufficient care or attention.This in turn can lead to ill-conceived and ineffective polices for widening access to HE which not surprisingly disappoint their producers, funders and providers but worst of all produce no net benefit for the communities and individuals for whom they are designed to create fairness. The need for a critical account of fairness is vital if a shared, agreed and operationally viable approach is ever to be achieved." John Storan |
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The fate of lifelong learning in the credit crunch
Personal debt, job insecurity, skills shortages, re-training, employment crises, short-term thinking and long-term effects; just what is the credit crunch going to mean for those working and studying in lifelong learning?
Contribute to the next issue of the FACE eJournal, FACE to FACE.
The theme of the next issue will be: "The fate of lifelong learning in the credit crunch."
The deadline for contributions is 28th May 2009.
Contact Pete at pete.jones@staffs.ac.uk for further information.
Conference Update - FACE 2009
Towards a New Agenda for
Lifelong Learning:
Access,
Diversity and Participation
1st -3rd July,
Staffordshire University
It’s all go in FACE Conference land. Below are a few updates and reminders.
Hurry Hurry Hurry . . . 28th April-deadline for submission of abstracts
This is the final date for submission of abstracts. Although July may seem a while away, when you start talking printing deadlines, etc., it is a tight turnaround. We have a good, solid and interesting mix of papers. Hence abstracts received after the 28th will probably not be considered and definitely will not appear in conference programme. Abstracts can be submitted via the ONLINE ABSTRACT SUBMISSION FORM
Monday 1st June - registration deadline
If you want to go to the conference you need to book by 1st June. Please remember it is first come first served. As always places are finite . . . . if you want to guarantee a place book sooner rather than later. Register at ONLINE REGISTRATION FOR FACE 2009
27th May - North Stafford Hotel offer expires
Anyone requiring hotel accommodation at the special B&B conference rate of £50.00 per night needs to book prior to 27th May. Places are limited and once again it is first come first served. There has been some mix up over booking procedure and it has become apparent that the offer is not available on line.
Once booked onto the conference delegates will be given a group booking code. If delegates ring the booking line and quote the code they will be offered the special rate. If you try to do this online it will tell you the hotel is full-that is the difference between a group booking code and a promotion code . . . . apparently. Sorry for any inconvenience this may have caused.
Change to Keynote - Thursday 2nd July
The original keynote for the afternoon of 2nd July has withdrawn . . . . however we have the excellent news that we have been very lucky in securing Nicola Dandridge, Chief Executive of the Equality Challenge Unit as our keynote for that afternoon. I think anybody who has heard Nicola will welcome this addition to our conference.
Full conference details are available on the FACE CONFERENCE 2009 web page.
Some Other Seminars and Conferences for 2009
A series of events from the South West Lifelong Learning Network
SWLLN Summer Conferences 2009
21st May 2009, Somerset County Cricket Club, Taunton
APEL and Accreditation of Employer-based Learning
- Improving HE APEL practice and moving towards mainstreaming APEL: APEL units, APEL as an assessment method, APEL and progression to HE
- ‘Doing APEL’ from the perspectives of the HE provider, the employer and the learner
- Integrating employer based learning within HE provision.
Presenters include:
Professor David Young, University of Derby;
Clare Stoney, Foundation Degree Forward
Professor Stephen Hill, University of Gloucestershire
More information on this conference
2nd June 2009, Sandy Park, Exeter.
Entry to HE: IAG, Admissions, Transition
- Getting the information, advice and guidance right for vocational learners
- Improving HE admissions practice for learners with ‘alternative’ entry profiles
- Recognising and addressing the transition needs of learners entering HE with vocational qualifications.
Presenters include:
Suzanne Leech, Greater Manchester Aimhigher
Kate Holmes, Progression to HE from Diplomas – HE/LA collaboration
Susan Allen, Open University.
More information on this conference
23rd June 2009, The Exchange, Bridgwater.
CPD and Work-based Learning
- Making the HE offer more flexible through ‘bite-sizing’ and CPD
- Work based learning in HE
- Qualification and progression frameworks for the work based learner.
Presenters include:
Amanda Selvaratnam, York University
Mel Joyner, University of Plymouth
Liz Vidis QCA, The QCF and HE
More information on this conference
Don't forget - the new publication from FACE is now available
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Challenging Isolation: the role of lifelong learningThe proceedings of the FACE Conference 2008The proceedings of the FACE Conference 2008 are the ideal extension and consolidation of a very successful event. £30.00 for FACE Members
(P&P Free) £35 for Non-Members (P&P Free) For more information, please contact |
What else is in the News?
For the latest UK Education headlines and stories go to the FACE News Feeds page where you'll find the online news feeds of several of the sources listed below gathered together on one page for easy access.
The Guardian http://education.guardian.co.uk
The Independent http://news.independent.co.uk/education
The BBC http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/education/default.stm
The Times http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/education
The Times Higher Education http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk
DCSF News Centre http://www.dfes.gov.uk/pns/newslist.cgi
DIUS News Distribution Service http://nds.coi.gov.uk/environment/dius/
LSC News http://www.lsc.gov.uk/News
If you wish to respond to anything in this E-bulletin or contribute to the May 2009 issue, please email Jim at James.Tate@uwe.ac.uk