Mark K Smith explores how, in the context of the ‘new normal’, educators, pedagogues and practitioners need to offer sanctuary to children and young people. This article is part of a series: dealing with the new normal • offering sanctuary • offering community • offering hope] contents: introduction • what is sanctuary • sanctuary – space from • …
Category archives: Index
Donald Schon (Schön): learning, reflection and change
Donald Schon (Schön): learning, reflection and change. Donald Schon made a remarkable contribution to our understanding of the theory and practice of learning. His innovative thinking around notions such as ‘the learning society’, ‘double-loop learning’ and ‘reflection-in-action’ has become part of the language of education. We explore his work and some of the key themes …
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Self, selfhood and understanding
Self, selfhood and understanding. This page explores the nature of the self. We look at four different models of selfhood – which is a far from easy task. It is difficult to take a step outside what we take for granted. Contents: introduction · starting with the parts · looking to the whole · the …
Self-direction in learning
Self-direction in learning. Many books and articles about lifelong learning talk glibly about self direction. Too often this idea is seen as unproblematic – an obvious good. But things are not quite as they seem. Contents: Tough – self education and learning projects · product and process · Knowles – process and the rationale for …
Self-directed learning
Stephen D. Brookfield explores the notion of self-directed learning. He takes Knowles’ (1975) influential definition as a starting point and then explores some of the problems surrounding the idea. Brookfield highlights two particular characteristics that move the discussion from a technical to a critical realm: authentic control, and access to resources. He argues that it …
A conceptual framework for understanding self-direction in adult learning
In this chapter from Self-Direction in Adult Learning (1991), Ralph G. Brockett and Roger Hiemstra argue that self-direction in learning refers to two distinct but related dimensions: as an instructional process where a learner assumes primary responsibility for the learning process; and as a personality characteristic centering on a learner’s desire or preference for assuming …
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Peter Senge and the learning organization
Peter Senge and the learning organization. Peter Senge’s vision of a learning organization as a group of people who are continually enhancing their capabilities to create what they want to create has been deeply influential. We discuss the five disciplines he sees as central to learning organizations and some issues and questions concerning the theory …
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Jane Elizabeth Senior and work with girls and young women
Jane Elizabeth Senior and work with girls and young women. Jane Senior (1828-1877) (also known as Mrs Nassau Senior) was the first woman civil servant (the inspector of workhouses). She was also an important social reformer – helping to found the British Red Cross, the Girls’ Friendly Society and the Metropolitan Association for Befriending Young …
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Richard Sennett: Class and the new capitalism, craftsmanship, cooperation and cities
Over 50 years Richard Sennett (1943-) has contributed to our understanding of the experiences of class, capitalism and the life of cities – and our appreciation of Homo faber – humans as makers, users of tools and creators of common life. Sennett is variously described as a sociologist, urbanist, planner and polymath. He is also …
Serious and organised crime toolkit
This toolkit was developed by the Home Office, in partnership with the police and the voluntary sector, to provide information for practitioners working with young people to help them: understand why young people get involved in serious and organised crime understand how organised criminals operate spot risks and identify when young people need support help young …
Ernest Thompson Seton and woodcraft
Ernest Thompson Seton and woodcraft. Known as a writer of animal stories, and the Chief Scout of the Boys Scouts of America, Ernest Thompson Seton was a champion of the spirit of woodcraft. Ernest Thompson Seton (1860-1946) grew up in Toronto (although he was born in South Shields, County Durham, England). He was the son …
Settlements and adult education
Settlements and adult education. What is the shape of adult education and lifelong learning is settlements? How has it developed? Mark K. Smith investigates. Contents: introduction • the nature of adult education in settlements • la vie associative • current practice • liberal and basic education • vocational and professional training • social pedagogy and …
E. Leslie Sewell and youth work
E. Leslie Sewell and youth work. E. Lesley Sewell made an outstanding contribution to the development of youth work – both being a pioneer of mixed-club work and the facilitator of a range of innovative projects and provision. We explore her contribution. contents: introduction · national association of mixed and girls’ clubs · conclusion · further …
E. Lesley Sewell: Looking at youth clubs
E. Lesley Sewell’s pamphlet is a youth work classic. First published in 1966 it became the reference point for many workers and organizers when thinking about the work they were observing. contents: preface · to what end · by what standards? · is assessment possible? · how to cite this piece Part of the girls …
Samuel Smiles and self help
Samuel Smiles and self help. Samuel Smiles’s Self-Help is said to have reflected the spirit of its age. It also proved to be a best seller – with more than a quarter of a million copies sold by the time of Smiles’s death. Arguing for the importance of character, thrift and perseverance, the book also …
Samuel Smiles : Self help with illustrations of character and conduct
Samuel Smiles’s Self-Help is said to have reflected the spirit of its age. It also proved to be a best seller – with more than a quarter of a million copies sold by the time of Smiles’s death. Arguing for the importance of character, thrift and perseverance, the book also celebrates civility, independence and individuality. …
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William Alexander Smith – the founder of the Boys’ Brigade as a youth worker
William Alexander Smith – the founder of the Boys’ Brigade as a youth worker. Jonathan Roberts examines the William Alexander Smith’s contribution to the founding, character and development of the Boys’ Brigade. He seeks to get behind many of the mistaken images of the work that those outside it have. Contents: introduction · William Alexander …
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Exploring social action: A walk in Bermondsey and Rotherhithe
Rotherhithe children – Waldo McGillycuddy Eagar CBE circa 1933 – placed by the National Maritime Museum in Flickr Commons. Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial-ShareAlike (CC BY-NC-SA) licence. Here we explore the nature of social action through a walk in Bermondsey and Rotherhithe in London. This area has experienced severe poverty and disadvantage over the years. Settlements, missions …
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Social capital
Social capital. The notion of social capital is a useful way of entering into debates about civil society – and is central to the arguments of Robert Putnam and others who want to ‘reclaim public life’. It is also used by the World Bank with regard to economic and societal development and by management experts …
Social capital and lifelong learning
Social capital and lifelong learning. We know very little about the way that people’s networks affect their access to learning. John Field examines the evidence concerning links between social capital and lifelong learning. Contents: introduction · social capital and human capital and lifelong learning · lifelong learning and social capital – exploring possibilities · conclusion …
Social education – the evolution of an idea
Social education – the evolution of an idea. What is social education and how has it evolved as a practice and as a theory? We explore the emergence of social pedagogy and the different strands of thinking that developed in Britain and the USA. contents: introduction · · conclusion · further reading and references · …
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From social education to social and life skills training: in whose interest?
Here we reproduce the full text of Bernard Davies’ landmark pamphlet In Whose Interest? Published in 1979 the pamphlet drew attention to the fundamental shifts that were beginning to occur in youth work in England and Wales. contents: preface · introduction · social education · social and life skills training · the economic and political …
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Making learning work: social enterprise and organizational learning
Shirley Brice Heath examines the growing coherence between the worlds of business and youth-based community organizations. She argues that this has happened within both the realms of theory and practice and that there are surprising implications for making learning work. contents: introduction · living experience · an illustrative case: youth theater · playing roles …
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Social pedagogy: the development of theory and practice
Social pedagogy: the development of theory and practice. The term social pedagogy has been used to describe a range of work straddling social work and education. Often more holistic and group-oriented than dominant forms of social work and schooling, social pedagogy (sozial pädagogik) has its roots in German progressive education – and is sometimes translated …
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Henry Solly and the Working Men’s Club and Institute Union
Founder of the Working Men’s Club and Institute Union and a great propagandist for clubs, Henry Solly provided a much needed conceptual clarity to the notion of club work. He also was an important advocate for the extension of working-class political rights and helped to set up the Charity Organization Society. contents: introduction · involvement …
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Prospectus for the Working Men’s Club and Institute Union
This prospectus was drawn up by Henry Solly in 1862 in order to obtain money and support for the establishment of the Club and Institute Union. Founder of the Club and Institute Union and a great propagandist for clubs, Henry Solly (1813-1903) provided a much needed conceptual clarity to the notion of club work. He …
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Maude Stanley, girls’ clubs and district visiting
Maude Stanley, girls’ clubs and district visiting. A youth work pioneer who produced an early comprehensive youth work text – and helped to found the London Union of Girls Clubs. Contents: introduction · work around the Five Dials · the Soho Club · clubs for girls · conclusion · further reading and references · how …
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Maude Stanley: Night schools
Maude Stanley 2862 by Camille Silvy. Wikipedia pd. This piece provides an insight into the way in which parish visitors approached their tasks – in particular, how they related schooling and club work to outreach. Taken from Chapter IX of Maude Stanley’s (1878) Work About The Five Dials, London: Macmillan. Maude Stanley, the third daughter …
Maude Stanley: The way to start and manage a girls’ club
Maude Stanley 2862 by Camille Silvy. Wikipedia pd. Maude Stanley’s (1890) handbook Clubs for Working Girls was the first substantial exploration of what was involved in girls’ club work. Here we reproduce Chapter II. In it Stanley sets out her view of some of the key characteristics of such work. Maude Stanley began working as …
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Working girls’ clubs
Emmeline Pethick-LawrenceWikimedia Commons – no known licencing restrictions The aim in the clubs must be to make good citizens; and our present endeavour to represent the rights and claims of the young, until they have entered into their citizenship. By an actual knowledge and experience gained in direct contact with the people, we are fitted …
John Stansfeld (“the Doctor”) and ‘Oxford in Bermondsey’
John Stansfeld (“the Doctor”) and ‘Oxford in Bermondsey’. John Stansfeld (“The Doctor”) gathered together a remarkable group to work with boys and young men in Bermondsey. Their work and subsequent contribution helped to define the shape of modern boys’ club work and social policy more widely. They were also a significant force in the Church …
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Frances Herbert Stead, Robert Browning Hall and the fight for old age pensions
Frances Herbert Stead, Robert Browning Hall and the fight for old age pensions. Herbert Stead (1857-1928) – the Congregationalist minister who established and ran Robert Browning Hall (a settlement in Walworth, London) – was a key figure in the fight for old age pensions in Britain. We explore his contribution both to the development of …
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The functions of supervision
The functions of supervision. Examining the different functions of supervision throws up various questions and issues. These questions include asking ‘in whose interest does supervision work?’ Confusion also arises concerning notions such as ‘mentoring’, ‘practice teaching’ and ‘clinical supervision’. Here we explore Alfred Kadushin’s model of supervision and the insights it brings to these questions. …
Arthur Sweatman and the idea of the club
Arthur Sweatman and the idea of the club. Known as an early advocate of specific youth provision, the Most Rev. Arthur Sweatman also contributed to thinking around the development of working men’s clubs. Arthur Sweatman (1834-1909) was the son of a doctor on the staff of the Middlesex Hospital, and was educated at University College …
Rabindranath Tagore on education
Rabindranath Tagore on education. As one of the earliest educators to think in terms of the global village, Rabindranath Tagore’s educational model has a unique sensitivity and aptness for education within multi-racial, multi-lingual and multi-cultural situations, amidst conditions of acknowledged economic discrepancy and political imbalance. Kathleen M. O’Connell explores Rabindranath Tagore’s contribution. contents: background · …
M. Joan Tash, youth work and the development of professional supervision
Joan Tash made a lasting contribution to our understanding of the process of youth work and informal education. She pioneered the use of supervision; deepened our appreciation of detached and project-based youth work; and made a number of innovations in the training and development of youth workers and informal educators. contents: introduction · life · …
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Richard Henry Tawney, fellowship and adult education
Richard Henry Tawney was a noted economic historian, democratic socialist and educator. Here we make a brief assessment of his contribution as an adult educationalist – and his strong belief in fellowship. contents: introduction and life · equality· association and the dispersion of power · social function · democratic citizenship · fellowship · adult education …
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What is teaching? A definition and discussion
In this piece Mark K Smith explores the nature of teaching – those moments or sessions where we make specific interventions to help people learn particular things. He sets this within a discussion of pedagogy and didactics and demonstrates that we need to unhook consideration of the process of teaching from the role of ‘teacher’ …
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Teaching-learning processes between informality and formalization
In this piece, Reinhard Zürcher conceptualizes teaching-learning processes by means of a continuum that covers the whole range from informal to formal processes. Instead of the usual descriptive interpretation, he uses an analytical perspective that relates the terms informal and formal teaching and learning to the notion of form. ‘Formalization’, interpreted as generalization of the …
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Thinkers and innovators
Exploring thinkers central to the development of the theory and practice of lifelong learning, social action, social pedagogy and informal education Featured bell hooks on education. Barry Burke assesses the contribution that bell hooks has made to thinking about education and sets this within the context of her biography and work. Sissela Bok on lying …
Allen Tough, learning projects and lifelong learning
Allen M. Tough, learning projects and lifelong learning. Allen Tough deepened our appreciation of lifelong learning through his studies of the ways in which adults conduct learning projects as part of everyday life. Here we examine his contribution. Under construction Allen M. Tough (1936-2012) is best known for his research and writing around the processes …
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Toynbee Hall, adult education and association
Toynbee Hall, adult education and association. The setting up of the Worker’s Educational Association is often portrayed as Toynbee Hall’s key contribution to adult education. Mark K. Smith suggests it is something else – developing the learning that arises out of the life of an association. Contents: introduction · settlements of university men · on clubs …
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Bruce W. Tuckman – forming, storming norming and performing in groups
Bruce W. Tuckman – forming, storming norming and performing in groups. Bruce W. Tuckman produced one of the most quoted models of group development in the 1960s. We consider his contribution and the model’s continuing use. contents: introduction · storming, forming, norming and performing – developmental sequence in groups · a fifth stage – adjourning …
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University and social settlements and social action centres
University and social settlements and social action centres: What are settlements and social action centres doing today? How did they develop from university and social settlements, and educational settlements? contents: introduction · Toynbee Hall and early British settlements · developments in the United States · educational settlements · the disappearance of residence and the rise …
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University settlements, social settlements and educational settlements
Featured Thomas Coglan Horsfall, and Manchester Art Museum and University Settlement. The first settlement to be established outside London, and an extension of its parent institution at Toynbee Hall in Whitechapel, Manchester University Settlement was nevertheless, explains Stuart Eagles, deeply rooted in the specific political and cultural history of Ancoats. Frances Herbert Stead, Robert Browning …
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Using informal education An alternative to casework, teaching and control?
contents 1. using informal education – Tony Jeffs and Mark Smith 2. personality and curriculum – Anne Foreman 3. informal education in residential care with adults – Mal Blackburn and Don Blackburn 4. informal education with young women in the community – Glynis Francis 5. informal education – a place in the new school curriculum? …
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Using informal education – Chapter 1: using informal education
contents: informal education and other educational forms · characteristics of informal education · formal and informal · the problem of curricula · content, direction and process · identity, personality and role · conclusion · return to main contents introduction [page 1] Informal education has been an element of practice within casework, schooling, youth work, residential care …
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Using informal education – Chapter 2: Personality and curriculum
Anne Foreman’s important discussion of curriculum within youth work – and the power of personality. Chapter 2 of Tony Jeffs and Mark Smith (1990) Using Informal Education contents: introduction · curriculum — the youth work approach · youth work and experiential learning · the cult of the ‘character’ · the time factor and learning from …
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Using informal education – Chapter 3: informal education in residential work with adults
Mal Blackburn and Don Blackburn explore some key issues and questions that arise in practice. Reprinted from T. Jeffs and M. Smith (1990) Using Informal Education, Buckingham: Open University Press. contents: introduction · the rise of residential care · the shift to community care · behaviourist approaches · normalization programmes and the use of the …
using informal education – Chapter 4: Informal education with young women in the community
In this chapter from T. Jeffs and M. Smith (eds.) Using Informal Education, Glynis Francis explores some of the issues with regard to developing informal education practice with young women. contents: introduction · the experience of being an informal educator · informal education and social relations · young women and informal education ·prioritizing : placing …