|APPEAL - Training Materials for Continuing Education Personnel (ATLP-CE) - Volume 4: Quality of Life Improvement Programmes (APEID - UNESCO, 1993, 95 p.)|
As discussed in ATLP-CE Volume I all types of continuing education programmes should be supported by especially trained continuing educators. A training curriculum for the QLIP personnel at three levels of management is described below. The levels and types of personnel covered by this curriculum are as follows:
Table 5.1: Levels of QLIP Personnel
Level A Personnel
Level B Personnel
Level C Personnel
1. Senior educational managers
1. Trainers of trainers
1. Field consultants
B. TRAINING LEVEL A PERSONNEL
a) Tasks/Duties. Level A personnel would be required to perform the following tasks/duties:
i) to integrate QLIP with National Development Plans/Policies;
ii) to advocate acceptance of QLIP by development agencies politicians, various mass organizations, mass media, etc.;
iii) to plan, implement, monitor and evaluate QLIP programmes;
iv) to mobilize resources - financial, technical, and human;
v) to anticipate challenges for socio-economic and technological change.
b) Required Competencies - In order to perform the above functions/duties, Level A personnel would be trained to attain the following competencies.
- Understand the concept and principles of QLIP. This would include knowledge and understanding of the definition and scope of QLIP.
- Identify the human resource development potential of National Development Plans/Policies. This would require a close analysis of planning/policy documents in order to identify potential areas for QLIP programmes.
- Advocate acceptance of QLIP. Level A personnel would be required to secure acceptance for QLIP from politicians, various mass organisations, development departments/agencies, mass media, etc. The idea of a learning society would have to be stressed, especially in regard to the roles and agencies other than the Ministry of Education.
- Assess and strengthen coordination for QLIP. The success of QLIP would be determined by the degree of coordination between different agencies. Various mechanisms for coordination would have to be reviewed, including networking.
- Prepare planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation guidelines. Methods of ensuring that development plans, implementation strategies and monitoring and evaluation procedures are appropriate and effective, would need to be reviewed.
- Mobilize resources for QLIP Programmes. Various resources would have to be mobilized for QLIP Programmes. These would include (i) financial, (ii) technical, (iii) human:
i) Financial - this would entail mobilizing financial resources from different government departments and agencies as well as from non-government agencies/services. Various private sector enterprises could be mobilised for this purpose.
ii) Technical - this would include identification of suitable teaching and learning materials, equipment and technologies that are available from development and resource agencies that could be disseminated for adaptation or modification and change.
iii) Human resources. Participation of NGOs could be elicited in identifying those individuals who could facilitate and promote QLIP programmes. Some of them could take on training and networking responsibilities for strengthening QLIPs.
- Undertake policy analysis for QLIPs. It would be necessary to develop critical, analytical and conceptual skills that are necessary to anticipate the challenges and demands arising out of modern technological changes and shifts in macro-economic policies.
- Initiate action-oriented research in QLIP programmes., In particular, guidelines would have to be developed for planning and improving QLIP programmes in response to changing values at the family level, with the aim of enhancing social and economic growth.
- Initiate impact studies. It would be necessary to develop skills in the broad areas of assessing the impact of QLIPs on social, economic and technological change in local communities and of assessing their overall impact on national development.
c) Organization of Training
Since level A Personnel are senior policy makers at top levels of management, their training would be of short duration. One or two national level training organizations would have the overall responsibility for preparing the curriculum and materials for organising training programmes for level A personnel. The training strategy would have to promote small group interaction, learning from case study materials and field visits, use of audio-visual materials, etc. Special reading and A/V materials would have to be developed for self-directed, self-paced learning by this category of personnel.
C. TRAINING LEVEL B PERSONNEL
a) Tasks/Duties - The tasks/duties of this category of personnel would include the following -
i) to train Level C personnel
ii) to liaise with
- development departments at state/provincial, district/sub-district levels;
- media agencies such as TV/Radio/newspapers at state/provincial, district/sub-district levels.
iii) to mobilize support/resources for QLIP programmes at various levels.
iv) to organize and coordinate QLIPs at state/province/district levels;
v) to set up mechanisms for monitoring and evaluating QLIP programmes.
b) Required Competencies - In order to perform the above tasks/duties the following competencies would have to be developed -
- undertake needs analysis of Level C personnel. Level C personnel would have to undertake needs surveys of different group in the community as well as of the community as a whole. Level B personnel would be required to gauge the specific needs of Level C personnel in carrying out needs survey as well as other aspects of QLIP programmes.
- design curriculum. A curriculum would have to be designed that emanates from the national development plan/policies and yet is flexible enough to meet regional and even local community needs.
- develop materials. Since QLIP programmes would be varied in nature and of diverse formats, Level B personnel should not only be able to produce relevant materials for QLIP but also help level C providers adapt or even produce materials that are locally relevant.
- design training activities. Level B should be able to design training activities for level C personnel. The emphasis in this training should be action research. A model for this type of research is shown below (Figure 5.1).
- foster links between agencies. Networking at state/provincial, district/subdistrict levels is especially important in QLIP programmes and level B personnel need skills in developing and maintaining linkages and in coordinating the work of all relevant agencies.
- elicit support from media agencies. Support from mass media such as TV/Radio/newspaper at various levels would be necessary to publicize QLIP programmes as well as to ensure their involvement in organizing these programmes.
- mobilise support, as well as resources from agencies/individuals.
Mobilization on a mass scale would be required to ensure that QLIP programmes are sustained on a long term basis and are even improved and strengthened.
- Organize and coordinate QLIP programmes. Skills would be required to organize QLIP programmmes that can cater to the needs of different groups in a community, as well as the community as a whole. This would mean that level B personnel would have to ensure that a comprehensive QLIP programme is designed and organized by level C personnel and is suitably coordinated.
- set up mechanisms for monitoring and evaluating QLIPs. For monitoring and evaluating QLIP programmes, varied skills would be required. At the village level, a benchmark survey, incorporating all aspects of development, could be undertaken. Appropriate skills for collection of quantitative data by village-level volunteers as part of on-going monitoring, would have to be developed. Alongside, qualitative monitoring by the community could be undertaken periodically to evaluate the impact of QLIPs on raising the living standards in the community. Level B personnel would have to set up a mechanism whereby a two-way quantitative and qualitative monitoring and evaluation system as well as an efficient MIS can become operational for on-going improvement of QLIP programmes, (see Chapter Six).
- Undertake action-research, including impact studies. Systematic research studies would be required to assess the impact of QLIP programmes on different aspects of community life. Action research would be particularly helpful for mid-course correction of QLIP programmes and in order to ascertain their overall impact on national development. (See figure 5.1)
Figure 5.1: The components of action research
c) Organization of Training
Training for Level B personnel would be organized by state/provincial level training organisations. These organizations could draw resources - technical, and human - from agencies/organizations/government from state and local levels. NGOs could play an important role in providing training support. As a matter of fact, a network of institutions and individuals could strengthen the training capability of the nodal training centre. A variety of training materials - print, A/V materials, supplemented by field visits, case study materials etc. would be required to train level B personnel. In addition, suitable training materials, already available, could be modified or adapted.
D. TRAINING LEVEL C PERSONNEL
This category of personnel would include the field level functionaries at the village level. In particular members of the Village Committee or their nominees should be included. They would be required to perform the following tasks/duties.
i) to acquaint themselves with the community and identify different groups for QIPL programmes;
ii) to asses and identify needs of specific groups for QLIP programmes;
iii) to assist the community in articulating their vision of the future;
iv) to enable the community to assess their needs and priorities, formulate their own plans and methods of intervention;
v) to identify local resources - physical, human, technical - for conducting QLIPs;
vi) to promote understanding of QLIPs in the community;
vii) to mobilize support and resources for QLIPs from different sections;
viii) to develop simple QLIP materials wherever necessary or to select and/or adapt existing materials to suit local needs.
ix) to organize and coordinate QLIPs at the village level;
x) to help set up a practicable, functional system of monitoring and evaluating QLIP programmes.
b) Required Competencies - In order to perform the above tasks/duties, the following competencies would have to be developed.
- understand the community and identify groups for which QLIPs would be necessary. It would be necessary to gauge the level of development of the community and ascertain its quality of life. This assessment would be useful in monitoring the changes, if any, brought about by the QLIP programmes.
- understand relationship of QLIP programmes with national development plans/policies. Concepts such as sustainable development, human resource development, and socio-economic development and their links with QLIPs would have to be clear to all level C personnel.
- apply skills in working with adults. Training in adult learning and in organizing learning experiences that would elicit community participation would be essential. By providing forums for members of the community to come together, the process of planning, ordering priorities, and deciding on methods of intervention, would be facilitated.
- identify local resources. In order to carry out a wide variety of QLIP programmes, Level C personnel would need to identify local resources. These would include physical, human and technical resources. Their potential for involvement in QLIPs would have to be ascertained.
- mobilise local resources. The success of QLIPs would be determined by the degree of mobilization of local resources. All sections of the community would have to be mobilized in self-help programmes and be able to draw on all available local resources for this purpose.
- promote understanding of QLIP programmes in the community. It would be essential for members of the community to understand the importance of QLIPs and understand their relevance in helping to improve their quality of life.
- develop or adapt materials. At the local level, materials would have to be suitable for the stage of development of the community and of the individuals. Level C personnel would need to select and/or adapt learning materials to suit local needs.
- Organize QLIP programmes to suit local needs. Since QL activities are to improve the living standards of all citizens, they must be appropriate for local individuals, families and social groups. Level C workers would need to know how to identify and respond to such local needs.
- assess local development against national QL indicators. While this will have to be done by QLIP workers at Level B for the state/province as a whole, level C workers would need to know how to compare stages of development locally with a range of nationally prescribed QL indicators.
- undertake action research. This would involve developing skills in level C workers to undertake action research at the community level. Skills in action research would facilitate enabling the community (1) to identify problems (2) plan together (3) take collective action (4) assess impact. This would be a cyclical process. (See figure 5.1)
- set up a functional system for monitoring and evaluating QLIP programmes. This would involve varied skills. A benchmark survey at the village level, incorporating all aspects of development could be undertaken. Appropriate skills for collection of quantitative data by village level volunteers, as part of on-going monitoring, would have to be developed. Alongside, qualitative monitoring by the community could be undertaken periodically to evaluate the impact of QLIPs on raising the level of living of the community. Relevant data would have to be processed and passed on to level B for possible feedback action from higher levels.
c) Organization of Training
Training of Level C personnel would be organized by local-level training agencies. In addition, teams of training personnel could be identified to carry out such training programmes. Thus a network of training centres and individuals would provide training for level C personnel whose numbers could be large. The training strategy would be field based and practice-oriented and would be supplemented with suitable print and A/V materials. Use would be made of role play, simulation exercises, games, and various folk forms in order to design interesting and relevant training materials.