Study-Unit Description

Study-Unit Description


CODE ACA2005

 
TITLE Educating and Training Adults in the Voluntary and Community Development Sectors

 
UM LEVEL 02 - Years 2, 3 in Modular Undergraduate Course

 
MQF LEVEL 5

 
ECTS CREDITS 4

 
DEPARTMENT Arts, Open Communities and Adult Education

 
DESCRIPTION The study-unit will explore the role of adult education and learning (through informal and non-formal approaches) in adult, community-based settings' particularly when these feature vulnerability, marginalisation, exclusion, exploitation and human rights violation. The lectures will focus on pedagogies that can be used to engage and empower these communities to access knowledge and develop skills that improve their opportunities for achieving individual and community development goals, whilst also looking to impact broader social, cultural, economic and legal change.

Study-Unit Aims:

This study-unit aims to to provide students with knowledge, understanding and skills required to teach about and train adult learners on the following; and required to integrate the following in broader adult education and training courses:
1. Basic concepts of physical activity, exercise, fitness, sedentary behaviour and nutrition; 2. The benefits of physical activity for the general well-being of adults;
3. Practical suggestions to increase the physical activity levels in different settings such as the community, the workplace, at home or in day-care centres;
4. The ageing process and its effects on the physiological functions; and
5. Food and nutrition.

Learning Outcomes:

1. Knowledge & Understanding:
By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to:

1. Identify situated and intersectional educational needs of a particular community;
2. Discuss relevant theoretical approaches and how these might inform learning content and mode of delivery; and
3. List strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats entailed in implementing specified adult education or training initiatives within a specified local, community-based context.

2. Skills:
By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to:

1. Analyze case studies of adult education or training programmes targeted for a particular adult community;
2. Network with voluntary / community-based entities (e.g., NGOs, state agencies) that can be / are already involved in adult education or training initiatives; and
3. Formulate an adult education or training initiative targeted for a particular adult community.

Main Text/s and any supplementary readings:

Main Texts:

- Adekola, G. (2012). Establishing a link between adult education and community development for improved teaching, learning and practice of the concepts. Global Journal of Educational Research, 11(1), 65. (Available).
- Delgado, P. G. (2017). Narratives of Community Educators Fostering Adult Education and Community Development (Order No. 10737127). ProQuest One Academic. (1966270281). https://ejournals.um.edu.mt/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/dissertations-theses/narratives-community-educators-fostering-adult/docview/1966270281/se-2?accountid=27934. (Available).
- Evans, R. Kurantowicz, E. & Lucio-Villegas, E. (2016). Researching and Transforming Adult Learning and Communities: The Local/Global Context. Rotterdam: Sense. (Available).

Supplementary Readings:

- Brown, M. (2020). Pedagogical development in older adult education: A critical community-based approach. Studies in the Education of Adults, 52 (1): 6-34, DOI: 10.1080/02660830.2019.1664538 (Available).
- Crowther, J. (2013). Defining And Measuring ‘Empowerment’ In Community Based Projects. In CONCEPT: The Journal of Contemporary Community Education Practice Theory, 4(3), 1 - 9. (Available).
- English, L.M. & Mayo, P. (2012). Learning with Adults. Rotterdam: Sense. (Available).
- Pisani, M. (2018). Youth work in the borderlands: reflections from Malta. In M. Pisani, T. Basarab, B. Giovanna Bello, & S. Laine, Between Insecurity and Hope: reflections on youth work with young refugees (pp. 157-170). Strasbourg: EC & CoE. (Open access: https://pjp-eu.coe.int/documents/42128013/47261623/008719-YKB-24-refugees.pdf/ce611ba2-4193-05e8-8948-61a4b75e3727).
- Pulis, A., Brown, M. & Georgakopoulos, A. (2017). Education for sustainable development in non-formal set-ups: Diagnosing a culture of inertia. In Leal Filho, W., Mifsud, M. & Pace, P. (Eds.) Handbook of Lifelong Learning and Sustainable Development (World Sustainability Series) (pp. 45-59). Cham (Switzerland): Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-63534-7_4 (Available).

 
STUDY-UNIT TYPE Lecture and Independent Study

 
METHOD OF ASSESSMENT
Assessment Component/s Assessment Due Sept. Asst Session Weighting
Presentation (20 Minutes) SEM2 Yes 50%
Oral and Written Exercises SEM2 Yes 50%

 
LECTURER/S Maria M. Brown (Co-ord.)
Francois Mifsud
Maria Pisani

 

 
The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints.
Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice.
It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2024/5. It may be subject to change in subsequent years.

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