Learning Programme For Adult Students Group



Learning Programme For Adult Students Group

Introduction

Notwithstanding the well-documented stresses resulting from such a rapid and, some may argue, clumsily managed change process, further education has responded within its new construction with unfailing enthusiasm to a stream of initiatives designed to reposition it as a provider of equality of opportunity, widened participation and barrier-free learning. Yet despite this demonstrable commitment and a proactive approach to developing inclusive cultures embracing many minorities, there remains a group of students with special needs in further education who continue to be marginalised in separate and discrete provision.

One of the difficulties in discussing students who have special needs or learning difficulties is that the descriptive terminology assumes homogeneity and a common set of educational requirements. Descriptors such as 'special educational needs (SEN)' in schools or 'learning difficulties and/or disabilities (LDD)' in colleges promote an oversimplified, outdated way of thinking which not only carries pejorative inferences but is also singularly unhelpful in allowing focused debate. In colleges, a wide and diverse group of individuals may find themselves enrolled on discrete program located under the broad banner 'students with learning difficulties and/or disabilities', even though their learning needs, previous educational experiences and vocational ambitions may be very diverse. In an attempt to provide a clear focus, this paper will concentrate on those students whose dominant educational need is related to a cognitive impairment manifested by difficulties in learning, commonly described as severe or complex learning difficulties (SLD) and for whom enrolment at a further education college may be their first mainstream experience.

As a educationalist I had to develop a program for Inclusive Learning for 15 adult student. This report is a description of the process and ways that were adopted in developing this inclusive learning program that was targeted specifically towards them.

Developing Inclusive Learning Environment

How can inclusive learning environments be created? Tisdell (1995) suggests that a learning environment needs to attend to inclusivity at three levels. A truly inclusive learning environment should "(1) reflect the diversity of those present in the learning activity itself in the curriculum and pedagogical/andragogical style; (2) attend to the wider and immediate institutional contexts in which the participants work and live; and (3) in some way reflect the changing needs of an increasingly diverse society" (p. 4). Because learners "do not live in a vacuum" (ibid.), addressing institutional and societal levels is important, but the most significant level is the selection of appropriate materials and methods that address the characteristics of learning group members.

Addressing the diversity of learners by selecting appropriate curriculum and course content is a critical aspect of inclusiveness. The understanding that all groups--including those that are dominant--have culture or ethnicity must form the basis for the curriculum (Shore et al., 1993). The knowledge base of all groups needs to be represented in the curriculum (hooks, 1994). Although "many groups share in the subordinate social status and selective discrimination that 'minorities' often implies, each cultural group has its own history, values, and ...