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Learning and Trauma
Educators never just work with the minds of their students,
but with their hearts and spirits too. While safe and holistic learning
environments must be created for survivors of trauma, it is also important to
provide support and resources for instructors. Issues of disability were also
raised under this theme, in that counseling, resources and safe learning
opportunities for those with disabilities are scarce. Workshops under this
theme were: Too Scared to Learn, Supporting Practitioners, and Program
Models.
Older Women and
Learning
With changing demographics, the needs of older
women learners are becoming more pronounced. Research indicates that older
people thrive better with a continued sense of control over their lives. For
some women, the later years are the first opportunity to seek more education,
to change or start careers or pursue interests outside the family. One workshop
was presented under this theme: The Four P's: Personal, Public, Professional
and Political.
Supporting Women's
Learning
Support mechanisms necessary to enable women to
participate fully in education and learning opportunities include: childcare,
financial support, transportation, flexible scheduling, counseling, prior
learning assessment and recognition (PLAR), etc. Of particular concern are the
supports necessary for women with disabilities. Two workshops under this theme
were Models for Integrated Family Programming and the Impact on Women Learners
of Employment Insurance and Related Changes.
Sixteen concrete recommendations were culled from the workshop
discussions and will be used by CCLOW to form the basis of further work and
project proposals.
Open Space Technology
Using Open Space Technology during Saturday and Sunday discussions,
conference facilitators elicited from participants a list of nineteen "burning"
topics. Discussion groups were formed for fifteen of these topics and on
Sunday, through democracy, six topics were identified as priorities, with the
remaining subsumed under these six:
- CCLOW and NWRG: Where Do We Go From Here?
- Connecting to Corporate and other Community Economic
Development Resources
- The Role of Emotional and Spiritual Growth in Learning,
Education and Training
- Diversity in Education
- Focus on Individual Needs: People with Disabilities
- Pro-Active Labour Market Policy
Draft proposals for projects in these areas are appended to the
report. |