The Practical Issues

In the VLE where this discussion began Tina suggested some prompts for us to begin to think about how we might go about setting up this association, from reading all the comments so far on both the VLE and the Blog I agree that we should return to these prompts and begin to answer them systematically.

However, while I agree these issues are important ones to think about I must reiterate that I don’t think it’s appropriate for those of us who have contributed so far to make any decisions before we have done the work of engaging as many other practitioners as possible to participate in this discussion. I do however agree that we can’t just keep on talking and I’m not suggesting that, what I do suggest however is that we start to look at timelines for discussions to begin and end. With this in mind I think we should give ourselves one week from today to email as many of our contacts who work in the field and invite them to join the discussion. I suggest a deadline for spreading the word as Friday 10th October. After that date I think we will have demonstrated that we have given others the opportunity to join and it would then be appropriate to vote on the other matters outlined by Tina. I have taken the liberty of taking Tina’s original questions and adapting them to include the concerns raised throughout the discussions.

Name of the Association
Paid subscription/membership – other funding options
Format of management committee/steering group/core team
Roles and responsibilities of all members
Constitution
Regularity of face to face meetings – national and regional
Website – NIACE support or independent
Issues and Concerns – the activist professional
Any other business

I also think we should be looking at building a ‘database’ of our particular areas of experience/expertise so that we can decide on the best people to take forward particular pieces of work. For example Rosie recommends Sharon for setting up the website either with independent funding or in partnership with NIACE. I think this is a great idea as Rosie is obviously aware of Sharon’s expertise in this area. I also get the impression that Brian knows a thing or two about business matters so I think it’s important that we all recognise that everyone has something valuable to contribute. Again I think we need a timeline for adding this information and I think the 26th would also be suitable to ensure that by the beginning of November we are ready to vote on all the major issues with as much input as possible from the widest range of sources within the field.

Catherine

Our vision

In a comment on the last blog, Brian said...'what's important is to be sure what is our purpose. This for me as many have also said needs to be our priority. We need to think this through as it's important we don't replicate what already exists.In going forward then perhaps we should consider constructing a constitution or vision/mission statement. This could be done by requesting everyone who wants to should contribute a post on the blog with their ideas in no more than 6-8 points. '

Catherine said... 'I agree with Brian that we should be post our own views on what should be in a constitution / mission statement in around 6-8 bullet points. Again I think we should set a deadline for the completion of this activity (taking account of the views of any new members who join by next Friday). How about Friday 26th October?'

How about adding a comment to this blog with a summary of your vision?

The moment has come....

Over the past months, several people in different groupings and in different places have begun to talk about the idea of a Scottish Association of Adult Literacies Practitioners. Committed to taking forward new principles of practice flowing from the explicit adoption, in policy, of a social practices perspective of literacies, practitioners across Scotland continue to encounter structural barriers related to conditions of employment and short term funding. Often struggling in isolation, many are finding it hard to maintain morale and sustain and develop practice consistent with the shared set of values.

The final gathering of practitioners associated with the pilot TQAL programme culminated in a discussion of the need for an independent association of practitioners. Building on the connections made through TQAL, it was suggested that we should establish a national association which might engage with the concerns of practitioners and develop a collective voice with which to influence policymakers and employers.

Although some face to face, possibly regional, meetings were felt to be important, it was considered urgent to establish an online forum for further discussion about how to progress this idea.

This blog will hopefully allow us to promote the idea widely to practitioners across Scotland, air our concerns and consider how we might proceed. Please contribute your ideas and let others know about the blog. ( If you click on the envelope icon below, you can email your friends this post.) If you want to be able to post a new blog ( click on the pencil icon below) rather than simply add comments, please leave a comment with your email address and you will receive an invite to join the list of blog authors. Remember you can subscribe to the blog and also add yourself to the list of 'followers'. This will help us get an idea of the number of people interested in the idea of the Practitioner Association.