Common wealth through community men's sheds : Lives and learning networks beyond work
- Authors: Golding, Barry
- Date: 2008
- Type: Text , Conference paper
- Relation: Paper presented at Fifth Pan-Commonwealth Forum on Open Learning, University of London, London, UK : 13th-17th July 2008
- Full Text:
- Description: This paper explores the recent phenomenon and benefits of community men's sheds in Australia, focusing on the important role sheds and workshop-based practice plays in creating informal learning and friendship networks for men. It is based on recent studies of organizations and contexts in Australia that informally and effectively engage men. Problems are identified with front-end models of vocational training that disregard or undervalue the lifetime of skills and experiences built up by men in previous paid work roles and in adult and community education sectors that tend not to cater for men or diverse masculinities. Insights are provided into ways in which men's skills and experiences can be shared, transferred, valued and celebrated in men's livelihoods beyond paid work, through regular, shared, hands on activity in gendered communities of practice. It particularly explores the untapped potential of open and flexible shed-based practice for men';s vocational retraining, lifelong learning and inter-generational skills transfer. The "open" and inclusive nature of the community shed and what occurs in it and its pedagogical familiarity with men are identified as its key strengths. The paper identifies what it is about the nature of community-based men's sheds that has proven to be increasingly popular, productive and therapeutic in Australia in the past decade. One of my purposes at presenting at this conference is to seek out, identify and learn about different and similar insights from conference participants from other countries that might contribute to an ongoing international study of men's informal learning beyond the workplace. My paper particularly seeks to identify shed and workshop-type settings and organizations in other national and cultural contexts that might play a similar role in the livelihoods of men, families and communities.
- Authors: Golding, Barry
- Date: 2008
- Type: Text , Conference paper
- Relation: Paper presented at Fifth Pan-Commonwealth Forum on Open Learning, University of London, London, UK : 13th-17th July 2008
- Full Text:
- Description: This paper explores the recent phenomenon and benefits of community men's sheds in Australia, focusing on the important role sheds and workshop-based practice plays in creating informal learning and friendship networks for men. It is based on recent studies of organizations and contexts in Australia that informally and effectively engage men. Problems are identified with front-end models of vocational training that disregard or undervalue the lifetime of skills and experiences built up by men in previous paid work roles and in adult and community education sectors that tend not to cater for men or diverse masculinities. Insights are provided into ways in which men's skills and experiences can be shared, transferred, valued and celebrated in men's livelihoods beyond paid work, through regular, shared, hands on activity in gendered communities of practice. It particularly explores the untapped potential of open and flexible shed-based practice for men';s vocational retraining, lifelong learning and inter-generational skills transfer. The "open" and inclusive nature of the community shed and what occurs in it and its pedagogical familiarity with men are identified as its key strengths. The paper identifies what it is about the nature of community-based men's sheds that has proven to be increasingly popular, productive and therapeutic in Australia in the past decade. One of my purposes at presenting at this conference is to seek out, identify and learn about different and similar insights from conference participants from other countries that might contribute to an ongoing international study of men's informal learning beyond the workplace. My paper particularly seeks to identify shed and workshop-type settings and organizations in other national and cultural contexts that might play a similar role in the livelihoods of men, families and communities.
Let the men speak : Health, friendship, community and shed therapy
- Foley, Annette, Golding, Barry, Brown, Michael
- Authors: Foley, Annette , Golding, Barry , Brown, Michael
- Date: 2008
- Type: Text , Conference paper
- Relation: Paper presented at AVETRA 2008 Conference, Adelaide : 3rd-4th April 2008
- Full Text:
- Description: Our paper is based on our recently published NCVER project on Men's sheds in Australia, Learning through Community Contexts (Golding, Brown, Foley, Harvey & Gleeson, 2007), which showed that men';s sheds informally cater for non vocational, social, health, wellbeing and learning needs of mainly older men. We deliberately used unedited transcripts from the NCVER project in the form of narratives or stories to give the men an opportunity to speak for themselves about the benefits of participating in men's sheds. The paper highlights some of the limitations of the methodology used in the attempt to allow the men themselves to make sense of the benefits they experience and enjoy from participating in men's sheds as conveyed through their own voices.
- Description: 200300647
- Authors: Foley, Annette , Golding, Barry , Brown, Michael
- Date: 2008
- Type: Text , Conference paper
- Relation: Paper presented at AVETRA 2008 Conference, Adelaide : 3rd-4th April 2008
- Full Text:
- Description: Our paper is based on our recently published NCVER project on Men's sheds in Australia, Learning through Community Contexts (Golding, Brown, Foley, Harvey & Gleeson, 2007), which showed that men';s sheds informally cater for non vocational, social, health, wellbeing and learning needs of mainly older men. We deliberately used unedited transcripts from the NCVER project in the form of narratives or stories to give the men an opportunity to speak for themselves about the benefits of participating in men's sheds. The paper highlights some of the limitations of the methodology used in the attempt to allow the men themselves to make sense of the benefits they experience and enjoy from participating in men's sheds as conveyed through their own voices.
- Description: 200300647
Shedding school early insights from school : Community shed collaboration in Australia
- Golding, Barry, Foley, Annette, Brown, Michael
- Authors: Golding, Barry , Foley, Annette , Brown, Michael
- Date: 2008
- Type: Text , Conference paper
- Full Text:
- Description: Our paper focuses on evidence of positive interactions between schools and community sheds in Australia to examine what it is about shed-based community programs and pedagogies that are attractive to some early school leavers and school resisters. It is based primarily on interview data from the subset of men’s sheds across Australia with school programs that formed part of our 2007 research into men’s sheds. It is complemented by insights from interviews with men’s sheds participants and rural fire volunteers about what it was that also led many of them to also ‘shed’ school early. Our paper identifies links between the success factors associated with informal learning pedagogies in voluntary and community groups identified in the UK and success factors associated with community-based shed programs in Australia. We identify the potential benefits of sheds in engaging both early school leavers and older men with negative recollections of school, in enjoyable, regular, hands-on activity. We also discuss ways in which some of the difficulties associated with shed-based school programs that seek to engage and reintegrate early school leavers might be avoided or minimised. Finally, we pose some unanswered questions about the implications of our research findings for education and training providers.
- Description: .
- Description: Adelaide :
- Description: 3rd - 4th April 2008
- Description: 0
- Authors: Golding, Barry , Foley, Annette , Brown, Michael
- Date: 2008
- Type: Text , Conference paper
- Full Text:
- Description: Our paper focuses on evidence of positive interactions between schools and community sheds in Australia to examine what it is about shed-based community programs and pedagogies that are attractive to some early school leavers and school resisters. It is based primarily on interview data from the subset of men’s sheds across Australia with school programs that formed part of our 2007 research into men’s sheds. It is complemented by insights from interviews with men’s sheds participants and rural fire volunteers about what it was that also led many of them to also ‘shed’ school early. Our paper identifies links between the success factors associated with informal learning pedagogies in voluntary and community groups identified in the UK and success factors associated with community-based shed programs in Australia. We identify the potential benefits of sheds in engaging both early school leavers and older men with negative recollections of school, in enjoyable, regular, hands-on activity. We also discuss ways in which some of the difficulties associated with shed-based school programs that seek to engage and reintegrate early school leavers might be avoided or minimised. Finally, we pose some unanswered questions about the implications of our research findings for education and training providers.
- Description: .
- Description: Adelaide :
- Description: 3rd - 4th April 2008
- Description: 0
Old dogs, new shed tricks : An exploration of innovative, workshop-based learning practice in Australia
- Golding, Barry, Brown, Michael, Foley, Annette
- Authors: Golding, Barry , Brown, Michael , Foley, Annette
- Date: 2007
- Type: Text , Conference paper
- Relation: Paper presented at AVETRA 2007 Conference, Victoria University, Footscray, Victoria: 11th-13th April 2007
- Full Text:
- Description: Our paper explores some recent innovations in workshop-based learning practice that come out of community-based men's sheds in Australia. It deliberately goes beyond an exploration of the typical community-based men's shed, already explored in our recent NCVER research report and looks at some new and productive interactions between sheds and other informal learning organisations. We go to the margins of rapidly evolving shed practice and single out three types of shed-based organisations that work with school resisters, Vietnam Veterans and older men in aged care. Our aim is to illustrate, using new Australian narrative data, some theoretical and practical implications and benefits of reciprocal, workshop-based mentoring relationships involving men of different ages. Our focus is on ways in which men with a skill or trade are able, in a situated and authentic learning context, to informally weave magic for and with other men, and in some cases with young people. Our paper provides pointers to some of the principles underpinning successful informal and community-based learning practice for older men: particularly the need for a high level of engagement; the choice of an appropriate and safe setting; and to account for the differences associated with age and gender. We articulate an imperative for bringing more blokes into all forms of learning in Australia including through more informal, community-based learning as well as through adult and community education. Our paper and its conclusions have implications for other workshop and shed-based learning practice in vocational education and training as well as informal and community-based learning by volunteers in the quintessential and ubiquitous Australian fire and football sheds.
- Description: 2003005537
- Authors: Golding, Barry , Brown, Michael , Foley, Annette
- Date: 2007
- Type: Text , Conference paper
- Relation: Paper presented at AVETRA 2007 Conference, Victoria University, Footscray, Victoria: 11th-13th April 2007
- Full Text:
- Description: Our paper explores some recent innovations in workshop-based learning practice that come out of community-based men's sheds in Australia. It deliberately goes beyond an exploration of the typical community-based men's shed, already explored in our recent NCVER research report and looks at some new and productive interactions between sheds and other informal learning organisations. We go to the margins of rapidly evolving shed practice and single out three types of shed-based organisations that work with school resisters, Vietnam Veterans and older men in aged care. Our aim is to illustrate, using new Australian narrative data, some theoretical and practical implications and benefits of reciprocal, workshop-based mentoring relationships involving men of different ages. Our focus is on ways in which men with a skill or trade are able, in a situated and authentic learning context, to informally weave magic for and with other men, and in some cases with young people. Our paper provides pointers to some of the principles underpinning successful informal and community-based learning practice for older men: particularly the need for a high level of engagement; the choice of an appropriate and safe setting; and to account for the differences associated with age and gender. We articulate an imperative for bringing more blokes into all forms of learning in Australia including through more informal, community-based learning as well as through adult and community education. Our paper and its conclusions have implications for other workshop and shed-based learning practice in vocational education and training as well as informal and community-based learning by volunteers in the quintessential and ubiquitous Australian fire and football sheds.
- Description: 2003005537
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