How do your learners paint flowers? An exploration into person-centred learning in Community Training Centres.
This study is an invitation to explore a vital part of our further education and training sector. It gives context to the foundations underpinning the provision of Community Training Centres by exploring the needs and difficulties of early school leavers. The literature reviewed explores class in education, human development and identity and person-centred learning. This section also looks at governmentality, neoliberalism and New Managerialism in education. The findings reveal many of the attributes of person-centred learning present in CTCs and also reveals the many challenges to this way of learning. Overall the research was exploratory in nature as it explored the experiences of participants in a community training setting. The study tried to generate the ways in which person-centred approaches to education influenced the experiences of past participants of a CTC. The methodology was a qualitative research influenced by constructivism and led by interpretivism. The research methods consisted of interviews and focus groups. The study concludes with recommendations for policy makers, organisations and individuals to help improve the future learning experiences for those who share the ‘classroom’ in the learning journey.
National University of Ireland - Maynooth
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