LLinE Lifelong Learning in Europe

Orientation

Carlos Alberto Torres
Education and transformative social justice learning
In discussing a constitution of democratic citizenship, Freire suggested in the sixties a model of diversity and crossing borders in education, which became a central tenet in the discussion of transformative social justice learning. As a social, political and pedagogical practice, transformative social justice learning take place when people reach a richer, more textured understanding of themselves and of their world, and when they are prepared to act upon this new understanding.

Camera Obscura group and Aino Hannula
Camera Obscura: Exposures of moments – encounters with worlds
Photos of your life enable you to see it as an outsider. You can analyse it, to hear others’ interpretations of the situations, and to reflect on your own environment more clearly. A social pedagogical project initiated and organised by the social workers, clients and volunteers and supported by the Social Services Department aims at promoting participation in a shared social environment.

József Katus
Image building, propaganda – and education. Government communication and its functions
Government communication ultimately reveals the will of the government concerning the mode and level of participation of citizens. It an essential tool for democracy, it is also an essential tool for keeping citizens from meaningful information. It can be reduced to professional craftsmanship of image building, even propaganda. After the great changes of the early 90’s the new democracies have had to reconsider the government communication and its roles.

Francesca Landi and Loredana Golob
“Raccontare l’Europa” – autobiographies, diaries and life stories
An Award winning transnational project collects people’s stories of how Europe figures in various activities in their lives. The stories are discussed together in small groups of 10–20 people, but also in the transnational groups, published in the web page, and ultimately stored in archives for researchers use. The project has launched a European Competition on people’s stories.

Seppo Niemelä
Participation matters. Government’s democracy policy programme
Concerned with the level of people’s participation and interest in common affairs, the Finnish Government devised a program for promoting democracy. It is one of the four government programs. A great emphasis is on education to participate by participative methods, and support to civil society and organisations.

Dan Bar-On and Sami Adwan
Palestinian and Israeli history side by side
History is seen through interpretation. Palestinian and Israeli interpretations are different. Only one is normally presented in textbooks on each side. In this project, the two interpretations are placed side by side in the printed booklets – and taught in seven Palestinian schools and seven Israeli schools. It has been a process of deeply emotional confrontations.

Karine Terlemezyan and Araksya Margaryan
Continuing education to enhance local self-government in Armenia
The writers conclude from their research that the staff of local self-government in Armenia urgently needs further education and training in management and leadership, strategic planning and strategic thinking, participatory planning project management, budgeting and financial management, fundraising, human rights and gender awareness. But there is not very much progress in the situation for lack of financial resources on the one hand and for the old culture of no initiative without a law forcing into it.

LLinE Interview
‘You can touch other people with your words’. Interview with John Shotter
John Shotter shares his great experience collected during the many paths of his career, all winding towards a better understanding of people. One discovery was the role of speech, and observant listening. Prof. Shotter reminds us how Wittgenstein’s reminders can provoke us into understanding the details of our actual doings, rather than theorizing about them. His reminders can help us re-create the touchingness, the action-guiding understanding at work in a concrete situation.

Marjo Vuorikoski
Gendered teacher identity
Gender neutral policies do not challenge self-evident, dichotomous assumptions of gender difference, gender relations operate behind the apparently neutral concept of liberal democratic citizenship.
Schools are the sites where gendered identities are constructed but can also be challenged. The age of students and also position of the teachers as well as the general atmosphere of the school promote the impact. The article presents interesting unconscious behaviours and attitudes of student teachers towards boy and girl pupils.

Philippe Leliaert
Knowledge Management. When too many cooks spoil the broth
Knowledge is regarded as the main driver of the economy and business performance. Yet, there is a discrepancy between that and the financial performance measurements and reports used. Business leaders, investors, academics, consultants and politicians talk about retaining and developing knowledge, but have their own reasons and logic to support their assertions. The truth is increasingly obscured by misunderstanding. The writer wants to lay bare the real questions behind popular headlines related to knowledge, and offer some alternative solutions.