R M A , reciprocal maieutic approach in a nutshell

The Recriprocal Maieutic Approach (RMA) is a “…process of collective exploration that takes as a departure point the experience and the intuition of individuals.” (Dolci, 1996). This way RMA promotes group processes and the plurality of experiences and points of view.
RMA is intended to create a safe learning environment for people to express themselves, to discover themselves, to be creative, to learn relational and communicational competencies, to feel valued as a human being, among other things.
The Reciprocal Maieutic Approach is most of all a learner centred approach.
Here's a visualisation of the method, using the well-known wordle website:

Soon a concise description of the RMA method will follow here.
The prototype as well as the RMA manual are on their way. A definitive version is anticipated to be ready for distribution at the beginning of July 2011.

What do you learn from

a European project about ethical competence? That's the question we asked a few students when we were mid-way in a European Grundtvig project. The answers encompassed more than I had ever imagined. It's difficult to put it in a nutshell, still here's an attempt, quoting from the students' work:
"You tend to take your own behaviour for granted, you don't normally give your social competences and actions a moment's thought. But it's in live exchanges like these that you actually become aware of "the Dutch way of life"."
"The fact that we are one Europe and yet so different in the way we think and act made an immense impression. Experiencing a great deal of freedom yourself in your own country, you don't realise that other people elsewhere are faced with corruption, oppression or the maffia."
"You start to become aware of how lazy or how rude you can be from time to time, how easily you complain about things, despite the liberty and openness at our university. Educational systems across Europe differ hugely in the way they treat students and in student - lecturer relationships in general, I learned. We should be proud of the Dutch way of teaching and learning, but that's hard to notice from what I see and hear."

"Most of the European project partners gave longish and tiring powerpoint presentations with around 60 sheets. Sometimes these presentations were given in their own language, which meant that they had to be translated by someone else, which took quite some time all in all. These often theoretically and academically oriented talks were quite unsettling to me at first. I simply wanted to hear about their methods, the way they implemented ethical competence training. It made me realise that we were in fact the only partner who showed, by way of concrete examples, how we develop ethical competences in a practical sense, and moreover, how we transfer that into the workplace after graduation.
It makes you realise how hard it can be for others to implement concrete actions and change elsewhere Europe and in the world."
"I have come to realise that our Dutch mentality is one of acting quickly and efficiently without dawdling. Persistence is another trait of ours."
"Getting to know other European people and discussing similarities and differences have definitely helped me in understanding that there's still a lot to be done.
A project such as this one makes you realise how important it is to talk to each other and cooperate internationally. There is so much to learn from each other."

"I was offered a unique opportunity to catch a glimpse of how things work in other countries in the field of ethics."
"I was able to build up good contacts with the people I met in the two project meetings in Italy and Romania and I'm still in touch with them via facebook."
"Creating your own radio show is something I teach to primary school children; it was fascinating to see how they did this in another country and the issues they were faced with."

To put it concisely, it's a culturally and socially enriching experience that will stay with you forever: this appears to be the overall feeling.

Establishing the RMA prototype

This time it was Vallodalid, Spain where the EDDILI consortium gathered to have its 4th EU level meeting. Our host was the INTRAS foundation, a non-profit organisation developing and promoting activities concerning assistance, research, evaluation and dissemination of mental health and other disabilities actions, plus an English language webpage to explain more !
Within the designated one-day meeting the project partners managed to jointly establish the definitive prototype, the draft (extended) table of contents for the RMA manual, and get a solid overview of all that's coming up in the next few months.
It was in that sense a most productive meeting, meeting all the objectives set beforehand, while it also demonstrated the cooperative mode that we had been working in up to that point. Meetings are always the best opportunity to share thoughts on (presentations of) work done and updates on current and future work, in order to have everyone on the same page.
This meeting we were joined by two delegates from the EU commission, 2 Grundtvig project managers, who attended the session as external observers and were helpful in making practical suggestions to round off this multilateral Grundtvig project successfully.
Here is a visual representation of the meeting:

Get the flash player here: http://www.adobe.com/flashplayer

This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This blog post reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained herein.

World Social Work Day in Rotterdam

Today social workers around the world joined together to celebrate World Social Work Day on March 15, 2011. This annual event, celebrated on the third Tuesday in March, focuses on social work contributions to society and is part of an on-going dialogue about how to address challenging social conditions worldwide.
Here's a short speech by the president of IFSW:

World Social Work Day 2011: Message from IFSW President Gary Bailey, MSW, ACSW from IFSW on Vimeo.

The theme for this year's Social Work Day 2011 was “Social Work voices responding to global crises: Together we develop the Agenda!“
And this challenge was taken up here in Rotterdam within our School of Social Work.
The mission of the social work profession and the development of social policy are rooted in a set of core values. These core values, embraced by social workers, social work educators and policy practitioners and developers the world over, are the foundation of social work’s unique purpose and perspective.
In June 2010, at the global social work conference in Hong Kong, three key social work organisations at the global level initiated a discussion to develop a Global Agenda for social work and social development, a common Global Agenda for years to come, articulating a set of common goals. The challenges which are collectively faced at present are so enormous that there is an overwhelming need for a united voice and solidarity.
What started in Hong Kong was the beginning of a process of shared engagement among social work and social development practitioners and social work educators the world over.
With this in mind we planned to have the kick-off for the joint social work module for all year 1 students on today's World Social Work Day.

From many sides an appeal had been made to encourage all classes in schools of social work around the world, service agencies, other sites where social work and social development organisations are involved and communities linked to social work and social development to discuss and comment on the Global Agenda. And this opportunity was seized by a number of people within our university, not only by way of a big event for all year 1 students, but also by stimulating all lecturers to pay attention to the issue in their lessons. A learning package with tips and suggestions was developed specifically for that purpose, with a focus on poverty as the main issue. Now it's time to harvest and analyse all the tips and suggestions for the Global Agenda.
A great and unifying initiative that will remind all involved that social work is truly an international profession practised all over the world and rooted in a common set of core values. Here are some images of the event which took place in the Scottish church in Rotterdam:



And here's a link to how World Social Work Day was celebrated in other countries.

Canadian and American surveys on international education

Canadian students are convinced of the benefits of studying abroad and of the value of having international students on their campuses. A survey of nearly 3,000 students looked at their attitudes to the internationalisation of Canadian campuses as well as their own opportunities to pursue studies abroad. The students indicated that the "ability to work in diverse cultural settings" was important in terms of getting a job.
Similarly, a majority considered "knowledge of international affairs" to be an asset in eventual job-seeking. 9% of students responded they had already participated in a study abroad programme, while another 26% said it was likely that they would pursue studies abroad in the future.
Not surprisingly, nearly half the respondents said they would prefer to study in English-speaking countries, particularly the UK and Australia; 10% indicated they would like to study in France.
Less than two weeks later University World News, "the global window on higher education", posted an article saying that most Americans consider international exposure to be an essential part of the student experience. A survey by the Washington-based international educators' association NAFSA, entitled Educating Students for Success in the Global Economy, found that Americans are committed to the principle that in order to thrive in the future, we must prepare students today for life and careers in an age of global connectedness and global competition.
In short, there is overall recognition that the country's future success rests on its ability to prepare students with the skills necessary to navigate in a competitive international landscape, to thrive in the global workplace, and to leverage their talents and skills in ways that move a country forward in an increasingly connected world.
(Interestingly, one question addressed the contentious and polarising issue of facilitating the immigration of skilled higher educational professionals to the US. Although support wavered - at 40% - the overall data showed that those more strongly in favour of international education recognised that the recruitment of international talent was a necessary way to fuel excellence in higher education.)
It's clear that universities have an important role to play in preparing students for the new era of global engagement! And international students within your university can play a significant part in nurturing global citizens.
Source: www.universityworldnews.com