Rhodes University

Networking journalism teachers

in southern Africa

by Guy Berger,presentation to:SADC Trainers Seminar

8 September 2001C ooking up acom m unity o fm edia tra iners

SAD C sem inar

Sept 2001

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Where we are: •Weak media…•Weak training …•Fragmentation•Duplication•Standards?•Short on materials• Little specialised depth

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A community?

Needs to be:

• Voluntary

• Demand-driven

• Incremental

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Get close up

• Ideal vs reality

• a community is constructed

• a community contains both conflict & concord

• recognise interests

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Why try to build community?• Share study materials • Access to info on courses on offer• Swap teaching methodology• Exchange staff• Student co-productions and collaboration.

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More reasons …

• On-line courses • Setting standards • Credit transfers • Quality assurance• Training the trainers• Develop new training materials

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Wanted: an easily accessible database hub

• Information• Electronic bulletin board• Listservs, newsgroups

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Threats

Cyber-community without a real community does not work.

See the history of:• Kammy Naidoo’s attempt• iJute, Beta

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But opportunity knocks

• Impetus since Windhoek• NiZa committed• Technology more disseminated now• SA – National Qualifications Authority, SETAs

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ChallengesTo create a community of trainers has to be a hard-nosed business!

And a very complex one ...

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Pedagogy

debateMethodologies:

• Train on-site or not?

• Centre vs periphery

• Language

• Skill, talks & texts

• Industry as trainers

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More debate:• Skills transfer, or is it development?

• Go for breadth, with many trained, or

• Go for depth: train fewer, but better

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For a community to fly ...

• Need to agree on core principles about what makes for effective training.

• A shared perspective = sharing knowledge.

Some possible principles ...

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PRINCIPLE 1: Trainer-trainee-media

Learner-centred

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PRINCIPLE 1: Trainer-trainee-organisation Learner-centred

But context-driven

“As the strength of a chain is determined by its weakest link, so the least contribution of any one partner becomes the maximum level of effectiveness possible”

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PRINCIPLE 2: Ladder of learning

One-off and fragmented training = resource waste.

Rather, we need:

investment in progressive learning over time

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PRINCIPLE 3: Target A: Head

Train the brain:

• information;

• knowledge;

• intellectual skills

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Target B: HandsPractice:

Skills to implement

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Target C: Heart of the matterIf you forget about attitude, your training won’t fly.

You can train for media freedom & ethics, for anti-sexism, anti-racism, etc.

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Target D: The Wallet The point is:

• What’s the pay-off?• Financial• Organisational• The individual trainee• Programme-related

•Fulfillment of media’s role in society

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Holistic trainingSo, training should be planned and assessed in terms of:

K nowledge

A ttitude

P ractice

P ay-off

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PRINCIPLE 4: PROCESS

Training is a journey

No application

Didn’t learn much

Poor delivery (or good)

Poor design

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Process stages

If it did meet need

May be wrong trainees

Or workplace blocks

Or: training not the solution

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Process lessons

Front-end workis critical:you can’t salvage a wrong course or wrong trainees. Secret of success can also

be traced through preceding stages

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PRINCIPLE 6: EVALUATE

Reaction: do they like it?

Learning: are they learning it?

Application: are they using it?

Pay-off: does it make a difference?

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Remember ...Good reaction learning

Learning application

Application pay-off

It’s a package.

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Realms ’n phases

Pre-course During Post-course

Reaction Reaction Reaction

Learning Learning Learning

Application Application Application

Pay-off Pay-off Pay-off

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Priorities

Pre-course During Post-course

Reaction(100%)

Learning Learning(75%)

Learning

Application Application Application(50%)

Pay-off Pay-off(10%)

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Evaluation:• Begin before the beginning of a course;• Continue long after the end.• Cover reaction, learning, application, pay-off at every stage.

Results: you find what works, what needs work.

“It’s this training that did it”

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Agreed!

Sharing -- in the interests of training -- means we can combine forces to build a stronger sector

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Vision for a network

“to improve the quality of work of media practitioners through collaboration between media trainers.”

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Values (1)• Freedom of expression.

• Media freedom - pluralism, diversity, tolerance

• A probing, critical media with the highest ethical and professional standards to democracy and to safeguarding human rights.

• Right of all citizens, including rural areas, to access information

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Values (2)• The importance both of media entrepreneurs & community media.

• The importance of a public service system (as well as commercial)

• Commitment to the development of media policy / legislation

• Literacy

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Membership• Tertiary institutions

• In service trainers- NGOs

• Community media

• In house training departments of media institutions

• Commercial media training institutions.

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Structure:• Existing institution takes it on

• Membership appoints an institution

• Create a new institution

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Fly in the ointment?What does a network hub mean?

• Can centralisation mean control?

• Can centralisation concentrate incompetence?

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Working together - way to go• Accept diverse interests and major complexities.

• Recognise there’s a role for all, a need for all, & space for all.

• Acknowledge complaboration.• Be active agents.

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Earning our stripes• Common standards will improve performance.

• Centres of excellence will emerge.

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Competition

will - and should - continue, but alongside complaboration & collabetition

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Providers will develop special and unique features

Alongside a lot of shared overlap in basic training (which needs to be spread around the SADC).

Rationalisation: Some will be organic, some will be planned

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Issues for us • Objectives• Vision and mission• Structure and name•Medium-term action plan•Who can house and who should drive?

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Lots of work needed ...

Cicadas make a racket, but when you look, you can’t find them!

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Training is a good thing:now let’s make it even better

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The Beginning