Welcome to the Centre for Social Partnerships in Lifelong Learning
The Centre for Social Partnerships in Lifelong Learning SPiLL was established in 2007 to support and research the interagency and interdisciplinary relationships that enable effective learning in different disciplines, workplaces and training sites. SPiL is based at the Charles Darwin University.
Latest News
From the latest newsletter September 2011 (available here)
Message
from the Director,
SPiLL The Centre for Social Partnerships in Lifelong Learning’s research seeks to understand and enhance the ways individuals, groups and organisations work together to achieve positive outcomes. It focuses on developing innovative and successful approaches to working, learning and living in remote, regional and urban contexts with Indigenous and non-Indigenous people, necessitates effective partnerships. Partnerships are complex; they involve the recognition of diverse knowledge systems and their interactions as they relate to the worlds of work, community engagement and learning.
SPiLL’s research is aiming to analyse the challenges of working in communities of practice across multi-scale, multi-dimensional and diverse cultural knowledge environments. Issues of diversity of scale, dimension, technology and culture underpin the research centre’s activities, and these issues are recognised as the disconnects that can occur at all levels - between federal and state policy makers, regional bodies, industry partners, scientists and traditional owners.
By understanding the ways groups and individuals work together, and the frameworks that inform their practice, we can build the capacity of communities to address their issues of importance and negotiate complex issues SPILL had a successful strategic planning day that outlined the SPILL researchers’ vision and the three interdisciplinary thematic areas that frame our work:
- Transitions in lifelong learning, teaching and work,
- Transdisciplinary and Indigenous methodologies
- Teaching and learning, and ICT in diverse educational contexts.
Welcome to two key people in the Faculty. Professor Giselle Byrnes and Professor Peter Kell.
Professor Giselle Byrnes will take up the role of Pro Vice- Chancellor of Law, Education, Business and Arts (LEBA). She comes to CDU from her position as the Pro Vice- Chancellor (Postgraduate) at the University of Waikato in New Zealand, where she also held the posts of Professor of History and Director of the Public History Research Unit. Peter Kell, the new Head of School and Professor of Education at Charles Darwin University, he is a lifelong educator with global research interests. Professor Kell has already demonstrated his strategic leadership to develop education based research through SPILL and leverage his global wide research experience in the Asia Pacific region and is involved in a range of research projects in China, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singapore. Professor Kell has started with a focus on strategic planning that has developed the scope of SPILL Research Centre and connections to other key CDU and external research centres. He is soon launching the Cambridge book, Global Student Mobility in the Asia Pacific, he edited with Gillian Vogl.
Other recent activities include the SPILL seminar series commenced with Professor Ian Falk’s presentation, Ethics in development: managing biosecurity across borders the next presentation by Professor Peter Kell, Marilyn Kell and Lorraine Sushames will present a seminar on Trends in Global Student Mobility in the Asia Pacific. SPILL members are welcome to contribute their ideas for presenting a research seminar on their research or areas of expertise.
Congratulations to John Guenther who has recently been jointly appointed to the School of Education at Flinders University and as Principal Research Leader for Remote Education Systems in the CRC for Remote Economic Participation (CRC-REP), where research aims to identify ways that the education systems can be better designed to suit the needs of the communities and stakeholders in remote regions by examining demand, supply, policy issues and alternative delivery models.
Professor Michael Christie and his team have been successful in winning a number of projects. Michael will be working with John Greatorex, Yingiya Guyula, Anthea Nicholls, and the Yolŋu researchers providing training and mentoring to the supervisors of CDEP teams in East Arnhem in a FaHCSIA funded project. Through the project CDEP supervisors can get training and one-toone mentoring in
- Work skills needed by supervisors- writing reports- managing your team- making work plans
- Using computers and the internet at work
- Workplace literacy and numeracy
- How government works in East Arnhemland
Providers can get professional development for their CDEP supervisors from a team of trainers with experience in
- Designing Training to meet local needs
- Working with Yolŋu in East Arnhem
- Valuing cultural difference
I have won a project through the CRC Plant Biosecurity to develop a case study with Vietnamese-Australian horticultural communities near Darwin outlining the process for engaging disenfranchised and culturally diverse communities in biosecurity management. Through this funding and with Gothajadka, from Gawa, a teaching resource to engage Indigenous students and their teachers in biosecurity surveillance and management will be developed and with Dr Gary Kong, the team will develop a social networking site that integrates the online Pests and Diseases Image Library http://www.padil.gov.au/ in order to engage Indigenous knowledge and communities in biosecurity management.
SPILL’s development is supported by our ongoing partnership with ACIKE that has resulted in a number of joint projects and grant applications and working with the Centre for School Leadership to partner in major grant applications. This strategy will be supported by the addition of Dr Sue Shore as Associate Professor of Education (Research) who will be working to build profile, outputs and activities in research. Keep an eye out for the release of the new website with an invitation to become a member and participate in SPILL activities. Thank you to the SPILL members who have worked hard to contribute their expertise to the development of a number of Cooperative Research Centres applications that, if successful, would benefit Northern Territory communities and learning systems. We are waiting for the release of the shortlist and will keep you in the loop. The changes in the ERA provide a challenge for us this link will take you to the draft documentation that will be direct national policy into the future. http://www.arc.gov.au/era/era_2010/outcomes_2010.htm
The current edition of the International Learning Community Journal focusses on work Integrated and Learning includes paper from 5 eurepean authors http://www.cdu.edu.au/centres/spill/publications.html the next edition is closing, please send your contributions to the editor at ruth.wallace@cdu.edu.au
Also keep an eye out for two new publications from SPILL members published by Springer International, Managing Biosecurity across Borders VET book This edition of the newsletter has a new section, 2011 publications.
Please assist us by letting us know about SPIL members publications. It’s always good to hear from members and others interested in research, drop us a line anytime at SPiL@cdu.edu.au
Regards, Ruth Wallace