Reflective Practices: Training course in UK

This course, taking place in Burnley/UK, between 9-16 March, 2014, aims to explore the theory of reflective practice in youth work from a UK perspective. The UK has over 60 years history of professional youth work which this course plans to highlight and demonstrate how this came to be. This course is open to participants based in Estonia, Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Turkey and the UK.

We will be exploring reflection-based practice to gain a better understanding of how we can use it effectively in our own work setting.  We will be using the reflection throughout the week in order to assess our progress and see it in practice in UK-based settings.  By doing this, we hope that participants will be able to apply what they learn into their own work in their own country. We will seek to share the benefits in order to get the most out of the reflection and then look at how we can apply it with others in our own culture.

During the course, participants will engage in various activities that explore the topic and look at the reflective practice while discussing models for its growth and development in Europe. The course will also foster new collaborations between the partner countries and explain how to gain funding for future cooperation for international youth activity.

This project is the result of a desire to share reflective practice between European countries, by taking a process-based approach that does not assume a level of understanding. Instead, it introduces and builds upon the subject, exploring its relevance and applications in the context of each country, so the each participant will return home with something of real value.

Through the teaching of theory and practice via the use of interactive training we will share this knowledge and skills base with a range of professionals from other countries.  The training will be facilitated by experienced and qualified professional Youth Workers from the UK, who are trained in reflective practice. The trainers will deliver a curriculum on a range of subjects centred around the course objectives. bringing together 30 participants from five different organizations, that will be able to:

• Identify what reflective-based practice is
• Understand and explain the use of reflective practice
• Locate reflective practice in the context of their own work
• Share the benefits of reflective practice with others
• Understand the challenges of implementing reflective practice in their work

The course also aims to foster partnerships between countries while explaining how participants can continue activity with their new partners and where to access the funding.

During the training, one evening will be set aside as an intercultural evening where participants are encouraged to share their culture, beliefs and traditions. Each country will be allocated a space to give a presentation, show pictures or videos of the area/country they live in.  It would also be nice if you could share materials about your project and the things you do. There is also an opportunity to share food and drink, so please bring with you some traditional food and drinks which are typical of your area, for people to try. It might also be nice to share your music or material culture if possible.