Developing Lifelong Learning Competences Through Creative Writing In A Female Prison Setting

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INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCEON VOCATIONAL AND ADULT EDUCATION

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INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ONVOCATIONAL AND ADULT EDUCATION”Gyula Juhász” Faculty of

Education, University of Szeged17–19. October, 2013 Szeged, Hungary

SZTE JGYPKSzeged, 2013


Project Title:Establishing a Vocational and Adult EducationKnowledge Base and Consulting Centre in the

Southern Great Plain Region

Project ID:TÁMOP-2.2.4-11/1-2012-0004

Konferenciakötet éstanulmánygyûjtemény

a „Dél-alföldi Felnõttképzési-Szakképzési Tudástár és Tanácsadó Központ létrehozása (DAF-FSZTTK)” címû projekthez

Beneficiary:University of

Szeged

Project period:01.07.2012–31.12.2013.

E-mail:[email protected] Web:

www.jgypk.u-szeged.hu/dtf

Editor: Ferenc Szabóproject manager

”Juhász Gyula” Faculty ofEducation University of

Szeged

Cover


design:LajosForró

ISBN 978-615-5455-02-5

© SZTE JGYPK


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INTRODUCTIONDr. István Marsi

Dean of ”Gyula Juhász” Faculty ofEducation, University of Szeged,

Hungary

The ”International Conference on Vocationaland Adult Education” was successfullyorganised by ”Gyula Juhász” Faculty ofEducation (University of Szeged, Hungary). Theconference where national and internationalexperts and professionals of vocational andadult education were invited has been held inthe framework of the Social RenewalOperational Program of Hungary supported bythe European Union.

Our faculty has an old and very strongtradition in the field of vocational andadult education, so it was absolutely evidentfor us to participate in the Social RenewalOperational Program tender announced in thearea of vocational and adult education. Wesubmitted our application form two years ago,it was succesful, so one and a half year ago we


started the implementation of the projectentitled: ”Establishing a Vocational and AdultEducation Knowledge Base and ConsultingCentre in the Southern Great PlainRegion/Hungary” (TÁMOP-2.2.4-11/1). We presentthe detailed description of the project in thenext paper.

Before the closure of the project aninternational scientific conference had beenheld, on the one hand for the disseminationof the project outputs, on the other hand toprovide a venue for the professionals andexperts summarising the results, discussingthe goals and strategies

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regarding the future of vocational and adulteducation. The conference provided anopportunity for researchers, teachers andexperts to evaluate the present state ofvocational and adult education, as well as theapplied methods, the foreseeable trends and thegoals to be reached. The conference was also agood publishing opportunity for researchers.

The three-day (2+1) conference started onThursday (17th October) with a plenary session,which was followed by section meetings andworkshops on Friday (18th October). Fridayafternoon after the section meetings andworkshops we invited the participants to seethe attractions and highlights of Szeged (TheNew Synagouge, City Hall, the Old Book Sectionof Somogyi Library, the Dom square and the Domof Szeged). For Saturday we organizedoptional cultural, touristic and wellnessprograms (Szeged, Ópusztaszer, Makó).

1. The Organisers of the Conference”Gyula Juhász” Faculty of Education of theUniversity of Szeged is the oldest teachertraining institution in Hungary. Building on astrong BA training, our mission is to offerdifferentiated, multi-level quality educationand scientific training, promote research, anddevelopment and the acquisition of doctoraldegrees. Making use of our experience gainedthrough the past decades in various fields ofteacher training, our faculty has become anationally and internationally acclaimed


training institution for kindergarten, primaryschool and special needs education teachers.We offer art programs worthy of our longtradition. The practical training in ourteacher training programs is done mainly atthe faculty’s own practice school.

1.1. Our Experience in theField of Vocational and

Adult EducationOur faculty has extensive traditions andexperience in the field of vocational andadult education. Adapting to social and jobmarket demands, we strive to continuallydevelop training content in the highervocational, BA, MA and postgraduate trainingprogrammes.

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Following the structural changes in highereducation, we assign special importance toadult education and other non-conventionaltraining programmes. Our faculty hasundertaken to introduce higher vocationalprogrammes at the university of Szeged. It isour priority to organise the theoretical andpractical parts of higher vocationalprogrammes so that our graduating students willmeet job market demands, and at the same timeacquire adequate professional knowledge whichwill enable them to continue their studies inthe various BA programmes building upon thevocational courses. Our faculty has its owninstitutes for both vocational and adulteducation.

The conference is organised by the projectcoordinator institutes at the University ofSzeged, ”Gyula Juhász” Faculty of Education:–the Institute of Adult Education and–the Centre of Vocational Education and Distance Learning.

The Institute of Adult Education is one ofHungary’s most dominant education centres inthe field of andragogy, while the Centre ofVocational Education has been successfullyintroducing new forms and methods of educationin order to improve job market mobility.

Institute of Adult Education–Andragogy sub-department,–Library and museum pedagogy sub-department,–Cultural mediation sub-department.


Centre of Vocational Education and Distance Learning–Higher vocational department,–Out-of-school training department,–Media studio.

Our faculty is trying to cooperate with theother faculties of the university in allforms of training. Our excelling teachers areattending various PhD programmes at theUniversity of Szeged. We promote the principleof fairness and equal treatment for ourstudents in studying and using the services ofthe university and our faculty.

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1.2. International Relationsin the Field of Vocational and

Adult EducationIn recent years our faculty has developedsignificant international relations in thefield of vocational and adult education.Besides cooperating with neighbouringcountries, we have also build relationshipswith institutions in Slovenia, Poland, theUnited Kingdom, Austria and France.

2. Cooperating PartnersThe West University of Timisoara is a state-owned higher education institution which wasfounded in 1962. Its history dates back to1940, when Timisoara accommodated the Romanianuniversity of Cluj-Napoca, which had to moveaway when the territory of NorthernTransylvania was re-assigned to Hungary. Aregulation of 30th December 1944 stated that ahigher education institution had to be set upin the western part of Romania. In 1968, whenthe institution had the adequate academicstaff to teach almost all the classical fieldsof science, it was awarded a university status.The university currently operates 11 faculties.In the past 12 years there have been majorchanges in the region, and the political andeconomic environment has greatly altered. Inconsequence, the university is trying to meetthe challenges of the new economic and socialenvironment, as well as those of theinternational environment and professionalism.


It is also important for the university tomeet the requirements set by the accessionto the European Union. During recent yearsthere has been a significant increase inforeign relations as well as in scientific andeducational co-operation, while projects invocational and adult education have come tothe foreground. Being part of this project isa good opportunity for the university toshare experiences and best practices.

3.SummaryA total of 115 people participated in theconference, 50 foreign and 65 Hungarianprofessionals. Many of our colleagues alsotook the opportunity and beyond attending theplenary lectures, presented their own researchor theory in the session meetings. The papersare published12


in the conference proceedings. To ourpleadure, in addition to the many native andforeign experts, a great number of studentsattended the conference. Most of them hearedthe plenary lectures out, but quite a few alsoattended to the session meetings.

Distribution of participants’ nationalityItalian 3

Spanish 6French 5Turkish 6Romanian 17Belgian 2Poland 3Bulgarian 4Russian 3Kazakh 1All foreign participants

50Hungarian 65All participants 11

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On Friday the work continued in two English,one Romanian, one Russian and two Hungariansessions. The sessions and workshops were thefollowing:A. I. Foreign languages in the world of work(English, 9:00 to 11:00, Session Chair: Dr.Klára Szabó, Co-Chair: Ewa Waniek-Klymczak)B.Life Long Learning (English, 9:00 to11:00, Session Chair: András Csillag)C. I. Adult Education (Hungarian, 9:00 to11:00, Session Chair: Dr. Éva Farkas)


A. II. Languages in the world of work(Romanian, 11:30 to 13:30, Session Chair:Mihaela Cozma)

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A. III. Foreign Languages in the working world(Russian, 11:30 to 13:30, Session Chair: Zoltán Györke)C. II. Adult Education (Hungarian, 11:30 to 13:30, Session Chair: Dr. Éva Farkas)D.Vocational education (Hungarian, 11:30 to 13:30, Session Chair: András Döbör)

According to the site and follow-up reviewsthe conference had been effective, both inprofessional standards and in the terms of theorganizing. The plenary session program wasvery high quality, excellent native andinternational researchears and expertsconpiled into one thematic unit the presentsituation and the future prospects of adultand vocational education in Europe. Thelectures were related to each other and thepresenters responded to the others’ lectures.In the section meetings and the workshopsinteresting and vibrant professional debate wasgoing on, where many non-presentingparticipants were also present.

The conference proceedings are published inthe present volume in the frame of the TÁMOPproject.

I would like to thank the organizers andparticipants for their high- quality work.First of all many thaks to Éva Farkas for theprofessional work, to Klára Szabó and KárolyTóth for the outstanding organizing andconducting of the conference. All the projectassistants worked excellently, especiallyTímea Rendek. The irreplaceable assistance of


István Alattyányi also has to be noted.I am grateful to the students for taking

part in the organizing of the conference, andfor tirelessly receiving, accompanying,assisting the participants smartly andpolitely, in foreign languages if necessary.Special thank to Attila Cseh, Zoltán Nagy andHédi Orbán for their excellent work and help.

Finally, I would like to thank to everyparticipants the professional activities, thesmart presentations and the excellentcooperation. I hope everybody enjoyed the fewdays spent in our beloved city, Szeged andwere satisfied with the professional andscientific quality as well as the touristicattractions. See you soon in Szeged.

10th February, 2014. Szeged

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DEVELOPING LIFELONG LEARNING COMPETENCES THROUGH CREATIVE WRITING IN A FEMALE PRISON SETTING

AbstractLifelong learning competences and skills are important forleading a full and satisfied personal and professional life.Vulnerable groups of adults, most likely, lack many of the keycompetences described. Addressing them can help improvethe quality of life and has the potential to help them bettercope with their circumstances. Through the access to acourse/ workshop in creative writing, also extracting andpublishing fragments of their life story, we tried to challengethe prejudice that prevents social inclusion of theseparticipants. Students should be exposed to real lifeexperiences and should be encouraged to work with adultlearners. Learning how to solve complex problems in real life


situations can better prepare students for the futureprofessional lives. As an educational objective, the projectintended to create a learning environment for adult students,the opportunity

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to apply theoretical concepts together, but also theexposure to a specific institutional framework, a uniqueexperience of life.Key words: lifelong learning, creative writing, women indetention

1. IntroductionThe paper will present a lifelong learningproject that was developed as a practicalexercise for graduate students from theFaculty of Theater and Television, Babeº-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca.

One of the main objectives of the exercisewas to develop lifelong learning communicationcompetences through creative writing, thatwould improve the self image of a group ofwomen in prison, presenting the learningexperience of these women that developed newmeans of communication while being confined toa prison cell.

By assisting them to formulate, develop,express in writing and lecture theirexperiences, an environment of creativecommunication was created, that contributes tosocial integration and moral rehabilitation ofthese participants. Some of the materialsdeveloped by the female detainees during theworkshops where documented and edited into alinear short documentary and an interactivedocumentary produced by the media students.

The lifelong learning objectives forstudents consisted in practically applyingconcepts and theories in creative writing to a


special context: women in a prison setting; todocument through audio-visual techniques andtechnologies and create both linear andinteractive narratives of the experience, tobe exposed to a real life setting and specialcontext, with all restrictions and specifics.

The paper will present the two separatelearning experiences, from the perspective ofthe different learning objectives. The first isthe academic one, involving the students andtheir roles and interaction within the project,includes the opportunity to apply theoreticalconcepts in a practical exercise but also theexposure to a specific institutionalframework, a unique experience of life. Thesecond, is the learning experience of thewomen that developed new means ofcommunication while being confined to a prisoncell.

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2. Creative WritingCommunication in mother language is a key

lifelong learning competence.Though it is in ascension, creative writing

as a discipline is still finding its place,between the pedagogical practices and thetradition of the workshop model (DONNELY,2009.). The theories about the triangle: author– text – reader follow the pedagogicalpractices, dealing with the meaning and thecomposition process. The workshop model used increative writing, though criticized for lack of”rigor and intelligence”, is actually changingand expanding the shape of the model andcollaborating with other disciplines such asperformative art, digital technology, and filmstudies (DONNELY, 2009. 3–5.). It facilitatesopportunities for the teaching of new skills tocreative writers (DONNELY, 2009. 5.). Creativewriting support and develop writing skills byexploring different genres, it challengescreativity at different levels: creativereading, creative interpretation, creativewriting. Through creative writing exercisespeer communication is encouraged in order toexperience and create dialogue. Understandingdifferent socio-cultural contexts is key inadapting written style to a certain type ofaudience.

3. Creative Writing Workshops fora Disadvantaged Group of

Participants


Our project aimed to use creative writing asan instrument to help women in prison explorenew means of communication, to enable theexpression of emotions and to encourage opencommunication with women in a vulnerable anddifficult circumstance. Understanding emotionsand experiences and channeling them intowritten form could also be considered atherapeutic experience, especially in a prisoncontext.

The 7 workshops of creative writing tried toalso implement a certain regularity anddiscipline in writing. Viewing texts as verbalicons, certain techniques were used in orderto exercise in writing different styles,genres, projecting texts for different audiencesas well. Personal organization and disciplinewas required also for homework exercises.Evaluation was viewed as an important aspectof development (MAY, 2007. 59.). Evaluationwas provided by peer learners and by thetrainers after

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each exercise, as well as in the end, in awritten form, by the trainers. Also, thetrainees were asked to evaluate the workshopsas a good opportunity to exercise criticalthinking and to depict their personalfeelings towards this type of activity.Freedom was the most used word in the laterevaluations. It confirmed the role of thecreative writing to expand horizons both forthe author and for the reader, to engage withimagination, but also with reality, to conveya certain message/ aspiration that the otherscan relate to.

The theory taught during the workshops andthe exercises used helped the participantslearn specific notions about different genres,writing styles, but also experiencing them;develop skills in communication–written and oral as well as increase theircreativity in perceiving and translatingexperience into written form. Understandingsome concepts about action, characters,dialog, monologue, time and space in writingwere important objectives in order to develop astrategy in writing. Another important aspectwas the understanding the social implication:sharing experiences to a various public in awritten form is both challenging and altersthe style and genre we choose for the writtentexts. The workshops functioned also as atherapy, encouraging the participants toaccept prison experience as life experience.The last part of the project was a readingevent, that aimed to echo their experiences to


a broader audience, to bring socialintegration and moral rehabilitation todisadvantaged a category of people.

4. Creative WritingWorkshops in a FemalePrison Setting in

Cluj-Napoca, Romania – StudyCase

1. Objectives,motivation

2. Background: who thetrainers are

3. Selection ofParticipants

4. Workshops: theory, writing,reading, feedback

5. Final works, new mediaproducts, results

6. Futurework

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4.1. Objectives, motivationThis projectaims to–promote social integration and moralrehabilitation of a group of women indetention in Cluj-Napoca Penitentiary,

–culturally educate thetarget audience

–and to help exclude the prejudice thatprevents their social inclusion bystimulating their creativity and building acreative context for creation, retrieval andfinally publish their texts.

The overall goal of the project wasimproving the image of women deprived ofliberty by assisting them in their culturalforming, and in expressing, developing andphrasing their life experiences.

The specific objectives of the projectimplied developing their creativity,improving their writing expression andfinding a unique style in writing. Secondary,the workshop’s purpose was to gain theprimary documentation for future new mediaproducts such as a film, a website, andfinally a published volume on CreativeWriting.

4.2. Background: who the trainers areNicoleta Ileana Sãlcudean is curently thedirector of Continuous Formation andLifelong Learning Department of the Babeº-Bolyai University, developing programs on


continuous formation and lifelong learning. Atthe same time, she is a lecturer at the sameuniversity, in the Department of Cinema andMedia Studies, teaching courses like: ResearchMethods in Visual Media, Creative Writing,Creative Writing Online, Movie Genres. Herspheres of interest are: cultural studies,sociology of culture, cultural policies,cinema studies, creative writing, worldview,eLearning, lifelong learning.

Emma Stãnescu is currently a Ph.D student atthe Faculty of Theater and Television, atBabeº-Bolyai University, working on a thesis onCreative Writing. She graduated fromJournalism in 2011 and from Theater Studiesin 2008, and has a Masters Degree in Theaterand Film studies. Her passion for CreativeWriting was expressed throughout differentprojects in the past years (personal blog,business website with a creative touch etc.).After reading, writing and doing a lot ofresearch on the

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topic, teaching Creative Writing has been anovelty and a new type of challenge for thePhD student.

4.3. Selection of ParticipantsCluj-Napoca Penitentiary currently imprisonsapproximately 200 female prisoners. Most ofthem have minimal education and many are evenilliterate. In the process of selecting thegroup of participants, the tutors have askedthe Penitentiary management for assistance. Agroup of thirty women was chosen by variouscriteria: education, life story or interestinglife events, willing to cooperate, social,writing and creative skills, jobs or hobbiesthey have had before being imprisoned thatwere related to the workshop etc.

However, the number of participants hasvaried through all the workshops due toworking hours, visiting hours, kitchen duties,or lack of interest. At the first meetingtwenty eight participants attended, out ofwhich only seventeen participated to all theworkshops, and only nine participated in thefinal event (the filming).

Noteworthy, most of the participants did notknow each other prior to the Creative WritingWorkshop.

4.4. Workshops: theory, writing,reading, feedback

The workshops took place May 2013, in aclassroom inside the prison, on a weekly/two


time per week basis. The seven seminarsemphasized on four important components:theory, practice (writing), reading the textand receiving feedback from the trainers.

TheoryEach meeting focused on one specifictheoretical aspect that was briefly discussed,such as: Space and Time, Character,Action,Dialog and Monologue etc. The exercises thatfollowed were related to the precedent lesson.

WritingThe highlight of every workshop was thewriting. Exercises aimed developing thestudent’s writing communication skills andfinding their own voice, while telling astory. Besides the therapeutic effect

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that writing has had on the participantshelping them cope with the imprisonment, manyof them referred to a spiritual rediscovery ofitself. Writing brought back memories theyhave abandoned and helped them reconnect withtheir past, their loved ones and their self.

Each session ended with an optional homework.Most of the participants blamed the noise andthe chaos in their cells for not completingthe tasks. The workshop was the only propermoment for them to have a quiet time and write.

ReadingEvery session of writing was followed by aninvitation to openly read the text. Many of theparticipants found it difficult to read aloudtheir writings.

FeedbackEach participantreceived feedback:–verbal feedback on form and on content, after readings in class or after homework,

–written feedback at the end of the workshop: an evaluation on every participant’s progressalong with a personal note from the trainers.

4.5. Final works, new media products, resultsFilm: In OtherWords„The work experience for this type of film is a true model ofwhat lifelong learning, especially in terms of interaction with


the environment: the prison. It had a great impact on our livesand has also challenged us to translate the detention statusinto an inspirational story, using new-media means,combining a strong life experience with moderncommunication technologies.” (TEDDY NECULA, DIRECTOR)

OnlinePlatformThe software solution, which is an onlineplatform accessible on the web and hosts thenew media documentary, is part of the post-production phase of the project ”In OtherWords”. The software is intended to be asupporting tool for the documentation /founding of the creative writing workshopwith the women from Cluj Napoca’s prison and

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a content and interactive experience deliverytool for the multimedia materials producedduring the production phase of project. Thenode map of the website follows the structureof the creative workshop, where a user cancreate his/her experience by navigatingthrough the stories of each inmate – the usercan browse through the characters, and foreach character the user can browse through thethematic writings produced at each writingsession. The platform has been developed inAdobe Edge, using HTML and JavaScript, and isresponsive, being accessible on mobile devicestoo.

4.6. Future workThe material that was created by the femaleprisoners in the workshop along with a theorypart on Creative Writing will be published byNicoleta Salcudean and Emma Stanescu in avolume. Supposedly, this will be the firstRomanian book dedicated exclusively to thetopic of Creative Writing. The volume willideally be published at the beginning of2013.

5. General ConclusionsLifelong learning competences and skills areimportant for leading a full and satisfiedpersonal and professional life. Vulnerablegroups of adults, most likely, lack many ofthe key competences described. Addressing


them can help improve the quality of lifeand has the potential to help them bettercope with their circumstances. Through theaccess to a course / workshop in creativewriting, also extracting and publishingfragments of their life story, we tried tochallenge the prejudice that prevents socialinclusion of these participants.

Students should be exposed to real lifeexperiences and should be encouraged to workwith adult learners. Learning how to solvecomplex problems in real life situations canbetter prepare students for the futureprofessional lives. As an educationalobjective, the project intended to create alearning environment for adult students, theopportunity to apply theoretical conceptstogether, but also the exposure to a specificinstitutional framework, a unique experienceof life.158


BibliographyAiles, Roger: You are the Message. Doubleday, New-York, 1995 Coupland, Nikolas: Style: Language Variations and Identity. CambridgeUniversity Press, UK, 2007

Donnelly, Dianne: Establishing Creative WritingStudies as an Academic Discipline. Library ofCongress, UK, 2012

May, Steve: Doing Creative Writing. Routledge, USA, 2007McGurl, Mark: The Program Era: Postwar Fiction and the Rise of Creative Writing. Harvard University Press, USA, 2009

Morley, David: The Cambridge Introduction toCreative Writing. Cambridge University Press, UK, 2007


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Developing Lifelong Learning Competences Through Creative Writing In A Female Prison Setting

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