Most importantly, it helped them reflect on the transferable skills they have developed in their role as carers and enabled them to articulate these in a way that they would not previously have considered. This not only provided an important boost of confidence, leading in most cases to such a strengthening of self-belief that they can go forward and undertake more formal learning courses, but has also given those considering returning to employment a way of describing their skills and competences to potential employers. It has given them a language for describing their transferable skills.
"If you were unemployed and wanted to find out what skills you had, it would be good for someone like that. I liked it all. It offers a really good picture of the caring role.. helped me reflect what I already knew but enabled my thinking about it. It made me think about the responsibility I actually had - and set me thinking about what's transferable."Comments from carers at final pilot review. The focus on the development of their self-reflection and analysis may also help to support the process of lifelong learning (through what is known as building self-efficacy). Good levels of self-efficacy support motivation to learn as well as assist in achieving positive learning outcomes.
So, one could conclude that the content is relevant, and appears to lead to positive results. Whether the same response to the content would have been achieved in a more traditional classroom approach is impossible to tell. It is reasonable to suggest that the use of ICT technology has enabled a course that provides a framework for critical reflection to be accessible when and where and for as long as the learner chooses and that some of the positive outcome is attributable to the approach taken.
In summary, the learners found the programme content relevant, appropriate in tone and level and very valuable in enabling them to reflect on their role, the tasks and responsibilities they hold and helped them begin to articulate the types of transferable skills their role has already developed and to consider ways to develop and improve on those skills.
...continue to conclusions (p3)
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