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What was planned?
The Project was a partnership between Keighley FE College Construction Curriculum Centre, Education Bradford Community and Continuing Education Service, the Construction Industry Training Board, The Guide Association and 5 Primary Schools (Ingrow, Oldfield, Oakworth, Oxenhope and Laycock). The project set out to challenge prevailing gender stereotypes about the construction industry by focusing on a partnership between the college, the Guide Association and schools. The project also aimed to facilitate relationships between Guide and Brownie Units and their local primary schools, to identify links between the activities in the project, Guide and Brownie Badges and the National Curriculum, and to seek the recognition in schools of achievements beyond school.
What was done and when?
Between September 2000 and February 2002, 23 after school workshops were held on varying weekdays, mostly on the college site. The average attendance at the workshops was about twenty girls supported by guide/brownie leaders, voluntary helpers, teachers and parents. Each workshop promoted participation in traditionally male dominated occupational activities such as bricklaying, joinery, painting and decorating and motor vehicle maintenance. Each workshop lasted for about two hours and involved practical activities - usually on the college site but occasionally using the resources at a school, e.g. computers. By the end of the programme sessions had included bricklaying, carpentry and joinery, painting and decorating, miniature dry stone walling, computing, electronics, motor vehicle maintenance, hairdressing and beauty therapy.
In March 2001, the college provided a workshop and tuition in spray painting and stencilling at a Brownie Interest Day sponsored in a local school. In March 2002 over a hundred Guides attended an Interest Day at the college, choosing activities from a carousel of all the activities experienced in the after school sessions.
What has the impact been?
While the young people interviewed acknowledged the acquisition of practical skills in traditionally male dominated activities their predominant emphasis was on their personal development and social skills. A frequent response was that the project gave them more confidence in talking to adults, in meeting other guides and making new friends and gave them the confidence to try something new. They rated highly the development of their ability to work as part of a team. The schools welcomed the impact of the project for the reinforcement of learning rather than taking the place of units of the curriculum and acknowledged the contribution made to girls' development. Comments from teachers and guide leaders indicate that while there may be problems in the exact matching of the school curriculum with specific badges, the work undertaken repeats, reinforces and enriches learning at school especially for those with special needs.
The head of a small school in a relatively isolated rural area particularly noted the benefit for the children to be able to develop wider social contacts for the young people through the project.
What was learnt and what were the next steps?
From the outset the view was that the 2 year project had to be the basis for a long term plan for development. Thus, funding was secured early in the life of the project for a further three years' sustained work and consideration is already being given to draft funding bids for three years after that. The outline plan is to sustain the partnership between the Guide Association and the schools, continuing the mapping of activities against the school curriculum, and also to widen it to include the scout movement.
In addition to this, the project has attracted some national interest - the Construction Industry Training Board has approached the National Guide Association to produce a Resource Pack with a view to replicating the project at other colleges around the country. Funding has also been provided by the Regional Development Agency for an exhibition stand and publications to disseminate information about the project.
Key to the success of the project were the management and organisation, and the excellent relationships fostered between the partners in the planning process. The high quality of resources available and the levels of support by lecturers, teachers, guide/brownie leaders, voluntary helpers and parents were also important. One of the participating schools saw such benefit from the project that it has subsequently purchased the services of the College Construction Curriculum Centre to work with potentially underachieving Year 6 boys.
