Dr. Gerald Fallon
Dr. Gerald Fallon is an Associate Professor in the Department of Educational Studies (Faculty of Education) at the University of British Columbia. His research focuses on issues of social justice and cultural diversity, with specific threads related to school law and human rights, school finance, educational policy, Aboriginal education, sustainability, educational leadership, and community engagement & development in post-conflict societies. Dr. Fallon is also Co-Director of the research group Educación y Diversidad Internacional (EDI) based at the Universidad de Antioquia in Medellin, Colombia. This research group works in the field of community-based development, education, and cultural diversity in rural and conflict areas of South and Central America. He is also a member of the Scientific Committee of the Sustainability and Education Policy Network (SEPN). This research group focuses on the critical analysis and development of sustainability policy and practice in education to support the transition to more environmentally sustainable societies.
Abstract
The nature of community engagement with external experts and agencies (whether states, universities, think-tanks, or NGOs) in various cultural setting is complex and diverse. Community engagement needs to be understood as an inherently political learning process rather than as a standardized technique to be reproduced regardless of context. In this presentation, I will be sharing a community engagement story as one of a participatory process involving a number of features of human relationships and learning like self-worth and vitality; actions of mutual concern and support; knowledge, values, experiences, and perspectives; relations and connections; and creative quests for culturally relevant solutions.
This presentation will provide an account of the conceptual and practical dimensions of a community-engagement process created and experimented by a group of community-based organizations and expert institutions in the field of education, leadership, and sustainability in Colombia and in Haiti. First, there will be a discussion about the conceptual foundations of university-community engagement process. Based on the Colombian and Haitian experiences, the presentation will focus on some of the strategies used in building a collaborative learning process among diverse partners in tackling various local issues.
February 23, 2016
4:30 - 6:00 PM
Halpern Centre (Room 114) - Burnaby Campus
Please RSVP by February 15
For more information and to RSVP, please contact: crie@sfu.ca
