Students due to embark on an exciting educational project in Montenegro
Tuesday, 02 March 2010
Dr Andy Kempe leading a drama session in The Education Centre
'This is a great opportunity, both for us here at The Education Centre, and the Reading students.'
Following a preliminary visit in December to Berane, Montenegro, Dr Andy Kempe, from the Institute of Education, has chosen six PGCE students to participate in an exciting project there this summer. The purpose of Dr Kempe's trip was to pave the way for a small number of Drama and English teaching trainees from the university to spend three weeks in Berane this summer, working with the children at a non-governmental learning centre, called The Education Centre (E&T).
This joint project is part of Reading's unique PGCE enhancement programme, and will provide mutual benefit for both the English and Montenegrin students. Over thirty students submitted a formal statement of interest explaining why they wanted to take part and what personal strengths and experiences they had that would enable them to work well with the children in Berane. The six successful candidates, who were chosen based on the strength of their applications and also the level of enthusiasm that they had for the project, are Alexa Massingham, Abigail Stead, Nicola Handyside (studying for a PGCE in Drama), Rebecca Hebert, Natasha Lakovic (Modern Foreign Languages) and Ravleen Wasu (English).
Dr Kempe was welcomed to the country as a guest of Vladimir and Saveta Laban, who have established an education and training centre in the town in order to provide opportunities for young people to improve their English through drama. The Education Centre (E&T) is an extremely important resource, considering the Balkan state's recent troubled history which has left it virtually destitute and lacking the infra-structure to capitalise on its potential as a tourist hot-spot. ‘Montenegro is one of the poorest countries in Europe. Its future as an independent nation and productive contributor to the global community rests with its young people. As ever though, their success will rely on how much support the adult world is prepared to give them,' Dr Kempe explained.
Vladimir Laban is delighted that so many Reading students want to make a contribution to the development of the young people in Berane, and is sure that the project will make a big difference: ‘Firstly, it is a great opportunity for our students to improve their English; they are very excited that English students are flying all the way to Berane to work with them. Similarly the English students will gain experience in teaching their own language as a foreign language. We are really looking forward to welcoming them to Montenegro.'
Dr Kempe first met the founders of the centre at a conference on drama and theatre last April, in Austria. They discussed the possibility of some Reading students travelling over to Montenegro to help at the summer school, and Dr Kempe has since transformed the idea into a Further Development Placement (FDP) for a small number of students. All students undertake an FDP during their PGCE course, as they provide an excellent opportunity to gain experience of education within a different setting.
This summer, after spending a week in the local elementary school where they will get to know the children, the PGCE students will begin their work at the Educational Centre's summer school. This second part of the project will involve running drama and English language workshops to a range of different groups, and also working with a core group of about twenty teenagers in order to devise a play, in English, using the children's own ideas. The play will be performed at the end of the third week.
More information on The E&T: The centre, which was founded in May 2000, provides a place where the 300 children, whose ages range from three to nineteen years old, can learn, share experiences, and help each other. The children take part in workshops which use informal educational techniques to enhance their language skills and aid them in their elementary and secondary school programmes. The centre also runs training courses for adults to help them develop their English in order to make a finding a job easier.