Pttls Initial Assessment Essay: What Is the Role of a Tutor in the Lifelong Learning Sector?
/Role: a function or part played by a person or thing in a particular situation.
1) When considering the role of the tutor in the Lifelong Learning Sector (LLS), it is necessary to understand the context or environment in which that role exists.
The Lifelong Learning Sector comprises students from many backgrounds and age ranges, with diverse goals and expectations. They are described as being engaged in the personal or professional “on-going, voluntary and self-motivated” pursuit of knowledge (Department of Education and Science, 2000). They may be looking to gain new job skills, enhance their present qualifications, or pursue an extracurricular interest. When one considers there are more students enrolled in Further Education than there are in universities, and that one in every five adults is engaged in learning, Sage (2008 p. 4) the impact the LLS has in enhancing the “social inclusion…personal development [and] employability” (Commission of the European Communities, 2006) for the wider community comes into sharp focus. The role of the tutor within that sector becomes pivotal to the success of those learners.
Teachers in the Lifelong Learning Sector are one of the first and most inspiring resources a student may encounter. They have the ability to make the classroom experience a success or failure for every student they teach. Teachers are the main resource of a very large context of services offered by the LLS, and their primary role is to ensure that “learning is taking place” Gravells (2012, p.5).
Learning however, won’t take place just because one wishes it; the opportunity for learning must be created by the teacher. This happens when the teacher is knowledgeable and proficient in the subject they teach, when they have the desire to pass on information and skills sets to others, and when they gain satisfaction from helping others achieve educational goals. Only then, will they be able to serve the needs of the learners by “teaching in a way that
1) When considering the role of the tutor in the Lifelong Learning Sector (LLS), it is necessary to understand the context or environment in which that role exists.
The Lifelong Learning Sector comprises students from many backgrounds and age ranges, with diverse goals and expectations. They are described as being engaged in the personal or professional “on-going, voluntary and self-motivated” pursuit of knowledge (Department of Education and Science, 2000). They may be looking to gain new job skills, enhance their present qualifications, or pursue an extracurricular interest. When one considers there are more students enrolled in Further Education than there are in universities, and that one in every five adults is engaged in learning, Sage (2008 p. 4) the impact the LLS has in enhancing the “social inclusion…personal development [and] employability” (Commission of the European Communities, 2006) for the wider community comes into sharp focus. The role of the tutor within that sector becomes pivotal to the success of those learners.
Teachers in the Lifelong Learning Sector are one of the first and most inspiring resources a student may encounter. They have the ability to make the classroom experience a success or failure for every student they teach. Teachers are the main resource of a very large context of services offered by the LLS, and their primary role is to ensure that “learning is taking place” Gravells (2012, p.5).
Learning however, won’t take place just because one wishes it; the opportunity for learning must be created by the teacher. This happens when the teacher is knowledgeable and proficient in the subject they teach, when they have the desire to pass on information and skills sets to others, and when they gain satisfaction from helping others achieve educational goals. Only then, will they be able to serve the needs of the learners by “teaching in a way that
Bibliography: Commission of the European Communities, 2006. Adult learning: It is never too late to learn., Brussels: COM. Department of Education and Science, 2000. Learning for Life: White Paper On Adult Education, Dublin: Stationery Office. Duckworth, V. &. Tummons, J., 2010. The Changing Face of the Lifelong Learning Sector. In: McGraw-Hill, ed. Contemporary Issues in Lifelong Learning. Edge Hill University, University of Teeside: Open University Press. Francis, M., 2008. Becoming a Professional in the Lifelong Learning Sector-roles, responsibilities and boundaries, London: Sage. Gravells, A., 2012. Preparing to Teach in the Lifelong Learning Sector-the new award.. Exeter: Sage: Learning Matters. Scales, P., 2008. Teaching in the Lifelong Learning Sector. Maidenhead: McGraw-Hill. “Intention is everything.”—Lu Tzu