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‘Knowledge management’? What is the connection between the C of E 'Hind Report' group working on Education for Discipleship, James Fowler, David Miliband, and the concept of knowledge management? Round Britain Quiz anyone? The EfD group is charged with producing a specification for Christian learning that might be expected of someone presenting themselves for ordination training. Many have worried that this focus would make the educational provision unsuitable for all those disciples of Christ who are called to lay ministry. But news is emerging that the group is developing a framework of goals and criteria within which Regional Training Partnerships are invited to develop flexible programmes, and that these will aim at equipping people for discipleship in God's world rather than for any specific church ministry that they might later go into. Flexibility, alternative provision and the determination of local need will undoubtedly be a central part of mainstream education. In his speech “Personalising Education: The Future of Public Sector Reform”, School Standards Minister David Miliband said: “This leads straight to the promise of personalised learning. It means building the organisation of schooling around the needs, interests and aptitudes of individual pupils; it means shaping teaching around the way different youngsters learn; it means taking the care to nurture the unique talents of every pupil. I believe it is *the* debate in education today.” Meanwhile, Tony Horsfall, in an article entitled Jumping Ship (Christianity + Renewal, February 2004), reminds us of psychologist James Fowler's Stages of Faith (HarperSanFrancisco, 1995). Stage 3 might be labelled ‘The Loyalist’, who has deeply held but not critically examined beliefs ... “ the most common stage for adult church-goers.” So Stage 4 (‘The Critic’), 5 (‘The Seer’) and 6 (‘The Saint’) are rarely reached? Horsfall's interviews with many he's met suggest that growing out of Stage 3 may be one reason why a million people left the churches during the ‘Decade of Evangelism’. He asks: “Can we base our discipleship on the metaphor of journey, encourage exploration and questioning, and be more open to the struggles that some people have? Can we live with mystery and allow a degree of uncertainty, while holding to a central core of absolute truth? Are we secure enough to give people room to grow and find themselves?” The openness, flexibility and personalisation of which each of these angles speaks carries with it complexity and the likelihood of overlap between providers. Modularisation, cataloguing and centrally facilitated dialogue are needed to ensure complementary rather than duplicate courses and flexibility should be enabled through learning elements that can be marshalled into new configurations. Computers and the Internet can help and also allow individual learners to find provision that matches their need. But this is the crude, ‘content’, end of knowledge management, alongside which we must consider context and narrative, according to Dave Snowden, Director of one of IBM's strategic research divisions. But we are “Out of time” or rather “words”. More on Snowden, ‘narrative’ and communities of practice next time. Yours in Christ, |
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