Sharon McCormack: Higher Diploma in Social Policy Class 2004/2005 and International Project Week in Nordhausen – An Overview of our Work with the German Students
The rationale behind our weeklong visit to Nordhausen, Germany was a group project the Higher Diploma in Social Policy 2005 class undertook in October 2004. The aim was to investigate both Ireland and Germany’s welfare states and the position of lone parents within the welfare states. The German students were also examining the differences between the two welfare states. Many challenges arose at each stage of this project and consequently huge learning took place.
In January students from the Fachhochschule in Nordhausen came to Ireland and this begun the comparative work. At this stage we were both just beginning our research and during this week initial comparative work began. We divided into groups to look at different areas and made plans for our week in Germany. During the week in January the weather was probably the worst we have had all year and the students had to brave the elements everyday. The wet, windy and cold day in Kinsale and Inchydoney was certainly a challenge. We invited speakers on specific areas in to talk to us on different areas of social policy and the welfare state in order to provide the German Students with an insight of what types of policies Ireland have and how various organisations operate. Indeed we learnt a great deal ourselves from these insightful speakers. This week provided an opportunity to get to know each other and begin work on our project.
We arrived in Nordhausen for International Project week at the end of April. This week was organised by the Fachhochschule in Nordhausen. Indeed a full week was planned for us. As worried students, with our exams ahead of us once we returned from Germany, we packed our social policy books and notes with great intentions of many productive hours of study. However, as it transpired there was simply no time for study. We were kept busy all of the time with work on our project and presentation and our visits to various agencies.
In Nordhausen during that week there were many Students and Lecturers from all over Europe working on various projects for the week. The projects covered all areas from technology, business, childcare even Irish dancing. Our project was one of approximately 30 that were taking place during the week. Our project was a little different to all the other groups that attended the week as we had been working on ours during the year as a great deal of qualitative and quantitative research was required.
We met the students that had been to Ireland in January to continue work that had already begun. At this stage we had carried out our Irish Research, each of the Social policy students from UCC had researched qualitatively and quantitatively the barriers to participation facing lone parents in Ireland. Topics covered included the following:
During the international week our aim was to work together with the German students so we could draw comparisons to our work and research completed in Ireland. Every morning (except for one morning as their was a party on in the college the night before) was dedicated to this type of work and our afternoons entailed visits organised by the German students for us. This allowed us to gain an insight into the working reality of social policy and social issues in Germany. The other reports from my class mates detail these visits.
It appeared during the course of the week that we had different expectations for the week than the German students had and this posed many difficulties for us. We had completed in-depth research on lone parents and their experiences of participation in the areas outlined above and had thought that the same would be done in Germany before we arrived to enable us to work together to look at what is the same in Germany and Ireland, how it is the same and how things differ. However, this was not the case and we became a little disorientated when we learnt that the group had just sent out their questionnaires and that we would not be able to make as detailed a comparison as has been expected by us. After discussing our issues and difficulties, as a result of this revelation, in the group we had to make a decision to split into smaller groups and work on topics for the week in order to draw some comparisons. We decided to do this by introducing our research to the Germans and asking them specific questions about Lone Parents and Germany. We worked on comparing poverty, employment and childcare. This exchange formed the basis of our presentation for the end of the week. At the end of project week all groups were required to present their work to all the participants of the project week.
We encountered many difficulties during the week while working with the German students. Many of these were as a result of cultural differences which both groups had to learn about, accept and find a way of working together e.g. we adopted a different approach to preparing a presentation to the German students and these posed a challenge as both groups had difficulty in understanding the differences. However, we overcame this challenge by sitting down and explaining to each other our approaches and why we choose such an approach. For me the whole experience was much more than learning about Germany and lone parents and how to carry out comparative research. It was also about learning how to work within a group and with another group. It was about learning to work with people from another country with different values, experiences, culture and teaching. It was about learning how to negotiate differences and learn from them. It was about appreciating and accepting difference.
While the week and indeed the process involved in the project presented many difficulties. These difficulties provided us with learning opportunities. In overcoming and in dealing with these difficulties we developed new skills and knowledge that can only be acquired from hands on practical experiences such as this visit to Nordhausen and in undertaking comparative research. Such skills and knowledge are increasingly important in a global society and economy that requires us to work collaboratively and effectively with our neighbouring countries and indeed further afield when it comes to social policy issues.