Education and Training Initiatives at the Central Methodist Church Refugee House in Johannesburg

Zimbabwean economic migrants and political refugees have been given refuge and provided with shelter at the Central Methodist Church (CMC) Refugee House, in central Johannesburg. The refugees have successfully initiated learning and training programmes which resulted in the establishment of a combi...

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Main Author: Peter Pausigere
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: University of the Free State 2013-06-01
Series:Perspectives in Education
Subjects:
Online Access:http://196.255.246.28/index.php/pie/article/view/1804
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author Peter Pausigere
author_facet Peter Pausigere
author_sort Peter Pausigere
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description Zimbabwean economic migrants and political refugees have been given refuge and provided with shelter at the Central Methodist Church (CMC) Refugee House, in central Johannesburg. The refugees have successfully initiated learning and training programmes which resulted in the establishment of a combined school, namely St Albert Street Refugee School, an adult education programme, a pre-school, an infant day care, an Adult Basic Education Training (ABET) and vocational training centres for sewing, basic computer studies and waitering courses. The research presented here was conducted over a period of five months. It used an ethnographic approach and employed three primary strategies for gathering data: non-participant observation, interviewing and document collection. Using the theoretical framework of the Community Based Approach (CBA) to refugee education development, the article explains how the weekly refugee and School Council meetings served as forums for initiating education and training programmes and for important decisions that influenced the refugees’ education and training policies and curriculum guidelines. The Refugee School’s adoption of a modified Cambridge curriculum resulted in ‘Renewed education for repatriation’, whilst the vocational skills centres orientated themselves towards the ‘Adjusted education for integration’, which prepares adult refugees to integrate into the host country’s economic communities.
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spelling doaj.art-e656a5d918104c88bc0ee1681b4321af2024-03-18T11:11:42ZengUniversity of the Free StatePerspectives in Education0258-22362519-593X2013-06-0131210.38140/pie.v31i2.1804Education and Training Initiatives at the Central Methodist Church Refugee House in JohannesburgPeter Pausigere0University of the Witwatersrand Zimbabwean economic migrants and political refugees have been given refuge and provided with shelter at the Central Methodist Church (CMC) Refugee House, in central Johannesburg. The refugees have successfully initiated learning and training programmes which resulted in the establishment of a combined school, namely St Albert Street Refugee School, an adult education programme, a pre-school, an infant day care, an Adult Basic Education Training (ABET) and vocational training centres for sewing, basic computer studies and waitering courses. The research presented here was conducted over a period of five months. It used an ethnographic approach and employed three primary strategies for gathering data: non-participant observation, interviewing and document collection. Using the theoretical framework of the Community Based Approach (CBA) to refugee education development, the article explains how the weekly refugee and School Council meetings served as forums for initiating education and training programmes and for important decisions that influenced the refugees’ education and training policies and curriculum guidelines. The Refugee School’s adoption of a modified Cambridge curriculum resulted in ‘Renewed education for repatriation’, whilst the vocational skills centres orientated themselves towards the ‘Adjusted education for integration’, which prepares adult refugees to integrate into the host country’s economic communities. http://196.255.246.28/index.php/pie/article/view/1804refugee-emergency educationCommunity Based Approach (CBA)Central Methodist Church (CMC)
spellingShingle Peter Pausigere
Education and Training Initiatives at the Central Methodist Church Refugee House in Johannesburg
Perspectives in Education
refugee-emergency education
Community Based Approach (CBA)
Central Methodist Church (CMC)
title Education and Training Initiatives at the Central Methodist Church Refugee House in Johannesburg
title_full Education and Training Initiatives at the Central Methodist Church Refugee House in Johannesburg
title_fullStr Education and Training Initiatives at the Central Methodist Church Refugee House in Johannesburg
title_full_unstemmed Education and Training Initiatives at the Central Methodist Church Refugee House in Johannesburg
title_short Education and Training Initiatives at the Central Methodist Church Refugee House in Johannesburg
title_sort education and training initiatives at the central methodist church refugee house in johannesburg
topic refugee-emergency education
Community Based Approach (CBA)
Central Methodist Church (CMC)
url http://196.255.246.28/index.php/pie/article/view/1804
work_keys_str_mv AT peterpausigere educationandtraininginitiativesatthecentralmethodistchurchrefugeehouseinjohannesburg