edna.edu.au

Open Culture. Closed Culture.

 After finishing a submission to the Procedures Committee I thought it was time to do a comparison in Cultures. I should explain that I use this committee as a barometer of Innovation in this country. This comparison is between a closed Australian culture and a more open Dutch one. One primary comparison in social conventions, I use when talking to women, is comparing a country with the highest home birth rate with one that has the (near) highest interventions in birthing.

The beauty is that it is very easy to point to the habits and thoughts of the closed Australian conventions. Technically, Aussies are the best. For those few people that I've actually spoken to, you'll know I use govdex and edna as examples of an industrial mindset. i.e produce and deliver a service being the primary language of an outmoded paradigm.

In government, our friends at AGIMO have created a place where producers can feel comfortable in their profession. It is an attempt to bring similar groups = committees buried in three levels of government = to an online environment where they can talk though how to coordinate their activities; their programmes. It's perfectly obvious, if you look to the bottom of this page, where citizens are meant to stand.

In education, it's a bit more open. Bureaucrats even let this lifelong learner into this govdex.edu.au space (about 8 years ago now); under false pretences I'll admit. Just backtrack to me.edu.au and you'll see that this space is for educators. it's never made completely clear what qualifications one requires to be admitted, although one is encouraged to create a professional profile and "connect with educators with similar interests". The implication being that students needn't apply.

My problem has always been that I just want to learn, and I'm not bad at it. So far as being a teacher; in my limited experience, pretty poor. I'm also arrogant enough, due to my experience of teachers, to know that very few can learn as easily as they teach. Perception is not a skill which is included in their teaching toolkit. Spoonfeeding is the primary skillset.

That's why i find myself at home in a Dutch culture far more than an Australian. Their progressives talk about things like Open Education Resources and Lifelong Learning. Australia's talk about "building a curriculum" and edna sectors, of which I'm taught their are five. i.e. three for ages of life, one vocational and one professional. The top of the tree, as most people see it, is inhabited by professional writers of white papers (with letters after their name to provide credibility). 

So it's hardly surprising, when people in Australian government (or education) issue papers talking about Innovation, that one comment remain a constant. It's usually something like "data appears to indicate that, while most employees are keen to be innovative and act on new ideas, more than half do not clearly perceive an innovation culture in their agency." "If only other people would change, so could I", is the one I get the most.

But to my relief, I see that a thing called AGOSP is soon to "be delivered". It so much the same as me.edu.au that with my open (and reasonably technical) mindset, I just can't tell the difference. Damn it. I better go back to school. But in which sector?

Tags: culture
Posted at 07:22AM Sep 25, 2009 by simon fenton - jones  |  Comments[0]