Role of Local Knowledge

This section is devoted to raising your awareness on local and regional issues specific to your organisation that can influence the potential students' decision as to whether or not initiate an academic career.

Local knowledge provides a sense of identity for communities and residents. This identity facilitates common understandings, traditions, values and contributes to building a sense of local identity and solidarity. It represents a way of life. Local knowledge plays a central role in shaping community development, local character, and responses to needs. Providers of adult education can only be successful in engaging with potential students if they understand the communities and the people.

You can only be effective if you go to the people you want to engage, learn from them, understand their conditions and offer changes at a pace that they can accept. You probably think that you know your area well and have many opinions about what people would like to achieve and what their attitudes are. However, it is very important that you do research to really find out what people want, what they see as their problems, how they see solutions and what their attitudes are to change.

Demographics
Location and geography
Local history, culture and heritage
Ethnic and cultural diversity
Local source of information
Most popular courses
Key target groups
React to changes