About Clemente Australia

Clemente Australia is a highly innovative and effective venture in community engagement by the Australian Catholic University (ACU) in association with Mission Australia and the St Vincent de Paul Society.

The program aims to give disadvantaged and marginalised Australians renewed hope in a better tomorrow by reengaging them, in a meaningful way, with society both socially and economically.

Clemente is a unique program that brings university level education, delivered by ACU to disadvantaged people. The achievement of studying at a University level for someone who has been living on the edge of society is truly transformative.

"People see that I have a brain because I have done a university unit. I am back in society" (Clemente student)

"Events took away my confidence and self-esteem…the course helped me get back on track" (Clemente student)

Overview

The Clemente Australia program provides a tertiary level educational opportunity for poor and marginalised Australians. It is a transformative 21st century education program that aims to break the cycle of poverty, inequity and social injustice for less-advantaged and marginalised Australians.

Clemente Australia programs are adapted from the model of education that Earl Shorris developed in Humanities education to break the cycle of poverty for disadvantaged and marginalised people. The first Course was offered in 1995 in New York City at the Roberto Clemente Community Centre.

Social inclusion through community-embedded socially-supported (cess) university education (PPT, 2.96mb)

History

In 2003, Australian Catholic University (ACU), in collaboration with the St. Vincent de Paul Society and financial assistance from the Sisters of Charity and Sydney City Council, offered the first Australian Clemente program at the community centre of Vincentian Village in Yurong St, East Sydney.

In 2005, ACU and Mission Australia, a leading, national community services organisation, initiated a collaborative process to establish a second Sydney-based program titled 'Catalyst' to be offered at the Mission Australia Centre in Surry Hills, East Sydney.

In 2008, the program is run in seven locations across Australia and is continuing to expand.

Clemente Australia Timeline (PDF, 150kb)

Clemente Australia History - Bastian & Howard | 2008 (PDF, 100kb)

Location

The program is provided within a community setting, rather than at the university campus, to cater to the particular social and learning needs of the students as some students rely upon a range of services provided at the local community agency centre. In 2009, the Clemente Australia program is sponsored in eight locations:

Rationale

Clemente Australia uses a "strengths" based model. This model sees the students as having the strength and capability to shape their own goals, change their dispositions, and improve their life choices. Through greater social interaction and focused reflection they become agents in their re-engagement with society.

Clemente Australia is a community based program expressing a values base of empowering people through re-engaging them with community through tertiary study in the humanities. It is a program that has a clear focus on social inclusion of people who have been excluded from their community. The Clemente Australia program is founded on the values that underlie the humanities, designed to empower students to become more reflective and intellectually engaged by offering rigorous learning in an authentic, respectful, and transformative way.

The basic approach of Clemente Australia is fundamentally different from the traditional outreach, deficit-based model, where experts provide services to disadvantaged people. Usually vocational or 'life skills' courses are offered to disadvantaged people, with the aim of fostering employability, independent living, and self-management skills. Whilst vocational courses are important, it is equally important that the full potential of education to transform the lives of people be realised (Stevenson, Yashin-Shaw & Howard, 2007).

Clemente Australia Profile (PDF, 427kb)

Program Structure

Clemente Student Pre-requisites

The basic prerequisites for Clemente students include:

• A desire to learn
• A willingness to commit to a 12 week program
• A literacy level that is sufficient to read a newspaper
• Having a degree of stability in their lives
• Being aged over 18 years old.

Admission to each course includes an interview process, whereby potential students are informed as to the nature of the course, and their willingness and ability to participate in the necessary studies are discussed.

Program Units

Subjects are usually humanities based. They include topics such as Ethics, Indigenous Australia, Politics, Philosphy Spirituality in Australian Literature, Art History and Theory, and 2D Art Practice.

Class Sizes

It is recommended that the class size of each course be restricted to a maximum of 15 people, to ensure sufficient opportunity for individual student's learning needs to be addressed.

Length of study

Students can undertake one or more units a semester which are approved by the Academic Board of Australian Catholic University. These units have the same related content, readings and assessment tasks as mainstream undergraduate students.

A unit is taught across a 12 week period. Each week students attend a two-hour lecture and a one-hour 'shared learning' tutorial-style session. The students generally study one unit a semester and complete the required four units over a two year period.

Upon the successful completion of four (4) units students receive a Certificate in Liberal Studies, a non-award accredited university qualification.

Learning Partners Support for Students

The 'shared learning' sessions are staffed by volunteers from the business, community and corporate sectors. These volunteers are known as 'learning partners', to reflect the fact that both the students and the volunteers learn from their experiences of interacting with one another. The role of the Learning Partner is focused more on the process as they explore the unit content with the student rather than on expertise in the unit subject matter.

Learning partners are provided with a professional briefing prior to the commencement of the courses. Their role is to assist the students in undertaking and completing their tasks, assignments, and other coursework, especially with regard to the use of technology and written language skills. The learning partners who have supported the program and engaged with marginalised people find they learnt much about a part of the community they may never have experienced.

"We are out of practice or simply haven’t got the writing and computer skills and the Learning Partners give us individual attention. This help is what we sink or swim by" (Clemente Student)

Roles

Australian Catholic University provides academics who offer a positive experience of tertiary education, and awards the university's Certificate of Liberal Studies to those students who complete the required units of study.

The community organisations provide well-resourced learning environments for the program as well as personal and material support for students. Corporate, professional, and community volunteers act as "learning partners" to students in planning, writing, research, and computer skills.

"Learning Partners basically make the whole process a success, by their contribution, dedication and working along side us. They encourage and inspire us and make us feel good about ourselves. They also help discipline us when we go astray or don’t do what we should be doing" (Clemente Student)

Student Outcomes

As a direct result involvement in the related programs students, have become more independent, have improved long-term well-being, and are socially and are more economically engaged in Australian society (Yashin-Shaw, Howard & Butcher 2005).

After graduating students can undertake further study at university or TAFEor seek employment. Now, Clemente Australia graduates are enrolled, or re-enrolled, at universities in both undergraduate and postgraduate programs.

Clemente Australia has contributed to improvements in marginalised people's:

• Personal health and wellbeing through enhanced self-understanding, confidence and productivity and management of personal health;
• Sense of belonging to a social group and capacity for social engagement; and
• Competencies, communication skills, and capacities for volunteer or paid work.

By 2008, more than 15 academics, 12 organisations, over 60 learning partners and more than 120 "marginalised" people have been involved in the program. There are already 10 graduates of Clemente Australia with 7 of these having continued further university study at undergraduate, post graduate or doctoral levels.

"Learning Partners make the process of study less lonely. We might have a problem that we think we can’t overcome and then we see our LP who breaks the task into nice easy stages. Sometimes this process actually stops us dropping out" (Clemente Student)

Research

Collaborative research has been critical to the partnership since its beginning, and the various agencies and institutions have established a joint research agenda for further investigation, reporting, and publication of Clemente Australia program outcomes. This research is driving change and influencing public policy and practice in the sector.

The Clemente program provides a focus for cross-discipline research activity including, but not limited to, Education, Theology, Social Work, Health, Wellbeing, Social Inclusion and Public Policy.

Clemente Australia Papers Research (PDF, 137kb)

Promoting social inclusion: emerging evidence from the Catalyst-Clemente program’ (PDF, 73kb) (Howard, P., Marchant, T., Hampshire, A., Butcher, J., Egan, L. & Bredhauer, K. (2008), Australian Journal of Adult Learning, 48 (3), 479-501)

Australian Research Council (ARC) Linkage Grant - Australian Catholic University, Edith Cowan University, Curtin University, Murdoch University, Mission Australia, St Vincent de Paul (NSW) and St Vincent de Paul (National Council)

"Learning Partners are essential to the Catalyst Clemente program because they give emotional and academic support, without them we would be lost" (Clemente Student)

"Study is the highlight of our lives and the Learning Partners help make it enjoyable." (Clemente Student)

Media

Clemente Australia has received broad national and local media coverage. These include the following:

• Snapshot
• ABC's 7:30 Report,
• The Sydney Morning Herald,
• The Age
• Courier Mail
• Acunique

Contact

Email the Institute for Advancing Community Engagement at iace@acu.edu.au for information on Clemente Australia

Community agencies, government, corporations and universities are engaging to build an inter-organisational and personal capacity that has opened up new possibilities for all. Clemente Australia is a practical educational solution that has resulted in enhancing the life opportunities and choices for Australians.