Curriculum Development
From developing materials for the teaching of literacy to First Nations adults and instructional guides for elementary schools, to creating some of the most innovative training programs in the world for the training of community development workers, NESA is at the forefront of collaborative, culturally appropriate and participatory curriculum design. We are trained in all aspects of curriculum development – including providing DesignACurriculUM (DACUM) workshops and creating and implementing full training programs – and we have a remarkable track record of successful curriculum development. 

---

---

NOLA Youth Worker Training

Through its ongoing involvement with youth workers, city agencies and other youth development organizations, the New Orleans Partnership for Youth Development (PYD) identified a strong need for the development and delivery of a practical, effective training program for youth workers in New Orleans that would be designed for both in-service workers and for individuals wishing to enter the field.

​Committed to closing this gap and to increasing the effectiveness of youth work throughout the city, PYD contracted with NESA Principal Don Sawyer to develop the program. While part of the development process involved the examination of other programs and established best practices, as well as the latest research in youth development, from the beginning the program was to be field driven. 

To identify the genuine tasks involved in grassroots YW work in New Orleans and the skills, knowledge and traits important to be successful in the field, a DACUM session was held in September 2011 that brought together a broad cross-section of experienced New Orleans Youth Workers.

​Through a facilitated process, this team helped to identify the genuine tasks involved in grassroots YW work in New Orleans and the skills, knowledge and traits important to be successful in the field. Using this information as well as program elements from other training, along with input from a team of field advisors and experienced youth work professionals, Don designed curriculum activities that provided participatory, relevant and practical training in the critical areas identified. The resulting three-week training program is comprised of three modules and 40 participatory, interactive training activities.

Community Development Management Training in Ghana 

This CIDA-funded project, managed by NESA associates, was built on the recognition that the effectiveness of development agencies in northern Ghana was severely constrained by a lack of management proficiency at all levels of administration and that a better trained management sector would be able to provide greater support to grassroots development workers, thereby increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of poverty alleviation activities.

The resulting Community Development Management Training (CDMT) project, which began in 2002, identified management training needs through a DACUM consultation with professionals in the field, developed curriculum to train local management personnel in key skills, trained local trainers to deliver the program, supervised two pilot deliveries, and evaluated and revised the program.

By the end of the project in 2006, the University for Development Studies (UDS) had the capacity to provide training to community development management personnel on a sustained basis through tailored workshops and full certificate programs. 

​This enhanced capacity also furthered their reputation as the premier development institution in Ghana and will constitute a further step toward meeting their mandate of delivering innovative training to all sectors of the Ghanaian development community.

Global Classroom Initiative: Africa: Communities in Action Resource Kit 

The Africa: Communities in Action Resource Kit is comprised of two resources, a DVD of the award-winning Knowledge Network documentary The Gambia: Communities in Action, and the CIA Instructional Guide, which contains readings and more than 40 interactive, classroom-tested activities in critical areas applicable to the broad study of development issues throughout Africa and much of the developing world.

The DVD documentary is designed as a case study, providing students and teachers with a compelling, positive look at the West African Rural Development (WARD) program and trained community development workers putting their skills in action in rural Gambia, one of the poorest countries in the world. Many development issues introduced in the documentary, such as gender, cultural and religious challenges, poverty and rural-urban divisions are further explored in the student activities contained in the guide, while the documentary focuses on The Gambia as an African microcosm.

These two parts of the Africa: Communities in Action Resource Kit are complementary and mutually reinforcing, with the same overarching theme:  We all share the same planet with its limited resources and interconnected environment. We can no longer afford a “them and us” attitude. What affects Africa affects all of us.

This kit is being used in secondary and post-secondary classrooms across Canada and had earned rave reviews, including this comment from UN Special Envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa Stephen Lewis:

“It's hard to heap sufficient praise upon this Guide. I don't quite know how the authors and filmmakers pulled it off. I only know that it's an astonishing achievement.” ​

Watch the The Gambia: Communities In Action documentary here.