Australian Study Circles Network

This resource is a collaborative work in progress. The framework depicted in these charts is designed to help people navigate through the range of options available and to make choices that are appropiate for circumstances and resources.

It is estimated that between 1.2–1.6 million Swedes take part each year in various study circles. These are considered to be significant for democracy. The empirical evidence for this claim is scrutinized in this text. The theoretical basis for the interpretation is meanings given to the concept of democracy in the discourse on democracy. Seven [...]

The National Coalition for Dialogue & Deliberation (NCDD) is an active network and community of practice centered around confl ict resolution and public engagement practices. Our 1,300+ members help people work together across partisan, ethnic and other divides to address today’s toughest problems, and NCDD provides them with much-needed support, connections, and resources.

Study Circles are another technique that has a variety of different uses and variations. At it’s core a study circle comprises a small group of people, usually between 5 -12 who look at a particular subject in depth and develop some recommendations or decisions from their study.

Study Circles are another technique that has a variety of different uses and variations. At it’s core a study circle comprises a small group of people, usually between 5 -12 who look at a particular subject in depth and develop some recommendations or decisions from their study. Variations include: Who establishes the Circles? Who provides [...]

The origins of study circles can be traced back to the Chautauqua movement in the USA in the late nineteenth century. However, interest diminished in the USA and the Swedes discovered and enthusiastically imported the study circle idea as a remedy to their problems of poverty and illiteracy and to educate the broadest possible spectrum [...]

Deliberative democracy has entered a kind of aolescence. Many of the broad questions emerging from its infancy have been explored extensively, and thus we know much more about both the potential and the limits of deliberation than we did a decade ago. That said, the future is still open, especially in matters of practice. More [...]

This resource is a collaborative work-in-progress, initially developed to help inform workshops that Sandy Heierbacher presented in 10/05 with Tonya Gonzalez (at Study Circles’ national conference) and Jan Elliott (at the Canadian Conference on Dialogue & Deliberation), and a beginner’s toolkit that National Coalition for Dialogue and Deliberation is in the process of developing. Feel [...]

In this edition of AJAL is an article that discusses the history and evolution of study circles and the development of the Australian Study Circles Network. The key aspects and features of the Dialogue to Change Program are highlighted.

The recently released Australasian Survey of Student Engagement produced by ACER showed that international students in USA universities have higher levels of engagement with their institution when compared to international students enrolled in Australasian universities. See the work of Nancy Thomas from The Democracy Imperative in the USA, and her efforts to mobilize the higher education sector [...]