Produce a report addressing the following scenario:
Writing on behalf of the teaching or leadership team of a school, you are addressing the
local mayor to propose and seek support for a school-community initiative focused on
reducing urban exclusion.
Choose a disability school(special needs school) in either Egypt or other countries in South Africa as a real context. The report should begin with a problem evaluation, and develop a persuasive,
evidence-based argument in support of your proposed solution. Specifically, you should clearly
state the proposal’s objectives, rationale, and implementation plan, as well as the strategies you
propose to use to address potential challenges and risks and to monitor and evaluate the
proposal’s success.
Highlights:
It is a Report not exactly an essay: differences in writing style and ways to frame an argument and present evidence
Scenario: consider both on behalf of whom you are writing, and whom you are addressing (e.g. researchers/university leadership; school team/mayor; consultant/city council), and do reflect on the relationships at play.
Pick a real-life case from wherever in the world, but do your homework (e.g. research the ‘glocal’ context, and come up with a suitable problematisation and strategy).
In essence, your report should propose a detailed solution to a social problem/grand challenge (e.g. gender, racial, class inequalities; urban exclusion; need for urban regeneration). But the brief is purposefully broad, which means you should explain how that problem plays out in the specific context/case you have chosen [e.g. racial inequalities are experienced differently in USA or South Africa etc.]
You are asked to propose a ‘solution’ that entails meaningful collaboration between educational actors and communities. But – once again – the brief is quite broad (“initiative”, “incubator”..). This is because you are expected to reflect on specific needs and challenges at play in the case you have chosen, and come up with an approach that fits them (remember AR guidelines..?).
While this is not an academic essay, you are still expected to use academic sources to back up your arguments and suggestions. Some could come from this module’s reading list, but some others should be retrieved through further research.
report should be as clear, coherent and readable as possible.
Make sure you use appropriate terminology, but do not exceed in complexity simply for complexity’s sake (asking a friend to read your work is always a good idea).
Referencing correctly is essential, and you’ll need a final reference list.
Do have fun with images and other visual aids..!
Good reports (just like essays..!) come in all shapes and sizes: there is no single right way to do this assignment. However, you are asked to include:
clear information on the case you’ll be considering: name of the school/university/consultancy, (fictional?) names of addressees etc.
a problem evaluation section: backed up by empirical evidence – e.g. stats, information retrieved from reports, press, studies, academic theories that might shed light on the problem etc.
a proposed solution (bulk of the report!) – including:
a) objectives & rationale – what you’ll achieve and why;
b) implementation plan – how what you are suggesting will actually be done (timing, money, relationships involved..).
NB: the report is only 2,500 words long, so you are not expected to provide a detailed budget, but do show you are aware of costs
– also, tables & images are allowed if helpful, and not included in word count!
c) risk/challenge assessment & mitigation section – what may go wrong, and what you’d do about it,
d) monitoring & evaluation strategies – how to make sure your solutions work for everyone.
