Most education- or training processes will rely on the acquisition of knowledge and skill through the understanding of theory, in the first instance, which is then put into practice.
At Coleg Elidyr, the process is reversed, and based on the Curative Education approach to training.
Essentially, students are engaged in practical tasks (at a level appropriate for them) and by repetition, consolidation and gradual extension, they learn to understand the principles behind the action – hence, ‘learning through doing’.
Our students encounter real-life situations day by day. This enables them to learn and reinforce knowledge and skills and also to make a worthwhile contribution to the community through the work that they do.
By doing productive tasks regularly, they become comfortable in themselves, gain self-respect on account of their contributions, and are encouraged by their achievements.
The basic skills of literacy, numeracy and communication are embedded into our work, craft sessions and other activities, facilitated by the tutors.
We rely on our variety of activities within the college to give every learner the possibility to discover what working environments or disciplines they are responsive to, or feel at home in, and use these as a vehicle for learning.
We have four land-based work areas: farm, vegetable garden, estate work, and forestry. Furthermore we have St Martin's shop and cooking lessons.
For some students or trainees, the choice of some activities is therapeutic rather than educational, when we feel it is wholesome for them to be in a particular environment.
At the heart of all activities in Coleg Elidyr lies the Curative Education approach, a concept introduced by Rudolf Steiner, an Austrian philosopher, and further developed by Karl Konig, the founder of the Camphill Movement (see the Camphill page)
