The facilitators are expected to help guide the group through the study, for example, selecting articles the group should read before coming together to reflect on how their own experiences relate to the material. We stress, however, that the facilitators are not teachers, they participate in the learning process along with the rest of the study group. Though RSSE has trained facilitators in many locations around the country, it is often most feasible to have a individual interested in participating in a group undertake the facilitator training and then get a local group started. A facilitator is one who makes the process easy. In terms of a group process, a facilitator is one who assists and guides the group, but does not control the group.
Facilitators come from all walks of life.
Anyone with good people skills can be a facilitator. It is desirable that the facilitator have a knowledge of the community from having lived in the area for at least two years. Facilitators need to be able to have the confidence of the group. Facilitator training involves modeling the facilitation process. It involves learning how to let group members share their life stories, how to use general material and make it specific to the local area, how to select projects and then work together doing a project, how to receive feedback from learning experiences, how to be the administrative link to the RSSE office, and how to use the process and the materials in various settings.