Differentiate from Staff Manuals
Trainers of voting station staff need a different manual from that provided to voting station officials and administrative staff (see Administration Manuals and Voting Station Officials Manuals). Trainers manuals need to address the construction of the training session and the manner in which information is delivered, not, as for staff manuals, the bare information itself. Highly detailed manuals for trainers covering session presentation are essential where a cascade system of training is being implemented by those with little formal adult training experience. (For a discussion of the contents of trainers manuals, see Training Reference Materials.)
Examples
For examples of training presenters manuals, see Electoral Staff Training Guide - New Zealand 1996, Training of Polling Staff Presenter's Manual - Australia, Training Issues Outline - South Africa, 1995 and Presiding Officer/Assistants Training Program, Bangladesh.
Training Workbooks
As part of training reference and knowledge assessment materials, specific workbooks for completion by voting station officials during their training ensure that their competence can be monitored. Such workbooks may, however, be of limited use in societies of lower literacy, or where cost considerations prevent their use. In such cases the use of role playing and simulations, directed by experienced trainers, can be effective as a knowledge assessment process.
For examples of such workbooks, see Polling Staff Workbook - New Zealand 1996 and Polling Staff Answerbook - New Zealand 1996 (separate workbook and answer book), and of workbooks specifically targeted at specific voting station official roles, see Session Workbook, Senior Polling Staff, Australia, Home Workbook, Senior Polling Staff, Australia, Home Workbook, General Polling Staff, Australia, Home Workbook, Specialist Polling Staff, Australia and Home Workbook, Electoral Visitors, Australia.
