Community Education Research Articles

Renewable Energy Consumption in Somalia: Assessing Its Impact on Currency Exchange Rates

This study utilizes an Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) model to examine the effects of renewable energy, economic growth, and inflation rate on exchange rate fluctuations in Somalia from 1990 to 2019. The analysis shows that economic growth and RE positively influence the exchange rate in both the short and long run. In contrast, inflation negatively impacts the exchange rate in the short run, suggesting short-term currency appreciation, but leads to depreciation in the long term. Moreover, the study finds that a 1% increase in RE results in an 80% increase in the exchange rate, indicating significant currency depreciation. To mitigate currency depreciation, the research advocates for policies promoting local renewable energy use to reduce import dependency and stabilize the currency. This approach includes investments in renewable infrastructure, community education, and economic diversification. This study highlights the need for further research into renewable energy’s impact on exchange rates in Somalia, particularly in different economic contexts, to gain a more holistic understanding of these dynamics.

Give Your Toys a Broader Story: Simulation for Advocacy, Community Education, and Empowerment.

As we better understand how to deliver the most effective medical simulation, the applications and indications are growing. One way to extend the impact of these tools and methods is for community education and empowerment. Developing mobile simulation units with the intent to reach health care and community settings is a way to add value to a costly but worthy endeavor. Here we focus on developing bundles of medical simulation for pediatric populations and their families, including curricular objectives, considerations for psychological safety, and operations. [Pediatr Ann. 2024;53(11):e420-e424.].

Engaging citizens: the Kent miners and workers’ education for the common good

This article embodies a kind of backward travelling by revisiting the history of workers’ education in a mining community as part of our contemporary struggle to reinvigorate notions of the common good and popular education. Its focus is the complexities of working-class history, disparaged in neoliberal condescension and oversimplified in some progressive thought: a history of contention and struggle, yet rich in experiment in dialogical, democratic and cooperative learning.

The historical context and modern realities of the influence of the bilingual educational system of Ecuador on the process of forming the cultural identity of the local indigenous population

The object of this study is the bilingual education system in the Republic of Ecuador. The subject of the study is the influence of this educational system on the formation of the cultural identity of representatives of the local indigenous population. The paper examines the role of bilingual education in the preservation and transmission of cultural values among representatives of the indigenous population of Ecuador, as well as its impact on their social integration. Special attention is paid to the analysis of data obtained from a survey of the indigenous population, which revealed the key current trends in the development of bilingual education in the country. The historical context of the implementation of this educational system and related challenges are also considered. Within the framework of the study, bilingual education is understood as an important tool for maintaining cultural and linguistic diversity in Ecuador, the main task of which is to improve the quality of education in indigenous languages. The research methods include: a sociological survey aimed at collecting data on the perception of bilingual education in the indigenous communities of Ecuador; quantitative and qualitative methods aimed at identifying statistical patterns and interpreting the opinions of respondents. A content analysis of educational materials and programs is also carried out in order to assess the degree of integration of autochthonous languages into the educational process. The results of the study show that bilingual education, taking into account the interests of all indigenous peoples, plays a crucial role in strengthening their socio-cultural identity and status in society. It is also emphasized that true inclusivity of education can be achieved only with proper funding from the government and adequate training of teaching staff. The novelty of the conducted research lies in an integrated approach to studying the impact of bilingual education on the cultural identity and social integration of the indigenous population of Ecuador with the analysis of relevant data obtained through a survey of representatives of autochthonous communities. This allowed not only to study the historical context of the formation of the local educational environment, but also helped to identify some current trends in the development of bilingual education in the country. The study highlights the need for further modernization and improvement of the Ecuadorian bilingual education system, since it acts not only as a means of preserving the cultural heritage of indigenous peoples, but also as an important tool for the formation of equal rights and opportunities for social development.

APOI@ INDIGENOUS EDUCATION: DIGITAL PLATFORM FOR SHARING OPEN EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES

The research addressed the development of a differentiated school education for indigenous communities in Brazil, with an emphasis on a pedagogy that values ​​and preserves their cultural heritage. The study highlighted the need for educational resources adapted to indigenous cultural specificities, especially bilingual teaching materials, in accordance with the guidelines of the 1988 Federal Constitution and the 1996 Law of Guidelines and Bases of National Education. The objective of the research was to create a digital platform for sharing Open Educational Resources (OER), including bilingual teaching materials and reports of pedagogical experiences specific to the Guarani language and culture. Using Maker Culture as a methodology, teachers from the Nhu Porã School, in Torres, RS, participated in workshops to develop these resources. The research was qualitative, with the researcher carrying out intensive fieldwork. Bibliographic research and action research procedures were used, promoting cooperation between the researcher and the community to solve the identified problem. The results indicated the importance of indigenous protagonism, community participation, and cooperation between different social actors in solving the shortage of bilingual teaching materials. The construction of OER by indigenous participants, the implementation of the digital platform, and the sharing of bilingual materials and pedagogical reports achieved the research objectives. The results highlight the importance of the active participation of indigenous people in the creation of culturally relevant educational resources, expanding access to bilingual materials, and promoting a culture of collaboration and sharing in the context of indigenous education. The digital platform expanded access to indigenous bilingual educational resources, contributing to the preservation of cultural identity and the promotion of educational inclusion.

Design and implementation of blue-green infrastructure for socio-cultural benefits at community scales: The case of Wigram Basin in Ōtautahi Christchurch

Stormwater-related blue-green infrastructure (BGI) has been shown to play an important role in enhancing the socio-ecological-cultural resilience of communities under stress from climate change and in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. BGI has been defined as natural, semi-natural, and artificial spaces that deliver valued bio-physical and socio-cultural benefits to communities through the facilitation of natural processes, with a particular focus on stormwater management. While studies have identified a range of benefits associated with BGI, research has only partially examined their valuation, especially concerning socio-cultural outcomes. Research has also failed to consider the ways in which BGI operates at community scales, and how this may be influenced by the design process of individual projects. This study examines the range of socio-cultural benefits associated with BGI projects, alongside the design characteristics which may influence these outcomes using a mixed-methods case study of Wigram Basin. Results show that while a range of benefits were associated with the implementation of local BGI, broader socio-cultural outcomes such as social cohesion, the facilitation of a sense of place, and the ability to practice cultural values were infrequently identified by respondents. Results also demonstrated that the transdisciplinary design team, specific project priorities, and the approach taken to community and Indigenous engagement may have influenced the range of benefits achieved by Wigram Basin. As such, this research recommends that the design of BGI considers the range of disciplines required to be involved in project design, the pathways required to provide socio-cultural benefits, early, ongoing, and place-based community and Indigenous engagement and education, and the ongoing assessment and valuation of all project outcomes to maximize BGI implementation.

Importance of medical home domains on emergency visits using a cross-sectional national survey of US children.

Receiving care at patient-centred medical homes (PCMH) is associated with reduced emergency department (ED) visits among children. Adverse social determinants of health (SDoH), such as lower socioeconomic status and household poverty, are associated with increased ED visits in children. The objective of this study is to use machine learning techniques to understand the relative importance of each PCMH component among different populations with adverse SDoH on the outcome of ED visits. This study used the 2018-2019 pooled data from the National Survey of Children's Health (NSCH), an annual survey of parents and caregivers of US children from birth to 17 years. PCMH components were operationalised by classifying parent/caregiver responses into five domains: care coordination (CC), having a personal doctor or nurse, having a usual source of care, family-centred care and ease of getting referrals. SDoH included five categories: (1) social and community context, (2) economic stability, (3) education access and quality, (4) healthcare access and quality and (5) neighbourhood and built environment. We used a split-improvement variable importance measure based on random forests to determine the importance of PCMH domains on ED visits overall and stratified by SDoH. Overall, between 3% and 28% experienced one or more gaps in PCMH domains. Models show that problems with referrals (rank, 2; Gini, 83.5) and gaps in CC (rank, 3; Gini, 81.0) were the two most important domains of PCMH associated with ED visits in children. This result was consistent among black and Hispanic children and among children with lower socioeconomic status. Our study findings underscore the importance of poor CC and referrals on ED visits for all children and those from disadvantaged populations. Initiatives for expanding the reach of PCMH should consider prioritising these two domains, especially in areas with significant minority populations.

JUE Insight: The labor market effects of place-based policies: Evidence from England’s Neighbourhood Renewal Fund

Neighbourhood renewal programs are a type of place-based policy that aim to revive underperforming localities. The literature on place-based policies has found mixed results regarding their effects on local labor market outcomes, but there are relatively few studies of policies that aim to improve local labor supply. In this paper we examine the labor market effects of the Neighbourhood Renewal Fund, which targeted 88 of the most deprived areas in England during the early 2000s as part of the Labour government’s National Strategy for Neighbourhood Renewal. The fund disbursed almost £3 billion for spending on community safety, education, healthcare and worklessness, with supply-side interventions making up the bulk of the program’s spending on worklessness. Using a difference-in-differences approach, we find statistically significant impacts on local employment. Our results suggest that policy interventions to improve local labor supply can be a successful strategy for neighborhood renewal.

The Circuit Breaker Keeps Tripping: Investigating the Effects of Leadership Styles Prevalent in South African Community Education and Training Colleges

The Circuit Breaker Keeps Tripping: Investigating the Effects of Leadership Styles Prevalent in South African Community Education and Training Colleges

Lifelong learning in Australian community contexts: Adult learning ‘capabilities’ for study, work, and life

In this paper we explore the Australian adult community education (ACE) landscape and discuss the important roles it plays in developing individual capabilities for study, work, and life. Despite the lack of cohesion of the ACE sector across the various states and territories of Australia, it is well documented that ACE is recognised as important for its capacity to cater for adult learners’ different needs and well-being in community-based contexts. In the last 2 years with a change in the federal government of Australia, ACE has gained more prominence for its capacity to connect hard-to-reach learners into literacy and numeracy programs and preparatory and pre-accredited programs to pathway these learners into further training or employment. The paper reports on research findings from a mixed methods research project examining the effectiveness of ACE outcomes for these first-step learners in Victoria and Tasmania, Australia. Nussbaum’s Capabilities Framework, provides a social justice lens to reconceptualise the outcomes for learners in ACE, moving beyond narrow neoliberal economistic measures of adult learners’ success. We claim including both vocational and non-vocational capabilities for learners provides a more nuanced account of learner transformation in ACE.

유·초 이음교육의 새로운 방향성 탐색

The purpose of this study is to suggest a new direction for preschool-elementary transition education. Recently, there has been growing interest in preschool-elementary transition education, as the 2019 revised Nuri Curriculum and the 2022 revised Elementary Education Curriculum emphasize connectivity between educational institutions, and the number of pilot kindergartens implementing transition semesters is gradually increasing nationwide. In this context, this study analyzed the limitations of current transition education and explored ways to improve it. As a result of the study, it was confirmed that the target of preschool and elementary education should be expanded from 5 years old to all ages, and that the focus should be on improving the current quality of life of young children rather than preparing for elementary school. In addition, it was suggested that young children should be recognized as agents of action and that coexistence should be pursued while respecting the differences between early childhood education and elementary education. To this end, it is necessary to strengthen cooperative relationships in the educational community, and find ways to connect education that can be implemented at the level of early childhood education institutions even under realistic constraints. This study is significant in that it provides a theoretical foundation for a comprehensive and continuous child-centered approach to transition education and presents practical measures for implementation.

Pemberdayaan Masyarakat Melalui Pelatihan Budidaya Maggot sebagai Alternatif Pakan Ikan Lele di Desa Banyuates

Catfish farming is increasingly in demand by the community, but feed costs are one of the main challenges in catfish farming. The purpose of this community service is to improve the education and skills of catfish farmers in utilizing organic waste to be processed to replace processed feed utilizing organic waste to be processed into a substitute for feed in the form of maggots. Community service activities are carried out through socialization and training in maggot cultivation using organic waste as the main ingredient with the biological agent Black Soldier Fly. Maggots have a high protein content of 49.67%, carbohydrates contained in maggots of 0.18%, and fat content of 21.17%. The method used in this community service is Community Based Research, which is a community-based research that depends on the active participation of catfish farmers. This community service is carried out in several stages, namely delivering materials, questions and answers and discussions, the results of which lead to the utilization of organic waste and community education in producing maggots as catfish feed. This training is able to provide solutions and skills and increase community income from maggot cultivation for entrepreneurship.

Political or Religious Policy? Indigenous Christian Education in the Dutch East Indies Era

This study is a textual analysis discussing the existence of Christian educational institutions for indigenous students under the Dutch colonial administration in the Dutch East Indies. The primary objective of this research is to examine the underlying motives behind the Dutch colonial government’s policies on Christian education for indigenous communities, specifically to determine whether these policies were politically or religiously motivated. Focusing on historical contexts, this research employs historical methods to reconstruct past events. The central question addressed is the Dutch colonial government’s main focus in shaping policies for Christian education through mission institutions for indigenous communities: whether these were driven by political interests or religious considerations. Data sources were obtained from literature and historical documents archived in data storage centers and libraries. The findings, using a structuration methodology, reveal a pragmatic dualism underlying the colonial government’s policies, which shifted according to the socio-political context.

How are Learning Developers engaging with artificial intelligence?

In recent years, Generative Artificial Intelligence (Gen AI) has become the topic of debate within higher education generally, within institutions (their official response and approach), within subject areas (how to utilise within subject teaching) and within the professional sphere of Learning Development. In the summer of 2023, an Association for Learning Development in Higher Education (ALDinHE) Community of Practice was established, and now, it has over 200 members from the UK, Europe, North America, Australia, and New Zealand. This group meets monthly to discuss all aspects of Gen AI, and this mini keynote will share how Learning Developers are engaging (or not) with Gen AI. The session will be open and friendly. Designed to enable colleagues to discuss their challenges, avoidance or how they embrace AI within their practice. Prompt Questions 1) Are you engaging with Artificial Intelligence (AI)? If so, how? If not, why not? 2) Should Learning Developers be engaging with AI? If so, how? 3) What could ALDinHE do to support your (potential) engagement with AI?

Implementation of Education Re-Entry Policy for Adolescent Mothers in Urambo District, Tanzania

In Tanzania, adolescent mothers were pre+viously been prohibited from returning to public secondary schools particularly during the fifth government phase led by the late President John Joseph Pombe Magufuli. However, under his successor President Samia Suluhu Hassan, a new re-entry policy for adolescent mother has been re-introduced. The policy aims to address the challenges faced by adolescent mothers who drop out of school due to pregnancy. Although the policy granted the opportunities for adolescent mothers to continue with their studies after giving birth, its implementation in country is still uncertain. It is against this backdrop that the current study explored the perceptions held by selected educational stakeholders and adolescent mothers to appraise the extent to which the re-entry education policy has thus far been implemented, drawing on a case of the secondary schools sampled from Urambo District, in Tanzania. The study deployed the interpretivist approach and phenomenological research design. Purposive sampling was used to select ten study participants reflecting two counter factual scenarios, namely: adolescent mothers who enrolled through re-entry program after delivery and who did not do so after delivery. The methods of data collection included in-depth interview with adolescent mothers and key informants; and focus grouped discussions with community members. The data were analysed through thematic analysis. The study findings revealed that implementation of the re-entry policy is marked with several challenges on part of the adolescent mothers which include: lack of support from families and schools. More to say, there prevails a stubbornly rigid and unchanging social stigma subjecting the typologies of the mothers into a state of dilemma, making it difficult for them to perform both the expected double roles of a mother and student simultaneously. The study also disclosed a lack of clarity on the re-entry policy guidelines, which has forced some of the re-entry policy implementers to use their own discretions. Additionally, the findings indicated that awareness creation was not sufficient enough to enable adolescent mother especially in remote areas to enrol back to school after pregnancy. The paper recommends that, for successful implementation of the re-entry policy, comprehensive counselling programmes for adolescent mothers and awareness creation among the educational stakeholders and community members are inevitable.

Critical learning development and the crisis of the university: a collective consideration

This participatory session concerned consideration of the ‘critical turn in LD’ (Syska and Buckley, 2023: 107), manifest through an emerging critical LD movement – as centring an academic literacies approach (Hilsdon, 2018; Asher, 2022, 2023a; Dhillon, 2023; Rooney, 2023) – as a response to ‘the crisis of the university’ (Bacevic, 2017). The focus is on the positionality of LD/LDers within the increasingly neoliberal university, and to this critical learning development movement. Time and space are provided for sharing experiences, worries and hopes for LD/HE and to collectively explore the contemporary realities/trajectory of LD/HE – and alternative futures. The central cause of the crisis of UK HE, exacerbated by government and senior management responses to COVID-19, is intensifying and accelerating processes of the ‘deep neoliberalisation’ of the public university – reflected in industrial action concerning ‘pay devaluation; pay inequality, based on gender and race; excessive workloads; and casualisation’ (Hall, 2020a). The session explores where LD/LDers are positioned within the HE crisis, before considering how critically oriented LD/LDers who believe HE should be a social and public good can best respond to the crisis, while connecting such to wider contemporary societal and global crises. Specifically: How might LD/LDers respond to different contexts of crisis in ways that encompass LD’s developmental/pedagogical ethos, emancipatory values and empowering academic literacies approach (Syska and Buckley, 2023; Webster, 2019)? How do we link with wider critical educational theories, practices, communities and struggles? What might be the role of critical Learning Development and academic literacies? The objective is critical reflection on contemporary LD/HE contexts – with take-aways, as thus grounded in actual lived experiences of the crisis, including: Developing understandings as to self, team and LD contemporary positionality. Considerations of possible actions and next steps, including the potential for an ALDinHE CoP focused on critical LD and academic literacies.

Model Pengembangan Agrowisata Yutaka Farm Desa Pasucen Trangkil Pati

This study aims to analyze the development model of Yutaka Farm Agrotourism in Pasucen Village, Trangkil District, Pati Regency. This agrotourism site has successfully integrated environmental conservation, education, and local community empowerment through a sustainable tourism approach. Initially established as a plant nursery in 2017, Yutaka Farm has evolved into an agricultural-based tourist destination with a Japanese-themed concept, encompassing nature tourism, culinary experiences, and environmental education. Using a qualitative descriptive research method, this study found that Yutaka Farm's development through the stages of mapping, social planning, and social action has improved the local economy, community participation, and human resources quality. The implications of this model include enhancing the local community's quality of life, as well as preserving local culture and the environment. The success of Yutaka Farm demonstrates that a local wisdom-based agrotourism model can significantly impact economic and social development in rural areas.

Professional and personal development of newly-qualified teachers as a factor in sustainable development of the region

Introduction. The article is devoted to the problem of newly-qualified teachers’ professional development. The aim of the study is to identify the difficulties of novice teachers during their adaptation in educational settings of the region and to substantiate the ways to improve the quality of initial teacher education in the system of continuous teacher education. Materials and Methods. The methodological basis of the study consists of contextual biographical and cluster approaches. The contextual biographical approach involves studying teachers’ professional biographies in the system of continuing education, taking into account complex external conditions. The cluster approach defines the principles of interaction between various stakeholders within the regional community in order to ensure the sustainable development of the regional educational system. In order to achieve the research goal, the following methods were used: theoretical (analysis of scholarly literature, comparison, generalization) and empirical (online questionnaire, focus group method, method of independent expert assessments). Results. Based on the analysis of scholarly literature, the authors provide their definition of professional and personal teachers’ development as a basic component of their professional development during the period of initial teacher education and at the initial stage of professional development. The authors argued that the main difficulty of novice teachers during the adaptation period is their interaction with various subjects of the educational process at school - students and their parents. The article substantiates the necessity of creating a regional educational cluster as an effective mechanism for improving the quality of initial teacher education at different stages of continuous teacher education. Conclusions. Based on the authors’ idea about professional and personal development of teachers as a basic component of their professional development in the initial period of their working life, the study reveals the main difficulties of novice teachers during their adaptation in educational settings of the region, overcoming of which requires changes in the system of psychological, teacher and methods education at universities and colleges. As an effective mechanism for improving the quality of teacher education, the authors substantiated the idea of creating a pedagogical scientific and educational cluster in the region, which unites the participants of the territorial educational community interested in providing the regional education system with highly qualified teaching staff.

Professional development in teacher education: (Vocational) teacher students’ descriptions

This article focuses on a learning objective, as part of a teacher education course at a Swedish university, where student teachers should be able to discuss their own professional development and identify further development needs. Since both research and policy documents highlight professional development as an important part of teacher education, it is important to study professional development from the perspective of student teachers. The theoretical starting point is Communities of Practice (CoP), and the study focuses on knowledge and learning within a social community. Ten subject teacher students and six vocational teacher students are interviewed about their descriptions of what the professional development for teachers in teacher education means for them, which results in six prominent themes: 1) the developmentof identity formation, 2) the development of subject specific and vocational knowledge, 3) the development of leadership, 4) the development of relationship-building, 5) the development of knowledge about policy documents, laws, rules and regulations, 6) the development in relation to changes in the society. Despite common denominators in the students’ descriptions of professional development, there are also nuanced differences that can be understood by positioning actors about the (vocational) teacher education community. The vocational teacher students frequently connect their professional knowledge to industry and working life, whereas the subject teacher students often connect their subject knowledge to university courses and research. Both the vocational teacher students and the subject teacher students in the study describe that they need to stay up-to-date and continue developing their competence in pedagogy. However, the vocational teacher students specifically highlight the need for pedagogical knowledge within the school environment, rather than in the context of working life and workshop settings. This may be because some vocational teacher students are accustomed to training and teaching interns in these environments as part of their professional practice.

The Effect of KOURIBGA (Family Planning Postpartum Bouquet Ribbon Game) Education on The Self-Efficacy of Health Cadres

The low self-efficacy of health cadres can impact the effectiveness of community education on postpartum family planning (KBPP). Previous studies indicate that with appropriate educational methods, the number of KBPP users can increase significantly. The Simulation Game known as the Family Planning Postpartum Bouquet Ribbon Game, or KOURIBGA, presents a promising approach to health education by offering an engaging and interactive simulation format. This study aimed to analyze the influence of KOURIBGA education on the self-efficacy of health cadres in Kedungwinong Village, Nguter District, Sukoharjo Regency. Employing a pre-experimental, pretest-posttest design, the research used a total sample of 35 health cadres. In this study, the KOURIBGA education served as the independent variable, while the dependent variable was the self-efficacy of the cadres. The results, analyzed using the Wilcoxon test, indicated a significant effect (p-value < 0.05), demonstrating that KOURIBGA education positively influenced health cadres' self-efficacy in Kedung Winong Village. Thus, KOURIBGA education can be effectively utilized to enhance self-efficacy, contributing to better reproductive health services.