Informal Education Programs Research Articles

Role of Information in Farmers’ Response to Weather and Water Related Stresses in the Lower Bengal Delta, Bangladesh

Farmers in the lower Bengal Delta around the city of Khulna, Bangladesh, are particularly vulnerable to hydro-climatic variability. Phenomena such as heavy rain, drought and salt intrusion increasingly affect their crop production, with far-reaching socio-economic and environmental impacts. Reliable hydro-climatic information service received in a timely manner could help farmers improve their responses to hydro-climatic variability, thus improving their agricultural decision-making. However, significant challenges persist regarding information uptake and the role of information from the available sources. We designed an explorative research framework combining different participatory methods and analysis of climate data. Our aim was to examine three key research questions: (i) what information is currently available to farmers for agricultural practices and decision-making? (ii) what is the perceived quality of the available hydro-climatic information in response to water and weather related stresses? (iii) how does the available information influence farmers’ decision-making? We found that farmers had access to information from five main sources: informal contacts, formal contacts, education and training programs, traditional media (like television) and modern ICT tools/social media. However, informal contacts, particularly with peer farmers and private input suppliers, were the farmers’ main source, in addition to their own previous experiences. Farmers perceived hydro-climatic variability as high and the quality of available hydro-climatic information as poor. They indicated a need for more accurate, time-specific, trusted and actionable information for improving agricultural decision-making. We conclude that there is high potential and need for hydro-climatic information services tailored for farmers in the study area.

Volunteer Training Needs for Successful 4-H STEM Programs

Informal STEM education programs through youth-serving organizations like 4-H have the potential to help youth prepare for future STEM careers. Volunteers continue to be an important way to mentor and provide programs for youth with support and guidance from professionals working for youth organizations. 4-H STEM programs present challenges for 4-H professionals and traditional 4-H volunteers who often have limited knowledge and confidence in their ability to teach STEM skills. Recruiting science experts as volunteers to lead 4-H STEM programs is one way to provide these programs, but some experts have limited knowledge about youth development and how to engage youth. Findings from the 4-H Science: Building a 4-H Career Pathway initiative are discussed here related to volunteer training, volunteer recruitment and retention and resources needed for 4-H professionals and volunteers to successfully implement 4‑H STEM programs. A process evaluation was conducted that included focus groups and interviews in 3 states that participated in the initiative. Focus groups and interviews were conducted with youth, parents, volunteers, and 4-H professionals involved in 4-H STEM programs. Themes included the need for volunteer training focused on increasing STEM knowledge and skills as well as pedagogy and youth engagement, the need for training for 4-H professionals related to STEM skills so they could support volunteer efforts, and the need to use diverse methods to recruit science experts and other volunteers for these programs.

The identity-frame model: A framework to describe situated identity negotiation for adolescent youth participating in an informal engineering education program

ABSTRACT Background: STEM identity has emerged as an important research topic and a predictor of how youth engage with STEM inside and outside of school. Although there is a growing body of literature in this area, less work has been done specific to engineering, especially in out-of-school learning contexts. Methods: To address this need, we conducted a qualitative investigation of five adolescent youth participating in a four-month afterschool engineering program. The study focused on how participants negotiated engineering-related identities through ongoing interactions with activities, peers, and adults, and the patterns of identity negotiation that emerged across program sessions. Findings: Through the investigation, we developed an Identity-Frame Model, positing that identity negotiation is an ongoing process of performance and definition work by an individual and recognition and positioning work by other adults and peers that creates emergent, context-specific identities and activity frames that are made particularly salient during critical identity moments. We also categorized model elements that appeared to be specific to engineering, such as situated identities and activity frames related to failure, collaboration, and competition. Contribution: The study advances the understanding of identity negotiation related to engineering and provides a new framework for investigating situated identity in informal STEM learning contexts.

New perspectives and evaluation of training for Event Management

The purpose of this research was to identify opportunities for Event Managers to gain certification and recognition for their knowledge, skills and competences. The results of the research can represent a base for developing a National Qualifications Standard of Event Management, and a reference to develop the European Qualification Framework (INVENT 2017-1-UK01-KA202, 2018). The aim of this research was to determine an effective view of Event Management and the Event Manager’s career path for future reference. The survey showed some gaps in formal and informal educational programs of Event Management in Slovenia, and some suggestions to improve the quality of that field and how to train the teachers who train Event Managers follow. To evaluate the hypothesis, a model for assessing education programs of event management has been developed, using the computer program Dexi. This instrument serves to verify the presence or absence of skills from the National Qualification Standard. The system allows you to check if the quality of the education program is appropriate, and what needs to be done to improve the quality.

Can Yoga Overcome Criminality? The Impact of Yoga on Recidivism in Israeli Prisons.

In recent years, yoga practices have been integrated into informal education programs of the Israel Prison Service (IPS), given rise to innovative criminological theories such as positive criminology that emphasize the development of offenders' strengths by facilitating rehabilitation and reintegration processes. The purpose of the present study was to examine the correlation between yoga practice and recidivism among released prisoners who participated in yoga programs during their incarceration in comparison with a matched control group of those who did not participate in yoga programs over a follow-up period of 5 years. To examine the effectiveness of the program, propensity-score matching was used to compile the comparison group from among all convicted prisoners who were released from the Israeli prisons. Study results indicate that yoga may impact recidivism, supported by a finding of lower recidivism rates among released prisoners who had practiced yoga during their incarceration, compared with the matched control group. However, further study is needed including randomized controlled trials (RCTs). In light of these positive results, we recommend policy makers consider introducing alternative practices such as yoga in prisons, in recognition of its contribution to the rehabilitation process through the development of personal and social strengths.

The Arab Educational System in Israel: Challenges and Changes

Diala Abu-Oksa Eid, The Arab Educational System in Israel: Challenges and Changes [Arabski system szkolnictwa w Izraelu – wyzwania i zmiany]. Studia Edukacyjne nr 56, 2020, Poznań 2020, pp. 435-448. Adam Mickiewicz University Press. ISSN 1233-6688. DOI: 10.14746/se.2020.56.24While the Arab minority in Israel has suffered greatly from war events and political definition of the state, its education system has experienced rapid development since the state’s establishment until today. The partial improvement in the level of education of Arab children and youth is evident in qualitative and quantitative indices, as well as in the level of infrastructure of the Arab education system. Nevertheless, socio-economic gaps between Arab and Jewish children and youth continue to exist, and it is apparent that the rate of improvement does not keep pace with the growing needs of Arab society in the field of education. In the last decade, the government has adopted a series of five-year plans for the socio-economic development of Arab minority. However, there is a significant gap between Arab education and Hebrew education in important indicators, such as financial investment per pupil, infrastructure (buildings and classrooms), educational frameworks outside the school hours, and the rate of entitlement to matriculation.At the beginning of the eighth decade of the State of Israel, the real challenge of the Arab education system in Israel is not necessarily quantitative, but qualitative. The more formal and informal educational programs in the Arab educational system will be adapted to the culture of the children and youth integrated into it, the more Arab society will be able to realize its human potential.

Student perspectives on climate change through place-based filmmaking

The study examined high school students’ perspectives on climate change before and after participation in an informal science education program. During the program, students made a short, place-based film about climate change impacts in their communities. Qualitative and quantitative analysis of student data revealed key themes that illustrate how students characterized climate change before and after developing their films. Following the program, students described climate change as locally-relevant, alarming, and a concern that held increased personal importance to them. They also reported greater confidence in their understanding of the causes and consequences of climate change and indicated a stronger sense of both collective and personal responsibility to take action to address climate change challenges in their communities. The study adds to the existing body of literature that describes how making personally meaningful connections with climate change can inspire a sense of responsibility and agency among students.

형평성 관련 비형식 과학 학습 및 교육 연구 경향 탐색 : 네트워크 분석법의 다학제적 적용

형평성 관련 비형식 과학 학습 및 교육 연구 경향 탐색 : 네트워크 분석법의 다학제적 적용

TECHNICAL, ALLOCATIVE AND ECONOMIC EFFICIENCIES OF SMALL-SCALE SESAME FARMERS: THE CASE OF WEST GONDAR ZONE, ETHIOPIA

In Ethiopia, sesame is mainly cultivated as a cash crop, important source of foreign exchange and income for many smallholders. Thus, improvement in production efficiency of sesame is crucial for Ethiopian economy and for smallholder farmer’s livelihood. Socioeconomic, demographic and institutional factors were collected from randomly selected 385 sample households using multi-stage sampling techniques and interviewed using semi-structured questionnaire. The Cobb-Douglas stochastic frontier production function result shows that all input variables except land was positive and significant effect on sesame production efficiency. Labour inputs have the highest elasticity, followed by sesame seed, pesticides/herbicides and fertilizer accordingly. The model result shows that across all mean technical, allocative, and economic efficiencies estimates are 72, 49 and 35 percent respectively, implies that a substantial level of inefficiency in sesame production. Improvement of production efficiency requires availability of enough labour particularly during harvesting because of its shattering problem. Therefore, the local and regional government needs to devise mechanisms for hired labour availability in the area. Moreover, the econometric model result indicates that sesame production efficiency was positively and significantly influenced by age, education level, livestock ownership, association membership, off/non-farm income, extension contact, credit access, mobile phone ownership and training participation. The key policy implication therefore is that promoting farmer’s cooperatives, address farmers in formal and informal education programs, enhancing farmer’s access to financial resources through providing easy and affordable credit services, strengthen the extension services in terms of promoting livestock and crop production improving technologies are crucial.

Ocean Literacy to Mainstream Ecosystem Services Concept in Formal and Informal Education: The Example of Coastal Ecosystems of Southern Portugal

The concept of ecosystem services (ES) emerges as strategic to explain the influences that the ocean, and in particular coastal ecosystems, have on us and how we influence them back. Despite being a term coined several decades ago and being already wide-spread in the scientific community and among policy-makers, the ecosystem service concept still lacks recognition among citizens and educators. There is therefore a need to mainstream this concept in formal education and through Ocean Literacy resources. Although important developments in OL were done in the USA, particularly through the National Marine Educators Association (NMEA), this concept was only recently introduced in Europe. In Portugal, several informal OL education programs were developed in the last years, yet formal education on OL and, in particular, on ES is still very deficient. To address this limitation, the “Environmental Education Network for Ecosystem Services” (REASE), founded in 2017 in the Algarve region by a consortium of educational, environmental and scientific institutions, aims to increase OL through the dissemination of the perspective of how ES provided by coastal vegetation may contribute to the well-being of the populations. The projects and activities implemented by REASE focus mostly on formal-education of school children and include: 1) capacity building for K-12 teachers, 2) educational programs to support and develop ES projects in schools, including a citizen science project to evaluate blue carbon stocks in the Algarve, 3) the publication of a children’s book about the ES provided by the local Ria Formosa coastal lagoon, with a community-based participatory design (illustrations made by schoolchildren) and 4) a diverse array of informal education activities to raise awareness on the importance of coastal ecosystems on human well-being. REASE challenges are being successfully addressed by identifying threats to local coastal ecosystems that people worry about, and highlighting solutions to improve and maintain their health.

Systematization of adult education centres as providers of non-formal learning in Ukraine

The process of adult learning in non-formal education is an organized activity of andragogues and adults who study, according to informal educational programs, in conditions of free choice, for achievement of personal and professional educational goals, determined by adults. This process is provided by providers of non-formal educational services, including a variety of companies, organizations, institutions or individuals that provide these services to the target audience of the adult population. Adult education centers in Ukraine today are such providers that are developing rapidly. The article is devoted to generalization and systematization of adult education centers as providers of non-formal adult education in Ukraine. Various forms and types of adult education centers operating in Ukraine are analyzed. Priority signs are defined. Adult education centers are systematized as providers of non-formal adult education in accordance with certain characteristics. The leading functions of their activity are generalized. Based on the experience of the data center in Ukraine, the main features for systematization are determined: the level of independence; form of ownership; organizational and legal form; channels of informing the target audience about the content of activities and events; the level and direction of educational services; coverage of the target audience of the adult population. According to these features, the article presents the results of the systematization of data centers in Ukraine. The main functions of the activities of the adult education centers are: adults provide public space for learning and social and cultural integration; provide a forum of current educational needs, focused on the priority educational needs of adults; provide complex educational services for different categories of adults, creating the educational platform of interaction between andragogues and participants and a supportive learning environment

NP5 Salud Para Usted y Su Familia [Health for You and Your Family]: Integration of Research, Education and Extension to Promote Healthier Mexican-Heritage Families

Objective To implement and evaluate an integrated Spanish-language program to improve nutrition, increase physical activity, and strengthen family function among Mexican-heritage (MH) families. We describe research (stepped wedge cluster randomized controlled trial [SWCRCT] of father-focused, family-centered program), education (experiential learning and innovative teaching), and extension (promotora-led charlas [chats/talks]) components. Description The SWCRCT consists of clusters of 10-15 families receiving six in-person group sessions (three focused on father-child pairs) and at-home activities. Session include food tastings, interactive lessons, active games, hands-on food preparation, time to eat together, and goal setting. The promotora interventionists were trained using the train-the-trainer approach to gain knowledge and skills related to nutrition and food preparation, physical activity, family functioning, and motivational interviewing. The program actively involved undergraduate and graduate students from Texas A&M University, Baylor University, and Texas State University in experiential training that included material development, participant observation of promotora trainings (cooking and experiential nutrition and physical activity) and family pretesting, and motivational interviewing. Program activities and learnings were included in undergraduate and graduate courses (research methods and evaluation). In the charla program, team promotoras conducted a series of five community-based programs and activities that delivered science-based knowledge and informal educational programs to empower Mexican-heritage children and families to make sustainable healthy decisions. More than 400 participants attended charlas, which took place in community centers, churches, community organizations, and colonia neighborhoods. Evaluation Data were collected for training, recruitment, process (observations and checklists), and outcome (pre- and post-program surveys, seven-day accelerometer, Veggie Meter®, and interviews/focus groups. Surveys and reflection papers from students were used. Post-charla surveys, debriefs, and a follow-up ripple effect survey (sharing of session materials) was done. Conclusion and Implications This integrated family program enhances the capacity of families, students, promotoras, and community members to incorporate education and skill-building into healthier behaviors. The SWCRCT is a game changer by engaging Mexican-heritage fathers, co-parenting couples, and children and addresses a lacuna in obesity prevention.

The effects of prior informal science and math experiences on undergraduate STEM identity

ABSTRACT Background Recent reports have noted a need for increasing both the recruitment and retention of young people into the STEM disciplines. While many studies have reported on the benefits of classroom reform in formal education environments, less is known about the role of informal education programs in young people’s academic aspirations, interest and competence in science and math domains. Purpose We examine the relationship between previous involvement in programs in informal science and math environments (ISMEs) and academic aspirations, competence and self-reported interest/engagement in science and math domains for college-aged young adults. Sample Participants included students (N = 750) at a major university in the southeast United States who were enrolled in an introductory biology course. The course was taught across five sections with separate instructors with similar training and teaching style and was populated by a majority of first year students majoring in STEM fields. Design and Methods Participants were asked to complete a survey during the first week of the semester to assess their participation in ISME programs during their pre-college years and to measure their academic aspirations, and expectations as well as their science and math perceived competence, interest and engagement. Results Young people who report participation in ISME programs prior to college report higher academic aspirations, feel more competent in science and math domains, and report increased interest and a greater engagement with science and math topics. Conclusions Outcomes posit the importance of participation in ISME programs as a possible means of promoting prolonged interest and involvement in the fields of science and math into students’ early university careers.

Girls' STEM Identity Growth in Co-Educational and Single-Sex STEM Summer Camps

Informal STEM education programs have become venues wherein girls can improve their sense of belonging and potential success (STEM identity) through interactions with role models and seeing how STEM fields are relevant to them. Despite decades of advocacy for single-sex programs’ role in improving girls’ STEM identity, few studies have found definitive results. To explore the role that a single-sex environment can have on adolescent girls’ STEM identity development, this study compares participating girls’ STEM identity from pre- to post-test using linear regression and hierarchical linear modeling to determine whether participants have a larger identity growth in an all-girls informal STEM education summer camp (STEM GIRLS) or a co-educational informal STEM education summer camp (STEM STARS). Results indicate that STEM Self-Efficacy and STEM Identity are positively correlated, however, the model is currently incomplete and could use more clarity to determine the role one plays on the other. Despite this, our study indicates the value in addressing self-efficacy by giving girls opportunities to struggle through challenges. This study also found that both camps were similarly beneficial in impacting STEM Identity and STEM Self-Efficacy, further supporting research that highlights the gendered aspect of the camp is less impactful than the practices used.

Capacidad laboral de las personas mayores de 50 años, en proceso de reintegración, adscritos a la Agencia para la Reincorporación y la Normalización

Objective: To identify factors associated with work capacity in people being over 50 years old, who used to be ex-combatants from groups outside the law, and who are now registered in the Agency for Reincorporation and Normalization. Methodology: Observational analytic study using primary sources of information from 239 senior subjects in the reincorporation process. All of them were surveyed in five different locations in Colombia. Crude and adjusted prevalence ratios were calculated through unconditional logistic regression, with a p-value of < 0.05, which is considered a statistically significant association. Results: 71.5 % of subjects being over 50 years old work mainly in the informal sector. A functional dependency is associated, though not significantly, with being a single man, or a man without sight or movement disabilities, or a man having driving and computer skills. Those with speech disorders and a lower educational level presented greater limitations in the labor field. Conclusion: Adaptation processes to work life for senior ex-combatants from groups outside the law may be facilitated through the implementation of differential approaches, formal and informal educational programs, use of orthopedic aids, generation of strategies for access to employment and health strategies that promote their wellbeing and attention to the effects of war.

Researching a New Pathway for Promoting Children’s Active Outdoor Science Exploration in Urban Settings

To become robust scientific thinkers, children need meaningful opportunities to engage in science learning across a variety of contexts. Unfortunately, many children, especially those in urban settings and from low-income families, do not get the experiences needed to deepen their understanding of a broad range of scientific ideas, nor do they have consistent opportunities to engage in the practice of science. Informal and outdoor education programs offer a pathway to provide meaningful science learning experiences that prepare children for school and beyond, as well as offer health benefits of being physically active and outdoors. This paper discusses a federally funded initiative to develop a Toolkit and to research its promise for supporting children’s active, outdoor environmental science learning through the use of digital resources and hands-on activities. Findings showed that the Toolkit positively influenced participants’ behaviors and supported educators and parents in engaging children with focal science concepts and practices across a range of informal, outdoor contexts (e.g., local park departments, nature centers, school-based after-school programs with open green space).Subscribe to JOREL

Challenges And Opportunities For Improving Patient Safety Through Human Factors And Systems Engineering.

Despite progress on patient safety since the publication of the Institute of Medicine's 1999 report, To Err Is Human, significant problems remain. Human factors and systems engineering (HF/SE) has been increasingly recognized and advocated for its value in understanding, improving, and redesigning processes for safer care, especially for complex interacting sociotechnical systems. However, broad awareness of HF/SE and its adoption into safety improvement work have been frustratingly slow. We provide an overview of HF/SE, its demonstrated value to a wide range of patient safety problems (in particular, medication safety), and challenges to its broader implementation across health care. We make a variety of recommendations to maximize the spread of HF/SE, including formal and informal education programs, greater adoption of HF/SE by health care organizations, expanded funding to foster more clinician-engineer partnerships, and coordinated national efforts to design and operationalize a system for spreading HF/SE into health care nationally.

Uncovering Cultural Barriers to Quality Improvement Learning in a Trauma Program: An Ethnographic Study

Quality improvement (QI) training is an essential component of postgraduate surgical education and can occur through formal and informal education programs. Informal QI education requires that faculty take advantage of learning opportunities in the hospital setting. Trauma rotations appear ideal opportunities for informal QI learning given that performance improvement is a mandatory component of care at verified trauma centers. It is unclear, however, whether QI initiatives within trauma programs are well integrated into trainee education. This study explored the QI learning environment in a level 1 academic trauma center. An ethnographic study using observation and interviews methods. The theoretical lens of hidden curriculum was used to interpret the data and generate hypotheses around faculty and trainee experiences. University of Toronto and Sunnybrook Health Sciences Center. Twenty-seven observations involving more than 50 faculty and trainees; seventeen interviews with faculty and surgical trainees. All faculty and trainees endorsed QI and informal QI learning. Discrepant experiences were found regarding opportunities to learn and do QI in the clinical setting. Faculty viewed themselves as perpetually doing and teaching QI while trainees perceived little to no QI learning. Trainees identified Morbidity and Mortality rounds as the main opportunity for QI learning; however, traditional teaching style through "pimping" and a largely clinical focus acted as barriers to QI education. Furthermore, trainees chiefly viewed QI as service to the institution, rather than as a form of learning, which contributed to their disinterest in taking up informal QI lessons. Informal QI education is highly valued and desired in academic trauma centers but enduring teaching methods, inconsistencies in the cultural learning environment and a hidden curriculum devaluing QI learning are persistent barriers to change.

Legitimate Peripheral Participation in a Makerspace for Emancipated Emerging Adults

Following emancipation from foster care, youth often transition into adulthood without the support of family or school. For some emancipated emerging adults (EEAs), alternative support may come from informal educational programs like makerspaces—safe spaces to learn, explore identities, build relationships, and become entrepreneurs. This exploratory study uses Lave and Wenger’s concept of legitimate peripheral participation as a lens to for analyzing the diverse relationships of three EEAs (ages 20, 22, and 25) to the maker community of practice, as they live in a transitional housing facility and engage with its on-site makerspace and its affiliated museum.

Identity negotiation within peer groups during an informal engineering education program: The central role of leadership‐oriented youth

AbstractAs part of ongoing efforts to support a diverse and robust engineering workforce and ensure that children and adults from all communities have the engineering and design thinking skills to succeed in a science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM)‐rich world, identity has become a growing focus of research and education efforts. To advance our understanding of engineering‐related identity negotiation within informal STEM education contexts, we conducted an in‐depth, qualitative investigation of six adolescent girls participating in an afterschool engineering education program jointly run by two community‐based organizations and a science center. Building on the Identity‐Frame Model developed through our prior work, analysis of videotaped program sessions and secondary data from participants, program facilitators, and parents highlighted the important role that leadership‐oriented youth played in shaping the identity negotiation of participants during the programs, both in the ways they recognized and positioned the situated identities of other youth and through their influence on the activity frames that defined the nature of the engineering activities. These findings extend prior classroom studies and suggest a new lens to help teachers and program facilitators support identity negotiation for youth in STEM education programs.