Macro Contexts Research Articles

Managing hypertension in rural Gambia and Kenya: Protocol for a qualitative study exploring the experiences of patients, health care workers, and decision-makers

Background Hypertension is the single leading risk factor for premature death in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Prevalence is high, but awareness, treatment, and control are low. Community-centred interventions show promise for effective hypertension management, but embedding such interventions sustainably requires a good understanding of the wider context within which they are being introduced. This study aims to conduct a systematic health system assessment exploring the micro (patients/carers), meso (health care workers and facilities), and macro (broader system) contexts in rural Gambia and Kenya. Methods This study will utilise various qualitative approaches. We will conduct (i) focus group discussions with people living with hypertensive to map a ‘typical’ patient journey through health systems, and (ii) in-depth interviews with patients and family carers, health care workers, decision-makers, and NCD partners to explore their experiences of managing hypertension and assess the capacity and readiness of the health systems to strengthen hypertension management. We will also review national guidelines and policy documents to map the organisation of services and guidance on hypertension management. We will use thematic analysis to analyse data, guided by the cumulative complexity model, and theories of organisational readiness and dissemination of innovations. Expected findings This study will describe the current context for the management of hypertension from the perspective of those involved in seeking (patients), delivering (health care workers) and overseeing (decision-makers) health services in rural Gambia and Kenya. It will juxtapose what should be happening according to health system guidance and what is happening in practice, drawing on the experiences of study participants. It will outline the various barriers to and facilitators of hypertension management, as perceived by patients, providers, and decision-makers, and the conditions that would need to be in place for effective and sustainable implementation of a community-centred intervention to improve the management of hypertension in rural settings.

Syrian Immigrants in the Malta Bazaar of Istanbul: Changing Rules of the Trade Game and Negotiation between the Capitals

ABSTRACT This article examines the socio-spatial transformations of the Malta Bazaar in Istanbul and the new Syrian shopkeepers as potential game changers. We argue that the transformation of the bazaar cannot be seen solely as a commercial venture, but can also be read as a dynamic playground of understanding and tolerance, as well as emerging social, cultural and economic contrasts and tensions. To test these arguments, we designed a field study with an ethnographic approach. The central theme of our research is to read the role of Syrians in the social reproduction of space through potential changes in the rules of the game in a micro-space. We adopted Pierre Bourdieu's concepts of field and habitus to relate the micro-level experiences of actors in space to broader macro contexts. As a result, we concluded that the change in the rules of the game should be defined as a process of mutual uneasiness. What happens in the field at this stage is an attempt to fit into a single space where negotiation rather than cooperation is more prominent and mutual compromises are inevitably made.

Contextual Triggers of Family Conflicts in Folake Amanfo’s Celebrity Marriage and Caliph Uzar’s After Knot

This study investigates contextual triggers of family conflicts, as portrayed in Folake Amanfo’s Celebrity Marriage and Caliph Uzar’s After Knot. Aspects of pragmatic theory and context model served as the framework. Findings showed that six discursive contexts are foregrounded as triggers of family conflicts. The contexts – speculative assumption, rebuttal argument, communication gap, emotional insecurity, aggressive complaint and blame shift –realize verbal, physical, financial, and sexual family conflicts. Speculative assumption which enhances family conflict is realized through cognitive, linguistic, and social macro contexts. Rebuttal argument stimulates conflict through high voice pitch (VCE) and metaphor (MPH). Communication gap triggers conflict through (wrong) inference and linguistic context. Emotional insecurity necessitates family conflict through cognitive and linguistic contexts. Aggressive complaints and blame shift, as prompters of family conflict, are enhanced by metaphor, linguistic and social contexts. Participants within the family interactions make inferences to create and sustain family conflict.

Managing hypertension in rural Gambia and Kenya: Protocol for a qualitative study exploring the experiences of patients, health care workers, and decision-makers

Background Hypertension is the single leading risk factor for premature death in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Prevalence is high, but awareness, treatment, and control are low. Community-centred interventions show promise for effective hypertension management, but embedding such interventions sustainably requires a good understanding of the wider context within which they are being introduced. This study aims to conduct a systematic health system assessment exploring the micro (patients/carers), meso (health care workers and facilities), and macro (broader system) contexts in rural Gambia and Kenya. Methods This study will utilise various qualitative approaches. We will conduct (i) focus group discussions with people living with hypertensive to map a ‘typical’ patient journey through health systems, and (ii) in-depth interviews with patients and family carers, health care workers, decision-makers, and NCD partners to explore their experiences of managing hypertension and assess the capacity and readiness of the health systems to strengthen hypertension management. We will also review national guidelines and policy documents to map the organisation of services and guidance on hypertension management. We will use thematic analysis to analyse data, guided by the cumulative complexity model, and theories of organisational readiness and dissemination of innovations. Expected findings This study will describe the current context for the management of hypertension from the perspective of those involved in seeking (patients), delivering (health care workers) and overseeing (decision-makers) health services in rural Gambia and Kenya. It will juxtapose what should be happening according to health system guidance and what is happening in practice, drawing on the experiences of study participants. It will outline the various barriers to and facilitators of hypertension management, as perceived by patients, providers, and decision-makers, and the conditions that would need to be in place for effective and sustainable implementation of a community-centred intervention to improve the management of hypertension in rural settings.

Managing hypertension in rural Gambia and Kenya: Protocol for a qualitative study exploring the experiences of patients, health care workers, and decision-makers

Background Hypertension is the single leading risk factor for premature death in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Prevalence is high, but awareness, treatment, and control are low. Community-centred interventions show promise for effective hypertension management, but embedding sustainably such interventions requires a good understanding of the wider context within which they are being introduced. This study aims to conduct a systematic health system assessment exploring the micro (patients/carers), meso (health care workers and facilities), and macro (broader system) contexts in rural Gambia and Kenya. Methods This study will utilise various qualitative approaches. We will conduct focus group discussions with hypertensive patients to map a ‘typical’ patient journey through health systems. We will conduct in-depth interviews with patients, health care workers, and decision-makers to explore their experiences of managing hypertension and assess the capacity and readiness of the health systems to strengthen hypertension management in rural Gambia and Kenya. We will also review national guidelines and policy documents to map the organisation of services and guidance on hypertension diagnosis and control. Thematic analysis approach will be used to analyse data, guided by the cumulative complexity model, and theories of organisational readiness and dissemination of innovations. Expected findings This study will describe the current context for the diagnosis and management of hypertension from the perspective of those involved in seeking (patients), delivering (health care workers) and overseeing (decision-makers) health services in rural Gambia and Kenya. It will juxtapose what should be happening according to health system guidance and what is happening in practice. It will outline the various barriers to and facilitators of hypertension control, as perceived by patients, providers, and decision-makers, and the conditions that would need to be in place for effective and sustainable implementation of a community-centred intervention to improve the diagnosis and management of hypertension in rural settings.

Language teacher identities and identity tensions of early career English teachers

AbstractIn this article, we explore the tensions early career English teachers experience in their language teacher identities (LTIs). To this effect, we conducted semi‐structured interviews with three early career English teachers at Turkish public schools. The findings showed that the teachers experienced tensions with their roles as teachers, language competency, and structural and relational aspects in their contexts. Devising and employing coping strategies in navigating challenges, the teachers developed their own ways to deal with various identity tensions. The findings of this study conclude that (i) maintaining LTIs is emotionally complex, (ii) LTIs happen in social practice, and (iii) meso and macro contexts supersede ideals causing dilemmas, conflicts, and tensions in LTIs. Drawing on the findings, we argue that teachers' emotional needs and identity tensions should be provided for through institutional and interrelational support systems so that teachers can manage tensions and emotionality as potential in their identities.

Primary care occupational, physical, and respiratory therapy role adaptation in the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Occupational, physical and respiratory therapists are relatively new to primary care settings, and thus their roles are still emerging. The COVID-19 pandemic was a time of abrupt changes in professional roles. Professional role adaptations are integral to the ability of health care teams to respond to day-to-day care delivery challenges, such as the current physician and nurse shortage, as well as disaster situations. This study explored the role adaptation of occupational, physical, and respiratory therapists in Canadian primary care settings throughout the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as barriers and facilitators to adaptation. This longitudinal interpretative descriptive study purposively sampled primary care occupational, physical, and respiratory therapists from two Canadian provinces (Manitoba and Ontario). We asked participants to prepare at least 10 semi-structured audio-diary entries during a 12-week period (April - Oct 2020), followed by two semi-structured interviews (Dec 2020, Apr 2021). Questions focused on changes happening in their practice over time. Analysis was iterative, including developing a individual summaries and coding data using both inductive and pre-determined codes. We then entered an immersion/crystallization process to develop key themes related to role adaptation. We represent our findings with the metaphor of the game of Role Adaptation Snakes and Ladders (aka Chutes and Ladders). The pandemic was certainly not a game, but this metaphor represents the tension of being a pawn to circumstance while also being expected to take control of one's professional and personal life during a disaster. The object of the game is to move through three phases of role adaptation, from Disorienting, through Coping and Waiting, to Adapting. In the Adapting phase, the therapists creatively found ways to provide vital services for the pandemic response. The therapists were influenced both negatively and positively (snakes and ladders) by their personal circumstances, and professional meso and macro contexts. Each therapist moved across the board in a unique trajectory and timeline based on these contexts. Rehabilitation professionals, with adequate meso and macro system supports, can maximize their role on primary care teams by adapting their services to work to their full scope of practice.

Toward a dynamic understanding of multilevel influences on organizational strategy

Although organizational strategy has been increasingly examined from a multilevel perspective, there has been little work on the dynamics by which micro and macro influences are temporally interrelated: How do multilevel influences develop organizational strategy over time? Drawing on a longitudinal case study of the diamond industry, this article advances a multilevel process model of organizational strategy, unpacking the mechanisms by which strategy is contextually driven. In doing so, this article advances three specific contributions. First, we show how the magnitude and prominence of multilevel influences on organizational strategy can vary significantly over time, laying bare when micro and macro contexts matter most. Second, we demonstrate how the strategic impact of micro and macro contexts depends largely on the interplay between both system levels, highlighting how a combined understanding of both is crucial for making sense of how strategy trajectories evolve. Finally, we extend the methodological toolbox that multilevel scholars can draw on by advancing a dynamic case-based approach, allowing researchers focusing on multilevel strategy to enrich their qualitative inquiries with time as a critical factor.

Uncovering Embodied Community Cultural Wealth: Hung dee moy Brings Forth New Possibilities

In this paper, educators unpack their community cultural wealth, also known as hung dee moy 同姊妹, a Toisanese-Chinese sisterhood support system. I narratively inquire alongside my participants Felicia and Mary, uncovering their embodied experiences of hung dee moy knowledge, passed from their mothers to them and onto the next generation. In attending closely to their experiences as expressions of hung dee moy, their narratives illuminate the interconnections between micro and macro contexts, showing how patterns of race-based exclusion and interpersonal and institutional racism affected generations of Toisanese. Participants highlight the power of hung dee moy to cultivate collective strength through intergenerational resistance.This paper discusses the process of uncovering generational wealth and holds the possibilities of others articulating their ancestral knowledge.

Physical activity and mental health experiences of people living with long term conditions during COVID-19 pandemic: A qualitative study.

Regular physical activity is a strategy that is effective in the physical management of long term conditions. The COVID-19 pandemic, led to disruption of physical activity routines for many people with long term conditions. It is important, to understand the experiences of people with long term conditions regarding physical activity during COVID-19 to enable future identification of strategies to mitigate the impact of restrictions on health. To explore perceptions and experiences of people with long term conditions of the impact of the UK Government physical distancing restrictions on their physical activity participation during the COVID-19 pandemic. A qualitative study, with in depth videoconference semi-structured interviews were conducted between January and April 2022, with 26 adults living with at least one long term condition in the UK. Data were managed in analytical matrices within Excel and data analysis was conducted using thematic analysis. Two main themes were developed, explaining how participants managed their physical activity during COVID19 lockdowns, and based on those experiences, what they considered should be in place should another lockdown occur:1) COVID-19 and physical activity: Losses, opportunities and adapting to new formats; and 2) Micro, meso, and macro contexts: creating the right conditions for physical activity support in future pandemics. This study provides information on how people with long term conditions managed their condition during the COVID-19 pandemic and generates new understanding of how physical activity routines changed. These findings will be used to inform stakeholder engagement meetings with individuals with long term conditions and local, regional, and national policy makers, to co-produce recommendations that will help people living with long term conditions remain active during and after COVID-19 and other pandemics.

The bank lending channel of monetary policy transmission in Vietnam: Impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and the financial crisis

This paper aims to analyze changes in the transmission of monetary policy via bank lending when considering the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the financial crisis. Using bank-level data of 31 commercial banks in Vietnam from 2007 to 2021, we provide consistent evidence that the impact of monetary policy on bank lending tends to be more pronounced in the period of the COVID-19 pandemic. Besides, we document that the bank’s loan supply is more sensitive to monetary policy adjustments during the global financial crisis. Thus, a general pattern can be detected, i.e. the monetary policy transmission through the bank lending channel is stronger under unfavorable macro contexts in Vietnam. Accordingly, it can be suggested that adjustments in the monetary policy of the central bank have still been effective in periods of macro difficulty and the implementation of unconventional monetary policy in Vietnam is not necessary yet. Regression results when using the sample-splitting technique are consistent with those using interactive variables, providing evidence to confirm the robustness of the findings obtained in the study.

Tailoring implementation interventions of different order in infection prevention and control: A cascadic logic model (IPC-CASCADE).

Implementation interventions in infection prevention and control (IPC) differ by recipients. The two target groups are healthcare workers directly involved in patient care ("frontline") and IPC professionals as proxy agents, that is, implementation support practitioners. While both types of implementation interventions aim to promote compliance with clinical interventions to prevent healthcare-associated infections (HAI), their tailoring may be vastly different, for example, due to different behavioural outcomes. Additionally, IPC teams, as recipients of empowering tailored interventions, are under-researched. To overcome this gap and improve conceptual clarity, we proposed a cascadic logic model for tailored IPC interventions (IPC-CASCADE). In the model, we distinguished between interventions by IPC professionals targeting clinicians and those targeting IPC professionals (first- and second-order implementation interventions, respectively). Tailoring implies selecting behaviour change techniques matched to prospectively-assessed determinants of either clinician compliance (in first-order interventions) or interventions by IPC professionals for frontline workers (in second-order interventions). This interventional cascade is embedded in the prevailing healthcare system. IPC-CASCADE is horizontally structured over time and vertically structured by hierarchy or leadership roles. IPC-CASCADE aims to highlight the potential of increasing the impact of tailored interventions by IPC professionals for clinicians (to improve their compliance) via tailored interventions for IPC professionals (to improve their work as proxy agents). It underlines the links that IPC professionals define between macro contexts (healthcare and hospitals) and frontline workers in HAI prevention. It is specific, i.e., "tailored" to IPC, and expected to assist implementation science to better conceptualise tailoring.

The diverse pathways of social inequality transmission in the neighbourhood

This PhD thesis aims to move beyond the standard treatments of neighbourhoods in research on spatially transmitted inequality. The research questions explored in the four empirical chapters of the thesis delve into under-researched elements of sociospatial inequality transmission in neighbourhoods. The thesis uses statistical models to analyse register and survey data, and relies on different operationalisations of neighbourhoods: administrative and bespoke. Chapter 2 finds that controlling for selection reduces neighbourhood effects compared to when only individual characteristics are controlled for, and provides insight into the differing patterns of neighbourhood selection and effects in Dutch regional housing markets. Chapter 3 shows that the strength of the observed relationship between neighbourhood poverty and educational attainment is dependent on how exposure is measured and conceptualized, and highlights the importance of choosing the temporal aspects of individual neighbourhood histories based on the theoretical scope of a study. Chapter 4 finds that in the Netherlands, the positive effect of neighbourhood affluence on educational attainment is stronger than the negative effect of neighbourhood poverty. Chapter 5 addresses the discrepancy between the registered data-based measurements of neighbourhood characteristics, specifically the share of neighbours with foreign background and low income, and the individual perceptions of those characteristics by the inhabitants of the neighbourhood. The findings of the thesis confirm the validity of treating the neighbourhood as a social setting that interacts with the micro and macro contexts, rather than simply as an aggregated characteristic which can be controlled for.

SOSYAL KUŞAKLAR: KUŞAKLAR SOSYOLOJİSİNDE METODOLOJİK BİR AÇILIM

Kuşaklar sosyolojisi, sosyolojinin görece yeni çalışma alanlarından biri olup, gelişmekte olan bir literatüre sahiptir. Uzunca bir süre farklı disiplinlerin gölgesinde kalmış olan kuşak sorunu, tarih felsefesi, zaman sosyolojisi ve toplumsal değişme gibi makro bağlamlar içinde incelenmiştir. Kuşak sorununa dair en kapsamlı teorik katkı, Alman sosyolog Karl Mannheim tarafından bilgi sosyolojisinin özgün bir inceleme alanı olarak ortaya koyulmuştur. Kuşakları tarihsel süreçte içsel olarak deneyimlenen kolektif bilincin oluşturduğu toplumsal konumlar olarak nitelendiren Mannheim, teorisini yine tarihsel kanıtlarla ortaya koymaya çalışmıştır. Ancak kuşak sorununun ampirik olarak incelenmesi, Mannheim’den sonra kuşaklar sosyolojisine katkı veren diğer yazarların çalışmaları çerçevesinde mümkün olmuştur. Bu yazarlar arasında Jane Pilcher’in çalışması, Mannheim’in tarihsel kuşak okumasına metodolojik tadilatlar gerçekleştirmiştir. Pilcher, Mannheim’in teorisinden hareketle, kuşakları ampirik olarak incelemenin imkanlarını tartışmış, bu bakımdan kuşaklar sosyolojisini ayakları yere basan bir çalışma alanı haline getirmeye yönelik önemli açılımlar getirmiştir. Bu çalışmada Mannheim’in kuşaklar sosyolojisi, Pilcher’in getirdiği yenilikler çerçevesinde ele alınmaktadır. Bu hedefle öncelikle Mannheim’in teorisinin ana hatları ortaya koyulacak, ardından Mannheim’den sonra kuşaklar sosyolojisine katkı sunan yazarların çalışmalarına değinilecektir. Son olarak Pilcher’in kuşaklar sosyolojisine katkıları, metodolojik sosyal kuşak kavramı çerçevesinde tartışılacaktır.

OLDER ADULT ENGAGEMENT IN COMMUNITY GERONTOLOGY

Abstract Community gerontology integrates scholarship on aging and communities through the lens of mesolevel environments, the diverse continua of settings linking micro and macro contexts of aging. This interdisciplinary symposium brings together research exploring the interconnections of older adults’ engagement across and within the socio-ecological levels of their lived experiences, place-based communities, and policy contexts. Yeh et al.’s paper elucidates the promises of visual methods in critical qualitative research with older adults to subvert power dynamics and advance social justice in gerontology. Latham-Mintus’ paper explores how “weak ties” created by the interaction of social infrastructure within geospatial places and spaces can facilitate longer, healthier lives. Reyes’ paper uses an intersectional life course perspective to explore placemaking as civic participation among Latinx immigrants and African American older adults across time and social environments. Plasencia’s paper focuses on aging in community among diverse older adults using a photovoice to assess their perceptions and needs within the lived urban environment. Pope and colleagues explore how a multi-state sample of older adults perceive their roles in age-friendly initiatives at individual, organizational, and community levels. Taken together, the papers discuss and contextualize the multidirectional ways older adults engage their place-based communities within larger macro sociopolitical structures – an analysis that highlights the embeddedness of mesolevel community environments both within and between micro and macro spheres. This session further speaks to the importance of centering older adults’ experiences in community gerontology by illuminating the ways older adults not only age in community but through layers of community.

A sociocultural analysis of the bereavement discourse: a cross-cultural study

Reactions to death have been examined in line with psychological, behavioral, and social perspectives (Zunin & Zunin, 2007). That being the case, the bereavement discourse has not been given sufficient attention appropriate to its communicative functions. This paper aims at investigating the bereavement discourse among Persian and English speakers, delving into the common communicative themes and extracting semantically meaningful categories. I also intend to make a cross-cultural comparison based on the common themes. The data of this study include 743 condoling sentences gathered through movie analysis, which can be a good source representing societal norms and cultural stereotypes (Pimentel, 2010). The bereavement discourse in movies was categorized under six general functions: (1) expressing regret; (2) offering condolence; (3) sharing feeling; (4) offering help; (5) extending sympathy; and (6) religious-oriented comments. The Chi-square test was conducted to find out whether the differences between these two groups of speakers are significant. I also discuss that the differences are meaningfully attributable to cultural conventions and social norms. Therefore, the relationship between micro and macro contexts is considered to make broader cultural inferences.

Towards inclusiveness and sustainability of robot programming in early childhood: Child engagement, learning outcomes and teacher perception

AbstractThe proliferation of screen‐free programmable robotics allows teachers to implement age‐appropriate integrated activities that can promote child learning and development. However, very scarce is known about the challenges of using programmable robots as a tool to empower children in minority communities. This mixed‐methods case study examined a Free Quality Kindergarten situated in a low‐income public housing estate in Hong Kong to explore the affordances and challenges of robot programming (RP) in early childhood education (ECE). Both quantitative and qualitative data were generated through videotaped observations, child assessments and teacher interviews to journey with the teaching team as they managed to implement the newly introduced RP curriculum. Child assessment evidence revealed that there was a statistically significant improvement in CT scores over 6 weeks of RP activities, while the pretest–posttest change of child self‐regulation scores was nonsignificant. Video analysis results further revealed that children's interaction level with the robot kit significantly predicted the change of self‐regulation over time. Qualitative results are presented to explicate the micro, meso and macro conditions that constrain the implementation of RP curriculum, including the following: (a) teachers' limited TPACK in RP education, (b) a disconnect between the RP curriculum and the school‐based curriculum, (c) limited resources and (d) the Confucian tradition and cultural barriers. These illustrate the intricacies involved in the implementation of RP education to empower marginalized children in under‐resourced ECE settings. This study will help bring systemic change to the ECE field by uncovering ecological difficulties in integrating new technologies to promote inclusiveness and sustainability for the future. Practitioner notesWhat is already known about this topic Screen‐free robot programming (RP) is beneficial for preschool children in terms of promoting their computational thinking (CT) and executive functioning. RP can be generally engaging for preschool children from a middle‐class background. What this paper adds The study is addressing the inclusiveness and sustainability according to the learning needs of kindergarten students, especially those from less privileged backgrounds. The story‐based approach to RP can cater to the learning needs and interests of children from a lower socio‐economic background, which is likely to enhance their CT skills. Children with a higher level of interaction with the robot kit benefited more from the RP activities in terms of self‐regulation skills. This study used multiple methods (ie, video analysis, teacher interview and child assessment) to reveal the effects of micro, meso and macro contexts on RP education in an under‐resourced Hong Kong kindergarten. Implications for practice and/or policy RP education should be cautiously prompted in diverse early childhood settings, especially the less privileged institutions, to enhance positive effects. Critical constraints on the use of programmable robots to empower marginalized children should be adequately addressed when trying to integrate RP into early childhood education. Teachers should receive training and continual support in RP‐related pedagogical strategies to facilitate and scaffold children's learning.

Optimising the secondary use of primary care prescribing data to improve quality of care: a qualitative analysis

ObjectivesTo explore available data sources, secondary uses and key considerations for optimising the actionability of primary care prescribing data to improve quality of care in the Dutch context.DesignAn exploratory qualitative...

Directions for reorganizing the Ministry of Education to establish the future-oriented educational governance

본 연구는 정부 조직개편 과정에서 교육부가 직면하고 거시적인 상황과 맥락에 대한 이해를 바탕으로 교육거버넌스 관점에서 교육부의 역할과 행태를 분석하고, 미래지향적 교육거버넌스를 지향하는 교육부의 역할과 기능의 조화를 통해 어떻게 재구조화할 것인지를 탐색적으로 기획하는 데 목적을 두었다. 정권교체기의 정부 조직개편 과정에서 나타나는 정치적 현상은 정치체제적 접근과 역사적 제도주의적 관점에서 조망될 수 있다. 본 연구에서는 역사적 제도주의 접근을 채택하여 정부 조직개편을 구조, 제도, 행위자 수준에서 분석하고 통합적으로 정부 조직개편의 거시적 맥락을 제시하고자 하였다. 구체적으로, 교육부 조직개편의 미시적 맥락을 이해하기 위하여 교육부 조직을 SWOT 분석을 실시하였고, 현재 교육부의 조직개편론을 폐지론, 통폐합론, 존치론으로 나누어 살펴보았다. 마지막으로, 교육부 조직개편에 대한 거시적·미시적 맥락에 대한 이해를 바탕으로 교육거버넌스 관점과 역할-기능 조화론을 채택하여 조직개편의 방향을 탐색하였다. 향후, 교육부 조직은 정부 조직개편 시즌에 종속변수로서 폐지와 존치의 갈림길에서, 과거의 경험처럼 적당히 중간 수준에서 통폐합되거나 적절한 수준에서 기능이 축소되는 타협적인 존치로 마무리될 가능성이 크다. 그러나 교육부 조직개편은 결과와 상관없이 시대사회적인 환경의 변화와 국가사회적 요구에 직면하여 어떤 형태로든 진행될 필요가 있다. 이에 교육부 조직개편은 곧 거버넌스 재구조화이며, 교육부가 존재해야 할 이유와 명분을 먼저 살피는 구조기능 재편에 선행하는 역할의 정립에 중점을 두어야 할 것이다. This study was intended to analyze roles and practice of the Ministry of Education from the perspective of educational governance, based on the understanding of macro-level situation and context facing the Ministry, and to plan in search for how to reorganize the Ministry with the harmony between its roles and functions. At the era of regime change, political phenomena appeared in the process of restructuring the governmental organization can be approached from the political system and historical institutionalism perspectives. This study analyzed the restucturing of governmental organization at the levels of structure, institution, and actor, and unitedly tried to understand its macro contexts. In detail, the study implemented the SWOT analysis on the Ministry organization and examined the restructuring into its abolition, merger, and maintenance in order to understand its micro contexts. Then the study adopted the perspectives of educational governance and role-function harmony for restructuring the Ministry organization and examined their characteristics and methods. At the crossroad of its abolition and maintenance the organization would be likely to be finished as a compromised maintenance in ways of integrating into some appropriate level of its large functions or minimizing its functions fewer. Regardless of its results, however, the Ministry reorganization needs to be continued, especially facing the times of changing societal environments and the demands of the nation and society. Therefore, what the Ministry reorganization call means its governance restructuring, so that it will focus on the establishments of its roles that care about the reasons and justification of why the Ministry should exist, ahead of arguing the reorganization of its structures and functions.

Strategy for Internalizing the Value off Character Education Based on Aswaja in Elementary School

The problem of attitudes and moral decadence of learners is increasingly widespread, making it important to optimize character education from an early age. This research aims to describe the strategy of planting Aswaja-based character values in students in elementary school in order to become a strong foundation. The research method used is descriptive qualitative with a case study. This research was conducted at the Integrated Primary School (SD) Jepara. Collecting data entailed methods of observation, interviews, and documentation. The results of the study show that the strategy of internalizing character values based on Aswaja can be carried out by schools with application in micro contexts and macro contexts. First, the micro context includes: integration with each subject, planting tasamuh, tawazun, ta’adul and tawasuth through habituation of attitudes in daily life, habituation of amaliah Aswaja such as Barzanji activities, Qur'an recitations, grave pilgrimages, and tahlil. Second, the macro context refers to collaboration between schools, parents, and the community. Cooperation with parents lies in the synergy of attitude application at school and at home and doing reflections together; cooperation with the community is carried out through a partnership program to support the quality and character of educational output.