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1.
Abstract

Purpose: Formal agricultural research has generated vast amount of knowledge and fundamental insights on land management, but their low adoption has been attributed to the use of public extension approach. This research aims to address whether and how full participation of farmers through the concept of Rural Resource Centre (RRC) provides new insights for the development of alternative and farmers-based extension methods.

Design/Methodology/Approach: Using the Concept of RRC, this research assesses the role of farmers in on-farm demonstrations and scaling-up of land management practices, and investigates effective ways to enhance beneficial interactions between researchers, extension workers and farmers in view of improving adoption.

Findings: The findings suggest that farmers can effectively participate in demonstrations and scaling-up of agricultural practices. This participation is enhanced by judicious incentives such as higher crop yields that motivate farmers and influence adoption. The current success of the approach stems from the fact that farmers, extension workers and researchers jointly implement the activities and their different aims were achieved simultaneously: scientific results for researchers, better agricultural practices for extension workers, and economic success and free choice for farmers.

Practical implications: This research concludes that farmers have the capacities to play an innermost role in demonstrations and scaling-up of agricultural practices. However, there is a need to build and strengthen their capacities to facilitate their participation and contribution.

Originality/Value: The article demonstrates the value of the preponderant role of farmers in on-farm demonstrations and scaling-up practices by exhibiting the beneficial interactions between researchers, extension workers and farmers.  相似文献   

2.
Abstract

A universal goal of extension agents is the attainment of voluntary behaviour change in clients. Learning skills are critical to individuals that seek effective outcomes from behaviour change experiences. This paper reports on a study that estimated the cognitive changes occurring among a group of farmers, consultants and scientists in New Zealand. A model of the learning process directed the research. This model identifies two distinct components to learning: grasping information through conceptualisation or experience, and: transformation of information into knowledge, through reflection or experimentation. Individual clients are grouped into one of four distinct learning styles depending on the way they grasp information and transform it into knowledge. Research results detected learning preference and belief differences among the farmers, consultants and scientists in the group. The study suggests learning research methods assist extension agents plan and negotiate the specific behaviour changes that clients seek by implementing strategies that use learning preference and belief data. Researchers can improve approaches to technology development by exploring client needs using communication method's compatible with client learning preferences.  相似文献   

3.
《Africa Education Review》2013,10(2):380-394
Abstract

This article looks at how the application of the concept of a ‘learning organisation’ can be used at a specific organisation in South Africa to change the work performance of its employees. We do this by exploring different theories, models and definitions of organisational learning, learning organisation, organisational knowledge and knowledge management in the field, and against this background examine the perceptions of employees at a South African Organisation. The article underpins this approach by uniquely balancing conceptual rigour with practical experiences of employees at this institution. The view is taken that organisations are living systems that have the capacity to renew themselves by continuously reflecting on their practices and thereby create new knowledge, share and leverage it. Knowledge acquisition and sharing is closely linked to the core values of the organisation in order to achieve business competitiveness, set goals, efficiency, and overall strategic success. The purpose of this article is to understand how an organisation's training department could use the concept of a learning organisation within the South African context to sustain change. To achieve this objective we (the researchers) used a qualitative research paradigm. A phenomenological design presented the research with opportunities to analyse, interpret, and describe the perceptions, feelings and experiences of the participants at the organisation. Eight semi-structured individual interviews provided data for the purposes of this research. The data was analysed to identify categories, themes and sub-themes. The five main themes discussed are organisational learning, organisational culture, organisational change, globalisation and knowledge management and these were linked to the theory of learning organisations and were based on the findings.  相似文献   

4.
ABSTRACT

This paper investigates the underexplored area of othering of migrant academics within their teaching context. Nine personal narratives of migrant academics’ teaching were analysed qualitatively for indications of pedagogical othering. Migrant academics indicated the need to align their own pedagogic values and practices with that of their host institutions they work in as they felt their own values and practices were considered less desirable. We argue, from a Gramsci’s hegemonic perspective, that the pedagogic adaptation by migrant academics aimed at improving student learning is not problematic in itself, but more problematic is the inequality of opportunity for migrant academics to contribute to pedagogical decisions which can meaningfully influence the departmental culture. Lack of pedagogic democracy where the ‘home’ academic environment has a monopoly of knowledge and a hegemonic position regarding learning and teaching can compromise the student-learning experience by limiting articulation of alternative pedagogical perspectives by the migrant international academics.  相似文献   

5.
Abstract

As investments in K–12 math and science professional development programs expanded over the past decade, researchers and policymakers have questioned whether and how such programs work to improve student learning. This article summarizes the current knowledge-base and offers a theoretical framework researchers can use to design studies that explore mechanisms through which professional development programs influence teacher knowledge, teacher practices, and ultimately student achievement. We quantitatively pool the most rigorous evaluation research available to determine whether currently held beliefs in the field are supported by the evidence. Although this study does find some support for the guidance propounded by experts, it cautions policymakers and practitioners that the current evidence base is thin. We urge researchers to build on what we have learned through theory and practice to increase the rigor of evaluations on this important topic by incorporating valid and reliable measures of professional development components as well as valid measures of teacher knowledge and practices.  相似文献   

6.
Abstract

Purpose: The study evaluated how farmer acquisition, sharing and use patterns of information and knowledge interact with different socioeconomic factors to influence integrated soil fertility management (ISFM) technology uptake.

Design/methodology/approach: The study was conducted as part of an evaluation of field-based farmer learning approaches introduced by SOFECSA in Zimbabwe. Building on emerging farmer interactive platforms, data were collected using farmer participatory research approaches.

Findings: Over 90% of the farmers identified the national extension agents as the farmers' most preferred and reliable sources of information on ISFM, with farmer-to-farmer interactions ranking second. Non-governmental organisations and the print media emerged as the least trusted sources of agricultural technical information. Field-based learning centres, which enabled interactive evaluation of different ISFM options, constituted ~50%, indicating that they were major platforms for information and knowledge sharing. Uptake of ISFM was influenced by farmer resource group and farmers' visits to learning centres. Farmer experience and access to extension services were, in turn, the major factors influencing farmers' use of ISFM information. Approaches that support farmer-to-farmer interactions are required and learning centres are a suitable platform for such interactions to occur.

Practical implications: The article brings to attention the role of learning centres in fostering adoption of ISFM technologies. Insights on the need to support and strengthen agricultural extension in rural smallholder communities are provided.

Originality/value: This is a unique study exploring the role of farmer-oriented information and knowledge management in promoting complex technologies such as ISFM. A new dimension on the demands of new approaches for information dissemination to enhance knowledge sharing is presented.  相似文献   

7.
ABSTRACT

This article explores the ethical complexities of involving children in research in the contexts of their families, schools and communities. We argue for an approach that is dynamic, reflexive, responsive and informed by an understanding of how local cultures impact on and shape negotiations and practices around ethical issues and processes. We use different sociocultural lenses to analyse the complexities of ethical processes and practices at the beginning of a research project which explored children’s informal and everyday learning. The article contributes to ethical debates about involving children with research through foregrounding the multiplicities and complexities that emerge when researchers are attentive to the practices and values of the settings that children’s and researchers’ lives traverse.  相似文献   

8.
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9.
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10.
Abstract

Two instructional coaches explore the effectiveness of targeted coaching conversations to address teachers' perceptions of their students' capacities. In this study, the researchers focus on how specific questions can promote teachers' metacognition of underlying biases held toward their students. Researchers also explore the implications for curricular practices when teachers are prompted to address conceptions of ability.  相似文献   

11.
ABSTRACT

We discuss democratizing knowledge production and dissemination in education illustrated in two parts that challenge the current knowledge monopoly. Our discourse includes (a) problematic cultivation of the status quo in the hierarchy of knowledge value in the U.S. as a component of civic illiteracy and (b) the need for more evidence through developing practice-based research evidence as a counter to the fixation with evidence-based practice in education. We point out a cultivated state of complacency with regard to the societal expectations of the roles of educational practitioners in the U.S. and discuss developing a new status of practitioner research for knowledge democracy. A virtual space for mentoring practitioner researchers with a goal to help them produce and disseminate their research was included as an example of knowledge democracy.  相似文献   

12.
Abstract

One of the major impediments for diversification of groundnut (Arachis Hypogaea L.) as food crop is aflatoxin contamination. The study was conducted with an objective to assess the adoption gaps in aflatoxin management practices of groundnut (AMPG) and the farmer's characteristics influencing these gaps. The study used an expost-facto research design and multi-stage random sampling. The data were collected from 180 respondents through interview schedule. For measuring adoption gap, knowledge of AMPG and perception of groundnut quality suitable scales were developed. The data were subjected to multiple regression analysis to know the characteristics, which influenced the adoption gaps in AMPG. The majority of farmers were in high adoption gap category, as most of the farmers had not adopted the harvest and post-harvest management practices. Farmers' characteristics such as knowledge, market orientation and innovativeness influenced the adoption gap significantly. These three variables put together explained 58% of variation in adoption gap. Based on the results, it is suggested to formulate strategies to increase the knowledge of farmers through various extension approaches. If the knowledge on AMPG is improved the adoption gaps can be reduced. The maiden research effort, shed light on the socio-economic dimensions of aflatoxin contamination and constraints for aflatoxin management at farmers' level. The study has significance for the policy makers, extension departments and groundnut farmers for production of quality groundnut.  相似文献   

13.
ABSTRACT

Educational researchers have invested much in isolating the specific ‘drivers’ that influence school change and teacher professional development. In this vein, this article draws attention to necessarily situated understandings of practice development through research into the nature of ‘middle leading’ for site based education development in one primary school district in regional Australia. Drawing on practice theory, the analysis reveals how developing and sustaining change in schools is contingent on middle leaders’ insider knowledge, shared responsibility and capacity to sustain and ‘drive’ teachers’ learning. The article argues more situated understandings of middle leading practices are essential for sustainable educational reform.  相似文献   

14.
《Africa Education Review》2013,10(2):395-411
Abstract

Poor learner performance in South African schools raises concerns related to lack of commitment and accountability from school leaders and teachers with no common vision to promote a culture of high learner performance. This paper provides a literature overview of research available on the impact of professional learning communities (PLC) on effective teaching and practices to promote higher levels of learning amongst students; the nature of PLCs; their essential characteristics, developmental stages and challenges; and an assessment of the benefits of PLC in schools and the challenges of PLC from other researchers’ observations. PLCs are necessary to encourage collaborative teamwork on essential outcomes and intervention activities in learning. Finally, I conclude by exploring how South African schools can benefit from the practices of professional learning communities which endeavour to improve teaching practices and poor learner achievement.  相似文献   

15.
Abstract

Using concepts from Davenport and Prusak's “Working Knowledge” and other recent research on knowledge management, this article discusses the processes through which institutional knowledge is created, managed and transferred throughout the university and ways in which institutional researchers can improve these processes. A special emphasis is placed on the need to strengthen the “knowledge brokerage” function ‐ an essential role that institutional researchers are expected to play in large universities. Important principles of knowledge management are illustrated with examples from the author's university.  相似文献   

16.
Editorial     
Abstract

The availability of adequate knowledge is an important prerequisite for the achievement of sustainable forms of agriculture. It will be shown that the nature of the knowledge necessary for this differs from that which forms the basis for conventional agricultural practices. The generation of such knowledge requires other forms of research and extension than those that are currently widespread. It is now necessary, more than ever before, to direct efforts towards the organisation and support of joint learning processes aimed at the development of new technologies (and accompanying social‐organisational arrangements) at local level. While the first part of this article outlines some basic methodological elements that may be relevant in this respect, the second part addresses the question of whether changes occurring in the Dutch agricultural knowledge network are helpful in bringing about the required forms of experiential learning and interactive technology development at local level. It is argued that market‐oriented knowledge policies in agriculture (e.g. in the form of privatisation of research and extension institutions and ‘output‐financing') pose a number of threats to this. It is suggested that the idea of a ‘knowledge market’ is logically connected to outdated forms of linear thinking with regard to the source of innovation processes. In relation to this, a number of aspects causing friction are identified in the co‐operation between fanners, extensionists and researchers. With reference to insights from (institutional) economics, it is concluded that other institutional arrangements than markets are probably more suitable when the aim is to support experiential learning and interactive design towards sustainable agriculture. In such processes, applied knowledge and information cannot be treated as marketable ‘end‐products’, but are better regarded as ‘building‐blocks’ that need to be re‐arranged and re‐shaped through numerous creative ‘transactions’ and exchanges. If all of these transactions have to be paid for, innovation is unlikely to emerge.  相似文献   

17.
Abstract

This article aims to contribute to the knowledge of how the ‘scaling’ of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) activities is conceptualized in practice through transactional learning encounters. In the context of the UNESCO Global Action Programme (GAP) on ESD, I discuss the re-actualisation of experiences as part of these encounters. The study is a result of data collected as part of a Re-Solve participatory research workshop held in South Africa in 2016, involving researchers and practitioners with experiences of ESD-activities in the Southern African region. To identify and analyse the transactional learning encounters a practical epistemology analysis (PEA) is used. The article draws on a Deweyan theory of learning as transactional encounters, supported with a tentative conceptual framework of scaling-ESD-activities-as-learning (SEAL). Throughout the study, I illustrate the transactional encounters, including the re-actualisation of participants’ past experiences of ESD-activities. These encounters enabled the conceptualization of contextually relevant concepts of scaling, thus constituting an enabling condition for reflective scaling practices.  相似文献   

18.
Abstract

Public good will towards the investment in research and extension on environment-friendly production practices is the justification for publicly funded extension services. Although there are major environmental problems associated with agricultural production in Turkey, the present role of public extension service to control and reduce adverse environmental effects is minimal.

The short term goal of the publicly funded agricultural extension is to establish a control and enforcement system which will ensure that the current production practices cause as little harm as possible to the environment. In the long term, however, publicly provided investment in research and extension on sustainable agricultural systems is necessary. The investments should aim towards ensuring a wholesome food supply for the community whilst maintaining the quality of the environment and natural resources.  相似文献   

19.

In light of the significant changes happening in all sectors of our society, we in the education sector and in particular in the universities, have adopted a number of innovative ideas for delivering education. Many of these innovations deal with procedural aspects related to learning and consequently little concern has been shown to individuals' beliefs about knowledge and dispositions for learning. Beliefs and dispositions are powerful tools to effect a more meaningful and sustainable change to how individuals engage in learning. This paper discusses some recent findings from research into university students' beliefs about the nature of knowledge and their conceptions of learning, and identifies the implications for a learner-centred university education. Learners' beliefs both informal and formal may influence the way they approach learning. Do they learn to apply, or learn to understand? The effort they make to learn depends on their perception of how the learning will reward them. The paper also explores the cross-cultural beliefs about knowledge and conceptions of learning.  相似文献   

20.
BackgroundChild sexual abuse (CSA) is a multi-dimensional problem. The search for best practice must consider the complexities surrounding CSA and its management in any particular society.ObjectiveData previously gathered from service providers on CSA service provision in Trinidad and Tobago identified key deficient issues in policy and practice. In this paper, researchers aimed to bridge the gaps identified, and effect changes to improve services for CSA using an action research methodology.Participants and settingService providers from all sectors in governmental and non-governmental organizations in Trinidad and Tobago, who work with children at risk of CSA were involved in the process.MethodsResearchers led the service providers into an awareness of their own practice through critical discussion of, and reflection on, the key deficient issues. The new knowledge generated, with guided input from evidenced-based best practice, led to the development of guidelines for management. Discussion of the practicability of the guidelines by service providers in multiple sectors generated more new knowledge that refined the management approach.ResultsThe contextual knowledge obtained from service providers resulted in best practice guidelines for service providers that were culturally relevant and context-sensitive, adaptive and implementable, and allowed a seamless multidisciplinary response to CSA in Trinidad and Tobago within prevailing constraints.ConclusionsAction research offers an effective approach to improve services for CSA through mobilization of service providers and changes in policy and practice. It is applicable in any setting and likely to be effective in any socio-cultural context.  相似文献   

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