PARTICIPATORY EXTENSION PROCESSES AS CATALYST FOR CHANGE IN SOCIAL DYNAMICS AMONG RURAL POOR

N° ISBN - 978-2-7380-1284-5International audienceAs agricultural education based on participatory approaches expand, knowledge is needed about the impact it has on the daily lives of participants beyond farming gains. The study explores how involvement in the participatory extension practice “Farmer Field Schools (FFS)” results in shifting world views among participants and to what extent it has an impact on peoples' sense of well-being and agency in society. The paper discuss how transformative learning in participatory research and extension enables poor people to gain agency; generate more equitable spousal relations; improve relationships with community and adopt more productive and profitable farming and marketing practices that contribute to a sustainable society

Nonformal Agricultural Education Reform in Uganda: The Impact on Extension Workers

The purpose of this study was to explore the impact of agricultural extension nonformal education reforms (1998-2013) in Uganda among extension workers, who were required them to change from a top-down to more participatory educational approach with farmers

The Empowerment Route to Well-being: An Analysis of Farmer Field Schools in East Africa

Summary. -The study explores empowerment and well-being related outcomes of Farmer Field Schools (FFS), an extension approach that has gained popularity with agriculture development programs in many African countries. This is done by examining the empirical relationships between FFS participation and increased well-being; as well as FFS participation and empowerment; and finally between empowerment and enhanced well-being. Data analysis from the two thousand household questionnaires show a relationship between these aspects, despite contextual differences in the three countries studied. It is thereby argued that there could be scope to talk about an empowerment route to well-being. The paper further suggests that the most significant impact of FFS could be viewed in terms of building the capacity of local people to make choices and make decisions that ultimately lead to increased uptake of agricultural innovations, access to services, and market access as well as collective action. A major conclusion of the study is that agricultural development programs should focus more on processes of empowering farmers as opposed to technical solutions that characterize most programs, in order to create an appropriate mix of technological and social advancement for a development process that is sustainable in nature

Capacity development for smallholder irrigation in Kenya

This paper presents the experiences on capacity development for irrigation in Kenya, drawing from a study of seven smallholder irrigation schemes, namely: New Mutaro, Emening, Mitunguu, Ng’uuru Gakirwe, Lari, Mukuria- Kyambogo and Isiolo River Water Users Association. These schemes were selected for their apparent success in irrigation management, sustainability and poverty reduction among the beneficiaries. Although the seven schemes had diverse innovations and enterprises, common drivers of success were identified as: (i) introduction of new knowledge/technology, (ii) availability of markets, (iii) good governance structures, (iv) funding for infrastructure development, and (v) targeted capacity development. It was also found that initial investment costs for smallholder irrigation schemes ranged from about US $198 to$1744 per ha, which is much lower than reported for large public schemes. Generally, all the schemes had recorded improved food security and incomes, with net earnings ranging from US $200 to$1200 per month for single-crop enterprises. Capacity development had played a major role in the positive performance of the schemes. However, the respective schemes had experienced different modes of capacity building, which included government extension services, NGOs, private sector, research institutes, out-grower support schemes and farmer-to-farmer learning. This paper focuses on the role of capacity development

Collaborating around digital tabletops: children’s physical strategies from the UK, India and Finland

We present a study of children collaborating around interactive tabletops in three different countries: the United Kingdom, India and Finland. Our data highlights the key distinctive physical strategies used by children when performing collaborative tasks during this study. Children in the UK tend to prefer static positioning with minimal physical contact and simultaneous object movement. Children in India employed dynamic positioning with frequent physical contact and simultaneous object movement. Children in Finland used a mixture of dynamic and static positioning with minimal physical contact and object movement. Our findings indicate the importance of understanding collaboration strategies and behaviours when designing and deploying interactive tabletops in heterogeneous educational environments. We conclude with a discussion on how designers of tabletops for schools can provide opportunities for children in different countries to define and shape their own collaboration strategies for small group learning that take into account their different classroom practices

Farmer Field Schools as a transformative learning space in the rural African setting

The aims of this research was to understand how education in the rural African faming setting can contribute to development and well-being in a way that is empowering for the poor. The Farmer Field School (FFS) approach, provided an empirical frame for the research. By reflecting on experiences of FFS participants in East Africa, the research tried to answer how the FFS learning experience play out in the daily lives of participants and their families and the role that FFS play in assisting participants to take control over their own development and enhanced well-being. Conceptually the research was framed by constructivist line of thoughts, adult education and transformative learning theories. The research applied a mixed methods approach with a variety of qualitative and quantitative tools including participatory identification of indicators of empowerment, large scale household surveys with a total of 2000 farmers and in-depth interviews. Data analysis from the quantitative survey work indicated a relationship between farmer participation in FFS, empowerment and increased wellbeing in all three countries studied. The study thus argue for an empowerment route to well-being, triggered by group based learning. The research further indicate significant impact of FFS in terms of building the capacity of people to make choices and decisions that ultimately lead to increased uptake of agricultural innovations, access to services and markets as well as collective action. Qualitative data revealed significant social impacts of FFS in terms of changes in everyday life of participants, transformation of self-concept, change in gender roles and relations, customs and traditions, community relations and an increase in household economic development. A number of pedagogical tools applied in the FFS was found to be instrumental in facilitating transformative learning and empowerment. Major conclusions of the study are the need for investment in human capacity and the importance of an appropriate mix of technological and social advancement for development. The implications of the research are relevant within the fields of rural development, gender studies and for transformative learning and adult education theory. Further, the study contributes knowledge on how to measure empowerment in the poverty setting

Pedagogisk dokumentation – en möjlighet till utveckling? En studie av pedagogers syn på Reggio Emilia inspirerade verksamheter

Abstract Institution: Institutionen för pedagogik och didaktik, Göteborgs universitet Författare: Jenny Duveskog och Monica Gustafsson Handledare: Bibbi Ljungvall Examinator: Åsa Mäkitalo Titel: Pedagogisk dokumentation – en möjlighet till utveckling? En studie av pedagogers syn på Reggio Emilia inspirerade verksamheter Arbetets art: Examensarbete på lärarprogrammet (10 poäng) Rapportnummer: HT05-2611-005 Sökord: Pedagogisk dokumentation, Reggio Emilia, Lärprocesser, Arbetsutveckling, Synsätt Bakgrund Under vår utbildning har vårt eget intresse väckts till Reggio Emilias arbetssätt och syn på barn och lärande. Förutom detta poängteras det i vår utbildning samt i läroplanerna att dokumentation är viktigt för att se läroprocesserna. Samtidigt pågår det en debatt i samhället som media synliggjort där det diskuteras kring pedagogisk dokumentation. Det är dessutom vanligt att verksamheter utger sig för att vara inspirerade av Reggio Emilia här i Sverige. Då Reggio Emilia är välkänd för att ha lyckats förnya sig i takt med samhällsförändringarna har detta lett till att pedagoger i Sverige blivit inspirerade av detta synsätt. Detta har medverkat till att vi har blivit inspirerade till att undersöka hur pedagoger som arbetar inom Reggio Emilia inspirerade verksamheter ser på pedagogisk dokumentation. Syfte och problemformulering Vårt syfte med studien är att ta reda på en utvald grupp pedagogers förhållningsätt till pedagogisk dokumentation, inom olika Reggio Emilia inspirerade förskolor och skolor. I studien vill vi bl.a. ta del av om pedagogerna har kunskap om pedagogisk dokumentation och hur de i så fall har fått denna. Dessutom vill vi ta del av deras erfarenheter om när, hur och varför de använder sig av pedagogisk dokumentation samt vad de dokumenterar. Vi vill även ta reda på om pedagogerna ser några svårigheter med arbetssättet med pedagogisk dokumentation, samt om de gör etiska överväganden. Material och Metod Vi har utfört halvstrukturerade intervjuer med pedagoger på tre Reggio Emilia inspirerade förskolor och två skolor. I resultatet har vi analyserat pedagogernas uppfattningar. Slutsatser Vi har genom intervju med pedagoger inom Reggio Emilia inspirerade verksamheter fått en djupare förståelse för att pedagogisk dokumentation är ett värdefullt verktyg för att få information som leder till att pedagogen kan utgå från varje barn då verksamheten för gruppen planeras. Den utvärdering som pedagogen gör både enskilt och tillsammans med sina kollegor är mycket värdefull vid utveckling av verksamheten. Pedagogerna som vi intervjuade påpekade dock att det är viktigt att avgränsa dokumentationen och poängterade kommunikationens roll i att alltid välja syfte för dokumentationen, eftersom den är tidskrävande. Pedagogisk dokumentation av individens starka sidor kan även hjälpa till att lyfta upp de sidor som är mindre utvecklade. Pedagogisk dokumentation synliggör lärandet både för barn, pedagoger och föräldrar. Genom dokumentation synliggörs mångfalden av tankar som finns i barngruppen och ger en möjlighet till att få syn på hur barn lär tillsammans med andra inom den kultur de befinner sig i

Chefskap och styrning: en studie om ledarskap på en socialförvaltning

The purpose of this essay was to analyze the management and steering of the social welfare service. The objective was specifically to examine how the leaders approach their position as managers of the social welfare service, and also how they approach their way of steering. The social welfare service acts under political decisions, but the management interpret and transform these decisions into actions. The managers of the social welfare service are therefore important from a democratic perspective. The study was based on five qualitative interviews with two managers of the unity, two departmental managers and the head manager of the social welfare service. The analysis is based on two perspectives; the Role Theory and the System Theory. One of my conclusions of the study was that the level of the management greatly influences how the managers perceive their way of managing and steering. The interviewees' description of their way of managing and steering was therefore varying. They developed different roles as managers, based on the demands that each level of management are exposed to. The different levels of management have many roles, but the most prevalent roles for the head manager of the social welfare service is a leading and decision-making role, whereas the departmental managers have an intermediary role, and the managers of the unity have an instructional role. The head manager experience demands from the politicians, while the other managers experience demands from their managers, as well as from the people they are managing. A further conclusion is that the interviewees use similar instruments in their way of steering. All of them emphasize the importance of communicating with their colleagues, as well as including the colleagues in the discussions that influence their work. This is crucial since the managers depend on that their colleagues follow their decisions. This shows also that there is a mutual dependence between the managers and their colleagues