Understanding E-Learning as Professional Development for Rural Child Welfare Professionals

Ongoing professional development is an integral part of a child welfare agency\u27s strategy toward the provision of services to children and families involved with a child welfare intervention. Electronic learning (E-Learning) is popular as a fiscally responsible and flexible way to deliver such trainings. There is a gap in the research addressing the problem of how child welfare professionals are motivated to engage in the E-learning process. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore the perceptions of child welfare professionals regarding their motivation to use an agency provided E-learning program. Eight child welfare professionals employed by a Midwestern private child welfare agency participated in semi-structured interviews, which were audio recorded and transcribed verbatim. A pattern matching logic model was used to extrapolate relevant themes. The themes from this study were that work environment, irrelevance of content, and emotional aspects of child welfare work were barriers to engaging in E-learning during a work day. The implications for positive social change are that using E-learning as a delivery system for training in child welfare needs to be combined with a concerted effort to develop programs that first consider the work environment of the child welfare professional and the relevance of content. Providing more effective training is expected to result in better trained workers, which leads to more effective child welfare interventions. More effective child welfare interventions are needed to resolve the current crisis within the field of child welfare, which protects one of society\u27s most vulnerable populations

Building Capacity in Natural Resources Across RSDP

The University of Minnesota has identified five crossdisciplinary “Grand Challenges of a diverse and changing world” that the U of M is well-placed to impact. On a regional scale, the need exists to empower communities of Greater Minnesota to develop local solutions to these Grand Challenges, specifically that of Clean Water and Sustainable Ecosystems.Regional Sustainable Development Partnership

NW RSDP Most Significant Change

During the 2014 Spring Semester, the Northwest Region of Regional Sustainable Development Partnerships (NW RSDP) piloted an evaluation methodology called Most Significant Change (MSC). This report highlights the process, the results, learning, and recommendations for further implementation in other regions

Water and Equity

Water has long played an important role in my life. In fact, it played a role in my very beginning. Like all of you, I first lived in a water environment, then was born into this world. A few weeks later, I was baptized with water. This sacrament joins me with many others that share my faith traditions, and water is sacred in many traditions

A Grassroots Effort to Renew the Schoolyard: The Learning Garden

Like thousands of schools across the United States, Northview Elementary School in Manhattan, Kansas plans to infuse kids’ lives with nature. Educators, community advocates, and parents gathered funds, drew plans, and constructed a learning garden because they saw its potential to affect students. This paper documents the case of Northview and reviews research relevant to the establishment and success of schoolyard gardens

Mothers’ Concerns about Children’s Exposure to Pesticide Drift in the Red River Basin of the North: A Novel Application of Photovoice, Journal of Rural Nursing and Health Care 12(2)

https://rnojournal.binghamton.edu/index.php/RNO/article/view/99Women of childbearing age and children living in agricultural regions are at-risk for pesticide exposure from many pathways, including occupational track-in from parents, residential use, dietary intake, and drift from farming. Little is known about mothers’ concerns regarding the potential for their children to become exposed to pesticides in these regions. Photovoice was used as a community needs assessment to learn mothers’ perceptions of exposure pathways to pesticides and other environmental health concerns. This article reports the perceptions of women raising children regarding children’s potential for exposure to pesticide drift. Recruitment occurred among three distinct groups living in the Red River Basin of the North: Caucasians living adjacent to actively treated farmland, enrolled in the Women, Infant and Children’s nutrition program (WIC); Native Americans surrounded by active farmland, affiliated with a local tribal college; and new American Immigrants from East Africa affiliated with a local immigrant development center. Perceived sources of exposure included agricultural-aerial and tractor spraying, and truck fogging for mosquito control. Mothers wanted advanced notice of spraying or fogging so they could take their children and toys indoors as protective measures, and education to prevent pesticide exposure, delivered in tailored formats for each group. The findings provide real-world insights from mothers and prevention strategies that can be utilized by public health professionals, extension educators, and primary care providers with the aim of reducing pesticide exposure to children in agricultural regions. Contents are solely the authors' responsibility and do not represent the official views of any funding source.Project supported by the Northwest Regional Sustainable Development Partnership. Contributions to this Photovoice study were also made by: Fowzia Adde, Kirstin Eggerling, Abby Gold, Stephanie Williams, Ruth Rasmussen and Kathy Smith