La naturaleza del aprendizaje : usando la investigación para inspirar la práctica

A lo largo de los últimos años, el aprendizaje ha pasado cada vez más a ocupar un lugar central por una serie de razones importantes que encuentran eco en la política, así como en la educación, en muchos países, tal como indican Dumont e Istance (capítulo 1). Dichas razones definen los objetivos de este importante volumen desde la labor sobre los Ambientes Innovadores de Aprendizaje elaborada por el Centro para la Investigación y la Innovación Educativas (CERI). Diferentes factores a nivel mundial ponen de manifiesto cada vez más lo que algunos llaman las “competencias del siglo XXI”. La cantidad y la calidad del aprendizaje se han vuelto centrales y los enfoques educativos tradicionales resultan insuficientes. Factores similares ayudan a explicar la gran atención que se ha prestado a la medición de los resultados del aprendizaje (incluido el trabajo desarrollado por el Laboratorio Latinoamericano de Evaluación de la Calidad [LLECE] y el Programa Internacional para la Evaluación del Estudiante [PISA, por sus siglas en inglés]) en los dos últimos decenios, y que a su vez genera aún más atención en el aprendizaje. Para ir más allá del diagnóstico de los niveles de rendimiento y las deficiencias, y avanzar hacia un cambio conveniente, es necesario comprender mejor la forma en que las personas aprenden de la manera más eficaz posible. El rápido desarrollo y la omnipresencia de la tecnología de la información y la comunicación (TIC) amplían los límites de las posibilidades educativas. Sin embargo, las grandes inversiones realizadas en recursos digitales no han revolucionado los ambientes de aprendizaje. Comprender la manera en que podrían hacerlo exige que se preste atención a la naturaleza del aprendizaje. La sensación de alcanzar los límites de la reforma educativa invita a realizar un nuevo hincapié en el aprendizaje en sí: la educación se ha reformado una y otra vez en la mayoría de los países de la región, lo que lleva a muchos a plantearse la necesidad de nuevas formas de influir en la interfaz del aprendizaje y la enseñanza. La base de investigación sobre el aprendizaje se ha ampliado notablemente, pero numerosos investigadores observan lo inadecuada que es la manera en que suelen aplicarse las conclusiones de las ciencias del aprendizaje en las escuelas. Al mismo tiempo, buena parte de la investigación sobre el aprendizaje está desconectada de la realidad de la práctica educativa, así como de la formulación de políticas. ¿Es posible crear los puentes para que la creciente base de evidencia pueda informar la práctica? Este volumen tiene por objeto ayudar a construir puentes utilizando “la investigación para inspirar la práctica”. Se invitó a investigadores destacados de América del Norte y Europa a examinar el aprendizaje desde distintos puntos de vista así como a resumir muchos trabajos de investigación y determinar su importancia para el diseño de ambientes de aprendizaje, de manera que fuese pertinente para líderes educativos y encargados de la formulación de políticas educativas. Para el capítulo sobre América Latina y el Caribe se invitó a Inés Aguerrondo, destacada investigadora y educadora quien plantea una reflexión sobre los pobres resultados que logran nuestros sistemas educativos en relación con el aprendizaje, argumentando la necesidad de revisar las bases desde donde se diseña la función de distribución de conocimiento en la sociedad del tercer milenio y planteando que es necesaria la revisión de un nodo central de la educación, como es la propuesta curricular

Gender equality and girls education: Investigating frameworks, disjunctures and meanings of quality education

The article draws on qualitative educational research across a diversity of low-income countries to examine the gendered inequalities in education as complex, multi-faceted and situated rather than a series of barriers to be overcome through linear input–output processes focused on isolated dimensions of quality. It argues that frameworks for thinking about educational quality often result in analyses of gender inequalities that are fragmented and incomplete. However, by considering education quality more broadly as a terrain of quality it investigates questions of educational transitions, teacher supply and community participation, and develops understandings of how education is experienced by learners and teachers in their gendered lives and their teaching practices. By taking an approach based on theories of human development the article identifies dynamics of power underpinning gender inequalities in the literature and played out in diverse contexts and influenced by social, cultural and historical contexts. The review and discussion indicate that attaining gender equitable quality education requires recognition and understanding of the ways in which inequalities intersect and interrelate in order to seek out multi-faceted strategies that address not only different dimensions of girls’ and women’s lives, but understand gendered relationships and structurally entrenched inequalities between women and men, girls and boys

Correlates of school dropout and absenteeism among adolescent girls from marginalized community in north Karnataka, south India.

Secondary education among lower caste adolescent girls living in rural Karnataka, South India, is characterized by high rates of school drop-out and absenteeism. A cross-sectional baseline survey (N=2275) was conducted in 2014 as part of a cluster-randomized control trial among adolescent girls (13-14 year) and their families from marginalized communities in two districts of north Karnataka. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression models were used. Overall, 8.7% girls reported secondary school dropout and 8.1% reported frequent absenteeism (past month). In adjusted analyses, economic factors (household poverty; girls' work-related migration), social norms and practices (child marriage; value of girls' education), and school-related factors (poor learning environment and bullying/harassment at school) were associated with an increased odds of school dropout and absenteeism. Interventions aiming to increase secondary school retention among marginalized girls may require a multi-level approach, with synergistic components that address social, structural and economic determinants of school absenteeism and dropout

Accessing parental perspectives to inform the development of parent training in autism in south-eastern Europe

Parent training has been shown to be an important means of supporting families living with autism – but such services are not universally accessible. A multinational project funded by the European Commission has been developed in order to establish such parent training in three south-eastern European countries. To ensure that the training was relevant and appropriate, a survey was carried out in autumn 2015 to ascertain the attitudes of parents of children with autism in Croatia, Cyprus and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia regarding this issue, and to identify the areas of training that they felt most important. Two hundred and fifty-three surveys were distributed, and 148 were returned, a response rate of 58%. Respondents in the three counties were overwhelmingly positive about parent training, with almost 90% stating that they would like to attend such training. Weekend training sessions were preferred by the majority of respondents. There was wide variation between the three countries with regard to what content was felt important to be included, with parents in the FYR of Macedonia seeking information in the greatest number of areas. Five topics were prioritised by parents across all three countries. These were: • Strategies for enhancing my child’s communication • Strategies on facilitating my child’s interaction with other children • Sensory integration and development • General information on behavioural management strategies • Identifying and/or developing socialisation opportunitie

Women, literacy and health: comparing health and education sectoral approaches in Nepal

Functional adult literacy interventions have been regarded for many decades by policy makers as an effective way of imparting health knowledge. Supported by research on the statistical relationships between women’s literacy rates and health indicators, this dominant policy discourse is based on assumptions that non-literate women lack understanding and confidence, and that formal programmes and institutions constitute the main sites of learning. Proposing a broader conceptualisation of literacy as a social practice and of health as connected with social justice, this article draws on policy analysis and the authors’ earlier research in Nepal to re-examine the relationship between gender, literacy and health. By comparing health and literacy approaches used within the education and health sectors and taking account of new and indigenous informal learning practices, the article points to ways of investigating the complex interaction of factors that influence inequalities in gender and health at community level

How do we know that research ethics committees are really working? The neglected role of outcomes assessment in research ethics review

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Countries are increasingly devoting significant resources to creating or strengthening research ethics committees, but there has been insufficient attention to assessing whether these committees are actually improving the protection of human research participants.</p> <p>Discussion</p> <p>Research ethics committees face numerous obstacles to achieving their goal of improving research participant protection. These include the inherently amorphous nature of ethics review, the tendency of regulatory systems to encourage a focus on form over substance, financial and resource constraints, and conflicts of interest. Auditing and accreditation programs can improve the quality of ethics review by encouraging the development of standardized policies and procedures, promoting a common base of knowledge, and enhancing the status of research ethics committees within their own institutions. However, these mechanisms focus largely on questions of structure and process and are therefore incapable of answering many critical questions about ethics committees' actual impact on research practices.</p> <p>The first step in determining whether research ethics committees are achieving their intended function is to identify what prospective research participants and their communities hope to get out of the ethics review process. Answers to this question can help guide the development of effective outcomes assessment measures. It is also important to determine whether research ethics committees' guidance to investigators is actually being followed. Finally, the information developed through outcomes assessment must be disseminated to key decision-makers and incorporated into practice. This article offers concrete suggestions for achieving these goals.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Outcomes assessment of research ethics committees should address the following questions: First, does research ethics committee review improve participants' understanding of the risks and potential benefits of studies? Second, does the process affect prospective participants' decisions about whether to participate in research? Third, does it change participants' subjective experiences in studies or their attitudes about research? Fourth, does it reduce the riskiness of research? Fifth, does it result in more research responsive to the local community's self-identified needs? Sixth, is research ethics committees' guidance to researchers actually being followed?</p

Developing a health and human rights training program for french speaking Africa: lessons learned, from needs assessment to a pilot program

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The importance of human rights education has widely been recognized as one of the strategies for their protection and promotion of health. Yet training programs have not always taken into account neither local needs, nor public health relevance, nor pedagogical efficacy.</p> <p>The objectives of our study were to assess, in a participative way, educational needs in the field of health and human rights among potential trainees in six French-speaking African countries and to test the feasibility of a training program through a pilot test. Ultimately the project aims to implement <it>a health and human rights training program most appropriate to the African context</it>.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p><it>Needs assessment </it>was done according to four approaches: Revue of available data on health and human rights in the targeted countries; Country visits by one of the authors meeting key institutions; Focus group discussions with key-informants in each country; A questionnaire-based study targeting health professionals and human rights activists.</p> <p><it>Pilot training program</it>: an interactive e-learning pilot program was developed integrating training needs expressed by partner institutions and potential trainees.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Needs assessment showed high public health and human rights challenges that the target countries have to face. It also showed precise demands of partner institutions in regard to a health and human rights training program. It further allowed defining training objectives and core competencies useful to potential employers and future students as well as specific training contents.</p> <p>A pilot program allowed testing the motivation of students, the feasibility of an interactive educational approach and identifying potential difficulties.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>In combining various approaches our study was able to show that training needs concentrate around tools allowing the identification of basic human rights violations in the health system, the analysis of their causes and coordinated responses through specific intervention projects.</p

The Multidimensional Livelihood Vulnerability Index – an instrument to measure livelihood vulnerability to change in the Hindu Kush Himalayas

In recent years the population of the Hindu Kush Himalayas (HKH) has been confronted with rapid social, economic, demographic, and political changes. In addition, the region is particularly vulnerable to climate change. However, there is a scarcity of cohesive information on the state of the environment and on the socio-economic situation of the approximately 210 million people who reside in the HKH. Specifically, data on livelihood vulnerability are lacking. As part of the Himalaya Climate Change Adaptation Programme, the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development, in consultation with regional and international partners, has developed the Multidimensional Livelihood Vulnerability Index (MLVI), a measure to explore and describe livelihood vulnerability to climatic, environmental, and socio-economic change in the HKH region. This paper documents how the MLVI was developed and demonstrates the utility of this approach by using primary household survey data of 16 selected districts of three sub-basins in the HKH region. The analysis gives important clues about differences in the intensity and composition of multidimensional livelihood vulnerability across these locations that should be useful to decision makers to identify areas of intervention and guide their measures to reduce vulnerability