Multiple perspectives on dynamics of participation and learning in sustainable farming initiatives

Although sustainable development is a complex concept, public and private initiatives emerge to support farmers in the sustainable development of their farming practices. In this thesis, we analyzed those Sustainable Farming Initiatives (SFIs) in which farmers engage on a voluntary basis and in which a social learning environment is created for them. However, these SFIs vary considerably in success. Diverse SFI characteristics and the lack of a fixed blueprint on SFI design, make it difficult to define the reasons for this variability in success. Research on SFIs is even further complicated by the inherent and interrelated processes of learning involved with participation in an SFI, i.e., learning on on-farm sustainable development and learning on the development of an SFI. The objective of this thesis was to reveal key characteristics of SFI design, by investigating the dynamical interrelations that can facilitate the learning of participating farmers in an SFI and of the SFI as a whole. To do so, we used four different perspectives to provide a rich picture on the relevant dynamics related to participation and learning in an SFI. These perspectives were inspired by self-determination theory, communities of practice theory, cultural-historical activity theory and Practice theory. The overall results reveal the importance of (i) the farmers’ autonomous motivation to participate, (ii) an environment that meets the farmers’ basic needs of autonomy, competence and relatedness, (iii) the complementary organization of group and individual farmer learning activities, (iv) the historical development of the SFI and the dispositions, practices and expectations of external actors. These findings were translated into practical recommendations for initiators and actors involved in the development of (future) SFIs

Managing Barriers to Online Learning: Towards a Framework for Resilient and Inclusive Virtual Classroom

This paper identifies the barriers to online learning faced by students and explores the strategies they employ to manage them in the face of this international crisis. From the narratives of the learners and the literature, a framework for a resilient and inclusive virtual classroom is developed. A descriptive mixed-method design is employed. Data are gathered from the students during the second term of SY2020-21 using a researchers-made questionnaire which is content, and face validated by experts and tested for reliability and consistency. The questionnaire is deployed online using the college’s official learning management system.In conclusion, the barriers to online learning as accounted for by the students are classified in this research into personal, educational, relational, technological, and social. On the other hand, the coping mechanisms employed are social support and accepting responsibility. At the center and front of the students’ struggles and successful handling of this emergency remote learning are the teachers. Thus, the respondents' barriers are dealt with primarily by themselves and their teachers who unleash the pedagogy of care that made them resilient during this pandemic. A caring and accommodating teacher and strong and flexible online learners are the primary components of a resilient and inclusive virtual classroom.The framework can be a template for designing future virtual classrooms and capacity-building activities to prepare teachers and learners for major education disruptions like this pandemic. Keywords: barriers, resilient, inclusive, educational, technological, virtual, framework DOI: 10.7176/JEP/14-12-04 Publication date: April 30th 202

Reflection on the development process of a sustainability assessment tool : learning from a Flemish case

Adoption of sustainability assessment tools in agricultural practice is often disappointing. One of the critical success factors for adoption is the tool development process. Because scientific attention to these development processes and insights about them are rather limited, we aimed to foster the scientific debate on this topic. This was done by reflecting on the development process of a Flemish sustainability assessment tool, MOTIFS. MOTIFS was developed with the aim of becoming widely adopted by farmers and farm advisors, but this result was not achieved. Our reflection process showed success factors favoring and barriers hindering tool adoption. These were grouped into three clusters of lessons learned for sound tool development: (1) institutional embeddedness, (2) ownership, and (3) tool functions. This clustering allowed us to formulate actions for researchers on the following aspects: (1) learning from stakeholders and end users, (2) providing coaching for appropriate tool use, and (3) structuring development of different tool types and exploring spin-offs from existing tools. We hope these normative results evoke other researchers to feed a debate on understanding tool development

Key characteristics for tool choice in indicator-based sustainability assessment at farm level

Although the literature on sustainability assessment tools to support decision making in agriculture is rapidly growing, little attention has been paid to the actual tool choice. We focused on the choice of more complex integrated indicator-based tools at the farm level. The objective was to determine key characteristics as criteria for tool choice. This was done with an in-depth comparison of 2 cases: the Monitoring Tool for Integrated Farm Sustainability and the Public Goods Tool. They differ in characteristics that may influence tool choice: data, time, and budgetary requirements. With an enhanced framework, we derived 11 key characteristics to describe differences between the case tools. Based on the key characteristics, we defined 2 types of indicator-based tools: full sustainability assessment (FSA) and rapid sustainability assessment (RSA). RSA tools are more oriented toward communicating and learning. They are therefore more suitable for use by a larger group of farmers, can help to raise awareness, trigger farmers to become interested in sustainable farming, and highlight areas of good or bad performance. If and when farmers increase their commitment to on-farm sustainability, they can gain additional insight by using an FSA tool. Based on complementary and modular use of the tools, practical recommendations for the different end users, i.e., researchers, farmers, advisers, and so forth, have been suggested

Communes d’Arradon, Ploeren, Plescop, Saint-Avé, Saint-Nolff, Séné, Theix et Treffléan

Les autorisations pour nos prospections inventaires ne nous étant parvenues que début juin 1998, nous avons décidé de privilégier un travail de recherche en archives qui s’est appuyé sur un dépouillement exhaustif. En effet, de nombreux érudits locaux ont beaucoup écrit sur leurs recherches archéologiques menées au xixe s. dans le département du Morbihan, (essais, dictionnaires, répertoires, inventaires…) et ce depuis 1825. Le dépouillement a été élargi à tous les bulletins de la Société Poly..