Do farm advisory services improve adoption of rural development policies? An empirical analysis in GI areas

Purpose: The aim of the paper is to evaluate how advisory services stimulate the adoption of rural development policies (RDP) aiming at value creation.

Design/methodology/approach: By linking the use of agricultural extension services (AES) to policies for value creation, we will put forward an empirical analysis in Italy, with the aim of evaluating the capability of AES in bringing about higher access to rural policies for value creation in geographical indications (GI) contexts.

Findings: Results of our analyses evidence, on the one side, higher capability of funds attraction in GI areas. On the other side, path dependency schemes in accessing RDP are evident. Higher rates of access with the support of advisory services emerge, but only in traditional measure to fund farms’ investments. On the contrary, the use of AES does not facilitate access to other measures for value creation.

Practical implications: Our hypothesis is that AES include the support towards farm strategies of development through the adoption of RDP aiming at value creation in GI areas. Our analysis presents practical implications, in terms of a clear need for upgrading and broadening AES’ competencies in the field of projecting farm development and knowledge transfer in the field of funds to be obtained by RDP.

Theoretical implications: From a theoretical point of view, the paper may provide a contribution to theoretical debate by offering new insights into the role of advisory services in stimulating innovations and access to support policies.

Originality/value: This paper tries to fill a gap in the agricultural extension literature. We posit that the role of AES should comprehend a deeper knowledge (and knowledge transfer) concerning the opportunities provided by RDP.     

Characterizing Learning Environments Capable of Nurturing Generic Capabilities in Higher Education

There has been wide recognition that today’s graduates need the type of generic capabilities necessary for lifelong learning. However, the mechanism by which universities can develop these generic skills is not clearly established. This study aimed to investigate the mechanism for their development. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to test a hypothesized model of capability development through a suitable learning environment with 1756 undergraduates at a university in Hong Kong. To triangulate against this model and more fully characterize the learning environment, focus group interviews were held with five to six students from three programs with good records of capability development. Analysis of the interview data resulted in a set of categories, describing a learning environment, which were consistent with the SEM model. The learning environment which seemed conducive to capability development aimed for understanding of key concepts through a variety of assessment methods and active engagement in learning activities. Teacher–student relationships were developed through interaction, feedback and assistance. The promotion of peer–student relationships led to a high degree of collaborative learning.     

The challenges of setting up the evaluation of extension systems by using a systems approach: the case of Greece,Italy and Slovenia

Purpose: Considering current debates on ecosystem services’ effectiveness and the AIS/AKIS functioning, in this study we suggest a new, systemic way to evaluate extension systems (ESs). Using this model, we compared the effectiveness of ESs in three countries with essential differences but also characteristic similarities in their agricultural sectors: Greece, Italy and Slovenia.

Design/methodology/approach: Initially, we defined ‘extension system’ as a wide range of actors integrating resources with the aim of co-producing value (not for but with) farmers. To capture the value flow within this constellation of actors we distinguished between the notion of ‘value in production’ – i.e. the value embodied in service offerings – and the value emanating when service content is used in real settings or ‘value in use.’

Findings: Our approach revealed that, despite their structural and organizational differences, the ES in the three countries share common problems arising from a limited focus on the issue of value in use.

Practical implications: The application of a systemic approach – seeing farmers as co-creators and not as end-users of extension services – in the evaluation of ESs contributes to better understand the complexity of value flow within the system and can strengthen extension systems’ effectiveness.

Theoretical implications: The present study, by reconsidering traditional evaluation approaches and by focusing on value co-production, offers an alternative value-centric framework for the conceptualization of extension services and points out to the need for refining the evaluation criteria of ESs.

Originality/value: Our work, by emphasizing the reciprocal creation of value within ESs, and by adding the concept of value in use, offers a new systems approach worth considering when evaluating ESs within different organizational and sociocultural contexts.     

Looking at lived experiences of self‐advocacy through gendered eyes: becoming femme fatale with/out ‘learning difficulties’

In this article, we attempt to intersect the interdisciplinary characters of disability studies and gender studies, in order to make sense of the activism and lived knowledge of/with two women with the label of ‘learning difficulties’. Inspired by Deleuze and Guattari’s anti‐essentialist notion of devenirs‐particules, we find our multiple selves involved in cross‐cutting relational storytelling, as such destabilising essentialist, biological determinism towards women with/out the label of ‘learning difficulties’. Thus in becoming femme(s) fatale(s), we make the most of a science capable of grasping the continual interplay between agency, structure and context, creating a ‘becoming space’ where we, as activists with our academic allies, can think and act with one another.     

Dimensions of digital literacy based on five models of development / Dimensiones de la alfabetización digital a partir de cinco modelos de desarrollo

Abstract

Digital literacy has been an emerging and increasing priority in many governments’ educational and assessment policies since the first decade of the twenty-first century because it is a priority in citizenship training. The difficulty with understanding and developing it comes from its changing, transversal and flexible nature; for this reason, the fundamental objective of this research is to offer an exhaustive study of the concept by analysing the main models of digital literacy in the international context in order to offer a holistic model that incorporates the contributions from all of these initiatives. The theoretical study presented herein provides an objective, rigorous perspective on the main models of development of digital literacy: the DIGCOMP Project (European Commission), the Krumsvik model (Norway), the TPACK model (USA), the JISC model (UK), the ISTE Standards (USA) and the P21 model (USA). The conclusion offers an innovative proposal of four dimensions that should define digital literacy today, taking into account the five initiatives studied, which could be very worthwhile for researchers, educators and policymakers.     

Online Faculty Development and Assessment System (OFDAS): A Study of Academic Learning

The rapid growth of online learning has led to the development of faculty inservice evaluation models that are geared towards the demands of quality improvement of degree programs. Based on the best practices of student online assessment, the Online Faculty Development and Assessment System (OFDAS) created at the Canary Islands was designed to serve the dual purpose of faculty development and classroom learning environment assessment. Results of analyses showed that OFDAS maximized the potential of online faculty development to encourage staff to reflect on Curriculum and Teaching Capacities (CTC). Implications were discussed in terms of emphasizing the process of online CTC learning and incorporating perspectives to capture a comprehensive view of faculty teaching attitudes and their association with student classroom learning perceptions.     

Performance indicators for research and cultural creation activities in polytechnic higher education institutions: a consensus building approach

Tertiary Education and Management - This article presents a set of performance indicators based on the Portuguese case for managing the performance of research and cultural creation activities and...     

Social exclusion in EU lifelong learning policies: prevalence and definitions

ABSTRACT

The aim of the article is to analyse the concept of social exclusion in EU lifelong learning policies: how the concept has evolved from the 1990s in terms of meaning, definitions and closely connected concepts, what are the implications of this evolution, and whether there is coherence between the conceptual evolution and lifelong learning policy. Using a qualitative methodology, this article focuses on policy documents that form the European Union’s legal and political framework of reference in the lifelong learning area in the last two and a half decades. A total of 59 documents issued between 1992 and 2017 have been analysed using content analysis. The analysis of the documents has been complemented by 6 semi-structured interviews with EU lifelong learning experts. The results show that the concept is narrowly defined in terms of specific groups at risk of being socially excluded and in terms of employability, thus individualising the problem of exclusion and distracting attention from structural factors.     

Toward a more reflective teaching practice: Revisiting excellence in teaching

Excellence in teaching has always been a demanding and absorbing concern in institutions of higher learning. Earlier studies, which are numerous, have often dealt with the measurement of teacher qualities but have largely failed to explain the phenomenon of excellence in practice. This study focused on the outstanding professional teachers’ candid revelations of their subjective experiences of becoming and being excellent in their craft. Findings of the study indicated that love is the touchstone of excellence in teaching: that is, loving the students, loving knowledge and loving the teaching process.