The potential for developing educational farms: a SWOT analysis from a case study

ABSTRACT

Purpose: Educational farms (EFs) serve a number of social and economic functions and are part of the debate about new learning environments, multifunctional agriculture and firm diversification. Through the analysis of a case study, this paper aims to identify strengths and weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) of EFs and key factors for setting a development strategy.

Design/Methodology/Approach: A direct survey to EFs in Molise region (IT) was implemented during April-May 2017 and results were assessed following a SWOT approach.

Findings: Strong motivation and connection with agritourism activities are strengths of EFs in the region; small size, unskilled staff, lack of structured educational pathways, and limited profitability are the main weaknesses. Farms opportunities come from a territory rich in rural landscapes, environmental resources, and typical food products, and from a growing demand for educational tourism. Obstacles are in the institutional sphere and due to the absence of regional networks. Based on SWOT findings, key factors for EFs development are discussed.

Practical implications: EFs development requires innovative educational and managerial tools, a more concerted and proactive role for multiple stakeholders, and the implementation of a network approach. Study findings solicit actions from public institutions and advisory services to improve farmers’ skills.

Theoretical implications: The paper contributes to the theoretical debate about the need for a multidisciplinary approach in dealing with the analysis of EFs.

Originality/Value: The analysis underlines the importance of internal and external drivers in stimulating farms and institutions to support diversification strategies, rural development and transformation processes in inner areas.     

The Comparative Effects of Prediction/Discussion‐Based Learning Cycle,Conceptual Change Text,and Traditional Instructions on Student Understanding of Genetics

The present study examined the comparative effects of a prediction/discussion‐based learning cycle, conceptual change text (CCT), and traditional instructions on students' understanding of genetics concepts. A quasi‐experimental research design of the pre‐test–post‐test non‐equivalent control group was adopted. The three intact classes, taught by the same science teacher, were randomly assigned as prediction/discussion‐based learning cycle class (N = 30), CCT class (N = 25), and traditional class (N = 26). Participants completed the genetics concept test as pre‐test, post‐test, and delayed post‐test to examine the effects of instructional strategies on their genetics understanding and retention. While the dependent variable of this study was students' understanding of genetics, the independent variables were time (Time 1, Time 2, and Time 3) and mode of instruction. The mixed between‐within subjects analysis of variance revealed that students in both prediction/discussion‐based learning cycle and CCT groups understood the genetics concepts and retained their knowledge significantly better than students in the traditional instruction group.     

Longitudinal study of a cooperation-driven,socio-scientific issue intervention on promoting students’ critical thinking and self-regulation in learning science

ABSTRACT

This longitudinal study explored the effects of a Cooperation-driven Socioscientific Issue (CDSSI) intervention on junior high school students' perceptions of critical thinking (CT) and self-regulation (SR) in Taiwan. Forty-nine grade 7 students were randomly selected as an experimental group (EG) to attend a 3-semester 72-hour intervention; while another 49 grade 7 students from the same school were randomly selected as the comparison group (CG). All participants completed a 4-wave student questionnaire to assess their perceptions of CT and SR. In addition, 8 target students from the EG with the lowest scores on either CT or SR were purposefully recruited for weekly observation. These target students and their teachers were interviewed one month after the intervention in each semester. Analyses of covariance and paired-wise t-tests revealed that the EG students' perceptions of CT and SR in learning science were improved during the study and were significantly better than their counterparts' at the end of the study. Systematic interview and classroom observation results were consistent with the quantitative findings. This study adds empirical evidence and provides insights into how CDSSI can be integrated into planning and implementing effective pedagogical strategies aimed at increasing students' perceptions of CT and SR in learning science.     

Collaborative knowledge-making in the everyday practice of youth suicide prevention education

The development and implementation of a new school‐based suicide prevention education programme in one secondary school in Vancouver, British Columbia, recently provided us with an opportunity to conduct an in‐depth, qualitative case study. The purpose of our study was to deepen our understanding of how school‐based suicide prevention education programmes like this one get planned and enacted in particular, local settings. We argue that the narrow range of methodologies that have traditionally been deployed to study school‐based youth suicide prevention education programmes have hindered our ability to see the complexities and potentialities of this work. Through the presentation of a sub‐set of findings, we aim to show the possibilities for fresh thinking and contextualized understandings that a qualitative case study, informed by a constructionist methodology, invites.     

Rites of Passage: Does adaptation to university mean severing connections?

Many factors go into the decision of selecting a university, ranging from the overall costs and the programme of study to the institute’s reputation; however, accommodation while at university and proximity of the university to one’s permanent abode also play important roles in this decision-making process. Thus, first-year students experience different stages of separation from their prior networks depending on their individual situations. The results of this Ontario (Canada) 2012 study add to prior research by indicating that separation of students’ living arrangements and distance from home impact on transition and incorporation variables, which influenced students’ adaptation to university.     

对我国50年各层次民族教育相对发展状况的定量分析和相关建议

通过对各层次民族教育事业相对发展最重要的指标——在枝生数占全国同层次学生总教比例与同期少教民族人口比例的差值进行50年的追踪对比，可以看出：中等师范教育发展较好，小学阶段教育稳步发展，高中阶段教育严重不足，高等教育呈曲线变化，职业教育发展严重落后于形势的需要。为此，需要加大力度，努力实现民族地区2007年基本“普九”；关注中学教育，重点办好高中；职业教育要有新突破、大发展；民族高等教育要在提高质量上下功夫。     

我国信用缺失的文化根源探析

信用是一种重要的社会资源,目前我国的信用资源十分稀缺.造成我国信用缺失的原因是多方面的,从文化深层看,主要原因有传统文化思想的影响、东西方文化交流的碰撞、转型期社会的文化断层以及我国现代制度的不完善等.     

英语否定翻译过程TAPs个案研究

从心理语言学角度切入,运用三元数据分析模式,就10名非英语专业参与者对英语否定表达的汉译过程进行个案研究;从理解阶段和表达阶段两方面考察参与者在不同的英语否定句式汉译时出现的问题;从英语否定的自身特点、英汉两种语言的差异、负迁移现象三个方面分析影响英语否定的翻译因素.得出的初步结论是：英语否定的汉译过程不是一个简单的、线性的语码转换过程,而是一个理解和表达相互交替、融合的非线性的动态思维过程.     

试论高教自学考试实验环节考核的评价

实验环节考核作为对自考生实践能力和创新能力的培养和考查,在高教自学考试中占据了重要的地位。对高教自学考试实验环节考核采取科学的评价标准,将有利于培养具有创新精神和实践能力的应用型高级专门人才的教育目标的实现。     

美丽的家园 灵魂的栖所——陈大中先生诗歌管窥

自上世纪80年代至今,一直活跃于中国现当代诗坛的安徽诗人陈大中先生,以其慧心独具的诗人眼睛,审视、发掘生活之中的平凡之美,并用自己清新自然的心语,命笔赋篇,写出了大量的精美诗行。本文以敏锐眼光、独特视角、清新语言、主旨的模糊性和形式自由性等处为切入点,从美学的角度,对陈大中的诗歌进行分析研究。