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1
Skoien, Petra, and n/a. "Identifying Opportunities for Education for Sustainability: Current Practices of Community-Based Environmental Groups." Griffith University. Australian School of Environmental Studies, 2006. http://www4.gu.edu.au:8080/adt-root/public/adt-QGU20070109.145756.
Full textAbstract:
Education for sustainability (EFS) is emerging as a key strategy for learning and action towards sustainability. Community-based environmental groups are potentially important providers of, and contexts for, educating adults for sustainability because they engage the community in activities such as public awareness raising, advocacy and lobbying, community education, and participatory learning (UNESCO, 2004, p. 25). These groups have been identified as key stakeholders of EFS in UNESCO's strategic plan for the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development, from 2005-2014 (UNESCO, 2004). Despite this recognition, there are few models or precedents to guide groups or programs in developing and implementing EFS in their strategies or activities. Additionally, education commonly associated with community-based environmental groups has been rather narrowly conceived as public awareness raising and individual behaviour change, and disconnected from advocacy (Clover, 2002a; Whelan, pending). This thesis addressed this gap in understanding by investigating the dimensions of education and learning in two community-based environmental groups in South-East QueensIand. The aim of this research was to develop a framework to explain and understand the role of education and learning within and by community-based environmental groups. The research inquiry was motivated by an interpretive interest in uncovering the educative dimensions arising from group members' engagement in the activities of community-based environmental groups. This aim was addressed through an investigation of: (1) the community education initiatives of community-based environmental groups; and (2) the learning that occurs within these groups through participation in social action, Two community-based environmental groups that participated in this study were Smogbusters, an environmental advocacy group, which focused on air quality and transport issues in Brisbane; and the Pumicestone Region Catchment Coordination Association, (PRCCA) a community-based natural resource management group. Information was gathered through participant observation, interviews with group members and project staff, and the collection of relevant documents from both groups. A conceptual framework based on five convergent themes in the contemporary EFS literature was used to interpret and analyse the activities of these groups, These are: (1) participation; (2) critical thinking; (3) local relevance; (4) holistic, interdisciplinary and systemic approaches; and (5) values-driven approaches. The analysis of both groups' community education initiatives revealed the use of approaches that extend beyond pubhc awareness, didactic, and information-based approaches to strategies that engaged the community more actively than was possible with conventional approaches. This reflects a more sophisticated and considered approach that connects education with advocacy as an integral part of groups' strategy and practice. The two case studies illustrate the use of participatory learning and action that incorporates adult learning approaches to enhance participation and learning. These findings contribute to knowledge that can help bridge the gap between education and advocacy in the activities of community-based environmental groups (Clover, 2002a; Whelan, 2005). The findings strongly suggest that the two groups engaged a form of education and action that approaches the potential of EFS as envisaged in policy documents and vision statements. The groups provided opportunities for action learning through advocacy and lobbying for policy change, and through a range of activities associated with addressing issues of natural resource management. In Smogbusters, participation in advocacy and education contributed to building the capacity of individuals to engage in social action for sustainable transport and air quality. In the PRCCA, group members' participation in natural resource management related activities developed their skills, knowledge and capacity to advocate for sustainable natural resource management practices. These findings confirm that local participation in environmental action and decision making builds on the individual and collective experiences of participants. Participation in action empowered and enabled group members to engage in action and change. In particular, participants developed a strong sense of their capacity to enact change, and to engage in social action. The findings of this research suggest that community-based environmental groups are important places for adults to gain a stronger sense of personal and collective agency towards sustainability. Further, participation in these groups is an important mechanism for environmental change to be brought about through collective action (Apel & Camozzi, 1996). The research findings confirm that adult and popular education pedagogies can optimise learning in community-based environmental groups (Foley, 1999; Clover & Hall, 2000; Clover; 2002a; Follen & HaIl, 1998; Newman, 1995a). The framework may be able to assist project coordinators in developing and implementing community education strategies into their programs. Finally, the findings have implications for policy and program development in the Decade of Education for Sustainable Development.
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Skoien, Petra. "Identifying Opportunities for Education for Sustainability: Current Practices of Community-Based Environmental Groups." Thesis, Griffith University, 2006. http://hdl.handle.net/10072/365600.
Full textAbstract:
Education for sustainability (EFS) is emerging as a key strategy for learning and action towards sustainability. Community-based environmental groups are potentially important providers of, and contexts for, educating adults for sustainability because they engage the community in activities such as public awareness raising, advocacy and lobbying, community education, and participatory learning (UNESCO, 2004, p. 25). These groups have been identified as key stakeholders of EFS in UNESCO's strategic plan for the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development, from 2005-2014 (UNESCO, 2004). Despite this recognition, there are few models or precedents to guide groups or programs in developing and implementing EFS in their strategies or activities. Additionally, education commonly associated with community-based environmental groups has been rather narrowly conceived as public awareness raising and individual behaviour change, and disconnected from advocacy (Clover, 2002a; Whelan, pending). This thesis addressed this gap in understanding by investigating the dimensions of education and learning in two community-based environmental groups in South-East QueensIand. The aim of this research was to develop a framework to explain and understand the role of education and learning within and by community-based environmental groups. The research inquiry was motivated by an interpretive interest in uncovering the educative dimensions arising from group members' engagement in the activities of community-based environmental groups. This aim was addressed through an investigation of: (1) the community education initiatives of community-based environmental groups; and (2) the learning that occurs within these groups through participation in social action, Two community-based environmental groups that participated in this study were Smogbusters, an environmental advocacy group, which focused on air quality and transport issues in Brisbane; and the Pumicestone Region Catchment Coordination Association, (PRCCA) a community-based natural resource management group. Information was gathered through participant observation, interviews with group members and project staff, and the collection of relevant documents from both groups. A conceptual framework based on five convergent themes in the contemporary EFS literature was used to interpret and analyse the activities of these groups, These are: (1) participation; (2) critical thinking; (3) local relevance; (4) holistic, interdisciplinary and systemic approaches; and (5) values-driven approaches. The analysis of both groups' community education initiatives revealed the use of approaches that extend beyond pubhc awareness, didactic, and information-based approaches to strategies that engaged the community more actively than was possible with conventional approaches. This reflects a more sophisticated and considered approach that connects education with advocacy as an integral part of groups' strategy and practice. The two case studies illustrate the use of participatory learning and action that incorporates adult learning approaches to enhance participation and learning. These findings contribute to knowledge that can help bridge the gap between education and advocacy in the activities of community-based environmental groups (Clover, 2002a; Whelan, 2005). The findings strongly suggest that the two groups engaged a form of education and action that approaches the potential of EFS as envisaged in policy documents and vision statements. The groups provided opportunities for action learning through advocacy and lobbying for policy change, and through a range of activities associated with addressing issues of natural resource management. In Smogbusters, participation in advocacy and education contributed to building the capacity of individuals to engage in social action for sustainable transport and air quality. In the PRCCA, group members' participation in natural resource management related activities developed their skills, knowledge and capacity to advocate for sustainable natural resource management practices. These findings confirm that local participation in environmental action and decision making builds on the individual and collective experiences of participants. Participation in action empowered and enabled group members to engage in action and change. In particular, participants developed a strong sense of their capacity to enact change, and to engage in social action. The findings of this research suggest that community-based environmental groups are important places for adults to gain a stronger sense of personal and collective agency towards sustainability. Further, participation in these groups is an important mechanism for environmental change to be brought about through collective action (Apel & Camozzi, 1996). The research findings confirm that adult and popular education pedagogies can optimise learning in community-based environmental groups (Foley, 1999; Clover & Hall, 2000; Clover; 2002a; Follen & HaIl, 1998; Newman, 1995a). The framework may be able to assist project coordinators in developing and implementing community education strategies into their programs. Finally, the findings have implications for policy and program development in the Decade of Education for Sustainable Development.Thesis (PhD Doctorate)
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Australian School of Environmental Studies
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Uithaler, Eldrid Marlon. "Community knowledge, cohesion and environmental sustainability : an educational case study in Clarkson." Thesis, Rhodes University, 2001. http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003334.
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An ethnographic case study was done in the rural community of Clarkson which lies at the foot of the Tsitsikamma Mountains in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. Rural communities gathered and developed local wisdom on the natural resources around them. The study shows that in the past, life in Clarkson was characterised by such shared wisdom, an abundance of natural resources, as well as strong community cohesion. With the advent of modern lifestyles community cohesion and practices were disrupted and today, people living in Clarkson are less dependent on each other and on local resources. This study suggests that some of the past wisdom, community knowledge, practices and skills that existed for ages in Clarkson, can still be useful today in the context of environmental sustainability. The incorporation of this knowledge into the new outcomes-based education curriculum in South Africa and the local school curriculum, is explored.
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Moon, Hyesoo. "Local Community Based Outdoor Activities through Integrating Subjects in Social Studies for Sustainability." Thesis, Linköpings universitet, Institutionen för kultur och kommunikation, 2007. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:liu:diva-65862.
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This study is designed to know contribution of local community based outdoor activities for education for sustainability. 7 teachers from Sweden and 7 teachers from Korea got involved in this study and they chose and conducted one activity from the 17 activities that I offered. After they had done the activity with their upper 13 years old students, they completed questionnaire about the conditions of class, the reason of their choice, advantages/disadvantages of the activities and the actual obstacle they had in schools to have outdoor class through open-ended questions. They also were asked to answer level of integrating subjects in social studies by Likert scale, offered opinions about relevancy to sustainability with principles and analyzed the activity with 4 ways of knowing. These three questions are asked to know the contribution of the activities for education for sustainability. This research offers comparison of teachers‘ opinion and educational condition from two countires when having the activities and how the activities are conducive to education for sustainability. In addition, it provides 17 activities which can be useful to social studies teachers who are interested in local community based outdoor activity.
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Burton, Lindsay Julia. "Community-based early learning in Solomon Islands : cultural and contextual dilemmas influencing program sustainability." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2011. http://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:b9c96049-ea5d-47e3-b74c-951cd22bb090.
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The Solomon Islands (SI), a small developing nation in the South Pacific, demonstrates an emergent community-based kindergarten model with the potential to promote context and culture relevant early learning and development. SI early childhood education (ECE) particularly rose in prominence with a 2008 national policy enactment requiring all children to attend three years of kindergarten as prerequisite for primary school entry. However, these ECE programs remain severely challenged by faltering community support. Internationally, many ECE programs dramatically resemble a universalized Western-based model, with a decidedly specific discourse for “high quality” programs and practices for children ages 0-8. Often these uncritical international transfers of Euro-American ideologies promote restricted policies and practices. This has resulted in a self-perpetuating set of practices and values, which arguably prevent recognition of, and efforts to reinvent, more culturally-relevant, sustainable programs for the Majority World. Based on the Kahua region (est. pop. 4,500) of Makira-Ulawa Province, this collaborative, ethnographically-inspired, case study explores how community characteristics have affected the cultural and contextual sustainability of community-based ECE in remote villages. The study traces historical and cultural influences to present-day SI ECE. Subsequently, it explores the re-imagined SI approach to formal ECE program design, remaining challenges preventing these programs from being sustained by communities, and potential community-wide transformations arising from these initiatives. To achieve this, the study collaborated with stakeholders from all levels of SI society through extensive participant-observations, interviews, and participatory focus groups. Findings aspire to enlighten regional sustainable developments and resilient behaviors relating to ECE. Key research findings suggest five overarching principles influencing kindergarten sustainability: presence of “champion” for the ECE vision; community ownership-taking, awareness-building, and cooperation-maintenance; and program cultural/contextual sensitivity and relevance. These elements were found to be strongly linked with an intergenerational cultural decay in the Kahua region, as conceptualized through a model of Cyclically-Sustained Kindergarten Mediocrity.
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Sipos, Randor Yona. "Growing sustainability education through community-university engagement : a case of community-based food system study at the University of British Columbia." Thesis, University of British Columbia, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/2429/45713.
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This action research case study investigates community-based experiential learning (CBEL) in a large undergraduate food systems course, documenting classroom innovations, highlighting community partner experiences, and offering recommendations for long-term improvement. It evaluates how the pedagogical synergy of sustainability education, CBEL, and food system study is relevant for post-secondary sustainability transitions. The case is situated in a major Canadian university, the University of British Columbia, within the interdisciplinary Faculty of Land and Food Systems. This dissertation investigates several iterations of one required undergraduate course and the development of the embedded British Columbia Food System Project (BCFSP), which includes approximately 200 students per term working with thirty community partners.
This qualitative action research incorporates case study, primary engagement by the author, and semi-structured interviews with community partners to address two specific questions. First, what innovations were developed to integrate CBEL into a large course? Second, what insights did community partners share for more effective community-university partnerships?
Five innovations were identified. First, student integrators who connect numerous food system projects encourage better understanding of complex issues among the many students. Second, projects spanning multiple years maximize returns from costly relationship development. Third, community service-learning alongside community-based research advances student understanding of community and project research potential. Fourth, offering workshops for teaching teams and students supports their limited experience with CBEL. Finally, engagement protocols clarify communication pathways with community partners to not overtax their time and resources.
Community partner interview analysis corroborates challenges and benefits described in previous literature, and it contributes a new insight, that universities and associated communities need each other. While community partners articulated significant cultural differences between communities and universities, they see partnerships as a way to overcome perceived disparities and offer an alternative perspective that universities and communities share needs, interests, and resources. CBEL in particular offers options that are rooted in community and place. Engaging in CBEL can empower communities to demand more from universities, such that resources flow more freely, particularly from universities to communities. A final outcome is a biomimetic metaphor that accommodates the necessary networks of reciprocity, resilience, recursivity, and non-linear resource exchange.
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Geller, Rachel. "Schools Uniting Neighborhoods: Sustainability and Racial Equity in a Community Schools Initiative." Scholarship @ Claremont, 2018. http://scholarship.claremont.edu/scripps_theses/1210.
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Schools Uniting Neighborhoods (SUN), a collaborative initiative in Multnomah County, Oregon, combines the increasingly popular community school model with an innovative organizational structure to further two key goals: sustainability as an initiative and furthering racial equity. This thesis situates SUN within the context of American public education reform and existing literature on the positive outcomes, organizational structures, and leadership components of community schools. Building on past reviews of SUN and its outcomes, I use results from qualitative interviews with key stakeholders to provide insight into how its organizational structure contributes to the goals of sustainability and racial equity. I discuss the current state of SUN, future directions, and the relevancy of findings to other community schools initiatives and more generally, public education reform efforts.
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Bowling, Emily Erin. "Coupled Pedagogy: A Study of Sustainability Education and Community-Based Learning in the Senior Capstone Program at Portland State University." PDXScholar, 2011. https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/open_access_etds/260.
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Sustainability has emerged in mainstream higher education over the last few years, and the fields of community-based learning and sustainability education are closely linked through their emphases on active, experiential learning in place-based contexts. In order to create ecologically literate citizens to more adequately address environmental problems, there is a logical connection between teaching about sustainability and engaging students in the community, which can serve as a relevant forum to address sustainability issues. However, there is a problem in that educational programs and courses dealing directly with sustainability topics across the higher education landscape often do not emphasize or include experiential, community-based elements. Understanding this relationship is crucial to advance the field of sustainability with meaningful community engagement. This research investigated the pedagogical strategies and frameworks that are foundational in undergraduate capstone courses that include sustainability education and community-based learning. A sample of five community-based, interdisciplinary senior capstone courses at Portland State University was examined through semi-structured interviews with course instructors and syllabi review. Three broad themes emerged as common values among the instructors: connectedness and relationships, community and place, and diversity and inclusiveness. Reflection was a tool utilized universally by instructors to personalize the learning process, cultivate understanding of connectedness and relationships, and incorporate feelings into the learning process. Competencies and skills related to sustainability and those related to civic engagement were very similar; engagement in community is a sustainable practice. This study provides cogent support for the notion that achieving meaningful, transformative sustainability learning requires community-based learning.
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Minkin, Sarah M. "Starting from Here: An Exploration of the Space for Sustainability Education in Elementary Science and Social Studies." Ohio University / OhioLINK, 2015. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1431083779.
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Pronto, Lindon N. "Exploring German and American Modes of Pedagogical and Institutional Sustainability: Forging a Way into the Future." Scholarship @ Claremont, 2012. http://scholarship.claremont.edu/pitzer_theses/21.
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Rooted deep in Germany's past is its modern socio-political grounding for environmental respect and sustainability. This translates into individual and collective action and extends equally to the economic and policy realm as it does to educational institutions. This thesis evaluates research conducted in Germany with a view to what best approaches are transferable to the United States liberal arts setting. Furthermore, exemplary American models of institutional sustainability and environmental education are explored and combined with those from abroad to produce a blueprint and action plan fitting for the American college and university.
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McAllister, Nia. "Social Sustainability: The Role of Ecotourism in Regenerating Cultural and Environmental Histories in Rio de Janeiro." Scholarship @ Claremont, 2017. http://scholarship.claremont.edu/pomona_theses/173.
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Ecotourism is a rapidly growing global export industry that aims to uphold the ethics of responsible tourism by engaging with local communities and encouraging environmentally conscious travel. With existing critiques of the greenwashing of ecotourism and the tendency for tourism agencies to exploit host communities, I advocate for participatory community-based models of ecotourism. This thesis explores both the material and conceptual benefits of community-based ecotourism through the critical examination of community-based ecotourism projects in Rio de Janeiro Brazil. Focusing on the implementation of ecotourism in of some of Rio de Janeiro’s peripheral communities, areas that are impacted by social and spatial marginalization, this thesis argues that the cultural and environmental history of a location are inseparable. When ecotourism is participatory and community-based, it can be a method for sharing cultural and environmental knowledge. Exploring the parallels between environmental justice toxic tourism and community-based ecotourism, this thesis examines the extent to which ecotourism can be used as a tool for social justice, serving to valorize the land histories and lived experiences of communities. Beyond generating money for host communities, the case studies of participatory ecotourism demonstrate the potential for ecotourism to serve as a platform for advocating for land rights in historically marginalized communities.
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au, S. Wooltorton@ecu edu, and Sandra Joyce Wooltorton. "School-As-Community: Bridging the Gap to Sustainability." Murdoch University, 2003. http://wwwlib.murdoch.edu.au/adt/browse/view/adt-MU20040803.113536.
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In this research I explore ways in which teachers and parents can enhance the sustainability agenda to bridge the gap towards sustainability through the creation of caring, democratic, just, ecologically regenerative schools-as-communities. I learned that we can only transform ourselves and not others, therefore to transform the model of experience of schooling and society, we need to transform ourselves, the whole community of the school, towards sustainability. This follows the work of Sterling (2001, 2002a and 2002b) which illustrates that education and society will need to change together in a mutually affirming way, since there is no linear cause-effect relationship.
This dissertation focuses on one aspect of the developing field of education for sustainability (EfS). I use radical ecology as the philosophy which supports the vision of community transformation towards sustainability (Orr 2002; Fien 2001; and Sterling 2001). I use the emancipatory research paradigm and detail a participatory epistemology fused with a holistic, constructivist notion of reality, to situate a participative approach which enables important interdisciplinary connections to be made. The research comprises ethnographic research and cooperative inquiry projects that were implemented at two small community schools, as well as reflective practice to develop personal and professional practices of sustainability. Contemporary work in the field of EfS has a cultural understanding of sustainability, which uses four pillars: the biophysical, the social-cultural, the economic and the political. The political pillar is the key organising principle for this research.
The research is significant because I develop and build upon Sterlings (2001) notion of transformative learning for sustainability. I show that participatory structures, procedures and processes are necessary, but not sufficient for a socially transformative school-as-community culture and that socio-ecologically contextualised knowing is transformative knowledge about community sustainability. For people to behave in cooperative ways, they need to develop a practical, reconnective knowledge of cooperation. Likewise, for people to behave in ecologically regenerative ways, they need to develop a practical, reconnective knowledge of ecological reconnection. The research methods of reflective practice and cooperative inquiry are discussed and evaluated as vehicles for transformation towards sustainability. The dissertation thereby assesses their effectiveness in enabling the development of practical knowledge about sustainability.
In Australia, over the last decade our federal government has shown little interest in fulfilling its own narrowly defined ecological sustainability policy commitments. In Western Australia, our government has recently launched a comprehensive State Sustainability Strategy however its major weakness is that it has afforded very low significance to education at a time when major international organisations such as UNESCO (2002b) see education as an integral part of sustainability and learning as a key to a sustainable future. Sadly, the State Sustainability Strategy does not recommend a reorientation of the education system towards sustainability, does not incorporate a socially critical view of education, and almost completely overlooks the role of learning in the social task of change towards sustainability. In Western Australia, we urgently need policies and political action for commitment through structural reorientation towards EfS. Even in the face of this, a multi-perspectival, inclusive approach to the development of civil society through devolved, locally-based decision making and action within a school community can facilitate the emergence of learning for sustainability in that community. Even within a context of contradiction, tension and paradox, it is possible for school communities to contribute to sustainability through reconnective transformative learning.
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Mearns, Kevin Frank. "The sustainability of community-based ecotourism in southern Africa." Thesis, University of Portsmouth, 2010. https://researchportal.port.ac.uk/portal/en/theses/the-sustainability-of-communitybased-ecotourism-in-southern-africa(8a403ded-d0b4-4a20-aacb-3dbc5a641aa0).html.
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The global trend towards sustainability is influencing humankind on a daily basis. One of the aspects of human life that is significantly influenced by this trend is decision making with regard to travel and holidays. The investigation was initiated in an attempt to monitor the sustainability of community-based ecotourism in southern Africa and to set a baseline for future comparison. A comprehensive inventory of 331 community-based tourism ventures across southern Africa was compiled as part of the study. A spatial selection was undertaken to refine the selection of ventures which could be safely and economically visited in southern Africa. A telephonic interview was carried out with each of the remaining 241 community-based tourism ventures in order to determine which ventures may be categorized as community-based ecotourism ventures. The results of the telephonic interview were used to classify the community-based ecotourism ventures into types. A random selection within types followed to select six case studies for further investigation. An evaluation framework was constructed to monitor the sustainability of the selected community-based ecotourism ventures. The evaluation framework made use of a number of sustainability issues and their associated indicators. The evaluation framework was then tested for its applicability to investigate the social, economic and environmental sustainability of the six case studies. Thereafter a cross-case analysis was undertaken to compare the results and to obtain baseline data for future comparison. The utility of the constructed evaluation framework was subsequently commented on and changes were recommended. The study provided a time- and cost-effective evaluation framework for monitoring the sustainability performance of community-based ecotourism ventures. The constructed framework also makes an important contribution as a departure point in the adaptive learning cycle for the development and implementation of sustainable tourism indicators for community-based ecotourism ventures. Case study specific recommendations were made in order to improve the sustainability performance of the investigated case studies. The results of this study serve as a benchmark against which future investigations into the sustainability of community-based ecotourism ventures in southern Africa may be compared. Conclusions relating to the sustainability of community-based ecotourism ventures in southern Africa are drawn, and a number of recommendations for further research are made.
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Wooltorton, Sandra. "School-as-community : bridging the gap to sustainability /." Access via Murdoch University Digital Theses Project, 2003. http://wwwlib.murdoch.edu.au/adt/browse/view/adt-MU20040803.113536.
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Morris, Nicholas A. "Relocating Education for Sustainability: From the campus to the community." Kent State University / OhioLINK, 2016. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1477287211778195.
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Aslam, Muhammad Sagheer. "Sustainability of community-based drinking water systems in developing countries." Thesis, McGill University, 2014. http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=121365.
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A basic framework for sustainable community-based drinking water systems (CBDWS) is studied in this research program; it is based on the performance of existing water supply systems and on the responses to a survey by the various stakeholders. A model for overall sustainability was developed and validated through its application to about 70 CBDWS in rural settings of northern areas of Pakistan (as part of a developing country case study). In addition, analyses and scenario projections of environmental component of sustainability were made along with detailed analyses and syntheses of statistical surveys to gauge stakeholder perspectives and priorities and to incorporate the results in overall sustainability. The study concluded that sustainable CBDWS can be developed and operated only with active participation of stakeholders (grouped by experience as technical, environmental, economic, social, and institutional). The system must maintain safe and drinkable water resources (environmental considerations) and also maintain the potential for renewability through technically optimized design, high quality execution and regular infrastructure maintenance in an economically beneficial and self-reliant set-up. Social and institutional involvement must also be an integral part of the system. Failure of any of these components can affect the sustainability of the entire system. A relevant definition for sustainable CBDWS was formulated, along with the development of a new model for CBDWS sustainability. The model showed that properly maintained sources, proper infrastructure, aware society, stable economy, and effective institutions are linked components of a sustainable CBDWS, and failure of any of these components can affect the sustainability of the entire system. Scenarios for population that would be without access to improved drinking water in 2015 were also projected on the basis of the field studies. The field studies concluded that environmental sustainability in terms of capacity, quality, reliability and protection of drinking water sources is critical. Projection of these findings to a broader level shows that unless urgent measures are undertaken, serious "fallbacks" may occur in the established Millennium Development Goals (MDG) of the United Nations. In the context of the relevant MDG, such fallbacks can reverse the situation to a previously unsustainable condition.The stakeholder subjectivities and priorities for the various elements of CBDWS were examined and quantitatively incorporated into the system. The environmental and institutional components appeared as higher priorities among the various group stakeholders. The environmental component is a higher priority among stakeholders with natural sciences and engineering backgrounds, whereas institutional component (related to community institutions) is the foremost priority for stakeholders with social sciences backgrounds. Finally, for monitoring and evaluating CBDWS, a cost-effective and user-friendly applied framework capable of accommodating field data with varying levels of quality was developed.Un cadre de base pour les systèmes d'eau potable communautaires durables (CBDWS) est étudié dans ce programme de recherche, il est basé sur la performance des systèmes d'approvisionnement en eau existantes et sur les réponses à une enquête menée par les différents intervenants. Un modèle de durabilité globale a été développée et validée par son application à environ 70 CBDWS en milieu rural des régions du nord du Pakistan (dans le cadre d'une étude de cas de pays en développement). En outre, les analyses et les projections du scénario de composante environnementale du développement durable ont été faites ainsi que des analyses et des synthèses détaillées des enquêtes statistiques pour évaluer les perspectives et les priorités parties prenantes et d'intégrer les résultats en matière de durabilité globale. L'étude conclut que CBDWS durables peuvent être développés et exploités uniquement avec la participation active des parties prenantes (défini dans l'étude: techniques, environnementales, économiques, sociales et institutionnelles). Le système doit conserver des ressources en eau salubre et potable (considérations environnementales) et aussi de maintenir le potentiel de renouvellement grâce à une conception techniquement optimisé, l'exécution de haute qualité et un entretien régulier de l'infrastructure d'une manière économiquement avantageuse et autonomes set-up. L'engagement social et institutionnel doit également faire partie intégrante du système. Défaillance d'un de ces composants peut affecter la durabilité de l'ensemble du système. Une définition pertinente pour CBDWS durable a été élaboré, avec le développement d'un nouveau modèle de durabilité CBDWS. Le modèle indique que les sources sont bien entretenus, infrastructures adéquates, la société consciente, une économie stable et des institutions efficaces sont des éléments nécessaires et liés d'une CBDWS durables, et l'échec de l'un de ces composants peut affecter la durabilité de l'ensemble du système. Scénarios pour la population qui seraient sans accès à l'eau potable en 2015 ont également été projetées sur la base d'une étude de terrain. L'étude de terrain a conclu que la durabilité de l'environnement en termes de capacité, la qualité, la fiabilité et la protection des sources d'eau potable est essentielle. Projection des conclusions de l'étude sur le terrain à une plus grande échelle montre que si des mesures urgentes ne sont pas prises, solutions de repli graves peuvent survenir dans les Objectifs du Millénaire pour le développement établis (OMD) des Nations Unies. Dans le contexte des OMD pertinents, ces solutions de repli peuvent inverser la situation d'un état précédemment insoutenable. Les subjectivités des parties prenantes et des priorités pour les différents éléments de CBDWS ont été examinés et quantifiable incorporés dans le système. Les composantes environnementales et institutionnelles sont apparues comme des priorités plus importantes entre les différentes parties prenantes du groupe. La composante environnementale est une priorité plus élevée chez les intervenants en sciences naturelles et en génie milieux, alors que composante institutionnelle (par rapport aux institutions communautaires) est la priorité pratique pour les parties prenantes avec les sciences sociales milieux. Enfin, pour suivre et évaluer CBDWS, un cadre appliqué rentable et convivial, mais bien définie et systématique capable de recevoir des données de terrain avec différents niveaux de qualité a été développé.
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Mitchell, Andrew. "Second-order learning in developmental evaluation for community-based sustainability." Thesis, De Montfort University, 2017. http://hdl.handle.net/2086/14305.
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It is increasingly common for complex social, economic and environmental policy concerns to be delivered via funded community-based projects. A project’s contribution is typically monitored and evaluated relative to pre-defined outcomes, supported by a set of indicators. Available research suggests that when judged against such criteria, the performance of many funded international developmental and community-based sustainability (CBS) projects are variable, with evidence suggesting that changes elicited are negligible in duration, type, and scale. However, evaluating project performance relative to pre-defined outcomes may overlook the practical learning accumulated by actors in realising key objectives under conditions afforded by the operational context. To address this gap, developmental evaluation (DE) foregrounds and supports project practitioner learning and innovation under dynamic, complex, and uncertain operating conditions. Applying the DE focus on project actor learning and innovation, the present research thematically analyses how practitioners in a funded CBS case study project make sense of their practice. Despite its explicit focus on learning however, DE has not articulated a coherent cognitive paradigm, and a contribution of the present study is to equip DE with a conceptual architecture drawn from the enactive cognitive science paradigm, rooted in an explicit accounting of complexity. Using this base, a prototype DE framework was designed and provisionally field-tested in the form of a set of prompts to be used with CBS practitioners to augment traditional monitoring and evaluation activities. This framework is intended to support practitioners in surfacing and capturing second-order learning about their practices and to explore opportunities for innovative responses to dynamic complex operational conditions. Recommendations are offered for further research and how these findings might be incorporated into future CBS design and funding considerations.
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Ramírez, Iñiguez Alma Arcelia. "Community-based education: reflections on teacher education." Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú, 2017. http://repositorio.pucp.edu.pe/index/handle/123456789/117522.
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This article presents an analysis about teacher’s education possibilities regardingtheir professional context in elementary education. For this, a conceptual reviewabout relationship between education and community is explained. In this analysis,the educational processes’ characteristics from this perspective are highlighted, aswell as their implications. Subsequently, some guidelines about teacher’s education from this view are exposed and a systemic approach of education are presented taking into account educational factors inside and outside the school, as well as the teacher as an agent who learns permanently.Este artículo presenta un análisis sobre las posibilidades de formar al profesorado de educación básica en relación con el contexto en el que desarrolla su labor profesional.Para ello, se parte de una revisión conceptual sobre el vínculo entre educación ycomunidad con la finalidad de explicar las características de los procesos formativosque se llevan a cabo desde una visión comunitaria, así como sus implicaciones. Apartir de este análisis se establecen algunas orientaciones sobre los aspectos a considerar en la formación del profesorado en este sentido, destacando una visión sistémica de la educación, dentro de la cual los factores escolares y los del entorno se relacionan, y en la que el profesor es un agente en continuo aprendizaje.
Este artigo apresenta uma análise sobre as possibilidades de formar professoresde educação básica relacionado com o contexto em que desenvolvem seu trabalhoprofissional. Para tanto se partirá de uma revisão conceitual sobre o vínculoentre a educação e a comunidade, com o objetivo de explicar as características dosprocessos formativos que desenvolvem dentro de uma visão comunitária, assimcomo suas implicações. A partir desta análise se estabelecem algumas orientaçõessobre os aspectos a serem considerados na formação do professorado, enfatizandouma visão sistêmica da educação, dentro da qual a escola e o meio ambiente estãointer-relacionados, e na qual o professor é um agente em contínua aprendizagem.
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Agatha, Rachelle. "The Community College Funding Model| Changes for Success and Sustainability." Thesis, Fielding Graduate University, 2017. http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=10599139.
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The California Community Colleges funding model has rich historical, political, and cultural ties embedded in the model foundation. The general funding of the California Community Colleges is enrollment-based and shaped by a long history of legislation based on the K-12 education model. The funding is not tied to performance or outcomes and is driven by how many students are enrolled. Although there has been increased categorical funding in the California Community Colleges over the past 3 years to improve student success and equity, the overall persistence or completion rates of students remains low. Research has demonstrated that many other states are implementing an outcome-based or performance-based funding model to reduce the gaps and improve student success and fiscal sustainability. The purpose of the study was to explore the gaps in the current California Community Colleges funding model and the effect of these gaps on student success and fiscal sustainability for the California Community Colleges. The study additionally investigates effective models in order to design and develop a funding model that will support the mission and outcomes of the California Community Colleges system while planning for fiscal strength.
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Roudebush, Deborah May. "An ethnography of community leadership through community-based community education." Virtual Press, 1985. http://liblink.bsu.edu/uhtbin/catkey/425454.
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The purposes of the study were: 1) To describe important characteristics of an ongoing, viable "community-based" community education project, 2) to determine whether the critical-principles postulated at the beginning of the study would be illustrated by considering a community-based community education project in one community, and 3) to describe the leadership behaviors utilized in a successful community-based community education project, and 4) to generate hypotheses for future research studies in community education.The data were collected and analyzed using a modified version of Spradley's Developmental Research Sequence Writing methodology, including interviewing participant observation, supplemented with document analysis and surveys.Eight of nine postulated critical principles were present in the organization studied. A partial listing of proposed hypotheses follows:1. The general principles, values, and leadership actions outlined in the agency summary can be successfully transplanted to another community.2. The director of a successful community-based community education agency must be good at controlling the flow of information, adept at negotiating, and politically persuasive.3. A tax levy is a sound, stable means for providing primary local financial support.4. The non-profit corporation is an effective structure capable of building on the resources of the major political bodies (the city council, the public school board, and the township trustees) while maintaining integrity in decision making and service provision.5. The political bodies, the people of the community, and the businesses and community organizations must all be represented in the governing body of a commuity-based community education organization.6. Detailed procedures and policies play a critical role in bridging the transition period when a new director is hired.
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Lovarini, Meryl Patricia. "Sustainability of a Community-Based Falls Prevention Program: A Grounded Theory." Thesis, The University of Sydney, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/2123/8044.
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Research has shown that a range of interventions are effective for preventing falls among older people living in the community. Yet the translation of these interventions into practice remains a challenge and it has been unclear how interventions and programs once implemented can be sustained over time. In this thesis, two studies are presented investigating the sustainability of community-based falls prevention programs. First, a systematic review of the literature was conducted to determine the extent and nature of research published on this topic. Fifteen disparate and methodologically diverse publications were included in the review. It was found that no theories have been empirically developed to explain or guide how sustainability can be achieved. A range of factors may influence whether programs continue or not, but it was unclear from the review which factors or combination of factors were the most important for program sustainability. While programs may be more likely to continue over time when supported by multi-strategic interventions, it was not clear which types of interventions were the most effective for enhancing the likelihood of program sustainability. These findings suggested that the influences on program sustainability were not well understood and as such it remained unclear how community-based falls prevention programs could be sustained over time. The second and main study in this thesis, aimed to explore the factors influencing the sustainability of a community falls prevention program and to develop an understanding and explanation for how such programs can be sustained by organisations over time. To address these aims a qualitative study was conducted using a grounded theory methodology. The study was conducted in Western Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Forty-two interviews were conducted with 34 participants from 15 organisations implementing or supporting the Stepping On falls prevention program. Observations were recorded in 69 field-notes. Data were collected from February 2007 to November 2009 and analysed systematically according to recognised processes for constructing grounded theory. Participating organisations were from diverse service sectors including community health, welfare and local government. Based on a detailed analysis of the factors influencing program sustainability, a theory explaining how program sustainability can be achieved was developed. Program sustainability can be achieved in diverse and changing contexts providing three conditions are met. The program must provide benefits and value, committed and skilled people must be available and ongoing support that matches the needs of the organisation must be received. While the nature of the program benefits, the type of people involved and the kind of support required varies with each organisation and may vary over time due to changing circumstances affecting the organisation, all three conditions must be met to ensure that organisations have sufficient motivation and capacity to sustain the program. Organisations use a range of context-specific strategies to create, manage and control the conditions necessary for program sustainability. Working in partnership with others is a key strategy used by organisations to sustain the program. A network linking organisations with program partners, supporters, funders and experts may assist organisations in meeting the conditions necessary for achieving program sustainability, thus enhancing the motivation and capacity of organisations to sustain the program. These findings advance our understanding of how community-based falls prevention programs can be sustained over time. The complementary nature of the theory developed in this study with the broad-based perspectives offered by complexity theory offers a promising approach for optimising and achieving program sustainability. This study has resulted in a comprehensively developed and practical theory that can be applied in diverse and complex settings. The theory can now be used to guide practice, assist policy-makers and inform future research.
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Lieberworth, Audrey L. "Seattle's Orchards: A Historic Legacy Meets Modern Sustainability." Scholarship @ Claremont, 2012. http://scholarship.claremont.edu/scripps_theses/25.
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European immigrants introduced orchards to the U.S. in the early 1600s. As they began to establish settlements and migrate west, they brought orchard cultivation with them, creating an extensive network of orchards spread across the U.S. However, over time many of these orchards were lost due to urban development, which is what makes Seattle’s historic orchards significant. Early Seattle settlers planted orchards in the 1800s and early 1900s, and their remnants still exist today, despite urban development. Over the years, many of the orchards have been incorporated onto City Department-owned land, but they have not been maintained to the extent that they could or should be. In the past few years, there has been an interest in rejuvenating Seattle’s historic orchards and planting new ones in order to contribute to the growing local urban agriculture movement. This piece of work is framed around a discussion of the significance of Seattle’s orchards, their significance to the surrounding communities, and how the work accomplished at these sites can become sustainable.
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Mishina, Christy Lokelani. "Hawaiian Culture-Based Education| Reclamation of Native Hawaiian Education." Thesis, Prescott College, 2017. http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=10275900.
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American colonization of the Hawaiian Islands has brought about generations of Native Hawaiian learners being subjected to educational practices that are incompatible with core Indigenous beliefs. Consequently, Native Hawaiian learners have lower academic achievement than other ethnic groups in the islands. The lack of success is not confined to academics since Native Hawaiians are also underrepresented in material-economic, social-emotional, and physical wellbeing. Hawaiian culture-based education (HCBE) can be used to decolonize educational practices by increasing cultural relevancy and compatibility within schools. This study was conducted within a school founded explicitly for the education of Native Hawaiian children. The selected campus has approximately 80 teachers and 650 Native Hawaiian learners (age eleven to fifteen). The purpose of the study was to better understand implementation of the HCBE framework components and data was collected through surveys and semi-structured follow-up interviews. The findings showed that although there was a range of the extent the teachers at the school understood and implemented the various HCBE components, there was commitment to using Hawaiian language, knowledge, and practices as the content and context for student learning. The data also showed though teachers have a high level of understanding of the importance of relationship building, that building family and community relationships remains an area of challenge. Additionally, teachers pride themselves on delivering meaningful personalized learning experiences and assessments to their students, and would like their own professional development to be grounded in the same educational practices. This study provides baseline data to inform further growth.
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Middlemiss, Lucie Kate. "The role of community-based organisations in stimulating sustainability practices among participants." Thesis, University of Leeds, 2009. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.507647.
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Hughes, Kristen. "The city as a community-based force for sustainability in energy systems." Access to citation, abstract and download form provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company; downloadable PDF file, 577 p, 2009. http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=1891601521&sid=6&Fmt=2&clientId=8331&RQT=309&VName=PQD.
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Springer, Adam C., and Steiguer J. E. De. "Enhancing the Sustainability of Community-Based Watershed Initiatives through Social Network Analysis." Arizona-Nevada Academy of Science, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/10150/296702.
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Yousuf, Tariq bin. "Sustainability and replication of community-based composting : a case study of Bangladesh." Thesis, Loughborough University, 2005. https://dspace.lboro.ac.uk/2134/35070.
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Solid waste management is a key concern for the local authorities in developing countries. The continued generation of solid waste, increasing waste management costs and scarcity of landfill space have compounded solid waste problems to a serious stage. Local authorities struggling to meet collection targets do not usually think of waste reduction and recycling. Composting is seen as one potential waste reduction strategy through the recycling of waste. As a result, a number of community-based composting projects have been piloted in the cities. Some projects have been successful in producing lasting impacts on the improvement of solid waste management. However, many projects could not support themselves or expand further when the external agencies discontinued their support. This thesis is an attempt to study the state of sustainability and replication potential of four community-based composting operations in Bangladesh.
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CONTINI, VALERIO. "Concezioni della sostenibilità e orientamenti temporali in contesti educativi informali. L’esperienza dei Gruppi di Acquisto Solidale = Conceptos de sostenibilidad y orientaciones temporales en contextos educativos informales. La experiencia de los Grupos de Compra Solidaria." Doctoral thesis, Università degli studi di Bergamo, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/10446/27367.
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Le profonde trasformazioni delle nostre società mettono oggi in evidenza fenomeni educativi nuovi. Apprendimenti informali prendono forma spontaneamente all’interno dei percorsi esistenziali del soggetto e nel suo ambiente di vita. Molti studi dimostrano che l’educazione informale, più di quella formale, può influire sugli atteggiamenti e gli stili di vita in modo profondo e duraturo, può educare grandi masse di persone, soprattutto le più difficili da raggiungere, a impegnarsi per costruire una comunità planetaria sostenibile.
Questa ricerca analizza il fenomeno dei Gruppi di Acquisto Solidale come esperienze educative informali importanti per la promozione di un futuro sostenibile. Vengono analizzate le concezioni della sostenibilità, l’orientamento temporale al futuro e le dinamiche educative informali caratteristiche di alcuni GAS italiani.
La prima parte del lavoro mette a fuoco la complessità della nozione di sostenibilità e alcune dimensioni chiave della educazione sostenibile. Le categorie concettuali individuate sono state utilizzate nel lavoro sul campo per raccogliere, analizzare e interpretare il materiale empirico.
Nella seconda parte del lavoro vengono presentati i criteri, la metodologia gli strumenti, le attività (questionari, interviste individuali semi-strutturate, osservazione partecipante, analisi di documenti) utilizzati nella ricerca sul campo.
Nella terza parte viene presentata la ricerca sul campo, svolta su un campione di 148 soggetti appartenenti a quattro GAS.
Il primo e il secondo capitolo espongono la struttura del campione, le caratteristiche e le modalità di somministrazione, l’elaborazione, l’analisi e la discussione dei risultati dei due questionari utilizzati: l’Inventario della Prospettiva Temporale di Zimbardo e Boyd (ZTPI) e il questionario aperto sulle concezioni della sostenibilità (elaborato specificamente per questa ricerca).
Il terzo presenta il cuore della ricerca sul campo. Attraverso l’analisi dei documenti, l’osservazione partecipante e le interviste semi-strutturate realizzate con alcuni testimoni privilegiati, vengono individuati e analizzati le concezioni della sostenibilità, l’orientamento temporale al futuro e le dinamiche educative presenti nei quattro contesti sociali oggetto di studio.
Nel capitolo finale vengono discusse alcune criticità emerse dal lavoro sul campo e ipotizzate alcune piste per il proseguimento della ricerca in futuro.The deep changes in today society point out new educational phenomena. Informal learning takes place spontaneously in people biography and living environment. Many studies show that informal education, more than formal one, can deeply and durably affect attitudes and lifestyles, can educate large masses of people, especially the most difficult to reach, to undertake to build a sustainable planetary community. This study investigates the Gruppi di Acquisto Solidale as informal educational experiences important for promoting a sustainable future. It examines and discuss the concepts of sustainability, the future time orientation and the informal educational dynamics in some Italian GAS. The first part of the work focuses on the complexity and fuzzyness of the concept of sustainability and some key dimensions of sustainable education. The conceptual categories identified have been used in field work to collect, analyze and interpret the empirical material. The second part presents the criteria, methodology, tools, activities (questionnaires, semi-structured individual interviews, participant observation, document analysis) undertaken during the field work. The third part presents the field work conducted on a sample of 148 subjects from four different GAS. The first and the second chapter expose the structure of the sample, the characteristics and mode of administration, the processing, analysis and discussion of the results of two questionnaires used in the field work: the Zimbardo Time Perspective Inventory (ZTPI) and the open questionnaire on the concepts of sustainability (specifically worked out for this research). The third presents the core of the field study. By means of document analysis, participant observation and semi-structured interviews carried out with some key informants the concepts of sustainability, the time orientation to future and the educational dynamics in the four social contexts under study are identified and analyzed. In the final chapter we discuss some critical aspects that came out from the fieldwork, and we assume some clues for further research in the future.
Los cambios profundos en nuestra sociedad de hoy ponen en evidencia nuevos fenómenos educativos. Aprendizajes informales toman forma de manera espontánea dentro de los recorridos existenciales y ambiente de vida. Muchos estudios muestran que la educación informal, más que la formal, puede afectar profundamente y durablemente las actitudes y estilos de vida, puede educar a las masas de personas, especialmente los más difíciles de lograr, a comprometerse a construir una comunidad planetaria sostenible. Este estudio examina el fenómeno de los Grupos de Compra Solidaria en cuanto experiencias educativas informales importantes para promover un futuro sostenible. Se analizan los conceptos de sostenibilidad, la orientación temporal al futuro y las dinámica educativas informales en algunos GAS italianos. La primera parte del trabajo se centra en la complejidad y el carácter fuzzy del concepto de sostenibilidad y algunas de las dimensiones clave de la educación sostenible. Las categorías conceptuales identificadas fueron utilizadas en el trabajo de campo para recoger, analizar e interpretar el material empírico. En la segunda parte del trabajo se presentan los criterios, metodología, herramientas, actividades (cuestionarios, entrevistas semi-estructuradas, observación participante, análisis de documentos) utilizados en el trabajo de campo. En la tercera parte se presenta el trabajo de campo realizado en una muestra de 148 sujetos de cuatro GAS. El primero y el segundo capítulo exponen la estructura de la muestra, las características y el modo de administración, el análisis y discusión de los resultados de los dos cuestionarios utilizados: el Inventario de la Perspectiva Temporal de Zimbardo /ZTPI) y el cuestionario abierto sobre los conceptos de sostenibilidad (desarrollado específicamente para esta investigación). El tercero presenta el corazón del trabajo de campo. A través de análisis documental, observación participante, entrevistas semi-estructuradas realizadas con algunos key informants se identifican y analizan los conceptos de sostenibilidad, la orientación temporal hacia el futuro y las dinámicas educativas en los cuatro contextos sociales en estudio. En el último capítulo se discuten algunos de los aspectos críticos que surgieron a partir del trabajo de campo, y asumimos algunos recorridos para futuras investigaciones.
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Brown, Holly Beth. "Social Justice and Community-Based Art Education." Thesis, The University of Arizona, 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/10150/193320.
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Both in and out of the classroom, critically discussing and exploring the issues of gender, race, power, equality, and social justice can be a social and emotional minefield for educators and students alike. In politically charged times, escaping pre-formulated reactions and creating real change and empathy can seem a nearly impossible task. Some educators have turned to the visual and creative arts to provide students with emotional connectedness, visceral responses, and modes of self-expression. In this study, I examine two education programs to understand the effectiveness of social justice pedagogical methods using phenomenological research. My focus is on the educators' experiences, influences, and personal pedagogies. I plan to highlight three successful programs to better understand how complex and emotional issues can be better explored through art and visual culture and how other educators can adapt these methods to their own classrooms.
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Reese, Angela D. "Strategies for Organizational Sustainability in Higher Education." ScholarWorks, 2016. https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/2578.
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The defunding of higher education at the state and national level following the 2008 recession created the need for administrators of public higher education institutions to develop and implement funding strategies to maintain organizational sustainability. State government administrators reduced spending approximately 26% per student across the nation, leaving higher education administrators challenged with adjusting organizational budgets to compensate for the reduction in state monetary support. A multiple case study design was used to explore funding strategies that community college business leaders used to support budget decisions that maintain organizational sustainability. Four leaders from 3 community colleges in Central Texas participated in semistructured interviews. Interviews were triangulated with reviews of historical school board documents. Data analysis included documents review, member checking, coding data by participant, and electronic data analysis software to determine the most frequent responses. The theory of organizational change was used as the conceptual framework for exploring strategies community college business leaders use for sustainable futures. Two themes that emerged from the analysis were business-focused planning and student success identifying that community college business leaders need to focus on offering affordable education that meets stakeholders' needs while implementing funding strategies to support budget decisions for organizational sustainability. The findings may impact social change when budget decisions are made with a focus on affordable and quality education that improves the lives of individuals, meets local workforce needs, and promotes economic development within communities.
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Hutchins, Karen Kelly. "Strengthening the development of community-university partnerships in sustainability science research." Thesis, The University of Maine, 2013. http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=3575452.
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In light of the increasingly complex sustainability problems facing local and global communities, and the need to improve the scientific basis for decision making, sustainability science elevates the role of research collaborations and communication among scientists and stakeholders in developing solutions. Although many universities are heeding the calls for collaborative research and are making progress on bringing diverse groups together to address sustainability issues, disconnections between the production of knowledge and its actual use in society persist. These persistent divisions indicate that we still have a great deal to learn about how to develop university-stakeholder partnerships that facilitate collaboration between the various actors in society.
Building successful, enduring research partnerships is essential for improving links between knowledge and action. The overarching question addressed in this dissertation is: "In the quest to develop sustainable solutions, what factors may strengthen or hinder the development of robust stakeholder-university research partnerships?" In answering this question, I interrogate the role of communication in partnership development, the influence of communication practices on stakeholder and researcher interactions, and ways that we can use interdisciplinary forms of and approaches to research to improve communication with partners. The goal of this research is to improve university and community capacity for collaborative, problem-focused research to address pressing societal problems.
Using quantitative and qualitative survey data from the Maine Municipal Official Survey and the Collaboration and Stakeholder Engagement Survey, each chapter addresses the overarching research question in different ways. In the first and second chapters, I develop theoretically and empirically supported statistical models to identify a set of factors influencing officials' reported interest in developing a community-university research partnership and factors influencing officials' participation preferences in community-university research partnerships, respectively. The models strengthen the capacity for co-learning by providing data on interest and preference alignment between potential project partners, and they provide data on stakeholder preferences and experiences that may improve communication between partners and inform partnership interactions. The third chapter bridges interdisciplinary theories from social psychology and communication to deepen the conversation about justice in community-university research partnerships. The dissertation concludes with lessons learned about developing community-university research partnerships.
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Jeha, L. J. "Equity, sustainability and incentive-based conservation measures : community reflections from Mt. Elgon, Uganda." Thesis, University of York, 2016. http://etheses.whiterose.ac.uk/15501/.
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Incentive-based measures are increasingly being employed as a strong motive to encourage conservation yet the evidence that they are generating sustainable resource-use, improving rural livelihoods or aiding biodiversity protection remains inconclusive. To provide empirical evidence to this discourse, in this study the McDermott et al (2013) equity framework is used to explore how different benefit-sharing arrangements have shaped twenty-five years of Integrated Conservation and Development projects (ICDP) neighbouring the Mt. Elgon National Park, Uganda. Applying a self-reported, post-hoc, quasi-experimental design, a time-series of participatory mapping activities revealed that despite the willingness of targeted groups to adopt ‘green’ technologies (distributional equity), maintaining and up-scaling these activities remained limited at the landscape level. Social network analysis uncovered that limited knowledge, restricted access (contextual equity) and the lack of inclusion in decision-making (procedural equity) impeded this development. Tracking the Mt. Elgon Regional Eco-System Conservation Programme (MERECP) as a specific case study, the analyses then showed that wealthier members of society and the political elite were the principle beneficiaries of conservation inputs. In the cases where these institutionalised hierarchies were purposely sidestepped (a measure to ensure marginalised stakeholders gained funds), cases of conflict and resentment arose. Overall, communities that had loose, expansive conservation networks adopted the greatest number of simple technologies. Nevertheless, those that have built a high level of trust both amongst one another and with supporting organisations resulted in the most socially equitable and biologically efficient outcomes. Portraying a future rich in sustainable land-use practises, communities do aspire to protecting their natural resources. Whilst this may be a time-consuming, expensive process, building sound adaptive ‘co-management’ relationships that respect cultural norms, provide suitable alternatives and maximises local knowledge is the key to implementing incentive-based conservation measures across Mt. Elgon.
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Venton, Paul. "Methods of enhancing the sustainability and scale of community based disaster risk management." Thesis, Cranfield University, 2008. http://dspace.lib.cranfield.ac.uk/handle/1826/2916.
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Disasters are always local in their impact, and therefore approaches towards their alleviation need to be designed and implemented based on this certainty. So this research is designed to investigate methods of enhancing the development, sustainability and scale of community based disaster risk management (CBDRM). This is undertaken with a special focus upon community risk assessment (CRA) and its relationship with disaster risk reduction (DRR). Action Research (AR) is the methodological approach adopted to investigate three primary research objectives: • To investigate the link between community risk assessment (CRA) and community based disaster risk management (CBDRM). • To identify key issues when addressing the underlying causes of vulnerability within community based disaster risk management (CBDRM). • To identify challenges in enhancing the sustainability and scale of community based disaster risk management (CBDRM) through stakeholder partnership. The AR carried out has three main components: 1. The development and testing of a CRA methodology. 2. The identification of good practice CBDRM. 3. Supplementary semi-structured interviews. Perspectives on the research objectives are collated from a broad array of international experiences, but with the primary location of fieldwork in Bihar, India. Conclusions to the research demonstrate the importance of linking government policy and practice on DRR with CBDRM, and addressing the underlying causes of vulnerability. While important in their own right, these subjects have also been considered in terms of their inter-connectedness with one another. Indeed they are shown to be mutually reinforcing. However, even more pivotal is the emphasis on their relationship with CRA. Furthermore, contrary to much practice CRA, engaging government officials from the outset and incorporating an investigation into the underlying causes of vulnerability, must not be segregated from action planning but must be fully synchronised with a CBDRM process.
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Rowson, Juliet Mary. "Community-based sustainability and the construction of difference on Galiano Island, British Columbia." Thesis, National Library of Canada = Bibliothèque nationale du Canada, 1997. http://www.collectionscanada.ca/obj/s4/f2/dsk3/ftp04/nq25148.pdf.
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Lightman, Deborah. "Community-based social marketing at the neighborhood scale : sustainable behavior or neighborhood sustainability?" Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2011. http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/67228.
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Thesis (M.C.P.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning, 2011.Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.
Includes bibliographical references (p. 113-119).
Social marketing has long been used in the field of public health, but its application in the environmental world is only a decade old. Although McKenzie-Mohr and Smith's (1999) guide to "community-based social marketing" (CBSM) has gained increasing support, there have been few attempts to delineate when CBSM can (and should) be used. In this thesis, I explore the use of CBSM at the neighborhood scale: first, to encourage the uptake of rain barrels and rain gardens; and second, to advance long-term sustainability as defined in the sustainable communities literature. My research focuses on the potential opportunities and limitations of CBSM in three very different neighborhoods in the Greater Toronto Area. Interviews with homeowners in the three neighborhoods revealed surprisingly high levels of rain barrel interest and ownership among people who do not self-identify as "environmentalists". I suggest that different CBSM strategies may be useful for promoting rain barrels among individuals who self-identify in different ways. In contrast, rain gardens received limited support from non-environmentalists and appeared challenging to promote. I suggest that CBSM programs to encourage rain gardens will be more effective if clearly tied to local issues. I outline strategies for increasing the local relevance of CBSM and highlight the benefits of including diverse residents at all stages of program design. Finally, I argue that practitioners should assess opportunities for CBSM to contribute to long-term neighborhood sustainability. In all three neighborhoods, CBSM holds little potential to directly address residents' sustainability priorities, since these issues require neighborhood-level efforts. However, modified versions of CBSM may be able to indirectly contribute to long-term sustainability by fostering social capital, attachment to place and awareness of links between environmental, economic and social issues.
by Deborah Lightman.
M.C.P.
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Klein, Sydney Kristen. "The Role of University Food Gardens in Higher Education Sustainability." OpenSIUC, 2014. https://opensiuc.lib.siu.edu/theses/1395.
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Higher Education has the resources available to serve as a leader in sustainability, specifically by preparing graduates to address issues associated with global climate change through the use of interdisciplinary and hands-on learning. However, institutional barriers may limit large-scale restructuring of curriculum and institutional structures. Small initiatives and broad networking may help to provide sustainability education while also paving the way for broader curriculum and institutional adaptations. The potential of community gardens to serve as sustainability and community interventions make them a desirable study site to gain insight into the power of small initiatives, yet very few studies have assessed the role of community garden projects in campus settings. Through the use of an email survey sent to campus garden managers across the United States and Canada, the power of these initiatives to advance higher education sustainability can be better understood. The study sought to answer the following research questions: (1) What are the demographic characteristics of university food gardens?, (2) Do university gardens serve as sites for formal and informal education, (3) What obstacles and benefits occur within university food gardens, and (4) What factors affect the long-term resilience of university food garden initiatives? It was found that when institutional support, strong networking, and consistent participation are present, university food gardens enhance the overall sustainability of higher education institutions while also providing valuable sources of interdisciplinary and hands-on learning. Gardens receiving the greatest support from their institution exhibit strong resilience and provide numerous benefits that aid increase the overall sustainability of their institution. This study asserts the power of small sustainability initiatives within higher education institutions, while also addressing key factors which ensure the long-term resilience of these valuable sites.
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Chambers, Cynthia R. "Building Inclusive, Community-Based Book Clubs." Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University, 2015. https://dc.etsu.edu/etsu-works/3861.
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Weber, Erwin. "Towards local cultures of sustainability : facilitating community created environment education centres through design." Thesis, Queensland University of Technology, 2012. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/52771/1/Erwin_Weber_Thesis.pdf.
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Ecological sustainability has been proposed to address the problem of human impacts increasingly degrading planetary resources and ecosystems, threatening biodiversity, eco-services and human survival. Ecological sustainability is an imperative, with Australia having one of the highest eco-footprints per person worldwide. While significant progress has been made via implementation of ecologically sustainable design in urban communities, relatively little has been undertaken in small, disparate regional communities in Australia. Regional communities are disadvantaged by rural economic decline associated with structural change and inequities of resource transfer. The ecologically sustainable solution is holistic, so all settlements need to be globally wise, richly biodiverse yet locally specific.
As a regional solution to this global problem, this research offers the practical means by which a small regional community can contribute. It focuses on the design and implementation of a community centre and the fostering of transformative community learning through an integrated ‘learning community’ awareness of ecologically sustainable best practice. Lessons learned are documented by the participant researcher who as a designer, facilitator, local resident and social narrator has been deeply connected with the Tweed-Caldera region over a period since 1980. The collective action of the local community of Chillingham has been diligently recorded over a decade of design and development. Over this period, several positive elements emerged in terms of improvements to the natural and built environment, greater social cohesion and co-operative learning along with a shift towards a greener local economy. Behavioural changes in the community were noted as residents strived to embrace ecological ideals and reduce fossil fuel dependency. They found attractive local solutions to sourcing of food and using local employment opportunities to up skill their residents via transformative learning as a community in transition. Finally, the catalytic impact of external partnering has also been documented. How well the region as a whole has achieved its ecologically sustainable objectives is measured in terms of the delivered success of private and public partnering with the community, the creation of a community centre cum environment education centre, the restoration of local heritage buildings, the repair of riparian forests and improved water conditions in local river systems, better roads and road safety, local skills and knowledge transfer, support of local food and local/regional growers markets to attract tourists via the integrated trails network. In aggregate, each and every element contributes to a measure of eco-positive development for the built environment, its social organisation and its economy that has guided the local community to find its own pathway to sustainability.
Within the Tweed-Caldera bioregion in northern New South Wales, there has been a lack of strategic planning, ecologically sustainable knowledge and facilities in isolated communities that could support the development of a local sustained green economy, provide a hub for socio-cultural activities and ecology based education. The first challenge in this research was to model a whole systems approach to eco-positive development in Chillingham, NSW, a small community where Nature and humanity know no specific boundary. The net result was the creation of a community environment education centre featuring best-affordable ecological practice and regionally distinctive, educational building form from a disused heritage building (cow bale). This development, implemented over a decade, resonated with the later regional wide programs that were linked in the Caldera region by the common purpose of extending the reach of local and state government assistance to regional NSW in economic transition coupled with sustainability. The lessons learned from these linked projects reveal that subsequent programs have been significantly easier to initiate, manage, develop and deliver results. In particular, pursuing collaborative networks with all levels of government and external private partners has been economically effective. Each community’s uniqueness has been celebrated and through drawing out these distinctions, has highlighted local vision, strategic planning, sense of belonging and connection of people with place. This step has significantly reduced the level of friction between communities that comes from natural competition for the finite pool of funds. Following the pilot Tweed-Caldera study, several other NSW regional communities are now undertaking a Community Economic Transition Program based on the processes, trials and positive experiences witnessed in the Tweed-Caldera region where it has been demonstrated that regional community transition programs can provide an opportunity to plan and implement effective long term strategies for sustainability, empowering communities to participate in eco-governance. This thesis includes the design and development of a framework for community created environment education centres to provide an equal access place for community to participate to meet their essential needs locally. An environment centre that facilitates community transition based on easily accessible environmental education, skills and infrastructure is necessary to develop local cultures of sustainability.
This research draws upon the literatures of ecologically sustainable development, environmental education and community development in the context of regional community transition towards ‘strong sustainability’. The research approach adapted is best described as a four stage collaborative action research cycle where the participant researcher (me) has a significant involvement in the process to foster local cultures of sustainability by empowering its citizens to act locally and in doing so, become more self reliant and socially resilient. This research also draws upon the many fine working exemplars, such as the resilience of the Cuban people, the transition town initiative in Totnes, U.K. and the models of Australian Community Gardens, such as CERES (Melbourne) and Northey Street (Brisbane). The objectives of this study are to research and evaluate exemplars of ecologically sustainable environment education centres, to facilitate the design and development of an environment education centre created by a small regional community as an ecologically sustainable learning environment; to facilitate a framework for community transition based on environmental education, skills and infrastructure necessary to develop local cultures of sustainability.
The research was undertaken as action research in the Tweed Caldera in Northern NSW. This involved the author as participant researcher, designer and volunteer in two interconnected initiatives: the Chillingham Community Centre development and the Caldera Economic Transition Program (CETP). Both initiatives involved a series of design-led participatory community workshops that were externally facilitated with the support of government agency partnerships, steering committees and local volunteers.
Together the Caldera research programs involved communities participating in developing their own strategic planning process and outcomes. The Chillingham Community Centre was developed as a sustainable community centre/hub using a participatory design process. The Caldera Economic Transition Program (CETP) prioritised Caldera region projects: the Caldera farmer’s market; community gardens and community kitchens; community renewable energy systems and an integrated trails network.
The significant findings were: the CETP projects were capable of moving towards an eco-positive design benchmark through transformative learning. Community transition to sustainability programs need to be underpinned by sustainability and environmental education based frameworks and practical on ground experience in local needs based projects through transformative learning. The actioned projects were successfully undertaken through community participation and teamwork. Ecological footprint surveys were undertaken to guide and assess the ongoing community transition process, however the paucity of responses needs to be revisited.
The concept of ecologically sustainable development has been adopted internationally, however existing design and planning strategies do not assure future generations continued access to healthy natural life support systems. Sustainable design research has usually been urban focussed, with little attention paid to regional communities. This study seeks to redress this paucity through the design of ecologically sustainable (deep green) learning environments for small regional communities. Through a design-led process of environmental education, this study investigates how regional communities can be facilitated to model the principles of eco-positive development to support transition to local cultures of sustainability.
This research shows how community transition processes and projects can incorporate sustainable community development as transformative learning through design. Regional community transition programs can provide an opportunity to plan long term strategies for sustainability, empowering people to participate in eco-governance. A framework is developed for a community created environment education centre to provide an equal access place for the local community to participate in implementing ways to meet their essential needs locally. A community environment education centre that facilitates community transition based on holistic environmental education, skills and infrastructure is necessary to develop local cultures of sustainability.
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Mullen, Keara Anita. "Community based education working together to realize change /." Cincinnati, Ohio : University of Cincinnati, 2007. http://www.ohiolink.edu/etd/view.cgi?acc%5Fnum=ucin1196913269.
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Thesis (M.A.)--University of Cincinnati, 2007.Advisor: Marvin Berlowitz. Title from electronic thesis title page (viewed Feb. 18, 2008). Includes abstract. Keywords: community based education; engaged pedagogy; justice learning. Includes bibliographical references.
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MULLEN, KEARA ANITA. "COMMUNITY BASED EDUCATION: WORKING TOGETHER TO REALIZE CHANGE." University of Cincinnati / OhioLINK, 2007. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1196913269.
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Pedraza, Jennifer E. A. "Assessment of “Community Stepping Stones,” a Community-Based Youth Art Education Program." Scholar Commons, 2010. http://scholarcommons.usf.edu/etd/3613.
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Community Stepping Stones is an art education program whose objective is to
“provide education, mentor children and adolescents, enhance the community
economics, and enrich the quality of life in the community” (Community Steppping
Stones [CSS], 2009a). Community art education programs, particularly for youth, have
become increasingly popular as a way to address and prevent delinquent behavior.
However, art education programs have proven challenging to evaluate and sustain.
The goal of my thesis was to explore how Community Stepping Stones
implemented and evaluated a community-based youth arts education program
compared to other, similar programs and how the organization could make the program
more effective and more sustainable long-term. As part of an internship with Community
Stepping Stones, I conducted participant observation, document review, and interviews
with individuals affiliated with Community Stepping Stones and other art education
programs in the community. Data was collected between February 2009 and September
2010.Community Stepping Stones has grown significantly during my involvement with
the organization, expanding funding, programming, and staff. Current efforts to reinforce
evaluation measures and secure additional funding sources will help make the program
more sustainable in the future. Additional efforts towards collaboration with other
community and government organizations, increased community involvement, and better
program organization will also be beneficial towards sustainability efforts.
At this time, published evaluations of community-based youth art education
programs and organizational impact on youth and community are limited. Although not a
comprehensive assessment, I hope my research can help bolster the literature in this
area.
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Baloi, Aristides. "Exploring transformative social learning and sustainability in community based irrigation scheme contexts in Mozambique." Thesis, Rhodes University, 2017. http://hdl.handle.net/10962/50154.
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This study set out to examine transformative social learning and sustainability in the context of community-based irrigation systems in Mozambique. These irrigation systems are socio-ecological in nature. The history of irrigation systems in Mozambique can be described in two periods: pre-Independence period (mainly the colonial period) and the post-Independence period from 1975 onwards. Most recently, the Mozambique Government has introduced a policy which supports community-based irrigation system implementation and management via irrigation associations in a move to support a shift from rain-fed farming practices to irrigation-supported farming practices amongst smallholder farmers. It is this shift in the object of activity that this study focusses on. It does this by studying learning process in the constituted irrigation associations, examining whether such learning is transformative and sustainability oriented or not, and how such learning can be further expanded and supported. Learning may occur in socio-ecological systems, but whether that learning enables transformation and sustainability of irrigation systems and the constituted associations is as yet under-explored in the Mozambique context and in the context of Education for Sustainable Development in southern Africa. The aim of this research was therefore to understand transformative social learning within the development of sustainable irrigation practices in the context of irrigation associations and new agrarian policy development in Mozambique. To examine transformative social learning in sustainable irrigation system practices (including management practices), the study worked with three research goals, which also formed phases of the study’s design: GOAL 1: Examine how and what transformative social learning has (or has not) emerged in existing activity systems to date (Phase 1: Activity System Analysis). GOAL 2: Examine how transformative social learning could emerge through expansive learning processes (Phase 2: Identification of contradictions and new solution modelling through Developmental Work Research and Change Laboratories). GOAL 3: Identify what opportunities exist for ongoing transformative social learning (Phase 3: Identification of absences and ongoing dialectical transformation possibilities). The study draws on theories of Social Learning, Transformative Learning and Cultural Historical Activity Theory’s (CHAT) expansive learning and formative interventionist research framework to develop insights into the learning processes. It works especially with third generation Cultural Historical Activity Theory which provides a theory of expansive social learning and collective transformative agency formation, which I deemed most appropriate for the need to understand the transformation of farmers’ activities in a collective formation such as an irrigation association. The study involved identification and examination of interacting activity systems, contradictions or dissonances in two case studies of community-based irrigation system development via the respective associations. It involved identifying existing learning, as well as engaging in formative intervention research to expand learning in two case study sites: namely the Macubulane and Massaca Irrigation Associations, located near Maputo, Mozambique in the Inkomati and Umbeluzi river basins. The Macubulane community practices a monocropping system of sugar cane plantations using sprinkler irrigation methods and the Massaca community practices a mixed cropping system growing vegetables using mainly gravity or furrow irrigation methods. The study uses a qualitative research approach and is underlaboured by Dialectical Critical Realism which allowed for a deeper probing of ontology and transformative praxis, and transformative learning. The study used methods which included in-depth interviews, change laboratory workshops, document analysis and focus group interviews with farmers and subjects in associated activity systems. Analysis involved activity system analysis, identification of contradictions, modeling of solutions, transformative agency analysis, as well as analysis of real and nominal absences and generative mechanisms as recommended in dialectical critical realism. I used inductive, abductive and retroductive modes of inference, relying on the latter to identify further potential for transformative learning. The study demonstrates that within the associations, transformative social learning is taking place as farmers seek to address problems and contradictions. This learning leads to the creation of new agency and capabilities by ensuring good yields and continuous improvement of management practices and social status. Learning operates through formal mediation in the irrigation system of workplace-based operation, maintenance and crop management practices (i.e. through workplace learning). Social learning occurs through collective engagement with the constraints that the association faces while applying new knowledge, introducing new technology, in the process of administration and planning of irrigation activities. Expansive learning is possible when mediated actively through formative interventions in change laboratory workshops. All three types of learning were found to be present and possible in the context of the two irrigation scheme contexts. The main study findings are that transformative social learning is a collective object-driven process in the context of a transforming object (from rain-fed to sustainable community-based irrigation scheme farming in this study), that can be explained from the level of generative mechanisms and associated real absences that shape nominal absences and contradictions within and between activity systems. These induce, and have potential to induce, transformative learning in irrigation systems, including the emergence of transformative agency via learning through workplace-based, wider social learning, and expansive learning interaction processes amongst subjects in interacting activity systems. Absenting absences is also crucial for extending the potential of transformative learning in irrigation associations. The study further shows how critical realism helps to interpret learning processes and how it strengthens the empirical findings obtained from qualitative analysis. A key outcome of the study is a model that frames conceptualisation of transformative social learning in irrigation systems. The model and the insights gained into farmers learning around the transformation of the object of activity explored in this study have implications for wider curriculum and policy development interventions. The study therefore also makes recommendations for curriculum development and policy implementation intervention. The curriculum development recommendations are not at the level of making recommendations for new courses only, but frame how the design of new courses should take into account the wider processes of learning and change associated with the transformation of an object of activity as articulated in the study. It recommends an approach that allows for in-field engagement with contradictions and the absenting of absences (a problem-based type of curriculum) that will also allow for conceptual development and understanding of the changing object of activity (i.e. community-based irrigation scheme practice and management). The main policy recommendation made from the study is to invest more in farmer support and farmers’ learning so that they can transition from rain-fed agriculture to sustainable irrigation scheme development and management via their associations. The research contributes to knowledge production on irrigation practices; considering that substantial understandings were generated through analysis of communal irrigation scheme practice and management and its implications, especially from a transformative learning perspective. As shown in this study, transformative social learning theories are still not well understood in the context of irrigation system development, and this study has contributed knowledge to this field. The study contributes towards understanding of sustainability learning in irrigation associations in terms of concepts and practices. The study offers a model for transformative social learning in irrigation scheme development and suggests an expanded curriculum for community-based irrigation association practice and management. Overall, the study contributes to an understanding of transformative, sustainability oriented learning processes as support for the emergence of community-based irrigation associations. Additionally, the study has added perspectives on how to frame transformative social learning from a CHAT and critical realist perspective in Education for Sustainable Development. The study also contributes to a growing body of scholarship in southern Africa which seeks to develop expansive, transformative social learning approaches in response to concerns experienced by communities who are reliant on natural resources and the environment for their livelihoods and well-being, and who are also seeking to emerge out of poverty.
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Greenwood-Ericksen, Margaret. "Sustainability of a Culturally Informed Community-Based Diabetes Prevention Program for Obese Latino Youth." Thesis, The University of Arizona, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/10150/221275.
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A Thesis submitted to The University of Arizona College of Medicine - Phoenix in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Medicine.Latino youth are disproportionately impacted by obesity and type 2 diabetes; however, few lifestyle interventions have targeted this population. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to assess the impact of a culturally informed lifestyle education pilot program on nutrition and physical activity behaviors among obese Latino youth. A retrospective chart review of 67 youths was conducted with self-reported nutrition and physical activity assessed both immediately following the program and after long-term follow-up. Body mass index (BMI) was evaluated to determine the impact of behavior changes on adiposity. Healthy nutrition and physical activity changes were reported by 20%-59% of youths immediately following the program. However, most of these changes were attenuated over the 261 ± 49 day follow-up with reported walking (25.4%) and sports participation (34.3%) sustained to a greater extent than dietary changes (3.4–14.9%). Nonetheless, children who continued walking at follow-up exhibited significantly larger reductions in BMI compared with those who did not (-1.63 ± 0.56 vs. 0.44 ± 0.30 kg/m2, P < .05). Based on our pilot study, we conclude that community-based lifestyle education programs can support behavior modification and weight management 5 in obese Latino youth. Ongoing support may be necessary to encourage
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Billingsley, Kelly J. "Examination of food choice motives| The influence of an innovative, interdisciplinary learning community related to environmental sustainability." Thesis, Pepperdine University, 2014. http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=3613663.
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What and how much an individual eats largely defines his/her health. The most used dietary intervention models target individuals' concern for personal health, thereby undermining the interdisciplinary trajectory of the nutrition field. The purpose of this study was to compare the food choice motives of students enrolled in an interdisciplinary learning community (LCOM) to students enrolled in a non-integrated nutrition course and gain insight into student experiences with interdisciplinary nutrition education. A two-phase sequential mixed methods design was used. The first phase compared the personal health and ethical concern motives of the LCOM (n = 13) and non-integrated students (n = 60). The secondary phase employed a web-based interview to explore the LCOM experiences. Both groups highly valued the ability of food to improve personal health. There was no statistically significant difference in the ethical concern motives between the two groups however, interview responses revealed that LCOM participants made dietary changes as a result of ethical concern. The study concluded that participants made dietary choices based on personal health, regardless of the type of nutrition education received, and the LCOM was effective in developing a greater value for ethical concern. The learning community framework could provide a rich education experience that helps students develop an improved sense of social responsibility and initiate behavior change. Recommendations included how health and nutrition departments could integrate related disciplines into nutrition curricula. Future research examining the longevity of motives is needed to explore the effectiveness of this educational framework in producing lasting behavior change.
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Fisher, Christopher M. "Assessing sexual health information & resource provision in Indiana youth-serving community-based organizations utilizing community-based participatory research methods." [Bloomington, Ind.] : Indiana University, 2009. http://gateway.proquest.com/openurl?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:dissertation&res_dat=xri:pqdiss&rft_dat=xri:pqdiss:3378347.
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Thesis (Ph.D.)--Indiana University, School of Health, Physical Education and Recreation, 2009.Title from PDF t.p. (viewed on Jul 8, 2010). Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 70-10, Section: B, page: 6149. Adviser: Michael Reece.
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Chambers, Cynthia R. "Creating Meaningful, Community-Based Social Networks." Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University, 2014. https://dc.etsu.edu/etsu-works/3851.
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Jamieson, Martin. "Creating space to understand school-based community development within a rural Malawian community." Thesis, Canterbury Christ Church University, 2018. http://create.canterbury.ac.uk/17471/.
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The setting for this research is a rural community in the central region of Malawi. As a qualitative case-study it explores attitudes towards development as well as the processes school-based community development might go through to achieve a permanent increase in adaptability (Taylor, 2005). This adaptability is the ability of local communities to finance and maintain interventions and then adapt to changes in the social and economic environment. This thesis explores opportunities the community may develop to avoid dependence on outside control as they become increasingly self-sustaining. The research questions explore these processes and unpack shifts in community power relations while exploring the impact that faith-based organisations bring to the development process. The research positions the researcher within the lived experience of those researched and uses research instruments developed from qualitative research typologies consistent with Berkowitz, and Srivastava & Hopwood underpinned with a philosophical framework drawn from the ideas of Freire, Chambers and Wells. This research considers seven non-governmental organisations (NGOs), six schools and various authority structures within the research locality to explore their roles and the tensions each brings to the other. Drawing on a constructivist epistemology it explores current thinking and practice regarding school-based community development. Additionally, the thesis looks at teacher professionalism and identity, arguing that for teachers to develop a professional identity a degree of autonomy is needed where self-regulation and opportunity to contribute to training is necessary. This exploration is achieved by gathering data using research instruments that include semi-structured interviews, focus groups discussions and reflexive consideration from journaling and regular reviews with assistant researchers. Reflecting on the empirical data gathered to allow theory to emerge it triangulates research methods to increase reliability. I explore the processes, obstacles and hindrances to establish how self-reliance within school-based community development is approached by NGOs, and use the data to support the argument that NGO activity may be contributing to the erosion of traditional authority structures such as the community chief. It is suggested that the creation of space in which to explore common ground between developmental actors is a first step towards the creation of an empowered community whose ownership of the processes is central to a permanently adaptive development.
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Chang, Benjamin Johnson. "The platform liberatory teaching, community organizing, and sustainability in the inner-city community of Los Angeles Chinatown /." Diss., Restricted to subscribing institutions, 2009. http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=2023856761&sid=1&Fmt=2&clientId=1564&RQT=309&VName=PQD.
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Finley, Jason Paul. "Exploring Meteorology Education in Community College| Lecture-based Instruction and Dialogue-based Group Learning." Thesis, Lesley University, 2017. http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=10251653.
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This study examined the impact of dialogue-based group instruction on student learning and engagement in community college meteorology education. A quasi-experimental design was used to compare lecture-based instruction with dialogue-based group instruction during two class sessions at one community college in southern California. Pre- and post-tests were used to measure learning and interest, while surveys were conducted two days after the learning events to assess engagement, perceived learning, and application of content. The results indicated that the dialogue-based group instruction was more successful in helping students learn than the lecture-based instruction. Each question that assessed learning had a higher score for the dialogue group that was statistically significant (alpha < 0.05) compared to the lecture group. The survey questions about perceived learning and application of content also exhibited higher scores that were statistically significant for the dialogue group. The qualitative portion of these survey questions supported the quantitative results and showed that the dialogue students were able to remember more concepts and apply these concepts to their lives.
Dialogue students were also more engaged, as three out of the five engagement-related survey questions revealed statistically significantly higher scores for them. The qualitative data also supported increased engagement for the dialogue students. Interest in specific meteorological topics did not change significantly for either group of students; however, interest in learning about severe weather was higher for the dialogue group. Neither group found the learning events markedly meaningful, although more students from the dialogue group found pronounced meaning centered on applying severe weather knowledge to their lives. Active engagement in the dialogue approach kept these students from becoming distracted and allowed them to become absorbed in the learning event. This higher engagement most likely contributed to the resulting higher learning. Together, these results indicate that dialogue education, especially compared to lecture methods, has a great potential for helping students learn meteorology. Dialogue education can also help students engage in weather-related concepts and potentially develop better-informed citizens in a world with a changing climate.
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Walker, Helen L. "The landscape of education, the notion and form of education within and for a community centred on sustainability." Thesis, National Library of Canada = Bibliothèque nationale du Canada, 2000. http://www.collectionscanada.ca/obj/s4/f2/dsk1/tape3/PQDD_0017/MQ49590.pdf.
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