Understanding impact readiness in Portugal’s social sector and designing a framework for capacity-building for social impact

This project is based on the theme of capacity-building in social organisations to improve their impact readiness, which is the predictability of delivering intended outcomes. All organisations which have a social mission, non-profit or for-profit, will be considered to fall within the social sector for the purpose of this work. The thesis will look at (i) what is impact readiness and what are the considerations for building impact readiness in social organisations, (ii) what is the international benchmark in measuring and building impact readiness, (iii) understand the impact readiness of Portuguese social organisations and the supply of capacity building for social impact in Portugal currently, and (iv) provide recommendations on the design of a framework for capacity building for impact readiness adapted to the Portuguese context. This work is of particular relevance to the Social Investment Laboratory, which is a sponsor of this project, in its policy work as part of the Portuguese Social Investment Taskforce (the “Taskforce”). This in turn will inform its contribution to the set-up of Portugal Inovação Social, a wholesaler catalyst entity of social innovation and social investment in the country, launched in early 2015. Whilst the output of this work will be set a recommendations for wider application for capacity-building programmes in Portugal, Portugal Inovação Social will also clearly have a role in coordinating the efforts of market players – foundations, corporations, public sector and social organisations – in implementing these recommendations. In addition, the findings of this report could have relevance to other countries seeking to design capacity building frameworks in their local markets and to any impact-driven organisations with an interest in enhancing the delivery of impact within their work.

Workshop: Capacity building for national public health advocacy: case studies from national associations

The first statement of the EUPHA on the Future of Public Health in Europe refers to the need for going 'to policymakers, politicians and practitioners in all sectors of society and advise them on how to promote public health throughout society'. WHO-EURO Director General Marc Danzon, quoted in the second EUPHA statement on the responsibility of policy makers indicates that 'learning is not systematically applied in health policy development in our continent'. Statement 3 calls for the integration of public health into the political agenda in all sectors. The first EUPHA president, Louise Gunning-Schepers, quoted in Statement 10 called on EUPHA to become 'a powerful advocate of the public health community'. In addition to the above, the EU is now actively seeking ways to build capacity to implement its health strategy. Learning and building the capacity to achieve our aims The aims and objectives to promote the public's health as reflected in EUPHA's 10 statements are also mirrored in the national public health associations. However, many of EUPHA's national associations have little or limited experience in promoting public health policy at the national level. To assist in the learning of advocacy for public health policies, case studies presenting experiences of national public health organizations in lobbying for national public health policy will be presented and discussed. In addition to sharing experiences, the presentations will identify successful approaches to public health advocacy as well as lessons learned from unsuccessful attempts.

Informe del seminari Library and Information Science Education in Europe: "Issues in joint curriculum development and Bologna perspectives" (Copenhaguen, Dinamarca, 11-12 d'agost de 2005)

Els dies 11 i 12 d'agost va tenir lloc a Copenhaguen, Dinamarca, el seminari de treball Library and Information Science Education in Europe: ¿Issues in joint curriculum development and Bologna perspectives¿. Aquest seminari, que va estar coordinat per la Royal School of Library and Information Science de Dinamarca, amb la col·laboració de l'European Association for Library and Information Education and Research (EUCLID), es va organitzar en el marc d'un projecte europeu subvencionat pel programa Sòcrates. La Facultat de Biblioteconomia i Documentació de la Universitat de Barcelona, present entre 2001 i 2005 en la Junta de Govern de l'EUCLID, va participar-hi com a soci del projecte. L'objectiu del seminari era aplegar una cinquantena d'experts europeus de l'àrea de Biblioteconomia i Documentació ¿tots ells professors d'escoles i de facultats d'universitats europees¿ per discutir qüestions relacionades amb els plans d'estudis dels ensenyaments des de la perspectiva del procés de Bolonya. El seminari consistí en dues conferències i en les reunions de treball de dotze grups formats per experts que examinaren dotze grans temes ¿prèviament acordats pels organitzadors de l'esdeveniment¿ relacionats amb els plans d'estudis d'aquells ensenyaments.

Adult Education and Literacy Program, FY2014, December 11, 2014

Adult Education has a rich history in Iowa of providing services that assist adults in improving their skills, achieving their educational goals, and transitioning to further education or employment. Instruction is designed for adults functioning at the lowest levels of basic skills and English language instruction to advanced levels of learning.

Sustainable Computer Science Education

As the world becomes more technologically advanced and economies become globalized, computer science evolution has become faster than ever before. With this evolution and globalization come the need for sustainable university curricula that adequately prepare graduates for life in the industry. Additionally, behavioural skills or “soft” skills have become just as important as technical abilities and knowledge or “hard” skills. The objective of this study was to investigate the current skill gap that exists between computer science university graduates and actual industry needs as well as the sustainability of current computer science university curricula by conducting a systematic literature review of existing publications on the subject as well as a survey of recently graduated computer science students and their work supervisors. A quantitative study was carried out with respondents from six countries, mainly Finland, 31 of the responses came from recently graduated computer science professionals and 18 from their employers. The observed trends suggest that a skill gap really does exist particularly with “soft” skills and that many companies are forced to provide additional training to newly graduated employees if they are to be successful at their jobs.

Problem solving and computer-assisted instruction in science education : analysis of research findings and the research process /

The quantitative component of this study examined the effect of computerassisted instruction (CAI) on science problem-solving performance, as well as the significance of logical reasoning ability to this relationship. I had the dual role of researcher and teacher, as I conducted the study with 84 grade seven students to whom I simultaneously taught science on a rotary-basis. A two-treatment research design using this sample of convenience allowed for a comparison between the problem-solving performance of a CAI treatment group (n = 46) versus a laboratory-based control group (n = 38). Science problem-solving performance was measured by a pretest and posttest that I developed for this study. The validity of these tests was addressed through critical discussions with faculty members, colleagues, as well as through feedback gained in a pilot study. High reliability was revealed between the pretest and the posttest; in this way, students who tended to score high on the pretest also tended to score high on the posttest. Interrater reliability was found to be high for 30 randomly-selected test responses which were scored independently by two raters (i.e., myself and my faculty advisor). Results indicated that the form of computer-assisted instruction (CAI) used in this study did not significantly improve students' problem-solving performance. Logical reasoning ability was measured by an abbreviated version of the Group Assessment of Lx)gical Thinking (GALT). Logical reasoning ability was found to be correlated to problem-solving performance in that, students with high logical reasoning ability tended to do better on the problem-solving tests and vice versa. However, no significant difference was observed in problem-solving improvement, in the laboratory-based instruction group versus the CAI group, for students varying in level of logical reasoning ability.Insignificant trends were noted in results obtained from students of high logical reasoning ability, but require further study. It was acknowledged that conclusions drawn from the quantitative component of this study were limited, as further modifications of the tests were recommended, as well as the use of a larger sample size. The purpose of the qualitative component of the study was to provide a detailed description ofmy thesis research process as a Brock University Master of Education student. My research journal notes served as the data base for open coding analysis. This analysis revealed six main themes which best described my research experience: research interests, practical considerations, research design, research analysis, development of the problem-solving tests, and scoring scheme development. These important areas ofmy thesis research experience were recounted in the form of a personal narrative. It was noted that the research process was a form of problem solving in itself, as I made use of several problem-solving strategies to achieve desired thesis outcomes.

Exploring the Current State of Grades 4 to 8 Science Education in Ontario

This study sought to explore the current state of Grades 4 to 8 science education in Ontario from the perspective of Junior/Intermediate (J/I) teachers. The study’s methodology was a sequential 2-phased mixed methods explanatory design denoted as QUAN (qual)  qual. Data were collected from an online survey and follow-up interviews. J/I teachers (N = 219) from 48 school boards in Ontario completed a survey that collected both quantitative and qualitative data. Interviewees were selected from the survey participant population (n = 6) to represent a range of teaching strategies, attitudes toward teaching science, and years of experience. Survey and interview questions inquired about teacher attitudes toward teaching science, academic and professional experiences, teaching strategies, support resources, and instructional time allotments. Quantitative data analyses involved the descriptive statistics and chi-square tests. Qualitative data was coded inductively and deductively. Academic background in science was found to significantly influence teachers’ reported level of capability to teach science. The undergraduate degrees held by J/I science teachers were found to significantly influence their reported levels of capability to teach science. Participants identified a lack of time allocated for science instruction and inadequate equipment and facilities as major limitations on science instruction. Science in schools was reported to be of a “second-tiered” value to language and mathematics. Implications of this study include improving undergraduate and preservice experiences of elementary teachers by supporting their science content knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge.

Participation as capacity-building for active citizenship

Within the framework of the “capability approach” to human rights, this paper argues that adults who facilitate participatory planning and design with children and youth have an ethical obligation to foster young people’s capacities for active democratic citizenship. Practitioners often worry, justifiably, that if young people fail to see their ideas realized, they may become disillusioned and alienated from political life. Based on the experience of the Growing Up in Cities program of UNESCO, four rules of good practice are distilled which can help promote young people’s belief in the value of collective action, regardless of the challenges that the full implementation of their ideas may face.

Science education in Europe: national policies, practices and research

Resumen basado en el de la publicaci??n

Education and literacy. 'Educación y alfabetización'.

Resumen tomado de la publicación.Monográfico : las condiciones de aprendizaje de la lengua escrita