'Education for Sustainability' - The National Strategy on Education for Sustainable Development in Ireland, 2014-2020

This National Strategy on Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) has been developed by the Department of Education and Skills (DES), in consultation with key stakeholders. It provides a framework to support the contribution that the education sector is making and will continue to make towards a more sustainable future at a number of levels: individual, community, local, national and international. This strategy is primarily influenced by the national strategy on sustainable development, Our Sustainable Future - A Framework for Sustainable Development in Ireland (hereafter referred to as Our Sustainable Future), which was published by the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government in 2012. It is also framed within the current context of limited financial resources. The result is an ESD strategy that seeks to challenge individuals, organisations and society as a whole, but particularly in educational contexts, through recommendations that are pragmatic rather than aspirational in nature.

Review of Education in the Gaeltacht

This document outlines a proposal by the Department of Education and Skills (DES) to review educational provision in the Gaeltacht in order to clarify its policy in relation to education in Gaeltacht schools. The proposal sets out the background to, the rationale and terms of reference for the review.

Engagement Plan: Review of AHP Support for Children with Statements of Special Educational Needs in Special Schools and Mainstream Education

This engagement plan outlines the collaborative and partnership approach with key stakeholders in the first phase of the Review of AHP Support for Children with Statements of Special Educational Needs in Special Schools and Mainstream Education. It provides detail on how communication objectives will be met.It gives information on:Stakeholder Analysis for Phase One of the ReviewMembership of the Project BoardMembership of the Professional Stakeholder Reference Group

Terms of Reference for Project: Review of AHP Support for Children with Statements of Special Educational Needs in Special Schools and Mainstream Education

This is the Terms of Reference for the review of Allied Health Professional (AHP) support for children/young people with statements of special educational needs.It outlines expectations of the review and should be read in conjunction with the Project Initiation Document (PID) for Phase 1of the review, the Terms of Reference for the Project Board and the Engagement Plan for phase 1.

Review of AHP Support for Children with Statements of Special Educational Needs in Special Schools and Mainstream Education: Phase 2 Engagement Plan

This engagement plan outlines the collaborative and partnership approach with key stakeholders in the second phase of the Review of AHP Support for Children with Statements of Special Educational Needs in Special Schools and Mainstream Education. It provides detail on how communication objectives will be met. It gives information on: Stakeholder Analysis for Phase Two of the Review Membership of the Project Board Membership of the Professional Stakeholder Reference Group

The relationships between technology and open education in the development of a resilient higher education

The place of technology in the development of coherent educational responses to environmental and socio-economic disruption is here placed under scrutiny. One emerging area of interest is the role of technology in addressing more complex learning futures, and more especially in facilitating individual and social resilience, or the ability to manage and overcome disruption. However, the extent to which higher education practitioners can utilise technology to this end is framed by their approaches to the curriculum, and the socio-cultural practices within which they are located. This paper discusses how open education might enable learners to engage with uncertainty through social action within a form of higher education that is more resilient to economic, environmental and energy-related disruption. It asks whether open higher education can be (re)claimed by users and communities within specific contexts and curricula, in order to engage with an uncertain world.

OER in Portugal as agent of curriculum innovation and technological change. Inducing practices of "new" teaching standards

This research project aimed the following goal: promote the creation, use and disclosure of OER in a Group of Schools, involving schools and teachers from different learning levels, expecting to test and validate the use of OER, in a learning-teaching model towards curricular innovation. Defining as a starting point different subjects and teachers from distinct academic areas, we have implemented a set of activities leading to the creation of OER supported, when possible, in FLOSS tools. We adopted an action research methodology with a dual purpose: to act within a community of teachers and students, while increasing at the same time their knowledge, as well as the researcher's. The activity was developed cooperatively in order to process a certain reality of the teaching-learning process, through practical/reflective action towards it and inducing its implementation by others in the Portuguese School System, based on the production and sharing OER.

Implementation of a nutrition education program in a handball team; consequences on nutritional status.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate nutritional status and dietary habits after implementation of a nutritional education program in professional handball players. RESEARCH METHODS AND PROCEDURES: Longitudinal study of 14 handball players evaluated with 72-h recall, a questionnaire on food consumption and anthropometric measures during 4 months. The intervention consisted of a nutrition education program. RESULTS: Energy intake was consistently below the recommended allowances. Macronutrient intakes as a percentage of total energy intake were below the recommended allowances for carbohydrates, and above recommended allowances for fats. Nutritional education was followed by a significant increase (p < 0.01) in total energy and macronutrient intakes, with no significant changes in macronutrient or micronutrient intakes after adjustment for energy intake. DISCUSSION: The imbalance in nutrient intake in handball players suggests that detailed re-analysis is needed to determine specific recommendations for this population. Nutritional education with continuous follow-up to monitor athletes' dietary habits may lead them to adopt appropriate nutritional habits to optimize dietary intakes. The lack of specific recommendations for micronutrient intakes in athletes leads to confusion regarding appropriate intakes; biochemical tests that yield normal values (albeit approaching cut-off values for deficiency) may disguise deficient status for some nutrients when strenuous exercise is involved. CONCLUSION: In-depth studies with nutrition education programs that include long-term follow-up are advisable to avoid deficiencies that can lead to irreversible damage in competitive athletes.

Valors ètics per a l’excel·lència professional dels jutges

En aquest treball ens hem proposat els següents objectius: Explicitar els valors ètics que permeten l’excel·lència professional dels jutges; Conèixer l’estat de la qüestió, esbrinar la consciència que els futurs professionals tenen dels valors requerits per dur a terme una funció de qualitat i d’aquells que ja l’han exercit durant 8 anys; Proposar mesures organitzatives per promoure i dinamitzar l’excel·lència professional dels jutges. El treball consta de dues parts. En una primera expliquem què és ètica professional i explicitem aquells valors que necessàriament ha d’encarnar un jutge en el seu exercici professional perquè aquest sigui, més enllà de no negligent i acomplir la deontologia, una aposta per l’excel·lència. Al llarg d’aquesta part albirem polítiques organitzatives, recomanacions, suggeriments (codis ètics, comitè d’ètica professional, etc.) per dinamitzar, des de l’autoregulació, la vigència dels valors ètics de les professions jurídiques que afavoreixen l’excel·lència professional. En una segona part, es presenten les conclusions de l’estudi de camp a partir d’una enquesta sobre aquells valors realitzada, el 10 de febrer del 2004, als jutges que estan a l’Escola Judicial de Barcelona rebent la formació inicial. Amb aquesta segona part exposem el grau de consciència i compromís en la responsabilitat inherents a la professió de jutge.

La nova formació professional a les comarques de Girona

A partir del curs 1999-2000 s'inicia a Catalunya l'aplicació generalitzada dels cicles formatius de la nova formació professional implantadaper la Llei d'ordenació general del sistema educatiu (LOGSE), aprovada el ja llunyà 1990. Amb tot, alguns centres de les comarques de Girona ja ho han fet aquest curs mateix i la majoria entraran el curs vinent en el nou sistema

Curriculum sequencing for an e-learning system based on learning styles

This work shows the use of adaptation techniques involved in an e-learning system that considers students' learning styles and students' knowledge states. The mentioned e-learning system is built on a multiagent framework designed to examine opportunities to improve the teaching and to motivate the students to learn what they want in a user-friendly and assisted environment

Swiss Interdisciplinary Management Programme for Heart Failure (SWIM-HF): a randomised controlled trial study of an outpatient inter-professional management programme for heart failure patients in Switzerland.

PRINCIPLES: International guidelines for heart failure (HF) care recommend the implementation of inter-professional disease management programmes. To date, no such programme has been tested in Switzerland. The aim of this randomised controlled trial (RCT) was to test the effect on hospitalisation, mortality and quality of life of an adult ambulatory disease management programme for patients with HF in Switzerland.METHODS: Consecutive patients admitted to internal medicine in a Swiss university hospital were screened for decompensated HF. A total of 42 eligible patients were randomised to an intervention (n = 22) or usual care group (n = 20). Medical treatment was optimised and lifestyle recommendations were given to all patients. Intervention patients additionally received a home visit by a HF-nurse, followed by 17 telephone calls of decreasing frequency over 12 months, focusing on self-care. Calls from the HF nurse to primary care physicians communicated health concerns and identified goals of care. Data were collected at baseline, 3, 6, 9 and 12 months. Mixed regression analysis (quality of life) was used. Outcome assessment was conducted by researchers blinded to group assignment.RESULTS: After 12 months, 22 (52%) patients had an all-cause re-admission or died. Only 3 patients were hospitalised with HF decompensation. No significant effect of the intervention was found on HF related to quality of life.CONCLUSIONS: An inter-professional disease management programme is possible in the Swiss healthcare setting but effects on outcomes need to be confirmed in larger studies.

Traduir i interpretar les llengües de la immigració a Catalunya: cap a la formació i acreditació d’un perfil professional emergent

El projecte que sol•licitem és el resultat natural d’una recerca iniciada l’any 2008 pel grup de recerca MIRAS (Mediació i Interpretació: Recerca en l’Àmbit Social) de la Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. La recerca del grup MIRAS ha tingut com a objectiu general, durant els darrers dos anys, la definició del perfil professional del traductor/intèrpret als serveis públics. Aquesta figura emergent i encara poc reconeguda al nostre país va començar a sorgir a partir del boom migratori de les darreres dècades a Catalunya com a resposta als problemes de comunicació freqüents entre la població nouvinguda i els serveis públics locals. Per a assolir l’objectiu esmentat, la primera fase de la recerca del grup MIRAS s’ha centrat en el disseny, distribució, buidatge, anàlisi i creuament de dades de 250 qüestionaris semioberts dirigits als tres principals agents implicats en la interacció comunicativa que estudiem: els traductors/intèrprets, els usuaris i els proveïdors dels serveis. Els resultats d’aquest estudi han demostrat, entre d’altres qüestions rellevants, la manca d’una formació específica per als traductors/intèrprets als serveis públics, així com una absència de regulació de la professió que aquests exerceixen. Un cop realitzat aquest primer estudi pilot, i en vista dels resultats obtinguts, ens sembla doncs evident que el següent pas de la nostra recerca ha d’anar orientat cap a la formació i regulació professional dels traductors/intèrprets als serveis públics. En concret, en el projecte que sol•licitem ens proposem dissenyar una formació especialitzada per a traductors/intèrprets als serveis públics que compleixi amb els següents tres prerequisits: a) estar oberta a tot tipus de persones, independentment del seu nivell d’estudis; b) oferir un ampli ventall de llengües, principalment les llengües de la immigració a Catalunya (per a una primera selecció d’aquestes llengües, vegeu informe demogràfic de la SIM de l’1 de gener de 2010 i resultats de l’estudi pilot de MIRAS), i c) conduir a una acreditació nacional que reguli l’exercici de la professió de traductor/intèrpret als serveis públics de Catalunya. La implementació d’un sistema d’acreditació, segon objectiu del projecte que presentem, és essencial ja que no només permetrà la regulació d’una professió fins avui poc o mal definida, sinó que també garantirà la qualitat dels serveis oferts per aquests professionals en el futur.

Trajectòries d'èxit de joves immigrants a l'ensenyament superior i al món professional

L’educació dels immigrants és un tema prioritari a les agendes polítiques de molts països de la OCDE. En molts casos, els governs s’han preocupat especialment de la seva integració al món del treball però creix l’interès en els seus resultats al sistema educatiu i en la revisió de les polítiques adreçades a respondre a les seves necessitats educatives i formatives. La majoria d’aquests estudis es situen a l’esfera de l’educació infantil, primària, secundaria i formació professional, per això resulta pràcticament impossible trobar estudis que analitzin el baix percentatge d’accés d’estudiants immigrants extracomunitaris a la universitat (al voltant de 3,3% en el cas de Catalunya); que contribueixin a entendre els factors que configuren les trajectòries d’èxit escolar i d’integració laboral dels estudiants immigrants que accedeixen i completen els estudis universitaris; que puguin donar pautes per desenvolupar polítiques educatives que millorin els resultats d’aprenentatge dels estudiants immigrants; i que puguin servir com a mirall i incentiu per a altres persones immigrants i, perquè no, també del país. Aquest projecte ha estudiat el conjunt d’elements que condicionen l’accés dels joves immigrants als estudis universitaris, i a l’estatus laboral que els hauria de possibilitar la seva formació universitària. L’estudi ha consistit en una metaanàlisi dels documents existents sobre el tema i en la realització de 8 narratives biogràfiques; quatre de persones cursant diferents estudis a les universitats catalanes i quatre que ja s’han incorporat al món del professional. Aquestes narratives venen acompanyades de 8 vídeos que exploren noves maneres de visibilització d’aquesta població i es transformen en una pràctica d’autoria. Aquest material visual pot servir com a recurs educatiu, en la mida que pugui ser un mirall i un incentiu per a altres persones immigrants i del país. Finalment, presenta un seguit de recomanacions per als responsables de les polítiques i dels centres educatius.

Argumentation and education. Theoretical foundations and practices

During the last decade, argumentation has attracted growing attention as a means to elicit processes (linguistic, logical, dialogical, psychological, etc.) that can sustain or provoke reasoning and learning. Constituting an important dimension of daily life and of professional activities, argumentation plays a special role in democracies and is at the heart of philosophical reasoning and scientific inquiry. Argumentation, as such, requires specific intellectual and social skills. Hence, argumentation will have an increasing importance in education, both because it is a critical competence that has to be learned, and because argumentation can be used to foster learning in philosophy, history, sciences and in many other domains. Argumentation and Education answers these and other questions by providing both theoretical backgrounds, in psychology, education and theory of argumentation, and concrete examples of experiments and results in school contexts in a range of domains. It reports on existing innovative practices in education settings at various levels.