Academic literature on the topic 'Adult learning Victoria'

AbstractLand management is often a three-way partnership between management agencies, scientists and community members. Co-operation between these three sectors in working for better environmental outcomes has a long history in Victoria, and nature conservation has often previously been achieved through successful adult environmental education. The recent development of an ecology course on the Box and Ironbark forests continues this tradition. It was organised by the Department of Natural Resources and Environment (DNRE) for community interest groups and was taught by scientists.This article presents the results of qualitative research into some participants' view of their learning on the course. It suggests significant directions for adult learning in environmental education. An intensive experience of field-based scientific inquiry appeared to prompt not only ecological learning but also development of aesthetic, moral and action dimensions for the interviewees. The article suggests that environmental education needs to embrace fruitful elements of various learning methods for adults, including scientific learning about ecology. The process of enabling people to extend their knowledge of natural settings and processes can also enhance their relationship with and commitment to these places.

During 2003-2005, Anglicare Victoria conducted study groups for their advanced caseworkers. This program was developed in consultation with senior staff within the context of Anglicare Victoria’s Services Practices Manual, including Theoretical Frameworks. It aimed to provide senior practitioners with peer support, education and discussion.The study group model was a collaborative approach using adult teaching principles and strategies. Central to each session was a case presentation from one of the participants which provided an opportunity to integrate learning with theory and practice. A training model of the study group is presented.Evaluation indicated that the study group reduced participants’ isolation, increased their confidence in engaging family members, including fathers, and broadened their conceptualisation of family problems. Learnings and proposed changes to future study groups are identified.

This research investigates the socialisation agents older consumers use to learn about information and communication technologies (ICT). We surveyed 871 older consumers in Victoria, Australia, about whom they would most likely turn to for advice (i.e., their preferred socialisation agents) if they needed help using or fixing an ICT device. They were asked to identify the most and second most likely source of advice. Participants were also asked to assess the usefulness of the advice received from their preferred agents and to estimate their level of ICT knowledge. The findings reveal that older consumers tend to rely on younger family members. Still, the agency they receive from non-familial sources is essential when preparing for a digital consumer role. Surprisingly, ICT knowledge is determined by the socialisation agency received by older adults’ second advice option—which is less likely to be their own adult children. This research expands current knowledge about how older consumers perceive various ICT socialisation agents. Consumer socialisation theory suggests that socialisation agents impact how consumers function in the marketplace. Although the first choice of socialisation agent may be perceived as beneficial for older adults, the advice given does not relate to marketplace functioning regarding improved ICT knowledge.

This article tracks the history of the Victoria Mxenge Housing Project (1994-2013), from its start as a development organisation to its evolution into a social movement, then as a service provider and currently as an independent organisation. I discuss these developments against the political context in which there is rapid urbanisation in a country with a history of violent land dispossession. Post-apartheid, the state has built many houses, provided sanitation and electricity to thousands of poor people but it did not live up to the promises presented in the South African Constitution that was mapped out in 1994. Against this background, the article tells the story of poor, homeless African women in the Victoria Mxenge Project (VM), an affiliate of the South African Homeless People’s Federation linked to International social movements such as Indian Slum dwellers International. The women, through a process of learning, acquired the skills to save, secure land, build more than 5000 houses and become leaders of a housing social movement which later became a service provider to the state. It describes the choices they faced in an ever-changing social movement caught up in a struggle to mobilise for land and housing. This story further explores the creative and critical role that radical adult education played in a development context. It illustrates how South African poor citizens learned through social activism and community development. It explores the current context in which the housing movement has become fractured and more radical organisations enter the struggle, Finally, it discusses the different and more complex interactions between social movements, NGOs and the state and how knowledge is produced in informal sites which can lead to social transformation.

Despite past geo-political turbulence, Nepal has made significant progress in societal and economic initiatives, particularly in relation to social determinants of health. These improvements, however, belie the suffering of those with life-limiting disease due to pain, stigma, social and financial distress, consequent upon low patient, caregiver and health professional awareness of the need for, and availability of, appropriate care and support. Two Worlds Cancer Collaboration (INCTR-Canada) has been working with partners in Nepal to build capacity for palliative care by: (a) organizational and administrative support – establishing the Nepal Association of Palliative Care (NAPCare), and the creation of the Nepal Strategy for Palliative Care, approved by government in 2017; (b) “twinning” between 2 hospital palliative care units in Nepal and the Nanaimo Hospice and Victoria Hospice, BC, Canada; (c) sustainable growth of palliative care according to WHO foundational measures, implementing facility-based clinical programs, and home-based care aligned with the cultural, social, and economic environment of Nepal; (d) training of health professionals in adult and paediatricpalliative carethrough interactive on-line “distance learning” (Extension of Community Healthcare Outcomes, ECHO);(e) leveraging palliative care training and expertise across the government health system, and (f) local and international support to build a newfacility for Hospice Nepal to provide more support for more patients in a rural ambience on the outskirts of Kathmandu. Palliative care needs to become standard-of-care, providing peace, comfort and dignity for adults and children. Working collaboratively with partners in Nepal, the collective vision is a capable professional Nepali community leading palliative care services for all in need, wherever in need.

Cognitive learning during the COVID-19 pandemic encountered many obstacles, but the use of various gadgets could be an effective solution in early childhood learning, especially to prepare them to enter the elementary school level. This study aims to describe the online cognitive learning process (OCL) in early childhood during the COVID-19 and new era of the pandemic through integrated technology and hybrid learning. This study uses a qualitative approach with a case study involving two ECE teachers and one principal. Data analysis using Miles and Huberman models. The findings of this study explain the importance of the teacher's role in OCL and its constraints, how parent-teacher collaboration is the key to successful cognitive improvement through online learning, and the implementation of OCL through effective learning to prevent learning loss. Further research in distance and hybrid learning, especially for early childhood, is expected to give birth to various new learning models and methods that are integrated with technology towards online teaching-learning when needed. Keywords: early childhood, cognitive online learning, integrated technology, hybrid learning References: Ansari, A., & Purtell, K. M. (2017). Activity settings in full-day kindergarten classrooms and children’s early learning. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 38, 23–32. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecresq.2016.09.003 Bacher-Hicks, A., Goodman, J., & Mulhern, C. (2021). Inequality in household adaptation to schooling shocks: Covid-induced online learning engagement in real time. Journal of Public Economics, 193, 104345. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpubeco.2020.104345 Borup, J., Graham, C. R., West, R. E., Archambault, L., & Spring, K. J. (2020). Academic Communities of Engagement: An expansive lens for examining support structures in blended and online learning. Educational Technology Research and Development, 68(2), 807–832. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11423-020-09744-x Danovitch, J. H. (2019). Growing up with Google: How children’s understanding and use of internet‐based devices relates to cognitive development. Human Behavior and Emerging Technologies, 1(2), 81–90. https://doi.org/10.1002/hbe2.142 Davies, T. (2016). Mind change: How digital technologies are leaving their mark on our brains. New Media & Society, 18(9), 2139–2141. https://doi.org/10.1177/1461444816652614 Davis, A. N., Carlo, G., Gulseven, Z., Palermo, F., Lin, C.-H., Nagel, S. C., Vu, D. C., Vo, P. H., Ho, T. L., & McElroy, J. A. (2019). Exposure to environmental toxicants and young children’s cognitive and social development. Reviews on Environmental Health, 34(1), 35–56. https://doi.org/doi:10.1515/reveh-2018-0045 Dias, M. J. A., Almodóvar, M., Atiles, J. T., Vargas, A. C., & Zúñiga León, I. M. (2020). Rising to the Challenge: Innovative early childhood teachers adapt to the COVID-19 era. Childhood Education, 96(6), 38–45. https://doi.org/10.1080/00094056.2020.1846385 Dong, C., Cao, S., & Li, H. (2020). Young children’s online learning during COVID-19 pandemic: Chinese parents’ beliefs and attitudes. Children and Youth Services Review, 118, 105440. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2020.105440 Engzell, P., Frey, A., & Verhagen, M. D. (2021). Learning loss due to school closures during the COVID-19 pandemic. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 118(17), e2022376118. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2022376118 Ford, T. G., Kwon, K.-A., & Tsotsoros, J. D. (2021). Early childhood distance learning in the U.S. during the COVID pandemic: Challenges and opportunities. Children and Youth Services Review, 131, 106297. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2021.106297 Graham, C. R., Borup, J., Pulham, E., & Larsen, R. (2019). K–12 Blended Teaching Readiness: Model and Instrument Development. Journal of Research on Technology in Education, 51(3), 239–258. https://doi.org/10.1080/15391523.2019.1586601 Hassan, M. N., Abdullah, A. H., Ismail, N., Suhud, S. N. A., & Hamzah, M. H. (2018). Mathematics Curriculum Framework for Early Childhood Education Based on Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). International Electronic Journal of Mathematics Education, 14(1). https://doi.org/10.12973/iejme/3960 Hrastinski, S., Cleveland-Innes, M., & Stenbom, S. (2018). Tutoring online tutors: Using digital badges to encourage the development of online tutoring skills: Tutoring online tutors. British Journal of Educational Technology, 49(1), 127–136. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjet.12525 Hu, X., Chiu, M. M., Leung, W. M. V., & Yelland, N. (2021). Technology integration for young children during COVID‐19: Towards future online teaching. British Journal of Educational Technology, 52(4), 1513–1537. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjet.13106 Hu, X., & Yelland, N. (2017). An investigation of preservice early childhood teachers’ adoption of ICT in a teaching practicum context in Hong Kong. Journal of Early Childhood Teacher Education, 38(3), 259–274. https://doi.org/10.1080/10901027.2017.1335664 Hu, X., & Yelland, N. (2019). Changing Learning Ecologies in Early Childhood Teacher Education: From Technology to stem Learning. Beijing International Review of Education, 1(2–3), 488–506. https://doi.org/10.1163/25902539-00102005 Huber, B., Tarasuik, J., Antoniou, M. N., Garrett, C., Bowe, S. J., & Kaufman, J. (2016). Young children’s transfer of learning from a touchscreen device. Computers in Human Behavior, 56, 56–64. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2015.11.010 Jong, M. S. Y. (2016). Teachers’ concerns about adopting constructivist online game-based learning in formal curriculum teaching: The VISOLE experience. British Journal of Educational Technology, 47(4), 601–617. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjet.12247 Joubert, I., & Harrison, G. D. (2021). Revisiting Piaget, his contribution to South African early childhood education. Early Child Development and Care, 191(7–8), 1002–1012. https://doi.org/10.1080/03004430.2021.1896499 Kesäläinen, J., Suhonen, E., Alijoki, A., & Sajaniemi, N. (2022). Children’s play behaviour, cognitive skills and vocabulary in integrated early childhood special education groups. International Journal of Inclusive Education, 26(3), 284–300. https://doi.org/10.1080/13603116.2019.1651410 Kim, J. (2020). Learning and Teaching Online During Covid-19: Experiences of Student Teachers in an Early Childhood Education Practicum. International Journal of Early Childhood, 52(2), 145–158. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13158-020-00272-6 Kuhfeld, M., Soland, J., Tarasawa, B., Johnson, A., Ruzek, E., & Liu, J. (2020). Projecting the Potential Impact of COVID-19 School Closures on Academic Achievement. Educational Researcher, 49(8), 549–565. https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X20965918 Lau, E. Y. H., & Lee, K. (2020). Parents’ Views on Young Children’s Distance Learning and Screen Time During COVID-19 Class Suspensio. Early Education and Development, 19. https://doi.org/10.1080/10409289.2020.1843925 Lau, E. Y. H., & Ng, M. L. (2019). Are they ready for home-school partnership? Perspectives of kindergarten principals, teachers and parents. Children and Youth Services Review, 99, 10–17. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2019.01.019 Miles, M. B., Huberman, A. M., & Saldaña, J. (2014). Qualitative data analysis: A methods sourcebook (Third edition). SAGE Publications, Inc. Mirau, E. (2017). Online Learning for Early Childhood Education Students [University of Victoria]. https://dspace.library.uvic.ca//handle/1828/8513 Neumann, D., Peterson, E. R., Underwood, L., Morton, S. M. B., & Waldie, K. E. (2021). The development of cognitive functioning indices in early childhood. Cognitive Development, 60, 101098. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cogdev.2021.101098 Orben, A., & Przybylski, A. K. (2019). The association between adolescent well-being and digital technology use. Nature Human Behaviour, 3(2), 173–182. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-018-0506-1 Peng, P., & Kievit, R. A. (2020). The Development of Academic Achievement and Cognitive Abilities: A Bidirectional Perspective. Child Development Perspectives, 14(1), 15–20. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdep.12352 Pérez-Pereira, M., Fernández, M. P., Gómez-Taibo, M. L., Martínez-López, Z., & Arce, C. (2020). A Follow-Up Study of Cognitive Development in Low Risk Preterm Children. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(7). https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17072380 Ranjitkar, S., Hysing, M., Kvestad, I., Shrestha, M., Ulak, M., Shilpakar, J. S., Sintakala, R., Chandyo, R. K., Shrestha, L., & Strand, T. A. (2019). Determinants of Cognitive Development in the Early Life of Children in Bhaktapur, Nepal. Frontiers in Psychology, 10. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02739 Reuben, A., Arseneault, L., Belsky, D. W., Caspi, A., Fisher, H. L., Houts, R. M., Moffitt, T. E., & Odgers, C. (2019). Residential neighborhood greenery and children’s cognitive development. Social Science & Medicine, 230, 271–279. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2019.04.029 Richardson, J. C., Maeda, Y., Lv, J., & Caskurlu, S. (2017). Social presence in relation to students’ satisfaction and learning in the online environment: A meta-analysis. Computers in Human Behavior, 71, 402–417. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2017.02.001 Saeed, M., Malik, R. N., & Kamal, A. (2020). Fluorosis and cognitive development among children (6–14 years of age) in the endemic areas of the world: A review and critical analysis. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 27(3), 2566–2579. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-019-06938-6 Schoon, I., Nasim, B., & Cook, R. (2021). Social inequalities in early childhood competences, and the relative role of social and emotional versus cognitive skills in predicting adult outcomes. British Educational Research Journal, 47(5), 1259–1280. https://doi.org/10.1002/berj.3724 Simon, L., Nusinovici, S., Flamant, C., Cariou, B., Rouger, V., Gascoin, G., Darmaun, D., Rozé, J.-C., & Hanf, M. (2017). Post-term growth and cognitive development at 5 years of age in preterm children: Evidence from a prospective population-based cohort. PLOS ONE, 12(3), e0174645. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0174645 Singh, J., Steele, K., & Singh, L. (2021). Combining the Best of Online and Face-to-Face Learning: Hybrid and Blended Learning Approach for COVID-19, Post Vaccine, & Post-Pandemic World. Journal of Educational Technology Systems, 50(2), 140–171. https://doi.org/10.1177/00472395211047865 Szente, J. (2020). Live Virtual Sessions with Toddlers and Preschoolers Amid COVID-19: Implications for Early Childhood Teacher Education. Journal of Technology and Teacher Education, 28(2), 373–380. Taylor, M. E., & Boyer, W. (2020). Play-Based Learning: Evidence-Based Research to Improve Children’s Learning Experiences in the Kindergarten Classroom. Early Childhood Education Journal, 48(2), 127–133. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-019-00989-7 Thai, K. P., & Ponciano, L. (2016). Improving Outcomes for At-Risk Prekindergarten and Kindergarten Students with a Digital Learning Resource. 31. Trikoilis, D., & Papanastasiou, E. C. (2020). The Potential of Research for Professional Development in Isolated Settings During the Covid-19 Crisis and Beyond. Journal of Technology and Teacher Education, 28(2), 295–300. Troseth, G. L., & Strouse, G. A. (2017). Designing and using digital books for learning: The informative case of young children and video. International Journal of Child-Computer Interaction, 12, 3–7. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijcci.2016.12.002 Watanabe, N. (2019). Effective Simple Mathematics Play at Home in Early Childhood: Promoting both Non-cognitive and Cognitive Skills in Early Childhood. International Electronic Journal of Mathematics Education, 14(2). https://doi.org/10.29333/iejme/5739 Zauche, L. H., Thul, T. A., Mahoney, A. E. D., & Stapel-Wax, J. L. (2016). Influence of language nutrition on children’s language and cognitive development: An integrated review. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 36, 318–333. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecresq.2016.01.015

This program development report describes the birth of ‘Wondering From the Womb’, a self-determined antenatal yarning resource created through a culturally respectful action research project undertaken in rural Victoria with Indigenous and non-Indigenous community members and professionals. The qualitative reviews completed within Community involved 40 participants who shared their wisdom and experiences regarding antenatal health, parenting and child-rearing practise and connection to Country. The resulting yarning resource, written from the perspective of a baby in the womb, has encouraged curiosity and wonder about what antenates can teach adults and community members regarding their life, learning and healing. Future uses for such a resource are identified with an aim to continue self-determined, culturally respectful service delivery for Indigenous babies, children and families across the Loddon Mallee region.

This thesis research reports on the Adult Community Education (ACE) sector in the Australian State of Victoria. Although it concentrates on Moreland Adult Education Assoc. (MAE) as a case study, it places MAE in the wider context of ACE in the local area of the Northern Metropolitan region of Melbourne. Although periodically referred to as the 'fourth educational sector' and funded by the same government departments as mainstream post-secondary sectors, ACE has always had a low profile and quasi-educational status due to the extreme variety of its venues, courses and locations, making it difficult to define and market as an entity. This study uses a range of qualitative methodologies suited to historical, educational research to provide a framework based around the initial guiding questions: 'Is ACE becoming TAFE?' and 'Who uses ACE and Why?' MAE was used as a case study because it was created by its local community in 1982 after which it expanded and developed from one-to-one pairs of volunteer tutors and literacy students to being a nationally Registered Training Organisation delivering accredited courses up to Diploma level. This expansion placed great strain on the infrastructure and personnel of the organisation, particularly during the main period of this research (1994 to 2004). Beginning with a review of the ACE sector, the thesis then describes the northern region of the Melbourne suburbs by using the data gained from a survey questionnaire. Further narrowing the research focus, the thesis analyses the development of the organisation over the ten year study period. The second half of the thesis emphasises the people of MAE through 18 interviews by analysing their opinions, life-experiences and perceptions of change to create a sense of their connectedness to the local community and MAE. The primary aims of this thesis are to document an example of the development of an ACE centre and how it managed change during a ten year period. It records a sense of how and why people engaged in the sector and some of their lived-experiences and their responses to changes. Data analysis results in three sets of findings and propositions in the categories of sectoral, organisational and personal. These key findings involve a range of externally applied pressures being brought to bear on both ACE and MAE. This is counteracted by individual resistance to change, creating a tension which threatens MAE's long-term sustainability.

During the past thirty years several models for lifelong education after retirement have been developed worldwide, one of them being the University of the Third Age (U3A). This study explored the contributions of the U3A to the educational needs of older adults and evaluated the benefits they perceived from their participation in U3A by means of a literature study and an empirical investigation. The latter used a survey to explore the experiences of U3A members of two U 3As and presidents of 68 U3As in Victoria, Australia by means of two different questionnaires. As only 1.47 percent of the over-55 population of Victoria are U3A members, the survey also investigated barriers to U3A participation in general and with special reference to the male population. The findings indicated that member respondents were very satisfied with their U3A experiences which had made substantial differences in their lives. Both male and female respondents saw personal, mental, social, and physical improvement as a result of U3A participation. The majority indicated that participation had improved their intellectual development. Significant differences in the perceptions of male and female participants emerged: female members outnumbered males by three to one. Both the presidents and the members expressed some programmatic concerns, primarily obtaining tutors and classroom availability. The subject areas covered by courses presented were extensive. There was a difference in the subjects desired by males and female respondents; very few courses are offered in science and economics. Some barriers to participation identified are a lack of awareness of U3A, the stereotypical attitudinal barrier of `I am too old' and negative past educational experiences. Moreover, U3As should increase marketing endeavours. Although most U3As advertise, almost a third of the respondents indicated that they would have joined earlier if aware of U3As. A contributing factor appears to be a virtual lack of research and information provided in educational academic journals and other media about lifelong education after retirement. Based on the findings, recommendations were made for future research and for improved practice in the U3A environment as a means to enhance the quality of life for older adults.
Educational Studies
D.Ed. (Comparative Education)

The capacity to adapt to disability and assist others with disability may have an evolutionary origin. De Waal (1996) describes assistance to an injured group member among primates as evidence of altruistic behavior. Mother monkeys will provide additional care to compensate for injuries, and other members of the group may “babysit” injured infants, as do other young of the group. If the risk of predation is low and food is adequate, handicapped animals may live to adulthood. In human evolution, Berkson (1993) described an adult Neanderthal male with severe arm and head injuries that occurred at an early age. Apparently, this individual adapted to the injury by using his teeth to hold objects. Other conditions, such as disabling arthritis, were found in Neanderthals as well. Thus, individuals with minor or even significant impairments in primate and human societies before the evolution of modern humans, in some instances, received adaptive assistance from other members of the group. Drawing on these possible evolutionary origins of assistance to others in need, this chapter reviews the historical background of care for persons with intellectual disability and discusses environmental provisions and supports, education and skill development, normalization and self-determination, and interventions for those with co-occurring mental and behavioral disorders (psychotherapy, behavioral interventions, and psychopharmacologic treatments). The modern developmental approach to understanding learning and development began with Jean Itard, at the end of the eighteenth century. As a member of the medical staff at the Institute for Deaf Mutes in Paris, he considered the link between deafness and learning. Because of this background, he was asked to study a feral child discovered living alone in the wild in southern France. It was thought that this boy might approximate “man in the state of nature.” Because the child was mute, he entered a school for the deaf in Paris although he was not deaf. Pinel (1809), the leading psychiatrist of the time, proposed that the boy, named Victor, was not teachable. Yet Itard, during the next five years, sought to instruct Victor, using approaches established for deaf persons.