Education & Training
Can citizen science drive social change?
What is citizen science and how can this practice be implemented to benefit communities and boost prosperity? Based at the Institute for Global Prosperity University College London, the newly launched Citizen Science Academy aims to provide the answer. By training residents to the practices of social research and equipping them with the tools to drive social action in different areas […]
Informal learning experiences with big data visualisation
Professor Joe E Heimlich and his colleagues from the Center of Science and Industry, a science museum in Columbus, Ohio, USA, are investigating how we learn when we visit informal learning institutions such as museums and aquariums. This project involved a series of studies spanning eleven years that focus on visitors’ experiences of visualisations together with their learning behaviour and […]
Supernatural curses in Pacific communities: A challenge for modern healthcare
While largely ignored by modern medical science, spirituality and supernatural phenomena continue to play a significant role in the belief systems of Indigenous peoples. In the Pacific and Pacific diaspora, ‘curses’ are commonly cited as the cause of death, poor health, and diminished wellbeing. At The University of Waikato, Dr Apo Aporosa teaches future healthcare workers the importance of acknowledging […]
University workplace health promotion programmes: Getting the balance right
Workplaces have a role to play in their employees’ health and mental wellbeing. Health promotion programmes are supposedly designed with this in mind, admittedly with other priorities. But how effective are they, and do they measure up to accepted guidelines? Dr Hayden McDonald of Australia’s Torrens University and colleagues examined workplace health promotion programmes at leading Australian universities – diverse […]
Children’s cognitive development: The impact of the pandemic
The World Economic Forum estimates that globally, during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, 1.5 billion pupils were unable to attend school due to lockdowns designed to stop the spread of the disease. Government containment policies were essential to help save lives, but the wider impact of those policies is now the focus of academic research. A new Austrian […]
Shifting aspirations: Young Syrian refugees’ experience in Canada
Countries that grant permanent asylum to young refugees should ensure education programmes meet their specific needs, or risk the effects of their alienation. That’s the warning from leading educationalist Ratna Ghosh of McGill University in Montreal, Canada. In groundbreaking research, Dr Ghosh looks at young Syrian refugees’ experience of Quebec’s adult education system. Despite the Quebec government’s efforts to integrate […]
Family dog bites are preventable
Family dogs are our best friends but can bite when feeling imposed upon, threatened, or afraid. By learning and respecting what dogs do and do not like and how they communicate their concerns, we can avoid triggering a reactionary bite. Led by world-renowned veterinarian Dr. Nicholas H. Dodman, Professor Emeritus, Tufts Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine, USA, Be BiteSmart aims […]
Teacher embeddedness: Turning the tables for turnover contagion
Much is known about the impact of teacher turnover on schools and students – but how does it affect teachers themselves? In his research, Dr Matthew McCluskey at the University of Vermont, USA, has found that turnover causes considerable strain on teachers’ work lives and has a contagion effect. In short, turnover begets turnover. McCluskey has identified key factors that […]
Leading with integrity: How principals influence teacher effectiveness without derailing morale
It was JF Kennedy who said that leadership and learning are indispensable to one another, but what makes for good leadership in educational settings? In a new study, David Grant of the University of Redlands in the United States integrates practices from diverse leadership models which have been debated for many years. His research determined which practices have the greatest […]
Steering STEM education development through play
The growing importance of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) for learning at school and beyond is placing increased emphasis on building the framework for their experiences in early childhood. However, designing the learning progressions children experience during this time undervalues a remarkable fact: children’s connection with STEM is intuitive. Chelsea Cutting of the University of South Australia’s Mount Gambier-based […]