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Purpose: This study aims to understand how the way people see their work and the authentizotic character of their organizational climate contribute to the building of a Great Place to Work. Design/methodology/approach: This paper presents the results of a quantitative investigation that correlate the perceptions of organizational climate and the work orientations of professionals with different occupations on Portuguese lifelong education centers. Findings: The study indicates that all the core elements of an authentizotic organization contribute to explain what people potentially expect from their companies: adequate material conditions plus a meaningful contribution. Practical implications: The study has implications in the future for National Qualification Agency directors, education politicians and human resource managers who are responsible for providing good expectations within a healthy context of talent retention. Originality/value: The novel contribution of this paper is the finding that employee's work orientations and authentizotic climate are related to each other in a Lifelong learning Center in the public education sector. ; Peer Reviewed

Purpose: This study aims to understand how the way people see their work and the authentizotic character of their organizational climate contribute to the building of a Great Place to Work. Design/methodology/approach: This paper presents the results of a quantitative investigation that correlate the perceptions of organizational climate and the work orientations of professionals with different occupations on Portuguese lifelong education centers. Findings: The study indicates that all the core elements of an authentizotic organization contribute to explain what people potentially expect from their companies: adequate material conditions plus a meaningful contribution. Practical implications: The study has implications in the future for National Qualification Agency directors, education politicians and human resource managers who are responsible for providing good expectations within a healthy context of talent retention. Originality/value: The novel contribution of this paper is the finding that employee's work orientations and authentizotic climate are related to each other in a Lifelong learning Center in the public education sector. ; Peer Reviewed

This interactive, engaging presentation will enable participants to collaborate with colleagues in developing, implementing, and synthesizing ideas that facilitate a democratic school body. Students will be enlightened and inspired in social justice challenges with civic engagement responsibilities and service learning opportunities.

This seminar will examine the possibilities and constraints of online communities in supporting teacher learning, both novice and experienced teachers, so addressing the national concerns for teacher retention and teacher quality in the USA. In particular, the speaker will focus on outlining a conceptual and methodological framework for characterizing interaction of experienced and novice teachers in informal network-based professional learning electronic or e-communities. The study has shown that integrating dialogic voices/utterances (Bakhtin, 1986) and using texts as "thinking device[s]" for generating new meanings (Lotman, 1990; Wertsch, 1991) are essential for effectively engaging practitioners. Using both qualitative and quantitative methods, longitudinal discourse data, questionnaires, and interview responses were collected from public school teachers' email communications and subjected to analyses from discourse analytic and ethnographic perspectives, resulting in a characterization of engagement and a taxonomy of e-communities for evaluations. The findings suggest proposals for sustainable learning in network-based environments and policy. ; Diane Hui has just completed her doctoral dissertation in Education at Washington University in St Louis, Missouri, USA. She is a Spencer scholar awarded by the Spencer Foundation in the US. She has conducted collaborative research from a multidisciplinary perspective, both in the US and UK. These projected were funded by the McDonnell Foundation (US), government agencies (UK), and the European Communities. One project assessed the use and reflection upon an inquiry-based curriculum across subjects, with the use of information technology. The other research explored the representational connection between the logical aspects taught in sciences and the social aspects in the humanities. Other research examined sustainability education and adult dyslexia in employment. Diane grew up in Hong Kong. She has degrees from Edinburgh Univeristy (UK) and Stirling University (UK), and has taught in Hong Kong, Scotland, and the USA. ; published_or_final_version ; Centre for Information Technology in Education, University of Hong Kong

There is increased concern to offer quality education in schools, especially at a time when the quality of education has been compromised owing to over enrolment in schools. This over enrolment has been occasioned by countries striving to achieve Education for All (EFA) and MDGs. Kenya, like many African countries in the Sub Saharan Africa is grappling with how to offer quality education against the backdrop of overpopulated classes. Teachers therefore need professional development to acquaint them with skills and knowledge of how to teach in the aforementioned conditions. However, lack of finances has continued to hamper these efforts, especially for teachers in the remote areas of the country. The government of Kenya has increased the access to mobile telephony to over 60% of the population. // This concept paper explores the various affordances and challenges therein, on using ICT and ODL to give professional development to teachers by use of short message services (SMS), face book to form information sharing forums, and internet generally to carry out open distance learning (ODL) courses. This capacity building of teachers will enable them to learn how to teach effectively large classes, while observing the current theories of learning like social constructivism and gender responsive pedagogy. These initiatives will all be geared towards offering equity and quality education to both boys and girls. // This paper will also explore readiness of teachers to take up ICT in supporting their professional development and if any, how they can use it to support pedagogy in class. // Paper ID: 162

Learning communities are widely recognized as a powerful pedagogy that promotes deep learning and student engagement, while also addressing a range of challenges that plague higher education. The Completion Agenda represents a complex set of intersecting priorities advocated by federal and state government, nonprofit organizations, colleges, and universities that shift the national focus from expanding access to degree completion. Policy shifts and emerging educational practices aligned with the Completion Agenda such as dual credit courses, prescriptive degree maps, and the expansion of online general education courses are considered in terms of their impact on the administration of learning community programs. Although subtle adjustments in curricula may be necessary, learning communities remain critically important to preserving the quality of student learning and the integrity of undergraduate curricula in a policy environment that sometimes seems to emphasize efficiencies in degree completion above all else. Kathy E. Johnson is Dean of University College, Associate Vice Chancellor for Undergraduate Education, and Professor of Psychology at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI).

Based on a qualitative case study that examined elementary teachers' understandings of a professional development policy, we question the conceptual disconnection between professional learning and professional practices in some conceptualizations of professional learning communities. We analyse the research data using Actor-Network Theory and report that the teachers in the case study perceived a disconnection between the scenarios of professional knowledge creation and the scenarios of professional practice. Such disconnection is exacerbated due to an ambiguous treatment of the concept of professional practice in the policy documents that endorse the idea of professional learning communities. We conclude that a key element in the transformation of professional practices is the teacher's awareness that his/her professional knowledge is enacted through his/her actions and practices; thereby concluding that professional learning is situated in the context of professional practices.SAVOIR PROFESSIONNEL "DE TERRAIN": IMPOSER LA FORMATION PROFESSIONNELLE DANS UN CONTEXTE PRATIQUEFaisant suite à une étude de cas qualitative étudiant la compréhension d'enseignants du primaire à l'égard d'une politique de développement professionnel, nous questionnons la coupure conceptuelle existant entre la formation en milieu de travail et les pratiques professionnelles au cœur de certaines conceptualisations d'une communauté de formation professionnelle. Nous analysons les données de recherche en utilisant la Théorie de l'Acteur-Réseau. Nous révélons que les enseignants participant à l'étude de cas ont perçu une différence entre les scénarios de création de savoir professionnel et ceux de pratique professionnelle. Une telle coupure est exacerbée par l'utilisation ambiguë du concept de pratique professionnelle qui, dans les documents formulant les politiques, soutient l'idée de communautés professionnelles d'apprentissage. Nous en concluons qu'un élément-clé de la transformation des pratiques professionnelles réside dans la prise de conscience, par les enseignants, que leur savoir professionnel est activé à travers leurs actions et pratiques et est donc, au cœur de leurs pratique professionnelle. ; Faisant suite à une étude de cas qualitative étudiant la compréhension d'enseignants du primaire à l'égard d'une politique de développement professionnel, nous questionnons la coupure conceptuelle existant entre la formation en milieu de travail et les pratiques professionnelles au cœur de certaines conceptualisations d'une communauté de formation professionnelle. Nous analysons les données de recherche en utilisant la Théorie de l'Acteur-Réseau. Nous révélons que les enseignants participant à l'étude de cas ont perçu une différence entre les scénarios de création de savoir professionnel et ceux de pratique professionnelle. Une telle coupure est exacerbée par l'utilisation ambiguë du concept de pratique professionnelle qui, dans les documents formulant les politiques, soutient l'idée de communautés professionnelles d'apprentissage. Nous en concluons qu'un élément-clé de la transformation des pratiques professionnelles réside dans la prise de conscience, par les enseignants, que leur savoir professionnel est activé à travers leurs actions et pratiques et est donc, au cœur de leurs pratique professionnelle.

This article provides an overview of Extension's Military Families Learning Network. The network is an example of Extension's commitment to building virtual learning networks in the support of targeted professional and lay audiences. The network uses well-established and emergent pedagogical approaches focusing on adult-centered learning while employing state-of-the-art online learning technologies. We present a four-dimensional model of learning activities to illustrate how the network offers different options for and approaches to adult-centered learning and training. The Military Families Learning Network can serve as a model for broader adoption of such entities across the Extension community.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to share the findings from a learning intervention aimed at facilitating more regular and effective collaboration across the planning and aging sectors in order to advance Livable Communities for All Ages (LCA).Design/methodology/approachA half-day summit that convened over 250 aging sector professionals and planners. Data from these conversations, as well as a pre-event survey, post-event evaluations, and a six-month post-event follow-up survey provide the findings for the discussion.FindingsThe results revealed that the participants increasingly recognized the value of cross-sector relationships to their work on LCA. Further, the success on current projects was highly attributed to the trust gained from a previous experience of aging and planning professionals working together.Research limitations/implicationsResearchers relied on a purposive sample of respondents already registered to attend the Livable Communities Summit, who were likely to be somewhat knowledgeable about the topic of age-friendly planning. While not generalizable to the broader professional fields of the aging and planning sectors, the results inform on the importance of cross-sector collaboration in the context of planning communities supportive of individuals across the lifespan.Practical implicationsExisting challenges to the local residents in a broad swath of areas including housing, transportation, social isolation, purpose and more, are exacerbated in a rapidly aging world that does not advance policies, practices, and built environments to make communities more livable for residents of all ages.Originality/valueThe intention of this research is to contribute to the limited existing literature on collaboration between professionals in the planning and aging fields and to stimulate the increased and improved cross-sector relationships.

Analyzes effectiveness of small study groups affiliated with large lecture courses, designed to promote learning among college students; data from political science courses at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, 1994.