Category: Non-refereed article

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Community-based environmental education in the fishing villages of Tuticorin and its role in conservation of the environment

Author/s: Jamila Patterson, Eva Lindén, J.K. Patterson Edward, Dan Wilhelmsson and Inger Löfgren

Edition: Volume 49, Number 2, July 2009

Summary: The coastal town of Tuticorin is situated in the southern part of the Gulf of Mannar Marine National Park on the Southeastern Indian coast. The four islands off the Tuticorin coast are fringed by corals reefs and seagrass beds. Destructive fishing methods including blast fishing, near-shore trawling, coral mining, sedimentation and  pollution have, however, caused considerable damage to the coral reefs and seagrass beds, threatening the reef fisheries of the region. A significant portion of the fisher folk in the 23 coastal villages along the Tuticorin coast, due to low literacy levels and lack of other employment, is dependent on the dwindling fish catches in and around these reefs and seagrass beds. Crowded fishing grounds, increasing demand for fisheries’ products and declining catches compel fishers to increase the use of more effective and destructive fishing methods. Adult education was introduced in five coastal villages (Rajapalayam, Siluvaipatti, Arockiyapuram, Tirespuram on the Tuticorin coast in 2007. Included in this adult education, environmental education practices, including conservation of natural resources, particularly coral reefs and seagrass habitats, its importance and role, the need for conservation and management, eco-friendly fishing practices and sustainable use of fishery resources, were taught to the fisher folk in all five coastal villages. The trained fisher folk play key roles in their respective villages in awareness creation about the conservation of natural resources. The campaign during International Year of the Reef in 2008 helped to make aware many people in the villages about the importance of corals and associated seagrass and other resources. As a part of mitigating climate change impacts and income generation, family members of the five villages were also taught and helped to increase plantation.

Keywords: environmental education, community-based, climate change impacts, eco-friendly, fishing practices

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This article is part of AJAL, Volume 49_2. The entire volume is available in .pdf for purchase here.

 

 

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The power of ‘e’: extending the ‘E’ in ACE

Author/s: Jane Anderson

Edition: Volume 49, Number 2, July 2009

Summary: Over the past decade or so, an educational evolution has been redefining our understanding and practices of adult community education (ACE) in profound and comprehensive ways. The name of this transformation is e-learning. A bountiful interpretation and practice of ‘e-learning’ in ACE results inevitably in extending our educational work; its presence automatically extends the WHY (our purpose), the WHO (our community), the WHEN (the timing), the WHERE (the learning spaces), the WHAT (the scope), the WHAT FOR (the learning achievements) and the HOW (the modes, methods and media). In other words, the power of ‘e’ as a multidimensional force in ‘e-learning’, and the way it extends meanings, values, ideals, purposes, practices and participants in ACE, means it redefines our  understanding of education itself. As a consequence, e-learning has given us new possibilities of connectedness, community, democracy, global citizenship, lifelong learning, transformational learning, learning to learn, critical literacy and much else.

Keywords: ACE, e-learning, results, achievements, connectedness, community, democracy, lifelong learning

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This article is part of AJAL, Volume 49_2. The entire volume is available in .pdf for purchase here.

 

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Developments in intellectual property and traditional knowledge protection

Author/s: Jane Anderson

Edition: Volume 49, Number 2, July 2009

Summary: In order to protect indigenous/traditional knowledge, intellectual property law must be leveraged in a way that is responsive to the dynamic inter-relationships between law, society and culture. Over the last decade, increased attention to Indigenous concerns has produced a wealth of literature and prompted recognition of the diverse needs of Indigenous peoples in relation to law, legal access and knowledge protection. There is much more that needs to be done, especially in closely considering what the consequences of legal protection are for the ways in which traditional/indigenous culture is understood and experienced by Indigenous communities and others. This paper considers the latest developments within this field and discusses what possibilities for further legal action exist within both international and local contexts.

Keywords: Indigenous, traditional knowledge, intellectual property law, society, culture

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This article is part of AJAL, Volume 49_2. The entire volume is available in .pdf for purchase here.

 

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Effectiveness of non-formal education programs in Nigeria: how competent are the learners in life skills?

Author/s: J. Gbenga Adewale

Edition: Volume 49, Number 1, April 2009

Summary: In order to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), Nigeria adopts both formal and non-formal approaches to provide basic education for its citizenry. Thus, to determine the effectiveness of the non-formal approach in providing basic education in Nigeria, this study examines the competency level of Nigerian non-formal education learners on a life-skills achievement test. The test was administered to a sample of 876 learners. The competency level in life-skills of the majority of the learners was below the national benchmark (50%). Rural dwellers were more competent than urban dwellers and young learners were more competent than old learners.

Keywords: Millennium Development Goals, Nigeria, non-formal learning, life-skills, rural, urban, young

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This article is part of AJAL, Volume 49_1. The entire volume is available in .pdf for purchase here.

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Facilitating transformative learning: a framework for practice

Author/s: Judi Apte

Edition: Volume 49, Number 1, April 2009

Summary: This paper explores some of the challenges that are involved in facilitating transformative learning. It presents a framework for practice that considers transformative learning from the perspective of the facilitator. These ideas were developed through a doctoral study in which adult educators were interviewed about their experiences in facilitating transformative learning. The framework comprises four components: confirming and interrupting current  frames of reference, working with triggers for transformative learning, acknowledging a time of retreat or dormancy, and developing the new perspective. Using the four components of this framework for practice, I outline a series of questions for reflection. Through detailed reflection on aspects of program design and the  interactions in the learning group, we can further our knowledge about the transformative aspects of our programs.

Keywords: transformative learning, program design, interaction, adult learning

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This article is part of AJAL, Volume 49_1. The entire volume is available in .pdf for purchase here.

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Journal objectives over 50 years

Author/s: Various

Edition: Volume 50, Number 3, November 2010

Summary: Australian Journal of Adult Learning objectives over 50 years.

Keywords: Australian Journal of Adult Learning, objectives, 50 years

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This article is part of AJAL, Volume 50_3. The entire volume is available in .pdf for purchase here.

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Significant adult education artefacts

Author/s: Dr Alan Arnott, Dr Alan Davies, Michael Newman, Sally Thompson and Dr Peter Willis

Edition: Volume 50, Number 3, November 2010

Summary: We asked a number of people in adult learning to write a short essay on a significant book, article, artefact or media creation that they had experienced relating to adult education/learning sometime in the last 50 years, reflecting on what impact it made on them and their adult educational ideas and practices. All the respondents are long-time adult education practitioners, who also have had, or currently hold, positions of significance in the Association. Here are their responses.

Keywords: adult learning, artefacts, impact, ideas, practices

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This article is part of AJAL, Volume 50_3. The entire volume is available in .pdf for purchase here.

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An experiment in method

Author/s: J.L.J. Wilson

Edition: Volume 50, Number 3, November 2010

Summary: A one week’s school for training in the work of Co-operatives for Aborigines was held at ‘Tranby’ by the Australian Board of Missions in February this year, organized by the Rev. Alfred Clint. It was the third successive year in which such a school was held. As in former years it consisted of two courses for two groups—one for aborigines, the other for European teachers, administrators and missionaries working in aboriginal settlements.

Keywords: Australian Board of Missions, missionaries, aboriginal settlements

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This article is part of AJAL, Volume 50_3. The entire volume is available in .pdf for purchase here.

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National and international associations 50 years on

Author/s: Alan Tuckett

Edition: Volume 50, Number 3, November 2010

Summary: Looking back fifty years is a salutary experience. There is a sense that everything changes, and everything stays the same. Whilst we now have a global non-government organisation to support national bodies in the field of adult learning, most of the national members have a fragile financial base, and the International Council for Adult Education struggles to find secure funders for its global advocacy work. If the profession of adult education has grown dramatically since the 1960s, it feels in too many countries as though it is now well past its zenith, with the optimism of mass literacy campaigns in the 1970s and 1980s giving way to the narrow focus of the Millennium Development Goals—where you look in vain for the explicit recognition of the role of adult education.

Keywords: International Council for Adult Education, global advocacy, developmental goals

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This article is part of AJAL, Volume 50_3. The entire volume is available in .pdf for purchase here.

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The international importance of a national association

Author/s: Edward Hutchinson

Edition: Volume 50, Number 3, November 2010

Summary: It is my experience that some of the most perplexing and time‑consuming problems that face the chief executive of a National Association in Adult Education, arise out of international contacts. I think it is very wise that the Australian Association should give attention to the matter early in its existence. By so doing, it can perhaps avoid some of the pitfalls and can offer creative leadership and example that may be of the greatest value in the next half century. One thing is certain—there is no established pattern of international relationships into which a new national association can fit comfortably and conveniently. There are a number of connecting strands but there is nothing approaching an organized network with a clearly discernible pattern.

Keywords: National Association in Adult Education, Adult Learning Australia, relevance, challenges, value

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This article is part of AJAL, Volume 50_3. The entire volume is available in .pdf for purchase here.