The role and practice of interpersonal relationships in European early education settings: sites for enhancing social inclusion, personal growth and learning?1

2007 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 379-406 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Kutnick ◽  
Antonella Brighi ◽  
Sofia Avgitidou ◽  
Maria Luisa Genta ◽  
Maritta Hännikäinen ◽  
...  
2014 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 17-27 ◽  
Author(s):  
Liudmila Kirpitchenko ◽  
Fethi Mansouri

This article explores migrant young people’s engagement, participation and involvement in socially meaningful activities, events and experiences. This type of social participation is approached in the social inclusion literature using the notions of social capital and active citizenship (Bourdieu, 1986; Coleman, 1988; Putnam, 1993; Putnam, 2000). A key objective, therefore, is to explore the attitudes, values and perceptions associated with social participation for young people. They include the meanings that social engagement has for migrant young people, along with drivers and inhibitions to active participation. The article focuses on both the motives for being actively engaged as well as perceived barriers to social engagement. It is based on a large study conducted among migrant young people of African, Arabic-speaking and Pacific Islander backgrounds in Melbourne and Brisbane, and presents both quantitative and qualitative (discursive) snapshots from the overall findings, based on interviews and focus groups. While many studies have centred on the management of migration and migrants, this article draws attention to the individuals’ active position in negotiating, interpreting and appropriating the conditions of social inclusion. Accounting for the multidimensional and multilayered nature of social inclusion, the paper highlights the heuristic role of social engagement in fostering the feelings of belonging and personal growth for migrant youth.


BMJ Open ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. e017533 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Owuor ◽  
Fiona Larkan ◽  
Bonnix Kayabu ◽  
Geraldine Fitzgerald ◽  
Greg Sheaf ◽  
...  

IntroductionThe aim of this review is to answer the following question:Does assistive technology contribute to social inclusion for people with intellectual disability?Previous research on assistive technology has focused on socioeconomic impacts such as education, employment and access to healthcare by people with intellectual disability. There is a need to consolidate evidence on the interaction between intellectual disability, assistive technology, community living and social inclusion.Methods and analysisThe review will consider studies from all settings: geographical, socioeconomic and care (institutional and community care), published in English. Studies reported in other languages with abstracts in English will be included if they can be translated using Google Translate, otherwise such studies will be included in the appendix. The review will include both qualitative and quantitative studies. The intervention in this review refers to the use of assistive technology to promote community participation or interpersonal relationships (social inclusion) for people with intellectual disability. The outcomes will be behavioural and social benefits of using assistive technology by people with intellectual disability. Enhanced interpersonal relationships and community participation by people with intellectual disability. Data analysis will be in two phases. The first phase will involve analysis of individual study designs separately. The second phase will be narrative/thematic synthesis of all study groups.EthicsThe review will not create any ethical or safety concerns.DisseminationAt least one peer-reviewed article in a leading journal such as theBMJis planned. The findings will also be disseminated through a seminar session involving internal audience at Trinity College Dublin and within the Assistive Technologies for people with Intellectual Disability and Autism research programme.PROSPERO registration numberCRD42017065447; Pre-results.


2019 ◽  
Vol 29 (Supplement_4) ◽  
Author(s):  
M Baybutt

Abstract In the context of the current UK prison reform agenda and concern about the high incidence of violence, substance misuse, self-harm and suicide, prison-based horticulture can make a significant contribution to the creation of safe, secure, supportive and health-enhancing environments. By joining up health and justice agendas, therapeutic programmes have the potential to serve as powerful catalysts for wider systemic change, tackling inequalities and social exclusion within societies across the globe. This presentation critically discusses findings from evaluative research, ‘Greener on the Outside for Prisons’ (GOOP), delivered in prisons in North West England. It aims to illustrate impacts of prisoners’ participation in an innovative social and therapeutic horticultural programme. The qualitative study was informed by a theoretical exploration on socio-ecological model of health emphasising interconnections between environment, behaviour and wellbeing, recognising the dynamic interplay between situational and personal factors; by a psychosocial perspective, positioning the individual in networks of interpersonal relationships, organisations, and social, political and economic systems; and by insights from the Biophilia Hypothesis. Findings suggest that engagement in GOOP were important to improvements in health and wellbeing with wider context-specific benefits. Working across key agendas of health, education and resettlement, GOOP has effectively demonstrated the potential of horticulture to impact positively on mental wellbeing, physical activity and healthier eating. Additionally, it contributes towards social inclusion through the development of key transferable skills, life competencies, processes of socialisation, and preparation for successful resettlement and employment beyond prison, which are ultimately key determinants of future health and life chances.


2017 ◽  
Vol 33 (3) ◽  
pp. 697 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xianyin Lee ◽  
Boxu Yang ◽  
Wendong Li

<p>Job satisfaction of early-career employees has a significant effect on employee work behavior and work attitude. This study investigated the influence factors of job satisfaction and its relationship with turnover intention. Early-career employees were selected as the research subject. Questionnaires were distributed and the stratified random sampling method was used to analyze the 418 samples collected. The dimensions of job satisfaction were analyzed by exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis, and a structural equation model was constructed to discuss the relationship between job satisfaction and turnover intention. First, for early-career employees, job satisfaction as a higher order factor consists of 6 first-order factors; personal growth’s influence on job satisfaction is the greatest, with a path coefficient reaching .918. Next come salary and welfare, work itself, interpersonal relationships and leader behavior. Additionally, job competency has a minimal effect on job satisfaction; its path coefficient is only .214. Second, job satisfaction has a significantly negative effect on turnover intention, indicating that the job satisfaction structure of early-career employees has its unique characteristics because they focus more on personal growth and development space. Through improving job satisfaction, turnover behavior of early-career employees can be effectively controlled.</p>


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (3-2) ◽  
pp. 407-424
Author(s):  
Vsevolod Samsonov ◽  
◽  
Mariia Zazulina ◽  

This paper considers modern approaches to the study of social dynamics of modern societies, which have found conceptual expression in the theories of ‘quality of life’ and ‘social quality’. The gradual merging of these two theories is a trend that reflects both modern ideas about the specifics of the development processes in post-industrial societies and the idea of a ‘progressive’ type of social interaction between individuals and social groups, which is formed on the basis of new theoretical and methodological models. The authors show how these theories attempt to link ‘traditional’ economic statistics data and indicators that reflect integrative relationships within communities (such as social cohesion and social inclusion). The paper identifies the main research areas in the framework of the theory of social quality: economic security, social cohesion, social inclusion, powers and opportunities. Despite the fact that each of these areas includes its own group of indicators, they are interdependent, interrelated and should be examined in complex. Thus, within the framework of modern methodologies, society appears as the result of integration and interaction of fundamentally different-level systems, social (the level of individuals and interpersonal relationships) and systemic (the level of institutions). It is concluded that the combination of fundamentally different groups of indicators allows us to conceptualize and identify the relationship between social and economic processes at the collective and individual levels. The authors describe the scope of application of the socio-qualitative approach and its set of social development indicators in European and Russian politics. An attempt to assess the effectiveness of these theoretical and methodological approaches is carried out in the context of the analysis of such a social problem in the Russian society as the increased level of emigration outflow from the country in recent years.


2021 ◽  
Vol 3 (4) ◽  
pp. 19-32
Author(s):  
Jaena Clarice C. Teng ◽  
Angela Dionne F. Hilario ◽  
Lauren Marie A. Sauler ◽  
Ma. Cristina M. De Los Reyes ◽  
Myla Arcinas

Parentification refers to parent-child role reversal wherein the child adopts the parent's role instrumentally or emotionally. This role reversal practice between the parent and the child is not uncommon in certain cultures. The cultural dynamics and familial obligations at play have positive and negative outlooks with varying effects. This study focused on the effects of instrumental parentification experiences on psychological resilience and interpersonal relationships among selected Filipino young professional daughters during the COVID-19 pandemic.  Using purposive sampling, 19 Filipino young professional daughters from Metro Manila, Philippines, were selected for the study. Online interviews were conducted and thematic analysis was employed to process the data. Findings showed that most of the daughters, with “utang na loob” (indebtedness) value system, wholeheartedly accepted instrumental parentification. Thus, more tasks and responsibilities were shouldered by them due to the COVID-19 lockdown wherein older parents need to stay at home due to the fear of contracting the disease. Almost all shared that the COVID-19 pandemic tested their parent-child relationship. A few expressed that it made them let go of personal growth opportunities and experienced problems with their parents' relationship, given the uncertainties brought by the COVID-19 pandemic. Nevertheless, they shared that they could not leave their ageing parents in this time of COVID-19 pandemic and that with proper balancing of tasks and responsibilities at home and at work, parentification made them to become more self-reliant, mature faster, and responsible daughters.


Author(s):  
Sarah Klaus ◽  
Iram Siraj

The Roma are Europe's largest minority ethnic group, yet too few Roma achieve a level of education that enables them to secure employment or positive life chances. Gaps in their attainment compared to other ethnic groups start to appear in the earliest years, with Roma participating in early education at half the rate of their peers. The European Commission has established expectations to increase participation rates, but change is painfully slow. Institutionalized discrimination and poverty underpin many structural factors, such as shortages of preschool places and unaffordable fees and costs, that are in a large part responsible for the low participation of Roma in early education. Yet multiple reports highlight cultural barriers as an additional significant challenge for Roma families, and recommend employing Roma as teaching assistants to bridge cultural differences. This article presents evidence from two qualitative studies that explore the impact of employing Roma in early childhood settings. The first, a survey conducted in the 21 European countries with the largest Roma populations, establishes current hiring trends and motivations for hiring Roma early childhood education staff, and estimates that at least 40,000 additional Roma staff are needed to ensure their proportionate representation in the workforce. The second uses case study methodology to capture learning from Serbia and the UK, where introducing Roma assistants is helping to bridge cultural barriers to Roma participation in early education. The article concludes with the observation that the social inclusion of Roma will also require interventions that start well before children enter formal education.


Author(s):  
Sofia Stavropoulou ◽  
Anastasia Georgaki

A growing body of interdisciplinary research suggests that children's structured engagement in musical activities may have a positive impact on social inclusion by means of offering opportunities for social bonding, developing interpersonal relationships and empowering self-expression, health and well-being. In this paper we investigate the amelioration of children's voice accuracy and quality in signing through a visual feedback software. The research took place in two public elementary schools in Athens in a total of sixty children aged 6-9 years old and with a different cultural background. The statistical analysis on the effectiveness of the software has proved the amelioration of the children's voice quality before and after its use.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mauricio Carvache-Franco ◽  
Orly Carvache-Franco ◽  
Ana Gabriela Víquez-Paniagua ◽  
Wilmer Carvache-Franco ◽  
Allan Perez-Orozco

PurposeThe objectives of this study were to (a) analyze the relationship between sociodemographic aspects and motivations in ecotourism and (b) identify the relationship between sociodemographic aspects and satisfaction and loyalty variables.Design/methodology/approachThe research was carried out in the Arenal National Park and the Caño Negro National Wildlife Refuge in Costa Rica, an ecologically important ecotourism destination. The sample consisted of 310 surveys obtained in situ. For data analysis, factor analysis and the multiple regression method were used.FindingsThe results show that younger tourists tend to be more motivated by self-development, whereas older tourists and lower-income tourists are more motivated toward strengthening interpersonal relationships with family and friends. In contrast, tourists with lower education levels are highly motivated by novelty, feel more satisfied with the visit and are more willing to recommend and say positive things about the destination. Besides, repeat visitors are most likely to return.Research limitations/implicationsThe present study was limited by the timing in which it was carried out. Among the future lines of research, studies that address the relationship between sociodemographic variables in the different ecotourism segments should be conducted.Practical implicationsRegarding the practical implications, this study helps companies related to tourism to pay attention to the sociodemographic characteristics of tourists to design activities and services according to their motivations, satisfaction and loyalty. For younger tourists who are motivated by self-development, activities and services related to learning about nature can be planned to encourage their personal growth, new abilities and individual skills. Regarding elderly and lower-income tourists, who are motivated to be with family and friends, recreational activities to improve family and friendship relationships can be promoted.Social implicationsThese findings will serve to plan attractions and services in protected areas, benefiting the destinations and the communities sustainably.Originality/valueOne of the contributions of this study is to find a negative relationship between the level of education and other variables such as satisfaction, intentions to recommend and intentions to say positive things about the destination. This research also identified a negative relationship between age and the self-development motivational dimension, a positive relationship between age and being with family and friends dimension, a negative relationship between income and being with family and friends dimension and a negative relationship between the number of visits and the novelty dimension.


IFLA Journal ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 44 (4) ◽  
pp. 269-280
Author(s):  
Youmen Chaaban ◽  
Rania Sawalhi

Despite their proliferation in many parts of the world, book clubs have received little attention from academic researchers. This study seeks to understand the status of book clubs particularly in the Arab world. An in-depth illustration of the status of Arab book clubs was provided by 18 moderators from six Arab countries. The findings indicated that Arab book clubs operate in several distinctive ways; ranging from formal, highly structured meetings, to informal, friendly gatherings. The findings also revealed the motivations for establishing the book clubs in the Arab world. In this respect, participants set high expectations for personal growth, interpersonal relationships, and social responsibility. However, Arab books clubs faced several challenges as perceived by the participants in this study. Several suggestions were made for the sustainability of Arab book clubs. The implications of the findings for librarians, educators, and the general public are also emphasized to create momentum for their continuity.


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