scholarly journals Distance and e-learning, social justice, and development: The relevance of capability approaches to the mission of open universities

2013 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Alan Tait
Keyword(s):  
Social Justice ◽  
Large Distance ◽  
Capability Approach ◽  
Distance Teaching ◽  
E Learning ◽  
Sen’S Capability Approach

<p>This article reviews the discourse of mission in large distance teaching and open universities, in order to analyse the theories of development and social justice that are claimed or may be inherent in them. It is suggested that in a number of cases the claims are unsupported or naive. The article goes on to set out the nature of Amartya Sen’s capability approach for development, and to identify its potential for reviewing distance and e-learning more widely as a contributor to development and social justice.</p>

scholarly journals From vagueness to precision: raising the volume on social issues for the water sector

Water Policy ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 309-324 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jacqueline Goldin
Keyword(s):  
Water Management ◽  
Social Justice ◽  
Water Policy ◽  
Capability Approach ◽  
Social Issues ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Practical Application ◽  
Water Sector ◽  
Suitable Framework ◽  
Sen’S Capability Approach

The paper raises the volume on complex social issues that affect water management. The paper proposes Amartya Sen's capability approach (CA) as a suitable framework against which to consider these complex ideals. This is because the CA is attentive to issues of social justice and it addresses a range of intangible goods that contribute to human well-being which are critical if the gap between progressive ideas about water policy and their practical application is to be lessened. We isolate certain attributes within the CA and propose that these attributes are particularly relevant when considering ideas of social justice concerning water. We then conclude that a sharper focus on intangible social issues brings more precision to a water discourse that is all too often vague and fuzzy in its dealings with society.

Deploying Creative Thinking to Strengthen Entrepreneurial Capability Among University Students in Nigeria

2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 93-108
Author(s):  
Akinjide Aboluwodi
Keyword(s):  
Learning Environment ◽  
University Students ◽  
Creative Thinking ◽  
Capability Approach ◽  
Entrepreneurship Education ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Entrepreneurial Opportunity ◽  
Sen’S Capability Approach

Most of the students studying entrepreneurship in Nigerian universities lack entrepreneurial capability- that is, they lack the freedom to pursue and achieve entrepreneurial opportunity. Freedom is seen here in terms of those conditions that must be in place for students to be able to carry out their entrepreneurship studies. These are conditions that support the well-being of the students and may be seen as having good shelter, being well nourished, being healthy, being able to do their normal studies among others. The paper examined why the presence of these conditions is likely to assist students to improve their creative thinking and strengthen their entrepreneurial capability. It explored Amartya Sen’s Capability Approach, focusing on freedom, opportunities, and functionings to explain the required favourable conditions that make learning worthwhile for students, and how it accounts for students’ ability to strengthen their entrepreneurial capability. The paper argued for the deployment of creative thinking to strengthen entrepreneurial capability among students of entrepreneurship in universities in Nigeria. It concluded by urging universities in Nigeria to adopt relevant curriculum in addition to providing students with a decent learning environment to enable them to develop creative thinking that could be used in entrepreneurship education.

scholarly journals Teaching Mathematics at Distance: A Challenge for Universities

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Rosalinda Cassibba ◽  
Daniela Ferrarello ◽  
Maria Flavia Mammana ◽  
Pasquale Musso ◽  
Mario Pennisi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Teaching Mathematics ◽  
State University ◽  
Distance Teaching ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
University Mathematics ◽  
Learning Platform ◽  
E Learning ◽  
University Level ◽  
Teaching Modality ◽  
The Way

The focus of this research is how Sicilian state university mathematics professors faced the challenge of teaching via distance education during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. Since the pandemic entered our lives suddenly, the professors found themselves having to lecture using an e-learning platform that they had never used before, and for which they could not receive training due to the health emergency. In addition to the emotional aspects related to the particular situation of the pandemic, there are two aspects to consider when teaching mathematics at a distance. The first is related to the fact that at university level, lecturers generally teach mathematics in a formal way, using many symbols and formulas that they are used to writing. The second aspect is that the way mathematics is taught is also related to the students to whom the teaching is addressed. In fact, not only online, but also in face-to-face modality, the teaching of mathematics to students on the mathematics degree course involves a different approach to lessons (as well as to the choice of topics to explain) than teaching mathematics in another degree course. In order to investigate how the Sicilian State university mathematics professors taught mathematics at distance, a questionnaire was prepared and administered one month after the beginning of the lockdown in Italy. Both quantitative and qualitative analyses were made, which allowed us to observe the way that university professors have adapted to the new teaching modality: they started to appropriate new artifacts (writing tablets, mathematical software, e-learning platform) to replicate their face-to-face teaching modality, mostly maintaining their blackboard teacher status. Their answers also reveal their beliefs related to teaching mathematics at university level, noting what has been an advantageous or disadvantageous for them in distance teaching.

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