Health Literacy Promotion and Its Institutional Arrangements: Rethinking collaborative health promotion in Thailand

This research explores institutional arrangements that govern health literacy promotion policies in Thailand since 2014. This study sets the main questions as what are the main institutional arrangements that governed health literacy promotion policies in Thailand since 2014 and can these arrangements be viewed as collaborative health governance? This paper argues that the military coup in 2014 transformed institutional-governing arrangements on health system management and health promotion greatly as many legal-political institutions and various social-political agencies were involved and brought together to promote health and health literacy. A so-called principle of ‘collaborative governance’ has been employed and implemented to promote health in Thailand recently, however, this study argues that the institutional constraints under authoritarian regime offer a ‘fictitious-collaborative health governance’ instead. Furthermore, deliberative processes on health literacy promotion regulated by many legal - institutional constraints had characteristics of ‘pseudo-deliberation’. This work is qualitative research, and it analyzes and explains research results by looking through theoretical concepts of institutionalism and collaborative governance. This study argues that to reach the goal of health literate community and society, Thai health agencies and authorities should re-approach health and health literacy promotion from the bottom-up perspective. Also, overcoming fictitious collaborative health promotion and pseudo-deliberation are necessary. To do that, we need a long-term project of building up a ‘critical health regime’ based on critical education and anti-authoritarianism as major principles. (*The paper was presented at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University’s College of Professional and Continuing Education (CPCE) Conference “Post-pandemic health and long-term care: A new paradigm”. September 2021)

Perceptions of the Uses of Cell Phones and Their Impact on the Health of Early Adolescents in Barcelona: a Qualitative Study

The use of cell phones and video games has transformed rapidly in adolescents, posing a challenge for the scientific community. Using qualitative methodology and a socioconstructivist perspective, we identified perceptions and beliefs about the different uses of cell phones and video games and their relationship with the health and wellbeing of the adolescent population of Barcelona. From an analysis of discussion groups among early adolescents (n = 66 students aged 13–14 years, segmented by gender and socioeconomic level of the school neighborhood), information was obtained on (i) digital devices and their uses, (ii) the determinants of the uses of cell phones and video games, and (iii) the relationship between possible problematic uses and health and wellbeing. Responsible and problematic uses were identified. Problematic use was associated with compensation for social deficits and sometimes with dependency on the device. Differences were identified by gender (boys preferred video games and girls’ social networks). The adolescents were aware of the possible negative impacts on their health associated with problematic use of cell phones and video games and highlighted a lack of critical education in digital skills.

Jesuit Upbringing as Prevention Against Fundamentalism, Bigotry and Pharisaism

RESEARCH OBJECTIVE: The objective of the work is presenting the pseudoreligion F hypothesis created by a Czech theologian, sociologist and philosopher Tomáš Halík. The second part of the text presents the challenges of Jesuit upbringing which can be understood as a possible strategy and prevention against the pseudoreligion F. RESEARCH PROBLEM AND METHODS:Pseudoreligion F is a hypothesis through which Tomáš Halík interprets similarities among several pathological phenomena of the contemporary social culture as well as Christian religiosity. The key solution is the critical education and dialogue. It is the system of Jesuit education that can be understood as a tested preventive strategy. Critical analysis of the beginnings of Jesuit education shows that this is still a valid method of teaching and upbringing. THE PROCESS OF ARGUMENTATION:In the first part of the work, the pseudoreligion F hypothesis was presented, as well as some related theses. The objective of the first part is describing the sociological and philosophical criticism of contemporary religious pathologies. In the second part of the text, we will focus on the key tasks and challenges of Jesuit pedagogy. RESEARCH RESULTS:Contemporary religious pathologies threaten Christianity as they distort the ideals of the Gospel to achieve short-term goals. In the context of Christianity, such pathologies also include clericalism and, more broadly, pharisaism. Critical thinking about these issues encourages us to search for strategies that can help “extinguish the fire.” One of such strategies is integral humanist education which is also represented by Jesuit education. CONCLUSIONS, INNOVATIONS, RECOMMENDATIONS: Despite the ambiguity of this term, critical thinking is considered to be the key tool for preventing fanaticism, fundamentalism, extremism, etc. The research is to show that critical education mainly refers to the complexity and integral anthropological line. Education and Jesuit education has a rich tradition based on the Ignatian and Jesuit spirituality.

Merdeka Belajar dan Pendidikan Kritis Paulo Friere dalam Pembelajaran Pendidikan Agama Islam

The focus of this study is how the concept of independent learning which is a policy in education in Indonesia is currently associated with Paulo Friere's critical education and its implementation in learning Islamic Religious Education. For Paulo Friere, independent learning is a teaching process that frees students from all kinds of colonialism, such as the banking system. Freire's construction of education leads to education which will lead people out of the shackles of oppression. In line with that, the Merdeka Learning Program according to the Minister of Education and Culture will be the direction of future learning that focuses on improving the quality of human resources. Merdeka Learning is the beginning of the idea of ​​improving the monotonous national education system. Overall, the humanistic values ​​promoted by the Minister of Education and Culture's policies and the educational concepts offered by Friere are very relevant to be applied in education in Indonesia, especially Islamic Religious Education through the elements of educators, students and educational goals. Fokus kajian ini adalah bagaimana konsep merdeka belajar yang menjadi kebijakan pada pendidikan di Indonesia saat ini dikaitkan dengan pendidikan kritis Paulo Friere dan implementasinya dalam pembelajaran Pendidikan Agama Islam. Bagi Paulo Friere, merdeka belajar adalah proses pengajaran yang membebaskan peserta didik dari segala macam penjajahan, seperti banking system. Konstruksi pendidikan Freire mengarah kepada pendidikan yang nantinya menghantar orang keluar dari belenggu penindasan. Selaras dengan itu, Program Merdeka Belajar menurut Mendikbud akan menjadi arah pembelajaran ke depan yang fokus pada meningkatkan kualitas sumber daya manusia, Merdeka Belajar merupakan permulaan dari gagasan untuk memperbaiki sistem pendidikan nasional yang terkesan monoton. Secara menyeluruh, nilai humanis yang diusung oleh kebijakan mendikbud dan konsep pendidikan yang ditawarkan Friere sangat relevan untuk diaplikasikan dalam pendidikan di Indonesia, khususnya Pendidikan Agama Islam melalui unsur pendidik, peserta didik dan tujuan pendidikan

“Blackness is not just a single definition”: multimodal composition as an exercise for surfacing and scaffolding student theorizing in a Black Studies classroom

Purpose This study aims to investigate multimodal composition as an exercise or tool for teaching students theory building. To illustrate, an analysis of artifacts comprising a student’s multimodal composition, which was created in response to a multipart literacy assignment on theorizing Blackness, is analyzed. Design/methodology/approach Afrocentricity served as both theoretical moor and research methodology. Qualitative case study, focusing on the case of an individual student, was the research method used. Findings Multimodal composition was an effective exercise for surfacing the multidimensionality of a student’s complex knowledge while simultaneously placing the student in the powerful position of theorist. The process of composing multimodally integrated reading, writing and speaking skills while revealing the focal student’s need for targeted writing intervention. Practical implications The study evidences multimodal composition as a useful exercise for capturing students’ nuanced interpretations or students’ critical theorizing as well as meaningfully incorporating and assessing students’ literacy skills. Originality/value Exposure to preexisting theory alone relegates students to the realm of passive knowledge consumers. This undermines the emancipatory and justice-oriented objectives of critical education, which ideally contributes to social change by challenging dominant power structures and distorted perspectives of marginalized persons. To be empowered agentic learners, students need to be both taught how to theorize and engaged as theorists. This study shows how multimodal composition can be used as a liberatory literacy tool for those intertwined pedagogical purposes.

The system, the resident, and the preceptor: a curricular approach to continuity of care training

Background Continuity of care (CoC) is integral to the practice of comprehensive primary care, yet research in the area of CoC training in residency programs is limited. In light of distributed medical education and evolving accreditation standards, a rigorous understanding of the context and enablers contributing to CoC education must be considered in the design and delivery of residency training programs. Approach At our preceptor-based community academic site, we developed a system—resident—preceptor (SRP) framework to explore factors that influence a resident’s perception regarding CoC, and established variables in each area to enhance learning. We then implemented a two-year educational SRP intervention (SRPI) to one cohort of residents and their preceptors to integrate critical education factors and align teaching of continuity of care within curricular goals. Evaluation Evaluation of the intervention was based on resident interviews and faculty focus groups, and a qualitative phenomenological approach was used to analyze the data. While some factors identified are inherent to family medicine, the opportunity for reflection is a unique component to inculcate CoC learning. Reflection The SRP innovation provides a unique framework to facilitate residents’ understanding and development of CoC competency. Our model can be applied to all residency programs, including traditional academic sites as well as distributed training sites, to enhance CoC education.