GIS-Based Approach for the Analysis of Geographical Education Paths

This paper presents a new geospatial approach, and a proposal to study the geographic educational path of individuals or social groups identified by researchers using a Geographic Information System (GIS) and spatial statistics. A scheme of research proceedings has been proposed, including obtaining data from various sources (including surveys and other sources, e.g., from the university and OpenStreetMap), their proper preparation and categorisation into one geodatabase on the GIS system, followed by visualisation and the calculation of statistics. The whole research procedure was carried out in GIS. The results can be useful for detecting patterns of educational paths in different countries and social groups, and comparing them. Indirectly, they can be used to study mobility, and to indicate the spatial range of studied schools. The study was carried out among a group of students of geoinformation at the University of Lodz. Visualization and analysis of their geographical educational path showed that most of them attended schools close to where they lived, indicating low mobility during their education. The results obtained may be relevant to the “spatial turn” in education research.

Justice system and juvenile deviance after the Covid-19 pandemic. Educational paths between school promotion and re-education

Starting from the concept of social justice and from universal children’s rights (UN, 1989), the contribution questions the role of education in enhancing the originality and uniqueness of each one and in restoring responsibility and dignity to fragile (Milani, 2019), difficult (Bertolini ,1993) and deviant (Vico, 1988) young people. In a complex contemporaneity, tested by pandemic’s sufferings and restrictions, the pedagogical look underlines the importance of reconstructing – starting from school – promotional, capacitating and justice-oriented paths. Deviant acts are read in the light of a broad social responsibility. We propose the empowerment of an educating community (Agazzi, 1968) aimed at participation, dialogue (Freire, 2002) and assumption of an active and inclusive citizenship. The juvenile penal system is collectively rethought, favouring diversion from prosecution, mediation, reparation and probation strategies. Giustizia e devianza minorile dopo la pandemia Covid-19. Percorsi alternativi tra promozione scolastica e rieducazione. Partendo dal concetto di giustizia sociale e dai diritti universali delle bambine, dei bambini e degli adolescenti (UN, 1989), il contributo si interroga sul ruolo dell’educazione nel valorizzare l’originalità e l’unicità di ciascuno e nel restituire responsabilità e dignità ai soggetti fragili (Milani, 2019), difficili (Bertolini, 1993) e devianti (Vico, 1988). In una contemporaneità complessa, provata dalla sofferenza e dalle restrizioni della pandemia, lo sguardo pedagogico sottolinea l’importanza di ricostruire, a partire dalla scuola, percorsi promozionali, capacitanti e orientati alla giustizia. Si rileggono gli atti devianti alla luce di un’ampia responsabilità sociale e si propone l’empowerment di una comunità educante (Agazzi, 1968) volta alla partecipazione, al dialogo (Freire, 2002) e all’assunzione di una cittadinanza attiva e inclusiva per ripensare collettivamente il sistema penale minorile privilegiando deviazioni dall’accusa, strategie di mediazione, di riparazione e di messa alla prova.

Creating 'This is It' Moments in Gerontological Education

We all have had “this is it” moments. And while many gerontologists will say they “fell” into the field, I solicit that educational paths are set before us and we have choice to which path that we take. Paths provide opportunities for discoveries about ourselves and in the case of gerontology, we have a breadth of choices. This is how I view teaching and why developing new courses in the field are a necessity. Change is constant; creating new paths for opportunities is optional. This lecture will provide how, as an educator, I accept my ‘this is it’ moments so I can effectively foster students to recognize their own ‘this is it’ moment(s) within gerontological education.

DADA TEAMS: an innovarive teaching experience

Reading the needs of students, in the modern-day reality, requires teacher to intervene with innovative teaching methodologies, able to integrate the two dimensions (analog and digital) of teaching and to promote talents. With these aims the comprehensive institute “Foscolo-Gabelli” in Foggia, formerly DADA school, signatory of a memorandum of understanding with the University of Foggia has included the DADA Teams in the Three-Year Plan of the Training Offer. They are cooperative working groups, carried out in curricular time. Within the DADA Teams, students are supported in learning by multimedia tools and learn to learn through transversal educational paths, discovering their talents passions and attitudes. This study aims to document the experimentation contextualizing it in the panorama of research on the interactions between teaching and talent development, where the use of flexible and “open” technologies and learning environments can be a driving force for change.

DACA Funds of Knowledge: Testimonios of Access to and Success in Higher Education

Using testimonios, we highlight six current university Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) students’ funds of knowledge, or the lived experiences and culturally developed skills, specific to being DACA recipients, that these students leveraged in the past, currently lean on now for continued success, and learn what resources are lacking at university. Sharing these students’ “DACA funds of knowledge,” of navigating public education to successfully attend institutions of higher education, provides insight into equitable educational paths for those who follow.

Postgraduate Students’ Individual Educational Paths: Design Principles and Implementation Conditions (on the Example of a Technical University)

The article addresses the importance of introducing individual educational paths (IEP) in training research and pedagogical personnel in postgraduate studies. The idea of an individual approach of learning is enshrined in a number of documents including the Federal Law “On Education in the Russian Federation”. However, in practice, there are obstacles to the implementation of IEP: the presence of regulatory documents governing the organization of the educational process in higher education, the predominance of the group form of organizing classes, the unpreparedness of teachers for the implementation of the personalized learning model. We find it reasonable to start the implementation of IEP at the level of postgraduate training, given the relative small number of students, as well as their cognitive independence and well-developed educational skills. The design of the IEP will make it possible to better take into account the initial competencies of postgraduate students, their cognitive needs and goals in further career advancement (orientation towards teaching, research, production activities), which are largely determined by the nature and level of professional education.The article reveals the specifics of the training of research and pedagogical personnel in the postgraduate study of a technical university, identifies the factors that have an impact on the way postgraduate students build their learning trajectories, substantiates the principles of IEP design, and describes the stages of personalized learning technology. The research data on the readiness of postgraduate students to design IEP on their own are presented. The results of the survey of post graduate students and their supervisors indicate that there are sufficient grounds for the successful implementation of a personalized learning model using IEP. Postgraduate students of a technical university are well versed in information resources, actively use University’s services of the electronic educational environment. They are able to determine the goals of educational and scientific activities, assess their competencies, and analyze achievements and failures. Most of scientific advisors are ready to assist postgraduate students in IEP designing. The article analyzes the difficulties that universities may encounter when introducing a new teaching model, and substantiates the conditions for the successful implementation of IEP in postgraduate studies.

Interpretative Signs as a Tool Supporting Informal Environmental Education on the Example of Warsaw’s Urban Forests

The article presents the results of research conducted in order to determine the comprehensibility (intelligibility) of the text of signs on educational paths in Warsaw’s city forests. This evaluation was carried out with the use of an online IT tool—Promovolt. The obtained results were confronted with the assessment of users of educational paths and the opinion of an expert group, which consisted of people involved in the design of educational materials. The results indicate that the majority of the analyzed interpretative signs are dedicated to secondary school students because of the level of text comprehensibility. At the same time, 20% of the text is understandable only to recipients with higher education. This means that the educational paths in the urban forests of Warsaw, with interpretative signs allowing independent learning, do not sufficiently support the ecological education of children and youth from primary schools up to 15 years of age, as well as people with basic or vocational education.

The retrospective analysis of the theories of giftedness

The research interest to such phenomenon as giftedness has already been taken place in the discussions in some areas: anthropological about human nature, pedagogical about the interaction between bringing up, education and training of a gifted child, social about the circumstances of revealing of special abilities of children, psycological about nature, classification and sources of giftedness. On the base of theoretical-empirical methods of scientific research (theoretical analysis of philosophical, pedagogical, psychological, methodical, historical literature; content-analysis of normative-methodical documents, methods of comparison and classification) the following results of retrospective analysis of theories of giftedness. The stages in the development of the idea of giftedness and its fundamental distinctive definitions are highlighted, the methodical principles of theories of giftedness are defined, the necessity of working out the methodological basis of the process of continuous development of gifted children. The retrospective analysis of evolutional development of the theories of giftedness points out that their conceptual differences are based on different scientific theoretical and methodological researches, are determined by the dynamics of socio-political, economical and socio-cultural processes. On the other hand, the diversity of concepts is the consequence of versatility and difficulty of giftedness nature, impossibility to work out the general references and strategies of development for all its demonstrations. The giftedness is defined as gradually developing competence, performing as the basis of effective activity of the talented personality. The study, analysis and generalization of the main elements of the giftedness theories given in the works of Russian and foreign scientists, form the scientific platform for search and working out the scientific and practical methods of giftedness development aimed to find out and develop of potential and hidden opportunities of schoolchildren, aimed to individual accompaniment of their educational paths, aimed to formation of social motivation.