Parental involvement is a crucial force in children’s development, learning and success at school and in life [1]. Participation, defined by the World Health Organization as ‘a person’s involvement in life situations’ [2] for children means involvement in everyday activities, such as recreational, leisure, school and household activities [3]. Several authors use the term social participation emphasising the importance of engagement in social situations [4, 5]. Children’s participation in daily life is vital for healthy development, social and physical competencies, social-emotional well-being, sense of meaning and purpose in life [6]. Through participation in different social contexts, children gather the knowledge and skills needed to interact, play, work, and live with other people [4, 7, 8]. Unfortunately, research shows that children with a physical disability are at risk of lower participation in everyday activities [9]; they participate less frequently in almost all activities compared with children without physical disabilities [10, 11], have fewer friends and often feel socially isolated [12-14]. Parents, in particular, positively influence the participation of their children with a physical disability at school, at home and in the community [15]. They undertake many actions to improve their child’s participation in daily life [15, 16]. However, little information is available about what parents of children with a physical disability do to enable their child’s participation, what they come across and what kind of needs they have. The overall aim of this thesis was to investigate parents’ actions, challenges, and needs while enhancing the participation of their school-aged child with a physical disability. In order to achieve this aim, two steps have been made. In the first step, the literature has been examined to explore the topic of this thesis (actions, challenges and needs) and to clarify definitions for the concepts of participation and social participation. Second, for the purposes of giving breadth and depth of understanding of the topic of this thesis a mixed methods approach using three different empirical research methods [17-19], was applied to gather information from parents regarding their actions, challenges and needs.
This article reflects on the previous articles in this special issue by discussing some common themes and raising some proposals for future research on the topic of workplace learning and its boundaries. The article subsequently discusses objects and results of workplace learning, the issue of learning through acquisition and/or participation, the interplay between organisational and individual factors, the issue of access to learning opportunities, the role of workplace learning in education and HRD, respectively.
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This empirical study investigated the relationship between the learning climate and training participation in Dutch organizations and how subsidies and the sharing of investments in time and costs between employers and employees affect this relationship. Our analyses are based on a survey of a representative sample of 512 organizations with at least five employees in a Dutch region. Respondents replied to five statements to measure the learning climate, while training was measured through participation and intensity. We found that an organization’s learning climate is positively related to participation and intensity of training in terms of hours. However, we observe that the effect of learning climate on the number of hours of training decreases when the employer pays the costs for the training and when the training takes place during working hours. When organizations can use government subsidies, participation in training increases, and the number of hours per participant increases.
The HAS professorship Future Food Systems is performing applied research with students and external partners to transform our food system towards a more sustainable state. In this research it is not only a question of what is needed to achieve this, but also how and with whom. The governance of our food system needs rethinking to get the transformative momentum going in a democratic and constructive manner. Building on the professorship’s research agenda and involvement in the transdisciplinary NWA research project, the postdoc will explore collective ownership and inclusive participation as two key governance concepts for food system transformation. This will be done in a participatory manner, by learning from and with innovative bottom-up initiatives and practitioners from the field. By doing so, the postdoc will gain valuable practical insights that can aid to new approaches and (policy) interventions which foster a sustainable and just food system in the Netherlands and beyond. A strong connection between research and education is created via the active research involvement of students from different study programs, supervised by the postdoc (Dr. B. van Helvoirt). The acquired knowledge is embedded in education by the postdoc by incorporating it into HAS study program curricula and courses. In addition, it will contribute to the further professional development of qualitative research skills among HAS students and staff. Through scientific, policy and popular publications, participation in (inter)national conferences and meetings with experts and practitioners, the exposure and network of the postdoc and HAS in the field of food systems and governance will be expanded. This will allow for the setting up of a continuous research effort on this topic within the professorship via follow-up research with knowledge institutes, civic society groups and partners from the professional field.
Hotelschool The Hague (HTH) was founded and funded in 1929 by the hospitality industry to create a hub where industry partners could gain and share new insights, skills and knowledge. Since then, it has become a professional operation with a solid international reputation in hospitality management. Though HTH has expanded considerably over the years, it has always remained true to its original mandate with a clear commitment to hospitality and a strong connection with the industry. Since its establishment, HTH has sharpened its focus, remaining regionally rooted with an increasingly concentrated international outlook. In line with its heritage, HTH established an ambitious research and internationalisation strategy through its Research Center in 2010 and has pursued that strategy ever since. The goals of the strategy are clear: to achieve international recognition for high quality research that has immediate practical application in the real world while driving towards sustainable development facilitated by an expansive international network and learning community. In pursuit of this ambition, HTH finds the perfect opportunity in this Pilot Richting Europa project to advance the progress made in its established research and internationalisation strategy and to focus the expansion of its international network towards industrial, governmental, and other private and public sector partners. Through this project, it is the ambition of HTH to increase the impact of its research area, City Hospitality. City Hospitality is mainly a nationally focussed initiative which would significantly benefit from international exchange with other European cities engaging in hospitality efforts. This will be achieved through (1) the expansion of its network of industrial and governmental partners and networks across Europe and (2) by increasing its participation in cooperative European projects, with the ultimate aim of leading a consortium for a European project by the end of the project year.
The findings suggests that participation in music practices can significantly support caregivers' and nurses' contact with the people to whom they give care and the healthcare professionals' insights into the patients' and residents' personhood. Music can create experienced changes in the care environment through kairotic moments of connectivity and intimacy of the musical interaction. The music sessions support and reinforce the person-centred values of care delivery.The meaning of participatory music practices for the well-being and learning of healthcare professionals working with ageing patients and nursing home residents.
