The contribution of transformative learning theory to the practice of participatory research and extension: Theoretical reflections

This paper explores ways in which experiential learning theories, in particular transformative learning theory, can inform farmer participatory research and extension (PR&E). I identify and discuss three key elements of experiential learning theory – second-order experiences, reflection, and dialogue – that are particularly pertinent to PR&E practice. I then turn to one experiential learning theorist – Mezirow, and examine his theory of transformative learning to assess how it may inform the PR&E process. I outline the basic components and stages of transformative learning and summarize the main criticisms of the theory. Following this, parallels are drawn between transformative learning and what actually takes place in PR&E, and examples are given of the ways in which scientists and rural people may undergo transformative learning through the PR&E process. Ways in which transformative learning can be encouraged within the PR&E context are discussed. I conclude that Mezirows work can provide PR&E practitioners and theorists with additional insights into how adults learn and especially how they – researchers, extensionists and rural people – can transform their ways of thinking to accommodate a shift from conventional research and extension to PR&E.Rachel Percy is a lecturer in the International and Rural Development Department of the University of Reading, UK, teaching gender, participatory learning and action, and participatory research and extension. Her research interests center on how adult learning theories, particularly those related to experiential learning, can inform participatory practice. From 1980 to 1997, before she joined the University of Reading, she worked in the field of agricultural extension, training and sustainable development in Ethiopia, Nigeria, Sudan, and Malawi. She has published on experiential learning and the training of agricultural extensionists (International Journal of Lifelong Education), capacity building for gender-sensitive agricultural extension planning (Journal of Agricultural Education and Extension), and gender analysis and participatory rural appraisal (International Journal of Educational Development).     

农村宅基地使用权流转实践与探索——基于宁波市的分析

宅基地使用权流转现象在我国农村大量存在。基于宁波市农村宅基地使用权流转现状的调研,分析宁波市农村宅基地使用权流转实践中的有益做法、存在问题,剖析农村宅基地使用权流转的影响因素,探讨促进农村宅基地使用权流转的途径。结果表明,宅基地使用权流转形式多样化,推行宅基地使用权抵押,采用多种形式建设农村住房、实行宅基地管理信息化等做法对提高农村土地利用效率,增加农民财产性收入具有推动作用。然而,实践中仍存在"一户多宅"、违法违规用地建房和非法流转交易等问题。导致这些问题的主要原因是社会发展对宅基地使用权流转的客观需求,法律对宅基地流转的限制造成了宅基地使用权的隐性流转,宅基地使用权流转监管缺位以及与宅基地相关的法律法规存在缺陷。据此,提出了改革农村宅基地使用制度、完善宅基地相关立法、建立健全宅基地交易市场等对策。     

“乡村信息化善治”：乡村治理的目标选择和路径分析——以广东农村信息化实践为例

在乡村治理中引入信息技术,推进农村信息化,是转变乡村治理范式、提高农村基层治理水平、实现野乡村善治冶的有效途径。乡村治理信息化促进基层治理主体向多元化发展、治理权力的多中心、网络化以及以服务为导向的基层观念转变。分析广东省的农村信息化推广实践袁发现信息技术与传统的乡村治理相结合存在着形式主义、服务效能不佳、建设资源配置不足以及治理主体素质不高等嵌入困境遥要解决这一困境,实现“乡村信息化善治”,应从转变治理理念,以治理主体需求和满意度为导向,引入社会资本夯实信息化建设物质基础以及提升农民信息化素质5个维度进行路径构建。     

Participatory rural appraisal of spate irrigation systems in eastern Eritrea

In the Sheeb area in eastern Eritrea a Participatory Rural Appraisal(PRA) was carried out in two villages, one upstream and one downstreamof the ephemeral rivers Laba and Mai-ule. The objectives of the studywere to obtain a better understanding of farmer-managed spate irrigationsystems and to enable the local people to perform their own farmingsystem analysis. This paper describes the various PRA activities, suchas mapping, diagramming and ranking of problems, that were undertakenwith the participation of local people. The resource mapping revealedthat lack of water and not scarcity of land is the main constraintaffecting the development of the spate irrigation system in the Sheebarea. When there is a lack of rainfall in the highlands of Eritrea,there are only few floods per year in the Sheeb area. The developmenttrend diagrams showed that the number of floods, the food production andthe prevalence of pests vary considerably over time. The livelihooddiagrams indicated that food, fodder, and water were only availableduring part of the year. In search of these resources, the farmers havedeveloped a livelihood strategy of seasonal migration to the highlandsof Eritrea. The PRA data collected in the two villages appeared to bevery useful for the preparation of community action plans in the entireSheeb area.     

农业环境损害司法鉴定的研究与实践

随着经济的飞速发展,工业企业增多,环境污染事故时有发生,农民赖以生存的农业生态环境日益恶化,农业环境污染引起的群体性事件增多。农业生态破坏及环境污染事故的解决成为各地农业环保部门面对的艰巨任务,农业类环境损害司法鉴定评估的发展完善与实践将发挥不可忽视的作用。本文借鉴农业生态环境损害鉴定评估的相关标准及规定,以实践为例,探讨农业环境损害司法鉴定的具体程序以及内容,为农业环境损害司法鉴定实践提供借鉴。     

广西农村中等专业实用人才培养的实践与思考

总结广西农村中等专业实用人才培养工作的成果和经验,分析工作中存在的问题,提出下一步建议,为农村产业发展培养出更多留得住、用得上的产业技术农民,为农村基层组织建设培养更多双带能力强的人才,为社会主义新农村建设提供更多人才和智力支撑。     

陶行知的乡村教育改造思想和实践述评

作为“人民教育家”,陶行知立足乡村,把改造乡村教育作为改造中国社会的出发点。他认为旧的乡村教育已不适合建设乡村社会的需要,必须另辟生路,即建立适合乡村社会实际生活的“活教育”。这种“活教育”要按试验期、训练期和布种期3个阶段有计划、有步骤地进行。     

农村居民点城镇化持续性评价方法研究

为了对农村居民点的城镇化建设水平和程度做出科学、合理且实际的评价,提出了运用农村城镇化绝对水平指数和相对水平指数的概念和方法,能够对农村居民点在某个时点的城镇化建设水平给予准确描述,可以对一定时期和地域内的小城镇建设改造程度进行横向及纵向比较,实现对农村居民点城镇化建设的持续性评价。     

日本乡村振兴中农民主体实践特点——以文化遗产活用为例

党的十九大提出乡村振兴战略,农民作为重要的参与者和实践者充分发挥主体性对于实现乡村振兴具有重要意义。本文基于日本文化遗产角度,构建主体实践生成过程与主体实践类型分析框架,以日本文化遗产活用为例,分析日本农民主体实践特点,探讨日本农民在促进乡村经济发展和延续传统村落生命力中发挥的作用,以期为我国农民参与农业文化遗产的保护与利用提供经验借鉴。研究表明,日本文化遗产活用主要有重要传统建筑物群和无形文化遗产,以及融合有形文化遗产与无形文化遗产的历史文化街区。农民主体实践过程是从无到有、层层深入和以问题为导向的运行机制。主体实践类型有互助型、协同型和计划型。尽管各村庄的主体实践生成过程与类型各不相同,但存在一定的共性,即从纵向的维度看,农民主体实践具有动态变化的特点;从横向的维度看,农民的主体实践具有差异化的特点。日本案例启示我们在保护和利用农业文化遗产的过程中,首先,需要以发展的观点看待农民主体实践生成过程;其次,农民应因地制宜地构建主体实践类型。     

竹丝鸡沙门氏菌敏感性药物筛选研究

对竹丝鸡疑似沙门氏杆菌病料进行分离培养、三糖铁试验、生化鉴定、血清学鉴定及药敏试验。结果表明:42种抗菌药物中对沙门氏菌极敏的占76.19%,高敏的占4.76%,中敏的占9.53%,低敏的占7.14%,不敏感的占2.38%,其中氨曲南、萘定酸、先锋噻肟和洛美沙星对沙门氏菌最敏感,差异均显著(P0.05)。     

Exploring the theory and practice of participatory research in US sustainable agriculture: A case study in insect pest management

Farmers have always played a key role in developing and testing agricultural technology. Scientist initiated agricultural research models and methods that explicitly include the participation of farmers principally have been developed and implemented in the Third World. Recently, these strategies have begun to receive attention in the US sustainable agriculture research community. This paper presents a case study where scientists collaborated with farmers in developing, implementing, and revising research in peach insect pest management in sustainable agroecosystems in California. A theoretical framework constructed from emerging epistemological and philosophical premises is used to point out the imperative of including participatory strategies in US sustainable agriculture. Methods drawn from Rapid Rural Appraisal were adapted to fit the local circumstances of working within intensive peach production systems and with a US farmer or ganization, California Clean Growers Association, in developing a research agenda. Farmer-scientist participation continued throughout the research implementation phases via individual and group meetings. A mid-project workshop provided a forum where farmers had explicit decision-making power over the course of the research project. Selected natural science research results are presented to illustrate the value of merging farmers' and scientists' knowledge in achieving relevant and scientifically interesting information. It is argued that the adoption and innovation of participatory research strategies in US sustainable agriculture will require confronting philosophical and methodological issues at individual and institutional levels.     

国际水稻所"超级稻"引种评价与利用

1996年到2005年,玉溪市农业科学研究所从国际水稻所引进"超级稻"材料297份,经过多年、多代系统选育和杂交改良,育成水稻新品种2个、新品系6个;通过直接或间接对这些超级稻材料评价与利用,提高了玉溪市水稻育种和生产应用水平.     

农村区域发展专业实践教学基地建设模式的研究与实践

为了保证农村区域发展专业实践教学的质量,在实践教学中要构建新农村示范村镇、农业产业化示范园区、涉农部门社会调查观测站以及学校实验室等4种实践教学基地建设模式。要根据实践教学基地的实践内容,不断调整培养方案和教学计划,与校外实践教学基地签订共建协议以建立长期稳定的合作关系,构建实践教学基地建设的质量监控体系,构建和完善校外实践教学基地的管理体系,以保障实践教学基地的顺利进行。     

协同推进脱贫攻坚与乡村振兴的实践与启示——基于陕西省的调研

协同推进脱贫攻坚与乡村振兴不仅是解决人民日益增长的美好生活需要和不平衡不充分的发展之间矛盾的必然要求,更是实现"两个一百年"奋斗目标的必然要求。基于陕西省的调研分析,从产业振兴、人才振兴、文化振兴、生态振兴和组织振兴5个方面对协同推进脱贫攻坚与乡村振兴的实践进行分析总结,并提出3点启示,即建立健全体制机制是脱贫攻坚与乡村振兴协同推进的制度保障,坚持完善党对"三农"工作的领导是脱贫攻坚与乡村振兴协同推进的政治保障,培育激发贫困人口内生动力是脱贫攻坚与乡村振兴协同推进的重要抓手。     

黑龙江省城乡一体化的基础：农民集中居住，土地集约利用

为了研究如何在黑龙江省加快城乡一体化进程,实现城乡一体化建设目标,运用调查研究的方法,以黑龙江垦区的相关农场和地方试验区为样本,对黑龙江省城乡一体化建设进行了分析研究。研究结果表明：近10年来黑龙江省城镇化水平呈现出增长幅度放缓的态势,制约了城乡一体化的进程。黑龙江省要实现城乡一体化,必须以农民居住集中化、土地利用集约化为基础。其必要性表现在：有利于实现农业生产规模化和机械化;有利于提高农民组织化程度;有利于缩小城乡居民生活水平差异,实现城乡统筹发展;有利于整合和优化社会资源,集中财力物力加快城镇化建设步伐。同时又具有政治、经济与财政、技术、行政可操作性方面的可行性。     

精品课程“农村发展学”教学改革实践

基于农村区域发展专业设置情况阐述了课程设置的相关背景,从师资队伍、授课内容、授课方式与方法、课程考核等方面归纳总结了课程专兼职教师队伍建设、授课内容模块化设计、参与式课程教学、课余时间补充播放案例视频、改革课程传统考核方式等课程建设经验。     

新媒体在农村科技传播中的创新实践

论述了新媒体的概念与发展背景、新媒体在农村科技传播中所起的作用和存在的制约因素,阐述了福建省运用新媒体技术进行农村科技传播的创新实践。     

Trust and livelihood adaptation: evidence from rural Mexico

This paper explores the relationship between trust and household adaptation strategies for a sample of respondents in a Mexican agrarian community. In particular, we analyze how levels of personalized, generalized, and institutionalized trust shape the adaptation strategies of smallholders, and find that households characterized by low levels of generalized and institutionalized trust are less likely to be involved in a diversified livelihood strategy. Instead, they tend to continue with the traditional activity of maize production. In contrast, high levels of personalized trust are associated with a livelihood strategy that focuses on cattle breeding and pasture growing. We argue that trust explains why some people more readily ‘catch up’ with opportunities created by an expanding market, while others lag behind in poverty. This paper thus seeks to contribute to the debate on the role of trust in economic actions and decision-making processes of smallholders.     

农村土地流转的理论视域解析与实践策略

加快农村土地流转,是当前农村工作的一项重要任务.应当从法学和经济学理论的角度积极探索农村土地流转的可行性,完善农村土地流转应坚持的原则,强化农村土地流转的法制化建设,建立健全农村土地流转的相关配套体系.     

基于内部用地结构及其功能的农村居民点整理潜力辨析

选择东北典型农村,通过实地调研、农户访谈与遥感、地理信息系统相结合的方法,测算了农村居民点内部包括用于种植作物以及各种用途的土地面积的比例。结果表明,农村居民点内部有相当大比例的种植用地和养殖用地,这些土地具有农业生产功能,是农户生计不可或缺的组成部分。但是,土地利用现状调查中将农村院落内的种植农作物和养殖畜禽的土地都调绘为农村居民点即建设用地。因此,如果扣除这部分具有农畜产品生产功能的土地,农村居民点整治潜力并非很大。