In secondary school philosophy classes students learn to reason critically about social and scientific issues. This study examined the effects of a whole-class, teacher-led philosophy classroom dialogue intervention on students’ value-loaded critical thinking. Value-loaded critical thinking is logically consistent, self-reflective reasoning focused on making moral value-judgments about what is right to believe or do. In a quasi-experimental study (N = 437 students) with a pre-test post-test design, we investigated whether engaging in classroom dialogues in which the teachers implemented five design principles for promoting value-loaded critical thinking and transfer thereof, positively affected students’ (n = 150) value-loaded critical thinking in transfer tasks. The results were compared to two comparison conditions: students (n = 149) who participated in regular teacher-led philosophy classroom dialogues and students (n = 145) who followed a regular 10th-grade curriculum without philosophy classes. Results showed that students in the intervention condition outperformed students in both comparison conditions on referring to moral values. Regarding critical reasoning, we only found significant effects compared to the students who followed the regular 10th-grade curriculum. Findings indicate that a specifically designed dialogic intervention can enhance students’ capacities in value-loaded critical thinking.
An emerging body of research indicates that active arts engagement can enhance older adults’ health and experienced well‐being, but scientific evidence is still fragmented. There is a research gap in understanding arts engagement grounded in a multidimensional conceptualization of the value of health and well‐being from older participants’ perspectives. This Dutch nation‐wide study aimed to explore the broader value of arts engagement on older people’s perceived health and well‐being in 18 participatory arts‐based projects (dance, music, singing, theater, visual arts, video, and spoken word) for community‐dwelling older adults and those living in long term care facilities. In this study, we followed a participatory design with narrative‐ and arts‐based inquiry. We gathered micro‐narratives from older people and their (in)formal caregivers (n = 470). The findings demonstrate that arts engagement, according to participants, resulted in (1) positive feelings, (2) personal and artistic growth, and (3) increased meaningful social interactions. This study concludes that art‐based practices promote older people’s experienced well‐being and increase the quality of life of older people. This study emphasizes the intrinsic value of arts engagement and has implications for research and evaluation of arts engagement.
Agrobiodiversity has been decreasing substantially in Europe. Social scientific research in this area has paid limited attention to how citizens value agrobiodiversity and its decline, and how these valuations can be influenced. We explore the influence of different arguments for enhancing agro-biodiversity, delivered via short movies, on attitudes and behaviour of students, environmental professionals and people interested in nature conservation in the Netherlands. We conclude that information provision does not influence attitudes. However, it does influence values assigned to agrobiodiversity, but not always in the ways we hypothesized. Information about the intrinsic value of agrobiodiversity has the most effects on values assigned to agrobiodiversity. Among students, women and people with a low emotional attachment with agricultural landscapes (‘place identity’ and ‘place dependence’), emphasizing the instrumental value of agrobiodiversity has a counter-intuitive effect. It does not influence the importance of this value but instead reinforces the intrinsic value they assign to agrobiodiversity. The latter finding is at odds with the instrumental biodiversity discourse in science and policy, which, under headings such as ecosystem services and natural capital, aims to mobilize support for nature conservation by emphasizing its instrumental, functional and economic values. Emphasizing the intrinsic value of agrobiodiversity seems more effective.
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The transition towards an economy of wellbeing is complex, systemic, dynamic and uncertain. Individuals and organizations struggle to connect with and embrace their changing context. They need to create a mindset for the emergence of a culture of economic well-being. This requires a paradigm shift in the way reality is constructed. This emergence begins with the mindset of each individual, starting bottom-up. A mindset of economic well-being is built using agency, freedom, and responsibility to understand personal values, the multi-identity self, the mental models, and the individual context. A culture is created by waving individual mindsets together and allowing shared values, and new stories for their joint context to emerge. It is from this place of connection with the self and the other, that individuals' intrinsic motivation to act is found to engage in the transitions towards an economy of well-being. This project explores this theoretical framework further. Businesses play a key role in the transition toward an economy of well-being; they are instrumental in generating multiple types of value and redefining growth. They are key in the creation of the resilient world needed to respond to the complex and uncertain of our era. Varta-Valorisatielab, De-Kleine-Aarde, and Het Groene Brein are frontrunner organizations that understand their impact and influence. They are making bold strategic choices to lead their organizations towards an economy of well-being. Unfortunately, they often experience resistance from stakeholders. To address this resistance, the consortium in the proposal seeks to answer the research question: How can individuals who connect with their multi-identity-self, (via personal values, mental models, and personal context) develop a mindset of well-being that enables them to better connect with their stakeholders (the other) and together address the transitional needs of their collective context for the emergence of a culture of the economy of wellbeing?
The Sustainable Rivers Management (SRM) research group (HAN/VHL Universities of Applied Sciences) and the Smart Rivers Foundation (SRF) have identified an added value for collaboration in order to educate the professionals of the future. There they want to set up a joint research programme to link capacity building efforts amongst professionals with higher applied education. This project will boost the strategic partnership between the SRM group at HAN/VHL, SRF and its strategic partners. Smart River Foundation and Bureau Drift have identified the DNA or intrinsic nature of various river systems in the Netherlands (NL) using 20 years of expert knowledge. This approach is now increasingly being adopted by practitioners and policy makers in NL. The DNA of a river can only be determined after having analysed all the landscape factors involved and the interactions herein. These factors or layers are multidisciplinary and relate to the water system, abiotic and biotic variables and anthropogenic impact. However, a clear methodology for identifying the DNA of a river system is lacking. This project aims to develop this methodology and to test it internationally. A method for identifying the DNA of a river will support technical managers of Water Framework Directive (WFD) and Hoogwaterbeschermingsprogramma (Flood Protection Program, HWBP) projects in the Netherlands to realise spatial quality in their projects. Moreover, the Smart Rivers approach also becomes applicable to other river systems around the world. This will provide a sound basis for supporting existing and new international partnerships.
