Bjarne Bruun Jensen

The Action Competence Approach in Environmental Education

In this article, the concept of action competence is presented and an attempt is made to locate it within the concept of general educational theory. The concept of action competence, it is argued, should occupy a central position in the theory of environmental education as many of the crucial educational problems concerning a political liberal education are united in this concept. The preoccupation with action competence as an educational concept is based on scepticism about the educational paradigm in environmental education which manifests itself partly in a marked tendency to individualisation and partly in a tendency to regard the educational task as a question of behaviour modification. At the same time, action competence should be seen as a necessary alternative to the traditional, science‐oriented approach to environmental education. Examples from developmental work in Danish schools are used to clarify and demarcate the concept of ‘action’ from ‘activity’ and ‘behaviour change’. Different kinds of actions are discussed, environmental actions are identified and a distinction is drawn between ‘direct’ and ‘indirect’ environmental actions. Finally, four problem areas are identified which require future research.

Knowledge, Action and Pro-environmental Behaviour

This article begins by clarifying and discussing the concept of pro-environmental behaviour, which (implicitly) constitutes the central concept--or aim--of environmental education in the article. This is followed by a discussion of the concept of knowledge per se and its position in working with environmental problems. These two concepts require further refinement if research efforts are to make a contribution to the development of environmental education. A few examples and conceptual models will be proposed to clarify the discussion. Finally, comments and suggestions are offered for an elaboration of the model proposed by Kollmuss and Agyeman. This present article primarily draws on research and insights into environmental education in schools. Furthermore, the article primarily explores work with environmental problems in Danish schools and focuses on the general pedagogical dimensions of work done in schools in order to relate these directly to issues discussed by Kollmuss and Agyeman.

Identifying the determinants of value creation in the market: A competence-based approach

Abstract The marketing and strategy literature has long urged companies to become more market-oriented, the suggested means for doing so ranging from developing a market-oriented organisational culture to carrying out various activities related to generating, disseminating, and responding to market information. The methodological approach to translating market demands into company competencies presented in this article allows us to develop a method for determining how to create value in a given market by investigating the links between market demand and company competencies. The theoretical basis of our approach is drawn from the competence literature, while the method is based on the concept of managerial cognition. After identifying market demands, we then link these to company competencies through a cognitive mapping procedure using key informants from industry. The article contributes to an increased understanding of the complex relationship between market and company and to the development of methodological approaches to determining the creation of market value in a specific situation. It also serves to link the market orientation and competence literatures.

Environmental and health education viewed from an action‐oriented perspective: a case from Denmark

The paper describes the action‐competence approach used in environmental and heath education in Denmark. This approach implies students genuine participation and actions, as well as interdisciplinarity. The concept of action is often described in vague terms with the implication that the action concept is ambiguous in educational practice and discussion. Here I distinguish ‘action’ from ‘behavioural change’ and ‘activity’. I outline different forms of action and explore the issue of knowledge about environmental and health issues from an action‐oriented perspective. Three case studies illustrate the approach.

Involving students in learning and health promotion processes--clarifying why? what? and how?

The concept of student participation is currently a popular notion in health promoting schools as well as in general education. However, phrases such as involvement, participation, co-determination and influence are frequently used without careful definition. In this article two models, developed in the context of health promoting schools in two different cultures, are presented and discussed. The first model makes a fundamental distinction between token and genuine participation. Token participation in health promotion is characterised by focusing on prescribed knowledge, closed and convergent outcomes and targeting individuals isolated from the surrounding environment. In contrast, genuine participation stresses students own construction of knowledge, open and divergent outcomes and targeting individuals in their context. Genuine participation is in accordance with a democratic health promoting school aiming at students empowerment and action competence. The second model clarifies a number of different categories of students participation in health promotion. The different categories illustrate how the teacher in various ways can play an active role in participatory approaches as a responsible professional. The more the students are involved in health projects, the more important it will be for the teacher to provide support, insight and knowledge to facilitate the learning processes. Furthermore, the different participation categories have to be related to a number of decisions which are normally included in a school health project. The model illustrates that participation should always be viewed in relation to the context and that it makes no sense to establish a single ideal way of working with participation in a health promoting school. The theoretical models are illuminated by concrete examples from health promoting schools. The overall conclusion is that participation is a complex term and rather than providing definitive answers, the models can be used as a framework for discussion among all stakeholders in planning, implementation, evaluation and managing projects involving student participation. Finally, specific implications and challenges for future health promoting schools are outlined. These are as follows: •a participatory approach does not imply that health content should be regarded as vague or superfluous; • teachers need flexible educational models and resources to manage participatory projects in health promoting schools; · schools have to be acknowledged as cultural systems with firmly rooted rules and routines that are often difficult to change; • a participatory approach has to influence all aspects of a democratic health promoting school rather than solely the teaching strategies.

Social support and self-management behaviour among patients with Type 2 diabetes

Diabet. Med. 29, 654–661 (2012)

The life and health challenges of young Malaysian couples: results from a stakeholder consensus and engagement study to support non-communicable disease prevention

BackgroundMalaysia faces burgeoning obesity and diabetes epidemics with a 250% and 88% increase respectively between 1996 and 2006. Identifying the health challenges of young adults in Malaysia, who constitute 27.5 % of the population, is critical for NCD prevention. The aim of the study was two-fold: (1) to achieve consensus amongst stakeholders on the most important challenge impacting the health of young adults, and (2) to engage with stakeholders to formulate a NCD prevention framework.MethodsThe Delphi Technique was utilised to achieve group consensus around the most important life and health challenges that young adults face in Malaysia. Subsequently, the results of the consensus component were shared with the stakeholders in an engagement workshop to obtain input on a NCD prevention framework.ResultsWe found that life stress was a significant concern. It would seem that the apathy towards pursuing or maintaining a healthy lifestyle among young adults may be significantly influenced by the broader distal determinant of life stress. The high cost of living is suggested to be the main push factor for young working adults towards attaining better financial security to improve their livelihood. In turn, this leads to a more stressful lifestyle with less time to focus on healthier lifestyle choices.ConclusionsThe findings highlight a pivotal barrier to healthier lifestyles. By assisting young adults to cope with daily living coupled with realistic opportunities to make healthier dietary choices, be more active, and less sedentary could assist in the development of NCD health promotion strategies.

Ammonia concentrations and fluxes over a forest in the midwestern USA

Abstract We present measurements of ammonia (NH 3 ) over a deciduous forest in southern Indiana collected during four field campaigns; two in the spring during the transition to leaf-out and two during the winter. Above canopy NH 3 concentrations measured continuously using two Wet Effluent Diffusion Denuders indicate mean concentrations of 0.6–1.2xa0μgxa0m −3 during the spring and 0.3xa0μgxa0m −3 during the winter. Measurements suggest that on average the forest act as a sink of NH 3 , with a representative daily deposition flux of 1.8xa0mg-NH 3 xa0m −2 during the spring. However, on some days during the spring inverted concentration gradients of NH 3 were observed resulting in an apparent upward flux of nearly 0.2xa0mg-NH 3 xa0m −2 xa0h −1 . Analyses suggest that this apparent emission flux may be due to canopy emission but evaporation of ammonium nitrate particles may also be partly responsible for the observed inverted concentration gradients.

Implementation of success factors in new product development – the missing links?

This paper addresses companies’ lack of implementation of success factors in new product development. Drawing on theory in the competence perspective and an exploratory empirical study, the paper points to two major areas that have not been covered by previous studies on new product development success factors. The two areas are knowledge and skills of individual employees, values and norms and it is suggested that increased understanding of these two areas holds potential in making identified success factors more accessible to companies.

Health knowledge and health education in the democratic health‐promoting school

This paper suggests that there are two different paradigms within health education and the health‐promoting school, the traditional/moralistic paradigm and the democratic paradigm. The Danish network of Health Promoting Schools favours the democratic paradigm, within which the overall aim is to develop students’ abilities to influence their own life and the society – their so‐called “action competence”. The nature of an “action” is defined here as being “purposefully directed at solving a problem or facilitating change and consciously decided upon by those carrying out the action”. The key factors which influence action are discussed: they are insight and knowledge; vision; commitment; experience; and social skills. The paper then looks more deeply at insight and knowledge, suggesting that it has four different dimensions: knowledge of effects; causes; the processes of change; and vision of future possibilities. It suggests that teachers themselves need both the educational competence to facilitate the education of others, and high levels of action‐oriented knowledge and insight.