Anti-stigmatizing: a collaborative autoethnography on recovery from depression.

Introduction: Despite extensive research on clinical treatments for depression, there remains a significant gap in understanding of the lived experiences and recovery journeys of those with depression. This study sought to explore the recovery process through an "anti-stigmatizing" lens, emphasizing the cultural-psychological mechanisms at play and the importance of personal narratives in shaping the recovery trajectory. Methods: Using a collaborative autoethnographic approach, this report focuses on the first author's journey of depression recovery. This research methodology allows for an in-depth exploration of subjective experiences, with a specific emphasis on the interaction between societal stigma, personal identity, and mental-health challenges. Results: It is found that the depression-recovery experience can be divided into four stages from an anti-stigma perspective: (1) encountering the public stigma of emotions; (2) internalizing the stigma to a self-stigma; (3) "decriminalizing" the expected stigma of a "depressed" identity through diagnosis; and (4) being able to cope with and understanding the public stigma relating to depression when facing it again. Key factors that were found to contribute to recovery were self-awareness, community empowerment, and recognition and acceptance by close friends and family. Discussion: We propose a reconceptualization of depression that incorporates a societal perspective on internalized stigma. Recovery from depression is not merely a medical process; it also pertains to how the patient frees themselves from public stigma. The results strongly indicate the need for a paradigm shift toward a more inclusive and empathetic approach to mental-health care, and we emphasize the importance of personal narratives in depression recovery.

Scaffolding Junior Middle School Students' Engagement in Online Project-based Learning During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Case Study from East China.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, online learning has experienced increasing utilization and poses new challenges for schoolteachers to engage students. Project-based Learning (PBL) is widely acknowledged as an effective pedagogy for motivating and involving students. However, few studies have examined scaffolds that facilitate student engagement in the context of distance PBL. This mixed-method study was conducted with grade 7 teachers and students in a junior middle school in East China from March 2020 to April 2020. Qualitative analysis was employed in interviews with 2 teachers and 21 students. Quantitative analysis was used to visualize the self-reflection reports of 39 students. The findings suggest that the scaffolds of teacher direction, technology support, peer collaboration, and parental assistance play a significant role. In addition, specific scaffolding within the above categories was revealed. The results highlight the problem-oriented, methodological, and synthesized application of various scaffold(ing)s in engaging students and emphasize that scaffolding students emotionally is the core issue to support engagement for remote learning.

Bridging the Digital Divide for Rural Older Adults by Family Intergenerational Learning: A Classroom Case in a Rural Primary School in China.

Rural older adults often feel disconnected from the ever-expanding digital world. To bridge the digital divide, researchers have investigated the effectiveness of formal education and training offered by various social institutions. However, existing research highlights a critical shortcoming in these approaches: a lack of attention paid to rural older adults' individual needs and interests. Based on the theories of post-metaphorical culture, endogenous development, home-school cooperation, and technology adoption and acceptance, this study implements a family intergenerational learning (FIL) project. FIL characterizes learning between grandparents and grandchildren within the household, suggesting a more practical and individualized strategy to help rural older adults gain digital literacy. By conducting a three-month FIL Project in a rural primary school class in China, the study employs a qualitative method to analyze learning records and interviews from 10 sets of participating grandparents and grandchildren. The analysis renders two critical findings on the effectiveness of the FIL Project for rural older adults. First, FIL can help rural older adults adapt into the digital world by (1) gaining knowledge about digital society, (2) improving their digital skills, (3) changing their lifestyles, and (4) understanding the integration between technology and society. Second, among grandchildren, FIL can cultivate an awareness of lifelong learning and their moral obligations to their grandparents. By illustrating this specific case, this study puts forward a new approach to help the older adults overcome the digital divide in rural areas.

The implementation and effectiveness of intergenerational learning during the COVID-19 pandemic: Evidence from China.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, many grandparents in China have spent more time with their grandchildren than they used to. When their adult children returned to work after a period of lockdown, many grandparents extended their roles from taking care of household tasks and looking after their grandchildren's basic needs to supervising their online learning and providing academic support. It has been a precious opportunity for both the children and their grandparents to get to know each other better and to learn from each other. During this challenging period of home learning, a Chinese initiative called the "Shaping Students' Vacation Life Project" (SSVLP), which is led by the Shanghai Municipal Institute for Lifelong Education (SMILE) of East China Normal University (ECNU), conducted a two-month project that investigated intergenerational learning between grandparents and grandchildren (IL-GP&GC) across seven primary schools located in six areas of China. They explored topics such as pandemic prevention, health and fitness, traditional culture and information literacy. Following this, the co-authors of this article conducted an interpretive inquiry to explore how the participating primary schools implemented the IL-GP&GC project, and to understand its impact. Based on in-depth interviews with 11 teachers and 7 families (including 7 grandchildren aged 7-13, and their 7 grandparents aged 60-68), four main findings emerged: (1) both generations gained more health knowledge, life skills and values; (2) the older generation changed their learning perspective and behaviours; (3) the younger generation understood their grandparents more and cultivated the concept of lifelong learning; and (4) the relationships between grandparents and grandchildren became closer.

Mise en œuvre et efficacité de l'apprentissage intergénérationnel pendant la pandémie de COVID-19 : résultats d'une enquête menée en Chine ­ En Chine, pendant la pandémie de COVID-19, beaucoup de grands-parents ont passé plus de temps que d'ordinaire avec leurs petits-enfants. Quand leurs enfants ont repris le travail en présentiel après le confinement, en plus d'assumer les tâches ménagères et de prendre soin des besoins fondamentaux de leurs petits-enfants, nombre d'entre eux ont étendu leur rôle à la surveillance de l'apprentissage en ligne et au soutien scolaire. Tant pour eux que pour leurs petits-enfants, ça a été l'occasion de mieux se connaître et la source d'un apprentissage réciproque. Pendant cette période difficile de l'école à la maison, un projet chinois appelé Projet d'organisation de la vie des élèves pendant les vacances (Shaping Students' Vacation Life Project/SSVLP), dirigé par l'Institut municipal de Shanghai d'éducation tout au long de la vie (Shanghai Municipal Institute for Lifelong Education/SMILE) de l'école normale supérieure de Chine orientale (East China Normal University/ECNU), a étudié deux mois durant l'apprentissage intergénérationnel entre grands-parents et petits-enfants (grandparents and grandchildren/IL-GP&GC) dans sept écoles primaires de six régions de Chine. Il s'est penché sur des sujets comme la prévention de la pandémie, la santé et la condition physique, la culture traditionnelle et la maîtrise de l'information. À la suite de cela, les auteurs de cet article ont mené une enquête d'interprétation pour examiner comment les écoles primaires participantes avaient mis en œuvre le projet d'apprentissage intergénérationnel entre grands-parents et petits-enfants et en comprendre l'impact. Cette enquête qui s'appuyait sur des interviews approfondies menées avec onze enseignants et sept familles (dont sept petits-enfants âgés de 7 à 13 ans et sept grands-parents âgés de 60 à 68 ans), a permis de dégager quatre constats principaux : (1) pour les deux générations, une amélioration des connaissances en matière de santé, des compétences nécessaires dans la vie courante et des valeurs a été constatée; (2) les anciens ont modifié leurs points de vue et comportements en matière d'apprentissage; (3) les jeunes ont appris à mieux comprendre leurs grands-parents et à cultiver le concept d'apprentissage tout au long de la vie, et (4) les liens entre les grands-parents et leurs petits-enfants se sont resserrés.