Search Results for
"human"

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to explore trends and changes in technical vocational education and training (TVET) in emerging economies as a national human resource development (NHRD) approach and its practical applications using Ghana as an example. Design/methodology/approach: A case study approach was used to develop an in-depth analysis of TVET practices in Ghana. The study utilizes a targeted review of literature, analysis of government documents and interviews with key informants as illustrative sources of evidence for developing the case study. Findings: TVET has been identified as a major contributor to skills development in Ghana. Capitalizing on the potential of TVET requires addressing the challenges of increasing employer participation in TVET, improving TVET curriculum to enhance student's employability and reflect labor market needs. Additionally, informal TVET plays a major role in skills development therefore it is recognized as part of the TVET planning process. Research limitations/implications: Data for this research were gathered from key informant interviews and archival records. Additional methods such as observations would further enhance this study. Further research of trends in Ghana to validate implications drawn from this research is recommended. Practical implications: This research provides an overview for HRD professionals to understand the potential of TVET as an approach to human capital development within emerging markets. This is because developing comprehensive plans that address national and employer needs regarding talent acquisition, development and retention will re-emerge as a critical objective for TVET system as nations compete in the global market place. Originality/value: This study provides a unique perspective of current TVET practices in Ghana and its implications for human resource development (HRD). Furthermore, it adds to the small but growing literature on HRD in Ghana and in the African context. © Emerald Group Publishing Limited.

The rapid development of world economy led to the development of physical and human capital. This development is supported through the provision of skilled human resources impetus towards the enhancement of social economic status of a country. This encourages academics conducting more research in the field of Technical and Vocational Education (TVE) to help improve the development and the formation of skilled workers. Current trends in research conducted around the world to the field of TVE can be used for smart partnerships between academics and policy shapers of TVE in the country. To achieve the goal, this article will discuss the current trends of research conducted through literature review. The survey, carried out will involve the use of meta-analysis using a variety of relevant peer reviewed professional journals. The findings show that current trends in the study of selected journal focused on three main areas of apprenticeship, measurement and evaluation and the use of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) in the TVE.

Background/aim: Occupational therapy educators are challenged to provide students with practical experiences which prepare them for ever changing health-care contexts on graduation. Role-emerging placements have been widely used internationally to help meet this challenge, but research into the learning experiences of students during these innovative placements is limited. This research investigated the enablers and barriers to learning from the perspectives of students on such placements from two European universities. Methods: Two separate qualitative studies tracked 10 final year students. Interviews explored their learning experiences prior to, during and after an eight- or 10-week role-emerging placement in a range of settings. Results: Four themes emerged, which were (1) adapting to less doing, more thinking and planning; (2) understanding the complexity of collaboration and making it work; (3) emotional extremes; and (4) realising and using the occupational therapy perspective. Conclusions: These placements presented a 'roller coaster' of authentic learning experiences which created the opportunity for students to use occupation in practice and develop skills for collaborative working in an interprofessional environment. Whereas students viewed their role-emerging placement experiences positively, challenges included the emotional responses of students and placement pace. Findings suggest the need for supportive student placement experiences in both established and role-emerging areas to prepare students for a range of opportunities in an uncertain future. © 2013 Occupational Therapy Australia.

Background. Many factors affect student learning throughout the clinical education (CE) component of professional (entry-level) physical therapist education curricula. Physical therapist education programs (PTEPs) manage CE, yet the material and human resources required to provide CE are generally overseen by community-based physical therapist practices. Purpose. The purposes of this systematic review were: (1) to examine how the construct of quality is defined in CE literature and (2) to determine the methodological rigor of the available evidence on quality in physical therapist CE. Methods. This study was a systematic review of English-language journals using the American Physical Therapy Association's Open Door Portal to Evidence-Based Practice as the computer search engine. The search was categorized using terms for physical therapy and quality and for CE pedagogy and models or roles. Summary findings were characterized by 5 primary themes and 14 subthemes using a qualitative-directed content analysis. Results. Fifty-four articles were included in the study. The primary quality themes were: CE framework, CE sites, structure of CE, assessment in CE, and CE faculty. The methodological rigor of the studies was critically appraised using a binary system based on the McMaster appraisal tools. Scores ranged from 3 to 14. Limitations. Publication bias and outcome reporting bias may be inherent limitations to the results. Conclusion. The review found inconclusive evidence about what constitutes quality or best practice for physical therapist CE. Five key constructs of CE were identified that, when aggregated, could construe quality. © 2013 American Physical Therapy Association.

Developing a high-quality education system in Malaysia is among the country's top priorities. The architects of this system are focused on developing human capital that is experienced, skilled, progressive and exhibits high moral and ethical values. The Education Development Master Plan 2006 to 2010, adopted by the Malaysian Ministry of Education, introduced 22 electives for Vocational Subjects (VS) in the secondary-school curriculum to help students develop vocational skills that will prepare them for skilled and semi-skilled work after they have completed school. It is hoped that the use of these skills will expedite the economic development of Malaysia. This study identifies the key elements that support the sustainability of VSs in secondary schools in Malaysia based on the strategies outlined by the International Centre for Technical and Vocational Education and Training, an organisation based in Bonn, Germany. The study which used methods developed by the Delphi group was undertaken with 12 experts in the field of technical vocational education. An interview and questionnaire were used and. The findings revealed 16 elements that contributed to the framework. These elements are creativity, innovation, networks and partnerships, staff development programmes, teaching methods, generic skills, industrial relations and internships, counselling, entrepreneurship, information and communication technology skills, interest, recognition, knowledge, competency-based training, articulation and the commitment of management. Researchers argue that all these elements are necessary for the sustainability of the subject which further will enhance sustainable development efforts nationally and globally. © 2013, Medwell Journals.

Research purpose: The present study developed and tested the construct validity and reliability of the learning programme management and evaluation (LPME) scale. Motivation for the study: The LPME scale was developed to measure and enhance the effectiveness of the management and evaluation of occupational learning programmes in the South African skills development context. Currently no such instrument exists in the South African skills development context; hence there is a need for it. Research design, approach and method: This study followed a quantitative, non-experimental, cross-sectional design using primary data. The LPME scale was administered to a sample of 652 skills development practitioners and learners or apprentices drawn from six organisations representing at least five economic sectors in South Africa. Data were analysed using SPSS and Rasch modelling to test the validity and reliability of the new scale. Main findings: The findings show that the LPME scale is a valid and reliable 11-dimensional measure comprising 81 items. Practical/managerial implications: In view of the seriousness of the skills shortage challenge facing South Africa, this study provides a solid base upon which skills development practitioners can effectively manage and evaluate occupational learning programmes. Furthermore, the newly developed LPME scale provides a basis for further human resource development research in the quest for a solution to the skills shortage challenge. Contribution/value-add: This study contributes by developing a new scale and testing its validity and reliability. As a valid and reliable measure, the LPME scale can be applied with confidence in various South African workplaces. © 2013. The Authors.

'The modernizing machine' codes individual bodies, things, and symbols with images from New Public Management, neo-liberal, and Knowledge Economy discourses. Drawing on Deleuze and Guattari's concept of machines, this article explores how 'the modernizing machine' produces neo-liberal modernization of the public sector. Taking its point of departure in Danish university reform, the article explores how the university is transformed by this desiring-producing machine. 'The modernizing machine' wrestles with the so-called 'democratic-Humboldtian machine.' The University Act of 2003 and the host of reforms before and after this law are productions of those struggles that change what it means to work as an academic subject at a university. This is staged through a host of new social technologies such as development contracts, appraisal interviews, individual performance reviews, and so forth. Individual bodies and minds simultaneously produce academic subjectivities by plugging into these transformative machinic forces and are produced as they are traversed by them. What is experienced as stressful closures vis-à-vis new opportunities depends to a great extent upon how these producing/produced individual nodes respond to particular configurations of machinic forces in particular university, faculty, and department contexts. Empirically, the article is based on ethnographic field work (interviews, observations, and written documents) concerning a humanities department and a health and sciences department. © 2013 Copyright Taylor and Francis Group, LLC.

This article describes the application of mastery learning in the development and implementation of a clinical skills training program for primary care nurses. The objective of the training program was to equip primary care nurses with the clinical skills to triage and administer bronchodilator therapy to patients presenting to the primary care clinic with acute exacerbations of asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The positive outcomes of this program support the idea that mastery learning is an effective competency-based training method for clinical skills acquisition. However, variations in training duration and dropout rates should be taken into consideration when planning mastery learning-based training programs. © SLACK Incorporated.

Background Pre- and postgraduate education is meant to be competency-based. Over the last two decades various competency frameworks have been published. One competency is professionalism, a definition of which has not yet been developed but is being discussed in the literature. The aim of this qualitative study is an approximation to professionalism among German general practitioners and general practitioner trainees. Methods A qualitative study was conducted by interviewing seven pairs of GPs and their trainees. All interviews were recorded and transcribed. The analysis was performed according to Mayring supported by the software Atlas.ti. Results Four categories of professionalism emerged: responsibility towards patients, responsibility towards other professionals, responsibility towards the society and responsibility towards oneself. Professionalism was perceived as important for general practice in Germany. In addition, barriers of professional behaviour have been identified. Conclusion The perception of professionalism among German GPs and GP trainees is in accordance with the frameworks of professionalism found in the literature. These results underline the need for conceptualising professionalism among general practice trainees in Germany.

This meta-analysis summarized youth, academic, and workplace research on the potential antecedents (demographics, human capital, and relationship attributes), correlates (interaction frequency, relationship length, performance, motivation, and social capital), and consequences (attitudinal, behavioral, careerrelated, and health-related outcomes) of protégé perceptions of instrumental support, psychosocial support, and relationship quality to the mentor or to the relationship. A total of 173 meta-analytic correlations were computed based on data from 173 samples and a combined N of 40,737. Among antecedents, positive protégé perceptions were most strongly associated with greater similarity in attitudes, values, beliefs, and personality with their mentors (ρ ranged from.38 to.59). Among correlates, protégé perceptions of greater instrumental support (ρ = .35) and relationship quality (ρ =.54) were most strongly associated with social capital while protégé perceptions of greater psychosocial support were most strongly associated with interaction frequency (ρ =.25). Among consequences, protégé perceptions of greater instrumental support (ρ =.36) and relationship quality (ρ =.38) were most strongly associated with situational satisfaction while protégé perceptions of psychosocial support weremost highly associated with sense of affiliation (ρ =.41). Comparisons between academic and workplace mentoring generally revealed differences in magnitude, rather than direction, of the obtained effects. The results should be interpreted in light of the methodological limitations (primarily cross-sectional designs and single-source data) and, in some instances, a small number of primary studies. © 2012 American Psychological Association 0033-2909/13/$12.00.