Facilitative Style Research Articles

The Social Association for Students with Autism: principles and practices of a social group for university students with ASD

ABSTRACT This article describes the principles and operation of a social group for university students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The assumptions underlying the group are consistent with aspects of the social model of disability and neurodiversity paradigm as well as the principles of mutual aid support groups. The group prioritizes social experience rather than social skills by explicitly accepting unconventional behavior and multiple ways of engaging in it. Operationalizing these principles occurs during the recruitment stage and by employing an active and responsive facilitation style during meetings. The reported benefits of the group suggest that this approach to providing support for students with ASD may contribute to the efforts of postsecondary institutions to meet the unique needs of this population.

Deliberative democracy and environmental justice: evaluating the role of citizens’ juries in urban climate governance

ABSTRACT Understanding mechanisms of policy engagement and the participation of different actors in urban climate governance is particularly important as cities follow climate emergency declarations with corresponding action, to ensure that inequalities are not exacerbated by climate action. Citizens’ juries are a deliberative democracy tool that allows a demographically representative sample of the population to learn about a contested issue from experts, and discuss, debate and develop policy recommendations. Leeds City Council declared a climate emergency in March 2019, compelling the local authority to take serious measures to implement a reduction in carbon emissions to net zero by 2030. A citizens’ jury was established by an independent local body, the Leeds Climate Commission, to debate various possible courses of action in response to the declaration. This research critically examined the processes surrounding and embedded in the Leeds citizens’ climate jury with a focus on procedural justice and representation justice. Emerging lessons include that recognition of power differentials between various social groups should be carefully considered throughout deliberative processes to ensure representation justice is achieved in decision making. Representation justice demands that those who are included in decision making spaces are able to harness their position to voice their experiences, opinions, hopes and concerns in deciding which trade-offs will be made. In citizens’ juries, facilitation style and techniques play a critical role in achieving this participatory parity, alongside other factors. There is potential for important procedural co-benefits to emerge, such as trust-building, place identity and hope for the future.

Facilitator Reflections on Shared Expertise and Adaptive Leadership in ECHO Autism: Center Engagement

Project Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes (ECHO) is used to increase provider capacity in a wide range of health care specialties. ECHO Autism: Center Engagement is a program that promotes improvement in autism care by improving the management of autism care centers. The program's focus brought experienced clinicians together as both facilitators and participants in an ECHO series. ECHO Autism: Center Engagement facilitators devised a reflective writing exercise to prospectively study their experience leading this new curriculum. Drawing on a qualitative thematic analysis of longitudinal reflective writing exercises from seven "Hub Team" facilitators, we describe how ECHO leaders cultivate a learning environment that emphasizes shared learning and acknowledges the expertise of ECHO participants. The analysis generated three main themes: (1) Hub Team facilitators valued reciprocal exchange with Spoke sites, a theme we name "shared learning," (2) Hub Team facilitators demonstrated high levels of awareness about their facilitation styles, and (3) Hub Team facilitators cultivated an interactional style they described as "all teach, all learn." Examining the experiences of ECHO facilitators produces qualitative accounts of continuing professional development that may not be captured in other program evaluation approaches. In the case of ECHO Autism: Center Engagement, facilitators cultivated an environment of shared learning, which acknowledged the expertise of both facilitators and participants. These findings are pertinent for scholars of continuing education in health professions who lead educational programs where participants and facilitators have high levels of overlap in their areas of expertise and years of experience.

A mixed methods study on the readiness of dental, medical, and nursing students for interprofessional learning.

BackgroundInterprofessional education (IPE) is crucial in dentistry, medicine, and nursing. However, scant mixed methods studies have compared the IPE outcomes across these disciplines to develop evidence-based IPE. This study explored the differences in the readiness of dental, medical, and nursing students for interprofessional learning before and after IPE workshops and elucidated reasons for this disparity.MethodsData were obtained from dental, medical, and nursing students who participated in IPE workshops conducted at Tokyo Medical and Dental University in Japan in 2019 and 2020. The participants filled the validated Japanese version of the Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale (RIPLS) before and after attending the workshops (n = 378). Paired t-tests were performed to assess differences between the pre- and post- workshop RIPLS scores. Welch’s t-tests were deployed to evaluate interdisciplinary differences in their scores. Qualitative analyses were conducted using an explanatory sequential design with focus group discussions (FGDs) held with 17 dental students to explain the quantitative results.ResultsTotal RIPLS scores increased significantly for every discipline after the workshops (p < 0.001). Dental students scored significantly lower pre- and post- workshop aggregates than medical and nursing students, respectively (p < 0.001). The FGDs yielded three principal themes in the explanations tendered by dental students on their lower scores: 1) dental students rarely felt the need for interprofessional collaborations, 2) dentists often worked without the need for interprofessional collaborations, and 3) dental students believed their contribution to the workshop was insufficient.ConclusionsThe results revealed divergences in the readiness of dental, medical, and nursing students for interprofessional learning, and the study illuminated possible reasons for these disparities. These outcomes will help develop evidence-based IPE by indicating approaches to place a higher value on interprofessional collaborations in educational environments, ameliorate the awareness of educators, and enhance the workshop facilitation style.

The Relationship between Iranian EFL Teachers’ Emotional Intelligence and their Teaching Style

The present study aimed to detect and compare the most preferred teaching styles by Iranian English teachers in public schools and private language institutes and investigate the possible relationship between EFL teachers’ teaching styles and aspects of their emotional intelligence. The participants were 100 EFL teachers from public schools and private language institutes in Iran, Shiraz. The Persian version of the Bar-On Emotional Quotient Inventory and Grasha’s Style Inventory (TSI) was used to measure the teachers’ emotional intelligence and teaching styles, respectively. Concerning teaching style preference, formal authority style for EFL teachers of schools and facilitator style for teachers of the private institute was the most preferred styles. In addition, the least preferred styles were ‘delegator’ and ‘formal authority’ styles for public school teachers and private institute teachers, respectively. Regarding emotional intelligence, the lowest mean scores were observed in the Stress Management dimension, and the highest was related to the General Mood dimension. Furthermore, ‘general mood’, as a dimension of emotional intelligence, was highly correlated with ‘formal authority’ and ‘expert style’, both of which were public school teachers’ preferred styles. Public School teachers were relatively weak at using ‘personal model’, ‘facilitator’, and ‘delegator’ teaching styles. Thus, it is recommended that they adapt themselves to these styles.

STUDENT ENGAGEMENT IN VIRTUAL CLASS ROOMS

The impact of COVID-19 pandemic on the education sector throughout the globe resulted in closure of schools, colleges and universities. Consequently, there was a radical shift to e-learning and digital classrooms. Even long before COVID-19, there was already exponential growth and incorporation of technology in the education sector. It may be language apps, virtual tutoring, video conferencing tools, or online learning softwares, a momentous spurt has been noticed in usage of information technology since COVID-19. It is alarming that challenges associated with the transition to online learning would have the greatest impact on students learning capabilities in the midst of this chaos, as the strategies followed by teachers in a conventional classroom differs from those adopted in a virtual classroom. students engagement strategies in a traditional class at the campus differs from a virtual classroom. Basically, student engagement is a measure of how often a student attends to a task, assignment or activity during a class session. Studies clearly indicates positive relationships between student engagement and academic achievement. Engaged learners have demonstrated stronger satisfaction with learning experiences, stronger achievement in courses and increased graduation rates. When it comes to learning, commitment shown by students is affected by the level of motivation, concentration and cognitive aptitude of a learner, as well as the nature of online courses and the decisions of an instructor about his specific facilitation style. Efficient virtual coursework needs much more than "giving a Zoom account to any professor and letting the instructor take his course." Online teachingrequires a deliberate, careful approach to instructional design; particularly at a time when students are transiting at an astounding level following the COVID-19 outbreak. The concept of online learning is absolutely new for many students. Mostly students promoted to colleges from secondary schools are inexperienced and have inculcated habit of being spoon fed during early years. For such students anapproach of online teaching is highly unacceptable. Teachers need to be transparent about the aspirations of students and proactively train students, how to participate in this new landscape of learning. An increasing body of evidence indicates that the biggest obstacle to achieve comparable online learning success rates has been addressing the challenge of fostering the kind of collaboration students interaction and discussion, that are often the trademark for creating excellent teaching and learning environments. While it can be difficult to anticipate any struggle that a student may be e x p e r i e n c i n g w i t h o n l i n e l e a r n i n g , c l e a r communication is the key.

How can wellbeing at work and sustainable employability of gifted workers be enhanced? A qualitative study from a capability approach perspective

BackgroundBeing gifted with a very high IQ (> 98 percentile) can provide an advantage in the occupational context but can also come with its` own specific challenges. Where some studies found higher than average levels of wellbeing at work and successful careers amongst the gifted, other studies report boredom and less job satisfaction. This poses the question what gifted people value in work, and which factors are associated with the achievement of valued work related outcomes, wellbeing and sustainable employability. In this study these questions were explored using the value driven capability approach as a theoretical framework.MethodA qualitative approach was chosen and 16 in-depth semi-structured interviews with gifted workers (IQ > 130) were conducted. The transcripts were analysed using a reflexive thematic analysis aimed at identifying the work related outcomes participants aspired to achieve and the contextual and personal factors that affected the actualisation of these outcomes.ResultsParticipants placed great value on the opportunity to learn, to use their knowledge and skills, and tended to have high ethical standards. If realized, these values contributed to wellbeing whereas if not fulfilled, this often resulted in frustration and sadness. The most important personal factors associated with wellbeing at work and sustainable employability were the level of organizational awareness, self-knowledge, a willingness to compromise, and fear of stigmatisation. Contextually a facilitating leadership style of managers was important, allowing the worker autonomy and decision latitude. Socially, participants enjoyed others as sparring partners but often had an aversion to small talk which could lead to social avoidance and loneliness.ConclusionsIf gifted workers managed (to get) what they valued in work, this was associated with wellbeing and sustainable employment Coaching aimed at improving organizational awareness, specific social skills (e.g. small talk, adaptability) and understanding their own cognitive processes could be valuable. The application of an autonomy supporting facilitative leadership style by supervisors would be beneficial. Further research should try to confirm the findings using quantitative methods and needs to examine more closely the impact of stigmatisation and leadership styles.

Change facilitation: what styles do Pakistani secondary school head teachers possess?

PurposeThis study aimed at exploring the change facilitator styles (CFS) that secondary school head teachers in Pakistan possess.Design/methodology/approachThis is a quantitative study using Hall and George CFS questionnaire to collect data from 276 secondary school head teachers. The CFSQ used in this study consists of 30 Likert-type questions relating to six scales. The six scales, with five items each in aggregate, form three possible CFS, including initiator, manager and responder.FindingsThe results indicate that most secondary school head teachers (75.7%) in Pakistan used responder CFS to facilitate change in their schools. 16.7% of the head teachers used manger, while only 7.6% possessed initiator change facilitation styles.Research limitations/implicationsThe study has implications for research, in particular in the developing countries where head teachers' leadership practices are rooted in the past with maintaining authority and status quo.Practical implicationsThe study has implications for policymakers and schools in developing countries, like Pakistan, in terms of considering the vital role of head teachers in change implementation. In particular, in the prevailing cluster-based educational management, the study's findings remain valuable for schools in the Balochistan province of Pakistan.Originality/valueThe paper reports the results regarding secondary school head teachers' change facilitator styles in the context of power devolution in Pakistan. The authors believe that the manuscript is appropriate for publication by the international journal of educational management because it is in line with the aims and scope of the journal. The authors assure the originality of this work. It has not been published elsewhere, nor is it currently under consideration for publication in any other journal.

Exploring the views of academic staff on HIV/AIDS integration into the curricula: a case study of the University of Fort Hare

ABSTRACT As a clarion call by Higher Education HIV/AIDS programme (HEAIDS) to South African universities, entrenching, integration and infusing the teaching and learning of HIV/AIDS in the curriculum of universities prove to be a sustainable solution to changing risky behaviour and attitudes of university students towards HIV/AIDS. The majority of students in South African universities lack general awareness and education in HIV/AIDS. This raises the need to produce graduates who are knowledgeable and have a positive attitude regarding HIV/AIDS. A pilot study on HIV/AIDS curriculum integration at the University of Fort Hare involved academic staff was done. A qualitative case study approach was used to describe the process and effectiveness of the curriculum integration process. The data collection was through evaluation forms, reports and a focus group interview. Data were analysed using content analysis. Guskey’s model for professional development was followed to understand the process and effect of curriculum integration. Initially, the academic staff anticipated that the HIV/AIDS curriculum integration process would result in credit overload for students, time constraints and increased workload. Later, most academic staff affirmed the benefits of being involved in the project such as improving teaching and facilitation styles and research.

Traversing rough terrain: methodological challenges of participatory action research among teacher activists

ABSTRACT This purpose of this article is to explore challenges and tensions associated with a participatory action research (PAR) project that occurred in 2019 and involved the author and five teacher activist co-researchers. This article opens with some brief context on the PAR project under focus before specifying the article’s analytical methods. Next, the focus shifts to a longer discussion of several tension-producing aspects of this participatory research experience. These include challenges related to this project’s recruitment process, relationship building, and the author’s attempts to establish credibility within the activist community; tensions related to reflection and action; challenges related to epistemological orientations and facilitation style; and internal conflict and limitations related to the group’s concluding action.

Principal Change Facilitator Styles and the Effect on Teacher Technology Integration in School: A Literature Review

Principal Change Facilitator Styles and the Effect on Teacher Technology Integration in School: A Literature Review

ELT teachers\u2019 epistemological beliefs and dominant teaching style: a mixed method research

Despite voluminous studies into teachers’ cognition and the role of teachers’ beliefs in their practices, not many studies have addressed the impact of teachers’ epistemological beliefs (EB, beliefs about the source of knowledge) on their teaching styles. In this study, a mixed design research method was adopted to show English language teachers’ epistemological beliefs, teaching styles and possible relationships between EB and teaching styles. To do this, a sample of 200 EFL teachers participated in the quantitative phase of the study to fill out the teaching style inventory (Grasha, Teaching with style, 2002) and epistemological beliefs scale (Chan and Elliott, Teaching and Teacher Education 20:817–831, 2004). In qualitative phase, 20 participants of this sample volunteered to attend the semi-structured interviews. Both quantitative and qualitative analyses indicated that facilitator style is the dominant style of teaching and learners should not assume teachers as mere source of knowledge and should use different resources to learn the language. Regression analyses and interview results showed that EFL teachers teaching style is informed by their EB. Implication and limitation of the research were discussed in detail in the paper.

Head teachers’ change facilitation styles and teachers’ concerns about ICT integration:

The study aimed to identify the influence of head teachers’ change facilitator styles (CFS) on teachers’ concerns about ICT integration. The three CFS (responder, manager and initiator) were studie...

Head teachers’ change facilitation styles and teachers’ concerns about ICT integration

The study aimed to identify the influence of head teachers’ change facilitator styles (CFS) on teachers’ concerns about ICT integration. The three CFS (responder, manager and initiator) were studied in relation to its influence on teachers’ seven stages of concern (unconcerned, informational, personal, management, consequence, collaboration and refocusing) about ICT integration. Both styles and concerns are embodied in the concerns-based adoption model, which guided the theoretical framework of the study. This quantitative study used CFS and stages of concerns questionnaire to collect data from 276 secondary school teachers. Initially, teachers’ concerns were explored, followed by head teachers’ CFS and their influence on teachers’ concerns about ICT integration. The results showed that secondary school teachers’ concerns, regarding ICT integration, were at the initial stages as reflected by their high mean scores on personal and informational stages. Findings inform about the responder as a dominant CFS used by secondary school head teachers. The data suggest differences in terms of the influence of head teachers’ three CFS on teachers’ concerns about ICT integration.

‘…And how did that make you feel?’ - GP trainees’ perceptions of Balint on a local UK vocational training scheme

ABSTRACT Balint allows colleagues to explore emotions generated from doctor-patient interactions, complexities sometimes overlooked within traditional curricula. With an increasing burnout rate, evidence-based strategies to support trainee general practitioners (GPs) are needed and we investigated if Balint could be one way to improve this. There are no recent studies looking at Balint in UK GP training. Our aim was to establish GP trainees’ understanding of the purpose of Balint and perceived advantages and disadvantages. Qualitative methodology was used to conduct semi-structured interviews with trainees and alumni participating in Balint within a suburban London Vocational Training Scheme. Emergent coding was performed and a phenomenological approach taken to thematic analysis. Eleven participants took part in the study. Balint provided a supportive, confidential outlet to help normalise trainees’ feelings after challenging doctor-patient interactions. Multiple viewpoints, the chance to vent and a sense of comradery was unanimously enjoyed. Participants could see potential benefits for delivery of care, patient safety and remaining up-to-date. There was debate over inclusion of clinical management, and variation in preferred facilitation styles. Disparity in Balint contribution was attributed to differing personalities and confidence levels. With the growing demands of general practice, a flexible approach to Balint facilitation could add value in training by providing a peer platform to help address the hidden curriculum.

Negotiated, contested and political: the disruptive Third Spaces of youth media production

ABSTRACT Traditionally media production with young people has been characterized by an aspiration to ‘give voice’ or ‘empower youth’, but this core value is under threat. Recently, the rationale for undertaking youth media production has shifted to focus on enabling young people to acquire digital and entrepreneurial skills that serve the needs of rapidly changing creative industry / gig economy. In this paper, we challenge this rationale by sharing qualitative data from a young people's media production project run in libraries in a city in the United Kingdom where participants were invited to create video games/stories. We adopt Potter and McDougall's notion of Third Spaces as negotiated, contested and political to enable us to identify the ways in which pedagogical choices of setting, software and style of facilitation combined to support young people’s critical and creative engagement with digital media and society. We re frame notions of third spaces, seeing less a bridge between linguistic and cultural domains, arguing instead that Third Spaces are productively disruptive. We conclude by proposing a new set of pedagogical principles for critical reflection in the development and funding of digital media production with young people.

Leadership Styles Prevailing for Faculty Members at the College of Education in Al-Delam from the Point of View of its Female Students

The current study aimed to get acquainted with the students’ point of view of the leadership styles practiced by the faculty members at Prince Sattam bin Abdulaziz University" College of Education in Dammam as a model "and to know if there were differences in the response of female students to the fields of the study tool according to the difference in the study variables". The study adopted descriptive research, field analysis and a questionnaire consisting of "the autocratic style, democratic stratification, and the facilitative style" was developed distributed to a sample of (31%). The findings of the study showed that the general arithmetic mean for the responses of the sample members to the paragraphs that measure the prevailing leadership styles of the faculty members from the point of view of its students has come with an average degree of appreciation and the democratic style has ranked first, followed by the second autocratic style and finally the facilitative style. The results also showed that there were no statistically significant differences in the field of (democratic style) due to the age that female students from different age groups agree that faculty members practice a democratic style. Finally, the results showed that there are statistically significant differences between the values of the arithmetic mean for the responses of the sample members towards the questionnaires of the study tool according to the variable of the type of department on the tool as a whole. The study made several recommendations, including: Urging the faculty members to practice the democratic leadership style and to avoid the practice of the authoritarian leadership style.

Facilitation of Residential Diversion Programmes for Youth Sex Offenders in South Africa

This article explores practical issues social workers need to consider in the facilitation of residential diversion programmes for youth sex offenders in South Africa. It draws on a broader study which explored the use of residential diversion programmes in the management of youth sex offenders in South Africa. The research design combined qualitative and quantitative approaches to data collection, analysis and presentation of data. A purposive sampling method was adopted, and in-depth individual face-to-face interviews were conducted with ex-youth sex offenders, their significant others, and professionals involved in the management of youth sex offenders and/or their victims in a variety of settings. The study found that some respondents preferred individual counselling, some preferred group counselling, while others preferred a combination of both. It can be inferred that both methods are important and that each can play an important role in the rehabilitation of youth offenders. The youth respondents also felt that a good sense of humour and incorporation of physical activities in group sessions would be the most effective facilitation style. Most respondents preferred that the residential diversion programmes for youth sex offenders be facilitated by social workers rather than volunteers or paraprofessionals. The professionals who participated in the study unanimously agreed that a generic social work degree does not fully prepare social workers for working with sex offenders. Based on the key findings of the study, several recommendations are proposed for the effective facilitation of residential diversion programmes for youth sex offenders.

HUBUNGAN GAYA PENGAJARAN GURU DENGAN SIKAP TERHADAP MATA PELAJARAN PERNIAGAAN

The teaching style of the teacher discussed in this study is the Grasha Teaching Style. The sample consists of 136 forms four students in five secondary schools in Bagan Datuk, Perak. All data or details are collected and analyzed using the Statistical Packages for Social Science (SPSS) version 22.0. The study is exercising a descriptive statistic in order to examine teaching styles which are mostly practised by teachers, the type of teaching style most desirable among the students and also their attitude towards the Business subject. Meanwhile, by using an inference statistic, the collected data will also be analysed by using Pearson correlation. The findings show that the teaching style of Business teacher that is most popular by the students is the facilitator's teaching style followed by the personal style and the style of the delegator. While the most popular teaching style practiced by the Business subject teachers is the style of the delegator, followed by the facilitator style and the personal model style. Student attitude towards the Business subject is moderately positive. The result of the Pearson correlation test showed that the value of r = 0.669, p = 0.000 which is a strong correlation between the teacher 's teaching style and the attitude of the students towards the business subject. The combination of facilitator style and personal model style is seen as the ideal teaching style for realizing student-centered learning and project-based learning. The implications of the findings can be used to provide guidance to teachers in schools to carry out the teaching and learning process more effectively. Based on this study, several suggestions have been proposed to improve the quality of teachers' teaching as well as the achievement of students in this subject.

Narrativism and the Unity of Opposites: Theory, Practice, and Exegesis: A Study of Three Stories from the Talmud

In this article, we pursue a double mission: First, we will demonstrate the unique nature of dynamic group facilitation as it emerges from the concept of the unity of opposites and its relation to situations of conflict, as well as the pedagogical challenges that teachers face in the classroom. This approach underlines the value of a more dialogical and dynamic understanding of the intricate networks of relationships that take place between students and with a teacher at any given moment in a classroom situation. Second, we will examine three Talmudic midrashim that focus on conflict and reconciliation through the lens of facilitation, while casting light on the theology behind the facilitation method and its hermeneutic power. Again, this approach to the interpretation of these texts allows them to emerge as valuable not only to the learning process, but also to the dynamics of interaction that saturate the learning situation. To this end, we will highlight the links and differences between two styles of facilitation—the narrative and the unity of opposites. These links and differences will help us illuminate the similarities and differences between the facilitation processes they employ. Because (1) the notion of exegesis is strongly embedded in narrative theory; (2) theology has deep roots in the concept of the unity of opposites; and (3) both styles address conflict and its resolution, in the second part of this article, we take the insights of the narrative and unity of opposites approaches and juxtapose them as hermeneutic tools for reading three related Talmudic midrashim that focus on conflict and reconciliation. In this way, we hope to exemplify how the different approaches can be applied to the design of the different facilitation styles, both in conflict dialogue groups and as a lens through which we can read these seminal tales that have shaped consciousness, identity, and the attitude towards the culture of debate in Judaism.