Future Professional Development Research Articles

Emotional Intelligence and Transformational Leadership Traits Among Licensed Certified Public Accountants Located in the United States

This current research study examined if there is a linear relationship between various Emotional Intelligence traits and Transformational Leadership Traits among a sample of 104 licensed Certified Public Accountants (CPA) located in the United States who are currently not in workplace leadership positions. This research is appropriate for CPA professionals because CPA professionals must evaluate different points of view, conduct an effective analysis of accounting data, and embrace the highest ethical standards as part of their professional duties. Moreover, Transformational Leadership traits (Avolio & Bass 2004) fit nicely within Peter Salovey and John Mayer’s (1990) elements of Emotional Intelligence. Overall, the research study did find evidence for positive linear relationships between the predictor variables of Emotional Intelligence traits of Managing Their Own Self-Relevant Emotions and Managing Others’ Emotions among licensed Certified Public Accountants (CPA) and the dependent variables of Transformational Leadership Traits related to Idealized Attributes, Inspirational Motivation, Intellectual Stimulation, and Individualized Consideration. The researchers recommend that any future professional development among Certified Public Accountants (CPA) who aspire to seek out workplace leadership positions needs to be focused on the cornerstones of Managing Their Own Self-Relevant Emotions and Managing Others’ Emotions.

694 An Undergraduate Virtual Neurosurgery Lecture Series: Knowledge Acquisition, Career Insights and Perspectives Upon Neurosurgical Teaching in the Current Medical Curriculum

Abstract Aim The undergraduate medical curriculum succeeds in providing students with a generalised approach to medicine yet limits in delivering adequate exposure to explore subspecialties. Conferences are integral to students’ career decisions. Our deliverance of the ‘Encephalon Lecture Series’ encompassed nine neurosurgery talks from world-renowned clinicians to allow students to further their interests. This study aims to analyse the impact of the lecture series on attendee knowledge improvement and elucidate opinions towards the amount of neurosurgical teaching within the medical curriculum. Method Attendee feedback was collated from questionnaires after each webinar session. Self-improvement of knowledge and neurosurgical career interest was extracted from all responses using a 10-point interval scale to determine the significance of the conference and to evaluate the differing views concerning the lack of neurosurgical teaching in the medical curriculum. Results A total of 199 attendees were recorded over the lecture series. The post-webinar feedback questionnaire was completed by 83 attendees (41.71%). Attendance resulted in a 62% average increase in self-reported improvement in knowledge among participants. Of the sessions, the greatest areas of knowledge improvement were indicated after the Brain Mapping webinar (110.71%), followed by the Skull Base Neurosurgery webinar (93.55%) and the Functional Neurosurgery webinar (66.15%). A mean of 8.39 ± 1.47 reflected webinars’ relevance to attendees’ future professional development. Conclusions Conferences are prominent resources for students to propel their knowledge, network with clinicians and discuss career options. Neurosurgery is an ever-evolving profession, and greater undergraduate exposure to the speciality will demystify the field and clarify the training pathway for students.

Exploring the landscape of aesthetic pharmacy practice

BackgroundAs pharmacy practice evolves, an increasing number of pharmacists are diversifying into non-traditional roles such as aesthetic procedures. Despite this shift, comprehensive research exploring demographic patterns, motivations, practice settings, and perceived support and barriers among pharmacists in this specialty, particularly in Alberta, Canada, remains scant. ObjectivesThis study aimed to explore the demographics, experience, practice settings, types of aesthetic services offered, and perceptions of support from the Alberta College of Pharmacy (ACP) among Alberta pharmacists. It also sought to understand the relationship between pharmacists' years of practice and the complexity of the aesthetic services they provide and to assess the impact of contacting the ACP on their perceptions of clarity in the aesthetic injection regulatory framework. MethodsAn online survey was disseminated to registered pharmacists in Alberta, gathering data on demographics, experience, practice settings, aesthetic services offered, and perceived barriers and support. Statistical analysis was used to identify significant trends and associations, employing Chi-square, Kendall's tau-c, and Gamma tests. ResultsThe results showed a significant association between younger age and involvement in aesthetic practice, with a substantial presence in hospital settings. Part-time pharmacists showed stronger involvement, and those with less than five years of experience were more likely to practice aesthetic injections. No statistically significant relationship was found between the years of practice and the complexity of aesthetic services. Clear dissatisfaction was evident regarding the support and communication from the ACP, with contact with the ACP not necessarily resulting in clarity regarding aesthetic practice regulations. ConclusionThe findings suggest that aesthetic practices are becoming a significant part of pharmacy practice, particularly among younger, part-time pharmacists associated with hospital settings. However, this shift calls for improved support, clearer guidelines, and better communication from the ACP, particularly around aesthetic practice regulations.It also emphasizes the need for regulatory bodies to ensure pharmacists are equipped to offer these services safely and effectively, which could be crucial in shaping future policy-making and professional development initiatives.

Iterating toward change: Improving student-centered teaching through the STEM faculty institute (STEMFI).

One of the primary reasons why students leave STEM majors is due to the poor quality of instruction. Teaching practices can be improved through professional development programs; however, several barriers exist. Creating lasting change by overcoming these barriers is the primary objective of the STEM Faculty Institute (STEMFI). STEMFI was designed according to the framework established by Ajzen's Theory of Planned Behavior. To evaluate its effectiveness, the Classroom Observation Protocol for Undergraduate STEM (COPUS) tool was used before and after an intensive year-long faculty development program and analyzed using copusprofiles.org, a tool that classifies each COPUS report into one of three instructional styles: didactic, interactive lecture, and student-centered. We report the success of our program in changing faculty teaching behaviors and we categorize them into types of reformers. Then, thematically coded post-participation interviews give us clues into the characteristics of each type of reformer. Our results demonstrate that faculty can significantly improve the student-centeredness of their teaching practices in a relatively short time. We also discuss the implications of faculty attitudes for future professional development efforts.

‘Who am I?’: professional identity in mature outdoor professionals

ABSTRACT ‘Who we are’ is an existential question that permeates everyone’s lives, affecting how we see ourselves and how others see us. Through semi-structured interviews of 13 mature outdoor professionals, this research attempts to unpack the nature of their professional identity and understand how it emerges. Using a grounded theory methodology, the findings suggest that they construct their own unique identities that incorporate common characteristics of what they see an outdoor professional to be. Alongside this, we propose that outdoor professional identities emerge through a process of doing, watching, and belonging. This raises implications regarding the training and development of future outdoor professionals and how the drawing together of outdoor professional bodies may bring coherence to the sectors’ identity and promote future career prospects to aspiring outdoor professionals. Further research is suggested to test the scope and validity of the modes of doing, watching and belonging.

“I need to continually study and broaden my horizons”: a narrative inquiry of a novice teacher's induction experience in China

PurposeAlthough the importance of teacher induction is widely acknowledged, how teachers experience inductions, particularly those conducted in under-resourced areas, remains underexplored.Design/methodology/approachThis study narrates a novice teacher's induction experience in a Chinese high school, from the perspectives of professional capital and community, social realist theory, practice architecture and teacher agency. The participant, Ming, reflected on a broad array of formal and informal induction activities and participated during the induction period.FindingsThrough the three-dimensional narrative space, namely broadening, burrowing and storying and re-storying, five themes emerged from Ming's induction experience: (1) heightened awareness of the meaning of teaching, (2) interacting with various professional communities, (3) professional identity tension and development, (4) the discursive influence of various aspects of culture and (5) the influence on future professional development. Overall, this narrative study shows that teacher expertise and identity development play central roles in teacher induction, and context acts as an important mediating factor in teacher induction. These findings echo the importance of teachers' agency in inductions. The implications for facilitating novice teacher induction are also discussed.Originality/valueThis study contributes to a nuanced understanding of a novice teacher's induction experience in China from the perspectives of practice architectures, professional capital and professional community. The conclusion highlights the importance of professional capital and agency during Ming's induction period. This paper unpacks the complexity of teacher induction by revealing new ways of thinking about induction.

Defining generic skills to better support the development of future health professionals: results from a scoping review

ABSTRACT Over the past two decades, there has been a growing interest in the role of universities in developing generic skills, in addition to disciplinary ones, to help students adapt to a changing workplace. The need to develop these skills is particularly critical for healthcare students who must face challenges in health systems. This scoping study, following Arksey and O'Malley's ([2005]. Scoping studies: Towards a methodological framework. International Journal of Social Research Methodology, 8(1), 19–32. https://doi.org/10.1080/1364557032000119616) method provides an overview of the scientific literature on generic skills in health studies. The definitions, categorizations, and measurement tools from 43 articles were mapped and summarized and gaps were identified. Definitions and terms were varied but overall, generic skills are considered cross-disciplinary and cross-professional. Nevertheless, the term skill itself was not defined. The lack of consensus on categorization and assessment led us to propose a typology to group all the skills mentioned into four categories: personal, ideas and object-related, interpersonal and community-related skills. One conclusion is that generic skills are valued foremost in relation to labor market demands with an emphasis on skills such as knowledge, communication, and planning over ethical and citizenship skills that are essential for future healthcare professionals. It is imperative to consider generic skills that are necessary to face the complex challenges of today’s world.

The effectiveness of virtual CASE institute professional development: A participant perspective

The Curriculum for Agricultural Science Education (CASE) utilized, for the first time, a virtual method of delivery to train and certify teachers across the country in the summer of 2021. This study was created to research the effectiveness of the virtual CASE professional development (PD) sessions, determine the usefulness of the CASE Institute technology and virtual format, and determine the effectiveness of Lead Teacher facilitators on participant learning. Six features of effective professional development were utilized as the framework to guide the study. A descriptive survey was conducted among the participants who were certified in a virtual CASE course in the summer of 2021. From this survey, researchers were able to conclude that the participants found the PD effective because they were confident in the material learned and felt prepared to implement the material into the classroom. The participants highly remarked on the usefulness of the technology and materials and the effectiveness of the Lead Teachers. From the findings of this study, a list of recommendations has been collected for further research and practice in the use of virtual PD for CASE and other education programs. It is recommended for future virtual professional development events for the facilitator to be very intentional about promoting a community of practice among participants and facilitating peer-to-peer interaction.

Exploring School Professionals' Definitions of Childhood Trauma.

Little is known about school professionals' definitions of trauma outside of the context of trauma-informed school trainings. The present study used thematic analysis to explore school professionals' open-ended definitions of childhood trauma (N = 1271). Follow-up chi-square tests of independence were used to investigate differences in professionals' definitions based on their professional role and education. Five themes were identified: effects of trauma, events of trauma, solutions to trauma, emotional responses, and no knowledge. Effects of trauma and events of trauma contained ten and five subthemes, respectively. School professionals who identified long-term effects of trauma on students most commonly listed general negative effects (e.g., "An experience or event that can negatively impact that child") instead of effects on specific domains such as behavior or emotions (e.g., "An experience that negatively impacted a child emotionally"). School professionals who identified an event of trauma most commonly provided examples of trauma (e.g., child maltreatment) or a general definition of trauma. School professionals' roles and education were somewhat related to their definitions of childhood trauma. Findings suggest that childcare providers and professionals without a bachelor's degree have gaps in their knowledge of child trauma. These results suggest school professionals have some foundational knowledge about trauma, but it is not universal. To best serve school professionals working with this vulnerable population of students, researchers and practitioners should design future trauma-informed professional development opportunities around school professionals' prior knowledge and understanding of trauma as well as their potential misunderstandings of trauma.

Perinatal palliative care in sub-Saharan Africa: recommendations for practice, future research, and guideline development.

Worldwide, sub-Saharan Africa has the highest burden of global neonatal mortality (43%) and neonatal mortality rate (NMR): 27 deaths per 1,000 live births. The WHO recognizes palliative care (PC) as an integral, yet underutilized, component of perinatal care for pregnancies at risk of stillbirth or early neonatal death, and for neonates with severe prematurity, birth trauma or congenital anomalies. Despite bearing a disproportionate burden of neonatal mortality, many strategies to care for dying newborns and support their families employed in high-income countries (HICs) are not available in low-and-middle-income countries (LMICs). Many institutions and professional societies in LMICs lack guidelines or recommendations to standardize care, and existing guidelines may have limited adherence due to lack of space, equipment, supplies, trained professionals, and high patient load. In this narrative review, we compare perinatal/neonatal PC in HICs and LMICs in sub-Saharan Africa to identify key areas for future, research-informed, interventions that might be tailored to the local sociocultural contexts and propose actionable recommendations for these resource-deprived environments that may support clinical care and inform future professional guideline development.

Perception of future production engineers on organizational ethics and social responsibility

The concepts of ethics and morals play a fundamental role in everyday interactions, establishing guidelines on what is considered correct or incorrect, as well as guiding decision-making in the face of different situations. organizational. In this context, understanding the perception of students who will soon be in the market, being able to develop organizational policies based on ethical principles, as well as promoting social responsibility practices, becomes extremely important. This study aims to investigate the perception of Production Engineering students at the Petrópolis School of Engineering at the Federal Fluminense University about ethics, morals and social responsibility as a backdrop for organizational management. For this, the PRESOR scale, developed by Singhapakdi et al. (1996 and 2001), in order to measure the students' perception levels on the theme. At the end of this work, results were obtained that allowed a more in-depth analysis of the relationship between students and their ethical perceptions, contributing to a better understanding of the pre-established limits in this academic context and that can contribute to future professional development.

Analysis of a Professional Development Event on Cannabis Education for Cannabis Educators

Cannabis is one of the fastest growing industries in the US. The unprecedented expansion of the industry has been influenced by the changing regulatory landscape on industrial hemp, medical cannabis and adult-use cannabis. The wide variety of cannabis- and hemp-related jobs, from agricultural production to product sales, require a skilled workforce. Post-secondary institutions have recognized the gap in workforce training and have begun to offer educational credentials in cannabis ranging from certificates to graduate degrees. As the cannabis education sector is built, professional development on cannabis education for post-secondary educators can assist in the creation and teaching of high-quality academic programs. A survey was used to evaluate the inaugural Cannabis Curriculum Convening, a pioneering professional development event on cannabis education. Our findings show the professional development positively impacted educators’ knowledge and confidence toward integrating cannabis curriculum. Educators’ future needs for professional development (curriculum/program development and pedagogical content knowledge) were assessed. Findings show that educators desire professional development on forming cannabis industry partnerships and providing non-formal cannabis education. The most in-demand pedagogical content knowledge topics were medical cannabis, cannabis history, and cannabis regulation, testing, and compliance. We hope that our recommendations will inform current and future professional development in cannabis education.

The 'Matthew effect' in Chinese kindergarten principals' professional development: a mixed-methods study.

Principals play a leading role in kindergarten quality improvement, and thus their needs for professional development (PD) should be understood and met. This national study adopted a mixed-methods approach to survey 3,065 kindergarten principals in China and interviewed 16 of them. First, the latent profile analysis of survey data yielded three profiles of PD needs: (1) low (7.5%), (2) medium (22.2%), and (3) high profiles (70.3%), indicating 70.3% of Chinese principals need PD badly. The high-profile group features 'inexperienced principals working at newly established private kindergartens', the most disadvantaged among the three groups. Second, ANOVA tests revealed significant rural-urban and public-private differences in Chinese principals' professional backgrounds and PD needs. In particular, significant public-private and rural-urban differences were observed in the principals' 'current degree' (Fs > 63, ps < 0.001) and 'desired degree' (Fs > 39, ps < 0.001). The rural principals aspired more than their urban counterparts to obtain 'a higher degree" or 'a certificate' (ps < 0.05). Third, the follow-up interviews confirmed remarkable rural-urban and public-private gaps in PD needs, indicating a noticeable 'Matthew effect': the poor got less, whereas the rich got more. The implications for future PD policy and program development are discussed.

Teacher Professional Development for STEM Integration in Elementary/Primary Schools: A Systematic Review

There has been a recent increase in studies devoted to integrated science, technology, and engineering mathematics (STEM) education. However, as the field is emerging, there has not been a large amount of scholarship on how to best provide teacher professional development (PD) on integrated STEM education. On the other hand, well-grounded research is available in the field of effective teacher professional development. Therefore, in this study, a systematic review of empirical studies on training elementary/primary school teachers in integrated STEM education was undertaken. Using an adapted version of Lawless and Pellegrino's analytical framework (2007), the emerging commonalities among eleven studies in conjunction with the literature on effective teacher professional development were analyzed and discussed. This study aims at connecting current STEM-integrated PD activities with the literature on effective PD and laying the groundwork for future professional development programs and evaluations in integrating STEM subject areas in elementary or primary schools.

A Correlational Study of Two U.S. State Extension Professionals' Behavioral Intentions to Improve Sustainable Food Chains through Precision Farming Practices.

Precision farming provides one of the most important solutions for managing agricultural production to advance global food security. Extending professionals' competencies to promote precision farming practices can increase the adoption rate, ultimately impacting food security. Many studies have addressed barriers to the adoption of precision farming technologies from the farmers' perspective. However, few are available data on the perspectives of extension professionals. Agricultural extension professionals play an important role in innovative agricultural technology adoption. Thus, this study applied four constructs from the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) model to investigate behavioral intentions to promote precision farming among extension professionals from two extension systems. In total, 102 (N = 102) agricultural extension professionals were surveyed. The results indicated that performance expectancy and social influence were individually significant predictors of extension professional behavioral intentions to promote precision farming technologies. There were no significant differences between the professionals of two extension systems. Gender, age, and years of service did not affect extension professionals' intention to promote precision agriculture technologies. The data suggested the need for training programs to develop advanced competencies to promote agricultural innovation. This study contributes to the future professional development programs for extension professionals on communicating innovations to address food security and sustainability issues.

Implementation of teaching technology in the process of future specialists' professional development

The technology of mentoring and the possibilities of its implementation in the process of professional development of future specialists are considered. The functions of mentors (advisory, socio-pedagogical, spiritual) and criteria of mentoring (democratic, social orientation, originality, research, dialogue, leadership, cooperation) were analyzed. Assertiveness, fascination, attraction of the mentor's personality, spiritual constants, and moral and ethical maxims of behavior are considered. The task of the mentor is written. The factors that influence the effectiveness of mentoring and the characteristic features of the mentors' style are singled out. To increase the effectiveness of pedagogical mentoring, the need for principles is substantiated. The types of mentoring (religious, based, industrial, professional) are given. The importance of a remote form of support for young professionals - telementoring - is shown, which is necessary with the rapid development of Internet communications.

Professional development as Praxis: EFL teachers' challenges in learning to implement dynamic assessment of writing

AbstractThe present study adopted a praxis orientation to second language (L2) research and pedagogy to explore the professional development needs of three English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers after their first attempt at implementing dynamic assessment (DA) of essay writing. To date, few studies have examined how teachers learn to implement DA, especially in a context like Iran where the educational system has historically centered upon high‐stakes assessments of learning (Rezagah, 2022). This study sought to understand how existing models of DA professional development could be modified to prepare teachers to implement DA of essay writing through written mediation. Findings revealed three challenges that arose for teachers during their initial attempts at DA implementation: 1) choosing an appropriate target for mediation, 2) delivering graduated mediation, and 3) dedicating sufficient time to the process of DA. We outline each of these three challenges in the findings of this article and their correspondent suggestions for revised future professional development of DA of writing.

WAYS TO IMPROVE FUTURE LEGAL PROFESSIONALS’ FOREIGN LANGUAGE COMMUNICATIVE COMPETENCE

The article deals with the development of future legal professionals’ foreign language communicative competence in the process of studying English. The aims of our research include providing the definition of the foreign language communicative competence and outlining the ways of its development for future legal specialists. The results suggest that the usage of videos on legal topics (TV shows, films and others) foster grasping new material. Videos and audio recordings can be used to demonstrate how native speakers interact with others in their respective fields while taking into account the context. Instructions, given by educators about oral communication with people from foreign countries may contribute to the future negotiations, meetings and debates. It can be assumed that background knowledge of different countries, culture, other peculiarities are beneficial for communication. The mock trials can be done during English classes to encourage students. Dialogues or monologues on professional themes are productive in developing foreign language communicative competence. Future lawyers’ professional competency is fundamentally based on their ability to cope with compliance between verbal and nonverbal components of communication. Participants in the educational process have to pay attention to the fact that they communicate with one another by employing gestures, facial expressions, and body language. The article discusses lawyers’ speech culture, which is an important quality. Law blogging is a common activity and a convenient way to find information on legal issues. Innovative ways of choosing communicative tasks can better the educational process.

Exploring Early Childhood Educators’ Perceptions and Practices Towards Gender Differences in STEM Play: A Multiple-Case Study in China

Various gender biases have been demonstrated in early childhood educators (ECEs) with unintentional preferential treatment provided to boys during STEM-related play activities. These biases could impact young girls’ identity formation, resulting in continued underrepresentation of women in STEM domains in future. In China, however, little research has been conducted on how ECEs perceive gender equity of STEM fields. Consequently, this study aims to close this gap by investigating the educators’ perceptions on and responses to gender differences in STEM play, drawing on the cultural-historical theory and incorporating feminist perspectives. Adopting a multiple-case study approach, this study collected perceptions and experiences of six Chinese in-service ECEs regarding STEM play and gender-related issues. The participants recognized and valued children’s equal involvement in STEM play, but failed to preclude ingrained gender preconceptions, leading to contradictory beliefs and performs. Meanwhile, Chinese ECEs considered prejudices from the external environment and peer influence the main obstacles to gender inclusion. Inclusive practices and emphasises are thus discussed relating to ECEs’ multiple roles in supporting gender-neutral environments for STEM play. These preliminary findings shed light on attaining gender equity in STEM within the context of a feminist discourse, and provide Chinese educators, leaders and even the educational system with pioneering information. However, further research on ECEs’ underlying stereotypes and teaching practices is still warranted to examine future professional development possibilities, support ECEs in reducing obstacles to girls’ STEM engagement, and ultimately create a welcoming and inclusive STEM play space for girls.

A mixed methods study of faculty experiences in a course design institute

Remote teaching created a unique opportunity to study the experiences of faculty participating in a course design institute. Hundreds enrolled in our online institute, where technologies (e.g., Zoom, Canvas, Google Docs) facilitated interactions among participants and preserved their ideas and perspectives throughout the program. Using a grounded theory analysis approach attentive to the participants’ words, the authors uncovered participants’ experiences and their perspectives on the structures that shaped those experiences. The data ultimately revealed five themes (pedagogical knowledge, student perspective, community and connection, technology, and emotion) that relate to changes in participant attitudes, perceptions, and/or pedagogical approaches. Drawing on these themes, we identify implications for future professional development programming design that align with other results from the literature, including the importance of modeling the student experience, deliberately addressing community and connection, building in time for synthesis and commitment, and prompting faculty to identify and reflect on their emotions. Though some of the identified themes may have been more visible because data were captured in the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, these themes are aligned with prior research and existing learning theories and will apply to the design of course design institutes beyond the context of crisis situations.