Part Of Continuous Professional Development Research Articles

Using technology to develop staff CPD working in EYFS settings

Since COVID-19, much CPD is now delivered online, which opens up all sorts of opportunities for using and learning about technology as part of continuous professional development for staff working in EYFS. Tim Lings explains.

Using museum visits to enhance CPD for early years professionals

Senior lecturer at the University of Winchester and early years consultant, Dr Amanda Norman, discusses her project to use museum visits to enhance a community of practice and a sense of belonging between early years practitioners, as part of continuous professional development.

Challenges and Training Needs for Integrating Social Media into Agricultural Extension Services in Enugu State, Nigeria

This research examined the challenges, and training needs for the integration of social media into extension in Enugu State, Nigeria. Ninety-seven agricultural extension workers were proportionately selected from six agricultural zones in Enugu State. Data were generated through a questionnaire and results were presented with percentages and mean scores. The major challenge to the use of social media was the lack of access to social media by some target audiences ( x̄ =1.55) and the complexity of the devices (phone and media). Some areas of training needs of the extension workers were how to place advertisements using Youtube (89.5%), how to transform images on Instagram (89%), how to post a link on Twitter (83.6%) and how to update WhatsApp application (79.4%). The government and extension organization should provide internet and internet-enabled devices as part of tools for extension work and the use of social media should be incorporated as part of continuous professional development (CPD) for extension agents by extension organizations in Enugu State.

Профориентационная работа в вузе как фактор формирования профессиональной идентичности у студентов (на материалах Забайкальского государственного университета)

Contemporary university education develops professional identity and builds customized academic trajectories. Career guidance technologies provide professional self-awareness and personality professionalization. At university, career guidance work is an integral part of continuous professional development of a future specialist. It covers pre-university education, higher professional education, and employment assistance. The present research featured the career guidance work conducted at the Transbaikal State University. The analysis showed that the current system lacks innovations, cannot solve the employment problem, and does not provide conditions for successful professional identity. The article introduces a set of project conditions of customized career guidance work with 1) applicants, in order to promote a conscious career choice; 2) students, to support their professional competencies and identity; 3) graduates, to facilitate their employment. The proposed comprehensive approach to career guidance will allow the university to improve the academic process and to work with the community from secondary school to the onset of professional activity.

Students' and Qualified Radiographers' Perspectives and Understanding on Occupational Dose Monitoring and Prevention Strategies.

Effective implementation and ongoing monitoring of occupational radiation safety and protection is key for radiographers as prolonged exposure to ionizing radiation can increase the risk of long-term ill health effects. It is important that radiographers are aware of what is required of them to remain within the permitted dose limit. Topics and training on dose monitoring and occupational practice safety and practice are embedded in both undergraduate and postgraduate courses and ongoing as part of continuous professional development. However, whether these are accurately, effectively implemented and adhered too in practice needs to be monitored. This study aimed to investigate students and radiographers' awareness, observations, and understandings of their compliance to occupational radiation safety and protection and monitoring thereof in the clinical setting. A cross sectional survey design with a questionnaire consisting of closed and open-ended items were used. The data were analysed with the use of SPSS statistical software tool. The response rates for student radiographers were 62% and qualified radiographers 23.19%. Most participants indicated that they were knowledgeable on best practice methods regarding radiation protection and safety. However, regarding the importance of personal monitoring devices, the responses varied and there were some inconsistencies. The perspectives of participants on rotating through different imaging examination types revealed that of least importance was the occupational exposure. Students were focused as part of their training on acquiring the necessary skills to conduct imaging examinations. Qualified radiographers focused on upkeeping their skills when it came to their rotation between the general and specialized imaging examinations. To overcome some of these inconsistencies it is recommended that standardized practice guidelines be reviewed by both the academic institution and the clinical training sites enforcing the importance of dose monitoring and radiation safety and best practice principles.

Continuous Professional Development; A Hefty Apparatus for Teaching English for Competitive Examinations

To call a spade a spade, English language has become the lingua franca and it is called the global language as well. English has a gargantuan impact in every nook and cranny. In the field of competitive examinations also, English as a subject has a colossal importance. To talk turkey, to get success in different types of competitive examinations, one of the essential eligibility criteria’s is to have a sound knowledge and proficiency in English writing, speaking, reading and listening, which are the four basic skills of English language as well. Continuous professional development is extremely important for the pedagogues to teach English for competitive examinations. Technology as a tool of teaching English for competitive examinations is immensely significant. Accurate usages of various technological tools in the field of education are the integral part of continuous professional development. This paper enucleates the fecund usages and amenities of smart classroom, e-learning, different types of apps and curriculum development to teach English for competitive examinations. Continuous professional development is one of the hefty apparatuses, through which the pedagogues can lift the entire education system at the acme of prevalence. Continuous professional development as an important procedure hit the bull’s eye to teach English for competitive examinations. Through Continuous Professional Development, pedagogues can develop their basic skills, teaching skills, academic qualities, knowledge. Organizing wads of symposiums and participating in plethora of seminars, faculty development programs, webinars and workshops on the importance of English in different types of competitive examinations are also the part and parcel of Continuous professional development.

Support System for New Teacher Development Program

The New Teacher Development Program (NTDP) is part of continuous professional development to support new teachers to reach their potential through structured guidance at school. However, inadequate pre-service training and support systems during the induction period affect the teaching of new teachers and subsequently student learning. Hence, this study aimed to identify the level of support system in the implementation of NTDP and its differences based on school level. The survey design was selected and questionnaire was used as the research instrument. The data are quantitatively analyzed to determine the support system level from three aspects, namely teaching and learning support, external task support and development of teaching professionalism support. The results showed that the level of support system was high. In particular, new teachers received excellent support from teaching and learning aspects, as well as external duty in implementing NTDP. Meanwhile, the support given by the school for development of teaching professionalism was at a high level. In addition, the study found that there was no significant difference in the support system for new teachers following NTDP based on school level. Support systems needed to be strengthened to help new teachers adapt to the teaching profession, enhancing their potential in carrying out their duties and developing their continuous professional competency throughout their service.

Continuous professional development of nurses and ICNP® introduction in Poland.

The aim of the study was to explore Polish nurses' readiness to use the International Classification for Nursing Practice (ICNP®) as part of continuous professional development and life-long learning. The study included 772 nurses, divided into 2 study groups. The first group comprised those who had participated in a course enhancing the knowledge and improving skills in the use of ICNP® terminology (N = 457). The second group comprised people who had not yet attended such a course (N = 315). In the pre-course group, education correlated significantly with a general knowledge of ICNP® and its components, as the answers to 9 out of 13 questions revealed (p > 0.05). In the postcourse group, such a correlation was observed in the answers to all the questions except the following: "Is it possible to implement ICNP® in your place of work?" (ρ = 0.066, p = 0.137). Statistically significant differences were found when it comes to the correlation of all 13 questions and the results with the overall level of knowledge of ICNP®. A higher level of agreement with the questions and a higher level of knowledge were observed in the post-course group. However, this did not apply to the following question: "Is it possible to implement ICNP® in your place of work?" (Z = -0.06, p = 0.955, r = 0.002). Effective pre- and postgraduate education prepares nurses for working with ICNP® terminology. In fact, IT tools, implemented into the education process, could help to develop skills and the understanding of how nurses can use ICNP® in the nursing process. There are some obvious difficulties with the practical implementation of ICNP® into clinical practice. Int J Occup Med Environ Health. 2020;33(3):353-63.

Outbreak Investigation of a Multipathogen Foodborne Disease in a Training Institute in Rabat, Morocco: Case-Control Study.

BackgroundOn June 18, 2017, the public health service was alerted about 43 students in the training institute in Rabat who were admitted to the emergency room for acute gastroenteritis following the uptake of a meal a day before.ObjectiveThis study aimed to investigate the foodborne disease outbreak by confirming the outbreak, identifying the source of contamination, and recommending control measures.MethodsWe conducted a case-control study. Cases and controls were selected in a ratio of 1:1. We defined a case as any member of the training institute who attended the Ramadan buffet in the institute’s restaurant and who had presented, in the weekend of June 16 to 20, 2017, symptoms of diarrhea or vomiting with at least one of the following signs: abdominal pain, fever, headache, nausea, and dizziness. A control was defined as anyone who attended the Ramadan buffet in the institute’s restaurant but had not presented any symptoms from June 16 to 20, 2017. We conducted a bivariate and multivariable analysis. Stools of ill students were collected, and a food specimen was collected for bacterial testing.ResultsA total of 50 cases and 50 controls were selected. Among the cases, males were predominant (43/50, 86%); the median age was 21 years. A total of 47 cases sought medical care. There were no hospitalizations and no deaths. The episode was short with an estimated average incubation period of 9 hours. The epidemic curve oriented toward a common source of contamination. Among food items, briwates were strongly associated with the illness with an odd ratio of 14.23 (95% CI 5.04-40.04; P<.001). Laboratory testing of briwates showed presence of Escherichia coli O157 and Staphylococcus aureus.ConclusionsThis foodborne disease outbreak was likely caused by briwates that was contaminated with S aureus and E coli. We recommended strengthening hygiene measures. Food handling techniques should be taught as part of continuous professional development for food handlers.

Reflection as part of continuous professional development for public health professionals - further evidence

Reflection as part of continuous professional development for public health professionals - further evidence

Friend or foe! The Professionalisation Agenda: Teacher Educators In The Lifelong Learning Sector (LLS)

As a teacher educator I am affected by the professionalisation agenda which governs the reforms in Initial Teacher Training (ITT) in the Lifelong Learning Sector (LLS). The increased number of tasks I am now required to perform has increased significantly from 1990, when I first started training teachers on a range of post-compulsory teaching and professional training programmes. I am now required to meet a set of professional competencies and specific pedagogical skills (generic and specialist) that comply with national standards for teachers and trainers in the sector. This includes recording evidence of Professional Formation as part of Continuous Professional Development (CPD) to gain Qualified Teacher Learning and Skills (QTLS) status (Institute for Learning, 2007). Institutions that deliver ITT programmes are now instrumental in ensuring that all teacher educators are equipped to train teachers to the required standards governed by the policy initiatives. This paper discusses the paradox that, despite the discussions about professionalisation, many lecturers and teacher trainers interviewed as part of my small scale research in 2009 have experienced a significant deterioration in working conditions. They see the increase in administration as negative not positive and feel that they are being de-skilled. Lack of job security is also a major concern, as 90% of the research sample work part-time or on short-term or fixed term contracts. All interviewees concluded that the changes to the sector since incorporation (1992) have ‘proletariarised’ rather than professionaliaed their work status as teachers strive to meet externally set targets. The next section gives an overview of a selection of policies relevant to the professionalisation agenda. Equipping Our Teachers For the Future (2004); Prosperity for All in the Global Economy: World Class Skills (2006); The Independent Review of Higher Education Funding and Student Finance (2009); and The Wolf Review (2011) are used as references for issues raised throughout this paper.

Reflection as part of continuous professional development for public health professionals: a literature review

For many years, reflection has been considered good practice in medical education. In public health (PH), while no formal training or teaching of reflection takes place, it is expected as part of continuous professional development. This paper aims to identify reflective models useful for PH and to review published literature on the role of reflection in PH. The paper also aims to investigate the reported contribution, if any, of reflection by PH workers as part of their professional practice. A review of the literature was carried out in order to identify reflective experience, either directly related to PH or in health education. Free text searches were conducted for English language papers on electronic bibliographic databases in September 2011. Thirteen papers met the inclusion criteria and were reviewed. There is limited but growing evidence to suggest reflection improves practice in disciplines allied to PH. No specific models are currently recommended or widely used in PH. Health education literature has reflective models which could be applied to PH practice.