Perceived Skill Development Research Articles

Quantifying the Impact of Career Preparedness Programs for Saudi Students with Disabilities

This study examines the impact of job readiness programs on Saudi students with impairments, utilizing a quantitative research methodology. Using a purposive selection strategy, people were selected, and a standardized survey questionnaire was used to gather data on program participation, perceived skill development, cultural factors, and employment outcomes. Descriptive data, t-tests, regression analyses, correlation analyses, and ANCOVA have been employed for data analysis. The findings track strong relationships between application components, perceived skill gain, and employment outcomes. Regression analyses indicate that both the extent of program engagement and the perceived learning of skills significantly impact employment outcomes. The ANCOVA analysis suggests that application involvement has a greater influence on employment outcomes compared to cultural factors, however, both factors contribute to the overall model. Suggestions entail addressing cultural sensitivity in program design, prolonging program durations, and cultivating a supportive environment for inclusive training and career advancement. The purpose of these insights is to provide information for improving career readiness programs for students with impairments in Saudi Arabia. Received: 9 June 2024 / Accepted: 28 October 2024 / Published: 05 November 2024

PSII-10 Comparison of short- and long-term equine interaction for promoting perceived skill development, stress reduction, and self-perception within college students

Abstract The mental health crisis across college campuses became evident with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Following the pandemic, research showed an uptick in depression, anxiety, and substance abuse within the college student population. This trend led to campuses expanding therapeutic intervention opportunities for students to promote mental health including the introduction of campus-based equine interaction programs. However, research concerning the required length of curriculum utilizing equine interaction for promoting student mental health is conflicting. Therefore, the objectives of this study were to compare a short-term, 1-d equine interaction program to that of a long-term, semester-long program for promoting skill development, stress reduction, and self-perception among college students. College students selected between participation in one of the following non-therapeutic based equine interaction programs: 1) short-term (n = 8): a 1-h session taking place on 1 d, or 2) long-term (n = 32): a 10-hh program spread out across a semester (15 wk). Each group performed ground-based equine handling activities working with the same mental health professional. Both groups completed a pre- and post- survey instrument with questions targeting equine-based skill development (18 questions), academic-related stress levels (6 questions), and views associated with self-perception (7 questions). Data were analyzed using a two-tailed t-test to determine differences between pre- and post- survey instrument responses. Additionally, a mixed linear model in SAS was utilized to determine differences between the two groups. Significance was set at P ≤ 0.05. While long-term equine interaction did not significantly promote skill development within the student participants (P > 0.05), the students within the short-term equine interaction perceived a significant improvement in basic handling skills working with specific breeds (P = 0.029). As for student stress levels, the short-term equine interaction resulted in students perceiving a reduction in stress associated with the following four areas: typical daily stress levels (P = 0.009), stress levels concerning grades (P = 0.033), studying for finals (P = 0.019), and taking finals (P = 0.005). Students in the long-term equine interaction reported perceived stress reduction in only two areas: overall grade point average (P = 0.044) and general test anxiety (P = 0.029). While students in the short-term equine interaction reported no improvement in self-perception (P > 0.05), students in the long-term equine interaction perceived significant improvements in three areas of self-perception: confidence (P = 0.028), assertiveness (P = 0.035), and goal pursuit (P = 0.012). Nevertheless, no significant differences were found between the two groups for pre-responses (P = 0.312), post-responses (P = 0.604), nor pre-post -response differences (P = 0.962). These survey results suggest long-term equine interaction improved self-perception but did not offer additional benefits from that of the short-term equine interaction. This conclusion allows for colleges to offer programming that is more conducive to the schedule of the students allowing for scheduling that targets specific timepoints where mental health challenges may be heightened.

The design and implementation of virtual reality simulations in Spanish for the Health Professions: what are learners’ perceptions?

Although virtual reality (VR) games and headsets are widely available and have started to be used in language courses, there is little previous research on how VR can be used in courses on Languages for Specific Purposes, particularly in Spanish for the Health Professions. The purpose of this study was to develop and implement VR simulations that mirrored a medical interview in Spanish and to examine learners’ attitudes toward language practice in a VR environment. Scenarios were designed following Task-Based Language Teaching and results from a language needs analysis. Participants in this study were undergraduate students enrolled in a Spanish for the Health Professions course. Participants took on the role of a healthcare provider to interact with Spanish-speaking avatars within the virtual environment. They completed a series of tasks relevant to the medical interview, including greetings, triage, symptom elicitation, social information, medication information, basic diagnosis, and treatment plan. They participated in surveys and wrote journals about their VR class experience. Results showed that the VR simulations contributed to perceived skill development with an emphasis on conversation, listening, critical thinking, and pronunciation. The immersive experience and real-world application led learners to be more engaged and focused while amplifying course topics, particularly cultural awareness and sensitivity, applied vocabulary, and pragmatics. Pedagogical implications are discussed.

The BaMidbar Mental Health training program for educators: a Mixed Methods case study

The purpose of this study was to examine the BaMidbar Mental Health Training program and the influence the training had on community educator populations. This was a mixed method exploratory case study which utilized observational data and five interviews. A survey which examined the possible impacts of the trainings (through relevance and confidence variables) was utilized. We found that participants’ confidence had a higher correlation to the likelihood of implementing training materials than the relevance the training had to participants’ job placements. We also found categories of perceived skill development articulated by the participants interviewed. These skills included: checking in, changing spaces, giving students choices, giving feedback and identifying behaviors. There were concerns that the training programs did not create enough knowledge retention of specific therapeutic terms or scaffolding skills for educators to embed the training content into their job placements. Suggestions for further research and training programs are listed in the conclusion.

The Effect of Position Promotion, Training, Leadership Style on Employee Career Development in One of the Start Up Companies

This research study explores the effect of promotion practices, training initiatives, and leadership style on employee career development in a start-up company. The study employs a mixed-methods research design, including quantitative surveys and qualitative interviews, to gather comprehensive data. The findings from the quantitative analysis indicate a positive correlation between promotion opportunities and employee career advancement, as well as a positive relationship between the effectiveness of training programs and perceived skill development. The qualitative analysis reveals the importance of supportive and empowering leadership behaviors and the impact of specific training initiatives on employee career growth. The integration of quantitative and qualitative findings provides a holistic understanding of the factors influencing employee career development in start-up companies. The implications of the study contribute to theoretical knowledge and offer practical recommendations for start-up companies to optimize promotion practices, training initiatives, and leadership styles to support employee career development.

Backpacker-community conflict: the nexus between perceived skills development and sustainable behavior

Attempts to address undesirable behaviors that trigger backpacker-community conflict have overlooked the nexus between perceived skills development and behavioral enactments. This paper argues that the resolution of the backpacker-community conflict would require greater attention to a win-win exchange process based on sustainable development. It employs both Acquisition-Transaction Utility Theory and Social Exchange Theory to examine the relationship between backpacker perceived skill development during travel and their (un)sustainable behaviors to separate mutually beneficial behaviors from self-centered behavioral outcomes. A novel approach to backpacking literature is applied to investigate the (un)sustainable behaviors that drive the backpackers’ perceived skills development. We also uniquely assess the influence of gender and nationality behavioral differences on perceived skills acquisition given the recognized heterogeneity of backpackers. Based on a survey of 400 backpackers in a developing country, the rigorous quantitative analysis showed evidence of a principal-agent problem (i.e. community-backpacker problem) that could be resolved through backpackers advancing sustainable community-centered behaviors. Consequently, this study extends social science theories by formulating a model that addresses a sustainable collective gain of the backpacking exchange.

Ensuring volunteer impacts, legacy and leveraging is not “fake news”

PurposeThis study aims to explore the legacy potential of the FIFA Women’s World Cup (FWWC) 2015, for the host communities across Canada.Design/methodology/approachThe mixed-methods study included a link to an online anonymous survey being sent to all volunteers at the FWWC that explored their prior volunteering experience, motivations for volunteering, perceived skill development and future volunteering intentions. Documents were reviewed, and key stakeholders were interviewed.FindingsThe results support previous research that mega-sport event (MSE) volunteers are typically older females with prior volunteering experience. Those most likely to indicate they wanted to volunteer more are younger volunteers without prior volunteering experience. While legacy was discussed as a desired outcome, this was not operationalised through strategic human resource strategies such as being imbedded in the position descriptions for the volunteer managers.Research limitations/implicationsAs this study was conducted in the real-world context of a sport event, the timing of the survey was determined by the organising committee.Practical implicationsMega sport events typically draw upon existing host-city social and human capital. For future event organising committees planning for and delivering a volunteer legacy may require better strategic planning and leveraging relationships with existing host-city volunteer networks. In the context of a single sport, women’s MSE, multi-venue, multi-province event, greater connection was required to proactively connect younger women for volunteers to their geographic sport and event volunteering infrastructure.Originality/valueThis is the first research of volunteers for the largest women’s mega single-sport event. There are three theoretical contributions of the paper to: the socio-ecological lens, motivational theory of single event MSE and the contribution of social and human capital to understandings of legacy.

Inquiry-, problem-, context- and industry- based laboratories: an investigation into the impact of large-scale, longitudinal redevelopment on student perceptions of teaching laboratories

ABSTRACT Previous work at Monash University has shown that students recognise that inquiry-, problem-, context- and industry- based experiments were better contextualised, more open to decision making and aided in the development of scientific and transferable skills. This study investigated whether these gains persisted over a longer time scale, rather than just after the completion of a given experiment. Student focus groups were conducted at the completion of units (sometimes known as a course) in which more than half of the laboratory experiments were redesigned. Annual surveys were distributed to monitor students’ perceptions of the aims of teaching laboratories, and their expectations of their own behaviour. The findings indicated that the previously noted positive outcomes were still evident at the end of a semester. The annual survey showed that whilst 2nd year students were able to appreciate the real world context of the experiments, 3rd year students did not. Overall, the large-scale changes away from expository experiments had a positive impact on student enjoyment and perceived skill development but only when meaningful proportions of the experiments were redesigned. It would appear that the continuing existence of many expository experiments undermined the students’ perceptions of the benefits gained by the new laboratory experiments.

Developmental leadership, skill development, and work engagement

ABSTRACTThe current research examined the relationship between developmental leadership and followers’ work engagement based on the notion that developmental leaders may strengthen subordinates’ job-related skills and knowledge development. Using the Federal Human Capital Survey dataset over three years, the research addressed two research questions: (1) Is developmental leadership positively related to work engagement? and (2) Does perceived skill development moderate the relationship between developmental leadership and work engagement? Results showed that both developmental leadership and perceived skill development positively and significantly affected public employees’ work engagement. In addition, perceived skill improvement had a moderating effect on the relationship between developmental leadership and work engagement.

Serious Leisure Perspectives in Sports: Professional Athletes’ Career Progress via Serious Leisure

The aim of this study is to determine serious leisure perspectives of professional athletes. 689 athletes selected through random sampling participated in the study. The data were collected with the “Serious Leisure Inventory and Measure (Short Form) (SLIM)’’, developed by Gould et al. (2011) adapted to Turkish by Ozdemir, Ayyıldız Durhan, and Akgül (2020) which consisting of 12 items and 3 sub-dimensions. It was determined that the data were not distributed homogeneously and non parametric tests were applied. In the analysis of the data, descriptive statistics, Man Whitney U, Kruskall Wallis, Tukey (HSD-LSD) and Pearson Correlation test were used for within-group comparisons. In this study, total internal reliability coefficient of SLIM (short form) scale was determined as .93. Participants had higher SLIM scores (89,60 ± 15,76), the highest subscale score was ‘’identification with pursuit and social outcomes’’ sub-dimension (37,39 ± 7,35), and the lowest subscale score was ‘’individual outcomes’’ (22,30 ± 4,39). Significant relationships and differences were found among the variables of gender, sports, age of athletics, number of trainings per week, participation status of international competitions, perceived challenge of duties, perceived skill development and perceived total development. As a result of the research, it was determined that professional athletes had high serious leisure perspectives and this situation being in interaction with certain variables.

Professional skills development for mathematics undergraduates

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to describe the design and development of a final year undergraduate mathematics module designed to address professional skills development at a UK university, including via input to curriculum and assessment from employers, and to investigate student acquisition of skills from this module. Design/methodology/approach Literature on skills development in mathematics informs module design and development. Students optionally completed Likert-style competency questionnaires before and after the taught module content, and reflected on skills development via an end of module questionnaire. Data collection took place over three academic years. Findings Several key competencies exhibit median increases over the course of the module in each academic year, indicating a perceived skills development. Problem solving and presentation skills are particularly highlighted. Research limitations/implications Numbers of students were small, though the study is repeated with three different cohorts. Some students study mathematics jointly with another discipline and hence may have experience in skills development from the other subject. Practical implications This study indicates that innovations in teaching style and assessment in mathematics modules can enhance student confidence and competence with key professional skills. Originality/value Undergraduate modules in mathematics which have a focus on professional skills development are still fairly rare in UK universities. Often such modules do not embed the professional skills development activities with subject-specific technical tasks and projects as this module does. There are few formal studies of the effectiveness of this style of module, especially longitudinal studies covering several academic years.

Impact of Simulation Fidelity on Student Self-efficacy and Perceived Skill Development in Maritime Training

Impact of Simulation Fidelity on Student Self-efficacy and Perceived Skill Development in Maritime Training

The Effect of Online Participation in Online Learning Course for Studying Trust in Information and Communication Technologies

Among online learning factors mentioned in the education literature, it is argued that online participation is the strongest factor which contributes to online learning effectiveness. Drawing from the theory of online learning as online participation, an online learning experiment was conducted in a well-known public University in southern Taiwan. There were seventy-five International MBA students participated in the study. The online learning course contents were specifically designed for studying trust in Information Communication Technologies (ICTs). Furthermore, the online learning course was designed by incorporating active case-based learning to increase students' trust in ICTs. The experiment results showed that high online participation treatments could significantly increase online learning effectiveness, measured by grades, perceived skill development, and the level of students' trust in ICTs. Discussion and limitation of this study are discussed in the paper.

Clients' perceptions of an occupational therapy intervention at a substance use rehabilitation centre in the Western Cape

Substance use among adolescents is a significant health and social problem and affects occupational performance. While occupational therapy interventions are available at substance use rehabilitation centres in the Western Cape, little is known about clients' perceptions of the usefulness of these interventions. A qualitative study was conducted to address this gap, specifically exploring clients' perceptions of the usefulness of the intervention on their occupations post discharge. The occupational therapist at a particular centre was interviewed as a key informant. Eight participants who attended the aftercare programme at the centre took part in three focus groups. Four themes emerged from the analysis of data: "We taking the drugs away, but we need to give them something back in that place"; "I don't want to be that person I was in the past"; "Keeping me clean"; "Take us out into the life". Participants perceived skills development, work training, life skills and leisure exploration to be useful. However, team members' roles and treatment objectives should be clarified to the clients to ensure that clients understand why they are participating in therapy. Finally, there should be more community-based, out-patient support programmes for adolescents so that the appropriate services are more easily accessible. Key words: At-risk youth, client perspectives, occupational therapy intervention, substance use intervention, Western Cape

Training Frontline Mental Health Staff to Deliver “Low Intensity” Psychological Therapy for Psychosis: A Qualitative Analysis of Therapist and Service User Views on the Therapy and its Future Implementation

Increasing access to evidence-based talking therapies for people with psychosis is a national health priority. We have piloted a new, "low intensity" (LI) CBT intervention specifically designed to be delivered by frontline mental health staff, following brief training, and with ongoing supervision and support. A pilot feasibility study has demonstrated significant improvement in service user outcomes. This study is a qualitative analysis of the experiences of the staff and service users taking part in the evaluation. To evaluate the acceptability of the training protocol and the therapy, and to examine the factors promoting and restraining implementation. All trained staff and service users completed a semi-structured interview that was transcribed and subjected to thematic analysis. Service users spoke about learning new skills and achieving their goals. Staff spoke about being able to use a brief, structured intervention to achieve positive outcomes for their clients. Both groups felt that longer, more sophisticated interventions were required to address more complex problems. The positive clinical outcomes motivated therapists to continue using the approach, despite organizational barriers. For both trained staff and service users, taking part in the study was a positive experience. Staff members' perceived skill development and positive reaction to seeing their clients improve should help to promote implementation. Work is needed to clarify whether and how more complex difficulties should be addressed by frontline staff.

Measuring the research experience of research postgraduate students in Hong Kong

To date, there has been little research in non-Western contexts exploring the research experience of research higher degree (RHD) students and the effect of research experience on student outcomes. The purposes of this study were to validate the Student Research Experience Questionnaire (SREQ) developed in Australia in the Hong Kong context and to explore the relationships between student research experiences and their perceived skill development and overall satisfaction with their research degree experiences. Data were collected from 599 RHD students. The results supported the construct validity of four SREQ scales (supervision, infrastructure, intellectual climate and skill development). The results of the structural equation modelling suggested that supervision related to students' perceived skill development and overall satisfaction, while intellectual climate and infrastructure were related to overall satisfaction only. The data provide a better understanding of how we can promote positive learning outcomes of RHD students.

An Examination of the Effects of Flow on Learning in a Graduate-Level Introductory Operations Management Course

The authors investigated the effects of flow on learning outcomes in a graduate-level operations management course. Flow was assessed through an overall flow score, four dimensions of flow, and three characteristics of flow activities. Learning outcomes were measured objectively through multiple-choice quiz scores and subjectively using measures of students’ perceived learning of the subject matter, students’ perceived skill development, and student satisfaction. The findings show that flow affected students’ perceived learning of the subject matter and student satisfaction but did not affect learning performance as measured through multiple-choice quizzes. Partial support is found for an effect of flow on students’ perceived skill development.

Surgical Novice Response to Laparoscopic Surgery Training on Simulators before and after Training

Background: With the current stipulations of the 80-hour work week for residents, surgical programs are faced with dilemma of teaching surgical procedures to residents outside of the operating room. This along with the advancement of minimally invasive surgery and the public apprehension towards the “see one, do one, teach one” curriculum has lead to the introduction of simulation into surgical residency education curriculum. We looked at the ratings of usefulness training on laparoscopic surgical simulators by interns following a 2week period of daily training. We hypothesized that following the period of training novices would rate all modalities as a positive experience in accordance with their previously anticipated ratings. Methods: 32 interns rotating through the general surgery department were included in the study (10 General Surgery, 4 Orthopedic, 2 Otolaryngology, 3 Urology, 7 Radiology, 3 Plastic Surgery, 1 Vascular Surgery and 2 Neurosurgery). Participants were given an initial survey prior to their participation to evaluate their prior experience as well as their anticipated reaction to the usefulness of the teaching simulations. They then performed a laparoscopic cholecystectomy on a prosected pig liver in a box trainer (control). Following this all participants underwent 5 days of FLS training for 1.5 hours daily on the box trainer. The following week half of the participants continued to train on the FLS box trainer while the other half were randomly selected by number to train for 1.5 hours daily on the Simbionix LapMentor™ virtual reality trainer. At the end of the study they performed a laparoscopic cholecystectomy on a live pig, followed by an additional prosected pig liver in a box trainer for comparison. At the end of the study they filled out a survey assessing their experience on all modalities based on a Likert scale using questions involving perceived skill development, feedback on performance, realism and ability to better perform a laparoscopic cholecystectomy on a human. Results: Following the study, results from 28 of the 32 participants were evaluated (4 surveys were not completed with participation numbers and could not be verified for comparison). It was observed that the anticipated usefulness on all measures were decreased in the post training surveys compared to the initial surveys with statistical significance occurring in 13 of the 20 measured categories (p<0.05). The most notable significant decrease was with the skill development and feedback of the live pig (p<0.002 for each). Notable decreases in rating from perceived verse evaluative assessment for the box trainer were also found in skill development (p<0.008), feedback (p<0.01) and ability to better perform a laparoscopic cholecystectomy on a human (p<0.004). However, no statistically significant decreases were noted with the virtual reality simulator between the perceived advantage and actual assessment. Conclusion: Residents anticipated usefulness of different simulation strategies including box trainers, prosected pig livers and live pigs for laparoscopic surgical training is greater prior to training than their acknowledged usefulness following training on these simulators. Despite the overall decreased rating in usefulness for each simulation modalities, virtual reality simulators do not show a statistically significant decrease.

Importance of Learning-Driven Constructs on Perceived Skill Development When Using Multimedia Instructional Materials

Researchers disagree on the impact of multimedia on perceived skill development. This research investigated whether intervening variables such as task-technology factors might explain the difference in the research findings. An experiment was conducted where thirty-nine students worked on a case study using both paper-based and multimedia-based technologies. An exploratory factor analysis design employing a structural equation model was utilized to analyze the data. The findings from this study suggest a strong indirect relationship between multimedia and perceived skill development with learning-driven constructs (challenging, learning interest, self-reported learning, and learned from others). The study concludes that it is critical to consider these factors in developing multimedia instructional materials.

Computer-Mediated Collaborative Learning: An Empirical Evaluation

National commissions and scholarly reports on the status of contemporary higher education have frequently been critical of the college experience; the emphasis on transmitting fixed bodies of information and a failure to develop problem solving and critical thinking skills have been cited as serious weaknesses in higher education systems. Colleges and universities have additional reasons to redevelop central pedagogies for students. Individuals need to learn at higher rates of effectiveness and efficiency than ever before because of rapidly growing bodies of relevant information and the escalation of knowledge and skill requirements for most jobs.Recent developments incomputer hardware, software, and communication technologies create exciting new opportunities for the educational use of these technologies. The objective of this study is to go beyond the traditional classroom instructional modesl (e.g., lectures and class discussions) to develop and evaluate computer-supported pedagogical approaches. More specifically, this study investigates whether the use of a group decision support system (GDSS) in a collaborative learning process enhances student learning and evaluation of classroom experiences.The findings of a study involving 127 MBA students indicate that GDSS-supported collaborative learning leads to higher levels of perceived skill development, self-reported learning, and evaluation of classroom experience in comparison with non-GDSS supported collaborative learning. Furthermore, the final test grades of the group of students who were exposed to GDSS-supported collaborative learning were significantly higher than those of the other groups of students who participated in the experiment.