Personal Development Training Research Articles

Improving the well-being level by participating in a personal development training using therapeutic techniques

Improving the well-being level by participating in a personal development training using therapeutic techniques

Exploring NIRSA Championship Series Professional Development Opportunities: Understanding Their Perceived Value to the Association

The NIRSA Championship Series (Series) is a significant component of NIRSA: Leaders in Collegiate Recreation (NIRSA). Demonstrated, in part, by the fact that many campus recreational professionals contend the events directly relate to both their institution and the association's mission. The purpose of this study was to gain an understanding of how NIRSA professionals perceive the value of volunteer experiences at Series events. The research team conducted semistructured interviews with thirteen campus recreation directors. The participants had a median of 28 years in the profession, ( SD = 7.4), and represented all six NIRSA regions. In describing the benefits of volunteerism at Series events, the directors identified three broad themes, each with numerous subthemes: Personal Experience (Lifelong learner, Mentors, and Networking), Professional Development (Teamwork, Leadership, Communication, and Training), and Ideal Job Characteristics (Attitude and Organizational Citizenship Behaviors). The themes, subthemes, and implications for Series events are discussed. In addition, the authors present suggestions for future research.

Measuring the Efficiency of a Web 2.0 Tool Designed for Teaching and Learning English for Academic Purposes in Tertiary Education

The development of lifelong learning skills for personal development and continuous training is a current concern of educators and employers. Particularly, language and digital skills are considered vital for both study and work. The transition to Web 2.0 created various cost-effective opportunities for developing learning tools. For almost four years, the authors have been using a wiki platform as part of a blended learning programme of English for Academic Purposes for non-native adult learners. The present study aims to determine the efficiency of this tool so as to improve it to match better learners’ needs. Data were collected for the academic year 2011-2012 and the non-parametric Data Envelopment Analysis method was employed to estimate efficiency. The input measures were assembled from the number of students, the number of accessed pages and the respective number of views. The output measures were constructed from the exam success rates and the number of edits on personal pages accounting for independent work. By using boundary analysis, we could separate pages that may qualify as efficient for the language learning process from those that may need improvements so that the wiki platform may become more effective. This may involve a better allocation of teaching/learning resources such as instructional design elements and contents. On the other hand, the study may also offer a prototype of measuring the efficiency of a Web 2.0 tool designed for teaching and learning in the larger context of companies delivering lifelong learning and continuous training to their employees.

Quality Improvement of Exportable Fish and Prawn through Post-Harvest Loss Reduction in Kulierchar under Participatory Stakeholder-Based Approach

A participatory stakeholder-based approach was employed to improve the quality of exportable fish and prawn landed in Kulierchar of Kishoregonj through reduction of the post harvest loss and its impacts were assessed. Primary data revealed that wet fish were minimally washed with clean water immediately after harvest. Ice boxes were not used in any stages from harvest to processing plants. Bamboo split baskets were mostly used to keep or carry fish. Landed fish were found to be dispersed on plastic mat or polythene paper kept on earthen floor of the wholesaler shed, called “Arat”. Icing of individual catch soon after harvest was very insignificant, ranging from 2 – 15 % only. Prawn were found to be iced during transport to landing center at little higher rate (32%), but most of the other fish were not significantly iced during transport to landing center. Primary awareness of the beneficiaries on quality deterioration of fish was assessed and the impacts of participatory awareness development tools (PRA and RRA, personal contacts, brain storming and awareness development training) on export, income, nutrition and improved handling of landed exportable prawn/fish were re-assessed. Efficacy of such measures to improve the situation were monitored for sixteen months. Awareness in terms of benefit of good practices was high in factory technicians. Other stakeholders had very shallow or poor knowledge on use of improved handling and processing of fish. Participatory tools employed in this study was found to be effective in developing awareness of stakeholders in different value chains of wet fish handling and distribution and reducing post-harvest loss.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/pa.v21i1-2.16757 Progress. Agric. 21(1 & 2): 105 - 115, 2010

SP0207 Evaluate the effectiveness of a body image personal development training for young people with arthritis

BackgroundThe impact of having arthritis can be extremely difficult for anyone but when you are young the impact can be devastating. In addition to chronic physical symptoms the condition can...

Normative identity processes in managers' personal development training

PurposeThe article aims to analyze how personal development training influences managers' identity processes.Design/methodology/approachThe article, taking an interpretive‐critical approach, is based on a qualitative, longitudinal study of five participants (managers) in a personal development training program. During the two years of research, 62 interviews (with the managers and related personnel) were conducted and 13 observations were made.FindingsPersonal development training provokes identity regulation by prescribing a normative identity process that claims managers should engage in a process of reflection in order to gain self‐awareness. Such training constitutes a local management discourse that may influence different levels of identity work and identity regulation processes depending on the participants' expectations, their organizations and professional situations, their level of insecurity, as well as their previous experience with management discourse.Practical implicationsSince management training influences participants' identity processes, program organizers, purchasers and participants should be wary of the expectation that management training will deliver content as “a package” of managerial skills.Originality/valueThe study challenges the traditional view of management training as a provider of skills and solutions for managers by focusing instead on its influence on managers' processes of identity work and identity regulation. Management training in general is claimed to regulate identities and direct identity work by providing inspirational identities. However, this study finds that personal development training regulates identities by prescribing the identity process in itself.

An Effective Learning Model to Support People Development: The Emerging Approach of The Hong Kong Institute for Vocational Education

Globally, vocational and lifelong education reform now places greater stress on employability skills rather than only simple technical skills. This study undertakes a thorough review of the vocational education curriculum offered at one institution in Hong Kong so as to explore personal development opportunities that support the development of skills useful to both employability and broader personal development. Data was collected from multiple sources, including documents, questionnaires and interviews: a range of rich sources from different perspectives that explore the truth of students' personal development opportunities. The study findings indicate that personal development opportunities at the pilot institution are ineffective and a review of existing personal development training is recommended. More innovative new learning strategies should be introduced in and out of class activities to facilitate personal development for students. This study offers a practical guide regarding personal development for educators, and formulates an active learning model to support people development.

One model of healthcare provision lessons learnt through clinical governance

Aim Clinical Governance describes a systematic approach to maintaining and improving the quality of patient care. Risk management includes a themes analysis of clinical incidents and positive interventions with the resulting information disseminated to staff through personal performance plans, and publication and development training workshops. Our model of healthcare provision utilises doctors, nurses and paramedics to assess individuals in custody and this paper discusses the implementation of clinical risk management within this setting. Method A description of the model of healthcare provision, together with a themes analysis was undertaken for all clinical incidents received by the clinical team. Each incident receives an individual response and is discussed within the clinical risk management committee. From the review of each event, learning outcomes are identified and the information captured on a database. The information is analysed for reoccurring themes and further measures are introduced to ensure a high standard of healthcare provision to all counties. Findings Of the 86,184 patient/detainee episodes from 11 county forces, from January 2009–December 2009, 159 clinical incidents and positive interventions were generated. These were categorised into C linical Near Misses – 39, P rescribing issues – 38, H ealth and Safety matters – 13, Organisational matters – 23, Positive Interventions – 21 and Professional issues – 25. Conclusion Risk management, with a regular review of clinical incidents is an essential part of clinical governance especially when working in a multidisciplinary team providing safe and effective custody healthcare. This analysis contributes to the knowledge base in clinical forensic medicine and supports the importance of identifying educational requirements for staff, working in a multiagency partnership and continuous monitoring of the quality of care for detainees.

Struggles of managerial being and becoming

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate the struggles of managerial identity in relation to the process of becoming/being a manager, and the personal conflicts involved within this process.Design/methodology/approachIn a qualitative, longitudinal project, five managers were studied for two years using interviews and observations. This was undertaken before, during, and after their participation in personal development training. In total, 62 interviews and eight half‐day observations were conducted.FindingsThe study puts emphasis on the role of management training in providing templates for “how to be a manager”, but it also illustrates the double‐edged and complex role played by context in managerial being and becoming. On the one hand context shapes managerial identity; on the other hand, context might operate to dilute the identity an individual manager wishes to assume.Research limitations/implicationsThe study focuses on only five managers in two organizations. This small sample limits the generalisabilty of the research.Practical implicationsManagement training tends to be based on the idea that management concerns the acquisition of competencies, techniques and personal awareness, while managerial practice is more fluid and contextually based. There is a challenge for organizers of all types of management training to bridge the gap between a fixed idea of what it is to be a manager and how management is actually practised.Originality/valueThe longitudinal and in‐depth qualitative approach facilitates an important contribution to understanding issues in developing a managerial identity.

Protecting young people from homelessness and escalating drug and alcohol use

In recent years the political and practice climates have changed greatly, towards a focus on preventing negative experiences and vulnerability in the lives of children and young people, but at present many efforts suffer from two defects: they apply adult treatment ideas to young people, and they are not joined‐up responses. The article argues that young people are different from adults, having not yet established set patterns of behaviour, and that this offers a chance to intervene before the point of crisis. While they may misuse drugs and alcohol, in the main this is symptomatic of other problems that they need our support to face, which can be offered most effectively by services that are holistic and integrated, and which deal first with their emotional and family needs while also addressing personal development and vocational skills and training. These interventions need to begin well before the current housing crisis points around age 16 or 17.

Tutors’ stories of personal development training – attempting to maximize the learning potential

AbstractThis paper uses a narrative approach to examine some of the dilemmas that counselling trainers face when designing and running personal development activities as part of a Diploma in Counselling training programme. The research emerges from a focus group discussion by the tutors involved in piloting and evaluating an experimental personal development training programme. The themes examined include: the strengths and weaknesses of unstructured group work; whether structured activities helped quieter members to participate and learn more; how trainers can evaluate and assess students learning in relation to personal development in order to maximize student learning potential. The aim is to invite debate and further re‐tellings from other counselling trainers and practitioners in the field.

News

Drama lessons: consultant nurse in general surgery Brigid Reid is among the winners of The Health Foundation's leading practice through research award scheme. The award will allow Ms Reid, who works at East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust, to undertake research to evaluate 'the use of dramatised patient experiences to facilitate interpersonal skills development in nurses'. She will also be able to develop her Drama lessons: consultant nurse in general surgery Brigid Reid is among the winners of The Health leadership skills through personal development training. The leading practice through research scheme will be calling for new applications from March 15. For further details, access www.health.org.uk.

Using a red‐blue exercise to facilitate learning about complex systems

The red‐blue exercise is an example of an iterated prisoner’s dilemma (IPD) and is commonly used in educational and training settings to help participants to develop skills in conflict management, negotiation, and inter‐group dynamics. In this paper, it is argued that the exercise is poorly suited to these learning tasks. However, the exercise does provide a powerful yet manageable example of a complex system in action. A systems analysis is offered that both demonstrates why red‐blue is unsuitable when used primarily for personal development training and shows how it may be used as an educational tool to introduce the subject of complex systems.

Education as Politics: University adult education in England since 1870

University adult education, with its roots in the Victorian reform of the ancient universities, was conceived and consumed as a political project and, until the present generation, has always carried progressive political connotations. This article surveys its history by examining four different phases through which it moved, each associated with a different form of political commitment. Initially intended by reforming Liberals of the 1870s and 1880s to make responsible democratic citizens of the working class, after 1900 the adult education movement altered its focus in order to educate the emergent labour movement for the exercise of power. This in turn was challenged by a more class-conscious educational project, embodied in the Plebs League and Labour Colleges during the interwar period. In each of these forms, education was understood to have social ends, and students were encouraged to see themselves as members of quasi-political movements. Since the 1950s, however, under many influences, the special association of adult education and politics has been questioned and lost its relevance as new forms of continuing education have emphasised strictly personal development and vocational training. This article examines an educational tradition now at an end, which caught up many leading progressive intellectuals and in which education was axiomatically political.

Popular education, work training, and the path to women's empowerment in Chile.

The program 'Educacion y Trabajo' (Education and Work) in Chile was designed to help train unskilled workers and to facilitate their entrance into the labor market. Employing a participatory educational approach, the program provided personal and vocational training for men and women aged 15-30 years. Both technical and personal development training, which are embedded in Popular Education methodology, emphasize interaction among students and between students and teachers using games, videos, slides, manuals, cartoons, and worksheets. Interviews with female participants confirmed the program's empowering effects on the personal, as well as economic situation of women. The study further demonstrates how Popular Education is applied and adapted to promote self-esteem and self-reliance among female participants. Process-oriented, participatory learning, and horizontal relationships between the learner and teacher, allowed for the development of interactive structures in the classroom. This approach has especially benefited married women. Central to this empowerment process is awareness raising. By emphasizing the sociocultural origin of social structures, Popular Education helps demystify the social sphere and shows the importance of each individual in contributing to its improvement. However, while this program helps enhance women's self-esteem, self-confidence, and self-promotion, it only represents an initial step. To continue the path to full empowerment, negotiating powers must go beyond the household level and into the formal economy.

Student counselling services in a Nigerian University

Universities the world over exist to respond to the conditions of their environments. Thus universities in a multi-ethnic Nigeria are not only for the production of high level manpower but also for fostering national consciousness, cultural integration and unity as well as for producing in the students appropriate values and attitudes for psychologically healthy citizenry. The University of Ilorin, Nigeria, in its organizational structure and services recognizes its obligation for the facilitation of human development in its fullest capacity. The application of student counselling for the development of this “whole person” is viewed from the perspective of primary prevention. That is, student counselling is considered developmental rather than therapeutic and is aimed at assisting students to learn the techniques and skills involved in problem-solving and long-term planning. To this end, the University of Ilorin addresses itself to the dimensions of learning such as personal and interpersonal development, citizenship and leadership skills training apart from academic development. Services provided include admission, housing, advisement/counselling, health, social relations, sports, leisure-time activities and financial aids. Various units and committees of the university share in the responsibilities for rendering these services through provision of facilities and various informal learning opportunities for the production of psychologically matured citizenry for the Nigerian nation.

The effects of personal development training on the psychological state of long-term unemployed women

Abstract A personal development training course was conducted by the Department of Employment, Education and Training for long-term unemployed women who were returning to the workforce after a long absence. Subjects were 39 women who had been registered with the Commonwealth Employment Service for 6 months or more and were actively seeking work. Three experimental groups (n = 9, 14, and 9) each received 1 week's training, whilst a control group (n = 7) remained on the register without extra assistance. Precourse measures were taken on five psychological variables (depression, self-esteem, psychological distress, life satisfaction, and health). These were compared to postcourse measures taken at follow-up periods of 1 week, 2 months, and 6 months. A significant difference was found between the experimental groups and the control group on depression and self-esteem scores at 2 months and 2 and 6 months, respectively. It is suggested that personal development training enhances self-esteem and empowers women ...

Training through ENDEAVOUR

Academic education nearly always takes place within walls. Non‐academic education is not confined by bricks and mortar, nor, its supporters would say, by anything else. Extramural education, training in life skills, development training — call it what you will — addresses itself to the whole person. While conventional education refines and stretches the mind, extramural education reaches out to the spirit. And since spirit influences mind, the argument runs, non‐academic education can subtly alter professional capacity and social behaviour. The notion has been with us for some time. Outdoor or adventure education, which is the principal arm of personal development training, first gained a foothold in the 1940s and has since become well established in use. Like acupuncture or faith healing, it is seen to work, though no one seems to know exactly how. The results are indeed almost impossible to quantify, since they are invisible, untestable, non‐specific and long‐term. The use of the word ‘training’ in this connection smacks slightly of wishful thinking.