Guidelines For Professional Development Research Articles

Recognizing professional development of mathematics and statistics learning support staff

Abstract Tutors play an important role in effective Mathematics Learning Support, and ensuring good initial training and development is key. Typically, in the UK and Ireland, tutors do not gain any formal recognition for the training they receive. This paper details a four competences model of training for tutors and presents the analysis of feedback from 11 tutors and two staff involved in piloting the model at two institutions. The model, which is informed by professional development guidelines, consultation across the mathematical sciences community, and enabled by a national Mathematics Learning Support Network, provides immediate recognition of the professional development undertaken and is amenable to formal accreditation. A structure of four digital badges is used to assign immediate value to the training and development of tutors. To add further value for tutors, a capstone tutor badge has been established for those completing all four competences. Thematic analysis of feedback from the piloting of the model identifies three overarching themes: the importance of community, developing as a professional, and motivating and enabling professional development. Although primarily of interest to those involved in Mathematics Learning Support, the innovative structure of the model and the insights gained from its piloting are such that it offers potential for genuine transferability across other subject disciplines.

Utilization of continuous professional development among health professionals in East Ethiopia: a multi-health facility-based cross-sectional study

BackgroundHealthcare workers must maintain their knowledge, attitude, and skills regarding the most recent technology and competencies to deliver quality health care. The Ministry of Health, Ethiopia developed guidelines and directives for the utilization of continuous professional development programs. However, there is limited evidence on utilization and barriers to utilization in the study area. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the utilization and barriers to the utilization of continuous professional development among health professionals working in health facilities in eastern Ethiopia.MethodsA health facility-based cross-sectional quantitative study was conducted among 731 healthcare professionals from September 01, 2022, and October 30, 2022. A multistage sampling technique was utilized. A simple random sampling technique selected health facilities and study participants. A self-administered questionnaire developed from national continuous professional development guidelines was disseminated to healthcare professionals working in the selected forty health centers and four hospitals. STATA statistical package version 14 was used for data analysis. A descriptive summary was used to summarize the variables. A logistic regression model was used to assess the association between independent variables and the outcome variable. Adjusted odds ratios along with 95% CIs were estimated to assess the strength of the association, and a p-value < 0.05 was used to declare the level of statistical significance in the analysis.ResultsContinuous professional development utilization was determined for 731 healthcare professionals, of whom 241 (32.97%) [(95% CI: (29.55, 36.38)] had utilized continuous professional development. Lack of continuous professional development knowledge AOR 0.23 [(95% CI: 0.14, 0.37)], being female AOR 0.58 [(95% CI: 0.39, 0.86)], lack of internet access AOR 0.62 [(95% CI: 0.43, 0.89)], greater than 20 km distance from main road AOR 0.58 [(95% CI: 0.37, 0.91)], not heard importance of continuous educational units AOR 0.45 [(95% CI: 0.31, 0.65)], and poor perceived need of continuous professional development AOR 0.61 [(95% CI: 0.38, 0.97)], had a negative statistically significant association with the utilization of continuous professional development.ConclusionThe utilization of continuous professional development in the study area was low. Health sectors and stakeholders working on continuous professional development programs are required to focus on developing strategies for knowledge creation, female health workers, and access to the internet, remote areas, information on the importance of continuous educational units, and the variety of needs of professionals for continuous professional development implementation.

ADAPTING THE BLUE OCEAN STRATEGY FOR EDUCATORS: OPPORTUNITIES FOR PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT IN THE MALAYSIAN HIGHER EDUCATION CONTEXT

Embedding opportunities for professional development to attain greater visibility to achieve and retain the recognition both locally and internationally is important for educators at tertiary level. The challenge to consistently retain the social standing by its ranking is greater for young private universities in Malaysia. By means of the principles of Blue Ocean Strategy (BOS), this research highlighted the opportunities in strengthening the human capital moving towards a professional learning community. The study employed the qualitative research design to explore the institutional support provided for professional development to identify training needs and opportunities to educators, as well as the prospects of adapting the BOS strategy to meet the diverse needs of the professional development of educators. Employing a purposeful sampling method, five key stakeholders in the management position and ten lecturers from a private university in Malaysia were interviewed. These lecturers were specifically selected based on their knowledge and interest in the topic and the other criteria was their willingness to participate in the study. The criteria established directly reflects the purpose of the study. Document analysis of policy guidelines for professional development and the strategies adapted by the universities to enhance professional development was conducted. U Findings indicate that universities are encouraged to transform and cater for the ever-changing customer dynamics and technologies as well as to create demand and value to professional development. Findings point out that the concept of professional development should be broadened, and policy directives should be enhanced for greater visibility. Professional development should be examined as the governing mechanism to determine innovate practices to meet the diverse needs of academics. The conclusion of the study points to the need to broaden the concept of professional development and the implication for the organizational innovation is discussed.

SOCIAL AND PEDAGOGICAL PREREQUISITES FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE PROFESSIONAL VALUES OF TEACHERS IN THE QUALIFICATION IMPROVEMENT SYSTEM

The domestic and foreign experience of professional development and socio-pedagogical prerequisites for the development of significant realizations of the teacherʼs professional activity during professional development are analyzed. The system of professional development is substantiated as a qualitatively new one that has undergone fundamental changes in its structure and target orientations, as well as the meaningful orientation of training programs. The transformations into targeted and meaningful guidelines for professional development, technologies for organizing the educational process are described. Professional values are unstable, they can undergo changes depending on public opinion, state policy in the field of education and other reasons. Professional pedagogical values are one of the elements of the structure of a teacherʼs professional self-awareness; they are recognized as a person and are accepted as significant formations; affect the most important characteristics of the teacherʼs personality. Revealing the need for the development of professionally significant values of a teacher, which have a positive impact on the formation of pedagogical competences in the process of professional development, we justify the need to characterize such structural components of professionally significant values as: value-targeted; motivational and meaningful; reflexive and corrective. The following are marked as the leading strategic directions of the transformation of the system of professional development in our country: changing the organizational structure of the educational space; creation of a financial support mechanism based on personalized budget financing; determination of coordination of teachersʼ professional development with their attestation; implementation of consistent diagnostic procedures for researching the effectiveness of the professional development process; improving the quality of educational programs, methodical and technological support of professional development.Keywords: pedagogical values; institutions of professional (vocational) education; professional education; educational process; certification training; teacherʼs self-development; pedagogical potential; postgraduate education.

A professional learning program for novice online teachers: Application of professional development guidelines using threshold concepts and online learning perceptions

The professional development of online teachers is now commonplace in most universities. Alongside the relatively straightforward decision to provide professional learning support for novice and experienced online educators within universities, decisions about the nature and content of such support are not always as clear cut. The study aimed to gather evidence about the experiences and views of current students and staff which, in turn, informed a set of pedagogical guidelines that could be used as the basis of professional learning programs for novice online teachers. Using a mixed methods research design, data were gathered using questionnaires, reflective journals and focus groups to determine the threshold concepts about online teaching, and perceptions of ideal online learning contexts. As well as identifying threshold concepts about online teaching and perceptions of teachers’ and students’ ideal views of online learning contexts (reported elsewhere), the study produced curricular guidelines to inform the design of professional development outputs for online teachers in higher education contexts. This article reports on an example of how these professional development guidelines were implemented at one higher education institution to provide wide-scale implementation of a professional development program for academic staff engaged in online teaching.

Evaluation of Adherence to Continuing Professional Development Guidelines of Nursing Council of Kenya by Nurse Practitioners in Meru County

Continuing professional development (CPD) is training offered by professional institutions and bodies intended at updating knowledge, skills and competences of practicing workers to improve the quality of service delivery. Continuing professional development seeks to positively link the needs and aspirations of individuals with educational activities, for development of their potentialities and for the socioeconomic and political development of a nation or state. Despite the adoption of Continuing Professional Development in Kenya, the conformity to the CPD guidelines of Nursing Council of Kenya is still inadequate as quality nursing and competence fails to meet the stipulated standards. Analysis of literature indicate that adherence to continuing professional development standards has been an issue of concern in many countries. This study aimed at evaluating adherence to Continuing Professional Development guidelines of Nursing Council of Kenya by nurse practitioners in Meru County. A descriptive survey research design was used to evaluate the adherence of nurse practitioners to CPD guidelines of Nursing Council of Kenya. Fisher’s et al (1998) formula was used to draw a sample size of 264 nurses. Data was analyzed using statistical package for social sciences software (SPSS version 22.0). The raw data was cleaned, coded, keyed into SPSS software, analyzed, and then presented using pie charts, bar graphs and frequency tables. The qualitative data was analyzed to get correlations among different variables through coding, observing emerging themes and forming categories. The findings revealed that there exist gaps in nurse practitioners’ adherence to Continuing Professional Development guidelines of the Nursing Council of Kenya. Based on the study findings, it is, therefore, concluded that CPD activities in Meru County still need reforms to enhance adherence. A future research of examining effects of CPD activities to quality of health care by regression analysis technique is therefore, recommended.

Freedom to teach: implications of the removal of Persepolis from Chicago schools

Despite sometimes being viewed as inferior to other forms of literature, comic books and graphic novels are frequently used within the school curriculum. However, in March 2013, public schools in Chicago were instructed by the district authority to remove the well-respected graphic novel Persepolis (Satrapi, M. 2008. London: Vintage) from libraries and classrooms. Chicago Public Schools indicated that the ban would only be revoked once professional development guidelines for teachers had been produced to support the teaching of the text. This article examines the types of support that teachers may benefit from when teaching graphic novels, and Persepolis in particular, and questions whether the possible lack of such support justifies the removal of the text from schools.

Developing the Capacity to Implement Tier 2 and Tier 3 Supports: How Do We Support Our Faculty and Staff in Preparing for Sustainability?

School-site and district-level leadership teams rely on the existing knowledge base to select, implement, and evaluate evidence-based practices meeting students’ multiple needs within the context of multitiered systems of support. The authors focus on the stages of implementation science as applied to Tier 2 and Tier 3 supports; the importance of school-site expertise to select, implement, and monitor the use of evidence-based Tier 2 and Tier 3 practices to address the academic, behavioral, and social needs of students; and evidence-based guidelines for professional development. Together these practices ensure school-site leadership teams focus available resources for addressing data-based needs and achieving desired student outcomes.

Teacher supervision practices and characteristics of in-school supervisors in Uganda

We examined teacher supervision practices (supervision models, phases, and professional development guidelines) of in-school supervisors (principals, vice principals, and study program directors) in Uganda, the supervisors’ efficacy perceptions regarding teacher supervision, and supervisor characteristics associated with the choice of supervisory practices. A quantitative survey on instructional supervision was conducted among in-school supervisors in 45 secondary schools in three rural school districts in Uganda. This country faces the challenge of assessing the quality of its education, in light of reforms in universal primary and secondary education programs, and of improving student achievement through teacher professional development. A total of 106 supervisors responded to the questionnaire. Factor analysis, descriptive statistics, correlations, t test analysis, and analysis of variance were performed. Results indicate that the supervisory practices most used were a differentiated model and a 360° supervision model, a supervision phase prior to class observation, and a phase following class observation, as well as directive and collaborative professional development guidelines. The supervisors’ perception of collective efficacy was stronger than was their perception of self- or professional efficacy, and their internal perception of efficacy was generally stronger than was their external perception of efficacy. Supervisors’ sociocognitive characteristics, particularly the internal perception of professional efficacy, were the factors most associated with the choice of supervisory practice. Our findings suggest that the choice of supervisory practice is greatly associated with the supervisors’ perceptions of efficacy. Before introducing change, we must learn more about the practices and perceptions of the teaching supervisors. This study addresses this aspect.

Guidelines for Supervision, Roles, and Responsibilities During the Delivery of Occupational Therapy Services

These guidelines about supervision, roles, and responsibilities are to assist in the appropriate utilization of occupational therapists, occupational therapy assistants, and occupational therapy aides and in the appropriate and effective provision of occupational therapy services. It is expected that occupational therapy services are delivered in accordance with applicable state and federal regulations, relevant workplace policies, the Occupational Therapy Code of Ethics (AOTA, 2005), and continuing competency and professional development guidelines.

Implementing the Professional Development Standards: An Innovative M.S. Degree for High School Chemistry Teachers

The 1996 publication of the National Science Education Standards (NSES) has had a profound effect on curriculum development, assessment of student learning, and pre-service teacher education. One consequence of this at the state level has been the abandonment of permanent certification for K-12 teachers in favor of renewable licensure. Ohio and Pennsylvania now require secondary teachers to earn an M.S. within ten years of their B.S. However, the NSES for professional development have yet to receive emphasis and priority in implementation equal to that given the content standards. For high school chemistry teachers, existing M.S. programs fail to meet the NSES professional development guidelines. This report outlines a vision for a new kind of masters' degree, tailored to the needs and talents of high school chemistry teachers, which provides for integration of both pedagogical knowledge and content knowledge (chemistry). The program empowers teachers with the skills necessary for continual professional development throughout their careeers by using action research in the high school classroom. Graduate courses in chemistry education research, including an extensive annotated bibliography, and early evaluation results are reported.

Recreation Leadership and Supervision: Guidelines for Professional Development. By Richard G. Kraus and Barbara J. Bates

"Recreation Leadership and Supervision: Guidelines for Professional Development. By Richard G. Kraus and Barbara J. Bates." Journal of Leisure Research, 10(1), pp. 73–74