Professional Development Support Research Articles

The power of relationship-based supervision in supporting social work retention: A case study from long-term ethnographic research in child protection

Supervision is a core component of professional support and development in social work. In many settings, and perhaps particularly in children’s services, it is valued as crucial in safe decision-making, practice reflection, professional development and staff support. Research has demonstrated that supervision and staff support also contribute to social worker retention in child welfare services. Drawing on data gathered in a 15-month ethnographic, longitudinal study of child protection work that included observations of supervision, we were able to observe the impact of supportive supervisory relationships on social workers’ decision-making about staying in their current workplace. This article presents a single case that demonstrates the potential impact of effective relationship-based supervision on retention and calls for a more humane approach to social work supervision against dominant managerial themes that have increasingly burdened the profession.

The Effects of Group Mentoring on Teachers’ Classroom Activities: An Instrumental Case Study

As the technologies in the field of education are becoming more and more sophisticated, continuous professional development for teachers is gaining increasing importance. Therefore, teachers need to improve themselves to grow more competent professionally, to adapt to innovations in their field and to be aware of their competencies throughout their professional careers. A support for professional development can be given to teachers through in-service training programs or mentoring practices. This study aims to improve chemistry teachers' adaptation to the renewed curriculum with a group mentoring program and to determine the effects of this program on professional development of teachers by individually and as a group. The study group consists of four (three males, one female) chemistry teachers working in the central districts of the province of Trabzon in Turkey. A Course Evaluation Form developed by the researchers was used to examine the effect of the teachers’ mentoring support experiences on their classroom practices. Each teacher was observed before, during and after the mentoring. Every one of the classroom teaching practices was video-recorded. The video recordings were analyzed according to the themes and codes in the course evaluation form. The findings show that there is a change in teachers' in-class practices before, during and after the mentoring, and while this change shows continuous improvement in some cases, it is variable or stationary in some others.

Can academic dentistry become an anti-racist institution?: Addressing racial battle fatigue and building belonging.

Racism, oppression, and marginalization are unfortunate hallmarks that Black individuals face in the United States. While dental schools serve as institutions of both learning and patient care, applying humanistic principles, they are not immune to racism, specifically anti-Black racism. In this paper, the theoretical framework of racial battle fatigue is applied to academic dentistry to consider how it may impact faculty who have experiences with racism and discrimination. The framework of racial battle fatigue allows for a critique of academic dentistry as an institution that may be toxic, neither welcoming Black faculty members nor supporting their professional and career advancement, despite accreditation standards that call on these institutions to be humanistic environments for diversity and inclusion. Black faculty members may face unique challenges in academic dentistry because of racial battle fatigue. The cumulative stress may warrant unique strategies to both recruit and retain them in academic dental institutions. Specifically, pathways may need to be funded to insure that they have support and time allocations for professional development and career promotion. With understanding the effects of racial battle fatigue, dental schools may want to adopt policies and practices that support the professional and personal well-being and success of faculty, especially those faculty members who are Black.

Control of resources in the nursing workplace: Power and patronage relations.

Immigrant nurses make up a large percentage of the Australian nursing workforce. Since the support in the workplace is expected to be inclusive for all nurses, the aim of this article is to explore how support and opportunities for professional growth, learning and development are distributed across different categories of nurses working in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). An ethnographic approach has opened an examination of the everyday workplace practices in the NICU to gain insight into how nurses made sense of the social and power relations occurring between themselves and their senior colleagues and how they experienced the support and opportunities they received in their workplace. As today's workplaces such as the NICU are diverse in races, culture and experiences, the concepts of intersectionality and cultural safety assisted in identifying inequality and injustice related to such diversity. The results showed how patronage relations rendered nurses with immigrant status with major disadvantage and left them clinically and culturally vulnerable. Such inequity defeats the reasons for encouraging skilled migration of nurses and poses questions on the cultural competency of recruiting organisations. Considering how cultural safety might guide staff development offers opportunities for authentic support to culturally diverse nurses.

The use of digital tools in interdisciplinary projects of students’ personal and professional self-development

The article reveals the problem of using digital tools in the context of blended and distance learning. The purpose of the study - to prove the effectiveness of using digital tools in interdisciplinary projects of students` personal and professional self-development. Different approaches in modern scientific discourse of above mentioned problem are highlighted. Groups of digital tools that should be used at each stage of the interdisciplinary project is specified and characterized. The article contains author's practical developments and examples on using digital tools to fulfill the tasks of educational disciplines, which are integrated in interdisciplinary projects, implemented in the process of researching the scientific topic "Psychological and pedagogical support of personal and professional development of future teachers in the implementation of new educational standards". The results of the empirical study of the effectiveness of using digital tools in interdisciplinary projects are summarized according to certain indicators: value-motivated, cognitive, self-learning, procedural, self-movement. The purpose has been achieved by comparing quantitative and qualitative assessments of the dynamics of indicators of high level students’ personal and professional self-development in control and experimental groups. The statistical significance of the study results has been verified by applying Student t-criterion. It has been proved that as a result of using digital tools in the interdisciplinary project the students of the experimental group significantly increased the level of personal and professional self-development.

Impact of a Single Institution Resident-Led Education Committee in Radiation Oncology

Purpose Resident-led collaborative groups provide a platform to refine ideas and support professional development and scholarship during residency. To actively engage in radiation oncology (RO) education and leadership, residents formed an Education Committee (EC). Here, we discuss the structure and impact of a resident-led EC. Methods With the support of the RO program leadership at a single academic institution, this committee was created with the goals of (1) identifying and addressing gaps in residency education, (2) implementing sustainable educational initiatives across various interprofessional groups, and (3) sharing ongoing projects within medical education to identify resources and invite collaboration. The leadership core consisted of 1-2 resident co-chairs and committee sub-leads. The committee held one-hour monthly meetings, which consisted of journal club to review medical education literature followed by pre-set discussion of topics spanning committee goals. Faculty consultants were invited to attend to provide their expertise. Results The EC included medical and physics residents and grew from 6 to 10 members within the first two years of implementation. It worked with department and institutional leadership to implement initiatives to address gaps identified in medical resident education, medical student outreach, and interprofessional RO education. Additionally, members used this platform to find collaborators and identify resources for education projects, including global health and climate health initiatives. Key outputs of the EC included an updated repository of shared residency resources with high-yield educational material, site-specific reading lists developed with faculty, and a week-long statistics module now integrated into the curriculum. To improve medical student outreach, the EC established collaboration with the affiliated medical school's Oncology Interest Group to launch mentorship programs, including a tumor board seminar series engaging students in multidisciplinary oncology care. To support interprofessional RO education, the EC leads a medical assistant RO curriculum, which now has plans for multi-institutional expansion to other RO programs. Discussion Residencies are in need of pathways to foster resident engagement in medical education and scholarship. Additionally, the apprenticeship nature of RO training often lacks leadership and teaching opportunities, which can be supplied through resident-led collaborative groups. Here, we described our experience establishing a resident-led EC in RO, which has cultivated a community of resident leaders in education at our institution. This committee has been instrumental in implementing and sustaining initiatives across various facets of medical education. Successful initiatives can then be scaled for national implementation. This committee structure can serve as a framework for other RO programs. Resident-led collaborative groups provide a platform to refine ideas and support professional development and scholarship during residency. To actively engage in radiation oncology (RO) education and leadership, residents formed an Education Committee (EC). Here, we discuss the structure and impact of a resident-led EC. With the support of the RO program leadership at a single academic institution, this committee was created with the goals of (1) identifying and addressing gaps in residency education, (2) implementing sustainable educational initiatives across various interprofessional groups, and (3) sharing ongoing projects within medical education to identify resources and invite collaboration. The leadership core consisted of 1-2 resident co-chairs and committee sub-leads. The committee held one-hour monthly meetings, which consisted of journal club to review medical education literature followed by pre-set discussion of topics spanning committee goals. Faculty consultants were invited to attend to provide their expertise. The EC included medical and physics residents and grew from 6 to 10 members within the first two years of implementation. It worked with department and institutional leadership to implement initiatives to address gaps identified in medical resident education, medical student outreach, and interprofessional RO education. Additionally, members used this platform to find collaborators and identify resources for education projects, including global health and climate health initiatives. Key outputs of the EC included an updated repository of shared residency resources with high-yield educational material, site-specific reading lists developed with faculty, and a week-long statistics module now integrated into the curriculum. To improve medical student outreach, the EC established collaboration with the affiliated medical school's Oncology Interest Group to launch mentorship programs, including a tumor board seminar series engaging students in multidisciplinary oncology care. To support interprofessional RO education, the EC leads a medical assistant RO curriculum, which now has plans for multi-institutional expansion to other RO programs. Residencies are in need of pathways to foster resident engagement in medical education and scholarship. Additionally, the apprenticeship nature of RO training often lacks leadership and teaching opportunities, which can be supplied through resident-led collaborative groups. Here, we described our experience establishing a resident-led EC in RO, which has cultivated a community of resident leaders in education at our institution. This committee has been instrumental in implementing and sustaining initiatives across various facets of medical education. Successful initiatives can then be scaled for national implementation. This committee structure can serve as a framework for other RO programs.

The lessons learned working in diagnostic and therapeutic radiography departments through the COVID-19 pandemic in Northern Ireland, UK. What can we do differently the next time?

IntroductionFollowing the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic in January 2020, a radical restructure of NHS services occurred, prioritising the acute needs of infected patients. This included suspending routine procedures, leading to an inevitable resurgence in the future, placing increased demands on the NHS, including diagnostic and therapeutic radiographers. With radiography departments already experiencing staff shortages due to COVID-19 related illnesses and vulnerable staff shielding, there is a need to implement plans within radiography departments to ensure their sustainability in the future. MethodsA mixed methods study was undertaken in Northern Ireland, involving distribution of a survey to diagnostic and therapeutic radiographers alongside conducting interviews with radiography department managers. Results106 radiographers completed the survey, with 9 radiography managers and 2 band eight superintendents participating in interviews. Over 60% of participants felt that morale declined in their departments, with the majority feeling that the pandemic had a negative impact on their physical or mental health and wellbeing. Managers felt that to improve staff morale and motivation, incentives need to be offered including remuneration, flexible working and support for professional development. ConclusionWhilst predicting when the next wave of a COVID-19 variant or the next pandemic will occur is impossible, preparation and planning will help manage the situation better. This requires identifying clinical areas for expansion/retraction and having access to additional staff to meet the demands on the service to ensure all patients receive care not just those acutely ill. Implications for practiceThis study has identified key lessons learned from the pandemic within the radiography departments. This will enable preparation and strategic planning for future pandemics.

Fourth year intellectual disability student nurses’ journey and future work intention: a qualitative study

BackgroundThe aim of this qualitative study is to explore the views and experiences of final year BSc intellectual disability nursing students’ journey, future work plans and examine factors influencing their migration intentions following graduation.MethodsA qualitative component of a mixed methods study where a focus group interview was conducted with final year BSc intellectual disability nursing students (n = 10) from one University in Ireland in June 2019. A topic guide was utilised, and participant’s were interviewed about their programme, future work plans and migration intentions. An inductive approach was utilised, and data were analysed using a pre-existing framework for initial coding and thematic development. Duffy’s conceptual model of identity transformation provided a structure to analyse the data and map themes onto the conceptual framework.ResultsThe findings were mapped onto the five stages of Duffy’s (2013) conceptual model of identity transformation: Pre-Entry; Reaffirming; Surmounting; Stabilising and Actualising. Findings indicate that further work is required to promote intellectual disability nursing and address professional esteem issues, support for education and professional development, such as providing career guidance opportunities prior to course completion, development of clinical skills within their education programme and support for the professional development of new graduates. Participant’s identified uncertainty about career opportunities and saw scope for future professional development opportunities particularly in community-based work.ConclusionThis study has identified that final year intellectual disability nursing students are uncertain about career options and opportunities for intellectual disability nurses in other country’s. There is an urgent need for the intellectual disability nursing profession to articulate their practice and advocate for their role and contribution to the care of people with intellectual disability. This study identified a clear need for direction and information regarding intellectual disability nursing roles and career opportunities.

Educator perspectives on implementing the Optometry Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health curriculum framework

ABSTRACT Clinical relevance Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples have the right to the highest attainable standard of health and access to health services without discrimination. To uphold these rights, it is important that optometry students are educated in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health and culturally safe practice. Background An Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health curriculum framework is now mandatory for optometry programs to implement. This study explores the experiences of those involved in implementing this framework and, from their perspectives, what is and is not working. Methods Heads and educators involved in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health curriculum at Australian optometry programs participated in a mixed-methods study. Information about pedagogy and contextual issues impacting curriculum implementation was collected through surveys and interviews. The design and analysis were underpinned by constructivist grounded theory. Results Most programs had at least partially implemented components of the curriculum framework. While partnerships were considered essential to success, this remains a work in progress. Authentic learning through clinical placement was considered a priority. Assessment was described as complex and not yet adequately addressed. Only 37% of educators felt fully prepared to teach and 6% to assess this curriculum. More workload allocation, funding and recruitment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander staff and students through institutional commitment and leadership were perceived requirements. Conclusion Further developing sustainable partnerships where there is reciprocity between optometry programs and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander educators and communities is critical to effectively implementing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health curriculum. While clinical placement was considered an important learning experience, the type of experience and whether or not all students should attend require further consideration. Additionally, educators need support for professional development and sharing resources in this emerging field. This will contribute to improving culturally safe practice in optometry.

A Qualitative Study of Secondary Physical Education Teachers’ Job Satisfaction in Japan, South Korea, and the United States

The purpose of this study was to qualitatively explore the themes and factors surrounding secondary PE teachers’ job satisfaction and to find similarities and differences in the factors that influence job satisfaction among secondary school physical education (PE) teachers in Japan, South Korea, and the United States. Using a purposive sampling, nine secondary school PE teachers, three in each country, were recruited. A total of five investigators visited each participant’s school for an entire day and collected field notes while observing PE sessions. At the end of each class period, each participant reported their job satisfaction on an 11-point visual analog scale, and a semi-structured interview was conducted in their native language. Four primary themes surrounding job satisfaction emerged: 1) student behavior, attitude, & motivations, 2) teacher’s workload including their compensation and work-life balance, 3) their relations with coworkers, and 4) administration, funding, & professional development support, among which workload and student behaviors were consistently reported in all three countries. Future research should quantitatively examine, with a larger sample size, the interrelationships of these identified themes impacting overall job satisfaction in secondary PE teachers.

Experiences of primary health care nurses advancing their careers in a remote Western Australian location.

The objective of the study was to explore the experiences of primary health care (PHC) nurses advancing their careers in a remote location in Western Australia. The study was conducted in PHC organisations in one remote location in northern Western Australia. Six registered nurses working in four PHC organisations participated in the study. All were registered with the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia. Participants were all female, and five had child carer responsibilities. They had worked in the region for between 8 months and 10 years. The design was based on a qualitative, interpretative phenomenological analysis methodology involving in-depth, semi-structured, face-to-face interviews. Participants faced challenges advancing their careers given the limited employment opportunities and need to balance their professional ambitions with family needs. Participants had limited capacity to support each other's learning and felt poorly supported by employers to undertake professional development not directly related to their role. Participants were not well engaged with professional associations beyond undertaking online professional development activities provided with membership. Accessing professional development was difficult given a lack of time, limited access to local learning activities and a consequent need to travel, which was challenging. Despite the challenges they faced, most nurses remained passionate about their remote nursing roles and enjoyed the lifestyle. Remote PHC nurses face a range of challenges, some of which can be overcome by improved availability of local professional development and better support from employers and professional associations.

An Analysis of Virtual Professional Development for School Leaders During COVID-19

As a major component of leadership development, professional development (PD) support needs more researchers to focus on possible ways to build school leaders’ instructional capacity. Despite the increasing use of virtual professional development (VPD) as venues for leadership development, little is known about the essential components of an effective VPD. With the advent of COVID-19, we pivoted to VPD focused on improving school principals’ abilities to help teachers increase their instructional capacity. More specifically, we provided a virtual Summer Leadership Institute (VSLI) on peer coaching via VPD. Since research on effective PD calls for school leaders to translate their learning into leadership practice, we addressed in our sequential explanatory mixed methods study how practicing school leaders in the United States perceived the effectiveness of VPD on school leaders’ professional knowledge and growth related to the VPD topic of peer coaching. We conclude with seven specific principles to consider when developing and providing such a VPD experience for school leaders.

Ambivalent professional identity of early remedial medical students from Generation Z: a qualitative study

BackgroundSupporting professional identity development in medical students undergoing remediation in the first few years of their studies is an important topic. However, there is a lack of research on developing an effective and individualised process for successful remediation that targets learner identities. This study examined the identities of Generation Z remedial medical students through the lens of professional identity formation, focusing on the difficulties they faced and the support they sought.MethodsAn exploratory qualitative case study was conducted within a constructivist paradigm. Twenty-two medical students (14 males and 8 females) who had experienced remediation in their first few years of medical university participated in this study. All participants were members of Generation Z. Qualitative data were collected through face-to-face, semi-structured interviews and analysed using thematic analysis.ResultsMedical students undergoing remediation in the first few years experienced resistance to the medical profession and conflict due to the gap between the ideal and the reality they experienced after entering medical university. Students’ professional identities were closely intertwined with their pre-university identities; this affected the process of professional identity formation after entering medical university. They preferred assurances of confidentiality as a prerequisite and immediately sought advice through social networks to support their professional identity development.ConclusionsWhen planning professional identity development support for Generation Z medical students undergoing remediation in the first few years, it is necessary to carefully select integrative interaction methods, focus on the context of individual learners, and collaboratively discuss specific responses between students and faculty. The results of this study could be useful to faculty in developing support systems for future remedial medical students that focuses on professional identity development and mentoring of remedial medical students.

Ready to go? Profiling Philippines high school teachers’ readiness for blended learning in post-COVID-19 era

In post-COVID-19 era, education system around the world seems to experience a shifting from traditional in-class learning to online activities, or it can be blended style which is the combination of both modes. Hence, exploring teachers’ and learners’ readiness for the different model of learning activities is a must and becomes a worth inquiry. The present study is at the cutting edge of profiling high school teachers’ readiness for blended teaching activities in Philippines at the time of post-COVID-19 era. A survey research design was adopted by involving 107 high school teachers in the city of Tupi, South Cotabato province, Philippine. This study provided an alluded picture that Philippines high school teachers are ready to conduct a blended learning system in post-pandemic era. This conclusion was drawn from the excellent results of survey items in four dimensions for blended teaching readiness model developed by Graham et al, comprising technical literacy, planning blended activities, facilitating student-student and teacher-student interaction, and managing the blended learning environment. The results indicate that a responsive, supportive, and relevant teacher professional development programs should be developed in order to enhance teachers’ readiness for blended learning in post-COVID-19 era, as well as improving Philippines future educational system.

How does Mind–Body Bridging support professional identity development?

This narrative case study is an exploration of Mind–Body Bridging (MBB), an emerging mindfulness-based approach, and its impact on university students’ professional identities. MBB was used as content and an intervention tool in a psychology course. The study provides an in-depth analysis of two students’ narratives to illustrate and discuss the usefulness of MBB in the university setting. The findings demonstrate that MBB helped students develop their professional identity with regard to self-confidence, self-awareness, social relationships, and professional future. Moreover, the link between the development of students’ professional identities and their abilities to cope with work-related stress is found.

The impact of online teaching on stress and burnout of academics during the transition to remote teaching from home

BackgroundThe higher education institutions worldwide have been transformed unexpectedly to online teaching. This sudden movement from blended learning or traditional face-to-face teaching has severely disrupted university activities and posed many challenges for teaching staff, who were asked to develop online versions of their courses overnight. This study explores the effect of the current changes in education style and working from home on the stress and burnout levels of teaching staff.MethodsThis study utilized a cross-sectional design, whereby 278 participants (faculty and course instructors) from 17 campuses of one of the largest colleges in United Arab Emirates completed a web-based survey. Numerous instruments were utilized to obtain the following data: participants demographics; their perceived stress during online teaching; their perception of the impact of teaching from home on their family’s daily life, physical health, mental health and ability to cope with stress; burnout level; and their satisfaction with online teaching.ResultsAround 60% of participants reported moderate stress level during online teaching (moderate stress = 5 to 8) under COVID-19 (M 6.21 ± 2.26). An independent sample t-test and ANOVA tests revealed that participants with 7–10 years of online teaching experience reported more stress than participants who have 4–6 years online teaching experience (M 7.29, ±1.11 Vs. 5.30, ±2.69; P = 0.04). Moreover, multiple regression analysis showed that higher stress levels and lower satisfaction with the online teaching experience were associated with more significant personal and working burnout. Married participants with school-age children were at greater risk of personal burnout.ConclusionThe transition to remote education imposed mental burdens and stress on faculty members. Supportive professional development strategies to enrich faculty with online teaching skills are urgently required.

How Do Distributed and Transformational Leadership Teams Improve Working Conditions and Student Learning in Underperforming High-Needs Schools?

<p style="text-align: justify;">Theories of distributed leadership suggest that organizational learning and change results not from the efforts of a single individual, but rather from a network of people working within their broader systems. Team empowering leadership enhances human resources development of the organization to promote the sharing of knowledge that is necessary for change. In this study, we study transformational and distributed leadership team that have been linked to improving working conditions and students’ learning in high-needs schools. Specifically, we highlight a team-based intervention where positive organizational improvements were made to academically struggling schools, and then qualitatively examined the associated processes to understand what enabled the occurrence of those positive changes. We find that the team structure allowed for the clarification of expectations, enhancement of communication, and improvement of educator working conditions through professional development support and distribution of leadership responsibility, which ultimately resulted in improvement in school culture and performance.</p>

Institutionalizing evidence-based STEM reform through faculty professional development and support structures

BackgroundEven though student-centered instruction leads to positive student outcomes, direct instruction methods are still prevalent. Multiple barriers prevent faculty from further adopting evidence-based student-centered practices and holistic approaches to faculty support are necessary to promote faculty change. The Collaborative for Institutionalizing Scientific Learning (CISL) is an HHMI-funded program to reform undergraduate science and mathematics education at a large Hispanic-Serving public research university. The program has established a Faculty Scholar support model to impact the number of science and mathematics faculty using evidence-based practices in their classrooms. Through this program, Scholars are selected to undertake a transformation of a course of their choice and conduct an assessment of the impact of the reform on students—while receiving multiple supports including summer salary, undergraduate Learning Assistants, professional development, course assessment and education research support, and opportunities to develop manuscripts on their course transformations.ResultsCISL has supported over 40 Faculty Scholars in the transformation of both introductory and upper division biology, chemistry, physics and mathematics courses. Faculty are motivated to transform a course due to factors related to their own experiences and beliefs, their students’ needs, the course structure, and/or departmental elements. Quantitative analysis of the impact of the project on student success show that, overall, students in CISL-supported courses have higher passing rates compared to students in traditional classrooms. Survey and interviews of Faculty Scholars identified that the most valuable elements of the program were the personnel support from undergraduate Learning Assistants during reform implementation and guidance from the program’s Assistant Director during design, implementation and evaluation.ConclusionsThe CISL program provides an example of significant effort sustained over several years to systematically improve the quality and culture of undergraduate education in a large research-intensive Hispanic Serving Institution. The program has had an overall positive impact on the professional development of Faculty Scholars and led to an increase in the number of STEM courses implementing evidence-based teaching practices, thus, taking a step towards solidifying a culture of evidence-based instructional strategies in STEM departments.

Partnering with a Purpose: Developing Teachers and Leaders through a Faith-Based and Public Partnership

The challenges of maintaining a strong teacher pipeline are significant and have far-reaching consequences. Teachers who receive effective training, mentor support, and meaningful professional development are more likely to remain in the field. One way of supporting new teachers is through the development of public-private partnerships. This essay describes and discusses the successful partnership established between a faith-based university and a local school district to provide educational and training opportunities to new teachers.

Supporting professional development for educators during the pandemic: Lessons from an international blended learning diploma program

This article discusses issues that emerged from conducting professional development activities for educators during the Covid-19 pandemic. In 2020, as post-academic educational trainers, the authors worked closely with more than 200 professional educators who participated in an international diploma program to develop their professional skills and gain positive and insightful experience. Here, they share three lessons they learned while working with professional educators: (a) teachers face new challenges in the use of educational technology, (b) teachers wonder how to motivate learners with diverse abilities in a virtual setting, and (c) building a supportive community is essential. Suggestions and recommendations are also provided.