Vocational Settings Research Articles

Impact of using augmented reality applications in the educational environment

This study discusses a literature review that focuses on the use of Augmented Reality in the educational environment. The author reviews articles published in the last 10 years that discuss the use of Augmented Reality in learning media at all levels of education. A total of 30 articles were analyzed thoroughly. The result shows various types of research methods were found and the levels of education varied from early childhood education, elementary school, junior high school, senior high school, vocational school, and tertiary education, even the technology was also used for students with special needs (disability). The research designs found also varied such as Experiment, Analysis, Action Research, Surveys, Mixed Method, and Research-Based and Development. The most prominent role of Augemented Reality in educational environment is to increase students’ thinking ability, understanding, motivation, response, and learning outcomes towards the learning process. Most of the researches were conducted in secondary level while little attention was given in vocational level. Thus, this article would recommend to future studies to conduct more researches in vocational setting in order to display more evindence about the phenomenon of Augmented Reality in educational setting.

Hiding in Plain Sight: Text Comprehension, Hyperlexia, and Adolescents With Autism Spectrum Disorder

Purpose Reading comprehension is a critical skill for success in academic, social, and vocational settings. However, comprehension problems for readers with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are often overlooked during the period when most children are learning to read, masked by strong early decoding skills, a good memory for specific facts, and an understanding of concrete content. As students progress through the grades, the content of what they must read to be successful becomes increasingly complex and the comprehension deficit, present but unrecognized from the earliest interactions with text, is revealed. This article provides an overview of how the core deficits of individuals with ASD impact on the reading comprehension and academic success of older students. Conclusion Identification and intervention to address the underlying comprehension deficit has the potential to provide benefit in academic and personal pursuits of adolescent readers with ASD.

Teaching science to chefs: The benefits, challenges and opportunities

The science of cooking is being taught at a small handful of culinary schools across the globe, and there seems to be a general consensus that scientific understanding can be a valuable tool for an aspiring chef. There is however very little information available on how these scientific topics are being disseminated to chefs. In this communication, we will introduce and discuss two chef teaching environments where scientific topics are or have been taught: The Culinary Science Laboratory at Westminster Kingsway College in London and the Gastrolab at the University of Southern Denmark in Odense. Our conclusion is that the science of cooking is an important topic valuable for the education of the next generation of chefs, but there are challenges associated with teaching this academic subject in a vocational setting, and we feel that further research should be done to look into the methodology of teaching science in the kitchen, and that there is a need to develop a standardized syllabus for the delivery of this subject.

Differential Relationships of Light and Darker Forms of Humor with Mindfulness

This study proposes two links between facets of mindfulness and different forms of humor: First, the common benevolence should link mindfulness positively to light forms of humor and negatively to darker forms of humor. Second, similar cognitive mechanisms should underlie both mindfulness and humor ability (humor detection, comprehension, and production). Third, both are malleable, and we hypothesize that fostering humor and mindfulness may mutually influence each other, leading to innovative and practical interventions for settings such as the workplace. In three studies, the relationship of humor and mindfulness as outlined in the Humor Mindfulness Relationship Model was investigated. In Studies 1 and 2, the relationship of different forms of humor and mindfulness was investigated in a sample of health care professionals and a broad online sample. In Study 3, the effect of a mindfulness intervention on humor as a character strength was investigated, giving preliminary insights into the mutual malleability of both. Results confirmed the positive relationship among light forms of humor and mindfulness as well as negative relationships of darker forms of humor with mindfulness. The mindfulness intervention fostered humor as a character strength. These results indicate that humor and mindfulness may be fruitfully combined in positive interventions as well as in the vocational setting. Moreover, the results suggest initial evidence for the Humor Mindfulness Relationship Model.

A Taxonomy in Robot-Assisted Training: Current Trends, Needs and Challenges

In this article, we present a taxonomy in Robot-Assisted Training; a growing body of research in Human–Robot Interaction which focuses on how robotic agents and devices can be used to enhance user’s performance during a cognitive or physical training task. Robot-Assisted Training systems have been successfully deployed to enhance the effects of a training session in various contexts, i.e., rehabilitation systems, educational environments, vocational settings, etc. The proposed taxonomy suggests a set of categories and parameters that can be used to characterize such systems, considering the current research trends and needs for the design, development and evaluation of Robot-Assisted Training systems. To this end, we review recent works and applications in Robot-Assisted Training systems, as well as related taxonomies in Human–Robot Interaction. The goal is to identify and discuss open challenges, highlighting the different aspects of a Robot-Assisted Training system, considering both robot perception and behavior control.

Psychological determinants of test motivation in low-stakes test situations: A longitudinal study of singletrait\u2013multistate models in accounting

BackgroundWhile several studies show that examinees’ test motivation biases their results in low-stakes tests, studies that investigate the predictors of motivation when taking low-stakes tests are rare. Moreover, little evidence exists on whether test motivation represents a state-like or trait-like construct. Research into these matters needs statistical models that allow distinguishing inter-individual from intra-individual variability of motivation across a range of test situations. The present study is located in a vocational school setting and aims to explain variations in vocational students’ low-stakes test motivation. We draw on Urhahne’s (Psychologische Rundschau 59:150–166, 2008. https://doi.org/10.1026/0033-3042.59.3.150) synthesis of motivation theories in academic learning contexts to substantiate potential predictors. Since we concentrate on person-dependent characteristics, relevant predictors are types of self-determined/external behavioural regulation, achievement motivation, academic self-concept, and grit. In line with Eccles et al. (In: Spence JT (eds) Achievement and achievement motives: psychological and sociological approaches. Freeman, San Francisco, pp 109–132, 1983) and Sundre (The Student Opinion Scale (SOS). A measure of examinee motivation: test manual. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/238741273_The_Student_Opinion_Scale_SOS, 2007), we further discern value attributions to and invested effort in each test as two separate dimensions of test motivation.MethodEmpirical analyses utilize longitudinal questionnaire and test performance data of students (N = 852) from full time vocational schools, who participated repeatedly in a low-stakes accounting test at the end of each school year (5 years in total). Latent singletrait–multistate (STMS) models serve to disentangle trait-like and state-like components of students’ test motivation and their respective associations with trait- and state-components of the assumed predictor variables.ResultsFindings from STMS models indicate that approx. 30% of variation in students’ test motivation is stable over time, whereas approx. 25% is attributable to the test situation, leading to a high portion of 45% residual variance. Bivariate STMS analyses show that students’ achievement motivation and type of behavioural regulation predict the value dimension of their test motivation. This pattern appears for the trait-like components of investigated constructs (here: time-invariant, person-specific levels of predictors and criteria) as well as for the state-like components (here: intra-individual increases or declines in predictors and criteria). Regarding the effort dimension of test motivation, similar associations among the trait-like components appear. Students’ self-reported effort is positively predicted by type of behavioural regulation and achievement motivation. Moreover, and in contrast to the value dimension, students’ perseverance plays a crucial role when predicting test-taking effort. Finally, a multivariate intercept-only growth model was estimated to analyse the relative contributions of different psychological determinants of test motivation. It shows that (a) students’ introjected regulation predicts the value dimension and (b) students’ identified behavioural regulation and perseverance (as an essential aspect of grit) predict the effort dimension of test motivation.ConclusionsStudents’ motivation to master low-stakes tests represents an equally trait- and state-like construct—at least with respect to the investigated test format (paper–pencil), content (accounting) and examinee population (vocational students). Our finding that comparably stable motivational dispositions of students, namely person-specific types of behavioural regulation, achievement motivation, and grit, are highly predictive of their test motivation in multiple test situations implies that test motivation bias can be reduced substantially by controlling for general student motivation (in the relevant academic domain).

Vocational nursing programs in Appalachia: The Impact of Technology on Traditional and Non-Traditional Students Experiences

This current investigation examines the effects of technology on the success of traditional and non-traditional, post-secondary students in nursing programs in an Appalachian vocational setting. A survey was developed for use in Columbiana County, Ohio, a designated Appalachian area at a county vocational school with several programs in the nursing field. The survey was used to measure technology self-efficacy, perceptions about the impact of technology on the educational experience, and preparation for future employment. The survey was completed by 205 participants, both traditional and non-traditional in age for comparison. Findings from this study indicate that non-traditional students face more barriers to learning with the use of technology than the traditional set of students. With an ever-changing economy and job market, non-traditional students will continue to be a group that faces different barriers and challenges than others in different age brackets.

Enhancing Independent Participation Within Vocational Activities for an Adolescent With ASD Using AAC Video Visual Scene Displays

Adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often require support both for learning new skills and for communication. This study used a multiple baseline across activities design to evaluate the effect of videos with integrated visual scene displays (video VSDs), presented using a tablet-based app, on the percentage of steps completed independently within vocational training tasks by an adolescent with ASD and complex communication needs (CCN). Using the video VSDs, the participant met the mastery criterion for completing three tasks (including participation in communication exchanges) in a vocational setting. The results provide evidence that video VSDs may provide an effective support both for learning new skills in vocational contexts, and as a method of augmentative and alternative communication for individuals with ASD and CCN.

The role of planning in complex problem solving

Complex problem solving (CPS) is a highly transversal competence needed in educational and vocational settings as well as everyday life. The assessment of CPS is often computer-based, and therefore provides data regarding not only the outcome but also the process of CPS. However, research addressing this issue is scarce. In this article we investigated planning activities in the process of complex problem solving. We operationalized planning through three behavioral measures indicating the duration of the longest planning interval, the delay of the longest planning interval and the variance of intervals between each two successive interactions. We found a significant negative average effect for our delay indicator, indicating that early planning in CPS is more beneficial. However, we also found effects depending on task and interaction effects for all three indicators, suggesting that the effects of different planning behaviors on CPS are highly intertwined.

Evaluating teacher and learner readiness to use Facebook in an Australian vocational setting

ABSTRACTThere has been a progressive move towards the adoption of social media in formal post compulsory learning. This qualitative study evaluated the readiness of teachers and students to use Facebook to enhance learning in a tertiary vocational setting in Australia despite a lack of support from the institute. Readiness was understood to be the balance sought between potential energy available (power) and the energy required for change (load). The findings, from surveys and focus group interviews, show that students were much more likely than teachers to have a Facebook account and to be interested in using Facebook as part of their learning. Agreed benefits, evident through a student-initiated closed Facebook group, included collaboration through sharing resources, knowledge and ideas, increased communication with peers and teachers, and a platform that was familiar to students. The difference lay in perceptions of purpose, places and spaces for learning, and an understanding of social norms.

Honesty and genuine happiness

ABSTRACTGenuine happiness is impossible without authentic concern for and corresponding behaviour towards the well-being of others. Such an incorporation of others into the self refers to a “democratic self” and the related regard for the common good. The author argues that the honesty of professionals who work in or for an educational or vocational setting is vital for the good of the individual and the common good. By introducing “democratic selves”, recent advancements in Dialogical Self Theory (DST) point to an inclusion of the common good. However, given the importance of virtues for one’s own and the common good, the theory and its applications are in need of integrating virtues and in particular honesty.

Complex cognitive skill retention: The roles of general mental ability and refresher interventions in a simulated vocational setting

AbstractIn organizations, the assessment of mental abilities is a common way to predict learning success. This paper analyses the effect of general mental ability on skill retention and examines the relationship between refresher interventions and general mental ability in terms of skill retention. Two hundred sixty‐six adult participants were trained to perform a complex cognitive skill in a simulated chemical processing plant (Week 1). After 1 week, 158 participants received intermediate computer‐assisted refresher intervention training in which the skill was applied (Week 2; 108 received no intervention). Finally, participants had to recall (perform) the learned skill after 2 weeks (Week 3). Results show that general mental ability alone affects skill retention with small effect sizes and that refresher interventions affect skill retention positively for low and high general mental ability levels. The findings suggest that persons with low and high general mental abilities benefit equally from refresher interventions in order to maintain complex cognitive skills.

Stakeholder Engagement and the Enhanced Entrepreneurship of VET Graduates

This study forms part of an ongoing research endeavour by the Malta College of Arts, Science, and Technology (MCAST) to map out and understand the entrepreneurial behaviours and actions that are particular to students who graduate after completing further or higher vocational education and who enter an entrepreneurial venture. An understanding is sought on how active stakeholder engagement enhances the capability of a Vocational Education and Training (VET) College to contribute positively and significantly towards the knowledge, skills, and competences of its students. Of interest to both the vocational and academic community is the linkage between educational activities and entrepreneurship. Ardichvili and Cardozo (2000) argue that learning activities and the subsequent knowledge acquired positively impact opportunity recognition and discovery. This follows on the lines of Autio et al. (1997), Krueger (1993), and Peterman and Kennedy (2003) in that educational activities influence students’ entrepreneurial intentions and the desirability and feasibility of starting a business. The research aims to understand how stakeholder engagement empowers the vocational educator to provide distinct enterprise-relevant advantages to the vocational student. Vocational education programmes offer a component distinct from the normal academic learning. Whilst the knowledge component is ever-present, as would be in any educational programme, skills and competences take on a new meaning, one that is not lost in enterprise behaviour. Skills are practical and transversal, giving vocational graduates an edge in understanding how to behave and make decisions in a dynamic business environment. Competences are stronger, particularly the competence of the vocational graduate to make decisions with autonomy and responsibility. The outcome of this vocational setting and the way that this is influenced by predominant stakeholders is of much interest to the researcher and to the academic and business community.

Revisiting the Congruence–Satisfaction Relationship: The Role of External Forces

The main objective of the present study was to explore the role of the forces in the context external to the setting of a specific vocational setting (i.e., an academic major in a university) in the congruence–satisfaction relationship. Four hundred and fifty-three Chinese university students responded to the Career Personality Styles Inventory, the revised Contextual Supports and Barriers Scale, and the Academic Major Satisfaction Scale. Results indicated that the congruence between individual vocational interests and their academic majors (for brevity, congruence) and two types of external forces (external barriers and support from social relations) were significant predictors of students’ satisfaction with their academic majors. In comparison, the predictive power of external forces for students’ satisfaction with their academic majors was far beyond that of congruence. Moreover, external barriers were a marginally significant moderator in the relationship between congruence and satisfaction. Implications and limitations of the findings are discussed.

Comparing self-directed video prompting to least-to-most prompting in post-secondary students with moderate intellectual disabilities

Objectives: This study compared the effects of self-directed video prompting with error correction using an iPod Touch to least-to-most prompting on teaching vocational skills to two post-secondary students with moderate intellectual disabilities.Methods: Students were first taught to use the inPromptu mobile application on the iPod Touch. They were then taught to collate and pack a large envelope and to tri-fold papers and pack a business envelope. The two tasks were counterbalanced across students in an adapted alternating treatments design. Students were instructed to use self-directed video prompting with error correction to teach themselves one skill, and an instructor used least-to-most prompting to teach the second skill. Data were also collected on sessions to criterion and maintenance of the skills over time.Results: Results demonstrated that both instructional techniques were effective in teaching the skills, and students generalized their use of the technology to learn a new skill with no additional instruction. These results were replicated with one of the students.Conclusions: Self-directed video prompting with error correction and least-to-most prompting were nearly equivalent in terms of acquisition efficiency and maintenance. These findings suggest that self-directed video prompting with error correction could be used in vocational settings, allowing job coaches to fade more quickly and for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities to be more independent.

Parental involvement and adolescent smoking in vocational setting in Finland.

The present study examined whether parental involvement in their adolescents' lives is associated with adolescent smoking in a vocational school setting when controlling for socioeconomic background and parental smoking. The study was conducted in spring 2013 and involved 34 776 Finnish vocational school students (mean age 17.6 years). The data were analyzed using multinomial regression. The results showed that lower parental involvement was significantly associated with adolescent daily smoking in both genders and with occasional smoking in girls. Parental daily smoking predicted adolescent daily smoking, and this association was also seen for those adolescents whose mother and father had quitted smoking. Furthermore, our results indicate that mothers' smoking may be more influential on adolescents' smoking than fathers' smoking. Multivariate analysis showed that living in a nuclear family or alternately with both parents in two homes decreased daily smoking in both genders compared to living in other family arrangements.

The Analogical Practitioner: Relating Theory to Practice in Vocational Settings Using Problem Solutions, Causality, Design Patterns, Abstraction, and Case-Based Reasoning

Universally true generalizations, from which specific conclusions can be deduced, are often unavailable to the practitioner, defined as anyone carrying out an occupation or profession. Theoretical shortcomings in the body of knowledge presented by academics can be counteracted by the practitioner using his or her knowledge of problem solutions. These can be stored as particular cases or as more generalized design patterns. They will typically contain information about cause-and-effect relationships and normative information about acceptable solutions. Use can be made of these solutions by employing reasoning by analogy and case-based reasoning. Similar problems require similar solutions. Cause-and-effect theory can be generated by practitioners using abstraction from particular cases, as an alternative to enumerative induction. The difference between this theory and that of the academic can be largely one of degree of generality. There is a continuum of cause-and-effect relationships at different levels of abstraction, which does not justify the abrupt separation of the academic and practitioner worlds, which has been encouraged by a reasonable interpretation of Bernsteins work. The study of exemplary problems in vocational education can be made more effective if it is accompanied by an examination of the actual outcomes of previously proposed solutions.

SU27. Cognitive Remediation, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, and Occupational Outcome in Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorders: A 2-Year Follow-up Study

Background: Neurocognitive impairment is prominent in schizophrenia and significantly related to low occupational attainment and poor occupational outcomes (August et al, 2012). Vocational rehabilitation (VR) is frequently implemented to counteract high unemployment rates. Individuals with schizophrenia however face numerous challenges such as neurocognitive impairments and psychotic symptoms. Hence, augmenting VR to address illness-related factors may optimize occupational outcomes. The aim of this study was to examine the effects of Cognitive Remediation (CR)-augmented compared to Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)-augmented VR on neurocognition and occupational functioning over a 2-year period. Methods: One hundred and thirty-one participants underwent assessments at baseline, post-treatment (after 10 months), and follow-up (2 years after randomization). Performance on the MATRICS Consensus Cognitive Battery (MCCB), occupational status, and number of hours worked per week were recorded at all assessment points. Results: Both intervention groups improved on several neurocognitive domains, improvements were however in favor of the CR group with significant intervention-by-time interactions for working memory (P = .009) and the composite score (P = .03). There was a significant increase in number of participants working (79% vs 80% at post-treatment and 68% vs 58% at follow-up in CBT and CR, respectively) and hours worked throughout the project period, with no between-group differences. CBT participants were working 11.6 hours a week at post-treatment and 14 hours at follow-up, whereas CR participants worked 10.6 hours at post-treatment and 11.3 hours a week at follow-up. Separate multiple regression analyses with hours worked as criterion was not significant for CBT (P = .13), but for CR (P = .03) with education (P = .03) and positive change in Working Memory (P = .02) as significant predictors. Entering the composite change score as predictor instead of separate domains produced a significant model for CR (P = .02). Significant predictors were age (P = .04) and change in the composite score (P = .007). Conclusion: CR-augmented VR improved several neurocognitive domains, particularly Working Memory, which was central in the CR program as well as the MCCB Composite Score. Neurocognitive improvements may also be partially explained by additional strategy learning and bridging to work settings provided in the CR program perhaps reducing interference caused by neurocognitive impairments and leading to more sufficient allocation of neurocognitive resources in turn aiding in transfer of learning to vocational settings which consequently may have helped optimize occupational functioning. The major implication of these findings is that the combined effect of VR, organized collaboration between services and CBT/CR enabled a significant proportion of the participants to attain work and to increase the number of hours worked in the study.

Normalization of an ecologic organization and problem-solving test in a vocational rehabilitation setting: TEM-PRO

Standard neuropsychological evaluation after severe TBI (traumatic brain injury) often minimizes executive deficits, the latter are known to seriously impair return to work. Therefore, we developed an ecological organization and problem-solving test in a vocational setting called the TEM-PRO. In the present study, we aimed to normalize the TEM-PRO in a population of 40 control patients without neurological and psychiatric disorders. The TEM-PRO is based on the multiple errands test from Shallice and Burger (1991). It has been translated into French and validated in our institution. The adaptation of the original test in a vocational setting induces the addition of 4 activities of variable complexity, research and redaction of information and demands to follow well defined rules. Skills that are solicited are planning, selective and sustained attention, prospective memory, organization, problems solving and behavior adaption over a long period of time. The control cohort included forty French-speaking patients (36 men), medium age 35 ± 12 years, mostly blue collar workers without any neurological or psychiatric history, participating in a return to work program. The TEM-PRO is completed in 3 to 6 h depending on the capacity of the patients and shows a good sensitivity without ceiling effect. It allows a quantitative and differentiated evaluation, a classification of various error types (interpretation and judgment failure, rule breaks, task failures and inefficiencies) and provides a qualitative behavioral analysis. Analyses from the controls patients allowed us to establish a standardized error-rating system. The multiple errands test (TEM-PRO) is an ecological, original and sensitive test. In this study, a standardized error-rating system was obtained from a cohort of patients without neurological or psychiatric history, involved in a return to work program. Further research for the validation of the TEM-PRO on TBI patients is in progress.

Issue Editor Foreword

Issue Editor Foreword