Work-related Competencies Research Articles

Developing a hybrid and networked educational approach to lifelong learning for organisations and employees

Developing work-related competencies suitable to the ongoing changes in surrounding society could be discussed in terms of lifelong learning. In such a context, the role of higher education has been identified as a key to develop advanced competencies applicable in a networked society. The current project includes scholars from three Swedish universities, representatives and employees from six Swedish bank and insurance companies, and a related governmental agency, all belonging to an established network. The project focuses on highly specialized professionals and their organisations, and the paper aims to answer the following research question: How can a hybrid and networked educational approach to lifelong learning for organisations and employees at the advanced level of higher education be designed? The investigation applies design-based research, and preliminary findings indicate that a hybrid and networked educational approach for lifelong learning for organisations and employees could be viewed from various perspectives. However, an overall observation is that several boundaries dissolve – for example, the ones between universities and participating and collaborative organisations – when a hybrid and networked educational approach for lifelong learning is designed. For one thing, universities should not be reduced to suppliers of education, and organisations should not be reduced to receivers of knowledge. Of particular interest is that participants working with data from their organisations can devote time to organisational challenges and/or utilize a deeper understanding of such challenges in a university course module approach. While the project still is in progress (the implementation phase is ongoing, and the phase intended to evaluate completed course modules has not started yet), the preliminary hybrid and networked approach for lifelong learning needs further development before it can be established. Nevertheless, early trials highlighting the idea of flexible courses that consist of various short modules developed in collaboration between universities and participating organisations indicate a promising venue for creating long-term relationships that could include deeper university-organisation and/or university-industry collaborations. Dialogues with course module participants and representatives of the collaborative organisation reinforced this preliminary conclusion.

Suggesting a holistic framework for understanding healthcare services leadership competence – a critical interpretive synthesis

PurposeHealthcare providers are under pressure due to increasing and more complex demands for services. Increased pressure on budgets and human resources adds to an ever-growing problem set. Competent leaders are in demand to ensure effective and well-performing healthcare organisations that deliver balanced results and high-quality services. Researchers have made significant efforts to identify and define determining competencies for healthcare leadership. Broad terms such as competence are, however, inherently at risk of becoming too generic to add analytical value. The purpose of this study is to suggest a holistic framework for understanding healthcare leadership competence, that can be crucial for operationalising important healthcare leadership competencies for researchers, decision-makers as well as practitioners.Design/methodology/approachIn the present study, a critical interpretive synthesis (CIS) was conducted to analyse competency descriptions for healthcare leaders. The descriptions were retrieved from peer reviewed empirical studies published between 2010 and 2022 that aimed to identify healthcare services leadership competencies. Grounded theory was utilised to code the data and inductively develop new categories of healthcare leadership competencies. The categorisation was then analysed to suggest a holistic framework for healthcare leadership competence.FindingsForty-one papers were included in the review. Coding and analysing the competence descriptions resulted in 12 healthcare leadership competence categories: (1) character, (2) interpersonal relations, (3) leadership, (4) professionalism, (5) soft HRM, (6) management, (7) organisational knowledge, (8) technology, (9) knowledge of the healthcare environment, (10) change and innovation, (11) knowledge transformation and (12) boundary spanning. Based on this result, a holistic framework for understanding and analysing healthcare services leadership competencies was suggested. This framework suggests that the 12 categories of healthcare leadership competencies include a range of knowledge, skills and abilities that can be understood across the dimension personal – and technical, and organisational internal and – external competencies.Research limitations/implicationsThis literature review was conducted with the results of searching only two electronic databases. Because of this, there is a chance that there exist empirical studies that could have added to the development of the competence categories or could have contradicted some of the descriptions used in this analysis that were assessed as quite harmonised. A CIS also opens for a broader search, including the grey literature, books, policy documents and so on, but this study was limited to peer-reviewed empirical studies. This limitation could also have affected the result, as complex phenomenon such as competence might have been disclosed in greater details in, for example, books.Practical implicationsThe holistic framework for healthcare leadership competences offers a common understanding of a “fuzzy” concept such as competence and can be used to identify specific competency needs in healthcare organisations, to develop strategic competency plans and educational programmes for healthcare leaders.Originality/valueThis study reveals a lack of consensus regarding the use and understanding of the concept of competence, and that key competencies addressed in the included papers are described vastly different in terms of what knowledge, skills and abilities they entail. This challenges the operationalisation of healthcare services leadership competencies. The proposed framework for healthcare services leadership competencies offers a common understanding of work-related competencies and a possibility to analyse key leadership competencies based on a holistic framework.

Eğitim ve Öğretim Süreci Bağlamında Öğrenme Çıktılarının Motivasyonla İlişkisi

The need for education and learning of today's employee and the importance of meeting the need for institutions require that this work should not be left only to the efforts of employees. The fact that education and learning are a need also makes it necessary to systematically transfer this to the individual. Education is closely related to learning. Education includes learning. Education is about learning to do something and doing what needs to be done differently. From birth, a person is influenced by the lean environment in which he is located and the people in this environment. Whether it is systematic or beautiful, these effects are perceived and learned by the person within the framework of data and information from the environment. It seems that learning and education are often incorrectly used as synonyms. Training in institutions is the provision of knowledge, skills and attitudes that hired people need to have in order to do their jobs effectively. Learning, on the other hand, is that people acquire the knowledge, skills and attitudes they need to be able to do their jobs effectively. Education has a supportive quality that allows the transfer of methods and the learning process to make information useful and reflect it on behavior. Therefore, in an organizational sense, training refers to efforts that facilitate the learning of work-related competencies by employees. These competencies include the knowledge, skills and behaviors necessary for successful work performance. When evaluated in this sense, while education is used to provide a competitive advantage, it also has a feature that improves intellectual accumulation. Key Words: Education, Training, Learning Outcomes, Motivation

Consensus on occupational health competencies for UK first contact physiotherapists

BackgroundPatients at risk of preventable sickness absence frequently attend at primary care. First contact physiotherapists (FCP) may provide an optimal way of reducing this risk; however, there is significant variability in clinical practice, limited research directing best practice and this work and health role is traditionally seen as outside of the ‘therapeutic relationship’. If FCP’s training and development in this area is considered, FCP’s will be able to effectively conduct fitness for work and sickness absence certification within UK primary care settings. AimsThis study aimed to reach expert consensus for work-related competencies for FCP practice for patients at risk of preventable sickness absence. MethodsA modified Delphi technique involved a UK-wide FCP expert panel completing three rounds of an online questionnaire. The initial 30-competency questionnaire, based on two separate Nominal Group Techniques in a FCP and Association of Chartered Physiotherapists in Occupational Health and Ergonomics (ACPOHE) physiotherapist cohort and Health Education England’s published Roadmap to Practice, covered occupational health specific items (knowledge and skills) related to the topic. Consensus threshold was set a priori at 70% level of group agreement. Items not reaching consensus were modified and new items added based on themes from qualitative data from the open-ended free text questions present in each section. Items that reached values greater than or equal to 70% of agreement among experts were considered definitive for the competency items. Items between 51% and 69% of agreement were included for the next round and those items with less than or equal to 50% of agreement were considered unnecessary and were excluded. In the third round, the occupational health (OH) specific contents for primary care were classified according to the degree of consensus as follows: strong (≥70% of agreement), moderate (51–69% of agreement) and weak (50% of agreement) based on the maximum consensus reached. ResultsOf the 30 initial competencies, 20 (67%) reached a strong degree of consensus and 2 (7%) reached a moderate degree of consensus and 8 (27%) competencies were not recommended (≤50% of agreement). 20 OH specific competencies reached a priori consensus level of agreement to provide the final group list. ConclusionsThis paper provides an empirically derived list of OH competencies for FCP education in primary care ‘first point of care’ physiotherapy with a high level of expert agreement and high retention rate between rounds. Contribution of the paper•The role of certifying sickness absence and providing fitness for work advice within primary care settings has normally been conducted by General Practitioners, largely due to the legislative aspects that require a ‘Fit Note’.•FCPs may be ideally suited in ensuring that work is considered at an early stage to help support and prompt conversations about work.•Most individual’s health needs are addressed within Primary Care (first point of contact in the NHS).•There is a lack of empirical evidence on the competencies needed for the new ‘first point of contact role’ whereby FCPs manage undiagnosed and undifferentiated musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions.

Secondary Schooling as Preparation For World Of Work: Curricular Responses To Employers’ Expressed Needs In Ethiopia

The aim of this study was to examine the linkage between expressed needs of selected employers of secondary school graduates and the secondary school curriculum with the overall aim of examining the relevance of the curriculum in Ethiopia. Content analysis and case study were used to achieve the intended purpose of the study. A mixed methods research approach was employed to integrate the qualitative and quantitative data obtained. Employers and the secondary curriculum were the major data sources of the study, with interview and document analysis as for data collection tools respectively. The study findings indicated that employers perceived time management, teamwork, communication skills, independent work, ability to learn, and self-management as the crucial competencies for employees in their organizations. On the other hand, the ability to work with others, effective communication skills, appropriate use of work time, self-control, independently solving problems, and the ability to learn and adapt to work are the skills most novice employees faced difficulty demonstrating according to the employers interviewed. Curricular learning objectives as demonstrated by the textbook materials and activities were also found to be irrelevant and/or insufficient to prepare students with the requisite work skills leading to the conclusion that the current curriculum lacks relevance to equip students with work-related competencies.

Competencies of Classroom Teacher-Counselor towards Students’ Self-Esteem Development

This study assessed the competencies of the classroom teachers as counselor as the basis for the development of Humanities and Social Science students’ self-esteem. Through descriptive correlational research design, it investigated the level of competencies of classroom teacher-counselor into behavioral competencies and work-related competencies, and the level of student’s self-esteem into identity, appreciation, acceptance, self-confidence, pride, humility and selfishness. It involved 147 Grade 11 and Grade 12 Humanities and Social Sciences students of one private school in the Philippines during the academic year 2021-2022. The findings revealed that there is a significant relationship between the competencies of classroom teacher-counselors and the self-esteem of senior high school students. Therefore, the null hypothesis posited in the study is not sustained. In this light, the study posits that the competence of the teachers as counselors are significant in the development of students’ self-esteem. Therefore, students may directly share their concerns with their teacher-counselor dealing with personal issues affecting their general well-being and academic progress. Teachers need to continue to support the learners through counseling and guidance leading to their academic success. Similarly, strengthening the competencies of teachers–counselors reassure the students’ mental health.

Multi-trait, multi-method talent assessment through a digital platform: Relationship with job performance

This study investigated whether a multi-method assessment approach increases variance for predicting future job performance compared to a single-method approach measuring similar constructs. Participants were managers (n = 539, female = 29%, average age 38 years, SD = 7 years) across a variety of organisations, including the utilities (n = 145), mining (n= 83), telecommunications (n = 98), Information Technology and professional service sectors (n = 213), drawn from samples across Namibia (n = 54), Nigeria (n = 53), Saudi Arabia (n = 105), South Africa (n = 177), the United Arab Emirates (n = 88), and the United Kingdom (n = 62). The managers used a digital platform to complete multi-trait multi-method (MTMM) measures which included competency-based video interviewing, work-related self-report measures, work simulations and aptitude assessments, each measuring work-related competencies. Structural equation modelling was used to determine paths between measures and work performance. Acceptable model fit for the measurement model was established through confirmatory factor analysis. A constrained and baseline model was used to investigate predictive paths to job performance. The baseline model proved to explain greater variance between measures and job performance than the constrained model. This provides support for deploying a multi-method assessment approach, including both self-rated and expert rated content, in a modern organisational context; and using an integrated digital platform.

Medical students\u2019 participation in the Volunteering Program during the COVID-19 pandemic: a qualitative study about motivation and the development of new competencies

BackgroundConsidering evidence on competency-based curricula and the benefits of volunteering, this study highlights innovative ideas to improve medical education during the COVID-19 pandemic. We investigated the motivations and perceptions of competencies developed as leadership and management skills in medical students who joined the COVID-19 Volunteering Program in a Brazilian medical school.MethodsWe performed a cross-sectional, qualitative study involving medical students from the University of São Paulo, Brazil. They were invited to participate in an institutional Volunteering Program during the pandemic and filled out online application forms, including sociodemographic fields and two open-ended questions about their motivation to volunteer and perceptions of their own competencies. At the end of the program, students who were involved in management-related activities were also invited to participate in focus group interviews to track their perceptions about volunteering in this area. Data were submitted to descriptive and content analysis methods. All participants provided informed consent with electronic signatures.ResultsA total of 286 medical students subscribed to the Volunteering Program: 171 (60%) were men, 152 (53%) were enrolled in their 5th year of medical school, and 158 (55%) were 23-25 years old. One hundred and twelve (44%) students reported that they were motivated by altruistic reasons, 95 (37%) reported duty and 47 (19%) prioritized academic interests. Concerning CanMEDS competencies, 91 (36%) students’ responses matched the Scholar component, followed by 51 (20%) with Collaborator, 49 (20%) with Professional, 32 (13%) with Communicator, 17 (7%) with Leader and 11 (4%) with Health Advocate.In focus groups, students reported the importance of management and leadership skills as a curricular component, motivations to volunteer, and acquired skills from volunteering in management and leadership-related activities, thereby indicating the development of resilient attitudes.ConclusionsStudents who participated in the School of Medicine of University of Sao Paulo (FMUSP) Volunteering Program reported being motivated to help others (altruistic reasons) and to serve society as future health professionals (duty). Knowledge and work-related competencies prevailed over leadership or soft skills, emphasizing the importance of including such activities in the curriculum. Participating in management-related activities could help develop a more resilient attitude toward medical training. Volunteering programs offer students opportunities to develop competencies essential for their roles as future health professionals. Thus, we should think about including such activities in the curricular structure.

Toward a Design Theory of User-Centered Score Mechanics for Gamified Competency Development

ABSTRACT Gamification is increasingly being used by organizations to foster work-related competencies and employee motivation. In the current body of gamification literature, there is a dearth of design knowledge about systems that foster the development of employee competencies through effective gamification approaches. The aim of this paper is to set the cornerstone of an information systems design theory (ISDT) of user-centered score mechanics that can assist both researchers and practitioners in building gamified environments.

The skill gap and polarization of the software labour force

The demand for high-skill and deep knowledge is a key characteristic for modern-day software business. In addition, the whole impact of information and communication technology (ICT) is seen as a cross-cutting element in different industries. The software industry in Finland is suffering from a severe labour shortage and the estimations of needed labour are ranging from 7,000 to 15,000 software professional. However, despite all development and research done, the question, whether the software companies are requesting more employers or are they looking for more diverse skills, remains unanswered. Furthermore, previously there has little if any discussion, on whose responsibility is to ensure that future software experts have the right kinds of skills and competencies to secure their successful work career. This study focuses on the skill polarization between software professionals, referred to as the ‘War of Talents’ in this study, by using data collected by a survey (n=90) from Finnish software businesses. The results reveal some indication of ongoing skill polarization in the field and its possible impacts are discussed. Furthermore, the potential threatening impacts of the polarization process on the well-being in the information society are observed and reported. In addition, the paper proposes adding skill development applications among the offering of eWellbeing services due to the importance of work-related competencies to the self-image – and therefore also wellbeing – of individuals.

Equal Performance, Different Grade: Women's Performance in Discussion Perceived Worse Than Men's.

We investigate how men and women are evaluated in group discussions. In five studies (N = 761) using a variant of a Hidden Profile Task, we find that, when experimentally and/or statistically controlling for actual gender differences in behavior, the female performance in a group discussion is devalued in comparison to male performance. This was observed for fellow group members (Study 1) and outside observers (Studies 2-5), in both primarily student (Studies 1, 4, and 5) and mixed samples (Studies 2 and 3), for different measures of performance (perceived helpfulness of the contribution, for work-related competence), across different discussion formats (preformulated chat messages, open chat), and when controlling for the number of female group members (Study 5). In contrast to our hypothesis, we did not find a moderating effect of selection procedure in that women were devalued to a similar degree in both situations with a women's quota and without.

Does the timing of work integrated learning affect graduate employability outcomes?

Employability is a critical quality measure of student lifelong success that goes beyond grade achievement and often guides students’ choice of university and profession. Whilst studies highlighting the importance of work-integrated learning (WIL) in improving employability abound, there is a dearth of knowledge on the efficacy of timing of WIL as a variable in improving employability. The longitudinal study, carried out in a 3-year annual questionnaire-based survey, examines the effect of timing of WIL on employability status when student performance is held constant. Graduates possessing the same performance level (academic degree class 2.1) showed different levels of economic-engagement achievements depending on whether they engaged in WIL prior to their studies (Group A), throughout the learning period (Group B) or for nine months during the third year (Group C) of their studies. Although the findings revealed differences between timing of WIL and the nature of work engagement, all the graduates endorsed the critical role of WIL in building work-related competencies and thus improving employability. The findings are useful in promoting the necessary diversity in WIL curriculum design to facilitate quality and inclusive higher education.

EAmmattilaisten osaaminen käyttöön sosiaali- ja terveydenhuoltoon

Digitaalinen teknologia muuttaa sosiaali- ja terveydenhuollon työtä, asiakkaan palveluja ja siten myös ammattilaisilta edellytettävää osaamista. Pohjois-Karjalan ja Pohjois-Savon DigiSote -hankkeissa (ESR) kehitettiin sosiaali- ja terveydenhuollon digitaalisia palveluja ja ammattilaisten osaamista. Hankesuunnittelussa luotiin käsite eAmmattilainen. Kehittämistyön tarkoituksena oli kuvata eAmmattilaisen tarvetta, tehtäviä ja osaamista sosiaali- ja terveydenhuollossa. Kehittämistyön menetelminä käytettiin nopeita kokeiluja ja työpajatyöskentelyä. Kokeilujen tavoitteena oli kehittää sosiaali- ja terveyspalveluja ja tunnistaa digitalisaation edellyttämät osaamistarpeet. Aineistoina eAmmattilaisen osaamisen määrittelyyn olivat hankkeiden tulevaisuustyöpajojen (n = 3) ja valmennustyöpajojen (n = 3) materiaalit ja digitaalisten palvelujen kokeiluraportit (n = 7), teemahaastattelut (n = 17) julkisen, yksityisen ja kolmannen sektorin johtotason edustajille hyvinvointialalla sekä asiantuntija-arviointi (n = 35) osaamisalueista ja -vaatimuksista. Tulevaisuustyöpajoihin osallistui sosiaali- ja terveydenhuollon ammattilaisten lisäksi asiakkaita, ICT-ammattilaisia, sosiaali- ja terveysalan opettajia sekä muiden hankkeiden edustajia (n = 73). Valmennustyöpajoihin osallistui sosiaali- ja terveydenhuollon ammattilaisia ja esimiehiä (n = 70). Tekstimuotoinen aineisto analysoitiin induktiivisella sisällön analyysillä. Asiantuntija-arvioinnissa vastaajat arvioivat osaamisvaatimusten relevanttiutta ja esittivät korjaamistarpeita. eAmmattilaisen osaaminen nähtiin erikoisosaamisena, joka muodostui kahdeksasta osa-alueesta ja 34 osaamisvaatimuksesta. Osaamisalueista ja -vaatimuksista muodostettiin myös eAmmattilaisen osaamiskartta osaamisen arviointia varten. eAmmattilaiset kehittävät organisaatioissaan työtä ja digitaalisia palveluja sekä ohjaavat ja tukevat asiakkaita ja ammattilaisia käyttämään digitaalisia palveluja. Osa sosiaali- ja terveysalan ammattilaisista tarvitsee valmennuksen eAmmattilaisiksi. Täydennyskoulutuksena toteutettava modulaarinen valmennus mahdollistaa tarvelähtöisen ja työhön kiinnittyvän osaamisen kehittymisen kohti eAmmattilaisuutta.

Организационно-методические аспекты создания профессионально-ориентированных дидактических ресурсов по иностранному языку в техническом вузе

The present article features the organizational and methodological aspects of developing profession-oriented didactic resources in English, i.e. textbooks or teaching manuals, for students of technical specialties in order to improve their work-related competencies. The authors see the interaction between the department of foreign languages and the technical departments as an organizational and methodological dominant. They outline the development principles, content, types of exercises, and various activities. The new generation profession-oriented textbooks, created by the joint efforts of linguists and technicians, contain elements of a computer-based learning environment in its lingua-didactic apparatus. This contributes to a more efficient mastering of the content. Such textbooks follow the methodology of Content and Language Integrated Learning rather than that of English for Specific Purposes. The new manuals are highly specialized, which encourages students to pose questions. In addition, they contain creative cognitive tasks that improve special knowledge in the technical sphere.

The Competency Gap of Hotel Management Graduates From Hotel Supervisor’s Perspective

The hotel industry has gained prominence in Malaysia and with the global nature of the industry, human resource issues need to be addressed to ensure that the industry remains competitive. This quantitative research provides a comprehensive study on the competency gap of hotel management graduates from the employers’ perspectives. This study looks at the expectation and observation of hotel supervisors towards hotel management graduates in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah. A total of 200 questionnaires were sent out to all the star-rated hotels in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, and 100 usable responses were received and analysed. It was found out that there is a gap in terms of work-related competencies of the Hotel Management (HM) graduates from the hotel supervisor’s perspective. It is suggested that the educational institutions and other training organizations pay attention to the results of this study since it was found that the hotel supervisors felt the work-related competency provided by the institutions where the HM graduates are trained is below their expectation and as such, it needs to be improved.

Development of A Training Model for Working with Young Children in The Conditions of a Master’s Program and Additional Education in A Pedagogical University

The paper presents and characterizes an integrative model of teacher training for working with young children. The purpose of the study is to develop a universal model that ensures the fulfillment of the society’s demand for the training of teachers in course of master’s programs and continuing pedagogical education, to help eliminate the shortage of professional staff in preschools. The model has been developed under the competence paradigm of education and taking into account the requirements of federal state educational standards of higher education and the professional standards for teachers in the conditions of coherence between the work-related activities (functions) and competencies. The universality of the model is determined by a unified educational outcome, content, forms, and technologies, as well as indicators and criteria for the effective preparation of teachers for working with young children both in the framework of their master’s program and in the continuing education system.

Perceived contract violation and job satisfaction

PurposeThis paper aims to investigate how employees’ perceptions of psychological contract violation or sense of organizational betrayal, might diminish their job satisfaction, as well as how their access to two critical personal resources – emotion regulation skills and work-related self-efficacy – might buffer this negative relationship.Design/methodology/approachTwo-wave survey data came from employees of Pakistani-based organizations.FindingsPerceived contract violation reduces job satisfaction, but the effect is weaker at higher levels of emotion regulation skills and work-related self-efficacy.Practical implicationsFor organizations, these results show that the frustrations that come with a sense of organizational betrayal can be contained more easily to the extent that their employees can draw from relevant personal resources.Originality/valueThis investigation provides a more complete understanding of when perceived contract violation will deplete employees’ emotional resources, in the form of feelings of happiness about their job situation. A sense of organizational betrayal is less likely to escalate into reduced job satisfaction when employees can control their negative emotions and feel confident about their work-related competencies.

Developing and validating a technology-based diagnostic assessment using the evidence-centered game design approach: an example of intrapreneurship competence

BackgroundEducational experts commonly agree that tailor-made guidance is the most efficient way to foster the learning and developmental process of learners. Diagnostic assessments using cognitive diagnostic models (CDMs) have the potential to provide individual profiles of learners’ strengths and weaknesses on a fine-grained level that can enable educators to assess the current position of learners. However, to obtain this necessary information a strong connection has to be made between cognition (the intended competence), observation (the observed learners’ responses while solving the tasks), and interpretation (the inferences made based on the observed responses of learners’ underlying competencies). To secure this stringent evidence-based reasoning, a principled framework for designing a technology-based diagnostic assessment is required—such as the evidence-centred game design (ECgD).AimWith regard to a diagnostic assessment, three aspects are of particular importance according to the ECgD approach: (I) the selection of a measurable set of competence facets (so-called skills) and their grain-size, (II) the constructed pool of skill-based tasks, and (III) the clear and valid specified task to skill assignments expressed within the so-called Q matrix. The Q matrix represents the a priori assumption for running the statistical CDM-procedure for identifying learners’ individual competence/skill profiles. These three prerequisites are not simply set by researchers’ definition nor by experts’ common sense. Rather, they require their own separate empirical studies. Hence, the focus of this paper is to evaluate the appropriateness and coherence of these three aspects (I: skill, II: tasks, and III: Q matrix). This study is a spin-off project based on the results of the governmental ASCOT research initiative on visualizing apprentices’ work-related competencies for a large-scale assessment—in particular, the intrapreneurship competence of industrial clerks. With the development of a CDM I go beyond the IRT-scaling offering the prerequisites for identifying individuals’ skill profiles as a point of departure for an informative individual feedback and guidance to enhance students’ learning processes.MethodsTherefore, I shall use a triangulated approach to generate three empirically based Q matrix models from different sources (experts and target-group respondents), inquiry methods (expert ratings and think-aloud studies), and methods of analyses (frequency counts and a solver–non-solver comparison). Consequently, the four single Q matrix models (researchers’ Q matrix generated within the task construction process and the three empirically based Q matrix models) were additionally matched by different degrees of overlap for balancing the strengths and weaknesses of each source and method. By matching the patterns of the four single Q matrix models, the appropriateness of the set of intrapreneurship skills (I) and the pool of intrapreneurship tasks (II) were investigated. To identify and validate a reasonable proxy for the task to skill assignments for selecting the best fitting Q matrix model (III), the single as well as the matched Q matrix models where empirically contrasted against N = 919 apprentices’ responses won and scaled up within the ASCOT-project using psychometric procedures of cognitive diagnostic within the DINA (Haertel in J Educ Meas 26:301–323, 1989) model.ResultsThe pattern matching resulted in a set of seven skills and 24 tasks. The appropriateness of these results was emphasized by model fit values of the different Q matrix models. They show acceptable up to good sizes (SRMSR between .053 and .055). The best fitting model is a matched Q matrix of which the match is not that strict or smooth with regard to the degree of overlap.ConclusionsThe study provides a principled design for a technology-based diagnostic assessment. The systematic and extensive validation process offers empirical evidence for (I) the relevance and importance of the specified intrapreneurship skills, (II) tasks prompting the intended skills, and (III) the sophisticated proxy of real cognitive processes (in terms of the Q matrix), but also give hints for revision. This—within a diagnostic assessment—preliminary work aims at identifying the best-fitting Q matrix to enable the next step of depicting learners’ individual strengths and weaknesses on a sound basis.

Work integrated learning competencies: Industrial supervisors’ perspectives

Research on student-learning outcomes indicates that university graduates do not possess relevant skills required by the industry such as leadership, emotional intelligence, problem solving, communication, decision-making skills and the ability to function in a multicultural environment. Currently, engineering graduates are expected to perform within a diverse working environment, hence the need to possess appropriate professional competencies and attributes. This paper seeks to identify strengths and potential shortfalls of work integrated learning (WIL) for students placed in the engineering sector. It presents findings from a study of workplace supervisors of chemical engineering students at one university of technology on the coastal seaboard. Supervisors from a variety of chemical industries completed a WIL students' competency assessment, which measures 23 work-related competencies using a 4-point Likert scale. The competencies were organised under two broad themes of cognitive and behavioural skills. The two themes were further broken down into five sub-themes, namely ability, performance, judgement, attitude and suitability. This defines the common characteristics of superior performers within the workplace. The results show that most students meet the standard expectation on the cognitive or 'hard' skills but seem to lack the behavioural or 'soft' skills. There were statistically significant differences between cognitive and behavioural skills. The findings from this study suggest that cooperative education programmes need to do more in developing the students' soft skills before they go out for WIL placement to ensure effectiveness and broad-based technical competence.

Cultural and Intellectual Openness Differentially Relate to Social Judgments of Potential Work Partners.

This study investigates the differential functioning of cultural and intellectual openness (the two aspects of Openness to Experience) in relation to social cognitive processes by examining how they influence people's perceptions and interpretations of social information when deciding to initiate working relationships. Using a policy-capturing design, 681 adult participants were asked to rate their similarity to and preference to work with potential work partners characterized by varying nationalities and levels of work-related competence. Multilevel moderated mediation was conducted to simultaneously evaluate whether the indirect effects of potential work partners' characteristics (i.e., nationalities and levels of work-related competence) on work partner preference through perceived similarity were moderated by cultural and intellectual openness. Perceived similarity mediated the relationships between work partner nationality and work-related competence and participants' work partner preferences. Furthermore, the negative indirect effect of work partner nationality on work partner preference via perceived similarity was attenuated by cultural openness, and the positive indirect effect of work partner work-related competence on work partner preference via perceived similarity was strengthened by intellectual openness. Cultural and intellectual openness may have distinct functions that influence how people perceive, evaluate, and appreciate social information when making social judgments.