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Master of Science / Department of Communications and Agricultural Education / Shannon G. Washburn / STEM fields represent between 5% and 20% of all employed in the United States (United States Department of Labor – Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2015). Many employers of job positions in the STEM field have indicated an ongoing challenge of demand for such employees exceeding supply (Hira, 2010). Literature suggests a skills gap exists in some career fields and labor markets (Sentz, 2013). A topic that falls in many STEM fields in water resources. In Kansas, both supply and demand of water resources vary greatly across the state. A growing trend statewide, however, is a need to focus efforts on preserving the quality and quantity of Kansas’ water supply. Anecdotal evidence suggests the focus on water resources increases the demand for employees prepared for careers in related STEM fields (S. Metzger, personal communication, May 3, 2016). Drawing on both the Human Capital Theory and the Theory of Work Adjustment, descriptive survey research and qualitative interviews based in symbolic interactionism were used to gather data from employers of water-related job positions. The data indicated that a variety of employability and technical skills describe both employers’ ability requirements and employees’ ability sets. The results of the study suggest that, while employers have not recently experienced much challenge filling job vacancies, demand for employees could increase in the near future. Additionally, employers utilize a variety of professional development resources, and would utilize others if available. While levels of correspondence range among ability requirements and ability sets depending on the job position, efforts in education and recruitment could help address the supply of candidates for these positions.

Europai įžengus į Žinių amžių, labai sparčiai keičiasi visuomenės narių mokymosi, gyvenimo ir darbo modeliai. Karjeros konsultantai turi teikti žmonėms kokybišką informaciją apie mokymosi ir įsidarbinimo galimybes, individualius ir visuomenės poreikius atitinkančias profesinio orientavimo paslaugas, ugdyti žmonių socialinį aktyvumą ir atsakomybę už savo profesinę veiklą. Tinkamai ir veiksmingai įgyvendinti šiuos tikslus gali tik kompetentingi karjeros konsultantai. Dėl finansinės krizės išaugusi bedarbystė Lietuvoje ir socialinė įtampa pakeitė karjeros konsultantų konsultacijų pobūdį. Todėl prieš keletą metų atlikti karjeros konsultantų mokymosi poreikių tyrimų rezultatai gali ne visai atitikti nūdienos situaciją. Formaliai karjeros konsultantų kvalifikacija ir jai keliami reikalavimai Lietuvoje buvo nustatyti tik prieš dvejus metus, o jų kvalifikacijos tobulinimo sistema iki šiol yra neefektyvi. Karjeros konsultantai stokoja žinių ir įgūdžių, reikalingų jų veiklos efektyvumo ir kokybės užtikrinimui. Darbe analizuojama problema yra susijusi su karjeros konsultantų mokymosi poreikiais. Siekdami teikti kokybiškas profesinio informavimo ir konsultavimo paslaugas, karjeros konsultantai privalo nuolat atnaujinti ir gilinti savo profesines žinias bei tobulinti įgūdžius. Kintanti ekonominė, politinė bei socialinė aplinka taip pat stiprina karjeros konsultantų mokymosi visą gyvenimą poreikį. Tačiau iki šiol karjeros konsultantų profesinio tobulėjimo poreikiai nėra nustatyti... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / When Europe entered into Knowledge age, the models of education, training, life and job of society’s members began to change very expeditiously. Career counsellors must give qualitative information about possibilities of training and placement, services of vocational orientation which correspond with individual and society needs for people, develop social activity and responsibility of people about their one career. Only competent career counsellors can properly and effectively realize such aims. Enlarged unemployment which was created by financial crisis in Lithuania and social pressure modified the character of career counsellors’ activity. Because of this the results of career counsellors training needs surveys, which were made some years ago, couldn’t correspond with situation in nowadays. The qualification of career counsellors and its requirements were formally determined only two years ago. The system of career counsellors’ qualification development isn’t effective till now. Career counsellors lack knowledge and skills which are important for guarantee of effectiveness and quality of their activity. The problem of the paper is related with training needs of career counsellors. In a purpose to afford qualitative services of vocational information and counselling career counsellors must constantly brush up and deepen their professional knowledge and develop skills. Changeable economical, political and societal environment sustain the need of training all the life of... [to full text]

This research investigated the impact of teacher in-service and individual professional development for business educators in the following areas: classroom instruction, teacher motivation, the continuity of individual professional development, the professional development needs of business educators compared with those of other teachers, the status of business education professional development, and the manner in and extent to which current professional development activities are meeting needs. Satisfaction levels with in-service and individual professional development were also identified. Lastly, this study examined the role of business educators in determining local in-service events. Participants included 109 Alabama business educators who completed an online survey about their professional development over the previous 12 months. Respondents indicated top areas of in-service training: classroom technology, emerging technology, special needs students, and school safety. Individual attendance at workshops on software ranked highest; classroom-related workshops followed. Overall, 67% expressed satisfaction with in-service training, and 82.1% expressed satisfaction with individual professional development. On average, respondents received 158.1 hours of individual professional development during the previous year. Computer workshops received the most attendance while professional meetings received the least. Impact on instruction was considered modest; the mean impact score of 118 reflected a restrained agreement with impact statements. Qualitative responses were given on specific impacts in the classroom. No significant correlation was found between the impact of professional development on instruction and the number of hours spent in professional development. ANOVA was conducted and revealed that impact scores of teachers were not significantly affected by years of experience or satisfaction levels with in-service. Teachers are generally motivated to pursue professional development. The desire to learn how to better teach a skill was the greatest motivator. Time and money were the greatest barriers. The majority of teachers are continually pursuing professional development over a 5-year period but not doing so annually. Business educators’ topic preferences were similar to regular education teachers’, especially in the area of technology. Student motivation and technology were top categories of need. Most business educators have never served on an advisory committee to suggest in-service activities.

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In an international university in Thailand, with students coming from 92 different countries, faculty members reported a need for professional development (PD). The purpose of this study was to understand faculty members' needs and preferences in the undergraduate department to help the administration offer appropriate PD programs. In accordance with the situated cognition theory, professional learning was approached as a social process embedded in workplace interactions. Research questions pertained to teachers' perceptions about their learning needs, program preferences, and the relationship between PD and student learning outcomes. In this descriptive case study, data were collected from fulltime faculty members via a focus group of 5 participants and 8 individual face-to-face and email interviews. In accordance with a maximum variation sampling strategy, the sample included faculty members from varied academic and cultural backgrounds and diverse lengths of experience in the university. Thematic coding analysis revealed 4 themes: (a) a desire to learn specific content such as classroom management techniques, pedagogy for university-level students, assessment design, and instructional technology; (b) a desire to observe and apply new techniques to better engage diverse students in large classes; (c) a desire to learn collegially to share context-relevant information; and (d) expectations from the university administration. As a result of this study, tailored recommendations for this university were derived to contribute to social change. Appropriate PD programs can enable faculty members to hone their pedagogical skills and improve student learning experience in this multicultural setting.

Figures show the unemployment rate in South Africa is increasing. Entrepreneurship is a very good solution to decrease the unemployment rate and increase the economic growth of South Africa. Very few studies have been done on entrepreneurship, including women entrepreneurs, as men have always been the leaders in this regard. More than 50% of South Africa‟s population is female and deemed as a very important factor for the country's economic growth. Women entrepreneurs have been understudied; there are also other factors and relationships that should be investigated and understood for the government to be able to establish programmes and assistance for women entrepreneurs to start and grow businesses. The research for this study was conducted in the Gauteng Province as poverty levels are high, despite large industries in this province and the fact that it is the most Gross Domestic Province for South Africa. The objective of this study is to investigate women entrepreneurship in the Gauteng and to make practical recommendations to enhance women entrepreneurship in this province. A survey including 41 women-owned businesses was conducted. A detailed profile of the woman entrepreneur in Gauteng was compiled, including the structure of the business. Factors such as the level of organisational commitment, dimensions of entrepreneurial orientation, job satisfaction, life satisfaction, development needs as well as the perceived business success, have been investigated. The relationships between these factors have also been investigated in the empirical research. The most urgent needs of women entrepreneurs in Gauteng are marketing training, financial support, machinery, equipment and tools as well as infrastructure. It is recommended that these needs are addressed through a support initiative especially implemented for women entrepreneurs. These factors need to be understood by the government in order to establish and assist women entrepreneurs in South Africa. / MBA, North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

Figures show the unemployment rate in South Africa is increasing. Entrepreneurship is a very good solution to decrease the unemployment rate and increase the economic growth of South Africa. Very few studies have been done on entrepreneurship, including women entrepreneurs, as men have always been the leaders in this regard. More than 50% of South Africa‟s population is female and deemed as a very important factor for the country's economic growth. Women entrepreneurs have been understudied; there are also other factors and relationships that should be investigated and understood for the government to be able to establish programmes and assistance for women entrepreneurs to start and grow businesses. The research for this study was conducted in the Gauteng Province as poverty levels are high, despite large industries in this province and the fact that it is the most Gross Domestic Province for South Africa. The objective of this study is to investigate women entrepreneurship in the Gauteng and to make practical recommendations to enhance women entrepreneurship in this province. A survey including 41 women-owned businesses was conducted. A detailed profile of the woman entrepreneur in Gauteng was compiled, including the structure of the business. Factors such as the level of organisational commitment, dimensions of entrepreneurial orientation, job satisfaction, life satisfaction, development needs as well as the perceived business success, have been investigated. The relationships between these factors have also been investigated in the empirical research. The most urgent needs of women entrepreneurs in Gauteng are marketing training, financial support, machinery, equipment and tools as well as infrastructure. It is recommended that these needs are addressed through a support initiative especially implemented for women entrepreneurs. These factors need to be understood by the government in order to establish and assist women entrepreneurs in South Africa. / MBA, North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

The problem of this study was to identify professional development needs of elementary school principals who are implementing site-based management. The purpose was to develop a prioritized list of developmental needs of principals participating in site-based management in the evaluation of teacher performance, instructional knowledge, behavioral life styles, and other needs as identified by a decentralized decision-making questionnaire. The population for this study was the sixty-one elementary school principals in a large urban school district. The principals were encouraged by the central administrative staff to assume the responsibility of site-based managers during the 1981-1982 school year. Three priority areas involving decision making at the school site evolved. These three areas were personnel, instruction, and budgeting. During the three succeeding years, additional areas of decision making have been added, such as building-level staff development, implementation of flexible student schedules, and provisions for specialized summer programs. Findings of the study showed that there was normality in the assessment of teaching skills by principals, that a significant correlation existed between principals' knowledge of instruction and principals' teacher evaluation scores and that a significant correlation existed between principals' teacher evaluation scores, female principals being more consistent. The findings showed that no correlation existed between evaluation scores and training and age, that there was normality of principals' scores in instructional knowledge, and that there was not a relationship between knowledge of instruction and experience or training. It is recommended that staff development be provided to principals on the philosophy of site-based management and on the role of the principal and that this staff development be given for one to two years prior to implementing site-based management. It is recommended that specific training be provided principals in improving their instructional knowledge, understanding of the authority, and an understanding of the responsibilities that accompany site-based management.

Sokol is a body movement organisation that has undergone many changes during its almost 160 years of existence and has been banned several times by the state power. However, she always cared for and supported Miroslav Tyrš`s legacy. The aim of the thesis is to evaluate the offer of exercices for the age category of youngs in Sokol. Using a retrospective method, the history of Sokol over the last almost 160 years of its existence is briefly described. Based on a comparison of the ongoing number of divisions and the development of the membership base, the development from the renewal of Sokol in 1990 to the present years is evaluated, focusing on the selected age category. A questionnaire survey is chosen as the analytical method, which was sent electronically to the individual units. Based on the results of the questionnaire survey, previously established hypotheses were disproved or confirmed, which were based on academic work or other available literature. It is confirmed that the membership base of student categories has been growing since the 1990s, despite slight fluctuations. The most significant growth was in the period around the "Sokol slet", in which these age categories regularly participate. This was especially visible in the years around the 16th "Sokol slet" held in 2018 in Prague. The...