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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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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.

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.

The TVET colleges in South Africa contribute to the social and economic development of the country. It is for this reason that TVET colleges are expected to provide quality teaching and learning, but this core business of the colleges has been hampered by a lack of professional development or irrelevant professional development of lecturers. The study aims to investigate the relevance of professional development offered at a selected TVET college in the Free-State province and the improvement thereof. The study employed a qualitative research design involving 22 participants. The participants comprised of two executive managers, two campus managers, four heads of department, six senior lecturers and eight lecturers. The participants were purposively selected using purposive sampling. Face-to-face semistructured interviews were conducted to collect data from managers and two focus group interviews were employed to collect data from lecturers. The findings of the study revealed that there is a need for relevant professional development of lecturers at the selected TVET college. The most important recommendation with the potential to change the situation at the studied college is that the planning, organising, leading and control of professional development need to be done more professionally. If managers utilise management functions (planning, organising, leading and control) properly to manage lecturer’s professional development, lecturers will be in a better position to provide quality teaching. Other relevant recommendations are also provided. / Educational Management and Leadership / M. Ed. (Education Management)