Thesis (Ph.D.) -- University of Canberra, 2006. / Includes bibliography (p. 438-461)

Student Number : 0206171T - MEd research report - School of Education - Faculty of Humanities / The aim of the study is to explore the relevance to the workplace of the Further Education and Training college curriculum in electrical subjects. The study uses a combination of interviews, questionnaires and document analysis to collect data. The study was carried out in Johannesburg and Germiston, and involved six learners, four training managers, three educators, a curriculum developer and an education specialist. Educators noted that there had been no changes in the curriculum for a considerable period, and felt that there was a need for change. They mentioned in particular the absence of practicals as a cause for concern. The curriculum developer agreed that there had been no substantial curriculum change. He cited report 190/191 and the FET Act of 1998 as contributing to the stagnation in the curriculum. Employers continue to recruit learners from the FET colleges, but do not feel that they have been fully equipped for the workplace. The colleges provided only the basics, and training continued at the workplace. Colleges play a vital role in qualifying learners for a trade. One of the entry requirements for trade test is that candidates have N2, which is only obtainable at FET colleges. Learners were divided on the question of whether or not the FET college empowered them to cope in the world of work, with some, but not all, expressing satisfaction. This response was understandable as the electrical field is very broad, and companies operate on various levels within the field. In the electrical field, FET colleges have adopted a technocratic approach to the curriculum, characterized by inflexibility and stagnancy. New curricular approaches beckon with the government’s recapitalization plan for the FET colleges.

The information technology (IT) industry in South Africa has undergone major technological changes, and continues to do so. These changes are dynamic and demand significant interventions on the part of the workforce. If an organisation is to change, then systemic and sustainable changes are essential. Hence, a prerequisite is that employees within this industry need constantly to improve their knowledge and skills. The study was conducted within the broadcasting information technology (BIT) unit of a broadcasting company in South Africa. The aim of the research was to determine if skills development and training promotes professional and organisational development. A case study methodology within the qualitative paradigm was employed. Data was collected through a questionnaire, interviews, observations and document analysis. The research explored crucial issues in training and development in relation to professional and organisational development. The research findings indicated that perceptions of the success of skills development programmes far outweighed perceptions of failure. The research concluded that skills development and training programmes promote professional development. Organisational development, however, was promoted only to the extent that employees remained in the employ of the organisation. In addition, this research suggests that there is scope for future research in this field.

<p>Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) are at the forefront of conversations in education, not only in Indiana, but across the country. This conversation is crossing boundaries from primary and secondary education, to academia, to government agencies, to industry. The inherent focus on STEM comes from an understanding of the impending job shortage in STEM jobs in the next decades. In the discipline of fluid power, the gap between education and industry with jobs is not easy to see because while the gap is known by industry experts there is a lack of literature documenting the gap. Most education is focused on the university level and preparation, and little effort is focused on gaining the interest of students in a K-12 education. </p> <p> Through a partnership between Indiana 4-H, Purdue Polytechnic and the National Fluid Power Association, the creation of the 4-H NFPA Fluid Power Challenge was created to bridge the gap not only in STEM education through 4-H STEM programming, but to also give youth an opportunity to learn more about STEM and fluid power careers through this eight-week opportunity. The program focuses on collecting data on career interest, STEM attitudes, and fluid power interest. The focus of this dissertation is on the relationships between students participating in the 4-H NFPA fluid power challenge, years of participation, gender with career, STEM attitudes, and fluid power interest. </p> Gender and participation were two areas in which significant relationships were found in the data set. The relationship between the two as long as the relationship between before and after participation and career interest creates a picture that both answers the research questions posed in this dissertation, but also links to other research in this area on the matters of gender and STEM interest and careers. This study also highlights the importance of a focus on fluid power, and the impact that is seen specifically in sustained experiences in females who participate in Fluid Power programs. <br>

Selection for tertiary education, defined as including both higher education and technical education at post-secondary level, becomes an important issue where the number of applicants exceeds the number of places. This thesis explores selection for tertiary education as a complex problem in which selection processes are shaped by and must fit with the educational context. A general systems model is developed to guide the analysis of this problem. The model situates procedural and technical aspects of selection within a broader context including fundamental policy issues of control and equity, social values and structures, and background historical and cultural factors. Many countries have experienced selection pressures in recent times. These pressures have included increasing unmet demand, increasing diversity of applicants and increasing diversity in secondary education. It has been suggested that only through case studies of particular countries can an understanding of different systems be developed. This study offers such a case study focussing on the Australian state of Queensland. Queensland offers aspects which are typical of Australia as a whole, especially in terms of enrolment trends. Each state and territory in Australia has a different interface between secondary and tertiary education. In Queensland, an important feature of this interface was the abolition of university entry examinations in the early 1970s, as a result of the Radford Review, and their replacement by a system of school-based assessment. This innovation is situated within its historical context and analysed as a paradigm shift. Implications are drawn concerning the processes of educational and institutional change. Technical issues in comparing and aggregating achievement measures are also examined in relation to the type of data provided by school-based assessment in Queensland. The evolution of moderation and scaling of achievement data in Queensland is analysed and a distinction drawn between comparability and equivalence, the former relating to within-subject comparisons, the latter to between-subject comparisons. A taxonomy of different scaling approaches is developed and distinctions among these approaches explored. It is shown that appropriate choice of approach depends on the assumptions and requirements of the context and not just on technical efficiency. A distinction is also drawn between strategies for equitable comparison of achievement information and equitable strategies for making selection decisions. A major review of tertiary selection procedures, the Viviani Review, occurred in Queensland in 1990. This review is analysed in detail in terms of its processes, recommendations and implementation. It is shown how this review consolidated the system of school-based assessment and represented a paradigm shift concerning both achievement information and selection strategies. Possibilities for future development inherent in the new paradigm are discussed. The analyses of both the Radford Review and the Viviani Review illustrate the general systems model by showing how tertiary selection is a complex issue in which procedural and technical issues need to be situated within the broader context. Four themes emerge from the analysis of the Radford Review and are evident in the Viviani Review: the trend towards democratisation of educational decision processes; the trend towards greater openness, diversity and choice; the tension between local and central control of assessment decisions; and the tension between evolution (gradual change) and revolution (paradigm change). Criteria for evaluating selection systems are identified and applied to the Queensland system, resulting in conclusions about its degree of success. From the case study, general issues of significance for all tertiary selection systems are identified and discussed: the changing demography of secondary and tertiary education; reforms in senior secondary school curriculum and assessment; the issue of control (responsibility and accountability); the issue of equity (access and comparability); the choice and combination of information in selection decisions; and alternative views of the admissions process. Conclusions are also drawn about the management of change and the management of stability. Finally, it is concluded that all evaluations and analyses of selection systems need to adopt a systems approach in which the complex interactions among various factors are taken into consideration.

The aim of this thesis was to explore Swedish pharmacist students’ learning during pharmacy internship. Internships are meant to introduce students to professional practice. Education programs have to reflect changes in the professional role, and take into account that learning in a professional practice setting differs from organized formal education. This thesis includes both quantitative and qualitative research approaches and applies workplace learning theories. A scheme for measuring pharmacy students’ reflective ability was developed and shown to be feasible and reliable. Factors important for reflection were found to be primarily social and contextual, especially trained tutor and small pharmacy size. Notably, learning style or critical thinking did not correlate to students’ reflective ability. Tutors and students perceived that students used a wide variety of activities supporting learning of a broad repertoire of knowledge and skills, preparing them for coming professional working life. Tutors are most important to support learning. However, the current curriculum and formal activities do not address all these outcomes and learning activities used, e.g. workplace learning. The first overall conclusion is that internship plays an essential part in the pharmacist education program. The integration of formal and informal learning activities during internship, including raising awareness of incidental learning, is important to support students in learning the professional practice of pharmacy. This integration could possibly be strengthened by introducing further tutor training, different assignments, and by using portfolios. The second conclusion is that the community of practice is essential for students’ learning during internship, especially the student-tutor interaction. Hence, the entire social context has to be considered and it is important to ensure a good learning environment at pharmacies during internship. In summary, this thesis contributes to the understanding of students’ learning during pharmacy internship and introduces educational research on the Swedish undergraduate pharmacy education programs.

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<div>Although design is part of everyday experience, increased proficiency in managing and reflecting while designing signify greater proficiency as a designer. This capacity for regulation in design is crucial for learning, including from failure experiences, while designing. Failure and iteration are integral parts of design, with potential cognitive and psychological ramifications. On the one hand, failure can be framed as a learning experience that interrupts thinking and evokes reflection. On the other hand, it can be detrimental for confidence and motivation or derail the design process. Based on similarities between design and self-regulation, I articulate a framework whereby responses to failure might be regulated by beginning designers. Then, this case study applies the framework to describe the experiences and perspectives of beginning designers as they work and fail, illuminating issues of failure in design and the extent of their self-regulation.</div><div><br></div><div>The in situ design processes of four teams was examined to describe self-regulation strategies among student designers. Analysis was conducted with two methods: linkography and typological thematic analysis. Linkography, based on think-aloud data, provided a visual representation of the design process and tools to identify reflection, planning, and critical moments in the design process. Typological analysis, based on think-aloud data, follow-up interviews, and design journals, was used to investigate specific strategies of self-regulation. The complementary methods contribute to understanding beginning designers’ self-regulation from multiple perspectives.</div><div><br></div><div>Results portray varied trajectories in design, ranging from repeated failure and determination to fleeting success and satisfaction. Class structures emerge in designers’ patterns of planning and reflection. These highlight the contextualized and evolutionary nature of design and self-regulation. Furthermore, linkographic evidence showed a beginning sense-making process, followed by oscillating phases of forward and backward thinking, to various degrees. Moments of testing, both successes and failure, were critically connected in the design process.</div><div><br></div><div>Thematic analysis identified 10 themes, aligning with the self-regulatory phases of forethought, performance, and reflection. The themes highlight how regulation in forethought is used to shape performance based on past iterations; meanwhile, the identification and attribution of failures relays information on how, and whether to iterate. Collectively, thematic findings reinforce the cyclical nature of design and self-regulation.</div><div><br></div><div>Design and self-regulation are compatible ways of thinking; for designers, the juxtaposition of these concepts may be useful to inform patterns of navigating the problem-solving process. For educators, the imposition of classroom structures in design and self-regulatory thinking draws attention to instructional design and assessment for supporting student thinking. And for researchers of design or self-regulation, these methods can give confidence for further exploration.</div>