In 2014, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) highlighted to the U.S. Senate the need to focus on air traffic control (ATC) training to meet job qualification and attrition rates within the career field. One U.S. Department of Defense military service assists the FAA in providing worldwide ATC services. This service is referred to as the agency throughout this paper to ensure confidentiality. The agency's ATC career field manager echoed the FAA's call for action in his 2014 Strategic/Action Plan. In August 2013, the agency's ATC trainer program was published. As of December 2015, the program had not been evaluated. The purpose of this study was to ascertain if the program facilitated the learning of critical ATC on-the-job training skills. An ad hoc expertise-oriented evaluation was conducted using the lenses of andragogy, experiential learning, and instructional system design (ISD). Purposeful sampling procedures were used to select 20 participants across the subgroups of supervisors, trainers, managers, and training developers from 7 focus sites. The semi-structured interviews queried 4 topical areas derived from Kirkpatrick's 4 levels of evaluation model. Data collected via documents and interviews were analyzed using descriptive, emotion, eclectic, and pattern coding. Key findings indicated that the program was not developed compliant with ISD principles and did not promote adult learning as endorsed by andragogy and experiential learning theory. The implications for positive social change include providing stakeholders with data needed to make evidence-based decisions regarding the current and future state of the program. The evaluation report project can be shared with the FAA, an agency partner, and has the potential to create a platform for improved training practices focusing on optimum and successful adult learning transactions.

The aim of self-directed team learning initiatives is to provide a further level of defence against an eventuality by ensuring that air traffic controllers are aware of the sources of human fallibility, and by developing in the individual controllers and air traffic control teams the knowledge, skills and attitudes that will result in the successful management and containment of inadvertent error. To gain a deeper understanding of self-directed team learning, I investigated the role and contribution of self-directed team learning principles and strategies that were present in the South African Air Force air traffic control team-based work environment. This research study was directed by the following primary research questions: Does self-directed team learning impact on the air traffic control work environment, and what is the nature of self-directed team learning’s impact on the air traffic control work environment? Insights gained as a result of this study contributed to the body of research concerned with learning design, development, implementation and evaluation by self-directed teams as well as the air traffic control discipline. In this mixed-method study quantitative data collection was performed by means of a self-directed team learning questionnaire and a learning approach questionnaire, whereas qualitative data collection relied on individual interviews and focus group interviews. This study involved 25 South African Air Force air traffic controllers (from three operational air traffic control centres). The nature of self-directed team learning’s impact on the air traffic control work environment was illustrated by individual and collective (team) views and dynamics. The impact of air traffic control team performances was traced in terms of identified teamwork characteristics, activities, dynamics, performance measures and focus areas and reflective practices. Results of this study indicated that self-directed team learning offered opportunities to individuals and teams to influence air traffic control performances in an air traffic control work environment. A perceived positive relationship between self-directed team learning and air traffic control operational outputs could be traced. Lastly I concluded that self-directed learning by air traffic control teams had an impact on air traffic control operational outcomes, thus contributing towards a critical air traffic control goal – aviation safety. / Thesis (PhD (Currriculum Studies))--University of Pretoria, 2009. / Curriculum Studies / unrestricted