Higher education institutions have an important role in changing societies; those in developing countries present an ample spectrum of differences, particularities, and needs. The role that senior administrators play as managers of those institutions is fundamental in the decision making process; consequently, it is very important that those administrators possess the needed attributes during the development of their endeavors. The purpose of this study is to identify the competencies needed by senior administrators in higher education institutions in Mexico, as current administrators project them. The naturalistic paradigm of inquiry was used to frame the study and acquire and analyze data. The sample consisted of twenty senior administrators from eight Mexican higher education institutions. The researcher visited those campuses on three trips between June 2001 and March 2002. Data came from three sources: interviews with respondents; observation of participants before, during, and after the interview sessions; and analysis of records and documents. Data from interviews were unitized and sorted into categories. Some of the conclusions of the researcher included: •Social forces and trends inside and outside of Mexican higher education institutions are pushing the need for a senior administrator with a broad understanding of the national situation, with the resources to support the national initiatives, and with the ability to make appropriate responses in their own institutions. •Identified needed competencies for the future higher education senior administrator are organized by personal characteristics and skills, administrative competencies, competencies of social responsibility, and institutional competencies. •Public university leaders believe that they face more difficult situations in their institutions that their private institution counterparts in order to adapt and change. •Differences between and within public and private higher education institutions in Mexico make evident the need for specific training for their senior administrators to achieve professional development necessary to the specific needs of their institutions.

'Future of the Profession: Skills, Education, and Structure' Panel session from the Living the Future 8 Conference, April 23-24, 2012, University of Arizona Libraries, Tucson, AZ.

In 2010, an Association of Public and Land Grant Universities (APLU) study (Crawford, 2010) found that the agricultural industry representatives, Land Grant University alumni, and government employees look for certain skillsets (e.g., communication, leadership) in prospective employees. With the U.S economy recovering from a major economic recession, a greater number of new UA graduates with undergraduate degrees from CALS have cause to be concerned about their overall workforce competitiveness. Crawford's 2010 study examined which soft skills students should possess in order to be deemed hirable by the agriculture industry. Building off of Crawford's research, the current study involves a needs assessment that examines how students perceive 21st century workplace competencies. Specifically, this study will explore and describe the level of perceived importance and ability of 2015 UA CALS students graduating with baccalaureate degrees specific to 21st century workplace soft skill sets. Such identification of needs gaps will lead to greater understanding of the connection between industry demands, higher education institutions, and undergraduate students. The current research required the generation of data capable of leading to insights into the current development needs of undergraduate students in the agriculture and life sciences disciplines specific to 21st century workplace competencies. Student perceptions of such competencies were measured first according to perceived importance, and then perceived ability (Borich, 1980). This descriptive research gathered information from participants with the goal of measuring, summarizing and generalizing among the study's target population (Ary et al., 2010). The results suggest which competencies UA CALS undergraduate students perceive to be important and how they perceive their own abilities within each competency. Descriptive statistics were used to describe the data relevant to each of the four research objectives framing this study. In particular, measures of central tendency and variability were used to assess the perceived levels of importance and ability subjects placed on individual competencies. To describe the professional development needs of CALS students in the seven constructs that together categorize 21st century workplace competencies as a whole (professionalism, team, leadership, decision making/ problem solving, experiences, communication, and self-management), mean weighted discrepancy scores (MWDS) were used to analyze the need for the competencies. Borich's needs assessment model was used to reveal the areas of highest training priority as determined by the MWDS.A web based questionnaire with multiple points of contact yielded 61 respondents with diverse backgrounds (e.g., transfer status, geographical background, major fields of study, co-/extra-curricular involvement) from across the college. Of the 52 competencies included within the seven competency categories, 16 had an MWDS that was prioritized as a tier I professional development need, which is of the highest priority. Of the remaining competencies, 20 of them had MWDS's that indicated tier II priority level set for professional development need. Lastly, there were 23 competencies that had MWDS's that indicated tier III priority level set for professional development need, which is the lowest priority level. Recommendations for curricular innovation to better foster student development in the context of the 21st century workplace are provided.

It has always been the initiative of agricultural education to provide our American society with the educational "needs of the day" (Meyer, 1999). As our nation and state enters a new era, it is fitting for an examination of the future needs of agricultural education teachers. In Texas, the State Board of Educator Certification (SBEC) currently has no assessment of the agricultural systems knowledge of agricultural education teaching candidates. This study examines the future agricultural systems competencies of beginning agricultural education teachers. Two groups, agricultural education professionals and administrators of agricultural education programs, were asked "what the future agricultural systems competencies of beginning agricultural science teachers should be." Two independent panels, the first composed of eleven (11) educators and the second composed of twelve (12) school administrators, were identified to serve as experts. A three-round Delphi was used to collect the data. Each round allowed the expert panelists to converge to a consensus of agreement that identified future competencies for beginning agricultural science teachers. Panelists were asked to provide competencies associated with the five powerful and fundamental conceptual areas of biological, physical, social, informational, and other integrative science which underpin agricultural education (Paul, 1995). The study revealed a three-fourths consensus with one-hundred (100) future competencies necessary for beginning Texas agricultural science teachers. Among these competencies twenty-three (23) were associated with the biological sciences, twenty-seven (27) were associated with the physical sciences, twenty-five (25) were associated with the social sciences, twenty (20) were associated with the informational sciences, and five (5) were associated with other integrative sciences. The study found seventeen (17) "highly recommended" topics and six (6) "recommended" topics related to the future agricultural systems competencies identified by the expert panelists. Cooper and Layard (2001) reveal that our future society will be much more technologically and sociologically advanced requiring teacher preparation institutions and state agencies associated with teacher preparation to develop new, innovative programs to better prepare tomorrow's educator. This study recommends that new agricultural systems standards be developed to adequately prepare future beginning agricultural science teachers.

The subject of our paper is as follows: Special competencies of primary school teachers in integrated teaching conditions. Recently, discussions on integration of pupils with special needs into general education schools have become an important issue. Interviews with teachers demonstrate that teachers are not prepared to accept such pupils in their classes. This issue was discussed by many scholars such as J. Ambrukaitis (2002, 2004, 2005), A. Galkienė (1999, 2003, 2005), B.Valkaitienė (2004), J.Ruškus (2000, 2001, 2002), and others. Most attention was given to the defining of competencies of the teachers who work with pupils having special needs, whereas little attention was given to primary school teachers who provide the first knowledge and the basis for the pupils’ effective interpersonal communication. The problem analysed in our paper is as follows: the special competencies of the primary school teachers who work with heterogeneous forms, which are important for the education of pupils with special needs. In order to analyse the above-mentioned problem, the following goal was set: to define the special competencies which have to be demonstrated by primary school teachers who work in integrated education conditions.

The focus of this thesis was to utilize the organizational action research process to formulate recommendations on how to develop a leadership system for managers within Mount Royal University (MRU). The following organizational action research question and sub questions guided the research: How can Mount Royal University support leadership development for individuals who are new to management roles? The sub questions were: What are the key leadership competencies? If new management roles have incorporated leadership into their practice, what would we expect to see? How will new management integrate leadership into their roles? The research data collected were from a series of focus groups with managers and senior managers. The four themes that encapsulated what is required for effective leadership development of MRU managers were, organizational understanding of leadership, leadership development, leadership community, and leadership culture. Research findings and relevant literature concluded that MRU needed a model to guide the desired leadership behaviors. Leadership behaviors require a supportive system with a flexible yet rigid leadership framework. In addition, vision, values and community would act to prepare managers for the change that leadership development required. The project recommendations reflected the need for MRU managers to explore, recreate, and define leadership. Specific leadership characteristics were identified within a competency framework. Recommendations linking leadership to MRU's Human Resources systems were made. Lastly, communities of practice and leadership resources were suggested as leadership support mechanisms for managers.

The purpose of this study was to identify the knowledge and skills required for competent therapeutic recreation practice in Canada. Research participants were 244 members of therapeutic recreation professional associations in Canada. Results from this study indicated that significant differences in competency areas exist between certified and non-certified therapeutic recreation practitioners, between practitioners with a degree and diploma, between practitioners in varying demographic regions in Canada and between practitioners with varying years practicing in the profession of Therapeutic Recreation. Implications for therapeutic recreation practice and future research are presented for discussion.

Vaikų globos įstaigose dirbantys socialiniai pedagogai kasdien susiduria su įvairiausiomis vaikų sociaizacijos problemomis. Vis daugiau pedagogų, ugdančių socialinės rizikos vaikus supranta, kad kai kuriose situacijose nebeužtenka studijų, seminarų ar kursų metu įgytų kompetencijų minėtoms problemoms išspręsti. Susidariusios situacijos ir nuolat kylančios naujos problemos reikalauja nuolatinio kompetencijų atnaujinimo, tobulinimo, naujų gebėjimų bei įgūdžių įgijimo. Taigi, daugelis socialinių pedagogų yra susirūpinę savo profesinio tobulėjimo bei kompetencijų ugdymo būtinybe, tačiau ne visada turi realias galimybes šiam siekiui įgyvendinti. / Social educators working in child care institutions encounter a wide variety of socialization problems for children every day. More and more teachers educating children who belong to social risk groups perceive that in some cases the competences acquired at university studies, seminars or courses are not enough to solve the aforementioned problems. The emerging situations and continually rising new problems require constant update and development of competences, as well as acquisition of new abilities and skills. So, many social educators are concerned about the necessity of developing their professional competences, but they do not always have opportunities to reach the objective. The object of the research is opportunities for social educators to develop competences in child care institutions.

Intercultural communication addresses some of the apparent challenges that surface from interactions among diverse people. The concept stretches beyond language and dialect barriers and includes the ways in which culture influences how people understand, create and respond to communication depending on where they are from, their life experiences, social structure, ethnicity, religion, education, occupation, and so on. This research acknowledges that culture is a broad and difficult to define concept because it influences individuals and groups in different ways, especially in an era of globalization. Through an exploration of literature, semi-structured interviews and a focus group, and applying the concept of intercultural communication to active planning practice, the research examines how a sample of Winnipeg planners learn and practice such intercultural communication. Their perspectives on this practice are then considered in the context of collaboration, where it is concluded that intercultural communication competencies can directly foster collaboration. The practice has potential benefits for the many diverse publics that now need to be better served through planning processes. Intercultural communication is an important practice of planners in culturally diverse cities such as Winnipeg because planners often find themselves in intermediary 'bridging' roles among diverse cultures. It is confirmed that intercultural communication requires a necessary set of competencies, values and skills that must influences one's planning practice.

Globalizacijos proceso, mokyklos decentralizacijos, šalies švietimo integracijos į Europos Sąjungos švietimo erdvę, mokslo standartizacijos kontekste šiandien Lietuvos švietimo įstaigų vadovai - aukščiausios kvalifikacijos vadybos specialistai: kompetentingi, turintys reikiamų žinių ir įgūdžių, nuolat tobulinantys savo kvalifikaciją bei vadybinius gebėjimus, galintys daryti įtaką. Mokyklų vadovai šiandien turi spręsti įvairias problemas. Jie turi užtikrinti mokyklos veiklos efektyvumą. Norint pasiekti šį tikslą, mokyklų vadovai turi derinti savo profesinę kompetenciją su lyderių ir vadovų kompetencijomis. Daugelis mokyklos direktorių neturi pakankamai sėkmingam švietimo įstaigos valdymui būtinų įgūdžių, todėl jie privalo tobulinti turimus ir įgyti naujų. Darbo tikslas: ištirti bendrojo lavinimo mokyklų vadovų kompetencijų ugdymo procesą ir jo valdymą. Darbo objektas: bendrojo lavinimo mokyklos vadovų kompetencijų ugdymas. Darbo hipotezė: bendrojo lavinimo mokyklų vadovams sudarytos palankios sąlygos kompetencijų ugdymui. Darbo uždaviniai: 1) Remiantis moksline literatūra, apibrėžti kompetencijos sampratą ir ištirti mokyklos vadovo kompetencijos struktūrą; 2) Išryškinti būtinas sėkmingam vadovavimui kompetencijas ir išnagrinėti mokyklos vadovo kompetencijų vaidmenį mokyklos valdyme; 3) Išnagrinėti mokyklos vadovo kompetencijų ugdymo galimybes, išteklius ir formas bei aptarti problemas, su kuriomis susiduriama; 4) Išsiaiškinti mokyklos vadovų požiūrį į švietimo įstaigos... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / Work for Master’s Diploma. Competencies development of secondary school headmaster. The headmasters of the school have to deal with various problems. They have to reinsure the effectiveness of the school’s activity. In order to achieve this aim, the managers of the schools have to combine their professional competencies with leaders’ and managers’ competencies. Many headmasters of the school have no management skills, therefore they are obliged to develop them. The purpose of this work is to investigate the secondary school principals' competency development process and its management. The object if this work is general school management competencies. The hypothesis of this work is: there are good conditions for schools headmasters to learn competencies. The main objectives of this work are: 1) to define the concept and structure of school managers‘ competence; 2) to define the core competencies of successful leadership and to analyze the role of competencies for school management; 3) to analyze the opportunities and forms of competencies and to discuss the main problems; 4) to analyze the schools’ headmasters’ opinion about competencies learning system; 5) to evaluate the approach of governors; 6) to make conclusions and recommendations. The research methods and contents. The work consists of three main parts. In the first part the management competencies are discussed, in the second part the competency developing system is analyzed and in the third part the schools’... [to full text]