Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) / Ensuring that speech pathology students are sufficiently competent to practise their profession is of critical importance to the speech pathology profession, students, their future employers, and clients/patients. This thesis describes the development and validation of a competency based assessment of speech pathology students’ performance in the workplace and their readiness to enter the profession. Development involved an extensive literature review regarding the nature of competency and its relationship to professional practice, the purpose and nature of assessment, and the validation of performance assessments. An online and hard copy assessment tool (paper) was designed through integrating multiple sources of information regarding speech pathology and assessment of workplace performance. Sources included research, theory, expert opinion, current practice, and focus group consultations with clinical educators and speech pathology students. The resulting assessment tool and resource material included four generic components of competency (clinical reasoning, professional communication, lifelong learning, and professional role) and seven occupational competencies previously developed by the speech pathology profession. The tool comprised an assessment format, either in a booklet or online, for clinical educators to rate students’ performances on the competencies at mid and end placement using a visual analogue scale. Behavioural descriptors and an assessment resource booklet informed and supported clinical educators’ judgement. The validity of the assessment tool was evaluated through a national field trial and using Messick’s six interrelated validity criteria which address content, substantive, structural, generalisability, external, and consequential aspects of validity (Messick, 1996). The validity of the assessment tool and its use with speech pathology students was evaluated through Rasch analysis, parametric statistical evaluation of relationships existing between information yielded by the Rasch analysis and other factors, and student and clinical educator feedback. The assessment tool was found to have strong validity characteristics across all validity components. Item Fit statistics generated through Rasch analysis ranged from .81 to 1.17 strongly upholding that the assessment items sampled a unidimensional construct of workplace competency for speech pathology students and confirming that generic and occupational competencies are both necessary for competent practice of speech pathology. High Item and Person Reliabilities (analogous to Cronbach’s alpha) were found (.98 and .97 respectively) and a wide range of person measures (-14.2 to 13.1) were generated. This indicated that a large spread of ability and a clear hierarchy of development on the construct was identified and that the assessment tool was highly reliable. This was further confirmed by high Intra Class Correlation coefficients for a small group of paired clinical educators rating the same student in the same workplace (.87) or in different workplaces concurrently (.82). Rasch analysis of the visual analogue scale used to rate student performance on 11 items of competence identified that clinical educators were able to reliably discriminate 7 categories or levels of student performance. This, in combination with careful calibration procedures, has resulted in an assessment tool that Australian Speech Pathology pre-professional preparation programs can use with confidence to place their students’ level of workplace competence into 7 zones of competency, with the seventh representing sufficient competence to enter the profession. The assessment tool also showed strong potential for identifying marginal students and for future use in promoting quality teaching and learning of professional competence. Limitations to the research and the tool validity were discussed, and recommendations made regarding future research. First, the clinical educator, who has dual and possibly conflicting roles as facilitator and assessor of student learning, made the assessment. Second, situating the assessment in the real workplace limits the students’ opportunities to demonstrate competence to those that naturally arise in the workplace. Paradoxically, both these factors also contributed to the validity of the assessment tool. It was recommended that the assessment tool be revised on the basis of the information gathered from the field trial, that further data be collected to ensure a broader proportional representation of speech pathology programs, to investigate possible threats to validity as well as those areas for which the tool showed promise. This research developed the first prototype of a validated assessment of entry level speech pathology competence that is grounded in a unified theoretical conception of entry level competence to the profession of speech pathology and the developmental progression required to reach this competence. This research will assist the profession of speech pathology by ensuring that speech pathologists enter the workplace well equipped to provide quality care to their future clients, the ultimate goal of any professional preparation program. Messick, S. (1996). Validity of performance assessments. In G. W. Phillips (Ed.), Technical Issues in Large-Scale Performance Assessment (pp. 1-18). Washington: National Centre for Education Statistics.

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) / Ensuring that speech pathology students are sufficiently competent to practise their profession is of critical importance to the speech pathology profession, students, their future employers, and clients/patients. This thesis describes the development and validation of a competency based assessment of speech pathology students’ performance in the workplace and their readiness to enter the profession. Development involved an extensive literature review regarding the nature of competency and its relationship to professional practice, the purpose and nature of assessment, and the validation of performance assessments. An online and hard copy assessment tool (paper) was designed through integrating multiple sources of information regarding speech pathology and assessment of workplace performance. Sources included research, theory, expert opinion, current practice, and focus group consultations with clinical educators and speech pathology students. The resulting assessment tool and resource material included four generic components of competency (clinical reasoning, professional communication, lifelong learning, and professional role) and seven occupational competencies previously developed by the speech pathology profession. The tool comprised an assessment format, either in a booklet or online, for clinical educators to rate students’ performances on the competencies at mid and end placement using a visual analogue scale. Behavioural descriptors and an assessment resource booklet informed and supported clinical educators’ judgement. The validity of the assessment tool was evaluated through a national field trial and using Messick’s six interrelated validity criteria which address content, substantive, structural, generalisability, external, and consequential aspects of validity (Messick, 1996). The validity of the assessment tool and its use with speech pathology students was evaluated through Rasch analysis, parametric statistical evaluation of relationships existing between information yielded by the Rasch analysis and other factors, and student and clinical educator feedback. The assessment tool was found to have strong validity characteristics across all validity components. Item Fit statistics generated through Rasch analysis ranged from .81 to 1.17 strongly upholding that the assessment items sampled a unidimensional construct of workplace competency for speech pathology students and confirming that generic and occupational competencies are both necessary for competent practice of speech pathology. High Item and Person Reliabilities (analogous to Cronbach’s alpha) were found (.98 and .97 respectively) and a wide range of person measures (-14.2 to 13.1) were generated. This indicated that a large spread of ability and a clear hierarchy of development on the construct was identified and that the assessment tool was highly reliable. This was further confirmed by high Intra Class Correlation coefficients for a small group of paired clinical educators rating the same student in the same workplace (.87) or in different workplaces concurrently (.82). Rasch analysis of the visual analogue scale used to rate student performance on 11 items of competence identified that clinical educators were able to reliably discriminate 7 categories or levels of student performance. This, in combination with careful calibration procedures, has resulted in an assessment tool that Australian Speech Pathology pre-professional preparation programs can use with confidence to place their students’ level of workplace competence into 7 zones of competency, with the seventh representing sufficient competence to enter the profession. The assessment tool also showed strong potential for identifying marginal students and for future use in promoting quality teaching and learning of professional competence. Limitations to the research and the tool validity were discussed, and recommendations made regarding future research. First, the clinical educator, who has dual and possibly conflicting roles as facilitator and assessor of student learning, made the assessment. Second, situating the assessment in the real workplace limits the students’ opportunities to demonstrate competence to those that naturally arise in the workplace. Paradoxically, both these factors also contributed to the validity of the assessment tool. It was recommended that the assessment tool be revised on the basis of the information gathered from the field trial, that further data be collected to ensure a broader proportional representation of speech pathology programs, to investigate possible threats to validity as well as those areas for which the tool showed promise. This research developed the first prototype of a validated assessment of entry level speech pathology competence that is grounded in a unified theoretical conception of entry level competence to the profession of speech pathology and the developmental progression required to reach this competence. This research will assist the profession of speech pathology by ensuring that speech pathologists enter the workplace well equipped to provide quality care to their future clients, the ultimate goal of any professional preparation program. Messick, S. (1996). Validity of performance assessments. In G. W. Phillips (Ed.), Technical Issues in Large-Scale Performance Assessment (pp. 1-18). Washington: National Centre for Education Statistics.

Thesis ( M.Dev) --University of Limpopo, 2011

This study investigates the uniqueness and importance of the Australian National Competency Committee (ANCI) competencies to nurses and other health professionals. Very few Australian studies (Battersby, 1994; Hearn, Smith, Southerly & Close, 1995) have addressed this issue. Although there is widespread confusion of the term "competency", professional bodies regard competency standards as a process for supporting the integrity and control of their respective professions. The problem is that there is confusion across the health professions about competencies and their agenda. ANCI suggest that the nursing competencies reflect unique characteristics of nursing as well as those common with other professions. However, competencies that are unique to nursing have not been identified. ANCI have also not identified how competencies can enhance the development of nursing as a profession. The identification of differences in perceptions of uniqueness and importance of the ANCI competencies within nursing and across health professional groups may contribute to the debate on what is needed to achieve competence and those factors that may influence nursing autonomy, education, and future professional development. This study is important to assist in the identification of nursing as a profession in its own right. It will assist the arguments for and against economic reform in professional education courses and transfer of skills and competence across professions. This study compares the perceptions of nurses, physiotherapists, speech pathologists, and occupational therapists about the uniqueness and importance of the ANCI competencies to their professions. Participants completed a questionnaire that listed the ANCI competencies. They were asked to rate each competency first on uniqueness to their profession, and second, on importance to their profession. Two surveys were conducted; one in 1997 and the second in 2000. Surveys examined any change in perception over time by different cohort groups. The study takes a quantitative approach to data collection and analysis. Inferential analysis determined statistically significant differences and similarities of the four participating health professional groups. The differences are examined in relation to the characteristics that define a profession and implications for nursing are examined in relation to research, autonomy, and patient advocacy within an evidence-based practice framework. Eight hundred and thirty-one of questionnaires distributed were used in this study. The results showed that nursing emerged as significantly different to the other three health professions on perception of uniqueness of the competencies. Nineteen of the sixty-five competencies were perceived by nurses to be more unique to the nursing profession. This perception of uniqueness was found across all the four domains of the ANCI competencies. Although ANCI (2000) claimed that the competencies reflect the unique characteristics of nursing these characteristics have not previously been identified. This finding provides some support for the claim made by ANCI by identifying those competencies nurses perceive as more unique. The study findings showed also that the four participating health professions rated the ANCI competencies as important. However, there was a significant difference between nurses and the other three professional groups on the ratings of importance of the competencies of professional and ethical practice. The study found that nurses rated the competencies of this domain as more important than the other three professions rated these competencies. The findings indicate that the rank orders of importance of the competencies are different across the four professions. This reflects and indicates the different priorities and work roles of each of the four professional groups. It is interesting as well as being of concern to nursing that the participating nurses ranked research and management of care as being the least important of all of the competencies. This finding may help to explain why nursing research has been slow to develop in spite of changes to nursing education. Nurses have a subordinate past and are often described as doers rather than thinkers. It appears that this may not have changed. Current practice also reflects a dependency on other health professions such as the medical profession (Adamson & Harris, 1996). Finally, the study found that there was no change in nurses' perceptions of uniqueness over time. However, there was a slight increase in the nurses' ratings of importance of Critical Thinking and Analysis. There were no statistical significant differences for age, gender, year of graduation, state of residence, and employment status. The discussion chapter commences with an outline of the perceived importance of the competencies across the different health professions. Discussion compares the findings and methods of two important Australian studies of competencies (Battersby, 1994; Hearn et al. 1995, 1996) to this study. Discussion examines professionalism and identifies areas where nursing's perceptions of the competencies meet the criteria of a profession and where the four health professions have similar and different perspectives and qualities. Six characteristics of a profession that are discussed in relation to the perceptions of the ANCI competencies are: high intellectual functioning, special body of knowledge, responsibility and accountability, code of ethics, autonomy, and collegiality. The third part of the discussion highlights the implications of this studies' findings in relation to ANCI competencies as an evaluation tool, the empowerment of nurses, generic courses, scope of nursing, professional development, and curriculum development. The thesis concludes by arguing that 1) The ANCI competencies have the potential to increase the professionalism of nursing; 2) Nurses value accountability and responsibility, the code of ethics, and collegiality; 3) Nurses appear uncomfortable with the concept of autonomy; 4) Nurses undervalue high intellectual functioning and the importance of a body of knowledge; and 5) Perceptions are influenced by the context of competencies. The final chapter highlights a number of recommendations for nursing practice that include the need for further investigation of the uniqueness of the ANCI competencies. It is argued that there is a need for a number of changes to the ANCI competency list as well as a greater emphasis on research and management of care and support for discipline specific courses.It is apparent from the findings of this study that nursing education and clinical practice would benefit from the placement of more emphasis on the importance of research. Furthermore, nurses need to take better responsibility for pursing opportunities and funding for research and practice management. It is concluded that nursing research will increase the body of knowledge for the profession and will also increase professional autonomy with an outcome of better client care. Nurses need encouragement from administrators and educators to value management of care and the nursing process, as this will also encourage independence and quality of care provision. It is argued that commonalities in the perception of uniqueness and importance of competencies are not grounds for politicians to suggest the implementation of generic health professional courses. The commonality of the competencies being important to all four professions can be attributed to the complex nature of nursing practice, which captures aspects of other health professional roles and many of the competencies contribute to the characteristics that define a profession. There are differences in the rankings that can be attributed to the nature of knowledge, context, and priorities of the different professions. Each profession has its own governing body that ensures its members obtain an acceptable standard of professional competence and education. It has, and always will be, the responsibility of the profession to shape the service it provides (Pyne, 1998). This study highlights nurses' perceptions of competencies. The recognition of these perceptions could be used to guide nursing's strive toward autonomy, professional development, and recognition as a profession in its own right.

The field of adult literacy and basic education (ALBE) has undergone dramatic changes in recent years with the advent of labour market programs, accreditation, competency-based assessment and competitive tendering for program funds. Teachers' working conditions have deteriorated and their professional autonomy has been eroded. ALBE has been increasingly instrumentalised to fulfil the requirements of a marketised economy and conform to its norms. The beliefs and value systems which traditionally underpinned the work of ALBE teachers have been reframed according to the principle of 'performativity' and the demands of the 'performative State' (Lyotard, 1984: 46, Yeatman 1994: 110). The destabilisation of teachers' working lives can be understood as a manifestation of the 'postmodern condition' (Lyotard 1984; Harvey 1989): the collapse of the certainties and purposes of the past; the proliferation of technologies; the impermanence and intensification of work; the commodification of knowledge and curricula; and the dissolving of boundaries between disciplines and fields of knowledge. The critiques of the modernist grand narratives which underpin progressivist and critical approaches to adult literacy pedagogy have further undermined the traditional points of reference of ALBE teachers. In this thesis I examine how teachers are teaching, surviving, resisting, and 'living the contradictions' (Seddon 1994) in the context of struggles to comply with and resist the requirements of performativity. Following Foucault and a number of feminist poststructuralist authors, I have applied the notions of 'discursive engagement' and 'the politics of discourse' (Yeatman 1990a) as a way of theorising the interplay between imposed change and teachers' practice. I explore the discursive practices which take place at the interface between the 'new' policy discourses and older, naturalised discourses; how teachers are engaged by and are engaging with discourses of performativity; how teachers are discursively constructing adult literacy pedagogy; what new, hybrid discourses of 'good practice' are emerging; and the micropractices of resistance which teachers are enacting in their speech and in their practice. My purpose was to develop knowledge which would support the reflexivity of teachers; to enrich the theoretical languages that teachers could draw upon in trying to make sense of their situation; and to use those languages in speaking about the dilemmas of practice. I used participatory action research as a means of producing knowledge about teachers' practices, structured around their agency, and reflecting their standpoint (Harding 1993). I describe two separate action research projects in which teachers of ALBE participated. I reflect on both projects in the light of poststructuralist theory and consider them as instances of what Lather calls 'within/against research' (Lather 1989: 27). I analyse written and spoken texts produced in both projects which reflect teachers' responses to competency-based assessment and other features of the changing context. I use a method of discourse mapping to describe the discursive field and the teachers' discursive practices. Three main configurations of discourse are delineated: 'progressivism', 'professional teacher' and 'performativity'. The teachers mainly position themselves within a hybridising 'progressivist /professional teacher' discourse, as a discourse of resistance to 'performative' discourse. In adapting their pedagogies, the teachers are in some degree taking the language and world view of performativity into their own vocabularies and practices. The discursive picture I have mapped is complex and contradictory. On one hand, the 'progressivist /professional teacher' discourse appears to endure and to take strength from the articulation into it of elements of performative discourse, creating new possibilities for discursive transformation. On the other hand, there are signs that performative discourse is colonising and subsuming progressivist /professional teacher discourse. At times, both of these tendencies are apparent in the one text. Six micropractices of resistance are identified within the texts: 'rational critique', 'objectification', 'subversion', 'refusal', 'humour' and 'the affirmation of desire'. These reflect the teachers' agency in making discursive choices on the micro level of their every day practices. Through those micropractices, the teachers are engaging with and resisting the micropractices and meanings of performativity. I apply the same multi-layered method of analysis to an examination of discursive engagement in pedagogy by analysing a transcript of the teachers' discussion of critical incidents in their classrooms. Their classroom pedagogies are revealed as complex, situated and eclectic. They are combining and integrating their 'embodied' and their 'institutional' powers, both 'seducing' (McWilliam 1995) and 'regulating' (Gore 1993) as they teach. A strong ethical project is apparent in the teachers' sense of social responsibility, in their determination to adhere to valued traditions of previous times, and in their critical self-awareness of the ways in which they use their institutional and embodied powers in the classroom. Finally, l look back on the findings, and reflect on the possibilities of discursive engagement and the politics of discourse as a framework for more strategic practice in the current context. This research provides grounds for hope that, by becoming more self-conscious about how we engage discursively, we might become more strategic in our everyday professional practice. Not withstanding the constraints (evident in this study) which limit the strategic potential of the politics of discourse, there is space for teachers to become more reflexive in their professional, pedagogical and political praxis. Development of more deliberate, self-reflexive praxis might lead to a 'postmodern democratic polities' (Yeatman 1994: 112) which would challenge the performative state and the system of globalised capital which it serves. Short abstract Adult literacy and basic education (ALBE) teachers have experienced a period of dramatic policy change in recent years; in particular, the introduction of competency-based assessment and competitive tendering for program funds. 'Discourse politics' provides a way of theorising the interplay between policy-mediated institutional change and teachers' practice. The focus of this study is 'discursive engagement'; how teachers are engaged by and are engaging with discourses of performativity. Through two action research projects, texts were generated of teachers talking and writing about how they were responding to the challenges, and developing their pedagogies in the new policy environment. These texts have been analysed and several patterns of discursive engagement delineated, named and illustrated. The strategic potential of 'discourse polities' is explored in the light of the findings.

South Africa since the liberation in 1994 has faced a lot of changes. The changes include being a member of the international community. As part of the international community, South Africa is finding itself largely faced by the challenges associated with this position. Looking at other countries South Africa is realizing that the world is looking at better ways of educating their people and organizing their education and training systems so that they might gain the edge in an increasingly competitive economic global environment. Success and survival in such a world demands that South Africa has a national education and training system that provides quality learning and promotes the development of a nation that is committed to life-long learning. Institutions of higher education in South Africa are currently changing their present education system to conform to a Competency-Based Training (CBT) system. This system has only been planned but not implemented yet and it is not clear how CBT will be implemented, especially how the learners are going to be assessed. Competency-Based Assessment (CBA) is an integral part of CBT that needs particular attention if the new system is to succeed. The key aims of this thesis are to investigate the current assessment policy and practice at the Canberra Institute of Technology (CIT) underpinned by Competency- Based Training system. The project will describe and analyze the Competency-Based Assessment system used within CIT's CBT system. The project will focus on: Observing classroom practice of CBA, analyzing students' and teachers' perceptions of their involvement with CBA, and analyzing employers' perceptions of the effectiveness of CBA. The main aim of this thesis is to suggest recommendations for an assessment model that will be suitable to implement within hospitality training institutions in South Africa.

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / Literature has shown that Malawi is experiencing a shortage of qualified healthcare providers, with the greatest burden on maternal and neonatal health. The majority of health service providers are Nurse-Midwife Technicians (NMT), contributing to 87% of the nursing and midwifery workforce. However, research has shown that the NMTs lack the ability to transfer skills into different clinical settings. It was not known what competencies were taught in Christian Health Association of Malawi colleges to equip the NMTs with clinical competence in neonatal nursing practice and how the clinical teachers assisted these NMTs to acquire the competencies. Furthermore, there was no documentation on the availability of a clinical competency-based assessment tool to validate the NMTs’ achievement of clinical competence in neonatal nursing. The purpose of this study was to develop a neonatal nursing care clinical competency-based assessment tool to validate NMTs’ achievement of clinical competence in CHAM nursing colleges. The competency, outcomes and performance assessment (COPA) model and the skills acquisition model were the conceptual frameworks used as the foundation of the study. The study adopted a sequential mixed method approach in which both qualitative and quantitative methods were utilized. Data collection was conducted using focus group discussions, document review and cross-sectional survey. The design and development model developed by Reeves (2006) and steps to development of assessment tools identified by the Department of Training and Workforce Development (2012) guided the study and development of the competency-based assessment tool. The study was conducted in eight CHAM nursing colleges. The researcher employed purposive, convenient and proportional stratified sampling to select the participants. Ethics clearance was obtained from the University of Western Cape and the National Health Sciences Ethical Research Committee in Malawi, prior to data collection. The data collection involved 31 midwifery clinical teachers and 140 third year students for the FGD and 48 midwifery clinical teachers and 195 third year students for the cross section survey. Document analysis was conducted at all the eight nursing colleges. The qualitative data was analysed using content analysis with Atlas.ti 7 and the quantitative data was analysed using descriptive analysis with SPSS 22. The research findings showed that the NMTs were taught basic nursing skills to enable them provide basic care to the health newborn baby. However, there were inadequate clinical assessments done to validate the NMT’s achievement of clinical competence in this setting. In addition, the clinical teachers used skills checklists to evaluate the NMTs clinical performance on specific procedures. The outcome of this study was the establishment of neonatal nursing clinical competencies, and development of a neonatal nursing care clinical competency-based assessment tool for the validation of NMT’s achievement of clinical competence. The tool provides a framework for neonatal nursing clinical teaching and assessments as well as tracking of the NMT’s clinical performance in this setting. It is recommended that training institutions should reinforce mechanisms to track the students’ clinical experience and performance assessments using this tool to ensure quality student outcomes. Furthermore, the clinical teachers should be oriented on the use of the developed assessment tool for familiarisation; thereby enhancing consistency and objectivity in the students’ performance assessments. / ICAP-NEPI Project Malawi

This was a correlation study exploring the relationships between scores on various dimensions within and across different exercises in the leadership assessment and development centre (LADC) of an auditing firm in Johannesburg. The study specifically aimed at investigating the discriminant and convergent validity of the LADC. LADC ratings collected from a sample of 138 were analysed using a Pearson Product Moment Correlation (r) and principal component analysis (PCA) was conducted to discover the main dimensions or constructs. Twenty one dimensions were measured using six different exercises in the LADC. The large correlations found in the study showed lack of discriminant validity amongst the majority of different dimensions measured in same exercises whilst, the PCA showed some convergent validity among various dimensions measured across exercises for the LADC. Lastly, the findings of the principal component analysis (PCA) supported a two-factor structure, indicating that assessors are able to differentiate between interpersonal and performance-related dimensions. / Industrial and Organisational Psychology / M.A. (Industrial and Organisational Psychology)

Evidence is provided to support Kierkegaard's phenomenology that only what is learned through experience is truly known. It is demonstrated that the chiropractic curriculum represents a unique area of investigation and that it is possible to define curriculum; to create a functional and integrative model which subsumes elements from the traditional, cyclical and process models; and to design an integrative, problem-based, evidence-based, experiential chiropractic curriculum. A taxonomy is proposed for curriculum design in four domains which deal respectively with a) curriculum processes which include the selection, motivation and interaction of curriculum developers, curriculum definitions and models, and an algorithm for curriculum design; b) curriculum organisation which addresses philosophical, sociological, cultural and psychological foundations, curriculum paradigms and a chiropractic conceptual framework; c) curriculum development which concerns design strategies, situational analysis, intent, content, design and organisation of learning experiences and assessment of student performance; and d) curriculum application, which includes the learning climate, quality management, management of change, self-evaluation and external accreditation / Curriculum and Instructional Studies / M. Ed. (Didactics)

This was a correlation study exploring the relationships between scores on various dimensions within and across different exercises in the leadership assessment and development centre (LADC) of an auditing firm in Johannesburg. The study specifically aimed at investigating the discriminant and convergent validity of the LADC. LADC ratings collected from a sample of 138 were analysed using a Pearson Product Moment Correlation (r) and principal component analysis (PCA) was conducted to discover the main dimensions or constructs. Twenty one dimensions were measured using six different exercises in the LADC. The large correlations found in the study showed lack of discriminant validity amongst the majority of different dimensions measured in same exercises whilst, the PCA showed some convergent validity among various dimensions measured across exercises for the LADC. Lastly, the findings of the principal component analysis (PCA) supported a two-factor structure, indicating that assessors are able to differentiate between interpersonal and performance-related dimensions. / Industrial and Organisational Psychology / M.A. (Industrial and Organisational Psychology)