Only two years after graduating themselves, speech and language therapists are asked to act as placement educators and supervise student speech and language therapists. The role of the placement educator is to supervise, teach, support and assess the student in the clinical environment and as such is a complex and demanding role. Some previous research has suggested that the training and support provided to developing placement educators does not adequately prepare them for the role. However, the development of speech and language therapists as placement educators is a relatively under-researched area in the UK. This interpretive study explores how ten speech and language therapists feel they develop the necessary skills to be successful as placement educators, through the stories they tell about their experiences. This exploration of clinical education and professional development is set within a social constructivist perspective on learning. The participants talked at length of their own early experiences as students and described these as the starting point for their own enactment of the placement educator role. They also emphasised the importance of continuing to learn and develop their skills as they gained experience in the placement educator role itself. The themes of talk, collaboration, reflective practice and experiential learning were central to the stories told by the participants and underpin how these speech and language therapists learnt to be placement educators. It is suggested that in describing how she felt she learnt to be a placement educator each participant created a unique and dynamic map of that learning. This study contributes to the on-going discussion about the role of critical reflection in understanding and challenging established practice and reinforces the place of reflective practice as integral to both the clinical and placement educator aspects of the SLT’s role. The findings highlight the importance of peer support and shared opportunities for critical reflection with colleagues in ensuring that placement educators do not feel isolated or disillusioned.

Due to increasing societal demands, accountability and economic constraints, there has been a paradigm shift in the healthcare culture with a move to formally train medical educators. This has resulted in the professionalisation of medical education, with various development initiatives including postgraduate qualifications. The demand for these qualifications in medical education can be judged by the increase in providers, from 2 to 31 in the UK and from 7 to 124 worldwide over the last two decades. However, detailed information about the influence and effectiveness of such courses remains sparse. This study investigated the impact of postgraduate qualifications in medical education on graduates’ educational identities, practices and career progression. The study design is mixed methods using the explanatory model. The first study comprised of an online survey of graduates from the Centre for Medical Education, Dundee between 2008 and 2012. The data collected were sequentially explored in more depth through semi-structured interviews in the second study. To increase the range and scope of enquiry a third study was carried out, which involved a 10 month follow-up of a new cohort of face-to-face students (2013/14) through the course and to the workplace. The quantitative data were analysed using non-parametric statistics on SPSS 21, and constructivist grounded theory analysis was used for the qualitative data in ATLAS.ti 7. I found that a qualification in medical education enhances theoretical foundations in educational practices, with increased self-efficacy and engagement in scholarly activities. The qualification encourages transformational changes and epistemological development as a teacher, researcher, leader and learner. Many participants attributed their career progression to the qualification. The graduates were able to lead various educational changes in the workplace and they described substantial performance attainments. I also found their work environment and personal factors influenced the impact of these qualifications. A conceptual framework based on an increased understanding of the identity development of healthcare educators was also developed. This is the first study on the long-term effects of a degree-awarding course in medical education on healthcare professionals worldwide. The findings have implications for the educators, course directors, healthcare organisations and professionalisation of the speciality.

The purpose of this study was to explore in-depth, the role of Integrated Quality Management System coordinators and the role of subject advisors in the professional development of educators in the Tshwane South district and Northern Gauteng district of the Gauteng Department of Education. This qualitative research study used a case study design - the case being the role of two sets of district officials in educator professional development. This study was framed by the four main roles of the district officials as stipulated by the Personnel Administration Measures (1996), namely planning, support, supervision and educator engagement. These four main concepts were not just a point of reference but the conceptual framework underpinning the study. Altogether, eight district officials took part in this study. Semi-structured interviews were employed as data collection strategy in this study. The findings of this study were that the role of officials in planning EPD is varied and often overlaps, that support is mainly provide through school visits, but other means of support are also employed when required, that supervision and oversight is not always developmental in nature, and finally that educator engagement is often insufficient and does not always engage educators in the processes and planning of EPD. The study put forward recommendations that advance planning, advocacy and training for the implementation of IQMS be done, that professional development activities endorsed by SACE be adopted throughout the system, that a change of focus from monitoring and accountability methods in educator professional development to developmental supervision be adopted, and consultation and engagement with educators in designing and planning professional development activities be prioritised. / Dissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria, 2017. / Education Management and Policy Studies / MEd / Unrestricted

In this qualitative study, I explored the lived experiences of eight early childhood educators implementing a play-based teacher professional development intervention, child teacher relationship training (CTRT), in an affluent Christian based preschool. Through the building of relationships, CTRT provided the teachers a person-centered approach to develop skills to establish relationships and to attend to the intentional emotional and relational development of young children. The research questions addressed the impact on teachers with children exhibiting challenging behaviors utilizing CTRT experienced before, during, and after the implementation of the play-based consultation intervention. Thematic analysis of the pre-intervention interviews, observation journals, reflexive journal, and post-intervention interviews revealed two clusters and seven distinct themes. The first cluster described the learning experiences of teachers while implementing CTRT with four identified themes: (a) changes in their views about children; (b) changes in their views about their personal abilities and performance; (c) a deeper understanding of theory (Reggio Emilia and CTRT); and (d) teacher skill development. The second cluster concerned the impact of CTRT before, during, and after the implementation of CTRT with three identified themes: (a) relationships; (b) support systems; and (c) the transfer of CTRT skills outside the classroom. The emerging themes indicated that the participants found CTRT to be a useful intervention for skill development to address challenging behaviors in young children, increased the teachers' abilities to manage classrooms, and professional and personal growth.