scholarly journals Interpreting the Impact of a Professional Development Program: Views of Entrepreneur Fellows from Kenya, South Africa, and Uganda One Year Later

2021 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 28-40
Author(s):  
Gabriella Bragoli ◽  
M. Craig Edwards ◽  
Shida Henneberry ◽  
Craig Watters

We conducted a qualitative study that examined the experiences of entrepreneurs who participated in a five-week-long professional development and cultural exchange fellowship program. The Entrepreneur Fellows represented three Sub-Saharan African nations and an array of enterprises, including agriculture and its allied fields, youth development organizations, and social ventures. The study assessed the post-fellowship experiences of the participants, especially regarding their enterprise-related goals, motivations and challenges, community-level impacts, as well as networking and communication practices. Analysis of data derived from 11 semi-structured interviews revealed three overarching themes and nine subthemes. The Entrepreneur Fellows were committed to life-long learning and sharing information, gained new business skills, and expanded their global networks. The Fellows valued their program participation and viewed it as a mark of success. Further, participants were motivated not only by the growth of their enterprises, but also the potential to positively impact their communities. Our findings imply the need for multi-year, longitudinal research, including economic impact data from the Fellows’ enterprises. We also recommend that similar programming be supported and delivered in the future.

2016 ◽  
Vol 38 (5) ◽  
pp. 481-492 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shaina Riciputi ◽  
Meghan H. McDonough ◽  
Sarah Ullrich-French

Physical activity–based positive youth development (PYD) programs often aim to foster character development. This study examined youth perspectives of character development curricula and the impact these activities have on their lives within and beyond the program. This case study examined youth from low-income families in a physical activity–based summer PYD program that integrated one character concept (respect, caring, responsibility, trust) in each of 4 weeks. Participants (N = 24) included a cross section of age, gender, ethnicity, and past program experience. Semi-structured interviews were analyzed using inductive thematic analysis and constant comparative methods. Thirteen themes were grouped in four categories: building highquality reciprocal relationships; intrapersonal improvement; moral reasoning and understanding; and rejection, resistance, and compliance. The findings provide participant-centered guidance for understanding youth personal and social development through physical activity in ways that are meaningful to participants, which is particularly needed for youth in low-income communities with limited youth programming.


Author(s):  
Maulita Daniar Anom ◽  
◽  
Novita Tresiana ◽  
Intan Fitri Meutia ◽  
◽  
...  

Education is a mandatory thing that must be obtained for every child. However, not all children are able to get education due to several factors, one of which is the economic condition of the family which causes them to drop out of school. Guidance for neglected drop-out teenagers is an action that is taken to overcome one of the social problems, which is neglected teenagers who have dropped out of school with the purpose of directing their personality, abilities and skills through non-formal education. This research was conducted at UPTD PSBR Raden Intan Lampung. The purpose of this research is to describe and analyze how the models and coaching programs are carried out to overcome neglected dropout teenagers.The method used in this research is descriptive with a qualitative approach with the use of data collection techniques, such as: structured interviews, documentation and observation. The data analysis technique used in this study was data reduction, data presentation and drawing conclusions, and for data validity techniques are the extension of observations and triangulation. Based on the research results, it shows that the model that is used as a reference in the implementation of coaching activities for neglected dropouts teenagers is the Youth Development Program (YDP) Model which has 3 approaches, that are: Institutional Based, Family Based and Community. The conclusion of this research is based on the analysis, namely the Youth Development Program (YDP) Model which is the reference applied through 4 programs by the UPTD PSBR Raden Intan Lampung, that are Social Rehabilitation Program, Social Security Program, Social Empowerment Program and the last Social Protection Program with the hope that this effort can solve the problem of neglected dropouts teenagers, especially in Lampung Province.


2018 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 157-169
Author(s):  
Mónica Lourenço

Purpose The purpose of this study is to understand the impact of a collaborative workshop, aimed to support teacher educators in embedding a “global outlook” in the curriculum on their perceived professional development. Design/methodology/approach The workshop included working sessions, during a period of 13 months, and was structured as participatory action research, according to which volunteer academics designed, developed and evaluated global education projects in their course units. Data were gathered through a focus group session, conducted with the teacher educators at a final stage of the workshop, and analyzed according to the principles of thematic analysis. Findings Results of the analysis suggest that the workshop presented a meaningful opportunity for teacher educators to reconstruct their knowledge and teaching practice to (re)discover the importance of collaborative work and to assume new commitments to themselves and to others. Originality/value The study addresses a gap in the existing literature on academic staff development in internationalization of the curriculum, focusing on the perceptions of teacher educators’, whose voices have been largely silent in research in the field. The study concludes with a set of recommendations for a professional development program in internationalization of the curriculum.


Author(s):  
Hanna Teräs ◽  
Jan Herrington

<p class="Abstract"><span lang="EN-GB">Teaching in higher education in the 21st century can be a demanding and complex role and academic educators around the globe are dealing with questions related to change. This paper describes a new type of a professional development program for teaching faculty, using a pedagogical model based on the principles of authentic e-learning. The program was developed with the help of an iterative educational design research process and rapid prototyping based on on-going research and redesign. This paper describes how the findings of the evaluations guided the design process and how the impact of the measures taken was in turn researched, in order to eventually identify and refine design principles for an authentic e-learning program for international teaching faculty professional development.</span></p>


2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 306-319 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wei Liu

It is generally agreed that participating in study abroad programs, even short term, has positive impacts on students. But what would be the impact of an “education abroad” opportunity for staff members in international education? Reported in this paper is a 3-month long professional development program in a Canadian university for 52 international student advisors from 51 different Chinese institutions. Based on data from a survey and their comparative research reports, the study aims to glean the impacts of such an education abroad opportunity for international education professionals after their exposure to a different national context and different practices in international education. Findings of this study show that international comparison can serve as an effective approach to the professional development of international education professionals which enhances their historical, contextual and cultural understanding of their own work.


2021 ◽  
pp. 0193841X2110553
Author(s):  
Giovanni Abbiati ◽  
Gianluca Argentin ◽  
Andrea Caputo ◽  
Aline Pennisi

Background A recent stream of literature recognizes the impact of good/poor implementation on the effectiveness of programs. However, implementation is often disregarded in randomized controlled trials (RCTs) because they are run on a small scale. Replicated RCTs, although rare, provide a unique opportunity to study the relevance of implementation for program effectiveness. Objectives Evaluating the effectiveness of an at-scale professional development program for lower secondary school math teachers through two repeated RCTs. Research Design The program lasts a full school year and provides innovative methods for teaching math. The evaluation was conducted on two cohorts of teachers in the 2009/10 and 2010/11 school years. The program and RCTs were held at scale. Participating teachers and their classes were followed for 3 years. Impact is estimated by comparing the math scores of treatment and control students. Subjects The evaluation involved 195 teachers and their 3940 students (first cohort) and 146 teachers and their 2858 students (second cohort). Measures The key outcome is students’ math achievement, measured through standardized assessment. Results In the first wave, the program did not impact on students’ achievement, while in the second wave, a positive, persistent, and not insignificant effect was found. After excluding other sources of change, different findings across waves are interpreted in the light of improvements in the program implementation, such as enrollment procedure, teacher collaboration, and integration of innovation in daily teaching. Conclusions Repeated assessment of interventions already at-scale provides the opportunity to better identify and correct sources of weak implementation, potentially improving effectiveness.


Author(s):  
Tania Heap ◽  
Ruthanne Thompson ◽  
Adam Fein

AbstractFrom a design perspective, this paper offers a response to the impact, value, and application of a manuscript published by Philipsen et al. (Improving teacher professional development for online and blended learning: A systematic meta-aggregative review. Educational Technology and Research Development, 67, 1145–1174. 10.1007/s11423-019-09645-8, 2019). Philipsen et al. (2019) reviewed what constitutes an effective teacher professional development program (TPD) for online and blended learning (OBL), with our response focusing on its value and application in light of an emergency shift to digital to address a global pandemic. This paper also proceeds to examine limitations in previous research into the subject and future research opportunities to investigate important components that inform the design of a resilient and scalable TPD for OBL.


Pharmacy ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 55
Author(s):  
Natalie Crown ◽  
Beth A. Sproule ◽  
Miles J. Luke ◽  
Micheline Piquette-Miller ◽  
Lisa M. McCarthy

A continuing professional development (CPD) program for pharmacists practicing in community and team-based primary care settings was developed and evaluated using Moore’s framework for the assessment of continuing medical education. The program had three components: online lectures, a two-day training workshop, and patient case studies. Knowledge (pre-post multiple choice test); attitudes, readiness, and comfort with applying pharmacogenomics in their practices (pre-post surveys); and experiences of implementing pharmacogenomics in practice (semi-structured interviews) were assessed. Twenty-one of 26 enrolled pharmacists successfully completed the program, and were satisfied with their experience. Almost all achieved a score of 80% or higher on the post-training multiple choice test, with significantly improved scores compared to the pre-training test. Pre- and post-training surveys demonstrated that participants felt that their knowledge and competence increased upon completion of the training. In the follow-up, 15 pharmacists incorporated pharmacogenomics testing into care for 117 patients. Ten pharmacists participated in semi-structured interviews, reporting strong performance in the program, but some difficulty implementing new knowledge in their practices. This multi-component CPD program successfully increased pharmacists’ knowledge, readiness, and comfort in applying pharmacogenomics to patient care in the short-term, yet some pharmacists struggled to integrate this new service into their practices.


2011 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
pp. 60-74 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rhonda Oliver ◽  
Judith Rochecouste ◽  
Samantha Vanderford ◽  
Ellen Grote

Repeated assessments of literacy skills have shown that Aboriginal students do not achieve at the same level as their non-Aboriginal peers. Many Aboriginal students speak Aboriginal English, a dialect different from the Standard Australian English used in schools. Research shows that it is crucial for educators in bidialectal contexts to be aware of students’ home language and to adopt appropriate educational responses. For over a decade, the ABC of Two-Way Literacy and Learning Professional Development Program has sought to improve outcomes for Aboriginal students in Western Australia. By promoting a two-way bidialectal approach to learning, Aboriginal English is valued, accommodated and used to bridge to learning in Standard Australian English. This paper draws on a large research project, which used qualitative and quantitative methods to evaluate the impact of the on-going professional development for teachers. It reports on the attitudes and understandings of teachers, with and without professional development and working in different contexts.


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