Educational Challenges of Higher Education: Validation of the Information Competence Scale for Future Teachers (ICS-FT)

The irruption of information and communication technologies has brought about an abrupt change in the demands placed on future professionals. In this sense, in recent years, information competencies have gained importance in university education from a cross-cutting perspective, which advocates as its main purpose the training of young people in information search, evaluation, processing and communication skills, especially through a digital network. Based on this idea, the present work aims to develop the Information Competence Scale for Future Teachers (ICS-FT), in order to measure the level of self-perceived skills in this area. For this purpose, a work design is presented below concerning an empirical validation, divided into different phases: the validation of content, construct and reliability, which has taken as a pilot sample a total of 259 university students studying the degree of Primary Education. The results of the validation determined the optimal conditions of content, construct and reliability that allowed the application of this scale as a generic approach to determine the level of competence in the information skills of future teachers.

Estrés laboral y percepción de competencias parentales en padres que trabajan

Work stress is related to the perception of parental skills in working parents, it is a cross-sectional, associative study with correlational predictive design (Ato, López & Benavente, 2013), 177 parents participated (55.7% women), who worked at least 30 hours per week and who have children between 3 and 12 years old. The instruments used were the Inventory of the demands-control-support model (Rosario-Hernández & Rovira, 2016) and the Perceived Parental Competence Scale (Vera-Vásquez, Zaragoza-Tafur & Musayón-Oblitas, 2014). The results found show significant and positive correlations between the dimension of support with assumption of the role and shared leisure (.27). In the same way, the support dimension is positively related to school involvement (.28); as well as the dimension of control with assumption of the role and shared leisure (.22). A positive and moderate correlation was also found between work demands and hours worked (.34). It has been possible to compare the results with previous studies that reaffirm the idea that due to the amount of work commitments, the parents' stay at home is more difficult. In conclusion, people who perceive stress in their work will have a lower perception of parental competences, since they do not find a balance between the functions of both roles.

The Effectiveness of Portage Early Intervention Program in Improving Adaptive Behavior Skills with Intellectual Disorders

The aim of this study was to find the effectiveness of the Portage Program for Early Intervention in improving cognitive competencies of mothers with children having intellectual disabilities in applying portage program, and in developing those children’s adaptive behavior. The experimental sample included 10 children from Irbid Governorate with simple intellectual disabilities, using single-group experimentation. To achieve the goal of the study, the Portage Program (second edition) was adopted as well as the cognitive competence scale for pre and post-test, and the adaptive behavior scale for children with intellectual disabilities. Data from the implemented scales were treated statistically using proper statistical methods. The study reached the following results: There were statistically significant differences at the level of significance (α=0.05) between the means of the pre- and post-test for performance of mothers of children with simple intellectual disabilities in the cognitive competence scale. There were statistically significant differences at the level of significance (α=0.05) between the pre- and post-test means for performance of children with simple intellectual disabilities in the adaptive behavior scale. There were statistically significant differences at the level of significance (α=0.05) between the post and follow up test means for performance of children with simple intellectual disabilities in the adaptive behavior scale. The study sets various recommendations in the fields of education and research. The results of the qualitative analysis indicated a noticeable improvement in the performance of the adaptive behavior skills of the individuals participated in study.

Effect of an educational programme on critical care nurses’ competence at two tertiary hospitals in Malawi

BackgroundCritical care specialty deals with the complex needs of critically ill patients. Nurses who provide critical care are expected to possess the appropriate knowledge and skills required for the care of critically ill patients. The aim of this study was to assess the effect of an educational programme on the competence of critical care nurses at two tertiary hospitals in Lilongwe and Blantyre, Malawi.MethodsA quantitative pre- and post-test design was applied. The training programme was delivered to nurses (n = 41) who worked in intensive care and adult high dependency units at two tertiary hospitals. The effect of the training was assessed through participants’ self-assessment of competence on the Intensive and Critical Care Nursing Competence Scale and a list of 10 additional competencies before and after the training.ResultsThe participants’ scores on the Intensive and Critical Care Nursing Competence Scale before the training, M = 608.2, SD = 59.6 increased significantly after the training, M = 684.7, SD = 29.7, p <.0001 (two-tailed). Similarly, there was a significant increase in the participants’ scores on the additional competencies after the training, p <.0001 (two-tailed). ConclusionThe programme could be used for upskilling nurses in critical care settings in Malawi and other developing countries with a similar context.

A Comparison of Nurse Aides and Nurses Regarding the Work Competence of Nurse Aides in a Skill-Mixed Institution

Objective: To compare the differences between the work competencies self-reported by nurse aides’ and those perceived by nurses. Method: A cross-sectional survey was employed. The settings were units implemented a skill mix model institution in Taiwan. The instruments consisted of the participants’ demographic data and a nurse aide work competence scale. Results: The results indicated that the nurse aides had room for improvement in terms of “problem solving” and “activity design”. The nurse aides and nurses differed significantly in terms of the nurse aides’ competence in “activity design”, as the nurse aides reported themselves to be more competent in “activity design” than reported by the nurses. Conclusion: Nurse aides should be incorporated into cross-disciplinary teams. Activity design should be handled by other healthcare providers such as physical therapists or senior social workers.

CAT-Q MSCS BASC2 Pre-Print

Background: Camouflaging, defined as the use of strategies to compensate for or hide autistic traits, is associated with internalizing behaviour (i.e., anxiety and depression) in both autistic and non-autistic people. Non-autistic adults who have poorer social competence tend to engage in more camouflaging, thus it’s unclear whether the increase in internalizing behaviour associated with camouflaging may be explained by poor social competence, rather than camouflaging itself. The purpose of this study was to extend previous research on camouflaging and internalizing behaviour among non-autistic people through examination of the role of social competence. Methods: In this study, 315 non-autistic young adults completed the Multidimensional Social Competence Scale (MSCS) to assess their social competence, the Camouflaging of Autistic Traits Questionnaire (CAT-Q) to assess their use of camouflaging strategies, and the Behaviour Assessment Scale for Children 2 – Self-Report of Personality, College Version (BASC-2 SRP-COL) to assess their internalizing behaviour. Results: We found that camouflaging predicted internalizing behaviour among non-autistic young adults after controlling for social competence, autistic traits, age, IQ, and gender. Camouflaging partially mediated the relationship between social competence and internalizing behaviours. Conclusions: These results suggest that the use of camouflaging strategies is uniquely associated with internalizing behaviour over and above social competence and may, in part, contribute to the increased internalizing behaviours observed in individuals with poorer social competence.

The Professional Competence of Special Education Teachers

The current research sheds the light on: 1- Professional competence of special education teachers. 2- The differences in the professional competence of special education teachers according to the variable: gender (males - females) To achieve the aims of this research, the researchers followed the fundamental steps according to which the process of building educational and psychological standards goes, so the professional competence scale that consists of (45) items was built in its final form. After completing the construction of the research tool, the application was applied to a sample as members of the educational staff (teachers) of special education classes in government schools in Babylon Governorate in its various districts for the academic year (2020-2021). Statistical data were processed using the statistical package (SPSS) and the research reached the following results: 1- Watching artworks in a visual scene. 2- There are no statistically significant differences at the level (0.05) in occupational according to the gender variable. The research concluded with proposals in the Mediterranean.

Development and Validation of the Aesthetic Competence Scale

<div>This study aimed to develop and validate the Aesthetic Competence Scale to measure students’ Aesthetic Quotient. A total of 654 undergraduate students participated in the survey. In phase 1, participants completed a 40-item Aesthetic Competence Scale intended to measure the four factors of Aesthetic Quotient, namely, music, drawing, literature, and film. Exploratory factor analysis was conducted to eliminate items with low factor coefficients and generate a concise instrument. In phase 2, confirmatory factor analysis was used to validate the revised questionnaire. The findings of the exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses supported the hypothetical factor structure of the Aesthetic Competence Scale. All subscales of the Aesthetic Competence Scale showed good internal consistency reliabilities. Concurrent validity was evaluated by structural equation modeling, which examined the relationships between the Aesthetic Competence Scale, emotions, and creativity. The result provided the criterion validation and revealed the value of the Aesthetic Competence Scale.<br></div><div><br></div>The data concerning this manu is stored in scienceDB, see https://www.scidb.cn/en. <br>