Becoming a Psychotherapist: Learning Practices and Identity Construction Across Communities of Practice

Within a perspective that views groups as communities of practice and sites of construction of knowledge, learning, and identity, this article aims to explore the contribution that participation in different groups over the course of one’s life provides to the development of the professional practices of psychotherapist trainees enrolled in the C.O.I.R.A.G. school, an Italian graduate program in group psychotherapy. Through qualitative analyses of 10 semi-structured interviews, our study empirically shows that by participating in groups, the trainees not only learn the practices of that group but also develop a sort of meta-learning which takes place across groups. The results highlight that: (1) Transversality, duration, and informality are found to be the group properties with the highest formative value; and (2) Learning practices across different groups have common characteristics: are organized around complex topics of group life (e.g., how to manage conflicts, how to join and leave groups, etc.), began in early group experiences, are in continuous evolution, are associated with a critical event, and a negative affect. At the same time, it seems that these critical events are exactly what triggered and sustained the learning practices. Data from the interviews also showed how professional identities are constructed as the outcome of learning in different communities of practice. The study outlines how the experience made in different groups is elaborated in and through meaningful self-narratives, highlighting them as a fundamentally collective and culturally shaped sense-making process. Overall, these results contribute to a better understanding of learning processes as situated and jointly constructed through multiple group participations over time. Furthermore, they contribute to highlighting the role of self-narratives as a primary way through which trainees shape their identity as self-reflexive professionals who are competent in reading group dynamics. Directions for future research and suggestions for psychotherapist training paths are outlined in the conclusions.

Launching an Online Business Program at Scale: A Retrospective Case Study of Disruptive Innovation Before the Pandemic

How does an online graduate business program become the fastest growing program in a short span of 5 years, in a category that has been showing constant decline in the last decade? This article takes a retrospective look at the journey from conception to launch and early implementation of an innovative online program at a large public university about half a decade before the pandemic. Extant research about online learning focuses on educational strategies, the changing roles of faculty in a new environment, or students’ satisfaction and performance in online learning programs or courses. This article takes a broad-based view to discuss details on the strategy, design, and development of a disruptive online graduate program built for scale. Given the accelerated transition into remote learning during the COVID-19 pandemic, our journey also has important implications from the forward-looking approach of half a decade ago for how higher education should navigate the digital future.

Abandoned or Degraded Areas in Historic Cities: The Importance of Multifunctional Reuse for Development through the Example of the Historic Commercial Triangle (Emporiko Trigono) of Athens

This article investigates the problem of changing land uses in historical city centers, a problem which often leads to the alteration of their historical, architectural and functional physiognomy, as well as the loss of their inhabitants. It also discusses the importance of land management and proposes a multifunctional reuse model for sustainable development in abandoned or degraded areas in historic cities. This problem is found in historical centers nowadays, especially in the European South, and many theoretical texts and urban studies deal with the issue. Taking under consideration the case of the Historical “Commercial Triangle” of Athens, this article presents the results of an extensive field work, which led to the mapping and analysis of the neighborhood’s special identity. Subsequently, these results lead to the presentation of the problems caused by the dominating uses of recreation and tourism, which suppress the traditional existing commercial uses and the residency. It concludes by proposing preservation strategies for the reuse and development of the area and emphasizes the importance of a management plan aiming towards the preservation of the historical character of the commercial center and its sustainable development. The work presented in this paper is based on an assignment produced in 2020 for the purposes of the post-graduate course “Protection and Preservation of a historical urban center or settlement”, which is part of the post-graduate program “Protection of Monuments” in the School of Architecture, NTUA.

eduCAPES and the scientific dissemination of educational products/processes of a professional graduate program in the state of Pará in the quadrennium 2017/2020

The elaboration of educational products/processes as a result of the dissertation of a Post-Graduation Program (professional modality) is primordial for the improvement of Brazilian education, bringing academic knowledge closer to the needs of society. Therefore, the present research investigates how the knowledge generated by a professional Post-Graduate Program (PGP) in the Teaching Area of a public University in Pará has been disseminated, identifying which regions of Brazil and the world are interested in these educational products/processes. For this, a documentary research was conducted with the analysis of these educational products/processes produced in the quadrennium 2017/2020, made available on the PGP website and on the eduCAPES Platform. Data collected: the type of educational product/process; number of downloads, viewing ranking by country and city (further arranged in geographic regions). It was found that the analyzed production was visualized in the European, American and Asian continents; and in the countries Brazil, United States and Ukraine; in Brazil the largest number of accesses is from the Southeast region. The most viewed products were educational games. In this context, the dissemination of academic production is vital to meet the demands of society and of teachers/researchers, helping in the solution of everyday problems and professional practice. So, making the products/processes accessible by making them available not only in open access platforms but also in other social media. Present the products in other languages for greater global reach.

Nursing care for the Amazon population: knowledge production and human resource development

ABSTRACT Objectives: to analyze knowledge production adherence from a master’s course in nursing in the Amazon to care and health demands in the region, with an emphasis on neglected tropical diseases and traditional populations in the Amazon. Methods: a descriptive study, with a quantitative approach and documentary basis, analyzing dissertations defended in a Graduate Program in Nursing at the Universidade do Estado do Pará in association with the Universidade Federal do Amazonas, from 2012-2019. A descriptive statistical analysis was performed. Results: of the 105 dissertations analyzed, 30 (28.6%) were related to neglected tropical diseases. Of these, 11 (10.5%) dealt with Chagas disease, leishmaniasis, tuberculosis, malaria, and leprosy. Traditional populations in the Amazon participated in only 11 (10.5%) studies. Conclusions: knowledge production in a master’s course has adherence to care and health demands in the region; however, it needs to enhance its production to strengthen its identity.

Music Education and Postgraduate Study: The Case of Dokuz Eylül University

The purposes of this study are to shed light on postgraduate education in Music Teaching and draw inferences about the future by evaluating the Music Teaching Postgraduate Program in Dokuz Eylul University Institute of Educational Sciences. The research is a qualitative study modelled with a single-case embedded study. In accordance with the interlocking single case pattern, the Music Education graduate program was examined by focusing on student, graduate, faculty member, theses. The opinions of 10 students, 23 graduates and 6 faculty members were taken to evaluate the program, and 57 master’s and 20 doctoral theses were examined. As a result of the content analysis,opinions were collected under four main categories. These categories are defined as “institutional goals”, “content”, “program outputs” and “updates”. In the category of program outcomes, the theses were evaluated according to various categories and the professional orientations of the graduates were statistically shared. According to the results of the research, the following conclusions were made: students should be informed at the beginning of the program in order to understand the vision and mission of the institution and to make the process they spent in the education process meaningful; A “scientific research in music education” course should be added to the program in order to conduct qualified research in the field of music education; subjects and research groups in theses should be diversified; faculty members should be role models in preparing thesis and academic studies for their advisors; graduate programs should be updated according to the needs of the time and society.

A Comparative Study on Online Teaching Practices in China and South Korea in the Time of COVID-19

The transition from traditional teaching practices to remote education was sped up by the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic dramatically. The international students who have to stay in their home countries due the travel restrictions rely on the online study. In this manuscript, we examine how the teaching methodology affects the outcome of remote education (e.g., an undergraduate program provided by CUMT, and a graduate program provided by Gachon University). Both SPOC and online streaming classes were evaluated based on the performance of international undergrads majored in chemical engineering. And multiscale simulations were adopted to elucidate the complex transport phenomena in chemical engineering classes to develop a more efficient method for distant engineering education. The preliminary results of this comparative study on online teaching practices indicate that active studies play an important role in online study for international students.