Search results

Getting the Most of Management Training - the Role of Identical Elements for Training Transfer

Purpose - Focusing on management training, this study aimed to establish whether identical elements in a training program (i.e. aspects resembling participants' work situation) can improve training transfer and whether they do so beyond the contribution of two well-established predictors -- motivation to learn and expected utility. In an effort to establish mechanisms connecting identical elements with training transfer, we proposed and tested motivation to transfer as a mediator. Design/methodology/approach - Data were collected online from 595 general managers who participated in a management training program. Structural equations modeling was used to test the model. Findings - Identical elements, expected utility and motivation to learn each had a unique contribution to the prediction of training transfer. Whereas motivation to learn partly mediated these relationships, identical elements and expected utility also showed direct associations with training transfer. Research limitations/implications - Identical elements represent a relevant predictor of training transfer. In future research, a longitudinal analysis from different perspectives would be useful to better understand the process of training transfer. Practical implications - Participants may profit more from management training programs when the training better resembles participants' work situation. Organisations and trainers should therefore apply the concept of identical elements in their trainings, in order to increase its value and impact. Originality/value - This study contributes to the training literature by showing the relevance of identical elements for transfer, over and above established predictors.

Focus group research into relevance, symptoms and training needs

Inclusive aviation: uncovering staff training needs emerging from travel experiences of ‘Passengers with Reduced Mobility’ (PRMs).

parents' role in enabling the participation of their child with a physical disability

Parental involvement is a crucial force in children’s development, learning and success at school and in life [1]. Participation, defined by the World Health Organization as ‘a person’s involvement in life situations’ [2] for children means involvement in everyday activities, such as recreational, leisure, school and household activities [3]. Several authors use the term social participation emphasising the importance of engagement in social situations [4, 5]. Children’s participation in daily life is vital for healthy development, social and physical competencies, social-emotional well-being, sense of meaning and purpose in life [6]. Through participation in different social contexts, children gather the knowledge and skills needed to interact, play, work, and live with other people [4, 7, 8]. Unfortunately, research shows that children with a physical disability are at risk of lower participation in everyday activities [9]; they participate less frequently in almost all activities compared with children without physical disabilities [10, 11], have fewer friends and often feel socially isolated [12-14]. Parents, in particular, positively influence the participation of their children with a physical disability at school, at home and in the community [15]. They undertake many actions to improve their child’s participation in daily life [15, 16]. However, little information is available about what parents of children with a physical disability do to enable their child’s participation, what they come across and what kind of needs they have. The overall aim of this thesis was to investigate parents’ actions, challenges, and needs while enhancing the participation of their school-aged child with a physical disability. In order to achieve this aim, two steps have been made. In the first step, the literature has been examined to explore the topic of this thesis (actions, challenges and needs) and to clarify definitions for the concepts of participation and social participation. Second, for the purposes of giving breadth and depth of understanding of the topic of this thesis a mixed methods approach using three different empirical research methods [17-19], was applied to gather information from parents regarding their actions, challenges and needs.

Training for the job: evaluation of a self-defence training programme for correctional officers

We investigated to what extent correctional officers were able to apply skills from their self-defence training in reality-based scenarios. Performance of nine self-defence skills were tested in different scenarios at three moments: before starting the self-defence training programme (Pre-test), halfway through (Post-test 1), and after (Post-test 2). Repeated measures analyses showed that performance on skills improved after the self-defence training. For each skill, however, there was a considerable number of correctional officers (range 4–73%) that showed insufficient performance on Post-test 2, indicating that after training they were not able to properly apply their skills in reality-based scenarios. Reality-based scenarios may be used to achieve fidelity in assessment of self-defence skills of correctional officers.Practitioner summary: Self-defence training for correctional officers must be representative for the work field. By including reality-based scenarios in assessment, this study determined that correctional officers were not able to properly apply their learned skills in realistic contexts. Reality-based scenarios seem fit to detect discrepancies between training and the work field. Abbreviations: DJI: Dutch National Agency for Correctional Insitutes; ICC: Intraclass Correlation Coefficient.

Networking Education and Teacher Training

This paper reports on the EU-project 'Professionally Networking Education and Teacher Training' (PRONETT). The key objective of the PRONETT project (2001-2004) is to develop a regional and cross national learning community of pre- and in-service teachers and teacher educators supported by webbased resources and tools to collaborate and to construct shared understandings of teaching and learning in a networked classroom. The reasons for the initiative and the design principles of the PRONETT portal offering a virtual infrastructure for the collaboration of participating students and teachers at www.PRONETT.org are presented. The initial pilots carried out by the project partners are described, highlighting the co-ordinating partners activities targeted at contributing to the local realisation of ICT-rich, competence based Teacher Education Provision. Results are reported of the evaluation and implementation efforts aimed at validating the original portal design and collecting information to inspire further project development and implementation strategies. We conclude by summarising the lessons learned and providing recommendations for improved and extended use and further dissemination of the project results and facilities.