This article discusses some characteristics of the educational framework of the programme and tries to compare the results of the programme as reported by graduates with the 'professional competencies for Sustainable Development’, as formulated by DHO (the organisation for Sustainable Higher Education in the Netherlands). Because of the strong international character of the programme (students from more than 50 different countries in all continents of the world graduated since 1996), a specific issue of concern is the applicability of the Dutch Sustainable Competences in an international setting, and the implications for the teaching and learning approach. The experiental learning theory and the learning styles as defined by Kolb (1984) and the cultural dimensions as described by Hofstede (2009) are used to check this. Results from short online interviews with graduates all over the world illustrate the results of this comparison.
MULTIFILE
"Purpose: This study aims to explore the perspectives of mental health professionals who are in a process of integrating their own experiential knowledge in their professional role. This study considers implications for identity, dilemmas and challenges within the broader organization, when bringing experiential knowledge to practice. Design/methodology/approach: As part of a participatory action research approach, qualitative methods have been used, such as in-depth interviews, discussions and observations during training and project team. Findings: The actual use of experiential knowledge by mental health care professionals in their work affected four levels: their personal–professional development; the relation with service users; the relation with colleagues; and their position in the organization. Research limitations/implications: Because of its limited context, this study may lack generalisability and further research with regard to psychologists and psychiatrists, as well as perceptions from users, is desirable. Social implications: According to this study, social change starts from a bottom-up movement and synchronously should be facilitated by top-down policy. A dialogue with academic mental health professionals seems crucial to integrate this source of knowledge. Active collaboration with peer workers and supervisors is desired as well. Originality/value: Professionals with lived experiences play an important role in working recovery-oriented, demonstrating bravery and resilience. Having dealt with mental health distress, they risked stigma and rejections when introducing this as a type of knowledge in current mental health service culture. Next to trainings to facilitate the personal–professional process, investments in the entire organization are needed to transform governance, policy and ethics."
From the article: "The goal of higher professional education is to enable students to develop into reflective practitioners, having both a firm theoretical knowledge base as well as appropriate, professional attitudes and skills. Learning at the workplace is crucial in professional education, because it allows students to learn to act competently in complex contexts and unpredictable situations. Reflection on learning during an internship is hard to interweave with the working process, which may easily result in students having little control over their own learning process while at work. In this study, we aim to discover in what way we can effectively use technology to enhance workplace learning, by synthesizing design propositions for Technology- Enhanced Workplace Learning (TEWL). We conducted design-based research which is cyclic in nature. Based on preliminary research, we constructed initial design propositions and developed a web-based app (software program for mobile devices) providing interventions based on these propositions. In a pilot study, students from different educational domains used this app to support their workplace learning. We evaluated the initial design propositions by carrying out both a theoretical and a practical evaluation. With the insights obtained from these evaluations, we developed a next version of the design propositions and improved the app accordingly. The research result is a set of design propositions for TEWL. For daily practice, the developed web-based app is available for re-use and further research and development."
