Abstract: Background: There has been a rapid increase in the population of senior citizens in many countries. The shortage of caregivers is becoming a pressing concern. Robots are being deployed in an attempt to fill this gap and reduce the workload of caregivers. This study explores how healthcare robots are perceived by trainee care professionals. Methods: A total of 2365 students at different vocational levels completed a questionnaire, rating ethical statements regarding beneficence, maleficence, justice, autonomy, utility, and use intentions with regard to three different types of robots (assistive, monitoring, and companion) along with six control variables: gender, age, school year, technical skills, interest in technology, and enjoying working with computers.
The focus of the thesis is an exploration into students’ vocational knowledge in the context of Dutch vocational education and training (VET). The reason students’ vocational knowledge requires exploration is because there is no consensus among scholars in the field of VET about how to theorise the nature of students’ vocational knowledge; most (not all) scholars rely on dichotomous conceptualisations, such as theory versus practice, general versus specific or explicit versus implicit. However, such commonly used dichotomies are not very helpful to understand the complex nature of vocational knowledge. Vocational knowledge is more than putting bits of theoretical and practical knowledge together, it is characterised by sometimes-intimate relationships between knowledge and actions. As a result of the above-mentioned gap in the VET literature, there is little empirical research on how VET students develop vocational knowledge and the extent to which this is occupation-specific knowledge. To understand students’ vocational knowledge, four different aims are formulated and carried out in four studies. The aim of the first study is to identify powerful vocational learning environments to enable the selection of a case that represents high quality vocational learning and teaching. With an eye on analysing students’ vocational knowledge, the second study aims to conceptualise the nature of vocational knowledge that avoids dichotomies. Therefore, two conceptual frameworks are integrated; the idea of contextualising is introduced which is based on cultural-historical theory to highlight the crucial role activity plays in knowledge development and to understand the relationships between the mind (i.e., what people think (and feel)), and action (i.e., what people do). Secondly, the theory is supplemented with ideas from inferentialism, a philosophical semantic theory of meaning to provide a useful way to focus on students’ processes of knowing and to reveal students’ vocational knowledge in terms of ongoing reasoning processes. The third study uses the conceptualisation of vocational knowledge to explore how students develop vocational knowledge in occupational practice, and to illustrate the process of contextualising. The forth study aims to describe what characterises students’ vocational knowledge using an analytic framework that distinguishes between occupation-specific knowledge components and qualities. This thesis contributes to research scholarship in the field of VET and an understanding of students’ vocational knowledge in practice. The theoretical framework of contextualising supplemented with inferentialism provides an alternative way to focus on students’ processes of knowing and helps to reveal students’ vocational knowledge in terms of reasoning processes. The empirical explorations and illustrations of students’ vocational knowledge contribute to the scholarly literature and practice on understanding the nature of vocational knowledge, how students develop vocational knowledge and what characterises their vocational knowledge. The intention to introduce the idea of contextualising is not about reinventing the wheel but rather an attempt to understand how it turns and how it functions. The intention of this thesis is to encourage dialogue and move the debate about the nature of vocational knowledge further, and hence, to provide some “food for thought”.
eHealth education should be integrated into vocational training and continuous professional development programmes. In this opinion article, we aim to support organisers of Continuing Professional Development (CPD) and teachers delivering medical vocational training by providing recommendations for eHealth education. First, we describe what is required to help primary care professionals and trainees learn about eHealth. Second, we elaborate on how eHealth education might be provided
Nxus is a Software as a Service startup that provides higher educational institutions with one integrated community and bias-free career platform. With this platform, Nxus connects employers, students and alumni in a unique and innovative way. The Nxus platform is already deployed university-wide by the launching partner, Radboud University. The Take-Off HBO feasibility grant allows Nxus to research the feasibility of further developing the existing platform to meet the needs of Secondary Vocational Institutions (MBO-instellingen). Nxus hereby aims to address 2 present-day societal issues, the shortage of internships for MBO students and internship discrimination in the recruitment and selection process.
Onderzoekende vaardigheden (OZV) van mbo-studenten in gezondheidszorg- opleidingen zijn essentieel voor het omgaan met problemen, veranderingen en innovaties in het (toekomstige) beroep. Maar hoe kunnen we hun OZV precies opvatten?Doel Met dit PhD-onderzoek willen we: OZV van mbo-studenten conceptualiseren vanuit de onderzoeksliteratuur en de beroepspraktijk. Interventies (het denken en doen) van mbo-school- en praktijkopleiders beschrijven als zij tijdens interacties met studenten OZV van studenten willen bevorderen. Resultaten Verwachte resultaten: Wetenschappelijk: vier artikelen, presentaties op conferenties en een proefschrift Praktijkgericht: publicaties, workshops en presentaties voor betrokkenen uit het mbo Gerealiseerde resultaten: Onderzoeksplan ‘Understanding vocational healthcare students’ skills of research and inquiry‘ Posterpresentatie ‘Understanding vocational healthcare students’ skills of research and inquiry’ tijdens Onderwijs Research Dagen (online) in Utrecht, juli 2021 Round Table presentatie ‘Understanding vocational healthcare students’ skills of research and inquiry’ tijdens EAPRIL (European Association for Practitioner Research on Improving Learning) Conference (online), november 2021 Looptijd 15 november 2021 - 14 november 2026 Aanpak We beginnen met een scoping review naar OZV, gevolgd door een interviewstudie onder mbo-professionals en -opleiders. Met een multiple case study en een vignette studie brengen we interventies van mbo-opleiders om OZV bij studenten te stimuleren in beeld. De promovenda is Erica Wijnands-Pot (mboRijnland). De promotor vanuit de OU is prof. dr. Elly de Bruijn (ook lector Beroepsonderwijs), en de co-promotor vanuit het lectoraat Beroepsonderwijs is dr. Annoesjka Boersma. Cofinanciering Erica heeft voor haar onderzoeksvoorstel de NWO Promotiebeurs voor leraren ontvangen.
Onderzoekende vaardigheden (OZV) van mbo-studenten in gezondheidszorg- opleidingen zijn essentieel voor het omgaan met problemen, veranderingen en innovaties in het (toekomstige) beroep. Maar hoe kunnen we hun OZV precies opvatten?Doel Met dit PhD-onderzoek willen we: OZV van mbo-studenten conceptualiseren vanuit de onderzoeksliteratuur en de beroepspraktijk. Interventies (het denken en doen) van mbo-school- en praktijkopleiders beschrijven als zij tijdens interacties met studenten OZV van studenten willen bevorderen. Resultaten Verwachte resultaten: Wetenschappelijk: vier artikelen, presentaties op conferenties en een proefschrift Praktijkgericht: publicaties, workshops en presentaties voor betrokkenen uit het mbo Gerealiseerde resultaten: Onderzoeksplan ‘Understanding vocational healthcare students’ skills of research and inquiry‘ Posterpresentatie ‘Understanding vocational healthcare students’ skills of research and inquiry’ tijdens Onderwijs Research Dagen (online) in Utrecht, juli 2021 Round Table presentatie ‘Understanding vocational healthcare students’ skills of research and inquiry’ tijdens EAPRIL (European Association for Practitioner Research on Improving Learning) Conference (online), november 2021 Looptijd 15 november 2021 - 14 november 2026 Aanpak We beginnen met een scoping review naar OZV, gevolgd door een interviewstudie onder mbo-professionals en -opleiders. Met een multiple case study en een vignette studie brengen we interventies van mbo-opleiders om OZV bij studenten te stimuleren in beeld. De promovenda is Erica Wijnands-Pot (mboRijnland). De promotor vanuit de OU is prof. dr. Elly de Bruijn (ook lector Beroepsonderwijs), en de co-promotor vanuit het lectoraat Beroepsonderwijs is dr. Annoesjka Boersma. Cofinanciering Erica heeft voor haar onderzoeksvoorstel de NWO Promotiebeurs voor leraren ontvangen.
