Education Commons^™

Improving Engagement Of Construction Industry Firms In Apprenticeship Training In A Post-Recession Economy, Eoghan Ó Murchadha, Roisin Murphy

Conference papers

The Irish economy is currently experiencing a recovery phase following a ‘lost decade’ of growth due to the severe economic downturn of 2007. While the construction industry in Ireland is recording increased output, and improving rates of employment, in the vital economic and labour market sector of apprenticeship there is a significant lack of engagement. Without employer buy-in to apprenticeship training, there exists potential future skills gaps and lack of efficacy of the construction industry. This increasingly likely possibility is disquieting, not just for the possible impact upon the future of apprenticeship but also for the Irish economy as a …

The Student Voice - Undergraduate Student Insights Of Pre-Placement Experience, Jennifer Lawlor, Geraldine A. Gorham, Colin O'Connor

Other resources

Placement is an important component of an undergraduate degree programme and has been recognised as being beneficial to the student population, the academic community and to the organisations that enable the internship process. For example, it allows students to apply their theoretical knowledge and develop their skills within a ‘real-life’ organisational environment (e.g. Gavin and Coleman, 2016). Furthermore, it facilitates increased co-operation and relationship-building between higher education institutions and companies (Burdett and Barker, 2017).

However, whilst there is general awareness of the benefits and opportunities of experiential learning, there has been a call for further research to be undertaken regarding …

Sydney Playground Project: A Cluster‐Randomized Trial To Increase Physical Activity, Play, And Social Skills, Anita C. Bundy, Lina Engelen, Shirley Wyver, Paul Tranter, Jo Ragen, Adrian E. Bauman, Louise A. Baur, Wendy Schiller, Judy Simpson, Anita Niehues, Gabrielle Perry, Glenda Jessup, Geraldine A. Naughton

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

BACKGROUND

We assessed the effectiveness of a simple intervention for increasing children's physical activity, play, perceived competence/social acceptance, and social skills.

METHODS

A cluster‐randomized controlled trial was conducted, in which schools were the clusters. Twelve Sydney (Australia) primary schools were randomly allocated to intervention or control conditions, with 226 children (5‐7 years old) selected randomly to participate. Data were collected at baseline and after 13 weeks. The intervention consisted of introducing recycled materials without an obvious play purpose into school playgrounds and a risk‐reframing workshop for parents and teachers.

RESULTS

Children from the intervention schools increased physical activity and reduced …

Teaching Kids 21st Century Skills Early Will Help Prepare Them For Their Future, Iram Siraj

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

It may be a truism that the future will be different, but human expectations have rarely been so high about the degree of imminent change. This century's rapid development of artificial intelligence and digital systems has convinced us that almost every aspect of our children's and grandchildren's lives will be different to ours.

Toys Redesigned: The Intersection Of Industrial Technology And Service-Learning Principles, Jill Stefaniak, Petros Katsioloudis, Basim Matrood

STEMPS Faculty Publications

To provide students with a situated learning experience that encouraged them to develop creative design solutions, the authors created a service-learning activity that required industrial technology students to apply design principles and procedures to design and develop toys to be given to pediatric patients at a local children's hospital. The following are excerpts from student reflections addressing the technological skills used and key takeaways from the project: * "I was able to use my mechanical skills in this project by knowing how to operate the drill press and by cutting all the pieces that were needed and assembling them." * …

Rwu's New 'Rising Tide' Of Educational Opportunity 9-8-2016, Roger Williams University

School of Law Conferences, Lectures & Events

No abstract provided.

Rethinking Apprenticeship Training For The Construction Industry In Ireland, Eoghan Ó Murchadha, Roisin Murphy

Conference papers

The construction industry is of strategic importance to any economy, as it delivers the building and infrastructural needs of society; it is also a major provider of employment. The over-reliance on construction was a contributing factor to the collapse of the Irish economy and employment in construction fell to under 50% of its 2007 peak as a consequence. The decline devastated apprentice training with a reduction in excess of 90% of new registrations of construction apprentices at the lowest point. The implication of this to the industry is disquieting, given the crucial role apprenticeships play in the sector. The Irish …

Uno Website Dept. Of Philosophy Knowledge And Skills Gained, Uno Department Of Philosophy

Student Learning

In his message to the students in the College of Arts and Sciences, Dean Boocker explains the importance of making knowledge matter. We believe that means helping you develop useful, real-world skills alongside the sense of fulfillment and enrichment that a major in Philosophy can provide.

We also believe in making you aware of the knowledge and skills you're developing along the way, so that you con capitalize on your strengths in the marketplace, graduate school and in life.

The Aboriginal Riverkeeper Team Project - Building Indigenous Knowledge And Skills To Improve Urban Waterways In Sydney's Georges River Catchment, Vanessa I. Cavanagh

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Indigenous Ranger programs, which are predominantly located in regional and remote areas, are commendable for their jobs creation, for strengthening of livelihoods of individuals and communities, and for the cultural and environmental outcomes they engender. However, can similar outcomes be attained in a highly urban setting? This paper is a case study of a current project, the Aboriginal Riverkeeper Team in the Georges River in Sydney's south-west. Through the narrative of the Aboriginal trainees who have been members of the Aboriginal Riverkeeper Team ('the Team'), this paper will illustrate how an environmental project has been successful in delivering significant cultural …

Geographies Of Making: Rethinking Materials And Skills For Volatile Futures, Chontel A. Carr, Christopher R. Gibson

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Making material things remains central to human economies and subsistence, and to how earthly resources are transformed. Yet experiences and knowledges of those who make things - especially in the heart of the industrial complex - are notably absent in existing debates on shifting to a less resource-intensive future. We review research on materials and their making, presenting three research trajectories: making beyond binaries of craft and manufacturing; the social life of making; and acknowledging industrial cultures, workers and capacities amidst climate change. Success in transforming economy and society in anticipation of volatile futures depends on material acknowledgements and accomplishments.

Identifying, Developing And Grading ‘Soft Skills’ In Higher Education: A Technological Approach, Adrian O'Connor, Jeffrey Buckley, Naill Seery, Martha Cleveland-Innes

Outcomes in Higher Education

Identifying, developing and grading soft skills, i.e., transversal cross-curricular competencies, in higher education requires the recognition of key qualities, the capacity to discriminate between these qualities and a mechanism to validly and reliability grade soft skill acquisition. This research proposes a technological infrastructure that acknowledges the importance of self-assessment, peer observation and teacher evaluation when adjudicating on subjective and often personal data. The proposal has the capacity to balance, weight and triangulate the objective and subjective evidence of soft skill acquisition ensuring the validity and reliability of the resultant accreditation. Accreditation of soft skills was in the form of digital …

Challenges Experienced By Japanese Students With Oral Communication Skills In Australian Universities, Miho Yanagi, Amanda Ann Baker

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Due to ever-increasing demands to acquire effective communicative abilities in the English language, increasing numbers of international students choose to study in Western tertiary institutions; however, they frequently encounter difficulties in performing satisfactorily in English. This study aims to identify specific challenges that Japanese students face with oral communication skills while studying in Australian universities. Results from questionnaire data collected from 33 undergraduate and postgraduate Japanese students in Australia and interview data from five TESOL postgraduate students indicate that Japanese students have greater difficulty with speaking than with listening and pronunciation. It also sheds additional insight into two areas of …

Disaster Prevention Literacy Among School Administrators And Teachers: A Study On The Plan For Disaster Prevention And Campus Network Deployment And Experiment In Taiwan, Sung-Chin Chung, Cherng-Jyh Yen

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Faculty Publications

Taiwan is located at the high-risk region of natural disasters with the frequently occurred earthquakes. The importance of the disaster prevention education on campus is made even more obvious by the fact that natural disasters often occur during the school days. Given the leading roles the school administrators and teachers playing in the disaster prevention education of their pupils, this study purposed to investigate how disaster prevention literacy was among them and how disaster prevention literacy differed across various background variables of them. Furthermore, the current study also examined if disaster prevention literacy changed by participation in the disaster prevention …

Research Into The Financing Of Technical And Vocational Education And Training (Tvet) In The Pacific : Kiribati : Country Report, Prabir Majumdar, Teweiariki Teaero

Transition and Post-School Education and Training

This report provides a detailed analysis of the financing of technical and vocational education and training (TVET) in Kiribati. The Kiribati report forms part of the study Research into the Financing of TVET in the Pacific that was launched through Australia’s aid program in April 2012. Kiribati is one of seven countries taking part in the research. The study aims to produce, in conjunction with host country governments and TVET stakeholders, a comprehensive empirical analysis of the existing systems for financing TVET in each of the participating countries, identify key financing issues within the region, and the policy implications they …

Research Into The Financing Of Technical And Vocational Education And Training (Tvet) In The Pacific : Vanuatu : Country Report, Acer

Transition and Post-School Education and Training

This report provides a detailed analysis of the financing of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) in Vanuatu. It forms part of the study Research into the Financing of TVET in the Pacific initiated through Australia’s aid program in consultation with governments in the Pacific region. Vanuatu was one of seven countries taking part in the research. (The other participating countries are Fiji, Kiribati, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands and Tonga.) The study is intended to provide a detailed empirical analysis of TVET financing in each country, identify key TVET financing issues, and discuss directions through which future …

Research Into The Financing Of Technical And Vocational Education And Training (Tvet) In The Pacific : Tonga : Country Report, Andrea Bateman, Justin Brown, Meleoni Uera

Transition and Post-School Education and Training

This report provides a detailed analysis of the financing of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) in Tonga. The report forms part of the study Research into the Financing of TVET in the Pacific initiated through Australia’s aid program in 2012. The study aims to produce, in conjunction with host country governments and TVET stakeholders, a comprehensive empirical analysis of the existing systems for financing TVET in seven Pacific countries (Fiji, Kiribati, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga and Vanuatu), identify key financing issues within the region, and identify directions through which future financing for TVET could be …

Research Into The Financing Of Technical And Vocational Education And Training (Tvet) In The Pacific : Samoa : Country Report, Leo Maglen, Justin Brown, Sala Perive T. Lene

Transition and Post-School Education and Training

The Samoa Country Study Report into the Financing of TVET forms part of a regionwide program Research into the Financing of TVET in the Pacific initiated by the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID) in 2011. The study team for Samoa commenced its field investigations in July 2012 and completed them in September 2012. 2. The aims of the program, as identified by its Research Brief, are to produce, in conjunction with host country governments and TVET stakeholders, a comprehensive empirical analysis of the existing systems for financing TVET in seven Pacific countries (Fiji, Kiribati, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, …

Research Into The Financing Of Technical And Vocational Education And Training (Tvet) In The Pacific : Solomon Islands : Country Report, Andrea Bateman, Elizabeth Cassity, Judy Fangalasuu

Transition and Post-School Education and Training

This report provides a detailed analysis of the financing of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) in Solomon Islands. The report forms part of the study Research into the Financing of TVET in the Pacific initiated through Australia’s aid program in 2012. The study aims to produce, in conjunction with host country governments and TVET stakeholders, a comprehensive empirical analysis of the systems for financing TVET in seven Pacific countries (Fiji, Kiribati, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga and Vanuatu), identify key financing issues, and identify directions through which future financing for TVET could be made more efficient …

From Incremental Change To Radical Disjuncture: Rethinking Everyday Household Sustainability Practices As Survival Skills, Christopher R. Gibson, Lesley M. Head, Chontel A. Carr

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Households within affluent countries are increasingly prominent in climate change adaptation research; meanwhile, social and cultural research has sought to render more complex the dynamics of domesticity and home spaces. Both bodies of work are nevertheless framed within a view of the future that is recognizable from the present, a future reached via socioecological change that is gradual rather than transformative or catastrophic. In this article, we acknowledge the agency of extreme biophysical forces and ask what everyday household life might be like in an unstable future significantly different from the present. We revisit our own longitudinal empirical research examining …

Research Into The Financing Of Technical And Vocational Education And Training (Tvet) In The Pacific : Fiji : Country Report, Leo Maglen, Mark Weston Wall, Manaini Rokovunisei

Transition and Post-School Education and Training

This study provides a detailed analysis of the financing of technical and vocational education and training (TVET) in Fiji. The study team commenced its field investigations in August 2013 and completed them in October 2013. The Fijian Country Study Report into the Financing of TVET forms part of a region-wide program Research into the Financing of TVET in the Pacific, initiated under Australia’s international development assistance program in 2011. The aims of the program, as identified by its Research Brief, are to produce, in conjunction with host country governments and TVET stakeholders, a comprehensive empirical analysis of the existing …

Research Into The Financing Of Technical And Vocational Education And Training (Tvet) In The Pacific : Papua New Guinea : Country Report, Robert Horne, Ken Ngangan, Simaima Tavil-Melachon, Justin Brown

Transition and Post-School Education and Training

This report provides a detailed analysis of the financing of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) in Papua New Guinea (PNG). The report is part of the study Research into the Financing of TVET in the Pacific initiated through Australia’s aid program in 2012. As well as PNG, the overall study involves six other Pacific countries; Fiji; Kiribati; Samoa; Solomon Islands; Tonga; and Vanuatu. The overall study team developed a general framework and set of data collection instruments to guide the work. Individual country teams adapted the general framework and instruments to meet national circumstances. PNG is by far …

Using Computer-Aided Design Software And 3d Printers To Improve Spatial Visualization, Petros Katsioloudis, Millie Jones

STEMPS Faculty Publications

Many articles have been published on the use of 3D printing technology. From prefabricated homes and outdoor structures to human organs, 3D printing technology has found a niche in many fields, but especially education. The education of technology and engineering students has come a long way from traditional instruction using hand drawings. Although drawings may still be a part of a students learning, computer technology has been embraced in this field for several years. With the introduction of AutoCAD technical drawing programs and now 3D printing, learners can use 3D printed models to develop their spatial abilities in technology and …

Men’S Soccer Team Gains Talent From Across United States, Sarah Gardner, Dave Albee

Press Releases

"All of the young men will have a positive impact on the men's soccer program and the Dominican community as a whole from day one,” Billeci-Gard said. “I can't wait until August to get started working with all of them.”

Western Educational Longitudinal Study (Wels) Baseline Survey Of Transfer Students Entering Western In The Fall, 2013: Descriptive Statistics, Linda D. (Linda Darlene) Clark, Beth Hartsoch, John M. Krieg, Chris Stark

Office of Institutional Effectiveness

The WELS Baseline Survey of Transfers Entering Western in the Fall, 2013 (Transfer Survey) is the companion survey to the Office of Survey Research’s (OSR) survey of incoming freshmen. Together, these surveys elicit information from students prior to the start of their Western academic careers and provide an initial contact in a longitudinal survey design that follows students through graduation and into their initial years as alumni. The Transfer Survey is designed with three purposes in mind: (1) to provide baseline observations of students prior to the Western experience that can be used to forecast and enhance student success; (2) …

Western Educational Longitudinal Study (Wels) Baseline Survey Of Freshmen Entering Western In The Fall, 2013: Descriptive Statistics, Linda D. (Linda Darlene) Clark, Beth Hartsoch, John M. Krieg, Chris Stark

Office of Institutional Effectiveness

The Fall, 2013 Baseline Survey of Freshmen Entering Western (Freshmen Survey) continues the Office of Survey Research’s (OSR) efforts to collect information on all students prior to the start of their academic careers at Western Washington University. This survey represents the initial contact in a longitudinal process that makes inquiries of students at the end of their sophomore year, when they graduate from the university, and one to two years after graduation. The Freshmen Survey is designed with three purposes in mind: (1) to provide baseline observations of students prior to their Western experience which can be used to forecast …

Flow Theory, Isalt Team

iSALT Resources: Theories, Concepts, and Measures

No abstract provided.

An Evidence-Based Practice Educational Intervention For Athletic Trainers: A Randomized Controlled Trial, Cailee E. Welch, Bonnie L. Van Lunen, Dorice A. Hankemeier

Rehabilitation Sciences Faculty Publications

Context: As evidence-based practice (EBP) becomes a necessity in athletic training, Web-based modules have been developed and made available to the National Athletic Trainers' Association membership as a mechanism to educate athletic trainers (ATs) on concepts of EBP.

Objective: To assess the effect of an educational intervention on enhancing knowledge of EBP among ATs.

Design: Randomized controlled trial.

Setting: Web-based modules and knowledge assessment.

Patients or Other Participants: A total of 164 of 473 ATs (34.7% response rate), including professional athletic training students, graduate students, clinical preceptors, educators, and clinicians, were randomized into a control group (40 men, 42 women) …

Digital Fluency : Skills Necessary For Learning In The Digital Age, Gerald K. White

Digital learning research

This article examines the skills that will be required for the 21st century that will need to be embedded in educational curricula in order achieve them. It begins by considering how communicating between people has changed and current educational responses. A view of 21st century skills follows with an argument for some core subjects that will be necessary. Learning and teaching are then discussed leading to a view about what is needed in order to develop digital fluency in education, for now and the future.

Counterfactual Thinking And Anticipated Emotions Enhance Performance In Computer Skills Training, Amy Y.C Chan, Peter Caputi, Rohan Jayasuriya, J L. Browne

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

The present study examined the relationship between novice learners' counterfactual thinking (i.e. generating what if and if only thoughts) about their initial training experience with a computer application and subsequent improvement in task performance. The role of anticipated emotions towards goal attainment in task performance was also assessed. Undergraduate students (N = 42) with minimal experience in using computer spreadsheets underwent basic training in using Microsoft Excel. All participants were assessed on their anticipated positive and negative emotions regarding goal attainment at the outset. After completing their first task, participants allocated to a counterfactual condition received instructions to generate counterfactual …

The Contribution Of Work-Integrated Learning To Undergraduate Employability Skill Outcomes, Denise Jackson

Research outputs 2013

WIL has attracted considerable attention as an instrument for enhancing professional practice and developing work-readiness in new graduates. It is widely considered as a point of difference in developing graduate employability by enhancing skill outcomes, such as team-work, communication, self-management and problem solving, employment prospects and student understanding of the world-of-work. This paper investigates the role of WIL in improving undergraduate employability skills; gauging its impact on a range of skills; and identifying variations in outcomes for certain demographic, study background and placement characteristics using survey data from 131 WIL students in an Australian university. Results indicate a significant improvement …