Search Results for
"learning"

This study sought to identify those factors that facilitate readiness for the transition from high school to work. Using an open-ended interview, the authors obtained narrative data from 17 high school juniors from two diverse school systems. A systematic, discovery-oriented, qualitative analysis strategy revealed that the availability of work-based learning, supportive adults, and an active orientation to the adult world were associated with objective aspects of readiness (work-related skills and planning). In addition, new hypotheses were generated suggesting that becoming "ready" may occur via multiple pathways. Furthermore, the use of resources, whether motivated by anxiety or interest, was associated with clearer transitional plans. Less clearly evident in these findings were those factors that might lead to psychological readiness in terms of optimism and resilience. Implications of these findings are discussed in relation to theory, research, and practice. © 2002 Elsevier Science (USA).

Dental education is currently under scrutiny in order to most appropriately address community needs for the new millennium. Educational outcomes need to include a commitment to life-long learning, and an emphasis on professional ethics and moral responsibility. These needs are supported by new forms of information delivery with a focus on the electronic media, by student centred and self-directed coursework, and by clinical stimulation. Additionally, at the University of Sydney, selection will follow a first degree. This will allow candidates time for an informed decision to be made for their future professional career and for a period of experience in the tertiary education system.

[No abstract available]

An important skill in solving problems, especially ill-structured problems, is the production of coherent arguments to justify solutions and actions. Because direct instruction in argumentation has produced inconsistent results and cannot effectively support online learning, we examined the use of online argumentation scaffolds to engage and support coherent argumentation. In this study, we showed that providing a constraint-based argumentation scaffold during group problem-solving activities increased the generation of coherent arguments. The same scaffold further resulted in significantly more problem-solving actions during collaborative group discussions. The effects of the scaffold varied for problem type. Groups that solved ill-structured problems produced more extensive arguments. When solving ill-structured problems, students need more argumentation support because of the importance of generating and supporting alternative solutions. The close relationship between argumentation and problem solving, especially ill-structured problem solving, is significant. The effects of the argument scaffold consistently transferred to the production of arguments during individual problem solving. Students used the familiar argumentation scripts while solving problems individually.

Despite the historical trend in all Western societies to increase educational participation irrespective of students' social origin, the correlation between parents' education and socioeconomic status and the educational outcomes of their offspring remains a rather universal phenomenon. Although comparative studies have consistently found this association in various nations which differ in many ways in their educational systems, little is known about the mechanism behind this effect. Drawing on the assumption that career decision points are the major gateway for social background influences, we assume that similarities, as well as differences in the structure of the correlation between parents' socioeconomic background and students' school success, can be explained. Using two longitudinal data sets from the United States (N = 1425) and Germany (N = 1755) covering the school careers from Grade 7 to Grade 10, the analyses supported the hypothesis that (a) achievement information is the best predictor of career relevant decisions in both nations, (b) parents' background variables are independent additional predictors of career decision but not for actual learning progress, and (c) the assumed accumulation process of social background influences is more pronounced in the German than in the U.S. school system. © 2002 Elsevier Science (USA).

Working in the UK, Sadler-Smith, Down and Lean, in their article "'Modern' learning methods: rhetoric and reality", Personnel Review, Vol. 29 No. 4, 2000, pp. 474-90, have shown that distance learning methods are neither favoured nor perceived as effective by enterprises pursuing training that yields a competitive edge. They have suggested that these methods need to be integrated with other more conventional on-job training methods. This paper, based on Australian research, shows a tension between the requirements of flexible training methods based on distance learning methods, and the characteristics that typify learners and their workplaces. That identified tension is used to suggest how an integration of training methods may be effected in workplaces.

The paper relates to separate initiatives based on a common philosophy that higher education needs to be more relevant and responsive to the real learning needs of individual students and their employers. In particular, the authors describe how the learning paradigms facilitate the alignment of the career aspirations of the learner with the strategic Human Resources needs of employers, how pre-existing learning is evaluated as a foundation for further learning, how learners are made more aware of their own learning, and how the cultural changes in both academia and business impact on an improved overall approach to learning and development of people. To achieve real quality of learning, it is argued, it is necessary to address both specific learning objectives and the nature of the relationship between the learner, business and academia. © 2001 Taylor & Francis Ltd.

This paper surveys the development of various approaches to quality that are essentially learning-centred: • In the Schools sector: a brief overview of the Victorian Quality in Schools project; • In Higher Education: work in progress at two Australian universities (Victoria University of Technology and Swinburne Universities of Technology in Melbourne); and • In Vocational Education and Training: work in progress in re-orienting the policy approach to Quality towards a more flexible and learning-centred model. This paper will argue that when looked at from the perspective of the individual learner, there is a strong case for student learning to be placed at the very heart of Quality Systems in all sectors of education, and also therefore in related sectoral Quality Assurance programs and processes. © 2001 Taylor & Francis Ltd.

Lifelong learning has become a frequently repeated mantra of national planning and policy agencies in Australian Vocational Education and Training (VET). Critics claim the use of the term is rhetorical rather than a real commitment to the principles and practices of lifelong learning. A review of research indicates that real progress has been made in implementing some aspects of lifelong learning in VET, but that contemporary practice falls far short of internationally agreed principles of lifelong learning or even the sector's earlier experience with the similar concept of recurrent education. Current policy settings impose too many barriers to the adoption of lifelong learning in VET and need comprehensive reform.

Many young people entering the workforce are not well prepared to meet the demands of a dynamic work environment. Students with disabilities benefit from work-based learning activities as much as, if not more than, their non-disabled peers. Unfortunately, many school-to-work programs in high school and cooperative education and internship programs in college do not fully include students with disabilities, a group that represents an increasing proportion of today's school population. The University of Washington conducted a three-year project to help students with disabilities head toward successful careers by using a holistic and collaborative approach. Besides the students served, the team includes staff from precollege and postsecondary educational institutions, parents, mentors, employers, and community service providers. A post-work-experience survey was developed to answer the question "What impact do work-based learning experiences have on career-related attitudes, knowledge, and skills for students with disabilities?" Participants reported considerable benefit from their work-based learning experiences. They gained motivation to work toward a career, learned about careers and the workplace, gained job-related skills, learned to work with supervisors and co-workers, and developed accommodation strategies.