Showing papers on "Competence (human resources) published in 1982"

The Perceived Competence Scale for Children.

Abstract: HARTER, SUSAN. The Perceived Competence Scale for Children. CmILD DEVELOPMENT, 1982, 53, 87-97. A new self-report instrument, the Perceived Competence Scale for Children, is described. Emphasis is placed on the assessment of a child's sense of competence across different domains, instead of viewing perceived competence as a unitary construct. 3 domains of competence, each constituting a separate subscale, were identified: (a) cognitive, (b) social, and (c) physical. A fourth subscale, general self-worth, independent of any particular skill domain, was included. A new question format was devised which provides a broader range of responses and reduces the tendency to give socially desirable responses. The psychometric properties of the scale are presented for third through ninth grades. Emphasis is placed on its factorial validity. Each subscale defines a separate factor, indicating that children make clear differentiations among these domains. The factor structure is extremely stable across this grade range. The scale is viewed as an alternative to those existing self-concept measures of questionable validity and reliability.

The Competent Manager: A Model for Effective Performance

Abstract: Competence and Job Performance. The Research Design and Methods. The Goal and Action Management Cluster. The Leadership Cluster. The Human Resource Management Cluster. The Directing Subordinates Cluster. The Focus on Others Cluster. Specialized Knowledge. An Integrated Competency Model. Interpretation by Sector and Managerial Level. Summary and Implications. Appendixes. Index. Figures.

The competency of children and adolescents to make informed treatment decisions.

Abstract: This study was a test for developmental differences in competency to make informed treatment decisions. 96 subjects, 24 (12 males and 12 females) at each of 4 age levels (9, 14, 18, and 21), were administered a measure developed to assess competency according to 4 legal standards. The measure included 4 hypothetical treatment dilemmas and a structured interview protocol. Overall, 14-year-olds did not differ from adults. 9-year-olds appeared less competent than adults with respect to their ability to reason about and understand the treatment information provided in the dilemmas. However, they did not differ from older subjects in their expression of reasonable preferences regarding treatment. It is concluded that the findings do not support the denial of the right of self-determination to adolescents in health-care situations on the basis of a presumption of incapacity. Further, children as young as 9 appear able to participate meaningfully in personal health-care decision making.

The Construct Validation of Some Components of Communicative Proficiency

Abstract: The notion of communicative competence has received wide attention in the past few years, and numerous attempts have been made to define it. Canale and Swain (1980) have reviewed these attempts and have developed a framework which defines several hypothesized components of communicative competence and makes the implicit claim that tests of components of communicative competence measure different abilities. In this study we examine the construct validity of some tests of components communicative competence and of a hypothesized model. Three distinct traits—linguistic competence, pragmatic competence and sociolinguistic competence—were posited as components of communicative competence. A multitrait-multimethod design was used, in which each of the three hypothesized traits was tested using four methods: an oral interview, a writing sample, a multiple-choice test and a self-rating. The subjects were 116 adult non-native speakers of English from various language and language-learning backgrounds. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to examine the plausibility of several causal models, involving from one to three trait factors. The results indicate that the model which best fits the data includes a general and two specific trait factors —grammatical/pragmatic competence and sociolinguistic competence. The relative importance of the trait and method factors in the various tests used is also indicated.

The stress-buffering role of social support and personal competence among the rural married.

Abstract: This study examines the possible stress-buffering properties of personal competence and social support with regard to depressive symptoms. The hypothesis examined was that individuals lacking both internal and external resources would manifest higher levels of symptoms as a result of increasing number of life events than would individuals possessing such resources. Further, variation by gender was considered. Data on depressive symptoms (CES-D Scale), personal competence, social support, and life events were obtained in a 70-minute interview with randomly selected samples of white married adults (n = 965) from rural counties of Tennessee, Oklahoma, and Ohio. Analyses indicated both the main and buffering effects of personal competence and social support for the total sample. However, these effects varied by sex. While personal competence and life events had consistent main effects for both married males and females–individuals with more stress or lower levels of competence had higher levels of symptoms–effects of social support were more pervasive among the females. Finally, personal competence appeared to have a greater buffering effect than the presence of social support alone. There was also an unanticipated tendency for greater vulnerability to stressors among individuals (particularly males) under conditions of low competence and high support.

Expectation states and interracial interaction in school settings

Abstract: Expectation States Theory has been in use since 1968 as the basis for applied research on race and its effect on interracial interaction (Berger et al 1980). The theory can be used to describe the process by which high-status members of interracial groups come to dominate group interaction. There are a number of interventions, using this theory, designed to modify status effects in settings where they are judged undesirable. In the classroom, expectation states affect several observable behaviors of practical importance. The first is a pattern of white dominance in interracial interaction on valued intellectual tasks. This pattern is undesirable because racist expectations for less competence from black and brown students are reinforced. These are not the "equal status conditions" that designers of school integration have tried to produce to reduce prejudice. Under these conditions, white students fail to learn what minority students have to contribute to collective endeavor. If white dominance in the outer society is replicated within the desegregated school, the goal of social equality is not achieved. The second area affected by expectation states is the participation, task engagement, and effort of the minority student in school tasks. If a student has generally low expectations for academic competence s/he will be less likely to put out the requisite effort to become a more successful student. Increased initiation and participation represent necessary but not sufficient conditions for improvement in academic achievement.

Communication competence and performance: A research and pedagogical perspective

Abstract: Current conceptualizations of the construct of “communication competence” are examined and found to be problematic. It is argued that “communication competence” must be distinguished from “communication performance.” Neither is seen as a reliable predictor of the other. It is suggested that both research and pedagogy must make clear distinctions among cognitive, affective, and psychomotor elements if they are to lead to improvements in either competence or performance.

Research on Scientific Journals: Implications for Editors and Authors

Abstract: A review of editorial policies of leading journals and of research relevant to scientific journals revealed conflicts between 'science' and 'scientists.” Owing to these conflicts, papers are often weak on objectivity and replicability. Furthermore, papers often fall short on importance, competence, intelligibility, or efficiency. Suggestions were made for editorial policies such as: (1) structured guidelines for referees, (2) open peer review, (3) blind reviews, and (4) full disclosure of data and method. Of major importance, an author's “Note to Referees” (describing the hypotheses and design, but not the results) was suggested to improve the objectivity of the ratings of importance and competence. Also, recommendations are made to authors for improving contributions to science (such as the use of multiple hypotheses) and for promoting their careers (such as using complex methods and obtuse writing).

Assessing speaking and listening competence at the college level: The communication competency assessment instrument

Abstract: This paper details the present state of the development of the Communication Competency Assessment Instrument (CCAI), a test of basic communication skills for college students. The CCAI assesses 19 specific speaking and listening competencies in an educational context, defined as those skills which high school graduates should possess to be prepared for college classes. The communication competencies for an educational context are then partitioned into four main competency areas following the lead of the official SCA endorsed framework (e.g., communication codes, oral message evaluation, basic speech communication skills, human relations). Each competency area is assessed directly (i.e., without the possible influence of reading and/or writing deficiencies). A rating book defines five levels of skill attainment for each of the 19 assessments. The CCAI requires a total of 30 minutes for each student's assessment.

Job Literacy: The Relationship between School Preparation and Workplace Actuality.

Abstract: THIS STUDY EXAMINED the literacy demands, competencies, and strategies present in the daily reading of students and workers in order to determine the extent to which literacy, as it is encountered in schools, is a preparation for various occupational literacy demands. Subjects included 48 high school juniors, 51 adult technical school students, and 150 workers representing a cross-section of occupations ranging from blue collar to professional/technical. Trained interviewers interviewed and tested subjects at their places of study or work to determine (a) the amount of daily reading; (b) its scope, depth, difficulty, and type; (c) the general and job literacy competence of each subject; and (d) the purposes, strategies, and alternatives to literacy employed by each subject. Results suggested that the students read less often in school than most workers do on the job, that they read less competently, face easier material which they read to less depth, and that the strategies students employ may be less effective than those employed by workers.

Effects of discourse and response mode on the measurement of writing competence

Abstract: The need for school district and state assessment programs to test the development of student competence in the basic skills has focused attention on some persistent methodological problems inherent in measuring writing competence. Researchers from such disciplines as cognitive psychology, psychometrics, linguistics and rhetoric differ markedly in their definitions of components of the complex skill domain of writing and in their views on how to test it. There is controversy about types, lengths and numbers of writing tasks that should be administered for a given test form, and even about whether some aspects of composition require "direct" assessment through the collection of writing samples. Considerable difficulty in designing writing competency tests arises from the requirement that competency tests possess construct, content and ecological validity. Test validation needs to be concerned with features of test item content, or task structure, as a basis for understanding test performance. The underlying question is whether test items tap the domain of knowledge and processes which a test purports to measure. Studies of the technical adequacy of competency measurement are turning from emphasis on predictive validity toward a balanced analysis both of the cognitive components required by test tasks or items and of the resulting response patterns (Harnisch & Linn, 1981; McArthur, 1982).

Mothers' Perceptions of Their Competence in Managing Selected Parenting Tasks.

Abstract: Mothers' perceptions of their competence in managing selected parenting tasks were examined for five stages of parenting (Infancy, Toddlerhood, Preschool, Schoolage, and Adolescence). Subjects were selected from a list of mothers who had scheduled appointments for their children at a private pediatric office. Overall, these mothers reported feeling highly competent in most areas of parenting; however, each stage presented unique challenges. Mothers of adolescents felt the least comfortable about their effectiveness in their parenting role. The findings are discussed with regard to their implications for parent education programs.

Ritual Evaluation of Competence: The Hidden Curriculum of Professionalization in an Innovative Medical School Program.

Abstract: Neophyte uncertainty and adaptations to it are themes found in studies of socialization into various professions. Students experience ritual ordeals of uncertainty and perceive that professionaliza...

Job competencies: Can they help you design better training?

Abstract: Three distinct approaches are used to develop job competency models: Modified Task Analysis (MTA); Critical Trait (CT) and Situational (SA). A competency is the capability to perform in a role or job. A competency model is a list of the highest-leverage competencies for a specific role, job, or job family performed within a given time. MTA evaluates the most relevant tasks and attempts to capture attitudes as well as motor skill peformance and related knowledge. CT uncovers behaviors and general attitudes; it focuses on the individual not the job. SA relates to the level of or complexity of a profession, job, or jab family. High-level jobs tend towards the abstract; lower level jobs towa rds the concrete. Some uses include: career development; self-assessment; performance assessment; and review. (kbc)

An analysis of the concept of competence in individuals and social systems.

Abstract: This paper presents an analysis of the concept of competence which is applicable at all levels of social organization. It describes eight elements which are components of competence, and then shows how each has applicability from the perspective of individuals and from the perspective of social systems of various degrees of complexity such as families, organizations, and entire communities. Finally, the paper discusses the competence of organizations and communities as mental health systems.

Communication competence: Model and application

Abstract: (1982). Communication competence: Model and application. Journal of Applied Communication Research: Vol. 10, No. 1, pp. 29-37.

The competence of children: no longer all or none.

Abstract: KIE: A fixed age of competence at 18 or 21 has been made obsolete by court decisions and new biomedical technologies such as safer abortion procedures. Gaylin discusses the concept of "variable" competence in the context of minors and decision making in medical care or clinical trials, where a child's autonomy is dependent on the amount of risk or gain involved, social benefits and costs, and the nature of the decision itself.

Toward a Code of Ethics for Academics.

Abstract: As the articles collected in this issue of the Journal of Higher Education show, academicians are recognizing the need to examine the norms of their profession. They are not clear about what it means to be a professional academic. Nor are they sure about just who is to be included, as David Dill points out. And the problem of theoretical analysis is compounded by the lack of a definitive organized association that upholds membership requirements and maintains ethical norms.

The “Competence” of Children: No Longer All or None

Abstract: Traditionally, under a fixed age set by the state, the child existed as an essentially disenfranchised member of the community. Current developments are demanding a variability in our assignment of autonomous rights, forcing a concept of "variable" competency. The courts increasingly require guidance as to "maturity" and "judgment" of children in their capacity to speak for themselves. This paper attempts to define some of the general conditions that limit competence and begins the process of establishing some general guidelines to help in deciding when we ought to allow children to enter into the decision-making process in important areas concerning their lives and futures. Journal of the American Academy of Child Psychiatry , 21, 2:153–162, 1982.

Patterns of Attribution of Control and Individual Psychosocial Competence

Abstract: This study examined the relationships among a variety of loci of control and individual psychosocial competence measures through nomothetic and idiographic methods 133 congregation members drawn from 12 suburban congregations participated in the study Correlational analyses pointed to considerable independence among the loci of control However, through a cluster analysis, groups of members manifesting different patterns of attribution of control were identified The patterns themselves were conceptually meaningful Furthermore, members of the clusters held significantly different characteristics of psychosocial competence Yet, as elements of the cluster, neither internal nor external loci themselves had consistently positive or negative implications for members' competence Rather the significance of the loci appeared to lie in their configuration with each other Thus, this study highlights the relevance of examining individual frameworks of causal attribution whose elements operate interactively as