Showing papers on "Competence (human resources) published in 1983"

Communication competence as knowledge, skill, and impression

Abstract: In response to McCroskey's definition of competence as knowledge of appropriate behavior, distinct from skill and effectiveness, it is argued that competence should be viewed as a function of knowledge, skill, and motivation. In the proposed approach, competent communication refers to functionally effective interaction appropriate to a given relational context. These impressions of appropriateness and effectiveness are more likely when a person is motivated to communicate, knowledgeable about communication, and skilled in communicating in a particular interpersonal relationship and context. Some of the implications of this relational competence approach for theory and pedagogy are discussed.

Social Work Practice: A Generalist Approach

Abstract: Table of Contents Part One: Perspectives on Social Work Practice Chapter 1 Social Work as a Response to Concern/Need From Concern to Need Need Common Human Needs Human Development Perspective Ecological Perspective Strengths Approach Professions as a Response to Need Development of Social Work Knowledge Social Functioning Chapter 2 Social Work as a Creative Blending of Knowledge, Values, and Skills Knowledge Values Skills Creative Blending of Knowledge, Values, and Skills Using Knowledge, Values, and Skills Intervention into Human Transactions The Phases of the Change Process Chapter 3 Diversity Competent Practice Becoming Diversity Competent Gender Competence Diversity Competence with People Who Are Gay Or Lesbian A Schema for Studying Diverse Ethnic Groups Diversity Competence with People Who Are African American Diversity Competence with People Who Are Hispanic/Latino Diversity Competence with People Who Are Native American Part Two The Interactional Process and the Ecosystem Chapter 4 The Worker Knowledge of Self The Person as a Feeling, Thinking, Acting System Lifestyle and Philosophy of Life Moral Code and Value System Family and Cultural Roots Life Experiences Personal Needs Personal Functioning The Helping Person Characteristics of a Helping Person Responsibility and Authority Helping Skills Ethical Decision Making Accountability Records Effect of Privacy and Open-Access Laws Use of Computers Chapter 5 The Client Becoming a Client Understanding the Individual Client Vital Roles Human Diversity Motivation, Capacity, and Opportunity Stress and Crisis Determination Strengths and Uniqueness of Clients Chapter 6 Environment Person in Environment as an Ecosystem The Community as a Social System Understanding the Agency Transactions between Person and Ecosystem Working in a Bureaucracy Chapter 7 Interaction and Engagement Engagement and Formation of a One-to-One Action System Relationship The Helping Relationship Special Influences on the Helping Relationship Communication The Interview: An Interactional Tool Preparing for an Interview The Stages of an Interview Skills Used by the Worker during the Interview Part Three: The Social Work Process Chapter 8 Assessment The Assessment Process Selection of the Client System Important Elements of the Assessment Phase Judgment Stages in the Assessment Phase Identify the Need or Concern Identify the Nature of the Need or Concern Identify Potential Strengths and Resources in the Ecosystem Select and Collect Information Analyze the Available Information Transactional Assessment The Dual Perspective Mapping Social Support Network Analysis Chapter 9 Planning Empirically Base Practice A Model for Good Practices in Generalist Social Work Practice Components of a Plan Goals and Objectives Units of Attention Strategy Factors Affecting a Plan of Action The Community The Agency The Social Issue The Worker The Client Diversity and Populations at Risk Strengths and Challenges of the Systems Involved The Planning Process Agreement between Worker and Client Chapter 10 Direct Practice Actions Action to Enable Clients to Use Available Resources The Service Delivery System Referral Broker and Advocate Roles Action to Empower and Enable Clients Action in Response to Crisis Recognizing Crisis Responding to Crisis Action That Is Supportive Use of Activity as an Interventive Strategy Actions Utilizing Other Theories and Models Brief and Solution Focused Models Person Centered Theory Task Centered Models Narrative Approaches Afrocentric Approach Feminist Practice Practice with People Who Are Gay Or Lesbian Chapter 11 Indirect Practice Actions Action as Mediation Influence Environmental Change Coordination of Services Case Management Actions to Change Organizations Actions to Change the Community Chapter 12 Evaluation and Termination Kinds of Evaluation Single-System Design and Research Techniques in Evaluation Evaluation during Phases of the Change Process Kinds of Termination Planned Termination with Individuals Components of Termination Disengagement Stabilization of Change Evaluation Part Four: Multiperson Systems and Good Practices in Generalist Practice Chapter 13 Generalist Practice with Families The Family as a Multiperson Client System Variations in Family Form The Change Process with Families Assessment with Families The Planning Phase with Families Direct and Indirect Practice Actions with Families Evaluation and Termination with Families Chapter 14 Generalist Practice with Groups Group Purpose Assessment with Small Groups Assessing the Small Group as a Social System Planning with Small Groups Planning for a New Group Planning for Group Sessions Planning within Group Sessions Direct Practice Actions with Small Groups Actions to Facilitate Group Formation Actions to Facilitate Discussion Leadership Actions to Resolve Conflict Actions to Enhance Group Interaction Actions to Facilitate Group Development Actions to Structure Group Activities Evaluation and Termination with Small Groups Self-Help Groups Chapter 15 Generalist Practice with Organizations and Communities Macropractice and Social Justice Needs Assessment Program Planning and Resource Development Changing Organizations from Within The Social Worker as a Group Member Issues in Group Participation Use of the Team Leadership Social Work Tasks Involvement of Influentials Networking Cause Advocacy Community Organization Chapter 16 Models and Good Practices in Generalist Social Work Practice Models of Social Work Practice Behavior Therapy (Sociobehavioral) Case Management Cognitive (Rational, Reality Theory) Communication (Communicative-Interactive) Crisis Intervention Developmental Ecological (Life Model) Feminist Practice Gestalt Therapy Integrative Locality Development Mediating Problem Solving Social Action Social Planning Strengths Perspective Task Good Practices in Generalist Social Work Good Practice in Aging Services Good Practice in Chemical Dependence Services Good Practice in Child Welfare Good Practice in Domestic Violence Services Good Practice in Health Care Settings Good Practice in Mental Health Good Practice in Youth and Delinquency Services Appendix: Chapter Notes Glossary

Inductive reasoning: Competence or skill?

Abstract: alleged fallacy is in interpreting experiments according to what is advocated by Western moral experts. However, we believe that this argument in fact also provides good grounds for the case of minority intuitions. It has long been maintained that affect and cognition play complementary rather than opposite roles in higher-order psychological processes (Hilgard 1980). The moral expert who views justice in terms of fairness and rationality advocates generalizable decisions made by assuming the role of disadvantaged persons (Kohlberg 1973). To do this effectively requires both cognitive and affective skills. Again, base rate information may be less relevant to expert intuitions than the possession of a rich and varied sociocultural experience, possibly one that draws from extensive anthropological work (Shweder, Turiel & Much 1981). On the one hand, it may be that because of ignorance or lack of education, persons in some cultures would appear less able to take the role of the other in making moral judgments. On the other hand, given the difficulty of designing culture-free tests of moral development (Siegal 1982), it may be that all cultures are equally ignorant or defective in education and that empirical measures are not sensitive enough to give clear indications of the cognitive and affective elements in moral behaviour. However, in either case, irrationality cannot be experimentally demonstrated, and we need the minority intuitions of skilled moral experts to make progress in designing and interpreting experiments on these normative questions.

Uncovering the Knowledge Embedded in Clinical Practice

Abstract: Nursing practice has been studied primarily from a sociological perspective. Thus we have learned much about role relationships, socialization, and acculturation. We have learned less about the knowledge embedded in actual nursing practice–that knowledge that accrues over time in the practice of an applied discipline. Nurses have not been careful clinical record keepers of their own clinical learning over time. While ample single case studies have been published, few clinical comparisons exist of multiple case studies or clinical observations across patient populations. This lack of charting of our practices and clinical observations deprives nursing theory of the uniqueness and rich-ness of the knowledge embedded in expert clinical practice. This paper examines the difference between practical and theoretica'l knowledge, provides examples of competence identified from the study of nursing practice, describes aspects of practical knowledge, and outlines strategies for preserving and extending practical knowledge.

Perceived competence among interscholastic sport participants and dropouts.

Abstract: This study was conducted to examine the relationship between perceived competence and length of involvement in sport for sport participants and their counterparts who discontinued involvement. The relationship between participants (n = 239) and dropouts (n = 43) in a number of school-sponsored sports, years of experience and gender on perceived physical competence was examined using Harter's (1979) Perceived Competence Scale for Children. Results indicated a significant but somewhat low relationship between length of participation experience and perceived physical competence. The findings also indicated that participants in school-sponsored sports were significantly higher in perceived physical competence than were dropouts, and males were significantly higher in perceived physical competence than females.

Maternal IQ and home environment as determinants of early childhood intellectual competence: a developmental analysis

Abstract: On etudie ici des enfants de couches sociales a risque d'arrieration mentale depuis la naissance jusqu'a 4 ans

Acquiring conversational competence

Abstract: First published in 1983, this book represents a substantial body of detailed research on children’s language and communication, and more generally on the nature of interactive spoken discourse. It looks at areas of competence often examined in young children’s speech have that have not been described for adults — leading to insights not only in the character of adult conversation but also the process of acquiring this competence. The authors set forward strategies for conversing at different stage of life, while also relating these strategies to, and formulating hypotheses concerning, the dynamics of language variation and change.

Trait versus state: A comparison of dispositional and situational measures of interpersonal communication competence

Abstract: This investigation explored the relationship between situational and dispositional measures of interpersonal communication competence. Five propositions were derived and empirically supported. It was found that situational competence measures (i.e., self‐rated competence, rating of alter‐competence, and rating of alter's anxiety) were significantly associated with one another; and dispositional measures (i.e., communicative adaptability, communicative competence, trait self‐rated competence, and social self‐esteem) were significantly related to one another. However, situational measures were not found to be substantially related to dispositional measures. Furthermore, situational measures of competence were better predictors of the outcome state of feeling good. Interpersonal attraction did not confound the relationship between measures of competent interaction and the state of feeling‐good criterion. Contrary to expectations, dogmatism was generally unrelated to measures of competence.

Teaching Competence and Teacher Education in the United States.

Abstract: The sheer number of characters, the substantial measure of fate, and the intricacy and entanglement of plots could fund a nineteenth-century Russian novel. Legislatures, university administrations, schools and colleges of education, all manner of professional organizations, state education agencies, local education agencies, accrediting associations, and testing agencies by design and by default, directly and indirectly through interaction with one another, affect the level of teaching competence that is to be found in our schools and the related quality of teacher education. The general story line is this: The quality of teaching competence and teacher education fall well short of what they could and should be. Yet, deliberate policy decisions-decisions that might prompt improvements-abhor complexity, especially uninterpreted complexity. As is typical of society’s larger problems, those surrounding teaching seem to escape any agency’s ability to take single-handed ameliorative action. Witness the scores of ill-fated efforts to reform teaching and teacher education. The point of this article is two-fold: (1) to offer a rough sketch, an overview, of the state of teaching competence and teacher education in the United States and (2) to recommend changes in policy and practice that, if made in concert, could create the conditions for a gradual upgrading of teaching competence and occasion a considerable qualitative improvement in teacher education. It is my hope that as an overview intended to distill and interpret information already collected by others, this article will provide the degree of simplicity that policymakers who must answer to constituencies require. More particularly, it is my wish that such a brief overview suggest points on which the various characters must alter their current positions and practices if their larger interests are to be served-that is, if teaching competence and teacher education are to be improved significantly.

Determining physicians' performance. Continuing medical education and other interacting variables.

Abstract: Participation informal continuing medical education (CME) is required by many organizations and state governments as the foremost means of assuring the quality of medical care. Analysis of the literature reveals that CME in all its forms is effective in improving competence, i.e., the ability to provide good care. However, that competence is not regularly reflected in physicians'habitual performance in the care of patients. A number offactors are known to narrow the gap between competence and performance, including clear specification of standards, individualfeedback on actual performance, and a professional environment conducive to the maintenance of high standards. In the presence of such factors, CMEcan improve physicians 'performance when directed to objectively identified def ciencies. However, public assurance of the quality of medical care can only be provided through certification that individual physicians'performance conforms to contemporary valid standards.

Reading theory and the assessment of reading achievement

Abstract: Recent research on human cognition has involved characterization of the processes, strategies, and knowledge that contribute to competent performance, and identification of the ways these change as competence develops. Such work is contributing not only to a better understanding of what learning involves, but also to a theoretical base for the measurement of what has been learned. In this paper, we will analyze the implications that knowledge of human learning and performance can have for the design of achievement tests, concentrating on one particular area of academic testing: achievement in reading. This subject is of special interest since, in addition to the questions often raised about what standardized tests should and actually do measure when they test "reading comprehension" (e.g., Johnston, 1981; Pyrczak, 1972; Tuinman, 1974), there has been a great deal of recent theoretical and empirical activity surrounding the reading process. Psychologists and educators frequently find it convenient to think about the reading process in terms of stages through which comprehension of a text evolves. An example of such a model is one used to interpret the results of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). It contains the following four steps or stages: (a) initial comprehension, (b) preliminary interpretations, (c) reexamination of the text in light of these interpretations, and (d) extended and documented interpretation (NAEP, 1981). Using this model has resulted in two major conclusions about achievement in reading. First, although the majority of students were successful in their initial comprehension and preliminary interpretations of a text, only 5 to 10 percent seemed able to move beyond the second level of processing. Second, based on students' ability to complete the processing required at the first two stages of the model, it was concluded that improvement at later stages would entail the design of instructional programs that could provide both the necessary procedures and motivation for performing at higher levels. This interpretation of the NAEP results suggests that both reading instruction and achievement testing, although adequately addressing lower level reading requirements, may be doing so at the expense of an emphasis on higher levels. Recent theory and research, on the other hand, indicate that in many cases the degree of success at one level of processing is a function of individuals' skill in processing at other levels. If this is so, an alternative view of reading instruction and testing is needed in which (a) the skills involved in reading are assumed to be more interrelated than in a stage model, and (b) revisions are made in the way that teaching and testing take into account interactions among components of reading. Perfetti and Lesgold (1979) illustrate this point in the following way:

Common Sense about Teaching Thinking Skills.

Abstract: Ithough many school curricula claim to teach thinking skills, in realith few do. True, most texts and teachers frequentli have students engage in exercises that supposedlv require them to use selected thinking skills, but these teachers and texts usualIv fail to provide explicit instruction in what these skills are and hoss to employ them. Manv teachers and texts also fail to devote continuing attention to each skill, erroneously assuming one \"cxposure\" is enough for a skill to \"catch.\" These failures doom most students to hit-or-miss learning of thinking skills and practically guarantee less-than-adequate performance on common mcasures of skill competencs. Anv school program that hopes to help students learn thinking skills must provide direct and continuing instruction in hows to execute these skills as part of a multigrade, sequential skill program. Teachers can go a long way tosward ensuring their success at teaching thinking skills by attending to three essential components: (1i the learning environment, (2) the strategies and methods used to provide instruction, and 13) the coordination and structure of skill teaching throughout the entire curriculum. These three features are the foundations of effectivec instruction in thinking skills at all grade le-els. K-12 and beyond.

Relationship between performance in medical school and postgraduate competence.

Abstract: A sample of 441 graduates (between 1971 and 1981) of Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, who pursued their medical training in internal medicine, pediatrics, and obstetrics/gynecology was selected. It was hypothesized that the relationship between measures of academic achievement in medical school and measures of postgraduate performance would vary in different specialty programs. The hypothesis was confirmed by comparing graduates in the three specialties on grades in medical school, scores on the examinations of the National Board of Medical Examiners, and ratings in four areas of competence in the first postgraduate year (that is, medical knowledge, data-gathering skills, clinical judgement, and professional attitudes). It was also hypothesized that the strength of the relationship would vary at different levels of performance within the specialty programs. This was confirmed for some of the variables. The results indicate that inappropriate conclusions may be drawn about the relationship between performance before and after graduation from medical school if specialty differences and levels of performance are ignored.

Spelling ‘Mississippi’: Recontextualizing a Literacy‐Related Speech Event

Abstract: This article examines steps, a distinctive genre of black street rhyme, as a literacy-related speech event and as a social statement made by its performers. The analysis shows that despite the presence and demonstration of language and literacy competence, the performers never were seen as possessing such skills because displays of their school-required abilities were recontextualized in peer group activities that were considered part of black "street" repertoire. The features, functions, meanings and symbolic interpretations of this controversial speech event, which was banned from the school, are examined. LITERACY; PEER CULTURE; BLACK URBAN COMMUNITY; FOLKLORE; SOCIAL SEMIOTICS. "Tell me what you play and I shall tell you who you are." Roger Caillois, Man, Play and Games, 1958 As a result of the limited means of assessment available, the educational community often fails to know what children actually are capable of doing with language. Further, issues of language competence cannot be understood fully apart from the social world of which children are an integral part. This article examines a genre of play rhymes in order to demonstrate the language competencies of its child performers. The social interpretations of what language does and what language means in these children's worlds also are explored. The study was part of a larger research project conducted in a black, low-income neighborhood in Philadelphia. The school in which the observations were conducted had an all-black student population and an equal proportion of black and white faculty. It characterized itself as a traditional back-to-basics institution and had an excellent reputation in the city. The study contrasted language and literacy-related skills identified and defined within school culture with those skills practiced in peer contexts. The data consist of personal observations, interactions, and interviews conducted over a three-year period. Although most of the students in the observed classes were identified as skill defi

Six Teachers' Beliefs and Attitudes and Their Curricular Time Allocations

Abstract: teachers vary widely in how they distribute time to content. In the United States, the Beginning Teacher Evaluation Study (Denham & Lieberman 1980) is a wellknown example of such research. Bennett (1981) reports on a number of studies in Great Britain where large variations in curriculum emphases at the classroom level have consistently been reported. However, these studies do not indicate what may account for these variations. In fact, we know comparatively little about what determines the allocation of time to content in classrooms.

A Critical Analysis of Competency-Based Systems in Adult Education:

Abstract: The purpose of this essay is to critically analyze the term \"competency,\" in hope of enhancing our practical understanding of the concept \"competencybased education.\" The underlying philosophical principles of this paper are derived from Edmund Husserl's representation of philosophy as criticism, particularly as it has been advanced by his student Alfred Schutz. Like Husserl and Schutz, we subscribe to the Cartesian position that the basis of kno\\Vledge resides first and foremost within the knowers themselves. This position stands in contrast to the logical positivist position which is the basis for the methods of modern sciences as applied to human action in the behaviorist tradition.

Student-instructor relationships in nursing education.

Abstract: The nursing instructor who assumes a colleagial or facilitator role in the student-instructor helping relationship assists students to learn and develop both personal and professional competence. In an attempt to attain power, female faculty members may exert power over students, causing students to feel threatened, powerless, and incompetent. Research studies indicate that there is a direct correlation between a student's self-concept and academic performance. When an instructor manifests open communication with students and demonstrates an interest in their learning, the instructor may facilitate a positive self-concept in students and enhance their cognitive abilities. Nursing practice is based on utilizing therapeutic communication, which is authentic, open, and personal. Students may acquire these skills and simultaneously increase their competence in nursing practice more readily when faculty members serve as role models in a helping relationship through sharing and developing trust. By applying the principles of the helping relationship, nursing instructors may facilitate students' personal and professional growth.

Development, Training and Education for the Small Firm: A European Perspective"

Abstract: David S. Watkins is director of the New Enterprise Centre at Manchester Business School, England. The first part of the paper demonstrates-on the basis of empirical research work carried out by the author and colleagues in France and West Germany-that the problems faced by small businessmen are remarkably similar across national boundaries. Moreover, it shows too that the bankers who finance small businesses in each of these countries share a common perception of small firms' problems, albeit a different one from the owner-managers. In the bankers' view, the major problems concern the competence of the owner-manager and the ultimate solution is through the development of the owner-manager himself, as a manager. Since the owner-managers perceive many of their problems as essentially financial, there is here a strong basis for dialogue, rooted in mutual interest and leading to productive development for both parties. What then prevents the owner-manager from engaging in appropriate management development ac...

A study of therapists' choice of a therapist.

Abstract: Twenty-three psychotherapists discussed the criteria that they used when seeking a therapist for themselves. Most of the subjects had had more than one experience with psychotherapy. They sought a therapist who had a reputation for competence, whom they would not encounter frequently outside of therapy sessions, whom they experienced as warm and caring, and who talked rather than remaining silent during the sessions. The significance of these findings for conducting psychotherapy is discussed.