Showing papers on "Competence (human resources) published in 1992"

The Challenge to Care in Schools: An Alternative Approach to Education

Abstract: This book challenges the traditional organization of high school studies around the academic disciplines. Noddings argues that such emphasis shortchanges not only the noncollege-bound whose interests are almost ignored, but even those who are preparing for college. The latter receive schooling for the head but little for the heart and soul. Noddings counteracts this condition, insisting "that our aim should be to encourage the growth of competent, caring, loving and lovable persons", a moral priority that our educational system ignores. She argues that liberal education dictates what areas of pedagogy are socially acceptable - ignoring a student's wider range of abilities - and undervalues skills, attitudes and capacities traditionally associated with women. Contrarily, it is "precisely" the competence for caring, Nodding posits, that will prepare our students for the environment of the school, the world of work, the realm of ideas, and ultimately, for each other.

How college affects students : findings and insights from twenty years of research

Abstract: Foreword 1. Studying College Outcomes: Overview and Organization of the Research 2. Theories and Models of Student Change in College 3. Development of Verbal, Quantitative, and Subject Matter Competence 4. Cognitive Skills and Intellectual Growth 5. Psychosocial Changes: Identity, Selt--Concept, and Self--Esteem 6. Psycholsocial Changes: Relating to Others and the External World 7. Attitudes and Values 8. Moral Development 9. Educational Attainment 10. Career Choice and Development 11. Economic Benefits of College 12. Quality of Life After College 13. How College Makes a Difference: A Summary 14. Implications of the Research for Policy and Practice AppAndix: Methodological and Analytical Issues in Assessing the Influence of College

Managing globally competent people

Abstract: Executive Overview Transnational firms need transnational human resource management systems. This article recommends global human resource changes at two levels: individual and systemic. First, it presents a set of skills needed by individual managers to be globally competent, highlighting those which transcend the historic competencies required of expatriate managers. Second, it suggests a framework for assessing the global competence of firms' human resource systems. Based on a survey of fifty major North American firms, the authors find today's human resource strategies to be significantly less global than firms' business strategies. To overcome this gap, they identify a series of illusions preventing firms from creating human resource systems which are sufficiently global to support transnational business strategies.

Individual Differences in the Effects of Educational Transitions on Young Adolescent’s Perceptions of Competence and Motivational Orientation:

Abstract: We conducted two studies to examine the effects of changing educational environments on children’s academic self-concepts and motivation. In the first study, we examined the effects of transitions to a new grade or a new school on children’s perceptions of their scholastic competence, their motivational orientation, and their anxiety and general affect about school performance. Four groups of children were examined longitudinally as they made the transition to a new grade, some changing schools and some remaining in the same school: (a) fifth to sixth grade, same school; (b) fifth to sixth grade, new school; (c) sixth to seventh grade, same school; and (d) sixth to seventh grade, new school. We hypothesized that many students would reevaluate their scholastic competence after a transition, given new social comparison groups and the possible increased emphasis on grades and competence evaluation in higher grades. Resultant changes in perceived competence, in turn, should impact motivational orientation, an...

The Evolving Professional Self: Stages and Themes in Therapist and Counselor Development

Abstract: Perspectives on professional development conventional stage transition to professional training stage imitation of experts stage conditional autonomy stage exploration stage integration stage individuation stage integrity stage themes in therapist/counsellor development stagnation versus professional development of therapists and counsellors.

Organizational Learning: A Review of the Literature with Implications for HRD Professionals.

Abstract: Organizational learning refers to learning at the system rather than individual level. The changing nature of work, global competitive challenges, and everpresent change require that human resource professionals focus on this higher level of learning. The literature on organizational learning can be classified into five areas: information acquisition, information distribution and interpretation, making meaning, organizational memory, and information retrieval. Each has special implications for the role of HRD professionals as learning facilitators.

Learning to Communicate in the Classroom

Abstract: It is now generally accepted that second language (L2) acquisition can take place as a result of learning how to communicate in the L2. It is less clear, however, whether the kind of communication that occurs in a classroom is sufficient to ensure development of full target language competence. This article examines the extent to which the opportunities for communication in an English as a Second Language (ESL) classroom result in the acquisition of one particular illocutionary act—requests. A total of 410 requests produced by two child learners over 15–21 months were examined. The results suggest that although considerable development took place over this period, both learners failed to develop either the full range of request types or a broad linguistic repertoire for performing those types that they did acquire. The learners also failed to develop the sociolinguistic competence needed to vary their choice of request to take account of different addressees. One explanation for these results is that although the classroom context fostered interpersonal and expressive needs in the two learners, it did not provide the conditions for real sociolinguistic needs.

The Assessment of Professional Competence

Abstract: Valid assessment of professional competence has proven to be an elusive goal. Objective tests, direct observation of performance, overall ratings of competence, and simulations have been tried and found wanting in one way or another. Objective test items are criticized as being unrealistic and therefore invalid. Direct observation tends to be very unreliable and therefore invalid. Simulations and overall ratings of competence share both of these flaws to some extent. Basically, you can't win. This article outlines some of the many ways to lose and some ways to cut these losses. In doing so, it proposes a general framework for evaluating the validity of measures of competence, and it uses this framework to examine the strengths and weaknesses of three approaches to the assessment of professional competence: direct observation, simulation, and objective testing.

Social Competence Promotion with Inner-City and Suburban Young Adolescents: Effects on Social Adjustment and Alcohol Use.

Abstract: This study assessed the impact of school-based social competence training on skills, social adjustment, and self-reported substance use of 282 sixth and seventh graders. Training emphasized broad-based competence promotion in conjunction with domain-specific application to substance abuse prevention. The 20-session program comprised six units: stress management, self-esteem, problem solving, substances and health information, assertiveness, and social networks. Findings indicated positive training effects on Ss' skills in handling interpersonal problems and coping with anxiety. Teacher ratings revealed improvements in Ss' constructive conflict resolution with peers, impulse control, and popularity. Self-report ratings indicated gains in problem-solving efficacy. Results suggest some preventive impact on self-reported substance use intentions and excessive alcohol use. In general, the program was found to be beneficial for both inner-city and suburban students.

The Adaptive Social Behavior Inventory (ASBI): A new assessment of social competence in high-risk three-year-olds.

Abstract: This article describes a new inventory for preschool social development. Scale construction was undertaken as an ancillary project in a multi-site study of early intervention for high-risk infants. Scale development began with extensive review; piloting was conducted to ensure appropriateness for mothers of varying educational levels. Descriptive and psychometric data on the 30-item inventory are presented for the sample of 545 3-year-olds. The three subscales are Express, Comply, and Disrupt. Intercorrelations among the scales are reported, as well as correlations with other competence variables. Differences are noted for gender and site, but not birthweight. Potential value of the inventory is discussed.

The Relationship Among Perceived Coaching Behaviors, Perceptions of Ability, and Motivation In Competitive Age-Group Swimmers

Abstract: Based on Barter's competence motivation theory, this study examined the relationships between perceived coaching behaviors and (a) perceptions of ability and (b) motivation in competitive age-group swimmers. Male and female athletes (N=312) assessed their coaches' behaviors and their own ability and motivation using self-report measures. Multivariate analyses indicated that significant relationships were found for males, females, 12–14-year-olds, and 15-18-year-olds. Variables contributing most importantly to the relationships differed depending upon gender and age group. In general, coaches who were perceived as giving more frequent information following desirable performances, and more frequent encouragement combined with information following undesirable performances, were associated with athletes who perceived higher levels of success, competence, enjoyment, and preference for optimally challenging activities. These results indicate that young athletes' self-perceptions and motivation are significantl...

Substance abuse prevention: competence enhancement and the development of positive life options.

Abstract: Recent advances in the field of substance abuse prevention have derived from a consideration of the etiology of substance use and have also been solidly grounded in psychological theory. Evaluation studies of psychosocial prevention interventions have become increasingly rigorous, and clearly demonstrate that there are effective approaches to prevention. The Life Skills Training Program is an example of a competence enhancement approach to substance abuse prevention. While research with this approach demonstrates its effectiveness at reducing substance use behavior, experience working with disadvantaged youth suggests the need to broaden the concept of competence enhancement. Specifically, recommendations are made for formalizing the concept of positive life options as a potentially important component of substance abuse prevention.

Development of a Causal Model of Processes Determining Job Performance

Abstract: 6. M. Morales, The function of general and spe cific abilities in the validity of the Air Force Officer Qualifying Test, unpublished master's thesis, St. Mary's University of Texas, San Antonio (1991). 7. M.J. Ree, J.A. Earles, and M. Teachout, Gen era/ Cognitive Ability Predicts Job Performance, AL TR-1991-0057 (Armstrong Laboratory, Brooks AFB, TX, 1991). 8. N. Stewart, A.G.C.T. scores of Army person nel grouped by occupation, Occupations, 26, 1-37 (1947). It is interesting to note that job hierarchies are not new and that Deuteronomy 29:9 presents a list with managers and overseers at the top and hew ers of wood at the bottom. A.R. Jensen noted that even relatively mundane tasks such as cooking rely on intelligence: Army cooks who could successfully make jelly rolls had higher scores on g-loaded tests than those who could not; Straight Talk About Men tal Tests (Free Press, New York, 1981). 9. R.J. Sternberg, Death, taxes, and bad intelli gence tests, Intelligence, 15, 257-269 (1991). There are a few people who want competency tests, which are even more content specific than typical aptitude tests. The rationale for competency tests has been dispelled by G.V. Barrett and R.L. Depinet, A re consideration of testing for competence rather than for intelligence, American Psychologist, 46, 1012? 1024(1991). 10. R. Cattell, Intelligence: Its Structure, Growth and Action (Elsevier Science Publishing, New York, 1987). This is a revised version of Cattell's Abilities: Their Structure, Growth and Action, published in 1971. In this revision, he elucidates the investment theory and his concepts of fluid and crystallized in telligence. Note the significant change in the title from the original.

Learning Intercultural Communication Competence

Abstract: Intercultural communication competence is the ability to encode and decode meanings in matches that correspond to the meanings held in the other communicator's repository. A review of intercultural...

The competence of criminal defendants: A theoretical reformulation.

Abstract: "Competence" of criminal defendants is best viewed not as an open-textured single construct but rather as two related but separable constructs-a foundational concept of competence to assist counsel, and a contextualized concept of decisional competence. This approach has several advantages. First, it provides a useful explanatory framework for the settled features of existing law. Second, it helps to clarify the issues in areas where the law is unsettled or controversial, such as the circumstances under which incompetence bars adjudication and the abilities required for decisional competence. Third, it exposes the similarities between competencies in criminal defense and competencies in other legal contexts, and thereby helps to link what have been discrete literatures in both law and behavioral science. Fourth, because this approach is derived from a theoretical analysis of the purposes of the pertinent legal rules, it provides a framework for defining the "psycho-legal abilities" that are encompassed by each of the two competence constructs. In this respect, a relatively simple reconceptualization has surprisingly concrete implications for designing a program of empirical research and, eventually, for improving the scientific basis of competence assessments in criminal cases. Language: en

Autonomy and Competence as Motivational Factors in Students with Learning Disabilities and Emotional Handicaps

Abstract: Over 450 students (136 elementary, 321 junior and senior high school) with primary handicapping codes of learning disability (LD) or emotional handicap (EH) completed several questionnaires. All participants were from self-contained classrooms of a state-operated special education system. Questionnaires assessed students' self-perceptions and perceptions of home and classroom contexts, with all variables theoretically reflecting either the competence or the autonomy aspects of internal motivation or students' personal adjustment. Math and reading standardized achievement test scores were obtained from school records. Using multiple regression analyses, students' achievement and adjustment were predicted from the motivationally relevant self-perception and perception-of-context variables. Interestingly, different patterns of relations emerged for the students with LD and EH.

The relationship between physical competence and peer acceptance in the context of children's sports participation

Abstract: Youth sport literature contends that the development of self-esteem is influenced by social interactions in the physical domain. However, little research has investigated the role of the peer group in developing perceptions of physical competence and social acceptance. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship, between competence in physical skills and interpersonal competence with peers in a sport setting. Children (N=126) completed measures assessing perceptions of physical competence and peer acceptance» perceptions of success for athletic performance and interpersonal skills, causal attributions for physical performance and interpersonal success» and expectations for future success in these two areas. Teachers' ratings of children's actual physical ability and social skills with peers were also obtained. Canonical correlation analyses indicated a strong relationship (rc = .75) between indices of physical competence and peer acceptance. Children who scored high in actual and perceived p...

A cognitive-systemic reconstruction of Maslow's theory of self-actualization

Abstract: Maslow's need hierarchy and model of the self-actualizing personality are reviewed and criticized. The definition of self-actualization is found to be confusing, and the gratification of all needs is concluded to be insufficient to explain self-actualization. Therefore the theory is reconstructed on the basis of a second-order, cognitive-systemic framework. A hierarchy of basic needs is derived from the urgency of perturbations which an autonomous system must compensate in order to maintain its identity. It comprises the needs for homeostasis, safety, protection, feedback and exploration. Self-actualization is redefined as the perceived competence to satisfy these basic needs in due time. This competence has three components: material, cognitive and subjective. Material and/or cognitive incompetence during childhood create subjective incompetence, which in turn inhibits the further development of cognitive competence, and thus of self-actualization.

Linking Educational Assessments: Concepts, Issues, Methods, and Prospects.

Abstract: DOCUMENT RESUME

Long and Short Verb Movement in Second Language Acquisition

Abstract: Current linguistic theory offers a highly detailed account of what linguistic competence consists of, as well as an indication of how that competence is acquired by L1 learners, via an innate Universal Grammar (UG). In second language (L2) acquisition, a major issue is the nature of the L2 learner’s competence and the degree to which it is similar to or different from the competence attained by native speakers. A theory of linguistic competence is essential to our understanding of what L2 competence might consist of, and should inform L2 acquisition research (Gregg 1989). In this paper, I will adopt certain recent proposals concerning verb movement and the functional categories Agreement and Tense (Chomsky 1989; Pollock 1989), and investigate whether these proposals can provide a suitable explanation of the linguistic behaviour of French learners of English.

Contexts of competence : social and cultural considerations in communicative language teaching

Abstract: 1 Functional Approaches to Linguistics.- 2 Communicative Competence, Intelligibility, and Model.- 3 Sociolinguistic Profiles: India, West Germany, and Japan.- 4 Communicative Language Teaching.- 5 Functionally Based Communicative Approaches to Language Teaching.- References.

Language and Mathematics: A Comparison of Bilingual and Monolingual Students of Mathematics.

Abstract: It is argued that bilingual students should not be categorized as a unidimensional group. Their level of competence in each language is important if academic activity is considered. As an example of this, results from the present study indicate that Papua New Guinea bilingual students competent in both their languages scored significantly higher on two different types of mathematical tests compared to collegues who had low competence in their languages. Further, there was some indication that bilingual students competent in both languages performed better than monolingual students, even though the monolingual students attended schools that had many more teaching resources. Such results were seen as support for the new Papua New Guinea govemment policy of using students' original languages in school. The use of the students' original languages may also open the way for easier access to traditional mathematical concepts in classrooms.