Competence (human resources)

About: Competence (human resources) is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 53557 publications have been published within this topic receiving 988884 citations. The topic is also known as: competence (human resources) & Competency.

Psychometric properties of an empowerment scale: Testing cognitive, emotional, and behavioral domains

Abstract: Empowerment has become an important goal for social workers in policy and direct practice domains The purpose of this study was to test a measure of empowerment at an individual level of analysis that tapped cognitive, emotional, and behavioral dimensions in community-organizing contexts This article reports the psychometric properties of a 27-item scale from a sample of 974 randomly selected people The applicability of this measure is broad, but modifications need to be made on the basis of the variety of social work settings in which empowerment may be applied Key words: community participation; construct validity; empowerment; measurement; social change Empowerment has become a major framework for social work research and practice The breadth of its application includes ethnic minority groups (Gant & Gutierrez, 1996; Gilliam, 1996; Gutierrez, 1990, 1995; Gutierrez & Ortega, 1991), social policy (Zippay, 1995), health (Ford, Edwards, Rodriquez, Gibson, & Tilley, 1996; LaVeist, 1992), community organizing (Robinson & Hanna, 1994; Speer & Hughey, 1995; Speer, Hughey, Gensheimer, & Adams-Leavitt, 1995), mental health (McCubbin & Cohen, 1996; McWhirter, 1991; Rose, 1990), and sexual orientation (Mallon, 1997; Morrow, 1996) Although the breadth and volume of empowerment studies is impressive, social workers have few measures of the construct This article reports on the development of an empowerment measure applicable to one area of social work practice: community organizing Assessments of both content validity and construct validity are presented Measurement development is a time-intensive process and requires careful articulation of the construct and its related terms (Rubin & Babbie, 1993) To develop a measure of empowerment, a definition of the term is important Empowerment is defined by Gutierrez (1990) as "a process of increasing personal, interpersonal, or political power so that individuals can take action to improve their life situations" (p 149) Embedded in this definition is an issue critical for empowerment research: the level of analysis at which the construct is conceptualized Gutierrez (1990) noted that empowerment can be considered at the macro level, which attends to political and objective change; the micro level, which focuses on individual or personal change; and a blend of the first two approaches Elsewhere, Zimmerman (1995) addressed levels of analysis by describing empowerment as occurring at individual, organizational, and community levels Beyond the level of analysis at which empowerment is conceptualized, the context in which empowerment interventions unfold necessarily involves an interface of individual, organizational, or community levels (McWhirter, 1991) Although social work addresses each of these levels in practice, Pinderhughes (1983) identified individual empowerment as a major goal of social work interventions Social work research, therefore, has an interest in measuring empowerment at an individual level of analysis It is important that measures reflect an understanding of how empowerment operates at broader units of analysis MEASUREMENT DEVELOPMENT This measure was designed for a community-organizing context and developed in conjunction with a community-organizing coalition The coalition was working on substance abuse prevention at the time of this study Organizing activities engaged in by the coalition included community clean-ups, picnics, and block watches, as well as distribution of grants to stimulate prevention programs Specific issues addressed by this coalition, often in collaboration with the police, included crime prevention, reducing youths' access to alcohol, promoting alternative activities for youths (recreation), and preventing sales of illegal drugs In a community-organizing context, a measure of empowerment at an individual level of analysis should reflect a critical awareness and understanding of community functioning (cognitive), feelings about one's competence or ability to effect change in the community (emotional), and participatory activities focused on social change in community contexts (behavioral) …

Changes in self-perceptions of competence and intrinsic motivation among elementary schoolchildren.

Abstract: Background: Children's perceived competence and intrinsic motivation are assumed to be very high at the outset of schooling. However, how they change and how they relate to each other and to academic achievement across early schooling years remain open to question. Aims: This 3-year longitudinal study was aimed at examining the following questions. Do children's perceived competence and intrinsic motivation about reading and mathematics change across the first 3 years of schooling? Do their perceived competence and intrinsic motivation differ according to academic domains? Do their perceived competence and intrinsic motivation relate to their academic achievement in each academic domain? Sample: A total of 115 elementary schoolchildren (63 boys and 52 girls) were examined in first grade (mean age = 84,5 months, SD = .67) and for the next 2 years. Method: Children responded to questionnaires about their perceived competence and intrinsic motivation in reading and mathematics. Year-end grades in these two subjects were used as a measure of performance. Results: Changes in perceived competence and intrinsic motivation, and between-year intercorrelations, were observed to differ according to academic domains and gender. Intrinsic motivation did not make a significant contribution to academic achievement at either school grade or in any academic domain, whereas perceived competence was significantly related to achievement at each school grade in both reading and mathematics. Conclusions: Differences between boys and girls observed in this study were not linked to a specific domain and cannot be attributed to gender-role stereotypes. Girls appeared to be more precocious in differentiating their competence and intrinsic motivation according to academic domain, as well as in being able to process and integrate information about their ability from past performances in a domain to judge their competence in the same domain.

Employability and skill set of newly graduated engineers in India

Abstract: Skill shortage remains one of the major constraints to continued growth of the Indian economy. This employer survey seeks to address this knowledge-gap by answering three questions: (i) Which skills do employers consider important when hiring new engineering graduates? (ii) How satisfied are employers with the skills of engineering graduates? and (iii) In which important skills are the engineers falling short? The results confirm a widespread dissatisfaction with the current graduates -- 64 percent of employers hiring fresh engineering graduates are only somewhat satisfied with the quality of the new hires or worse. After classifying all skills by factor analysis, the authors find that employers perceive Soft Skills (Core Employability Skills and Communication Skills) to be very important. Skill gaps are particularly severe in the higher-order thinking skills ranked according to Bloom's taxonomy. In contrast, communication in English has the smallest skill gap, but remains one of the most demanded skills by the employers. Although employers across India asks for the same set of soft skills, their skill demands differ for Professional Skills across economic sectors, company sizes, and regions. These findings suggest that engineering education institutions should: (i) seek to improve the skill set of graduates; (ii) recognize the importance of Soft Skills, (iii) refocus the assessments, teaching-learning process, and curricula away from lower-order thinking skills, such as remembering and understanding, toward higher-order skills, such as analyzing and solving engineering problems, as well as creativity; and (iv) interact more with employers to understand the particular demand for skills in that region and sector.

Relations among competence beliefs, utility value, achievement goals, and effort in mathematics.

Abstract: Background. Research has shown that motivation is a key factor in the learning process as well as in school achievement. In essence, a number of researchers have highlighted the close link between motivation and achievement-related behaviours such as effort. Aims. The present study aims to acquire more specific information concerning the relations between competence beliefs, utility value and achievement goals in mathematics among secondary school students, to further document the influence of social agents, and to better understand the relationships between these variables, as well as to effort. Sample. Participants were 759 Grade 7 to Grade 11 students (389 males, 370 females). Method. Structural equation modelling techniques were used to test a model of achievement-related behaviours (effort) in mathematics based on support from social agents, competence beliefs, utility value and achievement goals. Several self-reported scales were administered. Results. Results indicate that effort in mathematics is mainly explained by mastery goals and competence beliefs. As for the role of social agents, results demonstrated that the perception of parental support chiefly explained variables associated with the valuing of mathematics while teachers’ support acted most on competence beliefs. Conclusions. Two main conclusions stem from our results. First, mastery goals have an important and significant impact on students’ effort in the learning of mathematics. Second, the nature and the strength of the relationships between competence beliefs, utility value, achievement goals and effort are not significantly influenced by age and gender, at least in mathematics.

Professional competence: factors described by nurses as influencing their development.

Abstract: Aim: To discuss the results of a study that explored factors that may influence competence development. Background: Competence, a controversial issue in health care settings, affects many aspects of the nursing profession, including education, practice and management. Although a number of research and discussion papers have explored the issue, in particular the meaning and assessment of nursing competence, to date little research has explored factors identified by nurses themselves as influencing their development of professional competence. Methods: A purposive sample of 27 registered nurses was recruited from two university-affiliated hospitals. Data collection was by tape-recorded semi-structured interviews. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and analysed according to the qualitative methodology of content analysis. Findings: Six descriptive categories were identified from the data: experience, opportunities, environment, personal characteristics, motivation and theoretical knowledge. Conclusions: The findings suggest that the factors influencing the process of developing professional competence in nursing extend across personal and extra-personal domains. An understanding of these factors may enhance the ability of nursing managers and educators to enable student and qualified nurses to pursue effective competency development pathways to prepare them to provide a high standard of care. These findings, which may have important implications for nursing practice, management and education, are being further tested in a larger study.