Author: Ajal

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Challenges in aligning workplace learning with business goals: A perspective from HRD professionals in New Zealand

Author/s: Tom Short and Roger Harris

Edition: Volume 50, Number 2, July 2010

Summary: Modern organisations have become more complex, less mechanistic and increasingly sensitive to rapid changes in the external environment than in previous eras. Today, executives lead employees through a maze of complexity and changing contexts. However, another group of dedicated professionals, the human resource managers and practitioners, also play a big part in shaping business success. For human resource managers, learning how to cope with a diverse range of people-centred challenges has generated a succession of workplace development initiatives aimed at aligning education and training with business strategy (Anderson 2009). In the knowledge economy, the value of workplace education and training has become a mantra for business survival. Simultaneously, in response to a requirement for change, the human resource management (HRM) profession has engaged in frequent and often inward-looking processes to re-define its own contribution, not only to the effectiveness of an enterprise but also to the individual employee and wider community. Within this evolution, in some organisations, the traditional sub-areas of HRM, such as human resource development (HRD), have gradually become detached from mainstream HRM and assumed a role quite different in both purpose and approach to from the more hegemonic notion of resources management. This paper draws insights from a group of senior HRD professionals in New Zealand to review the significance of workplace learning in a strategic context and identify the challenges the profession faces in meeting the demands of complex workplaces. The paper focuses on how HRD professionals go about aligning learning activities with business objectives—often with mixed results.

Keywords: human resource management, workplace learning, business objectives

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This article is part of AJAL, Volume 50_2. The entire volume is available in .pdf for purchase here.

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Approaches to the postgraduate education of business coaches

Author/s: Grace McCarthy

Edition: Volume 50, Number 2, July 2010

Summary: This paper focuses on the education and training of business coaches, specifically at the Masters/graduate level. The paper first reviews the knowledge and skills required of business coaches, comparing the recommendations of professional associations and the literature. Next the paper reviews the approaches to education which are best suited to help students acquire knowledge and skills, and how these may be assessed. The paper discusses the challenge of developing both knowledge and skills, and the use of e-learning as an on-going support for students. The benefits of authentic assessment and a varied approach to learning are also reviewed. Thirdly, the paper reports on the experiences of a new Master of Business Coaching at Sydney Business School, University of Wollongong, Australia, providing both performance and perception data from the first cohort of students. Possible reasons for the students’ strong performance are suggested.

Keywords: business coaches, education, knowledge, skills, e-learning

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This article is part of AJAL, Volume 50_2. The entire volume is available in .pdf for purchase here.

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Using Appreciative Inquiry to explore the professional practice of a lecturer in higher education: Moving towards life-centric practice

Author/s: David Giles and Susie Kung

Edition: Volume 50, Number 2, July 2010

Summary: This paper reports on a strategy for exploring the life-centric practice of a lecturer in Higher Education. The initiative for this inquiry arose out of the realisation that there did not appear to be positive, heart-lifting stories in a lecturer’s current teaching experiences. Using an appreciative eye and supported by a critical friend, life-giving experiences were ‘stalked’ from the past. The hope in this endeavour was to find greater meaning in the lecturer’s best professional practice. Using an Appreciative Inquiry approach, this endeavour rejuvenated the lecturer’s professional practice. As life-centric stories were recalled, provocative propositions were constructed that became the basis of a personalised action plan for future professional practice. This paper outlines the nature of the journey and the heartfelt discoveries.

Keywords: life-centric practice, professional practice, appreciative inquiry approach

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This article is part of AJAL, Volume 50_2. The entire volume is available in .pdf for purchase here.

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Pathway for student self-development: A learning orientated internship approach

Author/s: Bonnie Cord and Mike Clements

Edition: Volume 50, Number 2, July 2010

Summary: Higher education is facing new challenges in preparing students for the workforce. As demands increase for students to differentiate themselves when seeking employment, it becomes necessary for higher education and vocational providers not only to understand these challenges, but also to provide a pathway for students to develop the skills necessary to become sought-after employees. This paper presents a learning orientated internship approach as one such pathway that aims to provide students, as adult learners, with the opportunity to apply their knowledge and gain new skills in a work context. The paper provides insight into students self-reported learning outcomes after undertaking the learning orientated internship program. Preliminary findings reveal that communication, interpersonal skills and personal insights are common areas of self-development through this program.

Keywords: workforce preparation, internship program

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This article is part of AJAL, Volume 50_2. The entire volume is available in .pdf for purchase here.

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Literacy practitioners’ perspectives on adult learning needs and technology approaches in Indigenous communities

Author/s: Michelle Eady, Anthony Herrington and Caroline Jones

Edition: Volume 50, Number 2, July 2010

Summary: Current reports of literacy rates in Australia indicate an ongoing gap in literacy skills between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australian adults, at a time when the literacy demands of work and life are increasing. There are many perspectives on what are the literacy needs of Indigenous adults, from the perspectives of community members themselves to the relatively under-researched perspective of literacy practitioners. This paper provides the insights, experiences and recommendations from adult literacy practitioners who work with adult Indigenous learners in communities across Australia. Focus group interviews, using an online synchronous platform, were used to elicit views about the literacy needs of Indigenous adults in communities and the successes in and barriers to meeting those needs. The practitioners also shared their views on the use of technology in literacy learning. Together, these views can inform future directions in curriculum design and teaching approaches for community-based Indigenous adult literacy education.

Keywords: literacy, Indigenous, practitioners, online, synchronous platform

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This article is part of AJAL, Volume 50_2. The entire volume is available in .pdf for purchase here.

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Shall we dance? The story of The Radiance Dance Project

Author/s: Lisa Catherine Ehrich

Edition: Volume 50, Number 2, July 2010

Summary: Community workers are often described as unsung heroes who work for, with and alongside others in order to make qualitative differences to the communities they serve. This paper reports on the story of a community-based arts educator, Morgan Jai-Morincome, winner of the ACT Adult Learners Week Award for an outstanding program in 2007. This program, referred to as The Radiance Dance Project, is an inclusive performance project open to women with and without disabilities that culminates in a yearly performance. Via an interview with Morgan, observations of a workshop she provided for the women in her 2009 program, and a viewing of a DVD of the 2008 dance performance, this case study provides an illustration of the power of arts-based educative processes for breaking down barriers between people with and without disabilities. It draws upon constructs from ethical leadership theory and empowerment theory to interpret her ideas and practices.

Keywords: community workers, arts educator, Radiance Dance project, ethical leadership theory, empowerment theory

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This article is part of AJAL, Volume 50_2. The entire volume is available in .pdf for purchase here.

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Adult learning in educational tourism

Author/s: Tim Pitman, Sue Broomhall, Joanne McEwan and Elzbieta Majocha

Edition: Volume 50, Number 2, July 2010

Summary: This article explores notions of learning in the niche market sector of educational tourism, with a focus on organised recreational tours that promote a structured learning experience as a key feature. It analyses the qualitative findings of surveys and interviews with a cross-section of educational tourism providers in Australia, their lifelong-learning client markets and Australian academic scholars participating in this sector. The paper examines the differing perceptions of providers, participants and academics to what they expect from such tours, what constitutes learning within them and how particularly adult learning occurs through them.

Keywords: educational tourism, recreational tours, perceptions, adult learning

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This article is part of AJAL, Volume 50_2. The entire volume is available in .pdf for purchase here.

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The powerful and the powerless: Unwritten rules

Author/s: Susan P. Shaver

Edition: Volume 50, Number 1, April 2010

Summary: Many people giggle when asked to define power. Other people tell me power corresponds with position title. They believe the higher you are on the organisation chart dictates how much—or how little—influence you have, over anything. I’m not convinced this is true. I believe that power is not always indicative of position, and power tactics are not limited to people in more senior positions. Power and politics are all about competing interests and control strategies that ultimately influence workplace relationships.

Keywords: power, workplace, position, power tactics, relationships

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This article is part of AJAL, Volume 50_1. The entire volume is available in .pdf for purchase here.

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Becoming an Australian citizen: Some dimensions of assessing a citizenship-type literacy amongst adults

Author/s: James A Athanasou

Edition: Volume 50, Number 1, April 2010

Summary: This paper evaluates a 20-item assessment of citizenship literacy in an adult sample comprising 179 persons of English-speaking and non-English speaking background. The results indicated that the assessment was internally consistent and that as expected it distinguished English-speaking from non-English speaking participants. The pattern of answers provided an initial, albeit partial, understanding of what might constitute citizenship information but it also highlighted some limitations. The assessment failed to tap the ability levels of those with higher knowledge. Nevertheless, the results also indicated some deficits in adult general knowledge. The potential failure rate even with a cut-off point of 60% correct was quite high. Just over one-in-five failed to pass. The results have implications for the proposed revisions to the Australian Citizenship Test.

Keywords: citizenship test, literacy, NESB

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This article is part of AJAL, Volume 50_1. The entire volume is available in .pdf for purchase here.

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Effective employment-based training models for childcare workers

Author/s: Sarojni Choy and Sandra Haukka

Edition: Volume 50, Number 1, April 2010

Summary: Childcare workers play a significant role in the learning and development of children in their care. This has major implications for the training of workers. Under new reforms of the childcare industry, the Australian government now requires all workers to obtain qualifications from a vocational education and training provider (e.g. Technical and Further Education) or university. Effective models of employment-based training are critical to provide training to highly competent workers. This paper presents findings from a study that examined current and emerging models of employment-based training in the childcare sector, particularly at the Diploma level. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with a sample of 16 participants who represented childcare directors, employers and workers located in childcare services in urban, regional and remote locations in the State of Queensland. The study proposes a ‘best-fit’ employment-based training approach that is characterised by a compendium of five models instead of a ‘one size fits all’. Issues with successful implementation of employment-based training models are also discussed.

Keywords: childcare, learning, development, children, competency, employment-based training, diploma

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This article is part of AJAL, Volume 50_1. The entire volume is available in .pdf for purchase here.