Contents of Volume 3

Volume Contents

Contents of Volume 3     

Cash incentives and turnover in center-based child care staff

The current study evaluates the Workforce INcentive Project (WIN), a programmatic effort to increase child care workforce stability in center- and home-based child care providers via the provision of bi-annual cash incentives based on educational attainment. Five hundred and thirteen center-based teaching staff (304 WIN and 209 comparison) and 167 center directors (93 WIN and 74 comparison) from 179 state-licensed child care centers (99 WIN and 80 comparison) participated in the study reported. Survival analyses were conducted to compare turnover rates between the WIN group and the comparison group over a 20-month period. All analyses controlled for participant satisfaction with employment, location (i.e., urban, suburban, and rural), and, where appropriate, hourly wages. Although WIN participation was generally associated with lower rates of turnover in center-based staff, when position type, educational attainment, experience in the field, and hourly wages were considered (separately and together), WIN's relationship with turnover varied widely for directors and teaching staff. Findings are discussed in terms of past research and future cash incentive programs.     

Developing career management competencies among undergraduates and the role of work-integrated learning

This paper explores undergraduate capabilities in career self-management and the influence of work-integrated learning (WIL). Career management competencies are an important aspect of individual employability and impact on wellbeing, graduate job attainment and long-term career success. Enhanced competencies among graduates can assist Faculty in achieving strong employment outcomes and support industry partners who wish to employ graduates able to self-manage their career pathways effectively amid flatter organisational structures and greater employee mobility. Our findings indicate that business undergraduates at one UK and one Australian university consider themselves reasonably proficient in career self-management yet variations exist across the different dimensions of self-awareness, opportunity awareness, decision-making learning and transition learning. Participation in work placements and study and employment characteristics influenced certain elements of career self-management. Our study highlights the importance of nurturing career management competencies in undergraduates and we discuss strategies, particularly in relation to WIL, which may promote effective career self-management.     

Overcoming cross-cultural group work tensions: mixed student perspectives on the role of social relationships

As universities worldwide rapidly internationalise, higher education classrooms have become unique spaces for collaboration between students from different countries. One common way to encourage collaboration between diverse peers is through group work. However, previous research has highlighted that cross-cultural group work can be challenging and has hinted at potential social tensions. To understand this notion better, we have used robust quantitative tools in this study to select 20 participants from a larger classroom of 860 students to take part in an in-depth qualitative interview about cross-cultural group work experiences. Participant views on social tensions in cross-cultural group work were elicited using a unique mediating artefact method to encourage reflection and in-depth discussion. In our analysis of emergent interview themes, we compared student perspectives on the role of social relationships in group work by their academic performance level. Our findings indicated that all students interviewed desired the opportunity to form social relationships with their group work members, but their motivations for doing so varied widely by academic performance level.     

Aiding culturally responsive assessment in schools in a globalising world

Educational Assessment, Evaluation and Accountability - Across the world, teachers’ classroom assessment tasks and responsibilities are becoming more diverse due to increased migration. In...     

Using Teleconsultation to Develop Independent Skills of School-Based Behavior Teams in Functional Behavior Assessment

ABSTRACT

The Iowa Department of Education (DE) has a history of partnering with the Biobehavioral Service (BBS) at the Center for Disabilities and Development to consult with educational teams in Iowa schools regarding students exhibiting challenging behavior. In 2009, the DE requested that BBS consultants improve behavior assessment skills of school-based behavior teams across the state. One aim of the DE was to develop school-based behavior teams who could independently conduct the full range of behavior assessments (i.e., indirect assessment, direct assessment, and experimental analyses). The BBS consultants worked with challenging behavior teams from eight Iowa Area Education Agencies, teaching them to independently design, conduct, and interpret a variety of behavior assessments (e.g., preference assessments, functional analyses). A three-stage teleconsultation model was developed during consultation visits to support and evaluate the independent assessment practice of consultees. The stages included in-person consultation, onsite teleconsultation, and remote teleconsultation. Consultees expressed satisfaction with the use of teleconsultation during the third stage of the model. Additionally, the use of videoconferencing addressed some of the barriers to conducting team-based behavior assessments in the school setting by creating observation and assessment rooms for team members. Consultees continue to use this method as they independently assess the behavior of students.