Exploring Baccalaureate Social Work Students' Self-Efficacy: Did it Change over Time?

This study explored baccalaureate social work students' self-efficacy at a rural southern university. Bandura's concept of self-efficacy is used as a theoretical base for the study. Students (N = 43) in introductory social work courses and in the field practicum course completed the Foundation Practice Self Efficacy Scale. Following The Council on Social Work Educations 2008 Council on Social Work Education. (2008). Educational policy and accreditation standards handbook. http//www.cswe.org/Accreditation/Handbook/Ovierview14745.aspx#chaper14753 (http://http//www.cswe.org/Accreditation/Handbook/Ovierview14745.aspx#chaper14753)  [Google Scholar] Educational Policy and Accreditation Standards, which recognizes field education as the signature pedagogy of social work education, field students were hypothesized to have higher levels of self-reported self-efficacy than entry-level students. Results suggest that senior level students were more confident in their abilities to practice social work than those students enrolled in an introductory social work course. Implications of this research for social work education are discussed, including the value of using self-efficacy scales in evaluating social work educational program outcomes.     

Discovering democracy in Australia

Discovering Democracy is designed to give tomorrow’s Australian citizens the knowledge and skills they will need in order to know what values and institutions they can and must change and which should endure. They will know how their democratic system behaves. They will be confident in their ability to act within it as citizens. If it is successful, Australia will not need another public education campaign before Australians celebrate their next civic anniversary.     

Fusing self-regulated learning and formative assessment: a roadmap of where we are,how we got here,and where we are going

We have known for a long time that a relationship exists between how learning is assessed and the learning processes and strategies students employ when engaged in those assessments. Black and Wiliam pointed out in 1998 that self-regulated learning should be a primary goal of formative assessment (FA). Since then, a growing body of research on this relationship has been produced. The purpose of this paper is to present and discuss keystone publications that inform our current understandings of the relationship between FA and self-regulated learning. The result is a roadmap of the development of the field and directions for future research.     

Applying systems analysis to program failure in organizations

Certain systems analysis techniques can be applied to examinations of program failure in continuing education to locate weaknesses in planning and implementing stages. Since failures can be the result of human errors and environmental conditions (and frequently a combination of both), a systems design to determine causes must include techniques that can detect both individual and nonhuman factors. Questions to guide an analysis and various procedures are recommended. Unexamined failures may lead to tossing the baby out with the bathwater, when analysis, in fact, could be the initial step toward successful future implementation.     

Development of an Instrument to Measure Undergraduates’ Nanotechnology Awareness, Exposure, Motivation, and Knowledge

There are many educational interventions being implemented to address workforce issues in the field of nanotechnology. However, there is no instrument to assess the impact of these interventions on student awareness of, exposure to, and motivation for nanotechnology. To address this need, the Nanotechnology Awareness Instrument was conceptualized. This paper is a progress report of the instrument development process. Version 1 of the instrument was administered to 335 first-year students majoring in food and agriculture fields in a pre–post fashion relative to a brief exposure to nanotechnology in the classroom. Following item analysis of Version 1 responses, a revision of the instrument was completed. Version 2 was administered to 1,426 first-year engineering students for the purpose of conducting item and factor analyses. Results indicate that the Nanotechnology Awareness Instrument shows potential to provide valid information about student awareness of, exposure to, and motivation for nanotechnology. The instrument is not a valid measure of nano-knowledge and this subscale was dropped from the final version of the instrument. Implications include the use of the instrument to evaluate programs, interventions, or courses that attempt to increase student awareness of nanotechnology. Further study is necessary to determine how the Nanotechnology Awareness Instrument functions as a pre–post measure.     

Information inputs to new product planning and development

For more and more firms product innovation is becoming the key to survival and future growth. Successful product innovation cannot be based only upon inspiration, fantasy and random ideas; in most firms a purposeful and systematic approach also is required. Information is a key concept in this context. As product innovation activities are very different from day-to-day activities, a special information system is required.Based on an in-depth study of a large firm, it appears that systematic innovation requires: (a) a sound business concept with future oriented strategies and policies; (b) a competent staff who master the necessary tools; (c) an efficient organization with an appropriate information system; (d) relevant methods for diversification studies and product planning; and (e) development of individual products based on systematical provision of information about user needs and proper specification of requirements.In small firms innovations are based more on the entrepreneurial approach. Such firms often demonstrate a very innovative attitude, but many of them are hampered by lack of skills in marketing and management. They also lack supporting services which can provide information about the environment.Considering the importance of small firms in economic development and social progress, they should be given support in their innovative attempts. This can be done by organizing innovation centers which arrange studies, develop courses, and give practical assistance to firms engaged in innovative work. Governments should develop policies and provide information stimulating both small and large firms to innovations that are more desirable from a social point of view.