Exploratory Study of Spirituality and Psychosocial Growth in College Students

This study examined spirituality, personality, and psychosocial growth among 216 students at a small university in Maryland. Results demonstrated that faith maturity predicted unique variance in purpose in life. There was a main effect observed for gender among faith scores, as well as an interaction effect between gender and year in school among faith scores. The findings suggest that a culture that fosters students' spirituality may have positive effects on aspects of well‐being.     

Teaching Future Crop Protection Practitioners through the Use of On-line Cases: Practicing IPM Spray Decisions in New Zealand Apple Orchards

Purpose: There are many complexities to be considered when selecting tactical control options in crops grown under an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) regime. Students being trained in IPM are made aware of this complexity but do not always get the chance to experience IPM decision-making first-hand. This case study describes a web-based assessment and presents student feedback as to its value.

Design/Methodology/Approach: Students are required to analyse the pest and disease status of and provide pesticide recommendations for an export apple orchard at four different times of the season. At each ‘virtual visit’ they are required to interpret monitoring data and make spray decisions. The students are provided with the same IPM information and guidelines commercial growers receive. Amongst other things, management history, non-target organisms, pesticide resistance risk, allowable residues, pesticide restrictions and pesticide compatibility must be considered. Student reflections (n = 57) from three years of use were assessed using grounded theory analysis and reported.

Findings: Students found they gained an appreciation of the various factors that need to be considered for tactical IPM and that the exercise helped prepare them for this task ‘in real life’.

Practical Implications: The assessment described can be used as a template for an online integrated case-based training strategy which provides the opportunity for real-life decision making in a safe environment.

Originality/Value: The paper is original. It is hoped this case study will serve as a source of ideas and/or inspiration from those wishing to employ similar ‘active learning’ web-based exercises for agricultural education or extension training.     

Art Conquers All? Herbert Read's Education through Art

Herbert Read's Education through Art (henceforth ETA) is a pioneering attempt to provide empirical evidence for the need for art in the public school system. Rooting for art education, Read applies the conclusions of the newly evolving psychological research to his thesis on education, which he holds to be a contemporary revival of Plato's educational theory. Psychological research proves, Read believes, that art is required for the healthy cognitive and emotional development of the child, thereby creating a stable and productive society. ‘Education through art’ nurtures each individual's potential, so that every professional direction one would later take would be ‘art'. Since its publication in 1943, art‐education enthusiasts seem to hold that Read was on the right track, but that ETA suffers from a lack of evidence – a mere technicality that can be amended when research advances. Contrariwise, I argue that Read's thesis is inherently problematic, rather than empirically inaccurate. Psychological research may never suffice for the justification of art education, if ‘art education’ is both substituted for ‘creativity’ and expected to produce testable – immediate and quantifiable – results. My interest is not only in Read's theory per se, but in this form of justification. To wit, the discussion examines ETA as a case study in the empirical justification of art education.     

Web 2.0 and Transfer: Trainers' Use of Technology to Support Employees' Learning Transfer on the Job

We steer transfer research in a new direction by examining the use of Web 2.0 technologies for supporting learning transfer resulting from formal training. We report survey results from training professionals (N = 83) on how their organization uses such methods to cue and support workers’ application of learned knowledge and skills on the job. Guided by the technology acceptance model (TAM) theory, we examined predictor variables found to influence technology use based on empirical and theoretical support in the information technology (IT) literature. Results indicate that trainers are influenced by several individual factors (computer experience, computer anxiety, and computer self‐efficacy), as well as their organization's learning climate, to use Web 2.0 tools to support transfer of learning. Trainers also prefer to use social media, networking applications, and visual media to support transfer among learners. We discuss implications for using Web 2.0 technologies in support of learning transfer and provide directions for future workplace learning research.     

A Comparison of Training Methods on the Acquisition of Automotive Product Knowledge

The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of a traditional training program with a fluency‐building training program on the acquisition of automotive product knowledge in a lab setting. The effects were assessed by how accurately and quickly participants responded on a product‐knowledge test. Results indicated that participants who completed the fluency training responded faster and more accurately than control groups immediately after the study. However, the difference between the fluency group and the group that received study objectives disappeared when retention was assessed several weeks after training. The difference remained between these groups and a group that did not receive study objectives. The results were used to modify globally delivered training. This study extended previous studies by examining the effects of training designed to teach product knowledge to sales representatives in automotive dealerships and illustrates the benefits of collaboration between academic researchers and professional trainers.