Reformation of VET and demands on teachers’ subject knowledge – Swedish vocational teachers’ recurrent participation in a national CPD initiative

This study investigates continuing professional development (CPD) of vocational teachers, with a focus on recurrent participation. Vocational teachers need to be competent as teachers and in relation to their vocational teaching subject. Reformation of Swedish vocational education in order to strengthen the working-life connection imposes demands on teachers to have up-to-date knowledge about the vocations related to their vocational subjects. To support the reform, vocational teachers have been offered to participate in a new national CPD initiative targeting their vocational competence. The study concerns participation in this initiative. Drawing on a socio-cultural perspective, vocational teachers’ CPD implies boundary-crossing between school and working-life. Theory concerning adults’ participation in education is considered relevant to understand conditions for such boundary-crossing, and learning, among vocational teachers. The article specifically investigates patterns in vocational teachers’ recurrent participation, which is expected to clarify the factors influencing further participation in professional development. The strongest predictor of recurrent participation, when adjusting for the influence of other factors, is the type of municipality that the teacher comes from, with low populated municipalities having the lowest likelihood of participation. Furthermore, recurrent participation is more likely by participating teachers from adult education or from privately owned schools, and by male teachers.     

EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCES,NEEDS, AND INTERESTS OF OLDER ADULTS WITH MENTAL RETARDATION

This article presents baseline information on the educational experiences, needs, and interests of a statewide sample of older adults with mental retardation. Data were collected through an interview with the older person with mental retardation and through a questionnaire sent to a knowledgeable other who was matched to each older adult. Findings are presented on previous educational experiences, current educational opportunities, and educational needs and interests. Results indicate that this group of older persons strongly desires continued opportunity for learning, particularly in academic and independent living areas. Two subgroups within this sample were least likely to have access to instructional opportunities: persons 55 years or older and persons living in community residences with less than 24‐hour care. Access to this instruction would improve the independence and quality of life of both these groups, as it would for the entire sample. Implications of the findings for educators in gerontology, mental retardation, and adult education are discussed.     

A Dual Identity Approach for Conceptualizing and Measuring Children's Gender Identity

The goal was to test a new dual identity perspective on gender identity by asking children (n = 467) in three grades (M_age = 5.7, 7.6, 9.5) to consider the relation of the self to both boys and girls. This change shifted the conceptualization of gender identity from one to two dimensions, provided insights into the meaning and measurement of gender identity, and allowed for revisiting ideas about the roles of gender identity in adjustment. Using a graphical measure to allow assessment of identity in young children and cluster analyses to determine types of identity, it was found that individual and developmental differences in how similar children feel to both genders, and these variations matter for many important personal and social outcomes.     

Developing CM3: Maintainers' Education and Training at ABB

A highly skilled maintainer is the most important organisational asset pivotal for achieving quality software, strategic for improving maintenance and development processes, essential for remaining competitive and critical for business survival. This requires that universities properly prepare students to enter the maintenance workforce and that maintenance organisations actively build and maintain their human knowledge and skill base. In this paper, we present Corrective Maintenance Maturity Model (CM 3): Maintainers' Education and Training – a maturity model for educating and training maintenance engineers within corrective maintenance. This model is presently being developed at ABB by the Software Maintenance Laboratory (SML). Our goal is to provide guidance to ABB and industrial organisations worldwide in the process of building or improving their most important asset – people. Each process element presented in this paper is matched against its corresponding process element at ABB. Hence, this paper may also be regarded as a report on the state of the current practice of educating and training maintainers at ABB.     

Gender Development in Transgender Preschool Children

An increasing number of transgender children—those who express a gender identity that is “opposite” their natal sex—are socially transitioning, or presenting as their gender identity in everyday life. This study asks whether these children differ from gender‐typical peers on basic gender development tasks. Three‐ to 5‐year‐old socially transitioned transgender children (n = 36) did not differ from controls matched on age and expressed gender (n = 36), or siblings of transgender and gender nonconforming children (n = 24) on gender preference, behavior, and belief measures. However, transgender children were less likely than both control groups to believe that their gender at birth matches their current gender, whereas both transgender children and siblings were less likely than controls to believe that other people's gender is stable.     

Individual and community practices for constructing communicative resilience: exploring the communicative processes of coping with parental alienation

ABSTRACT

Parental alienation occurs after parents divorce and intentionally or even unintentionally persuade their children to distance themselves from or reject the other parent. Framed by the communication theory of resilience, this study explores the communicative practices that enable and constrain the targeted alienated parents’ ability to create normalcy at the individual and online community levels. We also examine the relationships between individual-level and online community-level resilience. Findings from 40 narrative interviews reveal communicative practices/processes that enable and constrain alienated parents at both the individual and online support group levels. Findings also suggest that there is a robust relationship between resilience practices at the individual and community levels. Theoretical implications and practical applications are discussed.     

Flying in a V formation: themes of (in)equity,reality, and togetherness in adult siblings’ narrative explanations of shared parental caregiving

Guided by communicated narrative sense-making, the present study explored the themes that characterize adult siblings’ stories about their experiences with sharing care of aging parents. Interviews with 20 adult siblings revealed the varied and emotional nature of their shared parental caregiving stories. Adult siblings primarily constructed meaning of their caregiving experiences by drawing upon three overarching narratives: (1) the narrative of (in)equity, (2) the narrative of ideal versus real, and (3) the narrative of interconnectedness. These findings highlight the need for adult siblings providing care for their parents to work together as a team, exercise empathy in their interactions, and express gratitude for one another’s contributions. Several practical applications are discussed that can help siblings manage and overcome the relational challenges associated with caring for a parent.