Career development of foreign trained immigrants from regulated professions

In this article, we aim to examine and understand the career development experiences of foreign-trained immigrants from regulated professions (FTIRPs) in Canada. To provide some background on immigration in a Canadian context, we focus on a myriad of factors that affect the vocational well-being of FTIRPs. We apply key concepts from several major career development theories to FTIRPs, proposing some general helping strategies intended to empower this population in managing and developing their careers in a new world of work in their host country.     

Costing distance education and open learning in sub‐Saharan Africa

This article is based on a report of the same name emanating from research undertaken by a team of South African Institute for Distance Education (SAIDE) researchers for the Association for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA) under the auspices of the Commonwealth of Learning (COL) during 2003. The article explores the importance of costing distance education and open learning (DEOL) in sub‐Saharan Africa (SSA); describes the research process and research findings; and provides conclusions and recommendations.     

Stress prevention through a time management training intervention: an experimental study

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a short-term time management training programme on perceived control of time and perceived stress. The sample of 177 freshmen was randomly assigned to a time management training (n?=?89) and an active control group (CG) (n?=?88). We expected that an increase in external demands during the first weeks of the semester would lead to more perceived stress in the CG, but not in the time management training group, due to the time management intervention. As hypothesised, perceived stress increased in the CG, but not in the time management training group. Furthermore, perceived control of time increased in the time management training group but remained unchanged in the CG. Even a rather short intervention of 2?h can protect freshmen from an increase in perceived stress at the beginning of the semester.     

Precision teaching through Irish: effects on isolated sight word reading fluency and contextualised reading fluency

The current study examines the impact of a three-week precision teaching (PT) intervention programme through the Irish language on a group of primary school pupils’ Irish reading fluency. The study employed a mixed factorial experimental design. Thirty-six Irish primary school pupils who were learning Irish as a second language were recruited for this study. Participants were divided evenly into two groups: experimental and control (N?=?18). Participants completed tests of isolated sight word reading fluency and contextualised reading fluency before and after the PT intervention programme. The experimental group was exposed to the PT programme, which focused on isolated Irish vocabulary, while the control group experienced typical teaching of Irish. The results of a one-way multivariate analysis of variance and a series of dependent-samples t-tests revealed that in contrast to the control group, the experimental group exhibited a significant increase in both isolated sight word reading fluency and contextualised reading fluency following the intervention. This study emphasises the potential value of utilising PT to aid second language learning, not only for increasing isolated sight word reading fluency, but also for enhancing contextualised reading fluency.     

Understanding the perceived mattering of physical education teachers

Previous research related to occupational socialization theory has indicated that, in certain school contexts, physical education (PE) and physical education teachers are socially constructed as being less important than, or marginal to, the primary purpose of schooling. This research highlights the challenges associated with occupying a position of marginality. Another way to look at the social experiences of physical education teachers is to examine the extent to which they feel as if they matter to those around them. Drawing upon qualitative and quantitative data sources, the purpose of this study was to examine physical education teachers’ perceived mattering. A mixed-methods design was employed, and data sources included responses to an online survey (N?=?105) and individual telephone interviews (N?=?23). Quantitative data were analyzed using 2?×?2 (education?×?teaching level) Factorial MANOVA; interview data were analyzed using analytic induction and constant comparison. Quantitative analyses indicated that teachers with advanced degrees and those in secondary schools perceived a higher level of mattering than those with bachelor’s degrees and teaching in elementary schools. Respondents perceived that PE mattered slightly more than they did as teachers of the subject. Qualitative analysis indicated that (a) relationships were critical to teachers’ mattering, (b) physical location of the gym and isolation contributed to mattering, and (c) PE was viewed as a service to others in their workplace. Perceived matter is dependent upon a variety of factors related to both personal and workplace factors. Enhancing teachers’ perceptions of mattering may reduce feelings of marginalization.     

An examination of undetected typing errors

We examine the effect of increasing word list size on the error rate of spelling correctors. An experiment on a large body of text shows that an increase in the word list size decreases the error rate.