Professional Competence of Prospective Teachers in Business and Economics Education: Evaluation of a Competence Model Using Structural Equation Modeling

Teacher competence is crucial for quality of teaching and learner achievement. Competency models and competence measurement are prevalent in domains such as the natural sciences and lacking in others. We conducted our research in the field of business and economics education by focusing on the accounting domain because it is key to a deep understanding of the economic context and the development of economics competence. To teach well, teachers require professional knowledge, which is mainly composed of content knowledge (CK), pedagogical content knowledge (PCK), and pedagogical knowledge (PK). Our competence model comprises the cognitive component of professional knowledge and the noncognitive components of beliefs, self-efficacy, and self-regulation. To measure competence in competence of prospective teachers, we employed novel instruments to test for professional knowledge and beliefs as well as established ones to test for self-regulation and self-efficacy. The sample consists of 1,152 students at 24 German universities. The structure of the competence model was tested. Results suggest that professional competence in accounting has at least four distinct dimensions (CK, PCK, beliefs, and self-regulation aspects).     

An Insight into Professional Identity Formation: Qualitative Analyses of Two Reflection Interventions During the Dissection Course

The professional behavior of future doctors is increasingly important in medical education. One of the first subjects in the curriculum to address this issue is gross anatomy. The Tuebingen Medical Faculty implemented a learning portfolio and a seminar on medical professionalism during the dissection course. The aims of this research project are to get an overview of how students form a professional identity in the dissection course and to compare the content of both their oral and written reflections on the course. A qualitative analysis was conducted of the oral and written reflections on the dissection laboratory experience. This study was conducted during winter term 2013/2014 with a cohort of 163 participants in the regular dissection course. Written reflection texts (from n = 96 students) and audio recordings from four oral reflection seminar discussions (with n = 11 students) were transcribed and deductively categorized with Mayring’s qualitative content analysis method. Both qualitative analyses show that students reflected on many topics relevant to professional development, including empathy, respect, altruism, compassion, teamwork, and self-regulation. Quantitative analysis reveals that students who attended the oral reflection wrote significantly more in their written reflection than students who did not. There is, however, no difference in the reflection categories. Reflection content from students corresponds with categories derived from existing competency frameworks. Both the seminar (oral reflections) and the learning portfolio (written reflections) present excellent opportunities to foster professional development during anatomy education; the key is using them in conjunction with the dissection course.     

Prospective analysis of technological innovation systems: Identifying technological and organizational development options for biogas in Switzerland

In this article, we put forward a concept for the identification and analysis of future development options of technological innovation systems. The key element of our approach, the so-called variation analysis, is a methodology to identify coherent socio-technical and organizational variants within a specific innovation field. Consistent combinations of these two dimensions may be interpreted as nuclei for alternative future developments of innovation systems. The method may be used in discursive foresight processes to inform strategy formulation of firms or policy makers who see a utility in furthering the innovation field. The paper has a focus on developing the theoretical background and the analytical structure of the methodology. Empirically, we illustrate the method for the innovation system of biomass digestion in Switzerland.     

Lifelong learning – lifelong returns? A new theoretical framework for the analysis of civic returns on adult learning

Education is associated with a wide range of positive outcomes such as higher wages and employability, but also with increased well-being or volunteering. While previous research focused mainly on returns on formal education in schools or universities, there has been a notable shift in recent years towards the analysis of returns on adult learning. While research has established theory-driven empirical evidence concerning labour market-related outcomes, it fails to identify and coherently explain non-monetary outcomes. The authors of this article review 13 empirical studies on different forms of civic participation as a return on engagement in adult learning. Individuals’ civic participation is one precondition to social cohesion and functioning citizenship at a societal level and thus a factor of high political and societal relevance. All the studies reviewed in this article suggest a positive association between adult learning and civic engagement. To what extent this association is causal, however, remains an open question. The authors argue that any efforts to identify such causality must begin with a number of theoretical assumptions about the mechanisms through which learning may influence civic participation. By linking the theoretical ideas of the studies reviewed with the literature on volunteering, the authors suggest a new theoretical framework, which may guide further research.     

Follow‐up of a Cohort of Risk Children from Birth into Adolescence‐‐The Rostock Longitudinal Study

THE ROSTOCK Longitudinal Study commenced in 1970 and has prospectively monitored the development of children identified in the perinatal period as “at risk”. The aims of the study are to identify some of the factors contributing to inter‐individual differences in their development and to evaluate the prognostic significance of these factors. The results reported in the present paper underscore the limited prognostic value of single risk factors, the diminishing impact of organic perinatal risk factors over time, and the increasing importance of the psychosocial context in influencing developmental outcomes in childhood and adolescence.