Professional skills development in a resource-poor setting: the case of pharmacy in Malawi

The dominance of the human capital approach in vocational skills development has been increasingly questioned for being de-humanised and de-contextualised. Contrary to this trend, the discourse in health professional skills development has shown increasing enthusiasm for consolidating this existing paradigm. To debate whether professional skills development should indeed be insulated from such scepticism, this paper examines one strategy adopted by the health professions. Called ‘task shifting’, this strategy involves re-delegating professional tasks to nonprofessional cadres according to a skills-based toolkit. Challenging the context-free approach to using this toolkit, this paper presents ethnographic evidence derived from a case study of pharmacy workforce issues in Malawi. It was found that task shifting was inhibited by a perception barrier about the moral and intellectual superiority of the pharmacists. Pharmacy technicians were judged to be unfit for a professional task because of a perceived lack of professional status, power and ethics. On tracing the origin of the inherent professional prowess assigned to the pharmacists, it was found that professionalism was an ideology borrowed from external sources, inter alia, colonial legacies and global health governance. This study exposes our hidden assumption about an axiomatic transferability of Anglo-American skills development models to a postcolonial, aid-dependent context. This paper therefore suggests redefining this toolkit by bridging health research into dialogue with non-health disciplinary concerns such as postcolonialism and aid-dependence. In conclusion, it argues that professional skills development is context-laden; and in need of a human-centred approach that involves true indigenous participation–challenges not unlike those faced by the vocational skills discourse.     

Skills for inclusive growth in South Africa: Promising tides amidst perilous waters

Skills development is critical to South Africa's development. It has been argued that South Africa's twin post-Apartheid challenges, poverty and unemployment requires a level of skills development not undertaken before (0300 and 0045). The creation of a separate ministry, the department of higher education and training (DHET), which has incorporated institutional entities from former Ministries of Education and Labour has engendered an expectation for the realisation of a co-ordinated and integrated post school education and training system. The establishment of this entity for the first time anticipates a coherent response to the education, training and skills development challenges faced by the country. The initial anticipation that this development will provide the basis for a coherent post-school education, training and skills development system, that is responsive to national development encapsulated by the notion of inclusive growth, have waned somewhat. In an attempt to link education and labour market more deliberately, it attempts to respond to both the education and labour market constituencies for greater synergy. The reality of success of a new institutional structure, within a wider structure embedded in the older pre-merged configuration, has proved more difficult than anticipated. The notion of ‘policy as boundary object’ is considered a critical missing element in the current re-positioning and the changed political circumstances represent a golden moment to do things differently. This paper explores the current structural re-configuration, as it has, and is likely to, impact on the skills development provisioning in the country. In particular, it focuses on the impact of current developments on the delivery of intermediate level skills, and the likely role of the beleaguered public FET Colleges (FETCs) in this regard. Whilst it is accepted that the current development is new and unlikely to have a track record, the current context is critically evaluated in terms of the potentials and challenges identified against the empirical experience of ten years of skills development in the country.     

Towards a Seamless Web or a New Tertiary Tripartism? The Emerging Shape of Post-14 Education and Training in England

ABSTRACT:?

Government policy aims at a ‘seamless web’ of learning provision. This is exemplified in a local Learning and Skills Council supported by work on widening participation to higher education (HE) in another London sub-region. The emerging system described is comprehended as a whole from ‘Foundation Learning’ in compulsory schooling to post-compulsory ‘Lifelong Learning’ in further, higher and continuing education and training thereafter.     

论“金针暗度”技法的审美意蕴

金针暗度作为诗文谋篇布局的一种重要方法,在文学作品中大量运用,具有特殊的艺术魅力,理应成为我们关注的课题。从文学评点史料出发,重点探讨评点家对金针暗度的批评指涉予以言说,其审美意蕴表现为:委婉含蓄,曲尽人意;轻笔点染,妙阐幽微;秘移潜换,巧妙布局。     

英语专业考试评价体系优化研究——以《综合英语课程》为例

分析了英语专业小班授课背景下,现行学科考试评价体系的不足之处。以《综合英语课程》为例,实现了考试体系的优化,分析其意义与价值,旨在为英语专业学科考试评价体系改革提供借鉴。     

模具设计与制造专业人才培养模式技能等级标准研究

本文介绍了模具设计与制造专业"职业活动导向技能三段式"人才培养模式的培养过程和三类技能培养的途径和方法,提出了三类技能的内涵、培养手段及观测点。以第二段专业技能为例,详细介绍了专业技能的等级标准。     

远程临床医学技能培训的实现

目前医学教育中的临床技能培养存在要求高、难度大、实践机会少等问题。虚拟现实、视音频、多媒体及计算机网络等技术的发展,为临床医学技能培养提供了一条新的途径。基于新疆生产建设兵团医疗现状和发展规划构建的远程医学临床技能培训平台,就远程教育与医学教育的结合进行探索,依托优质医学资源,利用卫星网络、互联网络和VPN专网以及现代信息技术,实现远程医学教育、协同诊断、手术观摩、三维虚拟手术实验等功能,缩短了医学院学生、各类医务人员从理论学习到临床具体操作的时间,提升了整体的临床技能综合水平。     

英汉视译理解策略与英语快速阅读技巧的认知相关性

英汉视译理解策略（顺句驱动、类意群断句）与英语快速阅读技巧（扫描、跳读）均服务于文本的快速理解,从认知心理层面讲,都是用于高效激活认知主体已有的非言语心理空间或动态整合已有的非言语心理空间而创生新的非言语心理空间。文本由线性句子构成,句子结构的心理实质是非言语心理空间在语言层面的在线空间部署模式。言语理解时,加工句子的过程是“线性、立体”的过程,其效率取决于结构清晰度和回视率。     

Exploring the competencies of information professionals for knowledge management in the information institutions of Bangladesh

The aim of the study is to explore the views of information professionals for knowledge management (KM) in the libraries/information institutions of Bangladesh.

This paper seeks to address the following research questions: How the information professionals of Bangladesh perceive the views of KM? What are likely to be the skills required by the information professionals of Bangladesh for KM in the libraries of Bangladesh? and what are likely to be the critical success factors for encouraging KM in the information institutions of Bangladesh?

The methodology includes a quantitative approach. The study has been conducted through a survey using a pre-structured questionnaire. A short and structured questionnaire was sent to 50 information professionals who had been working in different libraries in Bangladesh through email and/or by postal mail. The respondents were selected from six divisions of Bangladesh (25 respondents from Dhaka division, 5 each in Chittagong, Rajshahi, Khulna, Barishal and Sylhet divisions). Out of the 50 individuals sent the survey we received 30 responses, for a response rate 60%.

The results of the study show that that 93.24% of the respondents first read about KM in the literature, but none had taken any courses on KM. Only 6.76% of the respondents had attended a workshop on KM. Findings also yield most professionals believed that several competencies including those in: communication, facilitation, coaching, mentoring, networking, negotiating, consensus building, and team working were essential for KM in the libraries of Bangladesh. This paper also suggests some critical success factors for encouraging the information professionals to KM in the libraries of Bangladesh. It investigates the original views of the library and information professionals of Bangladesh regarding the skills and competences of information professionals for KM in the libraries of Bangladesh.

The department of Information Science and Library Management of Dhaka University and Rajshahi University should introduce KM course(s) either in the graduate level or in the post-graduate level.     

Staff involvement in the design of a key skills curriculum model: a case-study

This case-study follows a school as it struggles to prepare for the changes brought about by Curriculum 2000 and the new key skills qualification. It describes the curriculum debate within the senior management team as it balanced the conflicting needs of subject popularity and necessity. It relates how inherent structural flaws were uncovered in the proposed curriculum strategy, how this very failure was used as an opportunity to initiate staff involvement in the design of curriculum structures and how success was subsequently fashioned from the process. It is a story of failure, consideration, reflection and improvement, and offers some insight into the lessons learned by management and teaching staff as they reflect on the process of change and their own participation in it.