Profils d’apprenti·e·s reflétant des tensions de rôle en formation professionnelle en alternance en Suisse

Role stress among apprentices are a key element in defining the quality of dual vocational education and training. However, few studies have examined the perceptions and importance of role tensions in this particular context. Accordingly, this contribution focuses on the role stress perceived by dual apprentices through a questionnaire survey. Latent profile analyses allowed to distinguish four apprentices’ profiles in terms of perceptions of role stress, ranging from minimal to prominent role stress. Differences in socio-demographic characteristics, motivation for choosing the training, professional identification, and intention to terminate the apprenticeship contract were also identified. The study provides information on the importance of considering apprentices as a heterogeneous population in terms of role stress, but also on the different motivational and identity issues associated with the profiles. Discussing such issues would also improve the learning experience.     

父母生涯相关行为和学前教育专业大学生专业满意度的关系：生涯适应力和生涯规划的中介作用

以600名学前教育专业大学生为被试,探讨了父母生涯相关行为 (支持、干涉和缺位) 和专业满意度 (6个月后) 的关系及生涯适应力和生涯规划的中介作用。结果表明：(1) 支持对专业满意度的直接预测作用不显著,是通过正向预测生涯适应力和生涯规划及生涯适应力→生涯规划这一序列中介作用间接预测专业满意度。(2) 干涉对专业满意度的直接预测作用不显著,但通过负向预测生涯适应力及生涯适应力→生涯规划这一序列中介作用间接预测专业满意度。     

The cultural background of the non‐academic concept of psychology in Japan: Its implications for introductory education in psychology

No research has empirically explored the non‐academic concept of psychology itself (implicit theories) in non‐Western cultures despite a widely held belief that this understanding differs cross‐culturally. This study examined whether the non‐academic concept of psychology among inexperienced Japanese students differed from the concept held by students of other countries. In Japanese, psychology is referred to as , which includes the ideographic character , literally meaning heart. This fact led us to hypothesize that psychology will be disproportionately associated with emotion among Japanese students. Indeed, our findings among Japanese students produced a J‐curve, indicating that our prediction was true. We posit that this issue has never been discussed in Japan because a majority of people share this concept of psychology. In our second study, we examined not only preference in students' association of intelligence or emotion but also heart or mind with psychology. Finally, we identified whether students' believe that psychology encompasses both the heart and the mind. We conclude with a discussion of the importance of explicitly defining the non‐academic concept of psychology in early psychology education in Japan.     

A randomized controlled pilot trial of classroom-based mindfulness meditation compared to an active control condition in sixth-grade children

The current study is a pilot trial to examine the effects of a nonelective, classroom-based, teacher-implemented, mindfulness meditation intervention on standard clinical measures of mental health and affect in middle school children. A total of 101 healthy sixth-grade students (55 boys, 46 girls) were randomized to either an Asian history course with daily mindfulness meditation practice (intervention group) or an African history course with a matched experiential activity (active control group). Self-reported measures included the Youth Self Report (YSR), a modified Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, and the Cognitive and Affective Mindfulness Measure –Revised. Both groups decreased significantly on clinical syndrome subscales and affect but did not differ in the extent of their improvements. Meditators were significantly less likely to develop suicidal ideation or thoughts of self-harm than controls. These results suggest that mindfulness training may yield both unique and non-specific benefits that are shared by other novel activities.     

The Influence of a Community-Based Service-Learning Experience on the Development of Occupational Therapy Students' Feelings of Civic Responsibility

This qualitative study examined the influence of service-learning on the development of Students' feelings of civic responsibility while involved with a community-based organization. Occupational therapy students involved in a semester-long service-learning experience maintained weekly reflective journals. Six such reflective journals were randomly selected for analysis. Findings revealed that while engaged in service-learning the six participants voiced themes of increased self-awareness, awareness of homeless individuals as persons, awareness of social issues, and professional self-efficacy. These developing competencies are associated with the skills required for health care professionals to participate in civic engagement and client advocacy.     

Efficacy of a Train-the-Trainer Curriculum for Increasing Occupational Therapists’ Mental Health Knowledge

The marked prevalence and under detection of affective disorders including depression in older adults is associated with poor functional outcomes and patient mortality. Although occupational therapists are trained in mental health assessment and intervention, these skills are underutilized in practice. A two-group wait-list control design was used to test a DVD-based educational curriculum to increase knowledge about depression in a sample of occupational therapists. The educational intervention was delivered using a train-the-trainer model. The train-the-trainer model was found to be effective and study results showed that knowledge increased significantly after the DVD training.     

Evaluating the impact of career management skills module and internship programme within a university business school

This study evaluates the impact of an intervention on business school graduates' employability comprising of a curriculum-based career management skills (CMS) module and an industrial placement year. The study uses data from the destinations of leavers of higher education survey to examine the employability of different groups within the cohort (no intervention, CMS module only and CMS module plus structured work experience). It finds that structured work experience has clear, positive effects on the ability of graduates to secure employment in ‘graduate level’ jobs within six months of graduation. Furthermore, participation in the CMS module also has a clear, positive effect upon the ability of participants to secure employment.     

Narrative identity: writing the self in career learning

We propose that writing can be employed to foster the kind of career learning required in the twenty-first century. The article offers insights into how writing exercises and approaches can be applied to help students construct their career stories in a way that allows them to engage in a dialogical learning process and work in a self-directed way. Creative, expressive and reflective writing practices are described and parallels are drawn between these and existing practices and theories in narrative career counselling. Key exercises in graduate courses for writing for personal development are discussed and a theoretical explanation is given as to why a particular order of approaches and exercises works best to promote career learning.     

CO‐CREATING CO‐CREATORS? THE “HUMAN FACTOR” IN EDUCATION

This article presents an example of the contributions the field of science and religion could offer to educational theory. Building on a narrative analysis of Philip Hefner's proposal to use “created co‐creator” as central metaphor for theological anthropology, the importance of culture is brought to the fore. Education should support a needed revitalization of our cultural heritage, and thus enable humanity to (re‐)connect with the global ecological network and with the divine as grounding source of this network. In the concluding reflections of this article, the possibility of a secular interpretation of “created co‐creator,” in which “God” is reduced to “evolution,” is assessed.     

Bifactor Models of Personality and College Student Performance: A Broad Versus Narrow View

Research in the area of personality traits and academic performance has been supported by consistent meta‐analytic evidence demonstrating positive relationships between Conscientiousness and grade point average (GPA). However, academic performance is not solely a function of GPA but also a number of other important intellectual, interpersonal and intrapersonal behaviours. This wider criterion space opens up the possibility for many personality factors and their underlying facets to relate to academic performance. Using bifactor latent variable modelling, the current study investigates the six‐factor HEXACO model of personality, along with their 24 underlying facets, for predicting students' academic performance. Model results reveal interpretable and meaningful relationships between both broad factors and narrow personality facets in predicting college student outcomes. Implications for measurement, modelling and prediction are discussed. Copyright © 2014 European Association of Personality Psychology