Dissertations / Theses: 'Continuing professional development'

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Immonen, K. (Kati). "Continuing professional development of medical laboratory professionals." Bachelor's thesis, University of Oulu, 2018. http://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:oulu-201805221864.

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The aim of the bachelor study was to find out what kind of experiences continuing professional development (CPD) has received in medical laboratories and how it has been implemented through a literature review. The purpose of the study was to find and compile the literature review as up-to-date research data on the importance of continuing education in medical laboratories. The literature review has been carried out by adapting a systematic literature review. The literature review material was obtained utilizing nursing reference databases from CINAHL, PubMed, Ovid Medline, Scopus, Medic and a few international journals. Research material (n = 8) was selected for the material, whose main subject was continuing professional development and medical laboratory. CPD is used to improve knowledge and skills with various categories and tools but there is similarities and differences in CPD implementation. CPD must be continuous throughout the professional career and it should be based on time- cycles of reasonable duration. Medical laboratory professionals with dozens of years of experience feels that they need less CPD activities than recently qualified laboratory professionals. The laboratory professional keeps important to increase their learning and development of their skills with continual encouragement. Research has shown that CPD has been recognized as an important part of professional development and the use of various tools, such as internet-based, makes it effective. The use of a systematic CPD program should be constantly evaluated to identify the most effective ways of developing professional skills. CPD should be time bounded but there is variation in duration and volume. The use of time and experience years will affect the successful implementation of the CPD.

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Davids, Julia M. "Continuing professional development in nursing." Thesis, Link to the online version, 2006. http://hdl.handle.net/10019/1617.

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Muller, Jan. "Electrical engineering professionals’ continuing professional development needs within one South African company." Thesis, Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/96694.

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Thesis (MPhil)--Stellenbosch University, 2015.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The aim of the study performed in 2014 was to identify what the Continuing Professional Development (CPD) needs are of a selected group of electrical engineering professionals from one company in South Africa. The interpretivist research paradigm formed the basis for the “Interactive Qualitative Analysis” methodology used in the study. Due to limitations research was focused on only one constituency, a selected group of electrical engineering professionals in one organisation, which is close to, but have very little power over the specific phenomenon of CPD. Research activities included conducting focus group and individual interviews with participants to gain a better understanding of identified problem through the analysis and interpretation of the collected data. The phenomenon of CPD was found to lie within the spectrum of lifelong learning. Due to increasingly fast changing technological and work environments, practicing professionals take part in professional development, if it is compulsory or not, in order to stay competitive in the global arena. Research has shown that compulsory CPD for registered engineering professionals may further their professional development. From the “Possible Implications for CPD Provision for Engineering Professionals” document several issues and concerns were identified, which influence engineering professionals’ perception of the professional body. The CPD system and CPD provision facilitated by the Engineering Council of South Africa (ECSA) may be one of the key reasons why many practicing engineers choose not to register professionally. Through this study the perceived and proposed CPD needs for the selected group of electrical engineering professionals have been identified, but to identify the actual needs of practicing engineering professionals in South Africa, a more detailed study will need to be done that should include all the constituencies that practice within the engineering environment or have any influence on the CPD phenomenon. The study also identified aspects that could help to improve the CPD system and the available CPD initiatives, and enhance the leadership from the professional body. This may positively influence the perception of practicing engineering professionals. Such positive perceptions could result in more practicing engineering professionals registering with ECSA and maintaining their professional registration.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die doel van die studie uitgevoer in 2014 was om die Voortgesette Professionele Ontwikkeling (VPO) behoeftes van ‘n geselekteerde groep elektriese ingenieurs van een maatskappy in Suid-Afrika te bepaal. Die interpretatiewe navorsingsparadigma het die “Interaktiewe Kwalitatiewe Analise” metodologie wat gebruik is in die studie onderlê. Binne die studie beperkinge is gefokus op slegs een konstituensie, ‘n geselekteerde groep professionele elektriese ingenieurs binne een organisasie, wie digby die spesifieke fenomeen van VPO funksioneer, maar baie beperkte mag daaroor het. Navorsingsaktiwiteite het fokusgroeponderhoude en individuele onderhoude met deelnemers ingesluit om ‘n beter begrip van die geïdentifiseerde probleem te verkry deur analise en interpretasie van die ingesamelde data. Die fenomeen van VPO lê binne die spektrum van lewenslange leer. As gevolg van ‘n toenemend snel veranderende tegnologiese en werksomgewing, neem professionele praktisyns deel aan professionele ontwikkeling, of dit verpligtend is of nie, en bly sodoende kompeterend in die globale arena. Maar navorsing het ook bewys dat verpligte VPO vir geregistreerde ingenieurspraktisyns hul professionele ontwikkeling tot voordeel kan strek. Vanuit die “Possible Implications for CPD Provision for Engineering Professionals” dokument is verskeie kwessies en knelpunte geïdentifiseer wat professionele ingenieurs se persepsies van die professionele liggaam mag beïnvloed. Die VPO sisteem en VPO verskaffing wat deur die Suid-Afrikaanse Raad vir Ingenieurswese (SARI) gefasiliteer word, mag een van die kernredes wees waarom vele ingenieurspraktisyns kies om nie professioneel te registreer nie. Die perseptuele en voorgestelde VPO behoeftes van ‘n geselekteerde groep professionele elektriese ingenieurspraktisyns is geïdentifiseer in hierdie studie, maar om die werklike behoeftes van professionele ingenieurspraktisyns in die breër Suid-Afrikaanse konteks te bepaal is ‘n meer gedetailleerde studie nodig wat al die konstituensies insluit wat praktiseer binne die ingenieursomgewing of die VPO fenomeen in dié konteks beïnvloed. Die studie het ook aspekte identifiseer wat kan help om die huidige VPO sisteem en insiatiewe te verbeter, en die leierskap van die professionele liggaam tot voordeel kan strek. Dit mag ‘n positiewe invloed hê op die persepsies van professionele ingenieurspraktisyns. Diesulke positiewe persepsies kan lei tot meer professionele ingenieurspraktisyns wat registreer by SARI en hul professionele registrasie byhou.

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Tantranont, Nuttiya. "Continuing professional development for teachers in Thailand." Thesis, University of Warwick, 2009. http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/2242/.

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Continuing Professional Development (CPD) of teachers has been seen as one of a key element to improve teacher quality and the quality of education in many countries, as well as in Thailand. The current Thai education reforms have recognized the importance of CPD for teachers to maintain and update their knowledge and skills to be able to teach students effectively. They also recognized the need of effective leadership in schools to lead, manage, and support teachers in order to achieve such change. The purpose of this study is to support CPD experiences for teachers to enhance teaching practice and improve student achievement. It was undertaken using a combined methods investigations of both quantitative and qualitative data to understand the current situation of CPD experiences for teachers in Thailand, and extend the knowledge of effective CPD. The study covered respondents from a survey of teachers, and the interviews of headteachers and teachers from selected schools in Chiang Mai, which is located in the North of the country. It was concluded in the study that most respondents were appreciated opportunities for CPD and valued the benefits of CPD to teachers, students, and the schools as a whole. With the increased expectations for highly qualified teachers, all schools need to provide the necessary support for teachers through a range of CPD experiences to enable them to teach to high standards. CPD must be of the highest quality to be effective in order to enhance the teaching practice and student achievement. The study hope that the results and information provided here would be valuable for anyone who are interested in, as well as those who are responsible for an improvement and implementation of CPD.

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Byles, Sharon M. "An investigation into farmers' continuing professional development." Thesis, University of Reading, 2010. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.529990.

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Continuing Professional Development (CPD) is an integral part of most careers, particularly where practitioners have to deal with challenges of technological change and advances in knowledge along with economic, institutional and political uncertainties. CPD is undertaken across a wide spectrum of professions, but what it consists of, and how it should be implemented to develop a career, are aspects of CPD that are not completely understood. Public demand for accountability of professional conduct reinforces the role that CPD plays in maintaining and improving professional effectiveness and competencies. CPD is encouraged within professions as the assumption is that it is beneficial and that by undertaking CPD a professional upholds standards. In these respects, farming is no exception. Evidence that this is the case is less obvious and because many of the outcomes of CPD can only be examined subjectively, rigorous evaluation is problematic. CPD is investigated, first generically, to gain a better understanding of its purpose and nature, looking at systems in place across organisations and how its success is assessed. This research has explored patterns of CPD among farmers, focusing on the relationship between CPD and the farmer and farm business. A multi-method approach began with a review of the existing literature which directed the design of the initial Vocational Training Scheme (VTS) survey conducted in the South West of England to obtain baseline information on CPD undertaken by farmers. Statistical investigation of relationships between farmers and farm characteristics and CPD identified influential factors, from which a model was developed predicting which farmers are likely to act after the CPD has been undertaken. Cluster analysis was applied to determine two overarching types of farmers: those undertaking 'Dynamic CPD' and 'Occasional CPD', which sub-divided into four distinct types: Progressive Professionals, Secure Socialisers, Change Followers and Change Resistant. Each type has homogeneous CPD patterns associated with farm and personal characteristics. Subsequently, the Farm Business Survey (FBS) containing large, national data sets was used to test the inferences drawn from the previous part of the research, and answer questions that could not have been addressed by using the VTS survey alone. The influential factors that have been identified include the farmer's level of education, attributes of the farmer's approach to management information, features of the CPD undertaken, and farm characteristics, all as linked to patterns of CPD. It is concluded that farmers have CPD inputs comparable to other professions, although initially farmers underestimate their CPD activity. The farmers who are most active in CPD take action and apply CPD when making changes to their business. Typically, these farmers have a high education level, are from large or intensive farms and their business is involved in discussion groups and benchmarking. This research recognises the distinction between CPD as a management process and a training programme as an event. The reported outcomes and their implications for the farming industry provides a sound basis for discussion and development of the thinking on CPD for farmers and all those involved in farmers' CPD.

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O''''Loan, Laura. "Continuing professional development (CPD) for pharmacists : implications for professional practice." Thesis, Queen's University Belfast, 2017. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.728387.

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This study considered the Continuing Professional Development (CPD) activities that pharmacists undertook, and the implications this had for their professional practice. CPD is mandatory for pharmacists, who are required to undertake self-directed, unstructured learning. However, some have recommended using a more structured approach for CPD which is over an above this baseline educational approach required by the pharmacy regulators. The purpose of CPD is to improve professional practice, although there is little evidence in the literature to demonstrate this. Engagement in extended patient care activities, as recommended in current healthcare policies in Northern Ireland, was taken to be improved professional practice in this study. A postpositivist methodological approach was used. Quantitative data was collected using an online questionnaire which was emailed to all qualified pharmacists in Northern Ireland (n = 2201). After two follow-ups there were 419 respondents (19%). Two multiple response sets were created; one for CPD activities and one for professional practices. Geometric coding was then used to convert this multiple response data into categorical variables, allowing the relationship between CPD and professional practices to be analysed statistically. The professional activities that pharmacists engaged in were found to be influenced by the CPD activities they had undertaken. Pharmacists who undertook solely unstructured learning had the highest incidence of engagement in semi-professional activities that can be undertaken by any member of the pharmacy team. Almost a third of these pharmacists engaged in some extended patient care practice. Professional practice was not improved by adopting a cognitive approach to structured or semi-structured learning. However, an improvement was seen when a constructivist component was used. It was concluded that active participation in practice activities improved the application of learning in the workplace, whereas separating theory from practice did not.

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Arnold, Amy Joan. "Constructing Guidelines for Practicing Professionals Teaching Continuing Professional Development in Online Environments." Diss., Virginia Tech, 2020. http://hdl.handle.net/10919/99054.

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Professionals called upon to design and deliver online professional development face unique challenges in fulfilling those roles when they may have little or no training experience within the online medium. Using research-based recommendations from the literature via a design and development methodology, this study operationalizes findings into Gilbert's (1978) Behavior Engineering Model to create guidelines for designing and delivering continuing professional development within the online medium. An expert review serves to validate and lead the revision process for the guidelines. This study describes the literature, guideline development, experts' reviews, and the validation of the guidelines.
Doctor of Philosophy
Often, individuals in the workforce are asked to design and teach professional development that is not delivered in a face to face setting. It is a challenging task that could be made easier by following guidance that has been developed by instructional designers and researchers. As such, this study highlights the techniques and best practices located within the publications from the fields of professional development, online learning, and instructional design. These techniques and best practices have been organized into a performance improvement model established by Thomas F. Gilbert entitled The Behavior Engineering Model (1978) and follows the research method known as development research. The findings of this study were reviewed by three experts who research the areas of online learning, performance improvement, and instructional design.

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Favell, Ian K. "Institute of Management Continuing Professional Development (IM-CPD)." Thesis, Middlesex University, 2001. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.567900.

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This report summarises the key activities of the IM-CPD project, and explores in a reflexive manner the investigative processes used in achieving an innovative output - the publication on the Internet of the "Smart Continuing Professional Development Scheme". The IM-CPD project is a portfolio project, comprising a number of discrete activities linked by this common outcome, and this report builds on this investigation and experience by a further exploration of what it means to be a portfolio worker in the context of management development (the context of this project). The report concludes by detailing the very wide audience and huge impact which this project will have on 1M Membership and the management community at large, and provides examples of the significant internal publications which are inherent features of the major project and its external publication. Finally, the report explores a metaphor which more closely characterises portfolio working than previously published models - portfolio working as a Lava Lamp. Key conclusions and recommendations are drawn together, many of which have already been actioned within the timeframe of this study, leading to further ongoing recommendations which include: A wider range of "recognitions" should be identified as reward for effective participation in the IM-CPD scheme • Greater attention should be paid to the actual Process of 1M meetings. • Greater attention should be paid to contractual issues when the 1M offers parcels of work. • Further exploration of Boundaries and Tensions in portfolio working should be undertaken, to lead to potential conference publication of portfolio working issues. • Personal review of the whole DProfprocess should be undertaken, to identify further personal learning which can enhance my professional work in designing and running management development programmes.

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Trentham, Joan. "Continuing Professional Education: Priority Resources for Leadership Development." Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University, 1992. https://dc.etsu.edu/etd/2811.

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The purpose of this study was to determine those resources that selected leadership development experts rated as most effective in discovering and fostering the continuing professional development of leaders. In this descriptive study, three research questions were formulated. A modified version of Hunter's reputational technique was used to collect data through a snowball sampling of the selected population. In phase 1 of the study, a survey was developed, validated, and mailed to 56 LEADership directors in all 50 states, yielding 34 (64%) returns, which were used in creation of the final questionnaire. In phase 2 of the study, the final instrument, including 256 identified resources, was developed, validated, and mailed to 220 experts in leadership development identified in the initial survey. A return of 88 (40%) of the questionnaires identified leadership development resources that selected experts rated as effective. The 19 instruments, 128 books or other printed materials, 32 audio or video tapes, and 77 programs identified through the initial survey were rated either "not effective", "somewhat effective", "effective", or "very effective" on a likert-type scale.

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Taylor, Suzanne. "Pediatric Nurses' Perceptions of Continuing Professional Development Opportunities." ScholarWorks, 2015. https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/558.

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With the growth in healthcare research and rapid changes in technology, nurses' participation in lifelong learning is a critical factor in providing excellent patient care. However, many nurses encounter difficulties engaging in continuing professional development (CPD) activities. The purpose of this case study was to understand pediatric nurses' perceptions of CPD opportunities at a tertiary, freestanding, children's hospital in Southern California. Social cognitive theory was the framework for the study. Interviews and focus groups were conducted with a purposeful sample of 39 nurses comprised of day- and night-shift nurses plus nurse managers. The data were coded into categories and themes to explain the findings; the resulting 7 themes illustrated how these nurses perceived CPD. The nurses identified motivators and barriers that influenced their involvement in CPD activities. Most nurses reported that they were able to incorporate new knowledge into their practice and produce excellent patient outcomes but some nurses expressed instances of resistance and practice not supported with evidence-based approaches to care. Although the nurses found the programs adequate, they recommended ideas for improvement, including a need for leadership and management development. A project aimed at providing nurse managers with professional development in leadership was created to improve CPD. The project could improve the nursing profession by helping educators enhance CPD to support nurses in delivering high-quality patient care, thus supporting the healing and well-being of children under their care.

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Crocker, Judith Leslie. "Continuing professional development and curriculum development: enhancing teacher satisfaction andcommitment." Thesis, The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong), 2005. http://hub.hku.hk/bib/B35339883.

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Roberts, Anne Elizabeth. "Occupational therapists' thinking and its development following continuing professional development." Thesis, University of Exeter, 2002. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.394337.

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Scannell, Michael Francis. "The modelling of career options and Continuing Professional Development." Thesis, University of Bedfordshire, 1998. http://hdl.handle.net/10547/333009.

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The aim of the research was to generate a model of the interactions between career options and the concept of continuing professional development. Professional development has, in many professions and organisations, become synonymous with managerial development, but the developmental needs of individuals who wish to remain in a professional role may differ from the developmental needs of individuals in a management role. Teachers were chosen as the professional group to be tested. Fifty-four teachers, all volunteers, from six secondary schools were separately interviewed under a structured format, and were also invited to complete a number of questionnaires. From analysis of the interviews and questionnaires a model of teachers' career options was produced which identified three main categories of teachers: senior managers (headteachers or deputy headteachers); aspirants to a senior manager's role; and classroom teachers. The analysis also identified a number of main factors, and sub-factors, that affected the obtaining of one of the three categories and each of the factors was developed through a targeted literature search and through analysis of the structured interviews. An additional number of factors that related only to classroom teachers were also analysed in a similar manner. Also investigated are how teachers plan their career, and the value of continuing professional development. The model of career options was then tested on members of two similar professions -midwives and nurses. Completion of the research resulted in a proposed model of career options and recommendations for continuing professional development for each option. Together the model and recommendations represent an original contribution to knowledge.

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Arunachallam, Sathasivan. "The development of a model for continuing professional development for professional nurses in South Africa." Thesis, University of the Western Cape, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/11394/2377.

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Philosophiae Doctor - PhD
Comparative analysis of the CPD systems internationally and nationally revealed that CPD is mandatory for some whilst for other countries it is compulsory, but not mandatory for licensing purposes. Licensing occurs on a yearly basis, but CPD recognition is accredited over a time period with expiry deadlines and minimum requirements. A portfolio was a common method of recording and proof of evidence for CPD, and a continuous theme was that CPD is needed to ensure competency. The Nursing Act 33 of 2005 makes provision for CPD for nurses but to date the South African Nursing Council has not yet decided on a model of CPD for implementation for SA nurses.
South Africa

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Crocker, Judith Leslie. "Continuing professional development and curriculum development enhancing teacher satisfaction and commitment /." Click to view the E-thesis via HKUTO, 2005. http://sunzi.lib.hku.hk/hkuto/record/B35339883.

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Devlin, Linda. "Higher education partnerships for continuing professional development in education." Thesis, Keele University, 2002. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.288432.

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Wood, Patricia Lynn. "Continuing professional development of nurse lecturers : a case study." Thesis, Open University, 2009. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.631245.

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Ashton, Jill. "Continuing education : study of the professional development of therapists." Thesis, University of Essex, 1992. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.306088.

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Crawford, Karin. "Continuing professional development in higher education : voices from below." Thesis, University of Lincoln, 2009. http://eprints.lincoln.ac.uk/2146/.

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The purpose of this research is to further understanding of faculty-based academics’ views on what influences their understandings, behaviours and attitudes towards their continuing professional development. Informed by critical realist ontology, it is argued that it is necessary to explore academics’ understandings and accounts of professional development in their practice context in order to gain a better understanding of the complexity and differential practices that underlie professional development in academia. In doing so, the research addresses the current under-representation in the literature of the voices of faculty academics about what influences their approaches to professional development. The data collection was carried out during the academic year 2007-8, using a qualitative multi-case study approach. Methods included semi-structured, narrative interviews with academics, more structured interviews with ‘key informants’ and examination of relevant institutional documents. Findings from this research have enabled new themes and areas for reflection to emerge about the constraints and enablements academics perceive in respect of their professional development. In particular, themes such as issues of interpretation and meaning; concepts of professional status and academic values; misaligned initiatives and priorities; the influence of supportive networks; and emergent personal, individual concerns have surfaced. The conclusion is drawn that the significance of agency raises the importance of opening the debate and responding to the ‘voices from below’.

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Maesaroh, Imas. "Education and continuing professional development for Indonesian academic librarians." Thesis, Curtin University, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/77.

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Indonesia has a rapidly developing higher education system, but previous evidence suggests that it is inadequately served by academic libraries and librarians. This research sets out to examine this phenomenon in light of Indonesia status as a developing nation with a history of recent improvements in higher education. Despite the injection of additional funding the impact has yet to be felt in terms of the role or status of the academic library services and librarians.The particular focus of the research is on the skills and abilities of academic library staff. This issue examined in terms of the emerging roles required of academic librarians, and the subsequent changes to formal library and information science (LIS) education and continuing professional development (CPD) that are necessary in order to equip academic librarians with the skills and abilities they require.The study addresses the following research question: What changes are needed to the education and continuing professional development of Indonesian academic librarians to optimize the development and delivery of academic library services?To answer this research question, the project addresses the following objectives: a. Assess the current and required level of education qualifications of librarians working in Indonesian academic libraries. b. Assess the current and required level of continuing professional development of librarians working in Indonesian academic libraries. c. Analyze the perception of Indonesian academic librarians regarding their role in developing library services and in supporting academic quality. d. Analyze the perception of university and library managers in Indonesian higher education about the current and future role of academic librarians. e. Assess the role of education and continuing professional development in the delivery of services by Indonesian academic libraries, when compared to other factors in the development of those services. f. Develop recommendations to improve the effectiveness of library and information science education in Indonesia and its support of the country’s academic library services.The methodologies used include an extensive quationnaire survey of librarians and library managers working in Indonesian public universities. Both questionnaires are based on recent similar Australian surveys in order to provide comparable data to a fully developed higher education and academic library system. In addition, interviews were conducted with twenty-two participants, consisting of academic lirarians, academic library managers, university managers, heads of LIS schools and heads of relevant professional associations.The outcome consists of a series of thirteen recommendations aimed at transforming the Indonesian LIS education and CPD for academic librarians. The recommendations include consideration of the minimum formal education requirements for Indonesian academic librarians, the need to extend access to education by the use of distance learning, and the role of the Indonesian Librarians Association (Ikatan Pustakawan Indonesia).

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Hobbs, Lisa Rose. "Australasian paramedic attitudes and perceptions about continuing professional development." Thesis, Queensland University of Technology, 2019. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/134081/1/Lisa%20Rose%20Hobbs%20Thesis_Redacted.pdf.

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This study utilised constructivist grounded theory to explore the attitudes, engagement and perception of current Australasian paramedics in relation to CPD. The study found paramedics have not significantly modified their engagement in CPD/LLL despite professional registration. There is, however some confusion surrounding what constitutes CPD. Furthermore, education appears to be a new form of hierarchical stigmatisation within the paramedic culture. The study facilitated the creation of a framework of paramedic CPD, which includes CPD models; PDP; reflective practices; and LLL. The framework acknowledges professional, industrial, social, personal, political, organisational and economic factors which influence or change paramedic engagement in CPD.

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Brown, Julie Miller. "Professional Development| The Teacher's Perspective." Thesis, Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville, 2013. http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=3572656.

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The purpose of this study was to explore teacher experiences, attitudes, feelings, and beliefs regarding professional development in order to plan professional development in the future. Eighteen teachers, the elementary school improvement coordinator, and elementary principal were interviewed or participated in a focus group, in a semi-structured environment using a set of questions to gather data. Financial records for professional development expenditures, teacher credentials, agendas from professional development activities, school calendars, and grants were reviewed to get a better understanding of past professional development in the district. This research indicates that teachers: (a) are unsure whether professional development improves teacher quality and/or student achievement (b) have had a lot of diverse professional development experiences; (c) like professional development that is interactive, easily implemented, and applicable; (d) feel more time needs to be allocated for professional development; (e) do not feel they are involved in the planning process of professional development; and, (f) that there's a lack accountability, sustainability, and focus related to professional development. Implications can be generalized for all teachers, but more specifically, from this research for this individual district.

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Kyeongsoon, Kim. "Science teachers' professional learning in the context of a continuing professional development course." Thesis, University College London (University of London), 2013. http://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/10020763/.

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Teachers' professional development has been one of the crucial aspects of educational change to make a difference to students' learning. Teacher development involves various conditions for learning and a complex interrelationship between the learning conditions. Numerous factors influencing teacher development have been identified and most of them are dependent on an individual teacher's learning conditions. While each teacher's conditions are different from another's, differentiated approaches have been little considered in continuing professional development (CPD) courses. This research examined how science teachers learn in the context of attending a CPD course. The research focused on two science CPD courses that took place in the Science Learning Centre London in 2006. Five types of data were collected including video-recording of the courses, face-to-face interviews, questionnaire surveys, documentation of the course details, and the mid-course tasks. An analytical framework is developed focusing on the interrelationship between the teachers, their schools and the CPD courses. This study confirms that teachers' professional developr ent is an outcome of the interaction between teachers' individual resources a. Id surrounding learning conditions. Teachers' professional backgrounds and contexts determine their needs, and school culture and policy influences the effectiveness of teacher learning. The research reveals that teachers differ in the value they place on a CPD course, and the courses have limited impact on teachers when teachers' needs are not effectively addressed. The lack of time and insufficient support in school are also identified as major obstacles against teachers' professional development while school culture and policy play a critical role in teacher development. This thesis offers implications for CPD programme providers to facilitate effective professional development courses.

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Kingery, Linda S. "Understanding E-Learning as Professional Development for Rural Child Welfare Professionals." ScholarWorks, 2018. https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/4928.

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Ongoing professional development is an integral part of a child welfare agency's strategy toward the provision of services to children and families involved with a child welfare intervention. Electronic learning (E-Learning) is popular as a fiscally responsible and flexible way to deliver such trainings. There is a gap in the research addressing the problem of how child welfare professionals are motivated to engage in the E-learning process. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore the perceptions of child welfare professionals regarding their motivation to use an agency provided E-learning program. Eight child welfare professionals employed by a Midwestern private child welfare agency participated in semi-structured interviews, which were audio recorded and transcribed verbatim. A pattern matching logic model was used to extrapolate relevant themes. The themes from this study were that work environment, irrelevance of content, and emotional aspects of child welfare work were barriers to engaging in E-learning during a work day. The implications for positive social change are that using E-learning as a delivery system for training in child welfare needs to be combined with a concerted effort to develop programs that first consider the work environment of the child welfare professional and the relevance of content. Providing more effective training is expected to result in better trained workers, which leads to more effective child welfare interventions. More effective child welfare interventions are needed to resolve the current crisis within the field of child welfare, which protects one of society's most vulnerable populations.

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Wermke, Wieland. "Development and Autonomy : Conceptualising teachers’ continuing professional development in different national contexts." Doctoral thesis, Stockholms universitet, Institutionen för pedagogik och didaktik, 2013. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:su:diva-86705.

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This thesis investigates teachers’ perceptions of continuing professional development (CPD) in Germany and Sweden with a questionnaire study comprising a total of 711 mainly lower secondary teachers. Three conceptual terms are elaborated and explained. Teachers act in a CPD marketplace that is constituted by several sources of knowledge which offer opportunities for teachers’ development. How teachers act in the marketplace is a key part of their CPD culture. The study reveals similarities in the two cases regarding the importance of colleagues as well as informal development activities, but there are also significant differences. One the one hand, German teachers can be described as more active in their CPD than their Swedish colleagues in relation to particular aspects of their profession such as assessment, and more suspicious of knowledge from elsewhere, on the other. In order to understand the differences, I argue for an extended focus on the impact of the national context, in terms of socially and historically significant structures and traditions of the teaching profession. The thesis focuses on a crucial aspect with a particular explanatory value for differing CPD tendencies in various national contexts: Autonomy from a governance perspective. This phenomenon, which does indeed change across time and space, is investigated from a socio-historical perspective in both contexts, building on Margaret Archer’s analytic dualism of structure and agency, and a dual pronged model of teacher autonomy. The latter distinguishes institutional autonomy, regarding legal or status issues, from service autonomy related to the practical issues in schools and classrooms. Since these dimensions can be either extended or restricted, different categories evolve which enable us to understand the differences between the two cases. Finally, by using the findings on the German and Swedish teaching profession, a theoretical framework is presented that relates the certain forms of teacher autonomy in particular national contexts to likely CPD cultures that teachers share.

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Knight, Stephen. "An incremental approach to continuing professional development for registered nurses." Thesis, Middlesex University, 2014. http://eprints.mdx.ac.uk/13551/.

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Alam, Mehmood. "Investigating the effectiveness of continuing professional development in project management." Thesis, University of Manchester, 2009. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.506590.

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Chen, Hsin-Heng. "Physical education teachers career and continuing professional development in Taiwan." Thesis, Loughborough University, 2012. https://dspace.lboro.ac.uk/2134/10179.

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This study investigates physical education (PE) teachers careers and professional development in the context of Taiwanese junior high schools (pupils aged 12-14), where a national educational reform the Grade 1-9 Curriculum was launched in 2001. In particular, from teachers perspectives, this study addresses questions about (1) how and why selected Taiwanese PE teachers engage in professional learning over their careers; (2) the impact of the introduction of a new curriculum and policies; (3) ways in which professional learning could be supported more effectively. Eight case study PE teachers, who simultaneously worked as local coordinators, were invited as participants. Life history method was followed by data analysis using constructivist grounded theory to generate findings at three levels: individual life histories, cross-case themes and a theoretical framework. In addition, the process of data analysis, both manually and using a popular software package, is critically compared. The findings suggest that teachers beliefs about professional development were closely connected to their individual career histories, and these were influenced by a set of personal and contextual factors in relation to their professional lives. Moreover, despite a major government curriculum reform, the implementation of the new curriculum resulted in very little change to these teachers practices, because: (1) the curriculum guidelines were very flexible and were difficult for teachers to fully understand; and (2) there was a lack of evaluation of, or accountability for, teachers practices. This study suggests that the Taiwanese government s aspirations for radical changes to teachers practice (both teaching and learning) are more likely to be realised by ensuring that policies and the new curriculum are based on a more realistic understanding of teachers lives and careers.

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Kiemle, Gundi. "Reflective practice and continuing professional development among qualified clinical psychologists." Thesis, University of Hull, 2008. http://hydra.hull.ac.uk/resources/hull:6695.

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Reflective Practice (RP) and Continuing Professional Development (CPD) have become key concepts in the post-qualification education and training of healthcare professionals, linked to maintaining and improving competence and fitness to practice in a modernised health service. There is little empirical research about this in relation to clinical psychologists. This qualitative study explored how clinical psychologists experience RP and CPD and apply this to their professional practice. A focus group generated the topics for 16 semi-structured interviews with a diverse range of qualified clinical psychologists practising in a Strategic Health Authority Region in England. Using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis, four higher-order themes and associated sub-themes emerged: (1) clinical psychologists as reflective practitioners, including the understanding of reflection, influences on development, and reflection and professional identity; (2) the reflective space, including supervision, enablers and obstacles in reflective practice; (3) functions of CPD and reflection, including quality and enhanced service provision, safety and clinical governance, and professional requirements; and (4) linking reflection and CPD, including the link between reflection and action, reflective practice as CPD, and CPD and life-long learning. Seven second interviews were conducted for member-validation, and a final focus group was convened for triangulation and validation of the thematic analysis. The findings are related to the existing literature, and to learning theory and attachment theory. The relevance of this research is discussed in relation to clinical psychology practice and the implications for training and CPD. The importance of the present findings to the issue of the professional identity of clinical psychologists is outlined, and suggestions for future research are proposed.

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Henwood, Suzanne M. "Continuing professional development in diagnostic radiography : a grounded theory study." Thesis, London South Bank University, 2005. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.288095.

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Omar, Bassam. "Developing continuing professional development (CPD) leadership in further education (FE)." Thesis, University of Birmingham, 2015. http://etheses.bham.ac.uk//id/eprint/6181/.

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This study develops understandings of CPD leadership development in an FE college in Cambridgeshire through an exploration of the practices and perspectives of CPD and senior leaders. The research methodology used semi-structured interviews to capture accounts of the experiences and perspectives of ten CPD leaders and seven Senior Management Team members (SMT) as they described their perceptions and interpretations of the term CPD, their individual roles and responsibilities, how CPD leaders were supported in their professional development and finally the challenges and barriers they encountered while carrying out their CPD leadership roles. The findings show that CPD tended to be implemented at the college on an ad hoc basis, and seems to assume a distributed leadership style. Despite the distributed modes of leadership that appeared to underpin implementation of CPD across the college, decisions about the content of CPD provision tended to be shaped by institutional priorities identified by members of the senior management team. CPD leaders and teachers appeared to be excluded from the process of CPD planning and policy development.

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Jooste, Susina M. "A curriculum framework for continuing professional development in culinary studies." Thesis, Link to the online version, 2007. http://hdl.handle.net/10019/645.

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Cooper, Barry. "The assessment profession? : towards a re-construction of continuing professional development in social work." Thesis, University of Bristol, 2006. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.432687.

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Lucas, Brian J. "Continuing Professional Education for Licensed Accountants in Tennessee." Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University, 2017. https://dc.etsu.edu/etd/3318.

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Accounting is a professional occupation that is continually evolving and requires a dedication to continuing education to meet the legal demands of new regulations and to maintain professional competency. Continuing Professional Education (CPE) is required by state boards for certified public accountants (CPA) to meet these requirements and to maintain professional competence. CPAs are responsible for complying with all applicable CPE requirements, rules, and regulations of state boards of accountancy, as well as those of other professional organizations. The purpose of this study was to determine the opinions of CPAs about the current requirements for CPE and to determine their level of satisfaction with the content and delivery of CPE instruction. CPE has come under scrutiny in recent years with some professionals questioning if the needs of accounting professional and the objectives of continuing education are being met. This survey research included 23 Likert-type items and 5 demographic questions. The survey was administered to 203 licensed certified public accountants to obtain their opinions about continuing education. The 5 dimensions of the survey were: Value (cost benefit), Delivery (methods and quality), Benefit to Self, Benefit to Others, and Barriers (to obtaining CPE). These dimensions were compared across the demographic variables of gender, years of experience, type of business, number of employees, and position with their employer. No significant differences were found among the 5 dimensions between gender or among different positions. Significant differences did occur among the Dimension of Value opinions based on years of experience, among the Dimension of Value opinions based on type of business, among Dimension of Benefit to Self based on type of business, among the Dimension of Value based on number of employees, and among the Dimension of Benefit to Others based on number of employees.

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Graham-Johnson, Judith. "Incorporating equity dynamics in professional development| Building Educator Cultural and Professional Competency." Thesis, Fielding Graduate University, 2014. http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=3629593.

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Since the statement of then -Secretary of Education Paige on the "soft bigotry of low expectations," the necessity of holding "high expectations" appears to be generally accepted as an important factor in student achievement. Secretary Paige asserted that not all teachers hold high expectations of their students, yet the possibility of such thinking is not typically acknowledged among educators. Instead there appears to be a presumption that all teachers do hold high expectations for their students and there is no evidence that this assumption is ever questioned. The assumption that high expectations are universally held negates belief that expectations should be part of the professional conversations in which educators engage and precludes the topic from being included in the professional development programs in which school staffs are engaged.

My review of literature includes learning from the other social sciences on beliefs, cultural assumptions, and expectations. This dissertation examines the development of negative stereotypes and manifestations of those stereotypes in the educational experiences, past and present of African Americans, as representatives of those segments of the population who have historically been under-served by education.

The results of the survey conducted as part of this study indicate that expectations are rarely included in professional development programs. Additionally, the results demonstrate a lack of consistency among districts in approaching similar challenges. Finally, a model developed to increase the effectiveness of professional development is proposed.

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Wall, John. "The development of technology facilitated learning for continuing professional development of construction managers." Thesis, University of Salford, 2009. http://usir.salford.ac.uk/26955/.

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The demands on professionals in the construction industry are considerable, both in terms of time commitments at work and the range of skills necessary to execute their job effectively. One element in ensuring the continued effective delivery of projects has been the recognition that continued learning is an underpinning aspet for successfully delivering projects. This results in more certainty around the time of completion, to the appropriate quality and within budget. The aim of this research is to formulate a strategic framework that will serve both educational institutions and the construction industry, bring industry and higher-level education closer in the delivery of lifelong learning. These issues were investigated via the primary research, which consisted of a survey of construction professional bodies, the evaluation of a pilot portal for continuing professional development and the evaluation of a formal continuing professional development programme from both a participant's and an instructor's perspective. This research work suggests that it is vital to recognise the importance of understanding pedagogy and how learning takes place and that a "one size fits all" approach does not recognise the inherent differences in individuals in terms of how people learn. There are a number of key issues that must be addressed in effectively delivering lifelong learning in the construction industry. These can be clustered around four principal themes; (i) continuing professional development, (ii) understanding the learning process, (iii) higher education's role and (iv) technological issues and challenges. Key success factors in delivering lifelong learning include; (i) acting professionally, (ii) collaboration between education, professional bodies and industry and (iii) creating an environment that encourages and facilitates access to lifelong learning. An important output from this research is the formulation of a framework that may be applied for deploying blended learning continuing professional development in an educational setting.

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Hockaday, Lisa Marie. "Teacher Perceptions of their Common Core Professional Development." Thesis, Piedmont College, 2015. http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=3729969.

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Over several decades, school reform efforts have been mounted in order to improve student learning and to prepare students for a global community. In 2010, governors from the fifty states met and supported the establishment of national standards, the Common Core State Standards, to prepare students for college and careers. Georgia adopted the Common Core State Standards, and as with any new curriculum adoption, professional development is usually provided. During the 2011–2012 school year, school systems across Georgia provided various professional development opportunities for teachers to learn about the Common Core State Standards. The purpose of this study was to examine teachers’ perceptions of their Common Core professional development and utilized a survey consisting of multiple choice and open-ended questions. Three hundred seventy-two educators from sixteen school districts across the state of Georgia participated in this study. Three main themes emerged: Teachers prefer working in smaller, collaborative groups in professional development; teachers were satisfied with their school and school district’s training but did not receive consistent follow-up, modeling, or coaching afterwards; teachers utilized websites developed to support the Common Core State Standards and relied on their colleagues in order to learn more about the curriculum and to implement the standards.

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Wong, Chun-cheong. "Hong Kong teachers' perceptions of continuing professional development policies and activities." Click to view the E-thesis via HKUTO, 2005. http://sunzi.lib.hku.hk/hkuto/record/B3554448X.

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Keith, Pauline Angela Francesca. "An investigation into experienced expatriate lecturers' perceptions of continuing professional development." Thesis, Open University, 2017. http://oro.open.ac.uk/50804/.

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This thesis investigated how thirteen experienced, expatriate lecturers in an institute of higher education, Middle Eastern University College (MEUC), in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) perceived the continuing professional development (CPD) offered by their institute. I was motivated by the approach adopted by the institute towards the provision of CPD, an apparent lack of consultation with lecturers regarding their professional growth and comments from colleagues, to investigate personal and professional development. In particular, I wanted to determine how the institute’s approach to the provision of CPD influenced lecturers’ perceptions, beliefs and attitudes concerning institutionally provided CPD, so an interpretive study was selected. Focus groups and semi-structured interviews were conducted to obtain perceptions of, attitudes to and desire to engage with institutionally provided CPD. A further aim was to explore how participants’ tacit knowledge impacted on their perceptions and attitudes of CPD and whether this affected their attitude towards learning. The findings revealed three main themes. First, the mandatory nature, model and content of CPD affected participants’ perceptions of and engagement with CPD. Second, the CPD provided overlooked participants’ experience and tacit knowledge, impacting negatively on their views of CPD and professional identity. Finally, the specific profile of the participants, self-initiated expatriates, was revealed to be an important factor in lecturers’ CPD requirements and professional outlook, with implications for the development of existing theory in this area. Finally, a desire for targeted, personalised CPD was identified, specifically in the areas of pedagogy, professional inquiry and cultural awareness and intelligence.

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Coyle, Maria. "Pre-Service School Counselor's Perception of Professional Identity Development During Internship." Thesis, The George Washington University, 2016. http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=10251540.

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The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore pre-service school counselor’s perception of identity development. The main research question of this study was, how is professional identity development described by pre-service school counselors? Three sub-questions were posed as well. What are internal factors described by pre-service school counselor that influence their professional identity development? What are external factors described by pre-service school counselors that influence their professional identity development? What are other factors described by pre-service school counselors that influence their professional identity development?

Seven pre-service school counselors from two campuses of one private, accredited university participated in this research. The pre-service school counselor participants were given a demographic survey and interviewed. In this study, the interviews followed a protocol and lasted between thirty-five to forty-five minutes. During this time, the participants shared their perceptions of pre-service school counselor professional identity development. The interviews were transcribed and analyzed using a basic, interpretive qualitative method.

Documentation in the form of four syllabi were collected across the two campuses of the university of study. Three of the four syllabi were the same. Given the small sample the two differing syllabi were compared. They differed on all factors except one, the use of experience to inform becoming a professional school counselor. This theme matched several of the interview findings.

Eighteen themes comprised the results of the interview research. Each was supported with rich data from the interviews. Four major findings emerged from the eighteen themes. The recommendations for school counselor preparation programs emerged from the four major findings. They were, the incorporation of processing experiences during class time, including coursework specifically related to school counseling; Practicum and Internship are solely school counselor focused; and instilling clear mission of the role of the school counselor into the school counseling preparation program. Areas for future research; such as replicating this study at a non-accredited institution, utilizing a longitudinal study, and exploring perceptions of professional identity development from other perspectives involved in school counselor preparation; are presented in this study.

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Lalitha, Hettiarachchige Done Asie. "Development of a model for the continuing professional development of teachers a qualitative investigation /." Access electronically, 2005. http://www.library.uow.edu.au/adt-NWU/public/adt-NWU20060926.094927/index.html.

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Hooks, Laura Sebastian. "Towards More Effective Teacher Professional Development Initiatives." ScholarWorks, 2015. https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/1586.

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The No Child Left Behind Act (2002) and Race to the Top (2009) legislation have forged new school accountability measures and led to a sharp increase in demand for teacher professional development (TPD). However, data revealed that there is a disconnection between the training that teachers receive and its implementation, limiting its impact on student achievement. This qualitative case study's purpose was to reveal major barriers to TPD implementation and provide suggestions for crafting more impactful TPD. Based on the social constructivist foundation, this study sought to address the factors that increase teachers' receptiveness to more effective teaching techniques. It explored middle school teachers' perceptions of TPD, its connection to student achievement, and factors influencing implementation. Semi-structured interviews with open-ended questions helped to identify emergent themes. Nine participants were purposefully selected to gather data from perspectives across race, gender, and various teaching experiences. This study took an inductive approach using the constant comparison methodology of data analysis. Participants identified influencing factors regarding TPD, such as the inclusion of a follow-up component for accountability and feedback. Also, the participants insisted that TPD must be seen as non-punitive, relevant, engaging, and non-hypocritical; for example, a lecture cannot teach teachers about the ineffectiveness of teaching via lecture. These findings encourage positive social change by providing insight into crafting more impactful TPD. Ultimately, improved TPD encourages better teaching methodologies, increased teacher morale, and higher student achievement.

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Ross, Kathleen Annette. "The interaction of continuing professional development and identity : the experiences of women professional accountants in Canada." Thesis, University of Newcastle upon Tyne, 2016. http://hdl.handle.net/10443/3395.

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Continuing professional development (CPD) is a requirement for accountants to maintain their professional designation, ideally it may be used to assist in progression within the field; yet there is very little research on CPD for accountants and research that has focused on the interaction of experiences and identity is particularly scarce. This thesis, underpinned by a feminist view, undertook an interpretive analysis of oral history interviews provided by sixteen women in British Columbia. This study found that CPD, rather than assisting in building the professional identity and improving a professional’s standing, may work to maintain the status quo in the accounting field and retain the gendered hierarchy within the accounting profession. The study provides further support to indicate that professional identity both influences, and is influenced by, other identities and further explores the differences between identity, habitus and roles. Capitals available to women that should aid in their progression in the accounting field are dependent both on their place within the accounting field itself and their position in other fields; the need for capitals goes beyond what is necessary within the field itself as the interaction with other identities and other fields plays an important role in the quest for, as well as successful utilization of capitals. The need for capitals is also affected by an accounting field that is not homogenous and heterogeneous subfields are influential in identification of successful capitals. The manner in which CPD is used relates to a professional’s place within the field, with those already near the top of the field focusing more on social capitals and those nearer the middle or bottom of the field focusing on the cultural capitals provided. The structured and structuring aspects of CPD work within the professional accounting field to maintain the gendered and hierarchal nature of the field.

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Lindsay, Hilary Frances. "Patterns of learning in the accountancy profession : the roles of continuing professional development and lifelong learning." Thesis, Open University, 2013. http://oro.open.ac.uk/43595/.

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This thesis explores the roles of CPD and lifelong learning for accountants today. Accountants are experiencing more career transitions and learning is an increasingly vital element in the ever changing environment. The research findings will be used to help accountants learn more effectively throughout their careers. Since 2005, member bodies of the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) have been required to implement mandatory continuing professional development (CPD) schemes and to ‘foster a commitment to lifelong learning’ (IFAC, 2004a, p.1). In this new context this research with members of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) explores the roles of CPD and lifelong learning, so contributing to both the CPD and lifelong learning research agendas. The research looks at how accountants perceive and describe their learning activities and experiences using a mixed methods approach involving an initial large-scale survey, exploring learning in one context, followed by in-depth interviews which look at learning across a career. Two conceptual frameworks, developed during the literature review, underpin the research. These are based on a model developed by Illeris (2009) and incorporate the cognitive, interpersonal and intrapersonal dimensions of learning. Other key concepts referred to throughout the research include identity, agency, engagement, affordance and the metaphors of learning as acquisition, learning as participation and learning as becoming. The patterns of learning varied according to the roles, sectors, career stages and gender of accountants. The need for career adaptability (Bimrose et al., 2011) emerged from the research and was added to professional competence to produce a new learning model, the professional learning iceberg. It is proposed that ‘learning relating to professional competence’ and ‘learning relating to career adaptability’ are more meaningful concepts than ‘CPD’ and ‘lifelong learning’ to describe the learning needed to succeed in the accountancy profession in the twenty-first century.

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Mettler, Eunice. "Continuing Professional Teacher Development (CPTD) practices of teachers in working class schools in the Western Cape." University of the Western Cape, 2016. http://hdl.handle.net/11394/5355.

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Magister Educationis (Adult Learning and Global Change) - MEd(AL)
Continuing Professional Teacher Development (CPTD) of teachers at working class schools in South Africa has come under scrutiny over the past few years. Despite new education policies which incorporated the dire need for CPTD, the achievement of learners at working class schools remains poor. This investigation was prompted by the cause of this discrepancy. This study investigates the participation of teachers in Continuous Professional Development initiatives at working class schools in the Western Cape. The primary research question for this research paper is: “Why are teachers at working class schools not participating in CPTD initiatives as expected?” A qualitative approach within the interpretive paradigm was adopted throughout this study. The interpretive approach allowed the researcher to gain a more social world interpretation of the respondents as it provided insight in CPTD practices at working class schools. The process of data gathering was inductive as information emerges from interviews and questionnaires. Open-ended questionnaires and semi-structured interviews were used to gather data. The study comprised 15 respondents and included teachers at two schools and three officials from the Department of Education. The demographics of the two schools were similar which made it possible to ask the same questions for all respondents. The study highlighted the lack of participation of teachers in CPTD due to human, material and financial constraints. Urgent consideration needs to be given to eradicating these barriers for continuous professional development of teachers. Providers of CPTD should ensure that the needs of teachers are met and training should be embarked upon on a continuous basis. In addition, priority should be given to teachers employed at schools in working class areas.

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Van, Staden C. J., and Der Westhuizen D. Van. "Learn 2.0 technologies and the continuing professional development of secondary school mathematics teachers." Journal for New Generation Sciences, Vol 11, Issue 2: Central University of Technology, Free State, Bloemfontein, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/11462/642.

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Published Article
The paper reports on a Learn 2.0 technology that was used to support the continuing professional development of mathematics teachers at a secondary school. Design Based Research methods were used within a Multiphase Mixed Methods research framework to create professional development opportunities that were subsequently monitored by Social Network Analysis techniques. We demonstrate that Learn 2.0 technologies can indeed support the continuing professional development of teachers and improve their performance, and also that Social Network Analysis is an effective method to describe, comprehend, clarify and transparently monitor teacher engagement during online professional development activities. We identify 'participation' as a key pre-determinant to success.

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Nesbitt, Jason L. "Journal Clubs: A Two-Site Case Study of Nurses' Continuing Professional Development." Thèse, Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa, 2011. http://hdl.handle.net/10393/20309.

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Aim: This paper is a report on a study that explored the professional development of intensive care unit nurses in journal clubs. Background: Evidence-based practice is important in nursing care (Krom, Batten, & Bautista, 2010). However few nurses feel comfortable using evidence to guide their practice (Pravikoff, Tanner, & Pierce, 2005). Journal clubs are a way to establish science as conversation (Wright, 2004) and foster knowledge translation for evidence-based nursing practice (Goodfellow, 2004). Methods: Monthly journal club meetings were held with the participation of a total of 71 healthcare professionals (65 nurses, 2 physicians, 2 pharmacists, 1 physiotherapist, and 1 respiratory therapist), who worked in two intensive care units of an Ontario hospital. After six months of meetings, 21 individual interviews were conducted with nurses, physicians, pharmacists, and nurse educators. Additional data collection included two focus groups, surveys, a review of staff meeting minutes, and researcher field notes. Findings: Journal clubs provided nurses with incentive to read research articles, improved nurses’ confidence in reading research, created a community of peers who worked collaboratively to improve clinical practice, provided a structure for nurses to reflect-on-practice, and led to reported changes in clinical practice. However, the data suggests that any gains in competence of nurses with the critical appraisal of research articles were probably modest. Barriers to participating in journal clubs and evidence-based practice are also identified. Conclusion: Journal clubs can foster knowledge translation and evidence-based practice through creating a community of practice and by providing nurses with motivation, structure, and confidence to read research articles. However, nurses reported a lack of critical appraisal skills and uncertainty about how to implement evidence into practice. Journal clubs may have a greater impact when implemented alongside other knowledge translation strategies such as working with clinical nurse specialists in order to enhance evidence-based practice.

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Jones, Dawn Anita. "Teachers' professionalism, self-identity and the impact of continuing professional development (CPD)." Thesis, Manchester Metropolitan University, 2015. http://e-space.mmu.ac.uk/615916/.

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This research explores the impact of changes in government policy on teachers’ professionalism, self-identity and practice in the context of Continuing Professional Development (CPD). Initial data was gathered through the use of evaluations, impact data and interviews from conferences and courses undertaken as part of professional development programmes. This data provided a range of background information which then informed a second stage of research where in-depth case studies of three secondary school science teachers was conducted. Thus the first stage data helped identify, and focus the later research themes and questions. The case-study research consists of semi-structured interviews which explores the contexts, experiences and viewpoints of the three teachers involved. This research draws attention to the potential damage being done to teachers’ professionalism and self-identity as a result of central government policy, and the impact that this has on their ability to carry out their roles effectively. It also considers the extent to which teachers’ professionalism is influenced by the process of engaging with CPD. This research adds knowledge to the field through the provision of a fresh perspective, from the teachers’ viewpoint, in the field of research of teacher professionalism and that of teachers CPD. The research gives teachers a forum within which to voice their thoughts and share their concerns about the struggles they face, and the conflicts they experience between their personal values and pressures to conform. At the heart of the problem, encountered by teachers, is the fact that professional standards and CPD activities predominately focus on the behavioural component of professionalism. The failure to consider the teachers’ intellectual or attitudinal development is what threatened their identities, ideologies and aspirations to meet their goals. It also affects the way they felt about themselves and education as a whole. An alternative model to illustrate effective professional development is proposed as a consequence of this research which highlights the complexities of the processes and practices affecting teachers’ engagement with CPD and the potential for external policies to impact adversely on classroom practices.

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Johnson, Helena Claire. "Continuing professional development for physiotherapists : exploring their choices in career long learning." Thesis, Durham University, 2008. http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/2194/.

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Purpose. The purpose of the thesis is to add to the body of knowledge of continuing professional development (CPD) for physiotherapists, by exploring the views of physiotherapists employed in NHS sites within one Strategic Health Authority. Relevance. Increasingly physiotherapists are under pressure to demonstrate engagement in CPD in order to demonstrate their competence, with a statutory requirement (HPC, 2003) that requires practitioners to show evidence of having undertaken CPD and to have applied this to their practice. Research Methods. The study used an interpretive approach and a sequential multi-method exploratory design involving 2 phases of data collection. Participants: Phase 1: 357 NHS physiotherapists; phase 2: 22 respondents from the survey. Data Collection Tools: Phase 1 used a four-page self-completion postal questionnaire. Phase 2 used semi-structured individual interviews. Analysis: The survey data from 140 completed questionnaires were analysed using SPSS. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was used as a data reduction technique. The interview transcripts were analysed using NVivo 7.Findings. 32 different CPD activities were identified. PCA revealed 3 components as reasons for engaging in CPD activities, and 4 components as barriers to CPD. Internal consistency using Cronbach's Alpha was acceptable to good (.653 to .891). A Friedman ranks test found that the rank order of these components was consistent across all subgroups and the significance was p<0.05.Discussion. The findings suggest that there should be a greater focus on the contribution that work-based and self-directed learning activities can have on the CPD of physiotherapists in the NHS, at a time when finding in CPD is limited, as informal learning in the workplace is not always acknowledged within current policies. Measuring the impact of CPD remains a challenge, as personal benefit and benefit to the service cannot be easily separated. Conclusion. The findings indicate that the participants' decisions to engage in CPD were influenced more strongly by values related to improving clinical skills and patient care, than by the prospect of extrinsic rewards such as increase in pay and promotion. An increased understanding of the differences in CPD requirements of physiotherapists, at different stages in their careers, and practising in different clinical specialities, should enable appropriate CPD activities to be developed to ensure that they are appropriately supported in these roles.

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Susilowati, Kristin. "A study of reflection in online continuing professional development courses in education." Thesis, University of the West of Scotland, 2007. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.446037.

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Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Continuing professional development'

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