301,274 results on '"Quality Control"'
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2. An Overview of Quality Assurance in Higher Education: Concepts and Frameworks
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Kayyali, Mustafa
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To ensure that students obtain an effective and appropriate education, quality assurance in higher education is crucial. The primary concepts, structures, and procedures associated with quality assurance in higher education are extensively addressed in this paper. To improve student learning outcomes, institutional reputation, and overall accountability, it examines the changing landscape of higher education and the growing emphasis on quality. The introduction of the paper defines quality assurance in the context of higher education, emphasizing its complexity and the range of stakeholders it involves. It explores the numerous quality dimensions--both academic and non-academic--and their importance in promoting a well-rounded educational experience. The paper then addresses the essential tenets and strategies that support quality assurance. It looks at internal quality control approaches that enable institutions to regularly review and enhance their educational practices, such as faculty development, curriculum design, and self-assessment. To further promote openness, comparability, and accountability across higher education institutions, external quality assurance, including accreditation, benchmarking, and regulatory frameworks, is being investigated as well. The paper also explores international perspectives on quality assurance in higher education, emphasizing regional differences and global initiatives. It looks at how standards-setting organizations, professional groups, and quality control organizations influence policies and encourage institutional cooperation. To improve processes for making decisions and ensure constant enhancement, the paper also examines the role of data analysis, assessment instruments, and quality indicators. The paper also seeks to provide scholars, policymakers, administrators, and practitioners with a firm foundation to comprehend the concepts, theories, and techniques involved in quality assurance in higher education. It is a useful tool for promoting quality in higher education institutions around the world, encouraging discussion, and influencing decision-making processes.
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- 2023
3. State Preschool in a Mixed Delivery System: Lessons from Five States
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Learning Policy Institute, National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER), Garver, Karin, Weisenfeld, G. G., Connors-Tadros, Lori, Hodges, Katherine, Melnick, Hanna, and Plasencia, Sara
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Most states in the United States operate their public preschool programs in a mixed delivery system that serves children in local education agencies (LEAs) as well as non-LEA settings, such as Head Start agencies, child care centers, private schools, and family child care homes. To inform state preschool administrators and policymakers as they refine their mixed delivery systems, this report describes the mixed delivery systems of five states that have taken different approaches to supporting providers across settings. The five states discussed in this report include: (1) Alabama; (2) Michigan; (3) New Jersey; (4) New York; and (5) West Virginia. This report answers the following questions: (1) What is the landscape of mixed delivery in select states' preschool programs? (2) How are state preschool contracts awarded, and what supports are provided to non-LEAs to participate? and (3) What are quality requirements, and who monitors and is ultimately responsible for program quality?
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- 2023
4. Risk Management Maturity Enhancement in Healthcare through the Application of Quality Management Principles
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Veronika Bucke, Darius Ružele, Juozas Ruževicius, and Raimondas Buckus
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The importance of adequate risk management is growing, whereas quality management unifies all managerial processes to direct and manage activities toward the achievement of organisational goals. The goal of this study is to validate the relevance of the link between the application of quality management principles and risk management maturity. This paper constitutes a critical literature review and an analysis of the latest scientific articles, published in international databases, and other scientific sources over a period of 15 years. In summary, organisation can attain a higher level of risk management maturity through the synergistic application of all seven quality management principles. The findings practically are beneficial for all types of organisations that seek to successfully implement risk management processes.
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- 2024
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5. Quality in Preschools through Systematic Quality Work - A Principal's Perspective
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Ingela Bäckström, Pernilla Ingelsson, Anna Mårtensson, and Kristen M. Snyder
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Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore existing and desired methodologies for systematic quality work to promote quality in preschools from the principal's perspective. Design/methodology/approach: A collaborative approach was used in this research project, and principals were asked to complete portfolio assignments. Their answers to those portfolio assignments were analysed by the research team and subsequently compared to total quality management values. Findings: Existing and desired methodologies for systematic quality work are presented and sorted into 13 and 17 groups, respectively. The principals desire four times more methodologies than they are presently using to promote systematic quality work, and the results show that they must extend their methodologies to support TQM values. Research limitations/implications: This research is based on answers collected from 18 principals in one municipality in Sweden. Practical implications: The use of the cornerstone model provides a framework to illustrate the application of TQM in preschools. Originality/value: Principals struggle to find time for systemic quality work. The presented results can be used to work systematically with quality in preschools and other organizations.
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- 2024
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6. Fuzzy Data Definitions Distort Fair Comparability of Universities in University Rankings: Results from Italy and Belgium on the 'Times Higher Education' Ranking
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Hanne Poelmans, Luciana Sacchetti, Sadia Vancauwenbergh, and Stefano Piazza
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World university rankings have had an impact on academic competition worldwide. The comparability of ranking results depends on how data is collected within each university. When data concepts are interpreted differently, data variety is introduced and ranking results cannot be used in a meaningful manner. In this case study, the effect of semantic harmonisation of the data concepts of the "Times Higher Education" World University Ranking is evaluated. Based on two independent initiatives, in Italy and in Belgium, the data and results of this ranking before and after interuniversity harmonisation of data collection are compared. This study demonstrates that, despite the data definitions provided by the ranking organisation, the data concepts 'academic staff' and 'students' are interpreted differently within each university. These differences can affect how universities are positioned relative to each other in ranking tables. A profound level of semantic harmonisation is then required to ensure semantically comparable data.
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- 2024
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7. Study and Career Counsellors: The Hub of Swedish Adult Education
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Karolina Muhrman and Per Andersson
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This article explores how the Swedish policy of municipal adult education (MAE) is interpreted, translated, and enacted in study and career counselling. The data consists of semi-structured interviews with adult education leaders and study and career counsellors. Swedish MAE is characterised by extensive marketisation, with many different providers, which makes the education system complex. The findings show that a study and career counsellor is characterised as a key person for both the students and the organisation, with a role as a marketer and 'map reader' for applicants, in addition to responsibilities in admissions, the validation and mapping of students' knowledge, and quality work. The counsellor becomes a hub in a system that applicants and students find difficult to navigate and fulfils a vital function in the marketing of adult education and quality work. Thus, this complex system requires more resources for counselling to function to the benefit of the individual student. However, there is no clear regulation for how counselling should be organised, which means that counselling is organised in different ways in different municipalities with different providers. This in turn means that the availability of adequate counselling may depend on the municipality in which you live.
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- 2024
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8. Is Accreditation, Like a Colonoscopy, Good for You?
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Kazemi, Ellie
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Accreditation is typically a voluntary process that involves a thorough evaluation of an organization's policies, procedures, and practices. Much like a colonoscopy, the evaluation process probes deep and can be uncomfortable. With the discomfort, time, cost, and effort it takes to undergo evaluation for accreditation, the natural question is whether it is worth doing. In this paper, I will review the history of accreditation and the results of systematic literature reviews focused on the impact of accreditation. I will also discuss how accreditation may help provide quality control in behavior analysis and safeguard against service providers' behaviors being solely shaped by funding sources, such as insurance providers. Lastly, I will provide critical questions consumers can ask to assess accrediting bodies' transparency, objectivity, and fairness when they are seeking accreditation.
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- 2023
9. Generating High-Precision Feedback for Programming Syntax Errors Using Large Language Models
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Phung, Tung, Cambronero, José, Gulwani, Sumit, Kohn, Tobias, Majumdarm, Rupak, Singla, Adish, and Soares, Gustavo
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Large language models (LLMs), such as Codex, hold great promise in enhancing programming education by automatically generating feedback for students. We investigate using LLMs to generate feedback for fixing syntax errors in Python programs, a key scenario in introductory programming. More concretely, given a student's buggy program, our goal is to generate feedback comprising a fixed program along with a natural language explanation describing the errors/fixes, inspired by how a human tutor would give feedback. While using LLMs is promising, the critical challenge is to ensure high precision in the generated feedback, which is imperative before deploying such technology in classrooms. The main research question we study is: "Can we develop LLMs-based feedback generation techniques with a tunable precision parameter, giving educators quality control over the feedback that students receive?" To this end, we introduce PyFiXV, our technique to generate high-precision feedback powered by Codex. The key idea behind PyFiXV is to use a novel run-time validation mechanism to decide whether the generated feedback is suitable for sharing with the student; notably, this validation mechanism also provides a precision knob to educators. We perform an extensive evaluation using two real-world datasets of Python programs with syntax errors and show the efficacy of PyFiXV in generating high-precision feedback. [For the complete proceedings, see ED630829.]
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- 2023
10. Emerging from Content and Language Integrated Learning and English-Medium Instruction, is CLIL-ised EMI the Next Trend of Education?
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Hengzhi Hu
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Objectives: The text aims to present a comparison of Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) and English-Medium Instruction (EMI), followed by a discussion of CLIL-ised EMI, a new educational phenomenon, regarding its feasibility in content-based bilingual programmes. Method: The ideas presented in this paper are principally drawn from previous research and literature about CLIL and EMI, as well as from my personal experience with content-based bilingual education programmes. Results: Although CLIL and EMI differ in nature, CLIL-ised EMI supplements traditional EMI, which has a single objective of content learning, with special attention to students' needs, particularly their linguistic needs. It may pose challenges to teachers, especially in relation to their language-teaching activities. Conclusions: CLIL-ised EMI shows considerable feasibility in bilingual education and can overcome the linguistic challenges faced by students in content-based programmes. Implication for Practice: CLIL-ised EMI teachers are advised to be attentive to students' linguistic demands and engage in professional collaboration with language specialists to design and provide well planned language learning activities. Standardisation and quality control of bilingual programmes are also necessary at an institutional level.
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- 2023
11. Strategic Plan for Fiscal Years 2023-2028
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Office of Inspector General (ED)
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The U.S. Department of Education (Department) Office of Inspector General (OIG) Strategic Plan for Fiscal Years (FY) 2023 through 2028 represents the planned direction of the organization for FYs 2023-2028. It continues the 40-plus year commitment to the mission to promote the efficiency, effectiveness, and integrity of the Department's programs and operations, and to identify and help prevent fraud, waste, and abuse. It provides a framework for how the OIG can help the Department best meet its statutory mission, while delivering results and value to stakeholders--the Department, the Congress, and America's taxpayers and students. In the pages of this plan, the OIG goals are defined as well as the key strategies that will enable those goals to be reached and exceeded. The plan will allow the OIG to quickly address new or unforeseen challenges and capitalize on new opportunities to enhance and expand the work. This includes leveraging technology, tools, processes, and people. The OIG will use risk-based and impact-based project selection to ensure the work provides the greatest value to stakeholders. Analytic resources to detect, deter, and disrupt new and emerging threats to Department programs, operations, and funding will be optimized. The enterprise risk management program will be matured by integrating relevant risk management strategies into operations and activities and ensuring accountability over critical areas. In addition, the OIG will continue to keep stakeholders apprised of the work by regularly providing information on priorities, work products, issues, and results. Finally, the plan prioritizes the most important asset--OIG staff. OIG will continue to implement activities that develop a highly-skilled and diverse workforce; foster an inclusive, equitable, and accessible workplace; and establish the OIG as a premier oversight entity within the Federal government. [For "Five-Year Strategic Plan, Fiscal Years 2018-2022," see ED620770.]
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- 2022
12. Critical Success Factors for Lean Six Sigma in Business School: A View from the Lecturers
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Kowang, Tan Owee, Peidi, Lim, Yew, Lim Kim, Hee, Ong Choon, Fei, Goh Chin, and Kadir, Baharudin
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Lean is a process improvement approach to improve organization's efficiency by identifying and eliminate non-value-added activities, while Six Sigma is a methodology focused on reduction of process variation. The integration of both, namely Lean Six Sigma (LSS) drives organization on waste elimination, variation reduction and value creation, which ultimately enhancing organizational performance. LSS has been viewed by prior scholars as one of effective approach for business improvement regardless of manufacturing or services industry. However, the research of LSS in education sector, particularly for business school is relatively lacking. Hence, this research aimed to identify the critical success factors (CSFs) for LSS within a business school in Malaysia. The research also aimed to explore the relationship between the LSS, CSFs, and organization performance. There were six CSFs identified from literature review, while organization performance is assessed via the concept of system theory. The research was quantitative based with the lecturers in the business school as the targeted population. Questionnaire was distributed based on stratified sampling plan with 69 responded. Descriptive and Pearson correlation analysis result revealed that lecturers within the business school perceived that all the six LSS CSFs as "very important", and strongly correlated with organization performance, except CSF "project selection and prioritization". As implication, finding from this research suggested that the adaption of LSS between manufacturing and education sectors shared the commonality in term of CSF. However, the business school should look into project proposal from the lecturers' perspective as an alternate source of process improvement opportunity.
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- 2022
13. Improvement of Metacognitive and Critical Thinking Skills through Development of the a 'Teaching Factory Based on Troubleshooting' (TEFA-T) Model in Automotive Vocational Learning
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Maksum, Hasan, Yuvenda, Dori, and Purwanto, Wawan
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The purpose of this research was to ascertain whether there had been any improvement in students' metacognitive and critical thinking skills through the development of the 'Teaching Factory Based on Troubleshooting' (TEFA-T) model in automotive vocational learning. The research had both quantitative and qualitative components and applied the 4D procedures, viz define, design, develop and disseminate. The subjects for the control and experimental groups were 32 students, and each was each group used an effectiveness test. The results showed that the TEFA-T learning model carried out the novelty value of the model syntax using the following activity steps: (1) identifying product problems, (2) defining the product problems, (3) generating and selecting several alternative solutions, (4) designing solving techniques, (5) ordering work contracts, (6) designing a product work schedule, (7) executing orders, (8) quality control, and (9) assessment. The test results showed that the TEFA-T Learning Model is valid using the Aiken'V formula and Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) and Structure Equation Modeling (SEM), with a Chi-Square and x2 /df values of 219.76 and 0.8292, used to determine the model fit test (goodness-of-fit models). Furthermore, the practicality test declared it "Very Practical" with an average score of 4.56 and an Achievement of 90.02%. In conclusion, using the TEFA-T learning model to improve students' academic achievement, metacognitive, and critical thinking skills appeared to be effective (Sig. 2- tailed value is less than 0.05).
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- 2022
14. A Proposed Framework for Peer Reviews
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Ginsberg, Sarah M. and Visconti, Colleen F.
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Journal manuscripts are peer reviewed with the hopes that the peer review will facilitate an editor's decision regarding the disposition of the article and that the feedback will be helpful to the authors in improving their manuscript. However peer reviews may not achieve these goals if they lack sufficient analysis and feedback. This article presents a domains of language for peer review (DoLPR) framework to improve depth and quality of peer reviews conducted on journal manuscripts. The framework was developed in hopes of improving the quality of peer reviews.
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- 2022
15. Investigating the Electronic Examinations' Quality from Faculty Members' and Students' Experiences and Perspective
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Badawi, Maria Altaib and Elhussien, Faiza Abdalla
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The current qualitative and quantitative study methods intend to investigate the quality of electronic examinations and the obstacles of changing the examinations' process from the participants' experiences and perspectives. The study generates feedback to enhance the adoption and improvement of the e. examination process. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, electronic exams help much during the education interruption. The study employed two tools to answer the study's central question: "To what extent did teachers and students reflect on the quality of electronic examinations' criteria?" They Were distributed among (n=165) undergraduates and (n=24) faculty members during 2020/2021. Findings from the e. questionnaire's SPSS and interview's content analyses indicated that most participants were satisfied with the e. exams' flexibility, ease of use, clarity, fairness in grading, and feasibility in time, efforts, and money. Concerning challenges, few undergraduates complained about the Network problems, e. cheating, and the number of attempts to answer e. exams. Few faculty members have complained that some questions require different preparation methods, e. exams increase students' scores without much effort. On the other hand, it opened the door for malpractices. To conclude, the results revealed that e. examinations are of high quality; they were responsible for undergraduates' high performance, saved effort and time more than the in-class exams. The study recommends future research exploring families, especially parents, about their experience with kids regarding the quality of online examinations during the COVID-19 pandemic. Moreover, research is needed to address how teachers deal with the validity and reliability of the electronic exams.
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- 2022
16. Qualitative Indicators in the E-Learning Environment
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International Association for Development of the Information Society (IADIS), Biškupic, Ivana Ogrizek, Lopatic, Josip, and Zorica, Mihaela Banek
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Through preliminary analysis of the e-learning platforms authors have tested the presumption that during pandemics the quality of online teaching and accessibility of learning materials in online environment has increased. Relevant literature for the time period of pandemic points out numerous problems in teaching, but on the other hand technical and pedagogical advances in e-learning process for all stakeholders. The research has been consisted of the quantitative indicators analysis within the e-learning system for the time period of several academic years (before and during the pandemic) and based on the survey on students EQF level 7 who already had some previous experience in e-learning at higher education level before situation with pandemic. The results indicate that students perceived very little increase in the quantity and quality of the learning materials. The research indicated a need for wider and further institutional support for teachers and students. The institutional support should encourage teachers in their motivation for achieving quality in e-learning performance regarding instructional design and also by building up their digital competences. The results have also pointed the fact that the models from the traditional environment, such as Course Quality Management model should be adapted and integrated in the e-learning environment in order to maintain quality assurance in e-learning performance.
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- 2022
17. Model Adequacy Checking for Applying Harmonic Regression to Assessment Quality Control. Research Report. ETS RR-21-13
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Qian, Jiahe and Li, Shuhong
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In recent years, harmonic regression models have been applied to implement quality control for educational assessment data consisting of multiple administrations and displaying seasonality. As with other types of regression models, it is imperative that model adequacy checking and model fit be appropriately conducted. However, there has been no literature on how to perform a comprehensive model adequacy evaluation when applying harmonic regression models to sequential data with seasonality in the educational assessment field. This paper is intended to fill this gap with an illustration of real data from an English language assessment. Two types of cross-validation, leave-one-out and out-of-sample, were designed to measure prediction errors and check model validation. Three types of R-squared (R[superscript 2], R[superscript 2][subscript adj], and R[superscript 2][subscript pred]) and various residual diagnostics were applied to check model adequacy and model fitting.
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- 2021
18. Using the Independent Monitoring for Quality Program to Examine Longitudinal Outcomes for People with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities
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Tichá, Renáta, Pettingell, Sandra L., Lemanowicz, James, Feinstein, Celia S., Bershadsky, Julie, Houseworth, James, and Zhang, Alicia Q.
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The purpose of this study is to lay a foundation for illustrating the importance of longitudinal data collection by sharing the results of the Independent Monitoring for Quality (IM4Q) program in Pennsylvania designed to collect data over time on the quality of services for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. In this article, we report on the history and characteristics of the IM4Q program, describe the key variables of interest, and highlight the trends in the key variables over 3 years of data collection (2013, 2016, and 2019). The descriptive results indicate mixed trends for the three areas of focus: comparable rates of people employed in community-based settings, less support-related choice, and better everyday choice-making outcomes.
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- 2023
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19. Empowering Flight Exercise: Teaching Students the Design, Underlying Processes, and Organizational Outcomes of Empowering Work Systems
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Gardner, Timothy M. and Romney, Alexander C.
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Employee empowerment yields positive outcomes for employees, managers, and organizations. Yet, too many employees feel disempowered at work, and managers, while wanting to empower employees, often do not know how. Contributing to this state of affairs is the lack of published, high-fidelity exercises explicitly designed to instruct students on how empowerment "feels," how empowerment "works," and how to practically empower others. In this article, we outline a 90-minute face-to-face classroom exercise that integrates the structural and psychological empowerment perspectives enabling students to "feel" empowerment or disempowerment and see the productivity and quality benefits of an empowered workforce, and teaches students how to empower others at work. While participating in the exercise, students simulate working in an airplane manufacturing organization, working either in an empowered work environment or a traditional hierarchical work environment. The exercise provides instructors with an important classroom tool to instruct students about the importance of empowerment, trust, and performance in organizational life.
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- 2023
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20. Methodology for Early Childhood Education and Care Research: Premises and Principles of Scientific Knowledge Building. SpringerBriefs in Education
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Pramling, Niklas and Pramling, Niklas
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This book concisely explores the distinguishing features of scientific knowledge and research in early childhood education and care (ECEC). It has a dual-level focus of containing and relating the concrete practices of conducting research with the more fundamental conceptual discussions around research -- the Bildung of the researcher. The book introduces and succinctly explains the concepts of methodology, theoretical knowledge about method, and how all parts of conducting research are informed by theory. The interrelation of these concepts, and many premises of research, are often regarded as assumed knowledge. In this book, premises of research are explicated and discussed, as well as methods on how to engage in informed dialogue. This introductory text explicates many features of scientific knowing and knowledge building in ECEC that tend to be presumed rather than clarified. It will be important in furthering the professional development of PhD students, Master's students, supervisors, and researchers.
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- 2023
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