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University teacher teams can work toward educational change through the process of team learning behavior, which involves sharing and discussing practices to create new knowledge. However, teachers do not routinely engage in learning behavior when working in such teams and it is unclear how leadership support can overcome this problem. Therefore, this study examines when team leadership behavior supports teacher teams in engaging in learning behavior. We studied 52 university teacher teams (281 respondents) involved in educational change, resulting in two key findings. First, analyses of multiple leadership types showed that team learning behavior was best supported by a shared transformational leadership style that challenges the status quo and stimulates team members' intellect. Mutual transformational encouragement supported team learning more than the vertical leadership source or empowering and initiating structure styles of leadership. Second, moderator analyses revealed that task complexity influenced the relationship between vertical empowering team leadership behavior and team learning behavior. Specifically, this finding suggests that formal team leaders who empower teamwork only affected team learning behavior when their teams perceived that their task was not complex. These findings indicate how team learning behavior can be supported in university teacher teams responsible for working toward educational change. Moreover, these findings are unique because they originate from relating multiple team leadership types to team learning behavior, examining the influence of task complexity, and studying this in an educational setting.

Our study aims to develop and validate a multidimensional Innovative Work Behaviour instrument to measure teachers IWB. Current IWB conceptualizations and operationalizations need further attention. Existing measurements miss empirical evidence of the construct validity and moreover do not include a sustainability dimension. Based on a thorough and comprehensive conceptualization of IWB, we first adapted and extended the items of previously used instruments and developed items for a sustainability dimension. Second, we tested the construct validity of this newly developed multi-dimensional IWB instrument in a Dutch context, using Rasch techniques and Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA). The psychometric characteristics were examined in a sample of teachers working in vocational education (N = 440). The results revealed five dimensions of IWB, namely Opportunity Exploration, Idea Generation, Idea Promotion, Idea Realization (differentiated in two sub-dimensions: Criterion-based implementation and learning-based communication) and Idea sustainability (differentiated in two sub-dimensions: External dissemination and internal embedding). The dimensions were reliably measured ([alpha] 0.84- 0.94) using 44 items. This new instrument, which builds on recent conceptualizations of IWB as well as on the pivotal innovation models of West and Farr (1989) and Fullan (2007), offers for an international group of researchers a conceptually sound and valid tool to validate explanatory models of innovative teacher behaviour. For practitioners in the domain of educational innovation, it offers the opportunity to diagnose, in a sound way, the extent of the necessary conditions of teachers IWB for an educational innovation to succeed.

The twenty-first century labour market requires employees that proactively shape innovations and solve complex problems. Professionals in the education sector are expected to perform innovative behaviour that not only entails the generation, but also the realization and sustainable implementation of new ideas. In a sample of 458 employees in Dutch secondary and higher vocational education (abbreviated in Dutch to "MBO" and "HBO," respectively), this study investigated the relation between environmental factors (namely task variety, management support and exposure to innovation) and Innovative Work Behaviour (IWB) across the different phases of the innovation process, including a sustainability phase. Results of hierarchical regression analyses showed that management support and exposure to innovations served as a predictor for all phases of IWB. Teachers with supportive managers and a high degree of exposure to innovations showed higher scores on innovative behaviour across all phases. Linear regressions revealed a significant relationship between task variety and IWB. In the hierarchical model, only management suport and exposure to innovations showed significant relations. Background characteristics, such as gender, age, tenure, number of working hours and type of education, for which we controlled during the analyses, played a role in how much IWB is displayed. It can be concluded that a work environment, in which employees are exposed to innovation and are supported is crucial. Additionally, in view of the role background characteristics play, it is recommended to select teachers with specific profiles for the different phases of the innovation process.

Teacher team involvement is considered a key factor in achieving sustainable innovation in higher education. This requires engaging in team learning behaviors that should result in new knowledge and solutions. However, university teachers are not used to discussing their work practices with one another and tend to neglect any innovation in their tasks. Team leadership behavior is often considered essential for stimulating team learning behavior, but it is unclear how this transpires. Therefore, the present study explores university teacher team members' perceptions of team learning behavior, their assigned task, and leadership behaviors in their team. Interviews were conducted with 16 members of different teacher teams at a university of applied sciences. Findings included that the vast majority of the team learning behaviors only involved sharing ideas; engaging in constructive conflicts and co-constructions was not observed. Only a few teams combined all three team learning behaviors. In these teams, members observed that existing methods and solutions were no longer adequate, with leaders appearing to combine transformational and transactional behaviors, but operating from a distance without actively interfering in the process. Furthermore, these team members shared leadership behaviors while focusing on the team as a whole, instead of solving problems at individual level. This strongly indicates that task perception and specific vertical and shared team leadership behaviors play a role in stimulating teachers in seeking controversy and co-constructing new knowledge.

In this article the popularity of the concept of competence in higher vocational education is explained and the most important issues in this field are discussed. In particular, the vagueness of the term and the problems in defining job and training profiles are explained. Then the design of competence-based education is discussed. The paper ends by mentioning some subjects that are relevant to the future of competence-based education. Competence-based education is a catch-all word concealing many different forms of education. It is mostly used for individual courses and much less for curricula although, seen from the point of view of competence, this could be the most interesting level. Research into the effectiveness--and content--of competence-based education is sparse and it is important to subject the claims of competence-based advocates to further investigation. (Contains 1 table.)

The attention being devoted to teacher educators as professionals and their professional development is unquestionably increasing. Whilst much of that attention is being directed at teacher educators in different countries, international comparisons have been quite rare to date. The research question addressed in this study was: "Do experienced teacher educators from different countries differ in their concerns, professional development activities and developmental goals?" Interviews were conducted with 25 participants from 10 different countries, all of whom were experienced teacher educators. Teacher educators' concerns varied in the course of their careers. During their induction their primary focus tended to be on survival, whereas later on in their careers their concerns became linked to their own professional identity and their students as individuals. Participants from all the participating countries were involved in a range of developmental activities. A large majority was involved in research-related activities which they perceived as an important tool in their professional development. All the participants had plans for their further professional development but sometimes foresaw hindrances to the realisation of those plans, such as a lack of resources and time. The interview data did not provide evidence to suggest clear country-specific differences. In fact, the opposite would appear to be the case: teacher educators from different countries seem to have similar concerns, and their current professional development activities and plans for future development are also quite comparable.

Purpose: This study aims to design and validate a conceptual and practical model of co-creation. Co-creation, to design collaborative new products, services and processes in contact with users, has become more and more important because organisations increasingly require multidisciplinary collaboration inside and outside the organisation to respond to challenges and create added value. Design/methodology/approach: This is a design and validation study, which uses mixed-methods, a reconstructive design and a semi-structured interview with a questionnaire as validation. The designed model is validated by 14 scholars and practitioners across fields. Findings:Designed is a conceptual and practical model, the four-dimensional Co-Creation-Wheel, which contains success factors for co-creation: 12 internal team factors plus 4 external conditions and a core. The validation study of this model, scientifically and as a practical instrument, supported the importance of the components of the model and suggested slight improvements. This resulted in a refinement of the first designed Co-Creation-Wheel. Research limitations/implications: Although restricted usefulness to large-scale structured innovation practices was expected, the instrument has a broader reach. First applications demonstrate that this Co-Creation-Wheel is multifunctional and international. It inspires, supports reflection of collaboration, stimulates interventions to enhance co-creation practices and human resource development (HRD) activities and is able to measure the quality of co-creation elements. Further research on its effects in co-creation practices is necessary, especially on the role of HRD in co-creation. Originality/value: This study is the first to design and validate a multifaceted, holistic conceptual and practical model of co-creation that is easy to use for innovators in practice and is multifunctional.

In higher education, departments are under increasing pressure to improve study success. Research in this field focusing on higher music education is scarce. The aim of this study was to gain insight into the predictive capability of the first year for study success of students at an academy of music in subsequent years. Data on study progression of 327 students were examined and courses with low pass rates were identified. In order to determine to what extent the first-year curriculum is selective, feasible and representative for the curriculum of subsequent years, group interviews and a survey were carried out. A clear relationship was found between study progress in year 1 and subsequent years. These results provide more insight into the predictive capability of the first year and have led to recommendations in how to improve study success in an academy of music.

Increasingly, innovative collaboration between industry and schools is being exploited as a way of improving the quality and relevance of education. Even though these innovations appear to have substantial benefits, often the impact proves to fade away after their implementation. A better understanding of how to sustain complex innovations seems important. Unfortunately, only a limited amount of research investigates the "inside" of complex innovations. This article reports on a three-year, large-scale industry-school programme in the Dutch Leisure sector. The research, from start to finish, adopted a qualitative case study methodology with a mixed-methods approach, drawing upon social capital theory as lens to understand the dynamics of processes and effect on outcomes. Findings indicate that the social capital theory helps to unravel crucial factors of processes and outcomes. The researched innovation process depended not so much on formal project plans and objectives but largely built on the quality of social relationships at all levels. Sustaining this social capital proved crucial, while managing according to a planned change strategy appeared to be counterproductive. The outcomes show to be twofold, in terms of new knowledge and products for the organisations and of sustainable benefits for the professionals, in terms of new abilities.

This study examined the effects of type of assessment criteria (performance-based vs. competency-based), the relevance of assessment criteria (relevant criteria vs. all criteria), and their interaction on secondary vocational education students' performance and assessment skills. Students on three programmes in the domain of nursing and care (N = 93) participated in the study. Results show that students who were given the relevant criteria made more accurate assessments of an expert model, performed better on a test and achieved higher instructional efficiency (defined as the relationship between performance and mental effort) compared to students who were given all criteria. Students who were given performance-based assessment criteria made more accurate assessments of an expert model and scored higher on task performance during practice compared to students who were given competency-based assessment criteria. They invested less mental effort in the assessments, resulting in higher instructional efficiency. An interaction effect for the concreteness of answers shows that the combination of performance-based and relevant criteria leads to superior analysis of worked examples compared to the other combinations of criteria.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to test the feasibility of a conceptual model on relations between organisational innovation, knowledge productivity and social capital. It explores processes of knowledge productivity for sustainable innovation and associated HRD implications in knowledge intensive organisations, taking the perspective that social capital is a key influencing condition. Design/methodology/approach:This qualitative case-study concerned a large-scale innovation project between knowledge-intensive organisations. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 20 participants from six innovation groups as well as with the project management. Findings: Findings showed that four dimensions of social capital influence knowledge productivity, each requiring a minimum quality to create a rich innovation environment for sustainable results. The relational and cognitive dimensions seem most important, while the action dimension makes them productive. Knowledge productivity appears twofold, i.e. organisational innovation, and professional ability for future innovation. Found are 18 new indicators. Research limitations/implications: Only one large-scale inter-organisational case was conducted. Practical implications: It is suggested that project management, group leaders and HRD officers target social capital as condition for knowledge productivity that should be stimulated, not just by planned interventions, but by "being" there as supporter, coach and mediator. Originality/value: The article contributes to our knowledge about innovations in knowledge-rich organisations, broadens the concept of knowledge productivity, and provides a new framework of social capital as intervention model for HRD. In addition, not often dealt with in literature, the dynamic of innovation is shown.

Intrapreneurship, a term coined to indicate that entrepreneurial competencies are valuable in any working context, is still a relatively new concept. So far, little attention has been devoted to the development of intrapreneurial competencies in the existing workforce. Starting from the integrated model of entrepreneurship of Bagheri and Pihie, we address the question of the extent to which this model can be applied to intrapreneurial competencies. To this end, in-depth interviews were conducted with employees and employers in the education sector. Results suggest that the model largely applies to intrapreneurship as well. An important nuance concerns the risk-taking competency. In addition, both employees and employers stress the role of the organization with respect to displaying intrapreneurial qualities in the first place and in further developing them. The article concludes with recommendations for future research and practice.

One of the goals of current education is to ensure that graduates can act as independent lifelong learners. Graduates need to be able to assess their own learning and interpret assessment results. The central question in this article is how to acquire sustainable assessment skills, enabling students to assess their performance and learning throughout life, and preparing them to meet their own future learning needs. This article presents an integrated model for developing sustainable assessment skills, consisting of three components: conditions necessary for the development of sustainable assessment skills, elements of sustainable assessment and instructional methods for guiding students in the development of sustainable assessment skills. The article concludes with suggestions for future research to further develop the proposed model. (Contains 2 tables and 2 figures.)

We conducted a study among students in secondary vocational education programmes in nursing and care (N = 68). The students work on learning tasks, self-assess their task performance and formulate points for improvement. We compared two groups of students on self-assessment, identification of points of improvement and perceived effort for the assessment task. One group was given a list of all possible assessment criteria for all tasks in which the relevant criteria for a particular learning task were highlighted. The other group received the same list without highlighting. Students in the relevant criteria group outperformed the students in the all criteria group on a test task, but they experienced higher mental effort in self-assessing their performance. Care students in the relevant criteria group generated more points of improvement than care students in the all criteria group. Nursing students outperformed care students on the test task and care students selected more criteria than did nursing students. (Contains 2 tables and 2 figures.)

This study examines how the contemporary European policy debate addresses the further development of the quality of teacher educators. A classification framework based on the literature on professionalism was used to compare European and Member State policy actions and measures on the quality of teacher educators through an analysis of seven European policy documents and a questionnaire completed by key policy-makers in 16 European countries. The findings show that European Union policy documents pay limited attention to the quality of teacher educators. However, the professionalism of teacher educators receives more policy attention at the level of individual Member States. Most of these policies are part of general policies for higher education teachers, while the initiative lies with governments and teacher education institutes. The role of the professionals themselves in developing policies to strengthen their professionalism seems very limited. (Contains 1 figure and 3 notes.)

This study investigated the effect of performance-based versus competence-based assessment criteria on task performance and self-assessment skills among 39 novice secondary vocational education students in the domain of nursing and care. In a performance-based assessment group students are provided with a preset list of performance-based assessment criteria, describing what students should do, for the task at hand. The performance-based group is compared to a competence-based assessment group in which students receive a preset list of competence-based assessment criteria, describing what students should be able to do. The test phase revealed that the performance-based group outperformed the competence-based group on test task performance. In addition, higher performance of the performance-based group was reached with lower reported mental effort during training, indicating a higher instructional efficiency for novice students. (Contains 4 tables and 5 figures.)

This article presents the results of an exploratory research study into induction practices of novice teacher educators in six different countries. The study was a project carried out by members of the Association of Teacher Educators Europe (ATEE) Research and Development Centre Professional Development of Teacher Educators. Induction is seen as a process of becoming a teacher educator and encompasses two levels. Firstly, it refers to the organizational induction into the teacher education institute. Secondly, it is about becoming a member of the profession (professional induction). Data were gathered through semi-structured interviews with 11 beginning teacher educators. The findings indicated that induction is quite problematic. None of the teacher educators experienced a satisfying induction into their institute and the profession as well. The article concludes with recommendations for improvement of induction practices and further research. This collaborative research project also revealed a lack of shared language in communicating professional issues and the need to further develop this within international communities like the ATEE. (Contains 1 table.)

A learning design describes a sequence of learning activities that learners undertake in order to help them achieve particular learning objectives, including the resources and services needed to complete the activities. Unfortunately, there is no learning design language which can be used by teachers to describe pedagogical strategies explicitly and which can then be interpreted by machine. This article proposes an approach to support teachers' design processes by providing pedagogy-specific modeling languages for learning design. We have developed a conceptual framework, based on activity theory, which can be used to specify pedagogical semantics and operational semantics of a pedagogy-specific modeling language. We present our approach by using peer assessment as an example. Through analyses we conclude that enriching pedagogical semantics and operational semantics of vocabularies of the modeling language may be a promising approach to developing a new generation of learning design languages, which enable teachers to develop pedagogically sound and technically executable learning designs. (Contains 2 tables and 2 figures.)

Although learning is generally perceived as a way to improve employees' current job performance, so far, no research has been conducted to explore the possible relationships between formal and informal learning, on the one hand, and employability, on the other. Though contemporary views stress the importance of the job as a powerful learning site, considerable research evidence underpinning these views is lacking. This paper goes into the impact of formal and informal learning upon employability. The influence of employee characteristics and organizational factors is also taken into account. An e-questionnaire was used to collect data among 215 Dutch non-academic university staff members. Our findings emphasize the necessity of Human Resource Development strategies that encompass a mix of formal and informal learning opportunities. In particular, participation in networks appears to be an important predictor for employability. With the outcomes of this study, we aim to contribute to the further development of theoretical insights regarding employability enhancement through learning possibilities embedded in the workplace. It seems that strategies that focus exclusively on enhancing informal on-the-job learning should not be encouraged. Our study is limited to one context and further research is required to investigate the generalizability of the findings to other occupations and/or countries.

Trend watching reports are an indispensable resource in the e-learning domain. Many HRD departments consider these reports as essential cornerstones for the development of their e-learning strategy. But what is the quality of the forecasts made in these reports? In this article, several methods of forecasting trends are discussed, resulting in a checklist to evaluate the quality of trend studies. Next, this checklist is applied to evaluate some significant trend studies. The evaluation results show that the reports do not meet basic quality criteria, such as "sound methodology" and "objectivity". The article concludes with some critical remarks on the role trend watching reports play in the domain of e-learning.

A study of on-the-job training for 36 Dutch call center trainees and 46 new post office clerks found that training goals were only partly achieved. Self-efficacy, prior experience with tasks, management support, and workload were the most powerful influences on the effectiveness of training. (SK)

Evaluation of an on-the-job training model used by the Dutch post office showed it was not entirely successful. Improvement in the performance of mentors and the quality of self-study materials was needed. Mentors must be convinced of the benefit of the model for successful implementation. (SK)

Dutch human-resources professionals (n=161) identified trends affecting the future of human-resource development. Compared to a U.S. study by the American Society for Training and Development, Dutch professionals rated the following most important: integration of learning and work, importance of organizational innovation, and measurement of business results using consumer-relevant criteria. (SK)