Towards a job competency profile for agricultural extension instructors: A survey of views of experts

A project is carried out for instructors in the agricultural extension service in Esfahan. Part of the project is study, conducted to inform the process of competency profile development for the instructors. The study, reported in this contribution, focuses on views of experts about competencies needed by the instructors. The survey is based on the methodology for developing models of HRD, in which 257 key experts participated. A mix of methods was used for collecting data. The most important competencies found in this study are subject matter and business understanding, and presentation skill. The most essential outputs are presentation of instructional materials, feedback to learners and equipping learners with new competencies after the course. In this contribution, competencies and outputs are elaborated. Further research is needed regarding performance improvement as a result of the efforts of the instructors, and the views of other stakeholders on the development of the agri-clusters.     

Foster care placement breakdown in the Netherlands and Flanders: Prevalence,precursors, and associated factors

Family foster care is the option of choice for children in need of out‐of‐home care in Flanders and the Netherlands. Foster care is however a vulnerable intervention, and questions can be raised as to its efficacy. Although the literature on placement breakdown has made significant progress during the last years, empirical knowledge regarding breakdown in Flanders and the Netherlands remains scant. Consequently, this study aimed at investigating prevalence and precursors of breakdowns in long‐term foster care, the duration of placement before breakdown, and the association of child and placement characteristics with breakdown. Case files of 271 Dutch and 309 Flemish foster children were analysed with a coding scheme designed for this study. After 6 years, 398 placements had terminated: 169 placements broke down and 229 placements ended positively. Placements broke down mainly because of behavioural problems of the foster child, foster parents' parenting problems, and conflicts between birth and foster parents. Foster children with behavioural problems, older foster children, foster children denied treatment, and foster children in care because of sexual abuse were more at risk of breakdown. Assessing these factors is important when evaluating the appropriateness of a family foster care placement.     

Turning irritation into teaching: professional responses to disputes amongst adolescents in Dutch family homes

ABSTRACT

In this article, we have focused on irritation as a discourse marker for professional foster parents to intervene in adolescents’ disputes. We were interested in how irritation leads to responses from people who are not the object of irritation themselves, but who intervene in the dispute, thus entering and changing the social situation. Four types of responses could be distinguished: 1) responding to the content of the dispute, 2) responding to the process of the dispute, 3) responding to the emotion of the adolescent or 4) ignoring the dispute. Although most cases in our sample seem to exhibit a main strategy that fits this categorisation, in 10 cases different strategies are combined. We showed that in these combined responses professional foster parents do not intervene merely for disciplinary reasons, although they do so when things threaten to get out of hand. They also use these occasions as teachable moments.     

Facilitating evaluations of innovative,competence-based assessments: Creating understanding and involving multiple stakeholders

Schools are held more responsible for evaluating, quality assuring and improving their student assessments. Teachers’ lack of understanding of new, competence-based assessments as well as the lack of key stakeholders’ involvement, hamper effective and efficient self-evaluations by teachers of innovative, competence-based assessments (CBAs). While evaluating two CBAs in Agricultural Vocational Education and Training institutions, two interventions in the evaluation process aimed to tackle these problems were examined: (1) starting with explicating the CBA in the teacher team using a concrete explication format and (2) qualitatively involving key stakeholders (i.e., teachers, students and employers) in the evaluation of the CBA through mixed-group interviews. Quantitative and qualitative analysis, as well as stakeholders’ perceptions are used to find indications for the added value of these interventions for evaluation and further improvement of the CBAs. Results show that external facilitation is needed to make both interventions work.However, under this condition, explicating the CBA led to more complete, concrete and shared understandings of the actual CBA among teachers and mixed-groups interviews resulted in more concrete and elaborate evaluations of the CBAs’ quality and more ideas for improvement. Both interventions can facilitate building up elaborate, more valid and concrete arguments for CBA quality in self-evaluations, certainly in the case of evaluating innovative assessments. Lessons learned will provide guidelines for incorporating the interventions into other evaluations of innovative programs.     

Poverty Among Korean Immigrant Older Adults: Examining the Effects of Social Exclusion

ABSTRACT

Previous studies have shown that elderly Asian immigrants face greater risks for living in poverty compared with their native contemporaries. Particularly, Korean immigrant older adults are reported to be most likely to experience poverty among many Asian immigrant groups. The purpose of this study is to examine the extent to which demographic, human capital, and social exclusion factors contribute to such economic vulnerability among Korean immigrant older adults. Adding to previous research, this study broadly conceptualizes social exclusion and tests for its additive effects on poverty using nationally representative public data of Korean immigrant older adults. From the 2008–2010 Public Use Microdata Sample of the American Community Survey, this study extracts a sample that consists of individuals aged 65 years and older whose national origin is Korean, who were not born in the United States, and thereafter immigrated to the United States (N = 3,820). The findings indicate that 3 dimensions of social exclusion—exclusion from social and civic life, exclusion from asset building, and exclusion from the labor market—contribute significantly to Korean immigrant older adults’ odds of living in poverty. The study concludes with practice implications for socially inclusive workforce development as a way to ameliorate economic afflictions among Korean immigrant older adults.     

Parental empowerment and child behavioural problems during youth care involvement

The aim of this study was to examine changes in parental empowerment and child behavioural problems during a period of youth care and how changes are related to the kind of services provided. We compared a preservation service that was family‐centred (FCS) with out‐of‐home services that were primarily child‐centred (CCS). The sample consisted of 621 families who were supported by FCS (n = 434) or CCS (n = 137). Information about parental empowerment and child behavioural problems was gathered at the start and end of youth care. Significant changes during treatment were identified with t tests and effect sizes. Significant improvements emerged on all empowerment scales for FCS but only on the behavioural control subscale for CCS. Moreover, significant improvements emerged on all child behavioural scales for both FCS as CCS. Cross‐lagged analysis showed that the kind of service, in favour of FCS, predicted parental empowerment but not child behavioural problems. Parental empowerment and child behavioural problems were negatively related. This paper discusses the potential for parental empowerment and FCS elements in CCS out‐of‐home care and the need for follow‐up research on this subject.     

Saving water to save the environment: contrasting the effectiveness of environmental and monetary appeals in a residential water saving intervention

To convince people to reduce their energy consumption, two types of persuasive appeals often are used by environmental organizations: Monetary appeals (i.e., ‘conserving energy will save you money’) and environmental appeals (i.e., ‘conserving energy will protect the environment’). In this field study we aimed to compare the effects of monetary and environmental appeals on showering habits. During two weeks we measured showering behavior in one hundred households. As compared to monetary appeals, environmental appeals were more effective in decreasing participants’ shower frequency. Interestingly, the monetary appeal was judged as somewhat more motivating to save water than the environmental appeal. We discuss theoretical and practical implications of these findings.     

Foster care assessment: an exploratory study of the placement assessment process in Flanders and the Netherlands

Family foster care placement decision‐making has a weak scientific underpinning. The identification of clusters of foster children (groups of foster children with similar characteristics) can help improve decision quality. In this study, we investigated if foster children could indeed be clustered, which problems were identified at the time of placement and what might be the influence of placement history. Two clusters of foster children were found: (i) young children with coinciding parental child‐rearing incapacity and familial problems, and (ii) older children with child problems. At the time of placement, familial problems were more often identified in younger children with a placement history. These findings stress the importance of approaching foster care assessment as part of a dynamic decision‐making process. It is key to finding the most appropriate situation for the child. At the same time, it must be decided how the desired situation can be realized, wherein placement decisions are based on an appraisal of whether or not a foster placement is an appropriate solution. In conjunction with this, it needs to be decided how the parents can be supported towards reunification, or whether or not long‐term foster care is the best option for the child, and if so what conditions need to be met.