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Critical Competencies of Program Quality as Perceived by Extension Educators
Issue:
Volume 6, Issue 2, June 2020
Pages:
52-57
Received:
13 March 2020
Accepted:
26 March 2020
Published:
14 April 2020
Abstract: This study examined the perceptions of youth development professionals (n=1007) across the United States about six critical staff training components using the Program Quality Competency Questionnaire (PQCQ), which was a valid, reliable research instrument. The critical staff training components that were analyzed included program theory, child youth development, social ecological theory, staff training development, program management engagement, and program management environment. These components formed a conceptual framework that may serve for skills refinement, curriculum development, job descriptions, training and professional development, and further discussions among researchers, practitioners, and other relevant parties around key competencies that are needed for youth quality programming since the study findings suggest that the components of the staff training model were critical to achieve quality programming in the field of positive youth development. The study findings also indicate that the perceptions of the participants varied greatly between gender. In addition, the study suggests that extension youth development professionals in the U.S were highly educated and were predominantly White/Caucasian women. The researcher suggests that administrators of youth development programs to consider adopting the framework and making the positive youth development field more attractive to the underrepresented population so the field can enjoy the benefits of diversity.
Abstract: This study examined the perceptions of youth development professionals (n=1007) across the United States about six critical staff training components using the Program Quality Competency Questionnaire (PQCQ), which was a valid, reliable research instrument. The critical staff training components that were analyzed included program theory, child you...
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A Systematic Review of Program Quality in the Field of Positive Youth Development
Jeantyl Norze,
Melissa Cater
Issue:
Volume 6, Issue 2, June 2020
Pages:
58-69
Received:
27 April 2020
Accepted:
26 May 2020
Published:
16 June 2020
Abstract: The purpose of the study was to examine areas of competency for quality programming in the field of youth development. Program Quality is one of the new foci of evaluation capacity building (ECB) efforts that has not been clearly defined in the literature. For the purpose of this study, the researchers operationally defined program quality as the program characteristics, indicators, and implementation practice that stakeholders including researchers mutually agree upon. These program quality components are interlinked. It is critical to help youth practitioners think through the logical connection among the components of program quality. This can be partly achieved through professional development, which equips practitioners with competencies necessary to perform their tasks. Implementation of quality is associated with program staff’s ability to influence program structure and process. Staff expertise is not defined by only their knowledge and skills but also their ability to respond to challenges and problems they face daily at work. Through a systematic literature review, the authors identified key areas where program quality in the field of youth development can be effectively impacted by staff training activities; these areas then served as the components of a proposed staff training model. The latter consists of four components: child/youth development, social ecological theory, program management, and program theory. These components were found to be critical for quality programming.
Abstract: The purpose of the study was to examine areas of competency for quality programming in the field of youth development. Program Quality is one of the new foci of evaluation capacity building (ECB) efforts that has not been clearly defined in the literature. For the purpose of this study, the researchers operationally defined program quality as the p...
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Organizing in the Shadow of Academic Entrepreneurship, Excellence and Omnipresence
Farah Dubois-Shaik,
Christophe Dubois
Issue:
Volume 6, Issue 2, June 2020
Pages:
70-81
Received:
27 May 2020
Accepted:
11 June 2020
Published:
28 June 2020
Abstract: Drawing on an empirical case study conducted in a Belgian University [1], this article proposes a framework to analyze how academic organizations are both structuring and structured by academics’ strategies. First, it accounts for three major logics of action – Entrepreneurship, Excellence and Omnipresence – percolating three organizational dimensions – namely managerial discourses, formal and parallel structures [2]. Moreover, this paper proposes that these organizational dimensions constitute three different and always temporary states that are constantly being shaped by three phases of organizing processes – namely translation, inscription, enactment [6]. Second, drawing on Gherardi et al.’s metaphor of “shadow organizing” [3], the article identifies some ideal-typical strategies developed by academics: sober stowing away, selecting the local candidate, and invisible caring. The identification of these strategies opens up to discussing how academics are (pretending to) playing and applying the rules of the game, while also disengaging from them. In doing so, academics contribute to preserving and reinforcing the managerial discourse and the formal structure of their organization.
Abstract: Drawing on an empirical case study conducted in a Belgian University [1], this article proposes a framework to analyze how academic organizations are both structuring and structured by academics’ strategies. First, it accounts for three major logics of action – Entrepreneurship, Excellence and Omnipresence – percolating three organizational dimensi...
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