Mapping communication management competencies for European practitioners ECOPSI an EU study

This paper and its findings suggest there is little organised life-long learning in public relations and communication management in Europe. Consequently senior communication practitioners believe there are major failings in the capabilities related to our profession which if not addressed will serve as significant challenges for European organisations over the next 10 years. Longitudinal research further suggests the role of practitioners is changing and they require many more competencies to be successful in their communication roles (Zerfass et al., 2007- 2013). These are some of the observations and conclusions drawn from and supported by an extensive review of theory and practice emerging from the ECOPSI Programme (European Communication Professional Skills and Innovation), which is the largest European Union funded project of its kind to report into strategic communication until now (Tench et al 2012, 2013a, 2013b). There are on-going gaps and deficiencies in the development of the individuals as well as broad variation in how practitioners identify needs and access appropriate interventions. This presents numerous opportunities for deeper and on-going professional training and development to build consistency and support good practice in moving away from a hands-on, learning on-the-job approach to more focused knowledge acquisition and development. The ECOPSI programme is a two-year research project exploring the competencies required by communication professionals in Europe. This innovative programme is a partnership of six leading European universities in communication research and education located in Germany, Netherlands, Slovenia, Spain, Turkey and the UK as well as the European Association of Communication Directors (EACD). The two-year programme is led by Leeds Metropolitan University and is the first and largest to be funded by the European Union. The study provides in-depth insights into the competencies needed for four communication roles through the Communication Role Matrix: internal communication, crisis communication, social media and chief communication officer (CCO). The Communication Role Matrix captures what it is a communication professional does and the requirement necessary to perform the role successfully by identifying the knowledge, skills (hard and soft) and personal attributes for each role (Tench et al 2013a). This paper: (1) analyses the construction and perceptions about the Communication Role Matrix; (2) highlights current contemporary issues faced by the industry; and (3) presents the transference of knowledge from ECOPSI to the professional field through the Portal (for) Advancing Communication Expertise (p4ace) along with a self-diagnostic tool aimed to engage practitioners in continued professional development

Curriculum renewal for interprofessional education in health

In this preface we comment on four matters that we think bode well for the future of interprofessional education in Australia. First, there is a growing articulation, nationally and globally, as to the importance of interprofessional education and its contribution to the development of interprofessional and collaborative health practices. These practices are increasingly recognised as central to delivering effective, efficient, safe and sustainable health services. Second, there is a rapidly growing interest and institutional engagement with interprofessional education as part of pre-registration health professional education. This has changed substantially in recent years. Whilst beyond the scope of our current studies, the need for similar developments in continuing professional development (CPD) for health professionals was a consistent topic in our stakeholder consultations. Third, we observe what might be termed a threshold effect occurring in the area of interprofessional education. Projects that address matters relating to IPE are now far more numerous, visible and discussed in terms of their aggregate outcomes. The impact of this momentum is visible across the higher education sector. Finally, we believe that effective collaboration is a critical mediating process through which the rich resources of disciplinary knowledge and capability are joined to add value to existing health service provision. We trust the conceptual and practical contributions and resources presented and discussed in this report contribute to these developments.Office of Learning and Teaching Australi

Cultural Competency in Capacity Building

Discusses different capacity building approaches to improving cultural competency that are informed by community participation and multicultural organizational development

Innovations in Assessing Practice Skills: Using Social Cognitive Theory, Technology, and Self-Reflection

The dissertation seeks to bridge the research and practice domains in social work education by advancing disciplinary thinking and pedagogical approaches informed by social cognitive theory, reflective practice, and the use of technology. The use of social cognitive theory (Bandura 1977, 1995, 1997) and reflective practice (Schön 1983, 1987) are proposed as complementary constructs. Together these theories have the potential to guide educational approaches that result in evidenced-informed, skills-trained social workers with the capacity for critical thinking and self-reflection, thus bridging the evidence to practice gap. The first product, a conceptual paper, advances disciplinary thinking and pedagogical approaches for teaching social work clinical practice skills by applying social cognitive theory and concepts (i.e., mastery modeling, behavioral rehearsal, self-efficacy, resiliency to difficulties) in combination with the theory of reflective practice to promote critical thinking and skill agility. Implications for social work education are discussed and pedagogical strategies offered. The second product presents research conducted within a BSW micro practice course with 28 students, in which teaching strategies informed by social cognitive theory combined with self-reflection aided by videotaping were evaluated. The developed teaching method included the sequential steps of mastery modeling of partialized skills, multiple student behavioral rehearsals, instructor feedback, and student self-reflection of videotaped sessions. Students significantly gained proficiency and self-efficacy in interviewing and problem-solving skills. The third product provides an overview of the presentation entitled “Practice Skill Pedagogy: Evaluating Use of Social Cognitive Theory, Taping, and Self-Reflection,” which was presented on March 3, 2017, at The Association of Baccalaureate Social Work Program

Innovations in Assessing Practice Skills: Using Social Cognitive Theory, Technology, and Self-Reflection

The dissertation seeks to bridge the research and practice domains in social work education by advancing disciplinary thinking and pedagogical approaches informed by social cognitive theory, reflective practice, and the use of technology. The use of social cognitive theory (Bandura 1977, 1995, 1997) and reflective practice (Schön 1983, 1987) are proposed as complementary constructs. Together these theories have the potential to guide educational approaches that result in evidenced-informed, skills-trained social workers with the capacity for critical thinking and self-reflection, thus bridging the evidence to practice gap. The first product, a conceptual paper, advances disciplinary thinking and pedagogical approaches for teaching social work clinical practice skills by applying social cognitive theory and concepts (i.e., mastery modeling, behavioral rehearsal, self-efficacy, resiliency to difficulties) in combination with the theory of reflective practice to promote critical thinking and skill agility. Implications for social work education are discussed and pedagogical strategies offered. The second product presents research conducted within a BSW micro practice course with 28 students, in which teaching strategies informed by social cognitive theory combined with self-reflection aided by videotaping were evaluated. The developed teaching method included the sequential steps of mastery modeling of partialized skills, multiple student behavioral rehearsals, instructor feedback, and student self-reflection of videotaped sessions. Students significantly gained proficiency and self-efficacy in interviewing and problem-solving skills. The third product provides an overview of the presentation entitled “Practice Skill Pedagogy: Evaluating Use of Social Cognitive Theory, Taping, and Self-Reflection,” which was presented on March 3, 2017, at The Association of Baccalaureate Social Work Program