Teaching the teachers: What's missing in LIS doctoral teacher education?

This panel presentation will discuss the results of a study that examines the status of teacher education in United States-based Library and Information Studies (LIS) doctoral degree programs. The study integrates analysis of program information, student perspectives, and institutional expectations to assess whether current approaches in developing discipline-specific educators are adequate for the immediate professional needs of doctoral students and the long-term academic viability of LIS programs. The analysis focuses on a subset of ALA-accredited LIS programs that hold membership in ALISE and/or the iSchool Organization. It assumes that the majority of the LIS degreed faculty personnel are drawn from these programs and thus are part of an overall network of doctoral teacher education and training that is ostensibly informed by shared policy frameworks. Yet, the notion of teaching doctoral students to be teachers is largely absent from professional discourse in LIS, where most discussions of education focus solely on training librarians, archivists, and other information professionals in information literacy instruction. In other words, there is not now, nor does there appear to have ever been, a clear consensus approach to training the people who ultimately become responsible for teaching LIS. Recent research and reporting demonstrate that across academe, PhD programs generally do not provide sufficient teacher training for doctoral students, mostly because academic faculty and department agendas are focused on research that attracts outside funding, facilitates industry partnerships, and adds notoriety and prestige for institutions in an increasingly competitive education marketplace. A 2018 study by the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) found that the scant training offered by the ‘professional apprenticeship’ system, defined mostly by teaching assistantships, may actually stunt doctoral students’ progress toward degree completion. The report indicates that “while teaching a few courses can be a valuable learning experience, many teaching assistants instead operate as a source of cheap labor for the academy,” producing a harmful “casualization” of academic labor that undermines traditional faculty roles and the tenure system. Further analysis by the AAUP shows that the proportion of teaching-intensive positions to research-intensive positions has risen sharply in recent years, representing a “seismic shift” with consequences for faculty and students due to the “lower levels of campus engagement across the board and a rising service burden for the shrinking core of tenurable faculty.” Discipline-specific studies of doctoral student teacher training in a variety of academic fields reveal an ambivalence among students toward their teaching responsibilities and opportunities, which often reflects a lack of confidence in and anxiety around their ability to teach effectively and leads to feelings of unpreparedness in assuming faculty positions. This is especially problematic for doctoral students in programs that promote the ideal of success as obtaining tenure-track positions in highly-ranked and research intensive academic institutions, while not adequately preparing doctoral students for alternative career paths. The trend of shrinking university budgets and diminishing opportunities for new PhDs to take on research-focused work has been accompanied by new expectations for education delivery by students, administrators, accreditors, employers, and other stakeholders, both of which contribute to the high attrition rate of doctoral students. Research shows that when combined with the firsthand experience gained through the apprentice systems, formal teacher training makes a positive difference in how new and aspiring faculty carry out their roles, manage their workloads, and build sustainable careers. Adequate teacher training also creates a ripple effect that benefits student learning outcomes and skills acquisition, which is especially important to LIS and other discipline areas built around a distinct but evolving set of practical professional pursuits. Very little scholarly research along these lines has been conducted in the LIS field and even a surface level scan of the status of doctoral student teacher training within LIS programs demonstrates that efforts are inconsistent, nonstandardized, and seemingly inadequate. This study attempts to dig deeper and address how teacher education and training is integrated into curricular offerings and requirements in American LIS doctoral programs. It incorporates perceptions from doctoral students about the teacher education and training they have received and it evaluates the education or training requirements included on faculty job position descriptions in these programs to see how they align with students’ experience and their own program expectations. The authors suggest that instruction needs to include and go beyond learning courseware, instructional design, educational theory, and ad hoc modelling of doctoral seminars to enable doctoral students to develop diverse but discipline-specific instructional approaches to LIS. In accord with the conference theme, this panel presentation is not limited to assessment and critique for its own sake, but rather seeks to propose possible solutions and recommendations for how teacher education and training might become more effective and more of a priority for LIS doctoral programs as they seek a more resilient future. The panel is composed of current doctoral students who will present on the various aspects of the research and discuss the findings in relation to their own experience with doctoral teacher training and education. Furthermore, the panelists intend to structure their delivery in a way that promotes interaction with faculty, students, administrators, and others in the audience and provides the basis for continuing conversations and research beyond the conference

Leadership Competencies Needed by Future Army Education Services Officers

The purpose of this study was to identify which leadership competencies future Army Continuing Education System Education Services Officers will need to better structure leadership development within that organization. A Delphi survey was sent to 13 Southeast Region Army Education Services Officers (ESOs) and consisted of three rounds: the first two rounds were used to reach a consensus as to what competencies were considered important by the panel of experts, and the last round allowed the panel to rank each selected competency by its level of importance to future Education Services Officers. Using Army Field Manual 6-22, Army Leadership, the Army\u27s eight core competencies and associated components were used to formulate the initial round of 56 Yes or No responses. The first round included two open-ended questions and requested demographic data. Round Two was made up of 24 Yes or No response statements and two open-ended questions. The last round included the final 67 components that were ranked in order of importance on a five-point rating scale (Least Important, Important, Somewhat Important, Very Important, Critical). Using quantitative methods of frequencies and percentages, the results indicated that present Education Services Officers believe that almost all of the competencies listed in Field Manual 6-22 are important for future Education Services Officers. The additional knowledge, skills, abilities, and dispositions that make up the added competency components included: Understands the role of the Army within the Department of Defense; Leads with flexibility; Utilizes strategic planning and decision making methods; Understands budget development and fiscal planning; Identifies personnel and contracting requirements and understands both systems; Open to [learning about] technical, virtual, and Internet-based systems; and Encourages innovation. The information obtained from this study can provide a framework to assist Army leaders, Garrison Commanders, and hiring officials when reviewing applications for future Education Services Officers. Current Army Continuing Education System professionals can also use the data from this study to ensure they have sought out and received the necessary training and development in each competency area and are fully qualified to meet the demands of working as future Education Services Officers

Vocational Education and Training and Transitions into the Labor Market

Stage 6 of the German National Educational Panel Study (NEPS) 6 is devoted to the transition of young people from school to work. Stage 6 focuses in particular on the transition from school to vocational education and training and then to work (for tertiary education, see Chap. 16). In all Western societies, vocational education and training (VET) systems face a number of challenges, including the need to adapt to increasing skill requirements across the economy and to handle the danger of producing an "underclass" of low-skilled youth. This chapter presents the life-course approach for investigating school-leavers' pathways from school into the labor market within NEPS. Several factors shape young people’s school-to-work transitions: their motivation and competence endowment, their decisions to apply for specific educational programs, the constraints they face regarding the opportunities for VET programs and the gatekeepers’ recruitment behavior, the information and support youths may or may not receive from social networks, and the learning environments they encounter in firms and schools. We outline the basic theories that guide our research concerning these influences and discuss how we take them into account within NEPS Stage 6. Thus, we provide an overview of the study’s research potential in the area of VET. For now, it is mainly the Scientific Use Files of Starting Cohort 4 (SC4) that provide ample opportunities for innovative interdisciplinary analyses - including analyses of students from special education schools. As the starting cohorts age, Starting Cohort 3 (SC3) has now also entered NEPS Stage 6 and its data on VET transitions will soon be available as well

A Blueprint for Early Care and Education Quality Improvement Initiatives: Final Report

As Quality Rating and Improvement Systems (QRIS) continue to launch and mature across states, questions emerge from stakeholders about how to design and implement effective quality improvement (QI) initiatives that accompany a QRIS. Funders, policymakers and program developers with limited resources are looking to invest in activities that will be most successful in supporting early care and education (ECE) program quality improvement and ultimately improving outcomes for young children. The purpose of this report is to address questions about effective QI initiatives by proposing a blueprint of quality improvement practices and design considerations generated from a synthesis of the existing research literature and input from national experts in ECE quality improvement

Identifying Gaps and Setting Priorities for Employment and Training Research

The report summarizes recent workforce and employment related research, to identify current gaps in employment and training research and makes recommendations for future research processes and priorities that could better inform policy makers, practitioners, job seekers and employers. The report reviews workforce and related research funded by several federal agencies, including the US Departments of Labor, Education, Agriculture, Health and Human Services, and Housing and Urban Development, the National Science Foundation and other federal entities, as well as research undertaken by regional, state and local workforce agencies and philanthrophic organizations

United We Ride National Dialogue

The Coordinating Council on Access and Mobility (CCAM) asked the National Academy of Public Administration and Easter Seals Project ACTION to develop and host the first United We Ride (UWR) National Dialogue. The goal of the Dialogue was to help shape future policy direction and provide input to the next CCAM strategic plan. The National Academy also assembled a small work group with representatives of the Federal Interagency Coordinating Council on Access and Mobility, Easter Seals Project ACTION, and the National Resource Center on Human Service Transportation to help guide the process of design and implementation.The CCAM includes 11 federal departments, nine of which are responsible for providing transportation for people with disabilities, older adults, and people with limited incomes. CCAM officially launched United We Ride in 2004 to (1) provide more rides for target populations while using the same or fewer assets, (2) simplify access, and (3) increase customer satisfaction.Key FindingsThe process used to create coordinated transportation plans needs improvement. Significant federal policy barriers still exist to strategies that would facilitate access to transportation services. Mobility management strategies are underutilized in communities across the country, and missed opportunities to bridge gaps between transportation and other community services still need to be addressed

Policy Options for Assisting Child SSI Recipients in Transition

The transition process for a child Supplemental Security Income (SSI) recipient nearing the age of 18 can be quite complicated. From a programmatic standpoint, all child SSI recipients have their eligibility redetermined under the adult SSI disability requirements at age 18. Potentially more important, many child SSI recipients are also at the age when they must prepare for life beyond secondary school. The choices made during this important transition could have long-term implications for a child's future employment prospects, particularly given the typically long durations of participation and strong work disincentives associated with SSI participation. The purpose of our analysis is to examine concerns related to this transition process and suggest policy options for consideration by the Social Security Administration's (SSA) Ticket Advisory Panel. Our findings are based on an extensive literature review of programs that serve child SSI recipients and semi-structured interviews with experts familiar with the problems facing youth during this transition. In previous reports, the Ticket Advisory Panel has suggested expanding eligibility for the Ticket program to child SSI recipients age 17 to 18 as one possible mechanism for improving independent living options for this population (Ticket to Work and Work Incentives Advisory Panel 2001). We build off this initial suggestion by examining other possible mechanisms for improving independent living options for "transition age" (i.e., youth nearing age 18) child SSI recipients

Developing effective child death review : a study of ‘early starter’ child death overview panels in England

Aim This qualitative study of a small number of child death overview panels aimed to observe and describe their experience in implementing new child death review processes, and making prevention recommendations. Methods Nine sites reflecting a geographic and demographic spread were selected from Local Safeguarding Children Boards across England. Data were collected through a combination of questionnaires, interviews, structured observations, and evaluation of documents. Data were subjected to qualitative analysis. Results Data analysis revealed a number of themes within two overarching domains: the systems and structures in place to support the process; and the process and function of the panels. The data emphasised the importance of child death review being a multidisciplinary process involving senior professionals; that the process was resource and time intensive; that effective review requires both quantitative and qualitative information, and is best achieved through a structured analytic framework; and that the focus should be on learning lessons, not on trying to apportion blame. In 17 of the 24 cases discussed by the panels, issues were raised that may have indicated preventable factors. A number of examples of recommendations relating to injury prevention were observed including public awareness campaigns, community safety initiatives, training of professionals, development of protocols, and lobbying of politicians. Conclusions The results of this study have helped to inform the subsequent establishment of child death overview panels across England. To operate effectively, panels need a clear remit and purpose, robust structures and processes, and committed personnel. A multiagency approach contributes to a broader understanding of and response to children’s deaths