Coaching for Teachers

The Purpose of this Booklet This booklet is intended to provide succinct guidance to teachers, leaders and other practitioners in schools on current research and methodologies related to coaching. Coaching is increasingly seen as an important, key element in practitioner professional learning. The Welsh Government’s recent publication ‘Investing in excellence: Our national workforce development plan 2019–21’ (Welsh Government, 2019) includes commitments to: • a dedicated programme of coaching and mentoring and a set of standards for mentor support along with a programme of common professional learning for mentors. (designed for) practitioners in the early career stages • the introduction of an enhanced programme that includes coaching, mentoring and a high-level development programme (to support leadership and succession planning) The national professional learning model (NAPL) is the government’s vehicle for the design and delivery of professional learning (https://gov.wales/national-approach-professional-learning-napl ). In the context of practitioner coaching and mentoring, the following design features are particularly pertinent: The professional learner is near the centre of our national approach. Professional Learning should be intended and designed to be a personalised response to individual professional learners’ needs, taking into account their experience, expertise and aspirations. (Welsh Government, 2019) There are clearly links to effective teaching and learning also, and hence to the Welsh Government’s professional standards for teaching and leadership (Welsh Government, 2018). Whilst the focus in this booklet is on the teaching profession, coaching has already been shown to be truly beneficial for the development of a wide range of professions, and for activities both inside and outside work (Passmore & Fillery-Travis, 2011). Photo by Toa Heftiba on Unsplas

The significance and challenges of turnover and retention of millennial professionals

Purpose – This paper aims to provide readers with a comprehensive overview of the current state of the millennial literature, highlighting the significance and challenges of millennial professionals, their reported high turnover and the various recommendations designed to engage and retain them. Design/methodology/approach – An integrated review approach was applied to synthesise contemporary peer-reviewed articles, supplemented by legacy and grey literature and relevant book chapters, to comprehensively explore and construct a cohesive overview of the current research on the millennial workforce. Findings – Within the wealth of available information, examining the various studies on millennial turnover reveals diverse theories, evidence and opportunities for advancement, underscoring the necessity for more robust empirical studies. The investigation identified three overarching retention strategy themes: (1) intergenerational conflict management, (2) workplace adaptations and (3) solutions rooted in a protean career orientation. In alignment with protean career concepts, coaching shows promise as an underexplored option. Practical implications – This article holds practical significance by offering researchers a comprehensive and cohesive overview of the millennial literature. Additionally, it gives organisations a novel perspective on the crucial role coaching can play in engaging and retaining millennial employees. Originality/value – The increased focus on retaining millennial workers in recent decades has spurred a proliferation of articles and books on this subject. However, this body of research remains fragmented, lacking an overview that provides a clear picture of its current state. This review aims to bridge this gap. Keywords Millennials, Generational differences, Intergenerational conflicts, Retention, Protean career, Coaching Paper type Conceptual pape

Teaching Open Science. What do FNS-Cloud Food Researchers Want to Know?

Training can better meet user needs by involving the potential users early in the process. Here, development of open science training for food science students and professionals began with 11 guided interviews of 15 beneficiaries in a European project aiming to build a ‘food cloud’ of datasets and services (FNS-Cloud, H2020 No. 863059). Discussions covered what partners want to learn, how they prefer to learn, and who are their ideal trainers. Inductive coding of interview transcripts with NVivo 12 qualitative analysis software revealed an inclination for technical training with a focus on data. Face-to-face learning and on-demand elearning offered by younger scientists were preferred methods and trainers. Most interviewees also talked about ‘food cloud’-specific fears and desires. These interviews are now the foundation of three well received elearning courses and two workshop series supporting the value of user input in early course development decisions

Hyfforddi i Athrawon

Bwriad y llyfryn hwn yw rhoi cyfarwyddyd cryno i athrawon,arweinwyr ac ymarferwyr eraill mewn ysgolion ynghylch ymchwil cyfredol a methodolegau’n gysylltiedig â hyfforddi

The Influence of professional doctorates on practice and the workplace

This paper investigates the influence that undertaking a professional doctorate has on the practice of the graduate and their workplace or organisation. There is a growing literature on how undertaking such advanced development influences the individual graduate at the personal and professional level but there is little evidence of a wider impact on practice in general or at the organisational level. This study seeks to address this issue through a qualitative study of practitioners from a range of professional arenas and sectors who have graduated from a professional doctorate within the past 10 years. Through thematic analysis of semi-structured interviews and the candidates’ project reports we explore their experience of applying their learning within their workplaces providing insight into the level and degree of influence such development can have on organisational contexts. The paper does not focus on the academic or personal impact of their experience as the intention of these particular doctoral researchers is the creation of new knowledge embedded in practice