Me, Myself, and I On the Role of Self-Reflection in Adult Education

This study builds on contemporary adult learning theories that deal with reflexivity and the construction of self, and its purpose is to explore in an empirical research setting how self-reflection is depicted in three dimensions – cognitively, emotionally, and socially – by participants of workplace training workshops

“This is not a test”:How do human resource development professionals use personality tests as tools of their professional practice?

Although human resource development (HRD) professionals enjoy the use of personality tests in their practice, the appeal of these tests to some is harshly criticized by others. Personality tests attract through optimistic descriptions and ease of use for individual and team development while often lacking predictive and discriminant validities. Despite those concerns, the personality‐testing market can be characterized as a dynamic industry, with many professionals using assessments in developmental settings such as management training and executive coaching. The aim of this article is to explore how individual meaning‐making and organizational sensemaking theories help to explain the widespread and sustained use of personality tests in developmental contexts among HRD professionals. Using grounded theory and inductive analysis, we distill meaning from semistructured interviews with 18 HRD professionals. Through pattern analysis, we establish six strategies that describe practical approaches in personality testing: 1. Ethical‐protective, 2. Scientific‐selective, 3. Cautious‐avoiding, 4. Cautious‐embracing, 5. User friendly‐pragmatic, and 6. Knowledgeable‐accommodating. We find that HRD professionals deal with cognitive dissonances and paradoxical situations in their professional personality test use practice on a regular basis. Research limitations and implications for practice and future research are discussed

Making Decisions In the Dark : Learning Through Uncertainty in Clinical Practice During COVID-19

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to explore how decision making and informal and incidental learning (IIL) emerged in the clinical learning environment (CLE) during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. The authors\u27 specific interest was to better understand the IIL that took place among frontline physicians who had to navigate a CLE replete with uncertainty and complexity with the future goal of creating experiences for medical students that would simulate IIL and use uncertainty as a catalyst for learning. METHOD: Using a modified constructivist, grounded theory approach, we describe physicians\u27 IIL while working during times of heightened uncertainty. Using the critical incident technique, we conducted 45-min virtual interviews with seven emergency department (ED) and five intensive care unit (ICU) physicians, who worked during the height of the pandemic. The authors transcribed and restoried each interview before applying inductive, comparative analysis to identify patterns, assertions, and organizing themes. RESULTS: Findings showed that the burden of decision making for physicians was influenced by the physical, emotional, relational, and situational context of the CLE. The themes that emerged for decision making and IIL were interdependent. Prominent among the patterns for decision making were ways to simplify the problem by applying prior knowledge, using pattern recognition, and cross-checking with team members. Patterns for IIL emerged through trial and error, which included thoughtful experimentation, consulting alternative sources of information, accumulating knowledge, and poking at the periphery of clinical practice. CONCLUSIONS: Complexity and uncertainty are rife in clinical practice and this study made visible decision-making patterns and IIL approaches that can be built into formal curricula. Making implicit uncertainty explicit by recognizing it, naming it, and practicing navigating it may better prepare learners for the uncertainty posed by the clinical practice environment

Global and Regional Differences in Brain Anatomy of Young Children Born Small for Gestational Age

In children who are born small for gestational age (SGA), an adverse intrauterine environment has led to underdevelopment of both the body and the brain. The delay in body growth is (partially) restored during the first two years in a majority of these children. In addition to a negative influence on these physical parameters, decreased levels of intelligence and cognitive impairments have been described in children born SGA. In this study, we used magnetic resonance imaging to examine brain anatomy in 4- to 7-year-old SGA children with and without complete bodily catch-up growth and compared them to healthy children born appropriate for gestational age. Our findings demonstrate that these children strongly differ on brain organisation when compared with healthy controls relating to both global and regional anatomical differences. Children born SGA displayed reduced cerebral and cerebellar grey and white matter volumes, smaller volumes of subcortical structures and reduced cortical surface area. Regional differences in prefrontal cortical thickness suggest a different development of the cerebral cortex. SGA children with bodily catch-up growth constitute an intermediate between those children without catch-up growth and healthy controls. Therefore, bodily catch-up growth in children born SGA does not implicate full catch-up growth of the brain

Schubladendenken oder Lerninstrument? Persönlichkeitstests und deren Anwendung in der betrieblichen Weiterbildung

Auf den ersten Blick scheinen Persönlichkeitstests nichts mit den Themen der Erwachsenenbildung zu tun zu haben. In der Weiterbildungspraxis werden sie jedoch vermehrt und variabel als Instrumente der Reflexion eingesetzt. Daraus ergibt sich ein Spannungsfeld zwischen beruflicher Praxis und theoretischem Zugriff, welches in diesem Beitrag beschrieben wird. In drei Abschnitten – Gegenstand, AkteurInnen und Einsatzorte – werden Persönlichkeitstests in der betrieblichen Weiterbildung skizziert. Methode ist die ethnographische Feldbeschreibung. Die gesammelten Daten stammen aus Deutschland und Großbritannien. Im Beitrag wird vorrangig das Persönlichkeitstestfeld in Großbritannien beschrieben. Der Bezug zur österreichischen Situation und mögliche Verbindungen zu Themen der Erwachsenenbildung werden im Fazit aufgezeigt. (DIPF/Orig.)At first glance, personality tests do not have much to do with adult education research. In workplace learning and training, however, they are increasingly used for triggering self-reflection. This article examines the tensions that result from this interplay between professional practice and theoretical approach. In doing so, the practice of personality testing in CVET is depicted in three sections – field, participants, and areas of application. Using ethnographic research methods, the study draws on data collected in Germany and Great Britain with a focus on the latter. The article concludes by relating the analysis to the situation in Austria and by discussing possible connections with the field of adult education research. (DIPF/Orig.

What HRD Is Doing—What HRD Should be Doing: The Case for Transforming HRD

Human resource development (HRD) is no longer expected to be the primary agency for promoting learning and development among employees. Today, HRD is diffused and integrated into a broad range of leadership and supervisory roles. As more responsibility for learning and development is assumed by others, what is the role of HRD? Although HRD has largely adapted to sharing more of its traditional responsibility for learning and development, the field has also encountered challenges and criticisms. We juxtapose recent adaptations and advances in HRD with perspectives on the dilemmas, challenges, and criticisms of HRD as seen by those outside the field of HRD. Grounded in a comprehensive review of recent literature, the authors seek to provide a balanced perspective on HRD’s strengths and weaknesses and to conceptualize a new perspective on HRD and its transformation for the future

Pigeonholing or learning instrument?: On the practice and perception of personality testing in human resource development

Pigeonholing or learning instrument? On the Practice and Perception of Personality Testing in Human Resource Development Author: Henriette Lundgren Subject area: Human Resource Studies Keywords: Personality testing, human resource development, reflection, management development Teaser : Personality tests enjoy great popularity in business, human resource development (HRD), and adult education settings. However, the appeal of these tests to some is harshly criticized by others. In Pigeonholing or Learning Instrument, Henriette Lundgren poses central questions about how personality tests are being used in developmental settings, and to what extent their application can be perceived as ethical. Description: Personality tests like the Myers-Briggs type indicator (MBTI) or Big Five assessments enjoy great popularity in business, human resource development (HRD), and adult education settings. Psychometrics and personality testing are fascinating fields of study, with numerous writings on its history, its development, and its role in the workplace. Originally, personality tests were designed for personnel selection. Increasingly, they are also used in developmental areas of the human resources spectrum, such as coaching, educational leadership, organizational change, team building, and management development. However, while personality tests are often promoted as enablers to enhance personal development and organizational functioning, they can also yield the opposite effect of departmentalization and stereotyping. Criticized in many ways, a number of frequently used personality tests display poor validities and show methodological issues around forced-choice answer formats. Another contradiction evolves around the static nature of personality itself, which leaves scanty room for change and development. HRD at its core is about seeking opportunities for learning, growth, and development. The question thus arises how a test that determines “what is” can be effectively used in an adult education setting that strives to find out “what can be”. This dissertation explores the practice and perception of personality testing in HRD in order to build on ethical and effective practice in the field. The argument is organized around four studies. The first study explores instruments, stakeholders, and practice dynamics in three Western European countries. The second study sets the theoretical stage with an in-depth literature review on reflection as operationalized by Jack Mezirow. The third study examines HRD practitioners and how they select their instruments. Finally, the fourth study analyzes managers’ reactions to the use of these instruments as test takers. Throughout the dissertation, the author reviews what can be learned by examining policy, professional identities, organizational sensemaking, and the larger societal marketplace dynamics that enable businesses to exploit such tensions around personality testing. The dissertation offers new grounds and strategies for the use of personality testing in developmental contexts. About the Author: Henriette Lundgren is an international scholar-practitioner in the field of human resource development (HRD) with an interest in adult education, organizational psychology and talent management. Educated in the Netherlands, Italy and Germany, she holds a degree in International Business from Maastricht University, a master’s in Organizational Psychology from the Open University Hagen, and a Ph.D. in Human Resource Studies from Tilburg University. The results of her Ph.D. are described in this dissertation and were published in international peer-reviewed journals. Henriette lives with her husband in Upstate New York where she works as Talent Manager at Corning Incorporated