Use of Technologies in Education and Training; Supplement to Army Science Board Ad Hoc Study.

JAMES CURRAN is Midland Bank Professor of Small Business Studies and head of the Small Business Research Unit at Kingston Polytechnic, England, and John Stanworth is Professor and director of the Future of Work Research Group at the London Management Centre, Polytechnic of Central London, England. Small business education and training has grown rapidly in importance as 'enterprise' has assumed a key role in the main political initiatives towards economic restructuring in Britain and elsewhere. This development has, however, been essentially ad hoc and there is now a need to identify more clearly the major forms of enterprise and training education, their target populations and their resource effectiveness. 'Entrepreneurial education' or 'training for entrepreneurship' are widely used phrases, often intended to take on a generic meaning. However, most small business educational activities have little to do with promoting 'entrepreneurship' in any strict sense. To clarify the analysis and disaggregate the main forms of education and training activities linked to the small business, the authors have distinguished four distinct types-entrepreneurial education for small business and self-employment, continuing small business education, and small business awareness education. They conclude that in research terms there is a considerable need for a great deal of further study in all four dimensions for each of the forms of education. In policy terms the most resource effective form currently is probably education for small business ownership but they say that the greatest need is probably for more continuing small business education although this may be expensive in resource terms.

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Education and Training: From Ad Hoc to Bottom Line

Managing and Leading ◽

10.1061/9780784406755.ch30 ◽

2003 ◽

pp. 139-144

Keyword(s):

Ad Hoc ◽

Education And Training ◽

Bottom Line ◽

And Training

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Competence-based analysis of needs in VET teachers and trainers: an Italian experience

European Journal of Training and Development ◽

10.1108/ejtd-09-2013-0089 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 39 (1) ◽

pp. 22-42 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Riccardo Sartori ◽

Giuseppe Tacconi ◽

Beniamino Caputo

Keyword(s):

Focus Groups ◽

Ad Hoc ◽

Training Programs ◽

Education And Training ◽

Two Dimensions ◽

Vocational Education And Training ◽

Self Assessment ◽

Content Type ◽

Italian Experience ◽

And Training

Purpose – The aim of the research presented here was to detect, in line with the European Union’s “Education and Training 2020” work program, the training needs of teachers and trainers working in the vocational education and training (VET) system in the Italian Region of Veneto to design courses, experiences and other training programs tailored to meet the needs emerged. Design/methodology/approach – Four focus groups were including VET teachers and trainers were created, two before the construction and two after the online administration of an ad hoc questionnaire asking teachers and trainers to rate 67 competencies (43 for teachers, 24 for trainers) on the two dimensions of self-assessment (explicitly defined as the current level of mastery) and importance (explicitly defined as the expected level of mastery). Eight hundred twelve teachers and 166 trainers filled in the questionnaire which also asked them to give suggestions about the courses, experiences and other training programs to be designed. Findings – In questionnaires, teachers and trainers declare they are competent enough to do what they do (self-assessment always obtains higher ratings than importance, except in one competence for teachers), even if in focus groups they say they want to be trained. Accordingly, they express a clear preference for short or very short courses, tailored on their specific needs and for training experiences and programs which are alternative to classroom training. Practical implications – The research is a preliminary action to a European Social Fund project named “Training for trainers”, whose main aim is to give birth to courses, experiences and other training programs, specifically dedicated to VET teachers and trainers, to allow them to develop or refresh the competencies they feel they need for work. Besides, it allowed testing of the benefit of using mixed methods for a competence-based analysis of needs. Originality/value – Data will be used to design courses, experiences and other training programs that really meet the needs of VET teachers and trainers in Veneto to tackle those aspects they consider really important for work in a lifelong learning perspective.

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