DTheses (Athabasca University)
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ARE COUNSELLORS’ MULTIPLE PROFESSIONAL IDENTITIES PROBLEMATIZED? A DISCOURSE ANALYSIS
Get PDFThe counselling and psychotherapy profession is currently undergoing significant regulatory development in Canada. Some scholars suggested the diverse nature of counselling may have posed challenges for defining the profession’s identity. I used Discourse Analysis to answer the research question of whether counsellors’ multiple identities are problematized, and if so, how? I interviewed three therapists who have a professional identity in addition to their counsellor identity. Their additional identities were clinical psychologist, registered nurse, and registered social worker. I also analyzed professional codes of ethics and job postings. The level of tension participants experienced within their identities varied. The problematization of their professional identities appeared to relate to tensions within professional discourses that arose in some participants’ contexts and not others. Several discourses were identified and will be discussed. Limitations of the research and implications for counsellors with multiple identities, counselling regulatory bodies, administrators, and future research are discussed.March 202
A VIRTUAL EDUCATION INTERVENTION TO APPROXIMATE HANDS-ON-LEARNING: VIA TASK-CENTERED LEARNING PRAXIS
Get PDFAs yet, technology cannot offer online learners a way to physically touch real objects in a remote learning environment. The gap in provisioning hands-on learning virtually is widening due to the global population explosion and society's quantum move to a net-connected world. A conundrum is growing where organizations are bound to continue using existing equipment, labs, and worksites to teach physical hands-on skills yet need to move curriculum online. Further, the quality of the pedagogy vis-à-vis the needs of tech-oriented twenty-first century learners, as well as wide accessibility to many demographics at minimal cost, are factors of great concern. Microworld solutions are nascent and out-of-range for all but the most well-funded early adopters such as medical, military, aerospace, and gaming. With this situation in mind, held against the three vectors of the iron triangle of distance education — quality, affordability, and accessibility — I designed a pedagogical-technological intervention called HAvatar. It uses a human avatar to stand in for online learners for equipment-based skills acquisition so that existing facilities can reach online learners with little disruption.
The intervention was evaluated using design-based research methodology in iterations grounded in task-centred learning theory criteria (quality) using existing real-world facilities and readily available retail technology (affordability) conducted with remote learners via broadband connectedness (accessibility). Data were collected via mixed methods with multiple data sources.
Findings reported that the quality of HAvatar as a way to master hands-on equipment skills was high. The seven participants unanimously recommended that HAvatar be taken further into technical and vocational training organizations. A quantitative in-situ study on its efficacy would be a future recommendation. HAvatar could contribute to the field of distance education by providing a viable solution for virtual hands-on learning.2022-0
YOU DON’T HAVE TO HAVE SEX: COUNSELLING FIELDS AND MANDATORY SEXUALITY
Get PDFAsexuality, and by extension people’s right to not have sex, is contentious ground. Psychology’s conception of asexuality perpetuates a system of oppression called mandatory sexuality. Mandatory sexuality operates in white settler colonial nation-state interests by decreeing that normative sexual activity occurs frequently, in the context of marriage or marriage-like monogamous relationships, with the goal of decreasing undesirable populations while increasing economically productive settler populations. Mandatory sexuality is perpetuated in psychology via microaggressions, including clinicians presuming that clients want to and do have sex regularly, or with pathologizing assessments that call for investigation when people do not want to have sex. In the present study, three feminist, sex positive, and trauma informed therapy practitioners discussed mandatory sexuality in semi-structured online interviews. Mandatory sexuality is a colonially instituted form of violence that leads to interrupted relational development, interfering with clients’ ability to have interdependent, grounded relationships with themselves and others.2022-1
ASSESSING AND PROMOTING CORPORATE INSTRUCTOR BLENDED TEACHING SELF-EFFICACY VIA THE TPACK MODEL
Get PDFCorporate training instructors are selected into their roles because of their specific technical and workplace knowledge and skills. These instructors often do not receive additional extensive formal education or training regarding facets of instructional design, course facilitation techniques in multiple modalities, training program management, and the use of educational and other technologies. Technology, Pedagogy, and Content Knowledge (TPACK) is a widely used framework for establishing a baseline of an instructor’s knowledge required for effective technology integration into their professional practice. This framework has been used to study several populations including pre-service and in-service teachers in a variety of formal education settings. This current study is the first time TPACK has been applied to training staff at an electrical utility in Ontario, Canada, to support blended learning and the successful integration of newer technologies in teaching practice. The purpose of this study was to adapt a modified TPACK framework for use with Instructors who teach Power System Operators, identifying the specific areas of greatest developmental need for each participant. Self-efficacy data was gathered using the Ohio State Teacher Efficacy Scale, modified for blended learning and for the corporate setting. Purposefully selected participants formed semi-structured focus groups to review questionnaire responses and identify areas of professional development. The outcome of this study suggested limited individualized development plans to close the identified gaps in technology, pedagogy, and/or content knowledge. There were positive suggestions on how to deepen departmental knowledge and skills through knowledge sharing, and for training department leaders to make professional development for instructional staff more accessible. This study can be used by other organizations to evaluate the professional development needs of training staff and the creation of action plans for improved blended teaching self-efficacy.2022-1
SUPPORTING FACULTY ADOPTION OF TECHNOLOGY AND ONLINE LEARNING: PANDEMIC INSPIRED POSSIBILITIES
Get PDFBackground: This dissertation reports on a mixed-methods case study that used an Appreciative Inquiry (AI) approach for a faculty development series aimed to support post-secondary educators in the adoption of technology and online delivery models. This study utilized the COVID19 shift to remote delivery which provided faculty an initial online teaching experience as an opportunity from which to reflect, vision and plan their professional development. Methodology: A concurrent parallel design was used to collect quantitative data from a pre-post
series self-assessment and qualitative data from the sessions and the participant reflective feedback survey. Findings: Participants had a positive experience with the AI-based professional development, impacted by the focus on strengths and the interaction with their peers. Findings
also indicate AI as a possible strategy to encourage the adoption of technology and online learning by supporting a shift in mindset, the development of a learning community, and enhancing awareness of techno-pedagogy skills. Contribution: The results offer a strategy for educational developers to use when supporting individual and group practice change and contributes to the knowledge of facilitating transformation in higher education.2022-0
ASSESSING THE REGULATION OF SELF-EMPLOYED NURSES IN THREE CANADIAN JURISDICTIONS
Get PDFSelf-employed nursing creates new opportunities with increased autonomy to provide for the needs of Canadians using their unique skills, knowledge, and judgment in alternative settings, yet research demonstrates current provincial nursing regulation is inhibiting nurses in these roles. Using qualitative case study methodology, this research aims to examine how provincial regulation impacts self-employed nurses. The case study compares three provincial registered nurse regulatory bodies by analyzing publicly accessible documents to discover how regulatory actors and context impact the content and processes self-employed nurses engage in. The findings demonstrate specific contextual features and actors as having a significant impact on the regulation of self-employed nurses through their influence on content and processes. Right-touch regulation and other evidence-informed regulatory practices are identified as a facilitator of self-employed nursing regulation which represents a key finding of this research.2022-0
NURSE EDUCATOR EXPERIENCES OF VIRTUAL SIMULATION DEBRIEFING PRACTICES
Get PDFSimulation education provides unique experiential learning that enables nursing students to engage in clinical scenarios that replicate authentic clinical situations without causing harm to others or themselves. Simulation education has become a widely accepted and beneficial teaching modality in nursing curricula across Canada and globally. Virtual simulation was an essential part of nursing curricula before the pandemic. Even as the pandemic ends, the use of virtual simulation will continue to be integrated into nursing curricula as it offers an educational modality that supports students in meeting learning outcomes while accommodating the concern for the spread of infectious disease. Bound to the virtual simulation experience is instructor-led simulation debriefing, in which nurse educators guide students through critical reflection based on what happened during the simulation. However, research on nurse educators’ development and instructional strategies in virtual simulation debriefing is scarce. This study was grounded in interpretive phenomenology and utilized semi-structured interviews of seven participants to explore nurse educator experiences about virtual simulation online debriefing practices at a single post-secondary institution in Ontario. After inductive coding, the results showed that the four main themes that emerged from the data were, Demographics and Prerequisites of Virtual Simulation (VS) Debriefers, Improvement and Contribution to Best Practice, Experiences and Challenges of VS Debriefing, and Benefits and Opportunities of VS and Debriefing. The findings suggest the implementation of formative evaluation of debriefing practices can provide valuable insight for improved instructional design and innovative practice change that extend beyond nursing education.2022-0
DONATION AFTER CARDIOCIRCULATORY DEATH IN THE CONTEXT OF MEDICAL ASSISTANCE IN DYING
Get PDFOwing to the wide gap between the number of patients who would benefit from transplantation and the availability of organs, there is a pressing need to explore intentions of healthcare providers to enable controlled donation after cardiocirculatory death (cDCD) in the context of medical assistance in dying (MAiD). This is a major change in end-of-life practices and poses significant ethical and procedural challenges for care providers. Impetus is drawn from reconciling the discord surrounding autonomy for eligible MAiD patients who have capacity to be involved in shared decision-making. The Theory of Planned Behaviour was used to examine attitudinal, normative, and perceived behavioural control beliefs on these intentions in 132 MAiD service providers from multiple Canadian health jurisdictions. Regression analysis showed that the overall model significantly predicted 45% of variance in intention to enable cDCD. Of the theoretical constructs, moral norm and perceived behavioural control emerged as the key predictors.2022-0
IMPROVING STUDENT MENTAL HEALTH THROUGH HEALTH OBJECTIVES IN A MOBILE APP
Get PDFThis research sets out to validate a mobile app intervention that aimed to improve the participant’s mental health by asking them to engage in daily challenges, which encouraged the participant to create better sleep, diet, and exercise routines. The study gathered 73 participants, of which 67 completed at least one challenge, 30 participated in multiple mental health surveys, and 8 completed the entire 8-week trial. Throughout the trial participants filled out a patient health questionnaire (PHQ-4) that evaluated their mental health, while analytics were gathered about their engagement with the app as measured by the number of days they opened the app, number of challenges they completed, number of points they collected, and so on. Correlation analyses were performed to measure the correlation of engagement and mental health. We observed a negative correlation between points gained and mental health score indicating that engagement had a positive effect on mental health.2023-0
MEDICATION MANAGEMENT AMONG SOCIALLY ISOLATED OLDER ADULTS: A QUALITATIVE DESCRIPTIVE STUDY
Get PDFSocial isolation results in poorer health outcomes and influences medication management in older adults. Although social support is emphasized as an intervention to support medication management among older adults, there is an absence of research that explores medication management when social support is lacking. In this thesis, I firstly highlight key findings of existing research reviewing the link between medication management and social isolation among older adults. A qualitative descriptive approach was used to explore experiences of medication management among five socially isolated, community-dwelling older adults. Themes were compiled and included: complexity of managing medications, variations in how social relationships are conceptualized, experiences in managing healthcare resources, and personal health practices and beliefs. Findings support the notion that experiences are complex, and influenced by healthcare resources, personal practices, and beliefs. Older adults should be encouraged to work collaboratively with healthcare providers to mitigate challenges of medication management when socially isolated.2021-0