Careering

Career briefs

May 30, 2019By
CERIC-funded project to examine role of career education on outcomes of young Canadians

The Social Research and Demonstration Corporation (SRDC) is undertaking a project, supported by CERIC, that will identify the impact of career interventions/education on high school students’ post-secondary choices and workforce outcomes. The project will use data documenting 10 years in the lives of 7,000 young Canadians across 72 schools in British Columbia, Manitoba and New Brunswick, including their occupational aspirations at age 14, their post-secondary education and their earnings. It aims to help equip the career counselling profession to respond authoritatively to increasingly urgent policy questions about how best to structure career education for young people.

Visit ceric.ca to learn more about the project.

Brookfield Institute report examines diverse drivers of change in Canadian labour market

Turn and Face the Strange: Changes impacting the future of employment in Canada illuminates the diverse and intersecting trends driving change in Canada’s labour market. While technological trends will play a significant role in the future of work, many other trends could also influence future skills demand in positive and negative ways. Turn and Face the Strange paints a complex picture of the future, exploring 31 broad trends in the areas of:

  • Demographic change
  • Globalization
  • Technological change
  • Environmental sustainability
  • Urbanization
  • Increasing inequality
  • Political uncertainty

Brookfield Institute is continuing research in this area and is planning to share an insights report in summer 2019 based on workshops held in six Canadian locations.

Head to brookfieldinstitute.ca to read the report.

Training for working Canadians is scarce, Public Policy Forum report finds

This report examines Canada’s strengths and weaknesses in skills development as well as training models from around the world, and suggests improvements to lifelong learning systems. It suggests that while Canada’s K-12 education system is a world leader in equipping children and young people with the skills they need, training opportunities for workers in the labour force are scarce and unevenly distributed. Among the findings:

  • Less than one-third of Canadians receive job-related, non-formal education.
  • Those who do get job-related training receive only 49 hours of instruction annually, below the OECD average of 58 hours.
  • Less educated, Indigenous and older workers, as well as workers living in rural and remote communities, are less likely to receive workplace training.

Check out the full report at ppforum.ca.

Research report sheds light on Canada’s settlement sector

The Competencies of Front-line Settlement Practitioners in Canada: A Background Research Report is part of a project funded by CERIC and led by ECaliber Group and Calience Research that aims to enhance understanding of capacity-building among settlement workers. This timely report examines the nature of front-line settlement work and the context in which it is carried out. It also reviews what research and work has been undertaken toward strengthening the competencies of front-line settlement practitioners.

A finalized set of competencies and career pathways as well as insights gained during the implementation of the project will be captured in a final report and an infographic.

Find out more about this project at ceric.ca.

Ontario inadequately preparing students for jobs, adulthood: report

Ontario schools are falling behind in preparing students for future jobs and adulthood, according to a Counselling Foundation of Canada-funded report by People for Education titled Roadmaps and roadblocks: Career and life planning, guidance and streaming in Ontario’s schools. The province has a policy aimed at supporting students, from kindergarten to Grade 12, for career and life planning, but schools are struggling to implement it, the report says. These challenges come at a time when there is growing pressure to prepare students for a rapidly changing, increasingly complex future, the report suggests.

Read the report at peopleforeducation.ca.

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Careering

10 Questions with Dr Chris Wood

May 30, 2019By

Dr Chris Wood is an Associate Professor and Department Chair in the Counselor Education, School Psychology and Human Services Department at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. He has been a faculty member at Old Dominion University, Seattle University, Ohio State University and the University of Arizona. Dr Wood has previous experience as a high school counsellor, a counselling/guidance department chair, a counsellor/group leader at a residential youth facility for troubled teens and a career counsellor at an alternative school serving grades 7-12.

Dr Wood was the editor of the Professional School Counseling Journal for six years. He has been the principal investigator or faculty research associate on over $3 million in state and federal grants. He has over 30 conference presentations and 30 publications including articles in Professional School Counseling, the Journal of Counseling & Development, the Journal of College Counseling, Counselor Education and Supervision, Career Planning and Adult Development Journal, and The Elementary School Journal. Dr Wood was co-editor of the 5th and 6th editions of the National Career Development Association (NCDA) publication A Counselor’s Guide to Career Assessment Instruments. He was honoured with the American Counseling Association’s Fellow Award in 2017.

Dr Wood was also interviewed for the 2019 Summer issue of Career Developments, the National Career Development Association print magazine.

In a sentence or two, describe why career development matters.

Career development matters because it helps individuals actualize their dreams and it gives society a chance to ameliorate inequities created by sociopolitical oppression. When individuals don’t experience adequate career development interventions, they are susceptible to socializing forces that minimize their career opportunities and society misses out on the many benefits such individuals could have provided.

Which book are you reading right now and why did you choose it?

I’m trying to finish The Truths We Hold by Kamala Harris. I heard her speak on my campus several months ago and was immensely impressed. Her children’s book is good, too – my daughters and I enjoyed reading it.

What was your first-ever job and what did you learn from it?

My first real paying job was as a kennel person at a veterinary clinic. My job was to clean cages and clean up after animals. It was a dirty job but I enjoyed it. They made a special award for me after I had been there a year because no one had lasted in the position more than a few months.

One of the veterinarians was going to night school to study/learn to be an engineer. He hated being a vet but was visibly animated when discussing vectors and related math.

So, I think from that job I learned lessons both about the value of hard work and the importance of matching intellectual interests to a career.

What do you do to relax and how does it help you?

Relaxing is definitely a weakness of mine, but I love to read and I enjoy playing the game Words with Friends on my phone. Both of these activities help me unwind before bed.

What is the one thing you wouldn’t be able to work without? Why?

A good desk. I like to work in the library – it feels like a special treat, to have a large table and be surrounded by books. I try to get work done on airplanes but it’s a physically and mentally taxing process.

What is the most unusual interview question you’ve ever been asked and how did you respond?

I was asked, “What kind of plant would you be?” I think I said, ”I don’t know.” Such questions make me wish I would say something like “Venus flytrap, for obvious reasons,” and then just wring my hands like a villain.

What’s something you want to do in the next year that you’ve never done before?

I would like to be on time more often than I am late!

Who would you like to work with most and why?

I’d like to work with Ruth Bader Ginsburg (RBG). I think I would learn a lot from her. I found the documentary on her life and career to be very inspirational. A colleague of mine gave me an action figure of RBG and I keep it on the shelf in my office.

Which talent or superpower would you like to have and how would you use it?

I wish I could pause time – if I had that superpower I would never be late. Maybe eventually I would also figure out ways to use it to help people and for the greater good of society, but the initial appeal is just being on time for appointments and finishing tasks on time.

What do you consider your greatest achievement and why?

Being a father to my 4-year-old and 6-year-old daughters (as author and therapist Virginia Satir pointed out, ‘peoplemaking’ is probably the most important thing we can do). Like their mother, they are very smart, funny, beautiful, multi-talented and seem to like hanging out with me (despite the fact that I lack most of the aforementioned qualities!).

Check out our previous 10 Questions interviews with: 

The Rt. Hon. David Johnston

Dr Mary McMahon

Deborah Saucier

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Careering

Client Side: It’s a small world after all – reflections on a career coaching journey

May 30, 2019By

In this Careering feature, jobseekers reflect on successes and struggles in their career development 

Debra Thompson
When a series of life changes left Debra Thompson at a fork in the road, she turned to a former client for guidance – and became the client herself

Our business relationship started several years ago, when she was the client and I was an account executive for a global training company. We met a couple of times while working on a project and I immediately felt a kinship and a professional connection that is rare in such a short time. Afterward, we remained in touch professionally over LinkedIn. Fast forward a couple years later and I noticed some of her social media posts focused on career coaching. Barbara Wilson was launching a new venture: Thrive Career Consulting.

Over a year ago, I reached out and suggested we connect. I had no plan, but I was curious about what she was doing and how it might help me. This time, I would be the client and she would be the coach.

I shared with her that I had reached a stalemate in my career journey, a fork in the road and that I was unsure about where to go next or how to get there. My work environment and my job were changing dramatically, I had lost my father to suicide, my mom was going through cancer treatments for a second time and my only daughter was finishing university. Meanwhile, I was trying to make sense of what the next 10-15 years of my career were going to look like as I approached retirement. I didn’t know if I had the strength to start another sales career to build my brand and I had no idea what I wanted to do. I was also tired, unbalanced and desperately in need of self-care. I knew one thing – that I needed help to navigate or I would continue to flounder.

I had no idea what this call for help would mean to me in the coming months and how it would lead me down a path I could have never envisioned for myself. The journey had pivots and pitfalls and helped me learn the world is much smaller than I thought.

Assessing values and weighing possibilities

Our work started with a short phone meeting and Barb giving an overview of how she could help. I remember her telling me I had a lot on my plate, which was true. During my rare moments of spare time, we continued with the coaching sessions.

We spent time talking about my career goals and what I liked and didn’t like about my current job, where I was facing organizational and industry changes. I often felt relieved after each session, when I unloaded all of my “life updates” on Barb. She was a patient listener and she kept me on track.

We did questionnaires and a Wheel of Life assessment, where I was asked to assess my focus on various aspects of my life and do a values exercise. This last exercise yielded three values – resilience, initiative and life balance. I was then asked to reflect on these values in a number of ways to find my own career values.

Additionally, we spent time reflecting on homework and actions I was taking during the process. One of the pieces of homework was to “hire a financial planner.” This might be unexpected advice from a career coach, but this was what I needed to assess what kind of career I could pursue and what retirement would look like for me. I did values and skills card sorts and I involved my family in assessing my skills and values – they were along for the ride whether they wanted to be or not. I reminded them that my happiness was their happiness.

Big network, small world

After a few weeks, we determined the not-for-profit sector as an area of interest. I have been a lifelong volunteer and wanted to spend time in my next career giving back. I also enjoyed the creative pursuits of writing, communicating and building relationships.

While I spent time researching roles, Barb connected me with her network and encouraged me to contact people in the NFP sector to conduct informational interviews. Having honed my cold calling and prospecting skills in my sales work, I was ready for this, but my “interviewees” made it that much easier and the NFP sector was particularly welcoming. Even those who were complete strangers to me openly shared their advice and career journeys, and even introduced me to others in their own network. Many have become valued mentors.

I developed an amazing network and the small world stories started piling up. One of the first informational interviews I had was with a recruitment professional who had posted a role I was interested in on LinkedIn. We discovered we had many connections and had likely crossed paths a few times without even knowing it.

Read more:

Client Side: How I found my career fit in science

Client Side: How my disability changed my perspective on jobseeking

Finding fit with career values

A few months into the coaching process, while I was still figuring out the role I wanted and had not yet applied to other positions, I was restructured out of my job. After the initial shock wore off, I was relieved because I had already started the journey. After a short break, I kicked things into high gear. With Barb’s help, I remained connected with my network, built an amazing resume and cover letter, and upped my interview game. Looking for a job became my job.

After three months, I found an amazing job with a local education council that checked all my boxes and aligned with my career values. I realized in the first interview that it was a fit for me and my new employer.

On my first day, I realized I had a connection with most of my new co-workers from either volunteering, my previous career or my personal life. The recruitment pro I mentioned? Turns out she’s one of my employer’s greatest community supporters and was thrilled to learn I’d joined them. Small world indeed.

We don’t hesitate to hire a professional to help us with our physical or mental health, but many are reluctant to reach out to an expert for career development assistance. I say, do it! Without going on this journey, I would not have found the role I now know is a great fit for me.

Debra Thompson is Communications and Community Outreach Manager for the Halton Industry Education Council (HIEC) and resides in Burlington, ON. She’s also a girlfriend, mom, daughter, reader, photographer, volunteer, self-professed foodie and tweeter of randomness.

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New tools for integration: Credential assessment for displaced individualsCareering

New tools for integration: Credential assessment for displaced individuals

May 30, 2019By
Many refugees who arrive in Canada are highly skilled, but have little access to evidence to prove their academic achievements

Beatrice Kohlenberg

The United Nations estimates that there are more than 68 million individuals displaced as a result of natural disasters, conflict and violence (United Nations, 2018). Many are forced to flee with little to nothing in hand. When these individuals arrive in a new country, ready to contribute their skills, they often face a critical challenge: lack of proof of their educational credentials.

The need for solutions that allow these individuals to begin quickly contributing their skills to their new communities has become increasingly urgent over time. The conflict in Syria – and the huge outflow of people seeking new lives in Canada – prompted the Canadian government to begin looking for solutions in 2015.

Many of these refugees were highly skilled, but had little access to evidence to prove their academic achievements. Their institutions were destroyed, damaged, closed or unresponsive. This caused significant delays and barriers when attempting to build a life in Canada and go back to school, re-enter their professions or find anything but a so-called survival job.

World Education Services (WES) is a credential evaluation service provider that also partners with a number of organizations in Canada’s settlement sector. As such, we quickly began hearing from our institutional and community partners about issues on the ground. Refugees were facing barriers to integration. They wanted to re-build their professional lives, but without verification of their educational attainments, that was exceptionally difficult.

International policies added another element of urgency to these questions: Canada was on the verge of ratifying an international agreement, commonly referred to as the Lisbon Recognition Convention. In the details of this treaty is a special note regarding the credential recognition for “refugees, displaced persons, and persons in a refugee-like situation.” This clause details assurance and accessibility requirements for credential assessment and recognition for this specific population.

” … applicants who had the credential evaluation in hand were able to move forward with their lives.”

The confluence of factors provided an impetus for WES to create a refugee pilot project. The project ran throughout 2016 and 2017, and ultimately led to the establishment of a permanent initiative to help qualified individuals, including those who are not refugees but who have fled specific countries in crisis, surmount at least one barrier to moving forward with their lives. This program is now known as the WES Gateway Program.

Manifesting barriers in Canada

The problem of credential verification creates barriers that academic institutions, professional regulatory bodies and employers are not well positioned to address. Receipt of documents directly from the awarding institution is normative credential evaluation practice. These credentials stand as verifiable proof of baseline eligibility for academic programs and professional roles. Without these verifiable credentials, institutions and others often find their hands are tied.

“Our community welcomed many Syrian refugees, and as much as we all wanted to help,” said Kate Day, admissions and pathways advisor at Fanshawe College, “we learned quickly that we were missing some of the tools we needed to help these newcomers transition to post-secondary education.”

Read more:

Working with newcomer clients? Check out these 6 webinars

CERIC funds research to support the professional integration of immigrants in Quebec

6 websites you can share with your newcomer clients

Testing solutions to emerging challenges

WES launched its refugee pilot project in July 2016. The goal was to determine whether WES could use its expertise and resources to reliably provide those who were facing barriers to integration with a high-quality credential evaluation that would prove their academic accomplishments and their equivalency in Canada.

Drawing on over 40 years of experience, WES developed a rigorously tested methodology to compare available academic documentation to documents stored in our extensive archival database to produce an evaluation report. WES worked with documents individuals had in their possession that signified they attended or completed a program of study. In some cases, WES evaluators were able to reconstruct the course of study using partial documentation, information in the organization’s archives and knowledge of the country’s education system.

Working with a network of organizations across Canada who supported eligible participants with application assistance and wrap-around services, WES was able to provide 337 Syrian refugees – 100% of applicants – with a credential evaluation.

More notable, however, was the fact that applicants who had the credential evaluation in hand were able to move forward with their lives. Through surveys and participant feedback, we confirmed how the report was being used. Three-quarters of those who used the report to apply for education were offered admission. No applicants reported having their application rejected. Others used their report for the purpose of professional licensure; 84% reported passing the initial review. And more than 60% of those who used their WES credential evaluation to obtain employment reported receiving at least one job offer.

Just as impressive as these numbers was the quality of organizations that accepted these reports. They included organizations such as the Association of Professional Geoscientists of Ontario (APGO) and Osgoode Hall Law School.

To move forward with a scaled version of the program, WES conducted research on other countries in crisis. We sought to identify countries where great numbers of highly educated individuals were being forcibly displaced as a result of political unrest, conflict and natural disasters, and faced challenges in accessing verifiable documents. Equally important was our ability, based on data maintained in our credential evaluation database, to credibly map and reconstruct the education histories of applicants based on standard qualification requirements of a given education system.

Accessing long-term programming

We’ve now expanded the pilot phase to become the WES Gateway Program. This program is available in Canada to displaced individuals who, because of adverse circumstances in their country of education, lack standard proof of academic achievement.

Program eligibility centres on access to documentation, not refugee status. Eligible participants have been educated in seven countries: Afghanistan, Eritrea, Iraq, Syria, Turkey, Ukraine and Venezuela.

As shown by the example of one applicant, the program’s impact is profound: Wid Sabir completed his education in Iraq. After arrival in Canada, he obtained a job offer from the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC). However, to move forward, Wid had to provide TTC with a credential evaluation that validated his educational qualifications. This was a major barrier for Wid: He was able to obtain his diploma, but he could not obtain the needed verification from the Iraqi Ministry of Education.

“I was about to potentially lose this job offer because I couldn’t obtain verification and prove my qualifications,” he said.

Through word of mouth, Wid heard about the WES Gateway Program. He brought the documents he had in-hand to a WES referral partner, ACCES Employment, which submitted an application for a WES Gateway Credential Evaluation. WES evaluated Wid’s credentials and submitted the report directly to TTC for recognition. He began his new role with TTC earlier this month.

Wid’s story is one of many. The WES Gateway Program offers a way forward for displaced individuals, and provides employers and other institutions with the verification they need to recognize qualifications. It also enables career practitioners in the settlement sector to offer their clients solutions to this barrier. WES works with referral partners across the country to ensure that this program is accessible to those who need it. Visit wes.org/ca/wesgateway to find a list of our partner organizations.

Beatrice Kohlenberg, PMP, is the senior program manager for the WES Gateway Program. She has extensive experience in project and program management, managing employment and diversity programs covering all aspects of program development, implementation and evaluation.

References

United Nations. (2018, June 19). Figures at a Glance. Retrieved from https://www.unhcr.org/figures-at-a-glance.html

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2019

Post-secondary students with disabilities face gaps in career education services

May 10, 2019By

While there has been progress in advancing inclusion for students with disabilities in Canadian colleges and universities, there is still work to be done to reduce structural barriers, discrimination and alienation from access to career education and work-integrated learning, according to the Final Report of a CERIC-funded project undertaken by the National Educational Association of Disabled Students (NEADS). The report, Accessibility and Universal Design in Career Transitions Programming and Services, finds that students with disabilities need greater opportunities to build their skills and career-related experience, whether through co-op placements, mentorship or volunteering.

This NEADS report aggregates findings from a range of research that looks at different data-sets and populations of disabled students and includes a survey of post-secondary career educators. The purpose of the report is to help increase understanding of existing gaps and guide best practice models for accommodations and universal design in career education for students with disabilities. CERIC’s support allowed for an expansion of the scope of research within the landmark The Landscape of Accessibility and Accommodation for Post-Secondary Students with Disabilities in Canada project funded by Employment and Social Development Canada from 2016-2018, which is a thorough examination of current accessibility, services, accommodations, technical equipment and supports for students with disabilities at publicly funded post-secondary institutions across Canada.

Overall, the key messages related to career development that emerge from the research include:

  • Accessibility and inclusion efforts in the post-secondary environment have lagged behind the evolution of the student experience and are limited to the academic (classroom and online learning) environment; in particular, accessibility in the co-curricular, professional development and work-integrated learning spaces needs to be developed.
  • Students with disabilities are often lacking in non-academic experiences that can lead to employment including: summer employment, part-time work during the school year, co-op placements and internships.
  • Significant transition barriers into, between, and out of levels of post-secondary education remain, with particular challenges faced by disabled students transitioning into post-secondary, and from post-secondary into the labour market.

Additional analysis for the report was done using the Statistics Canada 2012 Canadian Survey on Disability and the 2015 Canadian University Consortium study. The consortium study includes survey data on types of work experience; motivation for pursuit of higher education and career goals; and steps to prepare for employment among students with disabilities. The Canadian Graduate and Professional Student Survey (2016), which specifically focuses on graduate students with disabilities, was also examined. It includes a snapshot of the experience of Indigenous graduate students with disabilities and graduate students pursuing STEM disciplines. Collectively, this reporting on the education and employment experiences of Canadians with disabilities in college or university programs provides valuable context and insights.

Some notable findings:

  • Of the 3,775,910 Canadians with disabilities aged 15 years and older, 190,290 are attending a post-secondary institution.
  • University students with disabilities are younger, slightly more likely to be female, much less likely to identify as Indigenous, more likely to be an immigrant and slightly less likely to be a member of the visible minority population than non-university students with disabilities.
  • The most prevalent type of disability reported among university students is pain. This type of disability is frequently reported together with mobility and/or flexibility disabilities and/or disability as a result of a mental-health condition. Mental health was the second most prevalent disability reported.
  • The employment rate of Canadians aged 25 to 64 with disabilities was 49%, compared with 79% for Canadians without a disability. The difference in employment rates between persons with disabilities and those without a disability was lower among university graduates.
  • Graduate students with disabilities are typically older than graduate students not reporting disabilities. They are also more likely to be enrolled in arts and humanities and less likely to be enrolled in business/management and engineering programs.
  • Approximately 60% of graduating students with disabilities plan to continue with further education or career development after graduation, with 38% expected to apply to graduate school and 22% expected to apply to professional school.
  • Thirty-one percent of students with disabilities say they have employment arranged for after graduation. Among those, 44% report the work as having a strong correlation with the skills and knowledge they acquired and 38% say it required their specific degree.
  • Nearly all graduating students with disabilities have taken at least one step to prepare for employment after graduating, usually informally through talking with peers, parents or professors about career options.

As part of this research project, NEADS also conducted a nationwide survey in late 2018 /early 2019 of career education professionals in Canadian post-secondary institutions in order to understand their experiences working with students with disabilities. Some of the challenges noted by respondents include:

  • Issues and questions students have regarding disclosure to employers;
  • Lack of awareness or resources to support diverse conditions by institution or employers;
  • Employers are still slow to hire people with diverse abilities due to lack of awareness, will or supports; and
  • Structural barriers that exist within the institution.

The report notes that a key issue is that disability services centres on Canadian college and university campuses are funded to provide academic accommodations, but not accommodations in other learning environments. For students with disabilities, the potential for significant barriers to accessing the co-curricular learning environment exists. Disability offices do not often have the staff to devote to working with other student services portfolios, such as career educators on campus, in preparing them to work with students with disabilities.

The report encourages career educators to increase their knowledge base to support the specific challenges that students with disabilities experience and to consider how – from universal design to employment accommodations – they can better transform this knowledge into programming within their post-secondary institutions.

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What job factors enhance organization-based self-esteem (OBSE) most among employees with disabilities?

May 8, 2019By

By Amani Hitimana

Twenty-two percent of the general population in Canada or 6.2 million Canadians have at least one disability (Canadian Survey on Disability, 2017) and yet this minority group is under-researched in academic fields (Lengnick-Hall et al., 2008; Shore et al., 2009).

Morris-Wales (2010) noted that there is a need to determine the most important employment factors affecting the career progression for persons with disabilities. The present study responds to this call for research by addressing the following question: “What employment factors are the best predictors of high organization-based self-esteem (OBSE) among employees with disabilities?” This is the first study of its kind to link OBSE with job factors job such as pay satisfaction, satisfaction with schedule flexibility, job satisfaction and workload among employees with disabilities. Understanding the correlation between the selected job factors and OBSE will become increasingly important in the coming decades, due to the labour shortage and the reality that disability rates are continuing to increase in Canada.

In terms of results, a positive correlation is expected to be found between the selected job factors and OBSE – thus, the greater the satisfaction that employees with disabilities find in terms of pay, workload, schedule flexibility and their job responsibilities, the higher the OBSE level. Considering the increasing rate of employees who are not adequately engaged with their work and the upcoming shortage of talent to fill important employment positions (Wall, 2015), if organizations succeed in optimizing these factors, they will retain employees with disabilities. However, these organizations will then face the further challenge of ensuring that their employees with disabilities are supported in terms of their having positive self-esteem and being deeply engaged with the organizations that choose to employ them.

 

Author Bio

Amani Hitimana is a doctoral student in the Faculty of Adult Education and Community Development at the University of Toronto, with a specialization in Workplace Learning and Social Change. His passion to advocate for vulnerable populations has since translated into a leadership priority. He works for Christian Horizons as a Program Manager and serves as a board member for the Ontario Disability Employment Network (ODEN).

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Career development in research and consultancy in STEM

May 8, 2019By

By Angela Rutakomozibwa 

I am currently a graduate student at the university of British Columbia (UBC) who is originally a professional trained teacher and educator with over 15 years’ experience in education management. I taught science at an advanced level, in particular physics. Further, I have worked with the Ministry of Education in designing, developing and writing curricular, syllabus and curriculum support materials for school and colleges, research, monitoring and evaluation of education programs.

My concern for female participation in STEM-related programs and especially physics was heightened when I joined the undergraduate program at the University of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania in the early 1990s. I struggled with questions such as: What happened to all the females who graduated from high school? What could be keeping many females whom I knew were just as bright as I was from pursuing studies in STEM-related fields? This state of wonderment has persisted in me to date and hence the reason for advancing into proposing research projects to further investigate how a technology-based instructional strategy might help female students’ who are learning physics to make career advancements into STEM.

My goal is to become a professor in science education in research and consultancy (R&C) who will work mainly on research related to STEM. From 2019 when I am still finishing my dissertation, my target five years from now is to revamp a functioning R&C section with enough human and fiscal resources.

I am on study leave now but apart from that I am an employee of the Tanzania Institute of Education, which is a Ministry of Education organization that has roles and responsibilities of curriculum development in the country. It is the only organization in the country that is mandated for that function among others.

As I prepare to complete my studies, I look forward to enhancing the research and consultancy section of the Ministry through working collaboratively with different institutions including universities on various projects. Given available opportunities, if necessary, I would transfer to the university to advise the responsible Ministry on issues related to science teaching and learning and especially improving the environment for female students teaching and learning in STEM-related fields.

There are possible obstacles that might hinder my achievements, but I have anticipated solutions that may propel me along my career pathway towards my goal. Listed here are the obstacles with anticipated solutions.

  • Obstacle 1: The section might not get enough resources/funding allocated for the identified challenges.

Solution 1: Prepare a five-year strategic plan that may be used to solicit/seek funds from organization/institutions.

  • Obstacle 2: Not sure whether the management will buy into the idea as a priority area for the institution.

Solution 2: Prepare and present a short-term proposal to management for selling ideas on the importance of project funding before advancing to the next stage.

  • Obstacle 3: Not sure current management or Ministry of Education will allow my transfer to go work with the university because of conflict of interest.

Solution 3: Arrange meetings with my director to discuss the situation before submitting my application for approval.

  • Obstacle 4: I don’t know how easily the strategic plan may be accepted by the Ministry.

Solution 4: Consult different organizations and share the plan before submission during the budgetary period.

To advance in achieving this career development goal, there are some of activities that may be ongoing and/or need accomplishment to achieve these goals.

  1. Attend courses or trainings related to career development to meet professionals and share innovative ideas about research projects.
  2. Pursue self-study or seek out training opportunity on how to prepare a strong strategic plan that may be sellable.
  3. Meet and share my ideas with people/colleagues whom I admire and have engaged in projects.
  4. Begin the communication with my director about the idea for understanding and share with the management team well in advance.
  5. Solicit whether there are opportunities for transfer and approach universities that have positions by submitting documents for applications.

 

Author Bio

(Angela Rutakomozibwa) My parents encouraged us to value education, which they considered wealth in life and often referred to science! This is what inspired me into science education culminating into graduating as a high school physics teacher. I served as a curriculum expert for 15 years until coming to UBC. Offering quality science education especially to female students has always been my passion. As a PhD candidate in the department of Curriculum and Pedagogy, my focus is how technology-based instructional strategies might impact female students’ motivation and engagement in physics learning.

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Developing soft skills using the HB FIRST® robotics program in youth with autism spectrum disorder (ASD)

May 8, 2019By

By Sunny Bui

There is a large gap in the increasing number of jobs in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM), and a low percentage of under-represented groups (ie, women and people with disabilities) who are attaining degrees in these fields and participating in the workforce.1,2 Although the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and the Canadian Human Rights Act guarantees equality and the absence of discrimination, people with disabilities encounter barriers to post-secondary education in STEM fields.3,4 A promising mechanism to enhance enrollment in STEM fields for youth with disabilities is through robotics programs.5 Among typically developing youth, robotics programs have the potential to improve STEM-related skills, teamwork, self-confidence, and social and communication skills.6,7 Youth with disabilities are often excluded from and/or have fewer opportunities to participate in STEM programs.5 Although there is growth in literature on the potential role of robotics programs, such as LEGO therapy, little is known about the impact of an adapted, group-based robotics program specifically for youth with disabilities.2,5,8 Among the group that could benefit most are individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).9

There is a growing focus in research literature to utilize the restricted interests of people with ASD to help foster learning (Gunn & Delafield-Butt, 2016). The passion and repetitive behaviours that are exhibited towards these interests appear to increase over the lifespan.10 However, these interests may not always constitute positive learning and can guide development of negative social behaviours not consistent with social norms. For example, stalking behaviour and tendencies that typically appear in youth with ASD, aged 10-15.11 Negative social behaviours like stalking contributes to the social stigma and further adds to the social challenges associated with ASD. If not corrected or properly guided, negative restricted interests can be detrimental in other aspects of life such as education and employment.12 Restricted interests can be beneficial for learning, however, individuals with ASD may not always overcome challenges in social communication. Difficulties in social communication can contribute to academic underachievement and has the largest impact on education during years of critical social development (i.e., youth).13 In addition, social difficulties often prevent the successful integration of people with ASD into the workforce despite their educational attainment.14 Developing a mechanism that provides an opportunity to pursue positive interests (ie, STEM) and contribute to personal development (ie, social communication and interactions) is needed to help minimize the challenges (ie, in education and employment) people with ASD face in their lifetime.

Individuals with ASD have the potential to help address the increasing number of jobs in STEM as these jobs tend to be naturally repetitive and systematic. However, there are few studies in the research literature that have explored an evidence-based pathway to increasing interests towards STEM. A pilot study conducted by the Transitions and Inclusive Environments Lab (TRAIL) suggests that a promising pathway to increase STEM interest is through robotics programs for youth with disabilities.5 In specific, the HB FIRST® robotics program at Holland-Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital in Toronto. While engaged in teamwork, children learn about computer programming and building robots. This approach is different than LEGO therapy models that are typically less structured and have a more recreational focus. Additionally, structured group-based robotics programs similar to the HB FIRST® robotics program have the potential to increase career interests of children and youth towards STEM education and employment.15 The combination of interacting with a peer, building robots and learning coding can provide a basis for developing soft skills that are critical in future STEM careers.

Current research being conducted by the TRAIL builds from the current research literature. In specific, the effects of the adapted HB FIRST® robotics program on soft skills (ie, social, teamwork and problem solving) that are critical for success in future education and employment in the STEM field. Findings will be ready for dissemination January 2020.

 

Author Bio

Sunny Bui (he/him/his) is a MSc candidate in the Rehabilitation Science program at the University of Toronto and graduate student in the TRAIL lab at the Bloorview Research Institute. He has a background in kinesiology and the social sciences. His thesis topic is on the development of soft skills (ie, social) among youth with disabilities (ie, autism spectrum disorder) in an adapted robotics program.

 

References:

  1. Dasgupta, N., and Stout, J.G. (2014). Girls and Women in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics: STEMing the Tide and Broadening Participation in STEM Careers. Policy Insights from Behav. Brain Sci. 1, 21–29. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1177/2372732214549471.
  2. Lindsay, S., and Hounsell, K.G. (2017). Adapting a robotics program to enhance participation and interest in STEM among children with disabilities: a pilot study. Disabil. Rehabil. Assist. Technol. 12, 694–704. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/17483107.2016.1229047.
  1. Beck-Winchatz, B., and Riccobono, M.A. (2008). Advancing participation of blind students in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math. Adv. Sp. Res. 42, 1855–1858. Available at: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0273117707005960 [Accessed March 28, 2019].
  1. Dutta, A., M. Kundu, M., and Schiro-Geist, C. (2009). Coordination of Postsecondary Transition Services for Students with Disabilities.
  1. Lindsay, S., Hounsell, K., and Cassiani, C. (2017). A scoping review of the role of LEGO® therapy for improving inclusion and social skills among children and youth with autism.
  1. Benitti, F.B.V. (2012). Exploring the educational potential of robotics in schools: A systematic review. Comput. Educ.
  1. Ludi, S., and Reichlmayr, T. (2011). The Use of Robotics to Promote Computing to Pre-College Students with Visual Impairments. ACM Trans. Comput. Educ.
  1. Sullivan, A., Kazakoff, E.R., and Bers, M.U. (2013). The wheels on the bot go round and round: Robotics curriculum in pre-kindergarten. J. Inf. Technol. Educ.
  1. Wei, X., Yu, J.W., Shattuck, P., McCracken, M., and Blackorby, J. (2013). Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) participation among college students with an autism spectrum disorder. J. Autism Dev. Disord. 43, 1539–1546. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23114569.
  1. Charlop, M.H., Kurtz, P.F., and Casey, F.G. (2006). Using aberrant behaviors as reinforcers for autistic children. J. Appl. Behav. Anal.
  1. Post, M., Haymes, L., Storey, K., Loughrey, T., and Campbell, C. (2014). Understanding Stalking Behaviors by Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders and Recommended Prevention Strategies for School Settings. J. Autism Dev. Disord.
  1. Post, M., Storey, K., Haymes, L., Campbell, C., and Loughrey, T. (2014). Stalking behaviors by individuals with autism spectrum disorders in employment settings: Understanding stalking behavior and developing appropriate supports. Educ. Train. Autism Dev. Disabil.
  1. Williams White, S., Keonig, K., and Scahill, L. (2007). Social skills development in children with autism spectrum disorders: A review of the intervention research. J. Autism Dev. Disord.
  1. Hendricks, D. (2010). Employment and adults with autism spectrum disorders: Challenges and strategies for success. J. Vocat. Rehabil.
  1. Goh, H., and Ali, B. (2014). Robotics as a tool to stem learning. Int. J. Innovaion Educ. Res.
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‘Knees weak, arms are heavy:’ Understanding and managing employment interview anxiety

May 8, 2019By

By Irene Zhang (Cannexus20 GSEP Award Winner)

Job interviews are one of the most popular selection methods for hiring new employees, and for good reason; they can predict up to 17% of variance in a candidate’s future job performance (Cortina et al., 2000). When asked to report the feelings and thoughts experienced before and during a job interview, many people will share stories of sweaty palms, fidgeting, racing thoughts and fears of failure. These experiences can be broadly categorized into the phenomenon termed “interview anxiety.” Interview anxiety is an extremely common experience, but it has only recently captured the attention of researchers. McCarthy and Goffin (2004) are credited with developing the first comprehensive scale of interview anxiety which conceptualizes this type of anxiety as a situation-specific personality trait, and includes five dimensions: social (ie, worrying about social behaviour), communication (i., worrying about verbal, non-verbal and listening ability), performance (ie, worrying about outcome), appearance (ie, worrying about physical appearance) and behavioural (ie, experiencing physical symptoms) anxiety. Though interview anxiety is similar to other types of anxiety such as social anxiety and test-taking anxiety, it is not exactly the same as it incorporates elements from each of these types of anxiety, and only emerges in the event of an actual job interview. However, like other kinds of anxiety, interview anxiety can have a negative influence on normal functioning.

Interview anxiety can impact interview performance

Although interview anxiety is triggered by the formal environment surrounding job interviews and may not reflect a candidate’s actual competencies, it can have a serious impact on one’s overall interview score. Powell, Stanley, and Brown (2018) found an overall meta-analytic correlation of -.19 (ie, a moderate negative effect size) between interview anxiety and interview performance, meaning there is an established link between individuals who experience great interview anxiety and poor interview scores. Unfortunately, as interview anxiety can be unrelated to one’s actual fit and qualifications for the job, competent but nervous individuals may become accidentally overlooked in a competitive hiring situation.

Managing interview anxiety prior to the interview day

Since interview scores can determine who receives a job offer, it is important to understand how to reduce one’s interview anxiety. Experience with past interviews may help decrease interview anxiety (Huffcutt, Van Iddekinge, & Roth, 2011), however, one-on-one coaching with career counsellors is more effective for improving interview scores (Williams, 2012). Counsellors can teach coping mechanisms for alleviating and hiding anxiety from interviewers. Feeney, McCarthy and Goffin (2015) found that it is most beneficial to use problem and emotion-oriented coping. Problem-oriented coping refers to tackling the problem head-on by taking mock-interviews and reading interview tips to prepare, while emotion-oriented coping occurs when applicants receive emotional support from loved ones in advance and recall these messages of support in moments of heightened worry. Teaching these particular skills to applicants may improve their interview performance. Individuals can also be trained to apply evidence-based treatments for similar types of anxiety, like social anxiety, to the interview context. Feiler and Powell (2016) tested two such interventions, positive imagery (ie, imagining oneself to be successful and confident during the interview) and field perspective taking (ie, appraising the situation through one’s own eyes rather than taking the interviewer’s perspective and judging oneself externally), and found that both interventions were able to decrease self-reported levels of interview anxiety.

Managing interview anxiety on the interview day

On the day of the actual interview it may be comforting to know that in reality, interviewees over-estimate how much their anxiety is actually detected by the interviewer; interview anxiety is mostly a hidden internal experience of discomfort (McCarthy & Goffin, 2004; Sieverding, 2009). However, for candidates looking to minimize the appearance of anxiety, they should avoid speaking too slowly (Feiler & Powell, 2016), stay away from filler words such as “um,” “ah,” and “like” and try not to ramble and go off-topic (Miller, Gayfer, & Powell, 2018).

Interview anxiety is a multi-dimensional trait that occurs only in the job interview context. It is a very common experience that can affect a jobseeker’s prospects. By seeking out support from loved ones and evidence-based interventions from career counsellors, applicants can better manage their interview anxiety to perform their best in job interviews.

 

Author Bio

Irene Zhang is a Master’s student in Industrial-Organizational Psychology at the University of Guelph and a Junior Consultant for Organization & Management Solutions. She was a Gold Medallist in the Honours BA Psychology program at Western University. Irene has research interests broadly in recruitment and selection, with a focus on personality and interviews.

 

References:

Cortina, J. M., Goldstein, N. B., Payne, S. C., Davison, H. K., & Gilliland, S. W. (2000). The incremental validity of interview scores over and above cognitive ability and conscientiousness. Personnel Psychology, 53(2), 325-351.

Feeney, J. R., McCarthy, J. M., & Goffin, R. (2015). Applicant anxiety: Examining the sex‐linked anxiety coping theory in job interview contexts. International Journal of Selection and Assessment, 23(3), 295-305.

Feiler, A. R., & Powell, D. M. (2016). The role of self‐focused attention and negative self‐thought in interview anxiety: A test of two interventions. International Journal of Selection and Assessment, 24(2), 132-149.

Huffcutt, A. I., Van Iddekinge, C. H., & Roth, P. L. (2011). Understanding applicant behavior in employment interviews: A theoretical model of interviewee performance. Human Resource Management Review, 21(4), 353-367.

McCarthy, J., & Goffin, R. (2004). Measuring job interview anxiety: Beyond weak knees and sweaty Personnel Psychology, 57(3), 607-637.

Miller, R. O., Gayfer, B. L., & Powell, D. M. (2018). Influence of vocal and verbal cues on ratings of interview anxiety and interview performance. Personnel Assessment and Decisions, 4(2), 26-41.

Powell, D. M., Stanley, D. J., & Brown, K. N. (2018). Meta-analysis of the relation between interview anxiety and interview performance. Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science / Revue Canadienne Des Sciences Du Comportement, 50(4), 195-207.

Sieverding, M. (2009). ‘Be cool!’ Emotional costs of hiding feelings in a job interview. International Journal of Selection and Assessment, 17, 391–401.

Williams, K. Z. (2012). Does practice make perfect? Effects of practice and coaching on interview. ProQuest Dissertations, 3525932.

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