Piety Runhaar

Implementing Human Resources Management (HRM) within Dutch VET institutions: examining the fostering and hindering factors

Vocational Education and Training (VET) Institutions face serious challenges, like the implementation of competence-based education and upcoming teacher shortages, which urge them to implement Human Resources Management policy and practices (HRM). The implementation of HRM, however, often stagnates. This paper describes a qualitative study – in which 30 policy-makers and executives (members of the board, of the HRM department and line management) from five Dutch VET institutions participated – which was aimed at gaining more insight into the implementation gap of HRM. We identified several impeding and fostering factors, related to the content of the policy, the context in which it had to be implemented and the implementation process itself. Examples of impeding factors were the fact that teachers often did not see the usefulness of HRM practices and managers’ incompetence in fulfilling their HRM role. Examples of fostering factors were the linkage between HRM policy and educational policy and a clear communication about the goals and features of the policy.

HR policies and practices in vocational education and training institutions. Understanding the implementation gap through the lens of discourses

Vocational education and training (VET) institutions face serious challenges, like educational innovations and upcoming teacher shortages, which require them to invest in their human capital. However, the implementation of human resources (HR) policies and practices often stagnates. Using the Dutch VET sector as an exemplary case, we show that the implementation gap can be understood by employing a discourse perspective. The distinction between a control vs. a commitment approach to HR served as a lens through which we analysed how actors at state and school level perceived the goals, necessity and features of HR policy. The results reveal no contradictions between actors concerning the goal of HR. Contradictions are, however, found related to the way in which HR should be shaped and implemented. Teachers and managers think governments’ view about HR is too much control oriented and that commitment strategies have to be added for HR to be effective.

Exploring the links between interdependence, team learning and a shared understanding among team members: the case of teachers facing an educational innovation

Teams are increasingly regarded as the building blocks of organizations, for teams of employees are better able to deal with complex problems and ever-changing demands than individual employees. The effectiveness of teams depends, to a large extent, on team members learning together and developing a shared understanding of the complex problems they face. As a way to meet the call for more research on conditions that foster team learning, we conducted a multiple case study in which three teacher teams participated. The data showed links between teachers’ goal interdependence, their engagement in team learning activities, like observing each other and preparing lessons together, and a shared understanding of the educational innovation they had to implement. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Promoting teachers’ knowledge sharing. The fostering roles of occupational self-efficacy and Human Resources Management

Teachers’ professional development is nowadays seen as key in efforts to improve education. Knowledge sharing is a learning activity with which teachers not only professionalize themselves, but contribute to the professional development of their colleagues as well. This paper presents two studies, aimed to explain knowledge sharing by teachers’ occupational self-efficacy and Human Resources Management (HRM). In the first study we examined the impact of HRM from a ‘content perspective’, and focused on a bundle of Human Resources Management practices, namely, high-commitment Human Resources Management (HC-HRM). Multilevel analyses of survey data from 410 teachers, from 30 teams, in one school, showed that high-commitment Human Resources Management strengthened the relationship between occupational self-efficacy and knowledge sharing. The second study examined the moderating impact of Human Resources Management from a ‘process perspective’. In this study we focused on ‘distinctive’ Human Resources Management: employees perceptions of a visible Human Resources Management within the school. Multilevel analyses of survey data from 282 teachers, from 47 teams, in four schools, showed that a distinctive Human Resources Management strengthened the relationship between occupational self-efficacy and knowledge sharing. Although the findings are encouraging and enabled us to formulate some practical implications, the study limitations also gave rise to suggestions for further research.

Using Transactivity to Understand Emergence of Team Learning

Team learning is a recurrent topic in research on effective teamwork. However, research about the fact that team learning processes emerge from conversations and the different forms this emergence can take is limited. The aim of this study is to determine whether the extent to which team members act on each other’s reasoning (transactivity) can be used to understand how team learning processes emerge. Research on teacher teams was used as the case study: Video recordings of three different teacher teams were used as primary data, and the data were analyzed using qualitative interaction analysis. The analysis shows that the content of team learning processes changes when team members act more closely on each other’s reasoning. In particular, team learning processes related to the storage and retrieval of information took place only in sequences in which team members acted closely on each other’s reasoning.

How can schools and teachers benefit from human resources management? Conceptualising HRM from content and process perspectives

The necessity for schools to implement human resources management (HRM) is increasingly acknowledged. Specifically, HRM holds the potential of increasing student outcomes through the increased involvement, empowerment and motivation of teachers. In educational literature, however, little empirical attention is paid to the ways in which different HRM practices could be bundled into a comprehensive HRM system (content) and how HRM could best be implemented to attain positive teacher and student outcomes (process). Regarding the content, and following the ‘AMO theory of performance’, it is argued that HRM systems should comprise (A) ability-, (M) motivation- and (O) opportunity-enhancing HRM practices. Regarding the process, and based on ‘HRM system strength’ literature, it is argued that when teachers perceive HRM as distinctive and consistent, and if they perceive consensus, this will enhance teachers’ and schools’ performance. By combining insights from educational studies on single HRM practices with HRM theories, this paper builds a conceptual framework which can be used to design HRM systems and to understand the way they operate.

Reducing agrochemical use for nature conservation by Italian olive farmers: an evaluation of public and private governance strategies

ABSTRACT A variety of public policies and private strategies have been implemented to stimulate farmers to implement nature conservation measures. Examples include publicly funded agri-environment schemes (AES) but also eco-labels and Alternative Food Networks; strategies that have been implemented in response to the continuous decline in species abundance and diversity due to agricultural intensification and scale enlargement. Whereas AES as a distinct governance strategy has been evaluated in detail, less is known about other strategies. In this paper, we assess the relative importance of the variety of public and private strategies aimed at enhancing species abundance and diversity in Italian olive farming through a reduction in agrochemical use. In a survey of olive farmers in the region of Tuscany, we found that although farmers are exposed to a variety of public and private strategies, personal motives to reduce agrochemical use are most important. Moreover, having a Corporate Social Responsibility plan or engaging in direct sales to consumers are the only strategies that are related to a reduction in agrochemical use. These findings suggest self-governance is a powerful strategy for enhancing species diversity and abundance in agricultural landscapes. Yet it also means contributing to nature conservation and restoration is a voluntary act. Olive farmers who do not voluntarily contribute to nature conservation by reducing agrochemicals need to be incentivized by show-casing farmers who did reduce their agrochemical use, by critical consumers or by stricter rules in AES or in generic agri-environmental legislation.

Stimulating teachers’ team performance through team-oriented HR practices: the roles of affective team commitment and information processing

Abstract Teams of teachers are increasingly held accountable for the quality of education and educational reforms in vocational education and training institutions. However, historically teachers have not been required to engage in deep-level collaboration, thus team-oriented HR practices are being used to promote teamworking in the sector. This paper examines the relationship between team-oriented HR practices and team performance in terms of innovation and efficiency via teachers’ affective team commitment and engagement in information processing. To examine these associations, a team-oriented HRM research instrument was developed and validated based on the ability-motivation-opportunity model (N = 970, 130 teams) and hypothesised associations were examined using multilevel structural equation modelling (N = 704, 70 teams). The results show positive relationships between the team-oriented HR practices of recruitment, team development, team evaluation and teamwork facilitation, and team innovation. Additionally, all practices except team development were positively related to team efficiency. The relationships between team-oriented HR practices and these team performance indicators were often partially or fully mediated by affective team commitment and information processing. Because affective team commitment and information processing sometimes only partially mediated the links between team-oriented HR practices and team performance, other underlying mechanisms await identification.

Promoting VET teachers’ innovative behaviour: exploring the roles of task interdependence, learning goal orientation and occupational self-efficacy

Abstract Changing employer demands, new technological and pedagogical insights are examples of developments which urge Vocational Education and Training (VET) institutes to continually renew and innovate their educational programmes. This, in turn, requires teachers to show innovative behaviour. Our study focuses on the effects of task interdependence on VET teachers’ innovative behaviour. In addition, the mediating roles of learning goal orientation and occupational self-efficacy in this relationship are examined. A two-wave survey study among 342 teachers, from 54 teams of 6 Dutch VET institutes, showed that task interdependence enhanced teachers’ learning goal orientation, which enhanced their engagement in innovative behaviour over time. Task interdependence also increased teachers’ occupational self-efficacy, which in turn increased their engagement in innovative behaviour. This effect, however, appeared short lived. Apparently, once teachers exceed a certain level of occupational self-efficacy, other variables, like learning goal orientation, play a more important role in sustaining innovative behaviour.

An assessment innovation as flywheel for changing teaching and learning

Abstract This contribution shows an example of how an assessment innovation can serve as a flywheel for changing teaching and learning. This article first explains the development of an authentic, competence-based performance assessment in pre-vocational secondary education (pre-VET). Using these assessments in pre-VET, that is preparatory to VET, is important for motivating students for a future in VET. Second, in an action research 34 teacher teams of 11 pre-VET institutions implement the new assessment, supported by researchers and teacher coaches, to illuminate how it motivates students, prepares them for VET, and influences teaching and learning. Data from 76 teachers, 68 students, 24 teacher coaches and 3 researchers showed how implementing these assessments raised questions about changing educational content and pedagogy to fit a competence-based approach. Increasing teachers’ expectations of students, changing student-teacher interaction patterns, and developing teachers’ practical understanding of competencies and how they can be observed and discussed in assessments are some of the intriguing challenges that require further support for proper implementation of competence-based assessments and developing an aligned competence-based teaching and learning process.