MODEL OF MARITIME STUDENTS' PROFESSIONAL (PDF)

VYTAUTAS MAGNUS UNIVERSITY Genutė KALVAITIENĖ MODEL OF MARITIME STUDENTS’ PROFESSIONAL CAREER PLANNING SKILLS DEVELOPMENT Summary of doctoral dissertation Social Sciences, education sciences (07 S) Kaunas, 2012  The dissertation was prepared at Vytautas Magnus University during the period of 2007 - 2012. Scientific Supervisor: Prof. Ph. Dr. Kęstutis Pukelis (Vytautas Magnus University, Social Sciences, Education Science – 07 S) Scientific consultant: Prof. Ph. Dr. Viktoras Senčila (Lithuanian Maritime Academy, Technology Sciences, Transport Engineering – 03 T) The dissertation will be defended at the Education Science Council of Vytautas Magnus University: Chairperson: Prof., Ph. Dr. Laima Sajienė (Vytautas Magnus University, Social Sciences, Education Science – 07 S). Members: Doc. Ph. Dr. Vidmantas Tūtlys (Vytautas Magnus University, Social Sciences, Education Science – 07 S) Doc. Ph. Dr. Eglė Stasiūnaitienė (Vytautas Magnus University, Social Sciences, Education Science – 07 S) Prof. habil. dr. Marija Barkauskaitė (Lithuanian University of Educational Sciences, Social Sciences, Education Science – 07 S) Prof. habil. dr. Arvydas Virgilijus Matulionis (Lithuanian Centre for Social Research, Social Sciences, Sociology – 05 S) Opponents: Prof. Ph. dr. Sigitas Daukilas (Aleksandras Stulginskis University, Social Sciences, Education Science – 07 S) Doc. Ph. dr. Dalia Augienė (Šiauliai University, Social Sciences, Education Science – 07 S) The defence of the dissertation will be held at 14 p.m. on September 14, 2012, at the public session of Education Science Council of Vytautas Magnus University. Address: K. Donelaicio str. 52 - 423, LT – 44244, Kaunas, Lithuania. The summary of the doctoral dissertation was sent out on August 14, 2012. The dissertation is available at the Library of National Library of Martynas Maţvydas in Vilnius and the Library of Vytautas Magnus University in Kaunas.  VYTAUTO DIDŢIOJO UNIVERSITETAS GENUTĖ KALVAITIENĖ JŪREIVYSTĖS STUDENTŲ PROFESINĖS KARJEROS PLANAVIMO MOKĖJIMŲ UGDYMO MODELIS Daktaro disertacijos santrauka Socialiniai mokslai, edukologija (07 S) Kaunas, 2012  Disertacija rengta 2007–2012 metais Vytauto Didţiojo universitete Edukologijos katedroje Mokslinis vadovas: Prof. habil. dr. Kęstutis Pukelis (Vytauto Didţiojo universitetas, socialiniai mokslai, edukologija – 07 S) Mokslinis konsultantas: Prof. dr. Viktoras Senčila (Lietuvos aukštoji jūreivystės mokykla, technologijos mokslai, transporto inţinerija – 03 T) Mokslo daktaro disertacija ginama Vytauto Didţiojo universiteto Socialinių mokslų edukologijos krypties taryboje: Pirmininkas: Prof. habil. dr. Laima Sajienė (Vytauto Didţiojo universitetas, socialiniai mokslai, edukologija – 07 S) Nariai: Doc., dr. Vidmantas Tūtlys (Vytauto Didţiojo universitetas, socialiniai mokslai, edukologija – 07 S) Doc., dr. Eglė Stasiūnaitienė (Vytauto Didţiojo universitetas, socialiniai mokslai, edukologija, – 07 S) Prof., habil.dr. Marija Barkauskaitė (Lietuvos edukologijos universitetas, socialiniai mokslai, edukologija, – 07 S) Prof. habil. dr. Arvydas Virgilijus Matulionis (Socialinių tyrimų institutas, socialiniai mokslai, sociologija – 05 S) Oponentai: Prof., dr. Sigitas Daukilas (Aleksandro Stulginskio universitetas, socialiniai mokslai, edukologija, – 07 S) Doc. dr. Dalia Augienė (Šiaulių universitetas, socialiniai mokslai, edukologija, – 07 S) Daktaro disertacija bus ginama viešame Vytauto Didţiojo universiteto Socialinių mokslų edukologijos krypties tarybos posėdyje 2012 m. rugsėjo 14 d. 14 val. Vytauto Didţiojo universitete 423 auditorijoje. Adresas: K. Donelaičio g. 52, LT-44244 Kaunas, Lietuva. Daktaro disertacijos santrauka išsiųsta 2012 m. rugpjūčio 14 d. Disertaciją galima perţiūrėti Lietuvos nacionalinėje Martyno Maţvydo ir Vytauto Didţiojo universiteto bibliotekose.  5 INTRODUCTION Relevance of the research problem. Strategic documents and recommendations of the European Union Maritime Transport Policy until 2018 (2009) emphasize that in order to ensure safe and competitive navigation it is very important to maintain the high level of seafarers‟ education and professional competence. Therefore the EU states have to envisage the appropriate system of seafarers‟ education organization and apply various means to achieve this goal. “Community actions should aim, in particular, at adopting measures facilitating lifelong career prospects in the maritime clusters, giving special consideration to developing advanced skills and qualifications of EU seafarers to enhance their employment prospects and ensuring that seafarers have good career paths…” (p.5). Professional seafarers‟ education and training shall provide the future seafarers the most advanced skills that would open plenty of employment opportunities (Green Paper, 2006). Strategic documents mention the promotion and support of research related to the human factor. (Strategic Goals and Recommendations for the EU Maritime Transport Policy until 2018, 2009; Green Paper, 2006). Human resources are regarded as the main asset of Europe, one of the major factors, determining the economic growth and productivity (OECD, 2004). Rational and purposeful use and development of them is a priority aim of the education and labour market politicians (Memorandum on Lifelong Learning, 2001). Services of career design are important to the functioning and efficiency of education and labour market systems. Services of career design are named as a means competitiveness, employment, the growth of economy and social stability in Lithuanian and foreign documents (Career Guidance Strategy, 2003, Human Resource Development Action Plan, 2007, Guidelines for the Employment Policies of the Member States, 2007, Draft Joint Employment Report, 2009/2010, etc.). The provisions of National Education Strategy for 2003-2012 and their implementation program (2003) note that education should be developed with regard to the new challenges the Lithuanian society faces and the new opportunities: the development of democracy and market economy, globalization and abundance of information, rapid vicissitude, and decomposition of society. The education shall: 1) help a person to perceive the modern world, gain cultural and social competence and become a self-dependent, strenuous, responsible person, wishing and being able to learn continuously and create his own and community‟s life; 2) help a person to get a professional qualification, corresponding to the modern level of technologies, culture and personal skills, and capacitate a lifelong learning; constantly meet the needs of cognition, strive for new competencies and qualifications, necessary for his professional career and meaningful life. The Bologna Process and declarations related to it (Lisbon Strategy, 1997; Berlin Declaration, 2003; Bergen Declaration, 2005; Leuven/ Louvain-la-Neuve Declaration, 2009) try to create the European higher education area in order to expand the  6 opportunities of citizens‟ employability and ability to get the employment at the national level and in common European area, to increase the European economical, social, cultural and civic competitiveness. The new priorities of the higher education area are provided in the declaration “Bologna process 2020 – the European Higher Education Area in the New Decade (2009)”: the focus from the characteristics of study process organization and development of scientific subjects shall be moved to the learner, his/her needs and abilities, which are determined by labour market and the agreement of all partners of the study process, the development of the competences enabling students to compete in global labour market and work at international level are especially emphasized. Educational and vocational training institutions have not only to ensure the qualified specialists‟education, but also provide the opportunities to gain knowledge, skills and attitudes system necessary for the development of their career – systematic and streamlined development for career. (Reardon, etc. 2000; Sampson, etc. 2004; Kučinskienė, 2003; Pukelis, 2007; Rosinaitė, 2008 and etc.). The European Commission Memorandum emphasizes that the objective of the vocational guidance, career guidance and counseling as well as services of career planning development is to ensure that every person could easily access high quality information and advice related to lifelong learning and professional activity opportunities. (Memorandum on Lifelong Learning, 2001). The research on higher school graduates‟ competitiveness in labour market carried out in Lithuania shows that there is a lack of means for career management skill development (Kučinskienė, 2003). The main reasons of misbalance in the labour market and students‟ dissatisfaction are a lack of reliable information about the opportunities of employment and career opportunities after the graduation from a certain higher school and inconsistency as well as fragmentariness of the services related to the students‟ career in higher schools. In 2006 – 2008, during the implementation of the project financed by the European Union “The modernization of vocational and career guidance, information provision and counseling services implementing unified career design development model at colleges and universities” the creation of the systematic students‟ career competences development model was an ultimate goal. During the project, two career competence development programs which aim at continuous development of competences necessary for career development in the fields of self – cognition, learning, knowledge of career opportunities and career planning have been prepared. However, seven institutions participated in the project and it does not solve the problem of systematic preparation of young higher education institution students for career: there is a lack of career counseling specialists, methodological means necessary for developing career management competences as well as modern information resources necessary for career management, etc. National projects, being implemented till 2013 “Higher schools students‟ training for career and career monitoring model development and implementation, vocational  7 guidance specialists‟ working with students qualification development, the creation of necessary means for them” (I stage) and “ The development of training for career and career monitoring infrastructure in higher schools” (II stage) aim to create the career management system in higher education, which consists of necessary methodological basis and prepared specialists. 23 higher institutions are participating in the project. While surveying project activities, a controversial question can be raised, whether the results of the project can meet the needs and ensure the effectiveness of all study fields students‟ career management skill development. The requirements upon the seafarers‟ training, the peculiarities and specifics of seafarer‟s profession and maritime labour market, the tendency of Lithuanian seafarers‟ (management level) share decrease in the labour market fosters the activation of the future seafarers‟ professional career planning research, the development of professional career planning skill training (Senčila, Bartusevičienė; Kalvaitienė, 2006; Senčila, Kalvaitienė, Pukelis 2009; Senčila, Kalvaitienė, Bartusevičienė, 2010; Senčila, Kalvaitienė, Bartusevičienė, 2011, Lileikis, 2011). How to develop maritime students‟ professional career planning skills during the study process? The entity of answers to these questions presupposes the problem of research – the scientists of educology have researched problems related to the development of those skills, the interrelation of education and education content elements and education agents insufficiently. The search for maritime students‟ professional career planning skills development model is the scientific problem of the work. It can be concretized with the following questions: what is the maritime students’ professional career planning skills development and what parameters does maritime students’ professional career planning skills development model entail? The object of the research is the parameters of maritime students‟ professional career planning skills development model. The aim of the research is to prepare a model for maritime students‟ professional career planning skills development. The objectives of the research: 1. To define the conception and mission of professional career planning skill development. 2. To distinguish critical requirements for seafarer‟s profession and peculiarities of seafarer‟s professional career. 3. To generalize Lithuanian and foreign seafarers‟ vocational education models. 4. To found the parameters of maritime students‟ professional career planning skill development model. Statements to be defended: 1. Legal regulation of seafarer's profession, the distinguished features of marine labour market and seafarer's profession reveal the peculiarities of seafarer's profession and are reflected in the model of linear (vertical) professional career which is characteristic to a seafarer's professional career.  8 2. The founded parameters of maritime students' professional career planning skills development model (the principles of the development, the skills of professional career planning, the process of planning and external factors: legal regulation of the profession, the peculiarities of marine labour market and necessary resources) determine the formation of professional career planning skills development content and methods. The scientific novelty of the research. The motivation of professional choice, professional oneness, career skill development have been analyzed both in theoretical and empirical aspects. The development of vocational guidance, career design services, the peculiarities of specialists‟ providing career services activities, the problems related to their training are analyzed in the K. Pukelis (2006), R. Lauţackas (2005, 2006), A. Pundzienė (2004), D. Garnienė (2006), Dailidienė, Navickienė (2006), A.Rosinaitė (2009), L.Navickienė (2011) and other authors‟ studies. There is not plenty of research on maritime students‟ professional self- determination, professional career, and professional career planning skill development. The first research on psychological and pedagogical maritime students‟ choice of profession was carried out by R. Petrauskaitė (1996); the problems of vocational seafarers‟ training, the harmonization of seafarers‟ education and training in Lithuania and Europe have been analyzed (Senčila, 2003; Senčila, Bartusevičienė, 2005); maritime labour market offer and demand evaluation analyzing Lithuanian seafarers‟ quantitative and qualitative composition and marine specialists‟ age profile tendencies have been examined (Senčila, Bartusevičienė, Kalvaitienė, 2006, 2009; Pukelis, 2009). The problems of seafarers‟ personality development and psychosocial seafarers‟ training issues have been studied (Lileikis, 2006; 2008; 2011), Lithuanian seafarers‟ self-development needs have been researched in terms of values (Ţukauskienė, Viršilas, 2005). The issues of maritime specialist profession, career choice and integration into maritime labour market are studied more widely, especially by the scientists of World Maritime University P.Muirhead, 2002; Wu Veiga, 2004; J. Obando-Rojas, 2001; Thomas and Bailey, 2006; Tang, 2007 and other scientists (Chapman, 1992; Parker, Hubinger, Green, Sargint, Boyd, 1997; Stadler, 1999; Lebedev, 2001; Jezewska, 2003; Kaveci, Lane, Sampson, 2003, etc.). Emotional experiences emerging in extreme labour environment, the meaning of prophylactic means to the seafarers‟ psycho hygiene while working or preparing to work at sea have been researched. In the research, maritime students‟ professional career planning skills development is analyzed using a systematic approach, the parameters describing the model are founded. The peculiarities of seafarer‟s profession, maritime students‟ professional career planning skill expression and its need of training are discussed. Theoretical significance of the research. The maritime students‟ professional career planning skills model has been construed having studied the conceptions of professional career, career designing, having analyzed the peculiarities of seafarers‟ profession as well as international and national regulation of their training therefore it reflects the tendencies of maritime students‟ professional career planning skills  9 development. Having performed the foreign and Lithuanian expert surveys, quantitative research, maritime students‟ professional career planning skills development relevance has been founded; the conception of maritime students‟ professional career planning skills development has been complemented. Maritime students‟ professional career planning skills development model parameters based on the theoretical and empirical data reveal new research directions in the field of seafarers‟ vocational career education: the development of seafarers‟ professional career development content, its methods and means in the institutions training seafarers; the analysis of cooperation opportunities among professional career planning skills development process participants. The practical significance of the research. Maritime students‟ professional career planning skills development model corresponds to the provisions of employment, competitiveness training and life long learning regulated in Lithuanian and European Union political documents. Scientific material founding the structure of maritime students‟ professional career planning skills has been systematized. Maritime students‟ professional career planning skills development model based on the results of the interaction between the participants of educational process and the factors of study content. The practical significance of the research is related to the implementation of the prepared maritime students‟ professional career planning skills development model which would guarantee a systematic development of maritime students‟ professional career planning skills in seafarers‟ educational institutions. The professional career planning skills developed during the educational interaction will enable maritime students to realize their skills maximally and compete successfully in the constantly changing labour market. The research methods used in the dissertation 1. The analysis of scientific literature was used to explicate students‟ professional career planning skills training conception and aims, the peculiarities of seafarers‟ education and seafarer‟s profession. 2. The concept analysis (Walker, Avant, 1995). It is used to find out the specifics of concept use and to describe the empirical indicators of the conception. 3. The analysis of documents was used to determine the peculiarities of seafarers‟ training and the regulation of their activity. 4. Modeling method was applied preparing students‟ professional career planning skills development model. 5. Expert interview method. This method was used in order to find out the expert attitude towards the peculiarities of maritime labour market, seafarer‟s profession and to make the parameters of maritime students‟ professional career planning skills development model more precise. 6. Focus group method. The data of maritime students‟ focus group allowed making students‟ professional career planning skills development model more precise.  10 7. Content analysis of qualitative data was used for the empirical grounding of students‟ professional career planning skills development model parameters and making them more precise. 8. The methods of statistical analysis of quantitative data were used to compute the data obtained from the quantitative research. Mathematical statistical analysis was carried out with the SPSS 16.00 program. Cronbach’s alfa coefficient was used to determine the reliability of scales. Theoretical and methodological principles of the research. The work is based on the following principles:  The ideas of constructivism stating that learning is a process that is constructive, self-regulating, goal-oriented, depending on circumstances and individual features. The main factors influencing learning are earlier acquired learner‟s knowledge and experience. The theory of constructivism recognizes a learner as an active participant of the learning process who selects, perceives, interprets new information, integrates it into already available system of knowledge and gathers information. A lecturer has to create situations encouraging individual learning to provide a student an opportunity to construct his/her knowledge.  The ideas of positivism in order to verify the professional career planning skills development model and found the importance of knowledge necessary for maritime students.  The provisions of pragmatism education philosophy emphasizing that individual person‟s experience is not only the result of his previous education, but also the object of his/her further education; that not knowledge itself or social ideas are important in educational structure, but an individual ability to use social experience solving relevant personal problems; founding the learner‟s interaction with social environment as the basis for education.  Career construction theory (Gottfredson, 2005, 2008; Savickas, 2005, 2011), which maintains that a career is created through the interaction of two variables – a personality and society – has been referred to while construing the content of maritime students‟ professional career planning skills development, defining the principles of it. A person chooses what expresses his/her internal provisions and grounds his/her goals in the realm of his/her social labour role id est. A person plans his/her career by making his/her professional behavior and experience meaningful. The research consists of an introduction, a glossary of the principal terms, the review of scientific literature, the methodology of research, the outcomes of the research, a discussion, conclusions, references and annexes. The theoretical part of the research is illustrated with 19 figures and 22 tables. The references of the dissertation research contain 289 sources. The total volume is 162 pages, 308 708 symbols and 44 369 words. Annexes comprise the examples of the applied research means, the data of the statistical analysis.  11 The analysis of the conceptions of career, professional career and professional career planning skills is presented and the critical ideas of the maritime students‟ professional career planning skills development in the context of career design are revealed in the first part of the dissertation, The created maritime students‟ professional career planning skills development model and its methodology are founded in the second part of the dissertation. The results of empirical research are presented, dicussed and interpreted in the third part of the dissertation. The logical sequence of the thesis is presented in Figure 1.  12 Figure 1. Logical sequence of the dissertation I stage. THEORETICAL ANALYSIS Analysis of scientific literature and documents Validation of theoretical parameters of maritime students’professional career planning skills development model II stage. EMPIRICAL RESEARCH Quantitative, qualitative research Aim: validation of empirical model parameters and making them more precise 1 research: survey in writing Respondents: Maritime students (N=351) Seafarers (N=354) 2 research: survey in writing Respondents: Maritime students (N=255) Lecturers (N=35) 3 research: qualitative Expert survey: (N=15 ); Discussion group: Maritime students (N=7). Preparation of maritime students’professional career planning skills development model FORMULATION OF CONCLUSIONS, SCIENTIFIC DISCUSSION  13 Maritime students’ professional career planning skills development model Maritime students‟ professional career planning skills development model has been created using modelling method. Modelling (Latin – modulus – measure, sample) is revealing the relations or behavior of certain objects, systems of objects, or processes by creating and researching models. R. Tidikis (2003) determines the following critical features of a model: a model and an original are always an equivalent of an object for a subject; a model replaces an object in the process of cognition and it itself becomes an object of a research; a model reproduces the object of a research in a simplified form; a model is used to know the modelled object, to acquire new information about the object; knowledge received by the means of the model can be used to understand the original. While analyzing social phenomena it is important to study them as complex, because social objects are conditioned by a lot of interdependent factors related to the object being explained. Each object can be analyzed as a system, consisting of compound interrelated elements with the relations of certain nature (Zakarevičius, 2002; Tidikis, 2003; Savickienė, 2005; Kvedaravičius, 2006, etc.). This work refers to the provisions of systems theory, because the interrelation between maritime students„ professional career planning skills development process partners cannot be static, the process is dependent on the factors of the varying environment: labour market, its specifics, the legal regulation of the profession and its peculiarities, the training process participants’ characteristics. The relevance of maritime students‟ professional career planning skills development is based on the needs of labour market, its specifics and the legal regulation of seafarers‟ education. The identification of labour market needs helps to answer the following questions: What is the need for seafarers in Lithuanian and global labour markets? What characteristics of maritime labour market and seafarer‟s profession can be distinguished? What are the peculiarities of seafarer‟s professional career? What knowledge, skills and provisions that form the content of maritime students‟ professional career planning skills development are necessary? Different international, European Union and national legal acts envisage the seafarers‟ education and development ensuring the quality of them. These acts not only define the content of the seafarer‟s qualification, opportunities to acquire the qualification, point out the institutions responsible for training and its supervision. Legal regulation of seafarer‟s profession also reveals the peculiarities of seafarer‟s profession and skills that are important in the process of maritime students‟ professional career planning skills development. In order to ensure professional career planning skills development, human material and technical resources are necessary. Lecturers, supervisors of  14 apprenticeships, their professional maturity are very important in the process of maritime students‟ professional career planning skills development. The success of skills discussed in the theoretical part of the research: cognition of labour world, social skills and life long learning education and the application of these skills in the process of maritime students‟ professional career depend on their competence. Material and technical resources such as infrastructure and methodical means are necessary for a successful educational process. The aim of professional career planning skills development is to help young people to acquire skills in the area of professional career management systematically, to encourage a personality to be responsible for the development of his/her professional activity and personal professional self-expression. When personality changes, the system of values changes as well therefore the planning professional career is affected not only from outside (changes in labour market, emergence of new professions, the development of opportunities to study and/or work abroad, etc.) but by internal factors, too. The planning of professional career is a constant process consisting of self- assessment; research of professional career opportunities; professional career decision making and professional career plan preparation stages (Pukelis, 2003; Stanišauskienė, 2004). A person has to assess the relation of dynamically changing external factors and personal priorities with real possibilities, to take the decisions and plan their implementation with regard to the future changes. Self-cognition and self-assessment entail two skills important for a professional career: -the cognition of personality‟s features important for the professional career; -The cognition of influence of personal development to the professional career. This stage is based on self-cognition and the cognition of own abilities and insights, the determination of one‟s own interests, skills, values, personal features, goals. Research shows that up to 60% our decisions on professional choices are related to the interests (Fouad, 1999). An activity, that is interesting for us itself is related to our inner motivation naturally encourages us to be interested in the field related to it and develop our career within its limits. Therefore the cognition of own interests is especially important in order to take good career decisions providing inner satisfaction. The knowing own abilities and available competences enables people to evaluate their own strong, weak sides and the ones to be developed with regard to separate professional alternatives (Gottfrendson, 2005, 2008; Savickas, 2005, 2011,etc.). Skills of professional career opportunity research are:  gathering, evaluation and usage of professional career information;  the research of global social, technological development trends;  the research of employment opportunities;  the research of learning opportunities. This block of skills enables to collect reliable information on the economical, social and technological development trends, the opportunities to work and learn. Skills  15 of self-cognition and professional career opportunity research help to accumulate information about themselves and the surrounding world that is necessary for a professional career. Professional career decision making. Career decisions are not daily decisions, therefore their consequences are log-term; in fact they determine successes and failures of a professional career. That is why professional career decision making skill development is emphasized as an essential skill. It is important to be able to evaluate and control the influence of external factors (place and time of decision making, the pressure from the surrounding people, etc.) on the professional career decisions being made. The group of professional career planning skills encompasses three skills:  Creation of a professional career vision;  Professional career decision making;  Preparation of a professional career plan. A skill of a professional career plan preparation entails the acquisition of different knowledge, necessary for creating a professional career plan. It is knowledge about the structure of a career plan, its stages of formation and its content. This knowledge helps to create the formal structure of a career plan. The operation of maritime students‟ professional career planning skills development model is based on the following principles: The principle of interaction – the learners‟,educators‟ and labour world society‟s interaction as well as the compatibility of their activities is necessary for the functioning of the harmonious operation of the model. The accordance of maritime students‟ professional career planning skills development with the needs of labour market is grounded on the principle of interaction. This interaction provides a constant character of vicissitude and renewal, determines the dynamicity of the maritime students‟ professional career planning skills development model. The principle of entirety – the principle of person‟s freedom of self-determination is clearly expressed in all theories of career development. It is important to pay attention to the external limitations of personal freedom (economical conditions, social stereotypes, problems of discrimination, etc.). Internal factors constricting personal freedom (anxiety, fear, poor development of self-image, behavioral shortfalls, etc.) are no less significant. Therefore it is necessary to concentrate the development to a personality as an entirety, keeping in mind the whole spectrum of its needs. The principle of cooperation – the effective and systematic cooperation between a person himself, environment and career planning skills educators leads to the success of this process. The cooperation in the process of education both in European and national documents is recognized as a value and aspiration (Walther-Thomas et al., 2000). The process of cooperation enables to change the education participants‟ provisions, encourages the sharing of information and creation of new knowledge (Giangreco at al., 1993; Westwood, 1996).