The Promise and Performance of Forestry Education in the United States: Results of a Survey of Forestry Employers, Graduates, and Educators

Sample, V. Alaric; Bixler, R. Patrick; McDonough, Maureen H.; Bullard, Steven H; Snieckus, Mary M.

doi:10.5849/jof.14-122

Cited by 58 publications

(58 citation statements)

References 20 publications

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“…These expectations are comparable to long term trends in forest related competence needs (Barret 1953;Miller and Lewis 1999;Sample et al 2015;Schuck 2009;Kilpeläinen et al 2014). Some respondents reminded that despite generic skills emphasis, substance related competences are important but often as self-evident neglected.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 58%

“…The raising importance of generic skills in forest sector working life has been seen for a long time in competence studies (Barrett 1953;Arevalo et al 2010;Sample et al 2015). One of the major findings has been the fact that there is a need to have more training for generic competences such as communication, ethics, teamwork and leadership (Barret 1953;Miller and Lewis 1999;Sample et al 2015).…”

Section: Competence Modelling In Forestry Sectormentioning

confidence: 99%

“…One of the major findings has been the fact that there is a need to have more training for generic competences such as communication, ethics, teamwork and leadership (Barret 1953;Miller and Lewis 1999;Sample et al 2015).…”

Section: Competence Modelling In Forestry Sectormentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Subject specific competences are often labelled as technical or domain specific competences (Tynjälä and Newton 2014;Sample et al 2015;Tynjälä et al 2016). Examples of forest related subject specific competence areas are silviculture, forest policy and wildlife management.…”

Section: Concept Of Competencementioning

confidence: 99%

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Modelling competences and anticipating the future competence needs in the forest sector

Rekola¹,

Nippala²,

Tynjälä³

et al. 2018

Silva Fenn.

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Modelling competences and anticipating the future competence needs in the forest sector Rekola M., Nippala J., Tynjälä P., Virtanen A. (2018). Modelling competences and anticipating the future competence needs in the forest sector. Silva Fennica vol. 52 no. 3 article id 9983. 19 p. https://doi.org/10.14214/sf.9983 Highlights• The most frequently used practices of modelling competences in Finnish forest sector organisations were superior-subordinate review discussions and quantitative surveys.• Competence modelling was used for several human resources functions but surprisingly not for hiring and compensation.• The experts interviewed underlined the need for generic competences in the future, especially they highlighted the importance of information processing and personal self-management skills. AbstractThis explorative study examined practices of competence modelling in the forest sector organisations and how organisations anticipate changes in competence needs in the future. Semi-structured in-depth interviews (n = 10) were conducted amongst forest sector experts in Finland and data was analysed by thematic analysis. The findings showed that the practices of modelling competences were diverse, most frequently used ones being superior-subordinate review discussions and quantitative competence surveys. In addition to these formal systems, informal modelling, especially on the team level and in smaller companies was also frequent. Organisations used competence modelling for several human resources functions, such as appraisal, motivation and promotion of employees. Surprisingly hiring and compensation functions were not mentioned. Perceptions related to competence modelling were generally speaking positive. The most important challenges were the lack of further actions and sometimes the extraordinary burden to the employees. When anticipating the future, the experts interviewed mentioned several commonly recognised trends, e.g., development of information technology, fragmentation of working life and structural changes in labour markets. All these require more generic competences related to information processing and personal self-management, especially respondents highlighted the importance of self-awareness skills. It is concluded that several useful practices for competence modelling already exist and that present study provides a basis for further quantitative further study.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 58%

Section: Competence Modelling In Forestry Sectormentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Competence Modelling In Forestry Sectormentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Concept Of Competencementioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Modelling competences and anticipating the future competence needs in the forest sector

Rekola¹,

Nippala²,

Tynjälä³

et al. 2018

Silva Fenn.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…For example, a study of forestry students in Brazil showed that students do not perceive forest production as of high importance in their professional training [8]. Since societies change and the job market demands for professional foresters with skills that are more complex than timber production [9], forestry educational institutions may consider integrating those changes in their curricula and thus, look after progress on sustainability.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Social Science in Forestry Curricula: A Case Study of Colombia Forestry Programs

2015

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Abstract:Tropical forest management depends greatly on complex social interactions. To understand the underlying human causes of deforestation and to plan forest management, it is of great importance to incorporate social science in the study of forestry. There is insufficient information about the incorporation of social sciences in undergraduate forestry programs. Foresters are well prepared in ecology, silviculture, forest measurements, and operational topics such as logging, but their knowledge of basic elements of social sciences is limited. This study explored the extent to which tertiary forestry education programs in Colombia include social science. It also examined students' perceptions of social sciences courses in the curriculum. About 10% of course credits are in economics, administration, and foreign language, courses on social science are listed as optional. A high percentage of current sophomore (fifth semester), junior, and senior students do not have clear knowledge of basic social research methods, although a majority have used social science techniques at some point in their academic careers.

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Skill development using interdisciplinary problem solving in a natural resources capstone course

Anderson

Hargiss

Norland

2022

Natural Sciences Education

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Postsecondary curriculum is designed to prepare students for their careers following graduation, which traditionally revolves around technical aspects of their respected career field. Capstone courses were introduced to help ease students’ transition from the university into their careers. However, little research containing empirical evidence exists on the effectiveness of capstone courses in natural resources. This study evaluated 6 yr of course graduates from an interdisciplinary problem‐solving capstone course in natural resources, seeking to understand the skills gained and what portions of the course were most useful in transitioning students to their future careers. Results show the course was able to enhance students’ writing, communication, job preparation, and teamwork skills. Students valued knowledge gained on soft skills, such as communication and teamwork, over technical skills specific to their major. Overall, the students valued the interdisciplinary problem solving nature of the course, as most natural resource issues are interdisciplinary. Areas that could be improved in this capstone model were focused on improving individual student's verbal communication and presentation skills. Information from this study is useful to colleges and universities considering and using capstone courses to determine skills that can be taught and to determine if using real world problems in an interdisciplinary setting in their courses would be beneficial.

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The Promise and Performance of Forestry Education in the United States: Results of a Survey of Forestry Employers, Graduates, and Educators

Cited by 58 publications

References 20 publications

Modelling competences and anticipating the future competence needs in the forest sector

Modelling competences and anticipating the future competence needs in the forest sector

Social Science in Forestry Curricula: A Case Study of Colombia Forestry Programs

Skill development using interdisciplinary problem solving in a natural resources capstone course

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