Findings from a small scale research project that indicate what aspects within a competency based degree facilitates the development of competent students.

1. Developing effective practitioners
using health promotion and youth
worker competency frameworks as
indicators of competence
Karen Hicks
Professional Teaching Fellow-University of Auckland
Senior Lecturer-Unitec Institute of Technology

2. Aotearoa New Zealand Health
Promotion Competencies:

3. Aotearoa New Zealand Youth Work
Competencies:
1. Context of young people - influences of the world that play a part in shaping young people –
global, national, regional, local, family/whānau and human development
2. Context of youth work - the history, role, and practice of youth work
3. Bicultural partnerships - the values and aspirations of Iwi Māori and non-Māori
4. Building connectedness - to build, strengthen or restore a young person’s connectedness to their
key social environments
5. Building quality relationships - to create a supportive environment, connect and work inclusively
with young people from diverse backgrounds and cultures
6. Ensuring the safety and well-being of young people
7. Working from a strengths-based approach – to build on strength, respond to need and foster
growth
8. Facilitating youth participation - actively engaging, involving and empowering young people

4. Aim:
To explore lecturer’s perspectives on whether
student placement are an effective pedagogy in
developing competence.
Method:
Focus group
Questionnaire

5. Data Analysis Themes:
Processes Challenges
Effective assessments Assessing competence
Cultural practice Lack of competency knowledge
Dedicated placement
coordination

6. Effective assessments:
Application is the key. Knowledge informs, but what we
are trying to assess is how well you can take that
from paper to the real world. Assessments that add
value to the student’s practice, rather than assessing
for assessments sake.

7. Dedicated placement coordinator:
The coordinator maintains ongoing relationships and
provides organisations with student assessments so that
they know what the students need to learn. They match
students effectively with the best placements that can to
support gaps in competence.

8. Bi-cultural practice:
In the placement process we acknowledge different
cultural perspectives, the placement meeting can create
that sense of whakawhanaungatanga and connection, and
identify the partnership that is about to occur. We spend
time to build that connection and partnership to make the
placement a useful thing.
(whakawhanaungatanga =process of establishing relationships, relating well to others)

9. Marae – sacred meeting place

10. Lack of competency based knowledge:
So it’s almost like we need to educate the sector too on
actually these are the competencies and this is what we
are assessing the student’s on because those
competencies have been developed for good practice.
Students are telling their supervisors here is this
competency so we feel like we are educating the sector at
the same time.

11. Challenge of assessing competence:
How to standardise that is a little challenge because every
organisation is different, every person is different, and
everyone’s project is different.

12. Conclusion:
Within Aotearoa New Zealand competency
frameworks can facilitate the development of
competent students:
•Using competency-based assessments
•Effective placement organisations
•Having culturally competent academic staff