فصلنامه آموزش و توسعه منابع انسانی
پیاپی 41 (تابستان 1403)

The gap between theory and practice has always been a subject of debate among theorists and practitioners. Practitioners frequently critique the limited applicability of theory in real-world organizational settings, while researchers express concern over the perceived lack of theoretical grounding in Human Resource Development (HRD) practice. In response to this critical issue, actionable knowledge development has emerged as a key area of investigation. The present study aims to address this gap by proposing a model for the development of actionable knowledge among HRD practitioners. Employing a qualitative research approach, the research data were collected through semi-structured interviews with a sample of 24 HRD practitioners from Iran’s administrative system. To this end, thematic coding strategies (open and axial) were used to analyze the interview data. The findings revealed a cyclical model of actionable knowledge development, characterized by six key stages. These stages revolve around two axes: "knowing" and "doing." The "knowing" axis encompasses three stages: Receiving, adapting, and searching for knowledge. The "doing" axis, conversely, comprises three stages: Legitimizing, reconfiguring, and rendering knowledge into practice. By fostering attention to this cyclical model, individual and organizational development can be facilitated. Furthermore, this model has the potential to bridge the gap between the social system of science and the social system of practice, ultimately promoting the formation and application of practical knowledge for HRD practitioners to effectively address everyday challenges.

Today, the use of technology in education has led to the creation of new educational methods. Digital storytelling is one of the technologies that play a major role in education. This study was conducted to investigate the effectiveness of job training through digital storytelling on the job adaptability and self-efficacy of employees. This research was quantitative in terms of objectives and data collection method. This quasi-experimental study has a pre-test/post-test design and a control group. The statistical population included all employees of private air cargo service companies in Tehran province, and among this population, one company was selected by convenience sampling, and 60 employees were randomly assigned to experimental and control groups by voluntary sampling. Data were collected using Savickas’ career adaptability and Sherer’s general self-efficacy questionnaires and were analyzed in SPSS software at both descriptive and inferential levels. The findings showed that job training through digital storytelling can increase the adaptability and general self-efficacy of employees. Accordingly, digital storytelling might be used as a new educational resource and tool to meet the educational needs of organizations.

The present research is a futures study on the strategic competencies of human resources training and development managers at the Social Security Organization (SSO) of Iran. The research has a mixed type methodology (qualitative-quantitative) and a sequential exploratory design. The participants included experts from the SSO. Snowball sampling was used to select the participants until reaching theoretical saturation, and a total of 15 individuals were recruited to the study. Interviews and questionnaires were used to collect data, and Lincoln and Guba's (1985) criteria were used to ensure their trustworthiness, including credibility, transferability, confirmability and dependability. Coding strategy was used to analyze the data obtained from the interviews, and the fuzzy Delphi technique was adopted to screen for the indicators. Also, a structural analysis was performed in MicMac software to analyze the future of the study subject. The analysis of the interviews led to the identification of 67 primary and 36 secondary competencies, and 14 of them were confirmed by screening through fuzzy Delphi. Among the 14 competencies, the most strategic key competencies were determined as situational awareness, peer education, digital leadership, unity of effort, and unification of efforts. As a result, it is necessary to examine these competencies in the design of human resource development programs and measures for the SSO, focusing on future human resource training and development managers within the organization, and to always consider these strategic steps for their excellence and prosperity.

The growth and sustainability of organizations in competitive environments depend on their ability to cultivate employees with critical thinking; that is, individuals who can bridge the gap between knowledge and commerce, comprehend challenging situations, and are prepared to confront them practically. Fostering this readiness in employees necessitates the adoption of innovative methods. Advanced learning technologies, such as serious games, have opened up new avenues for developing critical thinking competencies. Some serious games have been designed specifically to cultivate critical thinking. By studying and benchmarking these games as a systematic tool, their success in achieving this aim can be evaluated.This research was conducted with the objective of studying and benchmarking serious games in the context of critical thinking based on Facione's Critical Thinking (CT) model, which comprises six components: Interpretation, analysis, evaluation, inference, explanation, and self-regulation. According to the findings, the components including interpretation, analysis, evaluation, and inference are actively addressed in all the games examined. Meanwhile, the explanation and self-regulation components have received less attention in many of the games. This observation suggests that none of the serious games investigated in this study fully and effectively enhance CT, as their attention to the elements and processes of critical thinking has been incomplete. This shortcoming may be attributed to the neglect of critical thinking models and theories, as well as the lack of involvement of subject-matter experts in the game design and development process. The research findings have been discussed and analyzed using Evelin and Korthagen’s Core Reflection Model.

The research literature indicates that 70 to 90 percent of workplace learning takes place in an informal manner. Meanwhile, informal learning may not be effective due to its unstructured nature and limitations. Using task-centered learning models that focus on learning based on real-world problems and tasks could be beneficial in this area. This study was conducted to propose a conceptual framework for designing informal workplace learning based on task-centered learning. For this purpose, two preliminary studies were conducted using the qualitative meta-synthesis method. These studies were conducted to identify the most significant components of task-centered learning and informal workplace learning. Both studies employed the meta-synthesis approach recommended by Sandelowski and Barroso (2006). The findings revealed that many commonalities of the conceptual frameworks of task-centered learning and informal workplace learning provide the possibility of developing a common conceptual framework. The resulting conceptual frameworks (TC-IWL) include five main components and 15 sub-components: Learning stimulus (stimulus authenticity, contextual stimulus, competency-oriented stimulus, stimulus sequence and stimulus variety), workplace action (understanding the new experience, context consistency, and additional practice), support and guidance (peer coaching, multi-source feedback, second-order scaffolding, demonstration, and clarifying), self-direction (self-scaffolding and self-evaluation), and reflection on action.

Organizations must proactively invest in employee training and development to navigate the ever-evolving landscape and remain competitive. The primary objectives of such initiatives include boosting productivity and profitability, gaining a competitive edge, and ensuring sustainable growth. Accordingly, this study aimed to develop a comprehensive model for training and developing human resources in Sina Bank. A qualitative research approach based on thematic analysis was therefore adopted. Data collection involved both bibliographic research and fieldwork. The bibliographic research involved searches across diverse research platforms and databases, along with an examination of scholarly documents and sources. The fieldwork included semi-structured interviews with experts, administrators, and education professionals. The study's statistical population consisted of administrators, professors, specialists, and planners within the education and human resources domains. The participants were selected through purposive sampling method and continued until theoretical saturation of data. The theme analysis approach was utilized, resulting in the extraction and coding of 186 statements, which were subsequently organized into three overarching categories: The main category, sub-category, and sub-sub-category. The research outcomes culminated in the design of Sina Bank's human resources training and development model, comprising three primary categories: Input, process, and output. The input category consisted of three sub-categories: Top managers' support for education, formulation of strategies, and the fostering of a learning and development culture. The process category was divided into three sub-categories: Needs identification, education planning, and education implementation. Finally, the output category encompassed two sub-categories: Evaluation and results.

This research was conducted with the aim of identifying and leveling the factors affecting the educational process based on the entrepreneurial approach in Iran's automotive industry. This was an applied study in terms of purpose and mixed-exploratory in terms of data collection. The study consisted of a qualitative phase to identify and level the influential factors of the educational process based on the entrepreneurial approach, and also a quantitative phase to determine the effects of the variables and their leveling. Sampling was purposive in both quantitative and qualitative phases using the snowball method. In the qualitative part, first, a semi-structured interview was conducted with 20 academic and organizational experts, including industrial experts such as education custodians (supervisors and heads of education), with the aim of identifying the influential factors. In the quantitative analysis section, the DEMATEL method was applied to determine the influence of the variables, and in the next step, structural-interpretive modeling was used to determine the levels of the factors. The DEMATEL questionnaire was distributed among ten experts, and the effect of the factors was extracted using DEMATEL modeling. The research results yielded 15 key factors in the educational process based on the entrepreneurial approach, which were classified into nine levels.