Aim: In the present study the learning climate in elderly care in an average sized Swedish municipality, before and after the intervention, is investigated. The intervention was part of the programme “Steps for skill” and the basic idea was to build new infrastructures for learning and development in elderly care. As a result of “Steps for skill” taken into account different organizational levels but considering home help services and residential homes as one context, the specific research questions were: Are there differences between the two types of elderly care as well as between managers and employees’ in their experience of the learning climate? How do the learning climate and its variables effects work outcomes? What is the outcome of the intervention?
Method: Prior to, and one year after the development intervention, surveys were distributed to 29 workplaces and answered by 270 care assistants and 29 managers working in working in elderly care. The sample consisted mainly of females (91%), the average age was 43 years, and 13% had a university degree.
Results: Preliminary results show that there is a difference between two types of elderly care. When it comes to learning climate the groups working in home help service have a lower estimation than the groups working in residential homes, and a higher level of perceived stress. Regarding the outcome of the intervention, the learning climate became significantly better only at the home help services.
Conclusions: To work in home help services seems to have a negative influence on the learning climate, which is not surprising considering the lack of opportunities to discuss everyday work activities and specific problems when they occur. Although the home help services have specific working conditions that are not in line with the suggested key factors in workplace learning, they improved after the intervention.
Choosing one context over another may influence both research results an implications. In the present study the learning climate in elderly care in an average sized Swedish municipality, before and after the intervention, is investigated. The intervention was part of the programme “Steps for skill” and the basic idea was to build new infrastructures for learning and development in elderly care.
As a result of “Steps for skill” taken into account different organizational levels but considering home help services and residential homes as one context, the specific research questions were: Are there differences between the two types of elderly care as well as between managers and employees’ in their experience of the learning climate? How do the learning climate and its variables effects work outcomes? What is the outcome of the intervention?
Prior to, and one year after the development intervention, surveys were distributed to 29 workplaces and answered by 270 care assistants and 29 managers working in working in elderly care. The sample consisted mainly of females (91%), the average age was 43 years, and 13% had a university degree.
Preliminary results show that there is a difference between two types of elderly care. When it comes to learning climate the groups working in home help service have a lower estimation than the groups working in residential homes, and a higher level of perceived stress. Regarding the outcome of the intervention, the learning climate became significantly better only at the home help services.
To work in home help services seems to have a negative influence on the learning climate, which is not surprising considering the lack of opportunities to discuss everyday work activities and specific problems when they occur. Although the home help services have specific working conditions that are not in line with the suggested key factors in workplace learning, they improved after the intervention.
Choosing one context over another may influence both research results an implications.
2010.
27th International Congress of Applied Psychology, 11-16 July 2010 Melbourne Australia