Lara Fenton is using her research skills to help ARPA develop certifications in areas of key competency for its members.
One of the buzzwords in the world of business these days is around certifications - competency-specific, career-relevant education in bite-sized chunks to help professionals keep their skills current, and make them marketable in the job market. And in a world where lifelong learning and professional development are promoted, encouraged and, in some cases, mandated to maintain professional status, it's small wonder that organizations like Alberta Recreation and Park Association (ARPA) are making the leap too.
But ARPA won't be going it alone, because that's where Lara Fenton comes in. Fenton, who is completing her doctoral degree in recreation and leisure studies, is now working as both a lecturer in the faculty and as recreation and leisure research liaison for the bipartite agreement the faculty has with ARPA. She'll be looking at what other similar institutions are doing around the globe on certifications in their organisations and presenting those ideas to ARPA next year.
"My job is to do research around other entities that are similar to ARPA such as the National Recreation and Park Association in the USA, as well as looking further afield to the UK and Australia's national models. I'll be looking to understand the challenges, logistical problems, successes, and so on (that these organizations face)," says Fenton, in addition to exploring whether certifications others are offering are for-credit or not "and the investment members have in the certifications."
Fenton is already well underway with a literature review and readying for ethics approval before launching her study. "My goal is to write and present a study that will put forward a research pathway on which organizations can develop their certifications," she says. "This information will then be used by ARPA to inform the certification process and take into consideration what people have found in other jurisdictions. ARPA will also bring these findings to its members and work collaboratively with them to develop the certification agenda and process."
The hope is that certifications will be developed in line with ARPA members' needs, Fenton says, "so that as recreation professionals go through their careers at entry level, mid-level and the senior level, they will find themselves well-supported with knowledge to meet the demands of their chosen field," whether, for example they're in areas as different as municipal governance or providing recreation services.
ARPA's goal, says Fenton, is to serve its members well. "ARPA wants to arm them with the knowledge they'll need to be able to do their work, and find ways to enhance their opportunities as well as add credibility and legitimacy to the field."
Fenton has just a year to do this project, and she says there's plenty of to do. "There's so much potential. In meetings we talk about current issues in recreation and how we want to position ourselves. I hear research questions coming up all the time that really interest me."
Plans are for Fenton to present her research findings at ARPA's annual conference in 2013 to begin the process of disseminating the information. "That will occur through parks and recreation organizations and some of the applied research journals, so others can benefit from what I learn."
"This role was conceived as a way to give recent graduates applied research experience in the recreation and leisure field," says Fenton, "and it's a great opportunity to teach and work in an applied research context. I'm enjoying the experience."