The experiences of participating in continuing professional development: A study of human resource development professionals in Taiwan (China).

摘要

The purpose of this study is to gain a deep understanding of the meaning and the nature of the selected human resource development (HRD) professionals' experience of participating in continuing professional development (CPD). The central research question is: “What is the lived experience of selected Taiwanese HRD professionals participating in their continuing professional development?”; Hermeneutic phenomenology was used as the research methodology. The researcher purposefully invited 14 participants from the members of the Human Resource Development Association of Republic of China (Taiwan). All participants were engaged in HRD or related tasks and had worked at least 3 years in this field. The researcher developed the research texts through face-to-face conversational interviews with open-ended questions. Each participant was interviewed twice and all interviews were tape-recorded in order to transcribe verbatim into the research texts.; Through thematic analysis of the research texts, several essential themes and subthemes emerged as follows: (1) “I felt changes:” (a) “I felt changes in the business environment,” (b) “I felt changes in the HRD field,” and (c) “I felt changes in my career.” (2) “I felt a drive for learning and development:” (a) “I was preparing for my future,” (b) “I desired to keep myself active,” (c) ”I desired to know more,” and (d) “I felt self-challenge or self-actualization.” (3) “I felt CPD was part of my working life:” (a) “I learned while working,” (b) “I perceived organizational cultures influenced my CPD,” and (c) “I built my professional networks.” (4) “ I felt powerless and frustrated:” (a) “I felt it was hard to balance work, learning, and family roles,” (b) “I felt anxious about participating in some continuing learning activities,” and (c) “I felt my professional competencies and expertise did not give me power.”; The thesis ends with reflecting on HRD professionals, organizations, professional associations, and adult and continuing education providers about the meaning of study participants' lived experiences and considering how to improve practice in Taiwanese HRD professionals' CPD.