Pre-Sem: Professional Behavior Self-Assessment

Goal:
To assist undergraduate pre-seminary students in developing requisite professional behaviors for their future pastoral ministry.

Background:
In recent years there has been an increasing desire to facilitate the acquisition of professional behaviors among various professional programs. Behaviors, such as professional demeanor, team work, organizational skills, empathy, initiative, and dependability are highly valued. Our pre-seminary graduates are expected to be responsible, appropriately assertive, self-motivated, and function relatively independently with guidance when they enter the seminary. These behaviors can no longer be taken for granted. The development of students’ professional skills requires practice, role mentorship, and evaluative feedback. Developing such professional maturity during their academic undergraduate years requires some feedback from faculty who see these students regularly over several months, and in some cases, several years.

Several professional organizations, particularly in the health professions, have developed tools to assist students in measuring such behaviors. Studies over the past number of decades have demonstrated the importance of modeling and self-evaluations. The following form is to be used by the student in one of his classes each semester and, after being reviewed with his advisor, the Director of Pre-Seminary studies will retain it in his files or in the student’s portfolio until graduation from Concordia University.

The present form is adapted from an instrument developed by Dr. Jack Kasar and Diane Watson for the University of Scranton’s Department of Occupational Therapy.

References:
- AOTA. Self-paced Instruction for Clinical Education and Supervision (SPICES). Rockville, MD: American Occupational Therapy Association, 1991.
-Crist, P.H. Contemporary issues in Clinical Education. Thorofare, NJ: Slack, 1986.
-Opacich, K. J. and C. J. Hughes. Employer Assessment of Performance and Professional Development. Paper presented at Commission on Education, AOTA Annual Meeting, 1990.