The research is about Personal Development planning PDP. The study seeks to determine how well students understand the need for, the benefits, how useful they can design and how frequent they review their progress using PDP. The study is crucial as it assesses how the application of PDP affects academic performance of students. The significant finding showed that most students are familiar with PDP and most of them are applying it. The research analyses the results of the research and significant conclusions are recorded. Also, the recommendation provides clear ways in which the academic institution and parents; can help achieve a more realistic plan that is suitable and applicable to their academic and other activities by the student.
Introduction
Personal Development Planning (PDP) is a process designed to help individuals to think about, and plan for their academic and carrier development. The PDP is used by students to enable them to establish their aim, recognize one’s strengths and weaknesses and to identify areas that need improvement to work on them accordingly. The plan entails of objectives put in place stating the areas that need improvement and how to achieve that. The plan, therefore, consists of well and accurately outlined goals, the reasons why they are essential and how exactly you are going to reach them. The plan is always designed in a way that it recognizes the existence of obstacles and how to overcome or provide alternatives to progress with the carrier rather than get stranded (Peters and Tymms, 2010). A PDP with realistic goals, clear timescale and proper ways of achieving not only provides you with knowledge and skills but also keeps you motivated towards success.
This paper is going to discuss the needs for and benefits of a personal development plan. The research will provide an analysis of primary research; how well the students understand the need for, how they effectively plan, how frequently review their progress, and how well they understand the benefits of the PDP. The paper will also provide suitable recommendations on how to improve your development planning.
Discussion
The need for and benefits of personal development planning
There are several needs for personal development planning among student for it makes their purpose in school clear and achievable. The PDP provides for the planning of all-around personal, educational and carrier development. PDP requires an individual to record all their goals, provide a definite timescale, and proposed actions or ways of achieving them (University Bath, 2018). This provides clear guidelines on how to go about in achieving one's plans through following a given guide. It also creates a routine whose aim is to facilitate improvement, progress and achieving the goals. The planning also ensures that you can efficiently reflect on your performance and educational achievements. Since the target has been stated and recorded, it becomes easier to refer to it hence making it possible to assess whether you are progressing or not and to take appropriate action. Also, PDP provides for a chance to record one’s achievements, when the goals are clear, assessing performance also becomes easier hence can be recorded and can be referred from time to time(University of Bath, 2018).
Considering that working on personal development is essential for self-improvements as well as thriving professionally, there are four key benefits of PDP. First, PDP enables you to figure out what you want to do (Rolfe, 2018). PDP helps an individual to learn more about their abilities and aspiration and to identify where their values and beliefs lie hence being in a position to determine what exactly you want to do. Secondly, PDP assists one to make clear goals, by figuring out more about yourself, you will be in a position to create bright and well-informed goals that are achievable (Rolfe 2018). The goals are easily attainable since they all result from your interests and it will be easier to rule out the means that might not be favorable in achieving the goals. The third is you will be motivated; with a clear and achievable target, you will become more focus on achieving your goals. If especially there is need to track the progress you will be highly motivated, as it becomes compulsory to work on your goals and complete them on high standards. The last benefit is that you will get a better work-life balance. With a clear timescale that indicates what to be done at that time, it proves for proper utilization of time and giving each bit of life the time it deserves (Rolfe 2018). This helps achieve a well-balanced life through giving attention to all sectors and not neglecting any of them.
Analysis of the research findings
The research is conducted among student as random as possible a good number filled the questionnaires and responded to the questions accordingly while others did not, and the results that were analyzed are impressing. Among the questions under study is how well students understand the need for personal development planning. The response received indicated that half of the students clearly understand the need for PDP in their studies as they can state the needs adequately. Half of the remaining understood to some extent though not entirely while the remaining sample did not completely have an idea what it is. Generally, responses showed that most students believe in the notion that PDP is needed if one has to improve their performance in academics. Peters 2013 in his research also realized that students only embrace the use of PDP so as to boost and to improve their academic performance.
The study on how effective the students plan their personal development, the response have shown that by the end of first-year studies, many students are in a position efficiently plan their development for both their academics and other life activities. Most of the students also indicated that by this time they are in a position to reflect on their goals and ways of achieving them and make any necessary changes. The more the students interact with their development planning, the more they get aware of their values and believe thereby designing a more effective and realistic plan as time goes by. The application of PDP by student also has been found out to promote professionalism among users (Jackson 2010) hence its use is vital in shaping the future carrier of individuals.
How the students reviewed their progress against their objectives hugely varied, but the majority agreed that they frequently assessed their progress. One of the students stated that once you have a plan or goals to achieve, you are always motivated to achieve them; hence the need to refer to them to check whether there is an achievement or not. Other students indicated that they hardly review their progress while other accepted that they reviewed often. Another student also stated that” I often review my progress since it is from there that I always draw motivation.” Also “whenever I realize I have achieved a given goal, I feel happy and always feel like rewarding myself.” Therefore from the responses, it appeared that most students need a more clear introduction to the process and more on the reflective self-assessment (Dyke at al. 2010).
Most of the students say they are familiar with PDP even if they might not be sure of all aspects concerning it. The students that participated in the research also said they know some of the benefits of the PDP as their tutors often insist that every student should develop a personal development plan. Among the many benefits of PDP, enabling students to design goals and achieve them is the most common one which most students are familiar with. As the study is purely voluntary for participants and all the rules of the rules of research were as well absorbed to ensure accurate results and no biased information (Hulme and Lisewskib 2010). The research, therefore, provided necessary and varying information from the opinions of the students that agreed to participate. The majority of the student exhibited clear knowledge on how to design, use and apply the PDP to their daily activities. The result also showed that PDP is an essential tool that enhances learning and provides motivations; as most students attribute their motivation to achieving their set goals (Ward and Watts 2009).
Recommendations
Academic Institutions should incorporate PDP into the curriculum and ensure it is compulsory for all the students. The program will expose students to the use of a plan for personal development hence enabling them to realize their potentials and to find means of achieving them (Tymms, Peters and Scott 2013). According to the research, it is clear that PDP keeps students focused and motivated throughout their study period. Therefore by making it compulsory, it will help boost the academic performance of most students. By incorporating into the school curriculum, it will be a routine for all students thereby enabling them to understand the need for and the benefits of using it in their daily lives.
The institution should also come up with proper strategies for implementing the use of PDP by all the students. This can be achieved by either providing lessons that teach on how to come up with a personal development plan and how they can be applied. The institution can also consider guaranteeing students of tutors’ assistance to provide any support that might be of help. Finally, apart from the guidance and being corrected when the need be, the students should be allowed to be the authors of their development planning (Nixon, 2013). Goals that individuals set for themselves seems more manageable and achievable compared to those someone suggests to you. The student should be allowed to figure out more about their lives, what they like, where they what to be in their future lives, so that they can design a plan that is both realistic and life-changing. Studies have also indicated that students tend to be so more determined in attaining their set goals compared to those suggested by their teachers or even parents. Because before you set a goal, you must have figured out how exactly you are going to work to accomplish it.
In conclusion, personal development planning is crucial specifically for the student. It ensures students set goals, seeks to achieve them and make good use of their time. The plan also apart from working as a motivation to students; it as well help gives live purpose since students are allowed to figure out what they want to be in the future and how they will like to attain that. Despite most students being familiar with PDP, there is an excellent need to place more effort to let students understand more about it and how to apply in their lives. Parents and academic institutions should also encourage students to adopt the use of personal development planning.
References
Dyke, J.E., at al. 2010. Personal development planning: First‐year Master of Pharmacy students' engagement with, and attitudes towards, reflective self‐assessment. [online] Available at: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1211/ijpp.17.1.0009 [Accessed 22 May 2018].
Hulme, C., & Lisewskib, B. (2010). Support structures for facilitators of student personal development planning: lessons from two departmental case studies. Journal of Further and Higher Education, 34(2): 137–148.
Jackson, N., 2010. Learning to be a Self-Regulating Professional: The Role of Personal Developing Planning (PDP). Learning to be professional through a Higher Education e-book. [online] Available at: http://learningtobeprofessional.pbworks.com/w/page/15914981/Learning%20to%20be%20Professio nal%20through%20a%20Higher%20Education%20e-Book [Accessed 22 May 2018].
Nixon, S., 2013. Personal development planning; an evaluation of student perceptions. Practice and Evidence of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, 8(3), pp.203-216.
Peters, J., 2013. The Pedagogies of PDP. [online] Available at: http://www.recordingachievement.org/research/narn-tree/personal-development.html [Accessed 22 May 2018].
Peters, J. & Tymms, M. 2010. Defining Personal Development Planning: putting the personal in PDP? PDP and e-portfolio UK Newsletter. Issue 20. [online] Available at: http://www.recordingachievement.org/news-and-events/publications/pdpuk.html [Accessed 22 May 2018]
Rolfe, A., 2018. Five benefits of personal development | reed.co.uk. [online] Available at: https://www.reed.co.uk/career-advice/five-benefits-of-personal-development/
Tymms, M., Peters, J. & Scott, I. (2013). Personal Development Planning: pedagogy and the politicisation of the personal. Research in Post-Compulsory Education, 18(3): 257-268
University of Bath., 2018. Personal Development Planning | University of Bath. [online] Available at: http://www.bath.ac.uk/asc/study-skills/personal-dev elopment-planning.html [Accessed 22 May 2018].
Ward, R. and Watts, A.G., 2009. Personal development planning and employability. York: Higher Educationa.
APPENDIX A
Project plan
Activity
Start date
End date
Project Planning
18/5/2018
18/5/2018
Search for literature
18/5/2018
18/5/2018
Read and summarize literature
18/5/2018
19/5/2018
Design research( questionnaires)
19/5/2018
19/5/2018
Collect data
20/5/2018
21/5/2018
Write up notes
20/5/2018
21/5/2018
Analyze data
21/5/2018
22/5/2018
Compile report
22/5/2018
23/5/2018
Disseminate findings
23/5/2018
23/5/2018
Appendix B
Research Methodology
Activity
The method and Findings
Research methods
Qualitative research
Main Findings
Most of the participants are familiar with the need for, how to design and the benefits of PDP. Also the students who use the PDP review often their progress.
