Assessing the psychometric properties of a scenario‐based measure of achievement guilt and shame

In this study, the psychometric properties of the scenario‐based Achievement Guilt and Shame Scale (AGSS) were established. The AGSS and scales assessing interpersonal guilt and shame, high standards, overgeneralization, self‐criticism, self‐esteem, academic self‐concept, fear of failure, and tendency to respond in a socially desirable manner were completed by 322 undergraduate students. A confirmatory factor analysis indicated that a 12‐scenario model had an acceptable fit to the data, with guilt and shame items forming separate, weakly correlated subscales. Each of the guilt and shame subscales of the AGSS demonstrated good internal and test–retest reliability. Good construct validity was also evident, with each subscale uniquely correlating with constructs in ways that were consistent with predictions. Acceptable discriminant validity was also evident. These outcomes provide support for the utility of the AGSS in assessing guilt and shame reactions in achievement situations.     

The communication anxiety inventory: Validation of state‐and context‐communication apprehension

Research reported in this paper investigates the reconceptualization (McCroskey, 1984) of communication apprehension (CA), focusing on the relationship between context‐CA and state‐CA. The validity of the reconceptualization can be enhanced by demonstrating that state‐CA (level of fear and anxiety) is systematically related to context‐CA (predisposition). Two research studies using a new operational measures of state‐CA and context‐CA, the Communication Anxiety Inventory, offer empirical support for the relationship between context‐CA and state‐CA. Results show that context‐CA explains a minimum of 50% of the state‐CA variance. Conclusions suggest that level of fear or anxiety varies closely with context‐CA and that the new scales have strong predictive validity.     

Education and disadvantage: the role of community‐oriented schools

The proposed development of extended schools in England is part of an international movement towards community‐oriented schooling, particularly in areas of disadvantage. Although on the face of it this movement seems like a common‐sense approach to self‐evident needs, the evaluation evidence on such schools is inconclusive. In order to assess the likelihood that community‐oriented schooling will have a significant impact on disadvantage, therefore, this paper analyses the rationale on which this approach to schooling appears to be based. It argues that community‐oriented schools as currently conceptualised have a focus on ‘proximal’ rather than ‘distal’ factors in disadvantage, underpinned by a model of social in/exclusion which draws attention away from underlying causes. They are, therefore, likely to have only small‐scale, local impacts. The paper suggests that a more wide‐ranging strategy is needed in which educational reform is linked to other forms of social and economic reform and considers the conditions which would be necessary for the emergence of such a strategy.     

Assessing the psychometric properties of Kember and Leung’s Reflection Questionnaire

Reflective thinking is often stated as a learning outcome of baccalaureate nursing education, and as a characteristic of a competent professional; however, no consistent method exists to assess the extent to which students engage in reflective thinking. To address this need, Kember and Leung developed and tested a self-report questionnaire based on Mezirow’s conceptualisation of levels of reflective thinking. The purpose of this study was to test the psychometric properties of the Reflection Questionnaire, developed by Kember and Leung. A convenience sample (n?=?538) of third-year baccalaureate nursing students from four collaborative nursing programmes in Ontario was used. Ethical approval was secured from 10 sites. Second-order confirmatory factor analyses (CFA) were used to test the factor structure of the Reflection Questionnaire. This research was part of a larger study on reflective thinking and is a first step in validating a four-level measure of reflective thinking, in educational environments, with baccalaureate nursing students. The results of the second-order CFA provide support for the construct validity of reflective thinking. Results of this study contribute to the evidence supporting the reliability and validity of the questionnaire. Nurse educators can use this information when implementing the questionnaire, and learning the extent to which students are engaging in the reflective thinking process.     

The validity and reliability of the cross-national comparison of degree programme levels in European countries. What have students learnt?

A cross-national comparison of degree programme levels became relevant when the borders of European countries opened for students and graduates, and higher education institutions were restructured into bachelor’s and master’s programmes. This new situation foregrounded the questions of what students are learning in the degree programmes of European countries and how to compare their achievements. Therefore, we conceptualised a valid and reliable ‘level’ construct that included a cognitive (‘disciplinary thinking’) and an affective aspect (‘professional attitude’). The main research question for our exploratory study was: ‘What procedure can lead to a valid and reliable cross-national comparison of degree programme levels?’ To achieve this comparison, we designed a Three-Step Procedure, in which level was operationalised (step 1), measured and analysed (step 2), and compared cross-nationally (step 3). The study was conducted in collaboration with four bachelor programmes in Hotel Management from four European countries; a total of 783 participants were involved. Four themes were generated to operationalise the concept of level: professional management, hospitality business research, leading management, and strategic management; their respective learning outcomes were measured with a questionnaire. Principal component analysis identified the conceptualised themes and measured their components with eigenvalues ≥1, which explained 66 % of the variance. The reliability of the components exceeded a Cronbach’s alpha coefficient of 0.70. Analysis of the components and of the single samples showed strong validity and reliability for the learning outcomes. Thus, we believe this study has produced a rigorous means to compare degree programme levels across countries.

     

The factorial structure and construct validity of the Psychopathy Checklist‐Revised (PCL‐R) among alcoholic inpatients

Simultaneous group confirmatory factor analyses of the Psychopathy Checklist‐Revised (PCL‐R; Hare, 1991) were conducted with an alcoholic inpatient sample (N= 740). Invariance of the item‐factor relations for the 2 highly correlated factors of Personality and Behavioral Features were supported across 3 racial/ethnic groups (African American, Puerto Rican, and White) and across gender groups. Moment structure analysis indicated no significant differences in the latent means across men and women. Alternative covariance structure models were specified within a multitrait‐multimethod framework to evaluate convergent and discriminant validity across different methods of measuring antisociality. A correlated trait‐correlated method model was supported. A factor intercorrelation of .68 was indicated for Personality and Behavioral Features, and a significant correlation (.40) among method factors emerged for the PCL‐R scores across different raters (interviewers and therapists). General support was provided for the use of the PCL‐R with alcoholic inpatients, though there was a substantial intercorrelation for the factors of Personality and Behavioral Features.     

The Nature of the Gift: Accountability and the Professor‐Student Relationship

In this paper I introduce the theory of gift giving as a possible means to reconcile the contradictions inherent in accountability measures of ‘faculty productivity’ in the American university. In this paper I sketch the theory of gift economies to show how, given the historical ideals that characterize the faculty‐student relationship, a theory of gift giving could help us better judge the labor of the faculty. I suggest that it is the relational character of teaching that frustrates accountability measures and that perhaps if viewed as a gift economy—and in particular an economy with ‘reproductive’ ends—we could better grasp the effectiveness of these relationships.     

Gender and Religious Tradition: the role‐learning of British Hindu children

Much of children's attitude to gender is developed in their home. For children from a Hindu background dharma (right conduct) involves all aspects of life. It includes family and ritual responsibilities and they are largely gender‐specific. This article is based on research among 8‐13 year‐old Hindu children of Punjabi and Gujarati origin in Coventry [2] [2] The Hindu Nurture in Coventry Project and the Punjabi Hindu Nurture in Coventry Project, both parts of the Religious Education and Community Project, directed by Robert Jackson, were made possible by generous funding from the Leverhulme Trust. The Punjabi Hindu Nurture in Coventry Project focused upon children in two low caste communities, namely the Valmikis and being conducted among children in other faith communities as part of the Religious Education and Community Project with funding from the Economic and Social Research Council ‘Project number R000 232489’. View all notes. I contend that gender is significant in the religious involvement of both boys and girls. This article draws attention to areas of their experience as young British Hindus in which their gender is decisive and examines these in relation to the role expectations enunciated by the children.

     

The role of metacognition in reading‐accuracy learning and instruction

Abstract

Effective metacognition powerfully supports actioning of complex tasks. The complexity of English orthography makes mastery of reading accuracy (word identification) an extremely complex task. At‐risk readers thus are likely to benefit greatly from effective metacognition of reading accuracy. Optimal reading‐accuracy instruction involves development of conceptual, procedural and conditional knowledges, evidenced in concept and skills development, strategy usage and metacognitive actioning. It is considered likely that metacognition of reading accuracy and metacognition of cognitive processing both support reading‐accuracy mastery in children with reading disability. Student metacognition (baseline and learned) and the role of instructional scaffolding as metacognitive supports are considered integral aspects of skill mastery and generalisation. Needs for research on metacognition in reading‐accuracy development are discussed.     

Sun‐zi and the art of war: The rhetoric of parsimony

Daoist (Taoist) philosophical rhetoric is an integral part of China's magnificent cultural heritage, and analysis of Daoist rhetoric offers the potential to enhance understanding of human communication and inform rhetorical theory and practice. While studies of Daoist rhetoric are increasing, a masterpiece of Daoist thought, Sun‐zi's (Sun‐tzu's) Art of War, has not been examined for its rhetorical implications. This study suggests that war is a useful metaphor for rhetoric, and that Art of War provides a comprehensive, insightful, and unique rhetorical theory based on parsimony: extreme economy in the expenditure of resources.     

Discussion of Socio‐scientific Issues: The role of science knowledge

This paper considers the relationship between science knowledge and the ability to engage in reasoned discussion of the social consequences of science. Through a study of over 200 school students aged 14–16 we show that the ability to engage in reasoned discussion of applications of gene technology is strongly influenced by the ability to recognize key issues, and that ability to recognize key issues requires some understanding of the relevant science. It is also influenced by the specificity of the context under discussion and personal experience. The requisite scientific knowledge base is relatively modest and can be effectively taught through brief teaching interventions that are well designed and contextualized. The implications for classroom practice are considered     

The importance of being a ‘lady’: hyper‐femininity and heterosexuality in the private,single‐sex primary school

Drawing on recent ethnographic research in one single‐sex, private primary school, this paper will explore what it meant for the girls in this setting to embody the discourse of the ‘lady’. The paper will propose that classed and gendered discourses of respectability featured strongly in the girls’ lives, as they were expected to behave like ‘proper’ upper‐middle‐class ladies. However, the paper will also suggest that these discourses were being reworked through post‐feminist, neo‐liberal notions of modern girlhood, meaning that the girls also felt compelled to make themselves as heterofeminine ‘girly’ girls; as sassy, sexy and successful, as well as respectable and upper‐middle‐class(y) enough. By exploring the clash between these two sets of discourse, the paper will specifically seek to examine the lived embodiment of intersections of class, gender and sexuality and to explore the relevance of Judith Butler’s heterosexual matrix for these upper‐middle‐class girls.     

Reading‐retarded Icelandic Children: the discriminant validity of psychological tests

Discriminant validity of several psychological tests was investigated for a sample of reading‐retarded and normal Icelandic fifth grade children. Differentiation was greatest on verbal intelligence, accounting for 40% of the variation, and on various other verbal tests accounting for almost 40% of the remaining variation. Benton Visual Retention Test was the only visual‐spatial test that discriminated between the two groups. Apart from verbal intelligence the Expressive scale of the Luria‐Nebraska Neuropsychogical Battery discriminated most highly between the groups and was the only measure with incremental validity over the intelligence measures. Cluster analysis revealed two reading‐retarded subgroups. One was an undifferenti‐ated group characterized by lowered level of performance on all measures and heterogeneous individual profiles. The second cluster was very compact with specific delay on verbal measures, possibly indicating sequencing difficulties. The results indicate the need for an adequate intelligence measure in Iceland and the development of refined measures of specific verbal skills.

     

The role of difference in the creation of work‐responsive curriculum units

Academic curriculum and curricular units that are responsive to work necessarily involve the interaction of knowledge from two different communities. In this paper a number of cases of responsive curriculum are analysed in order to answer the following questions: Can general differences between work and academic knowledge be ascribed to the nature of the relevant knowledge fields? Were some fields of academic knowledge more amenable to interaction and hybridisation with work than others? We find that difference does indeed play a part in hybridisation. Where difference is too large or too small, hybridisation may be less successful than where difference is optimal. But other contingencies also come into play that involve the actions of actors in pushing difference in a particular direction.     

The shaman‐trickster's art of misdirection: The rhetoric of Farrakhan and the million men

A charismatic sleight of hand characterizes many rhetorical transactions in African American culture, an adroit manipulation engendered by a history that crushed open confrontation. The skill of the double voiced utterance was appropriated into a performance art which is practiced even today. The Million Man March exemplified the art of “gittin’ ovuh,” an action that simultaneously undercuts one's enemies‐putting something over on someone‐and provides spiritual uplift‐getting over to the promised land. Such a magical performance works by exploiting the power of rhetoric to show and hide. But this is not the same as an exploitation of sophistic technique, because there is an overlapping of the magic of illusion and the magic of the sacred. For contemporary rhetoric this presents an occasion to regard the ethics of deception and the curious phenomenon of a moral sophistry. Louis Farrakhan, although often viewed (perhaps with reason) as either ambitious claimant to national black leadership, or as a skillful exploiter of prejudices, may also be viewed as a master of the art of gittin ovuh, and his call was an incantation that evoked the prodigious response of the “Million Men.” The demonstration on the Washington Mall in October of 1995 enacted a spiritual magic show that has deep cultural roots.     

The effect of age‐position and sex on academic performance: a study of secondary schools in Cyprus

The present study examined one aspect of the ‘season of birth’ phenomenon, the variations in educational achievement effected by a child's age‐position within the class. Sex differences in achievement were also examined. An analysis based on a sample of nearly 4,000 high school examination results was conducted. The research analysed the Greek language grade, mathematics grade and the overall ‘high school’ grade, obtained by 17+ year old students who graduated at the end of the 1992/93 and 1993/94 academic years. The presence of an age‐position related effect was found, but in contrast to similar research studies the youngest students, in most instances, outperformed the oldest students. Nevertheless, this finding is consistent with research studies related to the age‐position effect when framed within the context of the Cypriot educational policy of promotion by examination. It was found that the youngest‐born pupils in a year group made up the highest percentage of repeating, i.e. non‐promoted students. However, the findings do suggest a need for a re‐evaluation of the nature of the age‐position effect. It was also found that, in general, female students attained significantly higher grades than their male counterparts.     

The Ethnography of Further Education and the Policy‐orientated Literature: contrasts

ABSTRACT

The paper explores the imbalance between the ethnography of further education and the policy‐orientated literature. Bates (1991) describes this as being the discrepancy between rich sociological analysis and the economics of training. The paper redraws this imbalance into one between the optimism of policy literature and the pessimism of ethnography. This pessimism has its roots in theories of reproduction and even the most recent work fails to escape this. Post‐fordists' notions support the optimism of policy literature; it is unlikely that the promise of a high trust/high skill society can be delivered within a capitalist society. It is argued that the insights of reproduction theory should be married to the concerns of policy literature with a view to developing critical and transformative practices.     

The Subjectivity of the Teacher and the Subjectivity of the Children: Negative or positive co‐operation

Subjectivity is one of the elemental human needs. It is also significant since it plays a part in educational situations. A particularly important premise of subjectivity is responsibility for one's actions and, associated with this, determination of a direction for one's own activity, the exercise of control and the making of choices.

Human activity takes place principally in a social context. For this reason it is important to pay attention to two‐subject relationships. Their features are above all purposefulness, bi‐directionality and co‐ordination. Two‐subject activity may be of two sorts—negative co‐operation (conflict) or positive co‐operation, co‐ordination of a line of action including dialogue and collaboration.

Educational activity, particularly when directed at younger children, is characterized by different planes of functioning. The adult acts in a longer‐term perspective and formulates his aims in terms of general concepts but a small child acts in a short term perspective and formulates aims in concrete terms.

A system of priorities is put forward here, a two‐task model for the educational situation which makes subjective activity possible both for the child and for the adult. In the last part of the article an experiment is described which illustrates how such a two‐task situation works with a system of priorities and the results that were obtained.

     

The role of ICT in bridge‐building and social inclusion: theory,policy and practice issues

This paper reports on the evaluation of a major programme which is using telecommunications to link teachers and pupils both across the political boundary between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland and across the boundaries of ‘mainstream’ schooling and those children in ‘special schools’. The paper examines the ‘contact hypothesis’ as a theoretical model for educational work supported by ICT and considers the impact of the programme on both teachers and students. It concludes that contact based on sustained curricular and social interaction has an effect on children's perceptions of each other. This effect is most marked when contact is between two schools, one on each side of the border. The author suggests that the management of the programme, based on a bi–lateral agreement between two government departments and a partnership between two universities with other key stakeholders, provides a model of international cooperation.

Cette communication fait état de l'apport d'un programme majeur qui utilise la télécommunication pour lier enseignants et élèves aussi bien à travers la frontière entre l'Irlande du Nord et la République d'Irlande qu'à travers les frontières tout aussi réelles entre l'enseignement ‘normal’ et celui des enfants scolarisés dans des ‘établissements spéciaux’. La communication se propose d'examiner ‘l'hypothèse de contact’ comme modèle théorique pour les activités pédagogiques soutenues par l'ICT et considère l'impact du programme sur professeurs et élèves. Elle en conclut qu'un contact basé sur une interaction soutenue tant en ce qui concerne le programme scolaire que les activités sociales se répercute sur les perceptions mutuelles des enfants. Cet effet se remarque le plus lorsque le contact a lieu entre deux établissements situés dans les deux juridictions différentes. L'auteur suggère que la gestion du programme, basée sur un accord bilatéral entre deux agences gouvernementales et un partenariat entre deux universités et divers groupes d'intéressés, fournit un modèle de coopération internationale propre à être imitée.

Der Vortrag beschäftigt sich mit der Evaluation eines grenzübergreifenden Experiments im Rahmen dessen durch Verwendung von Kommunikationstechnik (wie z.B. Internet, Email, Videokonferenzen etc.) Lehrer und Schüler in Nordirland und der Irischen Republik miteinander verbunden wurden. Ebenfalls wurde in diesem Zusammenhang ein Kontakt zwischen Schülern von Spezialschulen und Schülern herkömmlicher Schulen etabliert.Der Vortrag basiert auf der sogenannten Kontakthypothese ‘als erziehungs‐theoretischem Model ICT‐unterstützten Lernens’. Es wird der Einfluss des Programms auf Schüler und Lehrer erläutert, sowie die Schlussfolgerung gezogen, dass die Aufrechterhaltung curricularer und sozialer Interaktion die gegenseitige Wahrnehmung der Kinder untereinander fördert. Dieser Effekt wird besonders dann deutlich, wenn zwei Schulen jenseits der Grenze miteinander verbunden sind. Der Autor argumentiert, dass das auf einem bilateralen Abkommen zwischen den beiden Regierungen und dem Zusammenschluss zweier Universitäten basierende Programm, ein Model für internationale Kooperation darstellt.

Este trabajo informa sobre la evaluación de un importante proyecto que utiliza la tecnología de las telecomunicaciones para conectar a profesores y estudiantes situados en sendos lados de la frontera política entre Irlanda del Norte y la República de Irlanda y, asimismo, conectar a los que están separados por las barreras que existen entre el área de la escolarización ‘convencional’ y la de aquellos alumnos que están en ‘escuelas especiales’. El trabajo examina la ‘hipótesis del contacto’ como un modelo teórico para el trabajo educativo apoyado por la informática y considera el impacto del proyecto tanto en profesores como en estudiantes. Su conclusón es que el contacto basado en una interacción curricular y social sostenida tiene un efecto en las opiniones que los chicos tienen unos de otros. Este efecto está más marcado cuando el contacto se efectúa entre dos escuelas, una a cada lado de la frontera. Según el autor la gestión del proyecto, basado en el acuerdo bilateral entre dos departamentos gubernamentales y la colaboración entre dos universidades con otros socios clave, proporciona un modelo de cooperación internacional.