A three-tiered model for the assessment of culturally and linguistically different children

Recognizing that issues associated with the disproportionate representation in special education programs of culturally and linguistically different children will remain of vital concern to school psychologists and special educators in the decade ahead, a three-tiered response model is proposed. The intent of the model is to organize a variety of strategies along dimensions of the focus of implementation. Level one relates to the individual practitioner, level two to the educational process, and level three refers to a larger scaled systematic response to the issues. Effective practical suggestions are offered by the authors.     

Drama: narrative pedagogy and socially challenged children

Melanie Peter, Senior Lecturer in Education and Early Childhood at Anglia Ruskin University, argues that the ability to engage in narrative stems from early interactive play formats and is essential for perceiving patterns and sequences in life – the fabric of social understanding. Developing themes set out in her earlier work, this article presents a rationale and developmental model for drama as narrative pedagogy. Whether narrative impairment is a cause or consequence of their difficulties, hard-to-reach or socially challenged children – exemplified by those with autism – characteristically show a limited spontaneous play repertoire, which necessarily hampers their development. However, through a play-tutoring approach in drama, especially by the teacher-in-role, significant gains may be noted. Melanie Peter uses case studies to illustrate an emerging triad of competencies that contribute to enhancing social understanding: more effective communication, greater sensitivity in interaction and creative problem-solving. The generative pedagogical dimensions support a developmental framework for using drama to explore cultural values and issues embedded in stories, towards greater narrative identity and more effective participation in a social world.     

Guidelines for serving linguistically and culturally diverse young children

Demographic trends indicate that all early childhod educators must anticipate and plan for a more linguistically and culturally diverse student population. This article will serve as a guide for creating more effective early childhood programs serving linguistically and culturally diverse young children. The discussion includes demographic trends, second language acquisition research, historical trends in bilingual education, ESL and bilingual programs, controversies, assessment and ESL students, and program recommendations.     

The development of classification abilities in culturally disadvantaged children

Culturally disadvantaged children appear to do less well in analyzing categorical relationships than middle class children.     

Rehabilitation of socially withdrawn preschool children through mixed-age and same-age socialization

24 socially withdrawn preschool children were located through classroom observations and assigned to 3 conditions: (a) socialization with a younger child during 10 play sessions, (b) socialization with an age mate during a similar series of sessions, and (c) no treatment. The socialization sessions, particularly those with a younger partner, were found to increase the sociability of the withdrawn children in their classrooms. Significant increases occurred mainly in the rate with which positive social reinforcement was emitted. Generally, the results support a leadership deficit theory of social isolation. Possible mechanisms responsible for the observed changes are discussed.     

Educational assessment in England

This profile explains the assessment system in England, concentrating on those aspects that are related to government policy. It begins by putting the system in context; it then describes the national educational structure, curriculum and assessment arrangements. The government agencies responsible for carrying out education policies are introduced. In order to illustrate the intersection of curriculum and assessment development and political policy, the profile describes and discusses assessment issues that highlight the role of government and its agencies in the development, implementation and monitoring of England's national curriculum tests and 14‐to‐19 qualifications. It argues that successive governments have increasingly intervened directly in curriculum and qualifications development, and observes the growing governmental policy influence over assessment issues and the repercussions of that influence.     

Aiding culturally responsive assessment in schools in a globalising world

Educational Assessment, Evaluation and Accountability - Across the world, teachers’ classroom assessment tasks and responsibilities are becoming more diverse due to increased migration. In...     

Educational assessment in Norway

Norway has seen major changes in the field of educational assessment over the past decade, following the 2001 ‘PISA shock’ that stimulated reform of the entire primary and secondary education systems: new outcome-based curricula with cross-disciplinary basic skills were accompanied by major revision of assessment regulations, comprehensive government projects promoting formative assessment, national tests as a main component in a new national quality assessment system and new regulations for examinations and teacher reporting of overall achievement marks. The paper provides a historical context to the country’s prohibition of formal marking in primary education and the recent tensions determining how assessment criteria should be stated and used for formative and summative purposes. It is argued that Norwegian primary and secondary education is riddled with unresolved tensions as to the role of assessment criteria and national tests, sparked by incremental implementation of assessment policies and principles accompanying the new outcomes-based curricula.     

Educational assessment in Lebanon

The Lebanese government education system is based on the French, but private education historically has a high profile at both the school and tertiary levels where an American influence is profound. The mid-secondary Brevet examination continues to function as a filtering and channelling mechanism (in the latter instance, into the parallel technical-vocational education sector). Despite its intended functions with respect to aligning upper secondary with tertiary education, the status of the Lebanese Baccalauréat has been eroded both by internal factors (including widespread examination malpractice) and by external influences (particularly foreign tests, including the SAT).     

Educational assessment in Canada

This article describes the Canadian education system and provincial/territorial, national, and international large‐scale assessment (LSA) programmes that currently operate within this large multicultural country. We highlight the policy implications of LSA programmes within Canada’s 10 provinces and three northern territories, and how the country balances international pressures with the demand for independence in the educational practices of its distinct provinces and territories. The discussion outlines how the systematic use of performance information is institutionalised through two kinds of accountability, ethical‐professional and economic‐bureaucratic accountability.     

The Early Development Index and children from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds

The Early Development Index (EDI) is a teacher‐completed checklist, intended to be a population‐level tool to measure children's readiness for school and to alert communities to potential developmental problems in children. In response to the increasing popularity of the EDI, this paper provides a critical and timely evaluation and identifies the areas for improvement and modifications. The paper aims: (1) to identify the limitations of the EDI as a universal screening tool, particularly with regard to children from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds (CALD); (2) to alert readers to the potential negative implications of the current EDI for communities and society, and (3) to recommend ways for improvement so that the EDI will become a valid and culturally appropriate screening tool for monitoring early development in CALD children. The ultimate aim is to help build an education system and a society that can respect cultural and individual differences.     

Educational assessment in Danish schools

This profile describes the methods used for assessing pupils in Danish schools. The Danish school system is rooted in traditions going back almost 200 years. The per pupil expenditure is the highest of any country at the level of primary education and at the lower secondary level is only exceeded by three countries. Public satisfaction with the system has generally been high, but international comparisons have shown disappointing results. This may be a result of complacency and possibly also of a weak evaluation culture in a country without a national curriculum, without marking before grade eight, and without national tests of proficiency before the end of grade nine. However, there are changes underway in terms of strengthening the evaluation culture.