Teacher education policies in the United States: The accountability shift since 1980

This conceptual paper examines a tug-of-war between state and national authorities in the United States for control of teacher recruitment, preparation, licensing, and professional development policy-making. A discussion of policy problems and instruments grounds analysis of each governing body's policy-activity since 1980. The analysis reveals how policy instrument changes have sidelined teacher education professionals and shifted programme accountability from the state to national level. Conclusions and recommendations challenge teacher education researchers to alter the current accountability trajectory by becoming active participants in the United States policy-making arena.     

Quest for accountability: exploring the evaluation process of universities

The article explores the organisational impact of evaluation and control mechanisms on universities from the point of view of accountability. Three case studies are analysed with the aim of understanding the significance of these systems both at corporate governance level and in relation to their influence on the behaviour of the academic staff. Open-ended, in-depth interviews were conducted in three universities from two countries in order to collect the opinions of the top managers and academics with different roles and seniority. The combination of four different but partially overlapping analytical frameworks (new public management, neo-institutional sociology, organisational control theory and sense-making) has supported the analysis and the interpretation of the empirical material collected. The analysis sheds light on a somewhat neglected aspect: the interdependence among various systems and tools that simultaneously operate in an organisation and inevitably combine to influence the behaviour of its employees. On this basis indications are given in order to facilitate the introduction and the management of more appropriate evaluation mechanisms both at the national system and the organisational level.     

Coming to terms with the accountability versus improvement debate in assessment

Concerns about quality and accountability in higher education have led the majority of states to mandate student outcomes assessment. While many institutions have begun to address these requirements as matters of accountability, discussion in most state capitals seems to be more about program improvement than about summative evaluation. These dichotomous perspectives frame a fundamental debate over the nature and direction of the assessment movement in the United States. Accountability and improvement are twin concerns of effective assessment, but their coexistence depends upon the resolution of suspicions and different interpretations of the mission of higher education between state and institutional authorities.     

Rubric formats for the formative assessment of oral presentation skills acquisition in secondary education

Educational technology research and development - Acquiring complex oral presentation skills is cognitively demanding for students and demands intensive teacher guidance. The aim of this study was...     

On the politics of performance in South African education: Autonomy, accountability and assessment

The South African obsession with performance-based pedagogies, as I have shown, has negative implications for resolving equity problems in educational reforms; it threatens to negate a political debate about ‘goals’ in favour of a technician’s debate about ‘ends’; and it fragments knowledge into meaningless tasks that assign value to external behaviours rather than the multiplicity of ways in which learning and valuing can be experienced (if not always expressed). The real danger to building a strong democratic culture through education is that what should be vibrant debates about ‘what’s worth knowing’ could be effectively silenced in a performance assessment system that only values, through a complex assessment system, that which is worth doing. Such an understanding of education is, unfortunately, entrenched in a global network of economic and technological processes that make such pursuits appear both normal and inevitable.     

Analysing the quality of Australian universities’ student anti-bullying policies

ABSTRACT

Bullying has been a topic widely researched in schools and the workplace, however, comparatively there is a paucity of research into bullying among university students. This is an oversight, as bullying may also have negative consequences for university students, ranging from anxiety to suicidal ideation. Anti-bullying policies are an important part of bullying prevention and intervention, however, due to Australian Federal legislation, policies for students are not mandatory at universities. To be an effective prevention and intervention strategy, anti-bullying policies and procedures should be informative, supportive, well publicised, and student user friendly. Through analysing the anti-bullying policies and procedures from 39 Australian universities, using a 37-item analysis tool adapted from Purdy and Smith as well as thematic analysis, this study aims to determine if Australian universities are providing students with the information and support they need to be able to report bullying to their university and study in a safe environment. Both strengths and weaknesses were found in 37 individual universities’ student anti-bullying policies and procedures, as well as overall trends displayed by universities Australia-wide. The overall paucity of information and consistency, as well as the poor user-friendliness of many of the documents, highlights the need for changes to be made. Without the reform of student anti-bullying policies and procedures in Australian universities, students will be unsupported and ill-equipped to identify and report bullying. Universities will also run the risk of gaining a bad reputation and not promoting a bully-free culture for students in which to learn and socialise.     

The relationship between instructional and assessment accommodations in an inclusive state accountability system

We investigated the kinds of instructional and assessment accommodations students with disabilities receive, and the extent to which instructional accommodations match assessment accommodations. Most students who had IEPs in specific content areas received instructional accommodations in those areas, and there were no differences by disability type. We provide data on the specific types of accommodations used. Overall, students' assessment accommodations matched their instructional accommodations, though many students received testing accommodations that had not been received in instruction. Implications are discussed for IEP teams who make decisions about instructional and assessment accommodations.     

Successive and simultaneous picture and passage formats: Visual,tactual, and topical effects

This study attempted to determine whether there would be a significant difference between (a) simultaneous formats (boards) of pictures and passages and successive formats (booklets) with identical pictures and passages; (b) one simultaneous format (board with manipulative pictures) and another simultaneous format (board with stationary pictures); and (c) a topic of higher interest (THI) and a topic of lower interest (TLI) for each of the formats. The findings suggest that older children may achieve higher levels of learning when exposed to simultaneous formats of pictures and passages. Questionnaire results indicate that the Ss preferred the simultaneous formats and the THI by 2:1 ratios. The research for this study was conducted at Michigan State University.     

New evidence concerning school accountability and mathematics instructional quality in the no child left behind era

Educational Assessment, Evaluation and Accountability - Using longitudinal data from the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) era, I applied regression techniques and found a positive association between...     

日本财政政策效果下降的新探析

详细分析财政理论的发展过程以及在开放条件下,财政政策、货币政策与国际收支均衡目标的关系,并且利用模型具体分析日本20世纪90年代的财政政策效果,可以发现日本的财政政策效果,随着前提条件的放宽,特别是开放条件下,受资本自由流动及浮动汇率的影响,呈逐渐下降的趋势。