Identifying administrators’ and faculty’s perspectives regarding CAEP accreditation in a College of Education: A Q methodology research

In higher education, accreditation involves an external quality review process that scrutinizes universities, colleges, and educational programs to ensure that the education provided meets acceptable quality levels. Often considered the gold standard for institutions, the accreditation process originated in the US and quickly moved beyond American borders. Specifically, the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP) has moved to provide ‘legitimacy’ to universities in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region. Using Q methodology, this study examines faculty and administrators' perceptions regarding CAEP accreditation of a College of Education (CED) in the GCC. The results identify an apparent discrepancy among participants’ perceptions regarding the CAEP accreditation’s advantages and disadvantages, procedures and requirements, and impact on faculty and administrators’ workload and agency.     

Beyond Compliance: Using Organizational Theory to Unleash the Potential of Assessment

This article illustrates how organizational theory can be used to support the development of authentic assessment practice among community college faculty, as well as guide research on implementation of assessment efforts. While many factors make implementing assessment difficult, the link between accreditation and assessment is a key element in distancing the practice from faculty. This dynamic arises not from the actions of accreditation agencies per se, but from the accountability narrative that has come to dominate both assessment and accreditation, the corresponding perception that assessment is “done to” faculty rather than by them, and a reliance among institutional leaders to echo this message in an effort to get assessment started. The result is implementation of assessment for compliance rather than meaningful program improvement. Understanding assessment as an innovation, and using organizational theory to guide implementation, may help community college leaders transcend this challenge and develop assessment practice that is more faculty-owned and meaningful. However, the current literature says little about how to use organizational theory to implement such assessment efforts. This article integrates Bolman and Deal’s (2008) framework on leadership and organizational change with actual examples of practice to illustrate how their model might be used to recapture the potential of assessment as well as guide research on effective implementation.     

Meta-assessment: Evaluating assessment activities

Given the breadth and depth of assessment activity in higher education today there is a need for a set of standards to follow in its conduct. This paper briefly describes theStandards of the Joint Committee (1981) developed for educational evaluation and demonstrates their application in conducting assessment and meta-assessment activities.     

An outcome-based assessment process for accrediting computing programmes

The calls for accountability in higher education have made outcome-based assessment a key accreditation component. Accreditation remains a well-regarded seal of approval on college quality, and requires the programme to set clear, appropriate, and measurable goals and courses to attain them. Furthermore, programmes must demonstrate that responsibilities associated with the goals are being carried out. Assessment leaders face various challenges including process design and implementation, faculty buy-in, and resources availability. This paper presents an outcome-based assessment approach that facilitates faculty participation while simplifying the assessment and reporting processes through effective and meaningful visualisation. The proposed approach has been implemented and used for the successful ABET accreditation of a computer science programme, and can be easily adapted to any higher education programme.     

COLLABORATIONS IN EARLY CHILDHOOD TEACHER EDUCATION: CHALLENGES AND PROMISE

Abstract

This article describes the reflective process used by a group of early childhood faculty members to study national standards in order to improve their teacher education program. The standards studied included those from the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), Interstate New Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium (INTASC), National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) and the Division for Early Childhood of the Council for Exceptional Children (DEC/ECE). The reflective process and study resulted in changes in field experiences, course requirements and activities and assisted in state and national accreditation.     

Measuring the Impact of Professional Accreditation on Student Experiences and Learning Outcomes

This research uses a conceptual model to examine the influence of a change in accreditation standards on a representative national sample of 203 engineering programs at 40 institutions. Based on data collected from more than 140 program chairs, 1,200 faculty, 4,300 graduates of 2004, and 5,400 graduates of 1994, the study investigates the differential impact of the change in accreditation standards on programs reviewed in different years during the period of transition. Despite significant variation across most of the measures and groups in 1994 (before the introduction of the new accreditation criteria), the 2004 evidence demonstrates a surprisingly uniform level of student experiences and outcomes. These findings suggest that engineering accreditation is beginning to accomplish its quality assurance goals. This is a revised version of a research paper presented at the meeting of the Association for Institutional Research, May 17, 2006, Chicago, IL.     

2001 IFT Education Standards: A 5-Year Perspective

ABSTRACT:  The current IFT Education Standards used to evaluate Food Science programs for IFT approval have been in place now for 5 years. Most Food Science programs in the United States (as well as some in Mexico and Canada) have been reviewed according to these standards. The transition to instruction based on assessment of student learning outcomes, in accord with these Education Standards, is well under way.
In the first round of reviews, the Committee on Higher Education (CoHE) focused mostly on the Core Competency grid, also making sure programs were writing learning outcomes and instituting meaningful assessment programs. In the 2nd round of reviews, there will be more focus on assessment of learning outcomes. CoHE would like to see that programs (administration, faculty, and students) have embraced the transition to assessment of learning outcomes and are making significant progress in aligning the curriculum with this educational format. As in the past, CoHE offers assistance to any program that would like help in making this transition.
Finally, the next revision of the IFT Education Standards is due out in 2011 (10 year cycle) and it is already time to think about what this might entail. Some thoughts and suggestions for future directions are provided.     

The McDonaldization of CAEP accreditation and teacher education programs abroad

McDonaldization is the processes of the fast-food industry that dominate segments of societies worldwide. Few studies address how McDonaldization applies to the accreditation of teacher education programs. This article demonstrates how the Council for the Accreditation of Education Programs (CAEP) could be perceived as a McDonaldized organization that propagates American understandings of teacher education in non-US universities. The article applies the five principles of McDonaldization to CAEP Accreditation and addresses possible influences on non-US universities seeking CAEP accreditation outside the US borders. Specifically, the article discusses the cultural challenges, language concerns, and issues regarding indigenous knowledge that non-US universities face.     

The Case for Expanding Standards for Teacher Evaluation to Include an Instructional Supervision Perspective

Despite the concerns of scholars in the field of instructional supervision, teacher evaluations continue to emphasize bureaucratic accountability and standardization. This article presents an argument for extending the Joint Committee on Standards' Personnel Evaluation Standards to include standards related to the practice of supervision. The proposed standards call for differentiated procedures, collaborative identification of teachers' professional development goals, multiple sources of data, emphasis on formative evaluation processes, consideration of both teachers' personal development goals and school/program improvement goals, and the formalization of formative evaluation processes to achieve clear and shared understanding of their purpose and goals. These standards would align teacher evaluation with aspects of instructional supervision namely,clarification and shared understanding of the process and purpose of evaluations, interpretation of teaching performance in the context of teachers' classrooms and professional values, and deliberation with teachers about how evaluation evidence depicts and informs their work.Patricia Holland is Associate Professor in Educational Leadership and Cultural Studies at the University of Houston. Her research in the areas of instuctional supervision and teachers’ professional development emphasizes the interpretive nature of practice in these areas.     

Suggestions for Utilizing the 2008 EPAS in CSWE-Accredited Baccalaureate and Masters Curriculums—Reflections from the Field,Part 2: The Implicit Curriculum

This article is Part 2 in a 2-part series discussing the new guidelines for Educational Policy and Accreditation Standards (EPAS) issued in April 2008 by the Council on Social Work Education. The 2008 EPAS shifted the focus of assessment for accreditation or reaffirmation from the evaluation of program objectives to assessment of educational outcomes and student achievement of practice competencies. Because major accreditation challenges for social work programs derive from the 2008 EPAS, this article continues the discussion of a model for sequencing accreditation tasks that began in Volume 30, Issue 2 of this journal. In this article, Part 2, the authors discuss the program's implicit curriculum and its assessment under the 2008 EPAS. The articles in this 2-part series are intended to be companion pieces.     

SCORM标准及符合SCORM标准的数位课程教材制作

随着SCORM标准各版本的相继推出,网络学习环境下的学习资源、软件的开发有了一个可共同参照的规格.但如何制作符合SCORM规格的学习资源,一直不被相关教学设计人员所掌握,文章以SCORM2004 3rd Edition文档为参照,对SCORM做了一个简要概述,分析了SCORM的整体技术构架,指出SCORM在网络课程中的具体应用,给出了符合SCORM标准的数位课程教材的制作方法.     

From the Editor

With the rollout of edTPA, Common Core Standards (CCS), and the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), there is renewed interest in teacher education programs providing an interdisciplinary approach to curriculum. Yet, future teachers are under increased pressure to pass standardized exams, such as the MTEL, WIFOR and PRAXIS, with a focus on content-specific instruction. Curriculum and assessment policy initiatives present contradictory messages regarding best practice. This research study examines an interdisciplinary approach to teaching content in one early childhood education teacher preparation program. Teaching that crosses disciplines and honors the content and epistemology of each discipline is complex and challenging to convey. Data for this yearlong study exploring student and faculty understanding of teaching from an interdisciplinary perspective at a small liberal arts college included semester-end surveys, focal student interviews, final projects, and faculty surveys. Based on this research, we suggest that integration of content area specialists in college curriculum courses, cross-institutional attention to effective integration strategies, and purposeful interdisciplinary field placements are needed as early childhood educators face continued policy reform.     

The Politics of Standards and the Education of Teachers

A number of industrialized countries around the world are in the process of creating new directions for education, focused on elementary and secondary schools and the preparation of teachers in universities. Those directions, it has been suggested, will enhance not only the education of children and adolescents, but will lead to expansive improvements in people's social and economic well-being and will advance our technological capacities. Teacher educators and K-12 teachers are now in the midst of coming to grips with a new approach to the education of prospective and veteran teachers. While I am not sanguine about earlier attempts to improve the quality of teacher education programs, I also believe the current emphasis on national standards for P-12 teachers and university faculty in the United States and elsewhere must be challenged and critiqued. Standards Based Teacher Education (SBTE) relies on a set of ideas and commitments that needs to be both understood and critiqued. The SBTE process has approved sets of aligned external standards that encompass specific kinds of performances, outcomes and dispositions, and are linked to accreditation requirements. The process of teaching in this system is based on a technical-rational approach to teaching, and largely ignores social, political, and philosophical understandings. The present paper provides an analysis of SBTE and its shortcomings, as well as suggesting an alternative vision for the preparation of teachers.     

CACREP-Accredited Programs: Survey Results

The faculty members of counselor education programs often seek data regarding accreditation. This survey was completed in 1984 in an effort to provide information on the effects of meeting CACREP accreditation standards.     

Teaching standards and the promotion of quality teaching

Several countries have been developing teaching standards for the purpose of providing recognition and more attractive career pathways to teachers who attain these standards. These initiatives aim to lift the status of teaching as a profession and to provide stronger incentives for professional learning. This article describes the work of a project at the Australian Council for Educational Research, the ACER Portfolio Project, designed to develop methods whereby teachers can demonstrate how their practice meets the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers ( www.aitsl.edu.au/teach/standards ) at the ‘Highly Accomplished’ level and test them in schools for their validity and feasibility. The article describes how the Project developed an assessment framework that provided a representative sample of evidence about a teacher's practice covering the Standards, trialed portfolio tasks in schools with volunteer teachers and tested whether it was possible to train other teachers to assess their portfolio entries reliably and set standards for highly‐accomplished teaching.     

From Standards to Licensure: Developing an Authentic Assessment for School Principals

The Interstate School Leaders Licensure Consortium funded the development of a licensure assessment based on its Standards for School Leaders. But moving from a set of professional standards to a licensure assessment poses many challenges and raises difficult questions: Which standards should be assessed? How authentic should an authentic assessment be? How can licensure assessment help lead the field to a new pedagogical paradigm, when licensure has typically been reserved for protecting the public? This article explains these challenges and documents the methods used to meet them in the development of the School Leaders Licensure Assessment.     

Balancing Optimal Assessment with Part-Time Faculty Participation: A Discipline's Dilemma

Part-time faculty need to be brought into the student learning outcomes assessment loop not only to help accreditation, but because they, like full-time faculty, can benefit from assessment. When part-time faculty are not participating in assessment, a sizable percentage of courses are being less effectively taught than they could be. In an attempt to increase part-time faculty in discipline-level assessment at Norco College, we experimented with several assessments that required varied levels of effort by part-time faculty. This piece discusses our experience. We found that peer mentoring and communication were better predictors of part-time faculty participation than stipends, adaptable assessment prompts, or administrative pressure.     

Information use skills in the engineering programme accreditation criteria of four countries

The need for twenty-first century information skills in engineering practice, combined with the importance for engineering programmes to meet accreditation requirements, suggests that it may be worthwhile to explore the potential for closer alignment between librarians and their work with information literacy competencies to assist in meeting accreditation standards and graduating students with high-level information skills. This article explores whether and how information use skills are reflected in engineering programme accreditation standards of four countries: Canada, the USA, the UK, and Australia. Results indicate that there is significant overlap between the information use skills required of students by engineering accreditation processes and librarians’ efforts to develop information literacy competencies in students, despite differences in terms used to describe these skills. Increased collaboration between engineering faculty and librarians has the potential to raise student information literacy levels and fulfil the information use-related requirements of accreditation processes.