Mixed-methods analysis of the applicability of the Career Adapt-Abilities Scale for isiXhosa-speaking South African township adolescents

International Journal for Educational and Vocational Guidance - In the present research study, key career adaptability constructs and the extent to which these constructs are relevant in a...     

The predictive validity of the Phelps Kindergarten Readiness Scale

This study assesses the predictive validity of the Phelps Kindergarten Readiness Scale (PKRS) for later academic achievement and explores the utility of a domain‐specific measure of kindergarten readiness. Kindergarten readiness scores were significantly correlated with both math and language arts achievement as measured by New York State fourth‐grade assessments for 148 students in a suburban, northeastern public school. In addition, each of the PKRS domains (Verbal, Perceptual, and Auditory) was correlated with later academic achievement. Two simultaneously calculated regression analyses showed that language arts skills were best predicted by the Verbal and Auditory domains of the PKRS and that math achievement was more complexly determined by all three readiness domains. Structural equation modeling using AMOS‐4 showed that the latent construct readiness, as measured by the PKRS domain scores, was positively and significantly related to the latent construct academic achievement. Finally, this relationship held when age, gender, and behavioral indices at the time of kindergarten screening were used as moderator variables. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Psychol Schs 41: 509–516, 2004.     

Myths and Heroes:

No abstract available for this article.     

中国古代神话与古希腊神话之比较

神话是学艺术的源泉与武库，它体现出的思想理念与民族化息息相关。中西神话的整体概况、艺术特点、神话所反映的思想都不尽相同，但它们又都是本民族化的载体与反映。要在比较中体会神话的魅力，在比较中感悟神话对现代化的影响。     

Measuring student graduateness: reliability and construct validity of the Graduate Skills and Attributes Scale

This study reports the development and validation of the Graduate Skills and Attributes Scale which was initially administered to a random sample of 272 third-year-level and postgraduate-level, distance-learning higher education students. The data were analysed using exploratory factor analysis. In a second study, the scale was administered to a stratified proportional random sample of 1102 early-career, undergraduate open distance-learning higher education students in the economic and management sciences field. The data were analysed using confirmatory factor and Rasch analyses. The structural validity and reliability of the scale were confirmed by the results. Educators and learning and development practitioners may be able to use the findings in their teaching, learning and assessment design.     

Torrance Test of Creative Thinking: The question of its construct validity

Some cognitive dimensions are internationally considered by psychologists to describe and to assess creativity. For example, (Guilford, P. (1976). Creatividad y Educación. Buenos Aires. Ed. Paidos) and (Torrance, E. P. (1977). Discovery and nurturance of giftedness in the culturally different. Reston, VA: Council on Exceptional Children) suggested fluency, flexibility, originality and elaboration are the main cognitive processes used to define and assess creativity. However, data from several empirical studies did not confirm a factor structure in accordance with such cognitive functions, despite of the wide use of TTCT (Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking) in different countries. In this paper, we present new data collected in Spain and Portugal with TTCT. According to our data, those cognitive functions supposedly present on a subject's performance are not so strong as to explain the variance in scores. Elaboration factors assume some variance explanation, but the main factors are identified with the products in each subtest, suggesting the importance of format, content and demand on TTCT specific tasks. Consequently, we suggest some reflections to amplify the debate concerning the definition of creativity and its evaluation in psychology.     

Evaluating existing and new validity evidence for the Academic Motivation Scale

The current study evaluates existing and new validity evidence for the Academic Motivation Scale (AMS; Vallerand et al., 1992). We first provide a narrative review synthesizing past research, and then conduct a validity investigation of the scores from the measure. Data analysis using a sample of 1406 American college students provided construct validity evidence in the form of a well-fitting seven-factor model and adequate internal consistency of the item responses. Convergent and discriminant validity evidence provided insight into the distinctiveness of the seven subscales. However, support for the scale’s simplex structure, which would represent the self-determination theory continuum, was not fully substantiated. Implications for theory and the scale’s use in the current form are discussed.     

Examining factorial validity and measurement invariance of the Student-Teacher Relationship Scale

The purposes of this study were to (a) test the hypothesized factor structure of the Student-Teacher Relationship Scale (STRS; Pianta, 2001) for 308 African American (AA) and European American (EA) children using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and (b) examine the measurement invariance of the factor structure across AA and EA children. CFA of the hypothesized three-factor model with correlated latent factors did not yield an optimal model fit. Parameter estimates obtained from CFA identified items with low factor loadings and R² values, suggesting that content revision is required for those items on the STRS. Deletion of two items from the scale yielded a good model fit, suggesting that the remaining 26 items reliably and validly measure the constructs for the whole sample. Tests for configural invariance, however, revealed that the underlying constructs may differ for AA and EA groups. Subsequent exploratory factor analyses (EFAs) for AA and EA children were carried out to investigate the comparability of the measurement model of the STRS across the groups. The results of EFAs provided evidence suggesting differential factor models of the STRS across AA and EA groups. This study provides implications for construct validity research and substantive research using the STRS given that the STRS is extensively used in intervention and research in early childhood education.     

Validity of Childhood Career Development Scale scores in South Africa

The purpose of this study was to provide evidence of the construct and concurrent validity of the Childhood Career Development Scale’s (CCDS) scores among South African primary school children. Using a sample of 808 children in grades four through seven, evidence for the CCDS’s construct validity was provided using confirmatory factor analysis, with eight factors confirmed. Evidence for the CCDS’s concurrent validity was also presented by analyzing the relationship between subscales of the Childhood Career Development Scale and measures of self-esteem, locus of control, and children’s industry. The CCDS continues to emerge as a promising theoretically-driven assessment tool.     

The Myths behind Flower Names

The Greek term for flower is Chloris. It is derived from the name of the Chloris, the goddess of vegetation, in Greek mythology, reasonably so, if we consider the great number of mythological tales linked to flowers of the Greek flowers. The use of flowers was widespread in Greece from time immemorial, since flowers are so important to us from the moment we are born.Flowers play an important role in mythology. As they morph from bud to bloom to faded and wilted petals, they assume various meanings linked to youth, life and death. They are associated with goddesses and legends, and are often attributed with certain powers and symbolism.     

The Axiomatic Trap: Stultifying Myths in Distance Education

Although university-level distance education often sets itself up in contradistinction to conventional educational provision, the thinking most distance educators is framed by a set of un-stated axioms that derive from the conventional system. This axiomatically framed approach to university education at a distance may well blunt the potential for distance education to achieve its true potential. This paper describes the axioms and attempts to explain their continuing power to constrain education thinking in the light abundant evidence that such thinking flies in the face of the facts. It uses Athabasca University, a free-standing distance education university located in Alberta Canada, as a case in point.     

例析完形填空的命题及其效度

多项选择式完形填空因其信度高、测试范围广被广泛应用于各种高风险考试中。设计完形填空题时,先选择合适的篇章段落,合理删词,最后设定干扰项。检验该题目的效度,是先让学生先进行预测,预测结果用测试软件进行数据分析,从而判断该试题的难易度、区分度以及干扰项的干扰性。数据显示,该卷子的难度和分辨率不够理想,有些干扰项干扰性太强,有个别却缺乏干扰性。     

师范生择业效能感问卷的初步编制

为了编制师范生择业效能感问卷,并检验所编制问卷的信度和效度,采用探索性因素分析初步探究理论结构,用验证性因素分析验证理论结构的合理性和正确性。验证结果为:探索性因素分析确定该问卷包括5个因子,全问卷的内部一致性系数为0.96,各分问卷的信度均在0.85以上,各分问卷全问卷得分之间的相关系数在0.859~0.918之间。从而得出结论:编制的师范生择业效能感问卷共包括5个因子,量表具有较好的信效度。     

The Myths of Competency-Based Teacher Education

As the lead Advanced Placement (AP) English teacher at Suncoast High School, a magnet school, the author started a pilot program teaching the lowest quartile group of African American students the AP English Literature and Composition course their senior year. Their educational background was limited, and several were not able to write a complete sentence. The ambience of taking AP made them proud and made them feel special. The school system had finally given them a solid course with a qualified teacher. The class used practice AP tests and read many novels and plays by African American authors. The class showed success because nearly all students went to college.     

职业自我效能理论与大学生就业

职业自我效能理论是一种全面的、综合的职业心理学理论,它是用自我效能理论来研究职业领域的问题,具有广泛的应用前景。职业自我效能影响着学生的职业兴趣、职业选择和职业调整等职业行为,也影响着学生的学业成就和学业坚持性。因此高校职业指导要重视学生职业自我效能的培养,采取积极措施,提高学生的职业自我效能。     

中年职业女性更年期状况及干预机制研究

中年是生命周期中重要的人生阶段,中年职业女性在家庭和职场上均扮演着重要的角色,她们社会地位和经济基础稳定,并通过丰富的工作经验和社会关系取得了一定成就,受到职场的重视和信任;由于被信赖、被依靠,责任和压力聚集在一起,加之生理自然规律的发展,中年职业女性或许会更早进入更年期。大部分的中年职业女性对于更年期有着一定的心理恐惧和排斥,但是更年期是女性必经的一个阶段,如果中年职业女性能科学地了解更年期,就可以理性地应对更年期的各种症状,更好地管理自己情绪和健康,更加和谐地工作、学习和生活,平安地进入人生的另一个阶段。