Evaluation of Structural Relationships in Autoregressive Cross-Lagged Models Under Longitudinal Approximate Invariance:A Bayesian Analysis

To infer longitudinal relationships among latent factors, traditional analyses assume that the measurement model is invariant across measurement occasions. Alternative to placing cross-occasion equality constraints on parameters, approximate measurement invariance (MI) can be analyzed by specifying informative priors on parameter differences between occasions. This study evaluated the estimation of structural coefficients in multiple-indicator autoregressive cross-lagged models under various conditions of approximate MI using Bayesian structural equation modeling. Design factors included factor structures, conditions of non-invariance, sizes of structural coefficients, and sample sizes. Models were analyzed using two sets of small-variance priors on select model parameters. Results showed that autoregressive coefficient estimates were more accurate for the mixed pattern than the decreasing pattern of non-invariance. When a model included cross-loadings, an interaction was found between the cross-lagged estimates and the non-invariance conditions. Implications of findings and future research directions are discussed.     

Inferring Longitudinal Relationships Between Variables: Model Selection Between the Latent Change Score and Autoregressive Cross-Lagged Factor Models

This research focuses on the problem of model selection between the latent change score (LCS) model and the autoregressive cross-lagged (ARCL) model when the goal is to infer the longitudinal relationship between variables. We conducted a large-scale simulation study to (a) investigate the conditions under which these models return statistically (and substantively) different results concerning the presence of bivariate longitudinal relationships, and (b) ascertain the relative performance of an array of model selection procedures when such different results arise. The simulation results show that the primary sources of differences in parameter estimates across models are model parameters related to the slope factor scores in the LCS model (specifically, the correlation between the intercept factor and the slope factor scores) as well as the size of the data (specifically, the number of time points and sample size). Among several model selection procedures, correct selection rates were higher when using model fit indexes (i.e., comparative fit index, root mean square error of approximation) than when using a likelihood ratio test or any of several information criteria (i.e., Akaike’s information criterion, Bayesian information criterion, consistent AIC, and sample-size-adjusted BIC).     

天津市金融发展与经济增长关系的实证分析:1978-2004

实证分析表明,改革开放以来天津经济总量的增长与金融规模的扩大、金融中介效率的提高是同向关系;与非国有企业贷款占所有贷款的比重和居民储蓄占所有存款的比重的提高是反向关系。天津市的经济增长促进了其金融规模的扩大,而经济增长与金融发展的其他方面并无因果关系。此结论可为制定天津滨海新区金融改革和创新方案提供实证依据。     

The differential effects of preschool: Evidence from Virginia

This study investigated the differential and persistent effects of a state-funded pre-K program, the Virginia Preschool Initiative (VPI). We analyzed data from a cohort of over 60,000 students nested in approximately 1000 schools from the beginning of kindergarten to the end of first grade using two-level hierarchical logistic regression models. While controlling for student- and school-level variables, we found that attending a VPI-funded program was beneficially associated with a lower likelihood of repeating kindergarten and improved probabilities of meeting or exceeding minimum literacy competencies. The benefits of attending pre-K were greatest upon kindergarten entry and persisted until the end of the first grade for Hispanic and Black students, as well as for students with disabilities, despite VPI-funded program attendees going to schools with higher concentrations of poverty.     

Academic workload: the silent barrier to the implementation of technology-enhanced learning strategies in higher education

The effect of technology-enhanced learning (TEL) strategies in higher education has arguably been transformative despite the not-insignificant barriers existing in this context. Throughout the discourse very little attention has been paid to those primarily responsible for this implementation—academic teaching staff. This paper aims to highlight the impact of academic workload allocations, an often silent barrier to the uptake of TEL strategies in higher education. We will discuss the effects of academic identity and culture, preferential time allocation to associative activities, academic technological capacity, university policies and workload and funding models on the uptake, and implementation on TEL in higher education. Our aim is to highlight the risks to staff, students and institutions should these concerns not be addressed and to propose a model for utilisation by all staff responsible for implementing flexible workload models supportive of further implementation of TEL strategies across the sector.     

Children's learning and developmental potential: examining the theoretical informants of early childhood curricula from the educator's perspective

The early childhood curriculum is informed by a complicated array of developmental and learning theories. In recent times these theories have been most readily articulated in approaches to curriculum planning emerging from the Developmentally Appropriate Practice (DAP) guidelines and the project work in Reggio Emilia. Drawing on a common theoretical heritage, each of these approaches places a certain emphasis on ideas emerging from cognitive constructivism and developmental theory. This paper explores the nature of these theoretical informants as they are played out in both DAP and Reggio Emilia. Findings from a study aimed at examining educators' conceptions of cognitive constructivism and developmental theory as utilised by DAP are reported, with the responses by four educators regarding these understandings in relation to their developing awareness of the Reggio Emilia approach detailed. The paper identifies differences in orientation between the educators' conceptions of developmental theory and constructivism relative to DAP and Reggio, and indicates the potential value further research in this area holds for examining how common theoretical informants can be played out to different effect across early childhood curricula.     

提升新建本科院校工程教育研究水平的实证研究——基于福建工程学院2005-2014年研究文献的可视化分析

利用CiteSpace软件,通过定量分析CNKI平台上收录的文献,首次对福建工程学院教师发表的工程教育期刊研究论文进行计量学研究和可视化分析,以此了解学校教师对工程教育研究领域的关注度及研究的发展轨迹,指出存在的问题及与国际工程教育研究关注热点的差距,并就提高学校教育研究水平提出建议。     

Reconsidering the use of video clubs for student-teachers' learning during field placement: Lessons drawn from a longitudinal multiple case study

Although video clubs have been used to support (student) teachers' learning through reflection upon practice, less attention has been paid to their potential use for supporting changes in participants' practice over a period of time. Prior work has also largely treated (student) teachers as an undifferentiated whole that benefits in similar ways from video clubs. In this study, we problematize this assumption by drawing on three cases of student teachers to exemplify three different learning paths while participating in a video club during field placement. Reflecting on these findings, we discuss implications for differentiating the video-club approach to address different student teachers.     

Heterogeneity Analysis on the Influence of the Supply of Teachers on the Academic Performance of 15-Year-Old Students: Based on PISA 2018 Samples from Four Provinces and Municipalities in China

The quantitative and qualitative supply of teachers has a significant influence on student academic performance. Based on the samples collected from four provinces and municipalities in China for the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2018, this study analyzes the effects of the supply of teachers on the academic performance of 15-year-old students through a hierarchical linear model (HLM) as well as a quantile regression model. The study has found that the shortage of teachers and the proportion of teachers with a master’s degree significantly affect student academic performance, and the supply of teachers with higher degrees has a decreasing marginal benefit on student academic performance; its best marginal benefit on student academic performance is achieved when the proportion of teachers with a master’s degree reaches about 75%. For students in different academic performance subgroups, the marginal benefit of an increase in the proportion of teachers with a master’s degree in schools is higher for “top students” than for “students with learning difficulties.” In terms of the difference between urban and rural areas, the shortage of teachers in rural schools is more prominent than that in urban schools, and teachers with higher degrees tend to cluster in core cities. The marginal benefit of an increase in the proportion of teachers with a master’s degree is higher for improving student academic performance in rural areas. Therefore, it is recommended to design a policy of differentiated compensatory earnings for rural teachers, and efforts should be enhanced to promote programs for supporting high-quality teachers. In addition, the allocation of teachers should follow the principle of “differentiated equity,” and more differentiated teaching strategies should be adopted for students with different academic abilities.     

异地中考政策限制是否影响了随迁子女教育支出？——基于2019年千村调查及中国教育追踪调查的实证分析

基于上海财经大学2019年千村调查数据和中国教育追踪调查数据,研究考察了异地中考政策限制及不同限制类型对随迁子女教育支出的影响,探讨了其与随迁子女群体内部教育公平的联系,并进行了一系列的稳健性检验及影响机制分析。研究结果表明：第一,异地中考政策限制对随迁子女家庭各类教育负担率均存在显著的负向影响,同时显著抑制了随迁子女的扩展性教育支出,而对教育总支出及基础性教育支出均无显著影响;第二,随着异地中考政策的限制程度不断提高,政策限制对随迁子女扩展性教育支出的抑制作用则越显著;第三,政策限制对扩展性教育支出的抑制作用在女孩、非独生子女、低认知能力子女、经济困难家庭子女等“相对弱势”群体中更为显著;第四,政策限制在长期内降低了家庭对随迁子女的教育期望,在短期内则直接限制了父母对子女的学业重视程度,进而减少对子女的扩展性教育支出。