Essential foundations for establishing equivalence in cross-national higher education assessment

The global context of contemporary higher education demands international benchmarks. Quality assurance of teaching and learning would benefit from the insights gained from cross-cultural assessments. If cross-cultural assessments are used it is imperative that equivalence is assured, requiring attention to the technical standards used. In this paper we draw on our experiences implementing the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development’s Assessment of Higher Education Learning Outcomes (AHELO) Feasibility Study across 17 countries. We consider the key standards required in a number of core technical areas to achieve equivalence. We discuss how different elements were achieved in the AHELO Feasibility Study. These include the development of assessment materials for use across languages; selection and engagement of students; delivery of assessment materials and analysis of assessment data.     

Ain't No (Sky)River Wide Enough to Keep Me from Getting to You: SkyRiver,Innovative, OCLC,and the Fight for Control over the Bibliographic Data,Cataloging Services,ILL, and ILS Markets

This article describes the litigation involving SkyRiver Technology Solutions and Online Computer Library Center, Inc. (OCLC). At its heart is who owns library catalog records. It begins with an overview of the organizations and examines their histories, products, and positions in the library services market in an attempt to understand and explain the background for the current situation. It continues with an overview of the lawsuit, including the plaintiffs’ claims for relief and the major arguments in OCLC's motion to dismiss. Finally, it turns to what the lawsuit means for the library services marketplaces, what potential changes may occur, and what OCLC's future might look like.     

Passive visitors or independent explorers: Responses of pupils with severe learning difficulties at an Interactive Science Centre

In previous work with mainstream students in a small Interactive Science Centre it was shown that curiosity, followed by identification of cause and effect, were essential for moving on from playing to intentional investigation and so to learning. Here we report studies of students with severe learning difficulties and show that they could, under appropriate conditions, display impressive concentration and curiosity, and often appeared to achieve valuable learning. The paper concludes by describing some of the dilemmas that may arise in developing these kinds of activities for special education.     

Indigenous knowledge and the machinist metaphors of the bricoleur researcher

This paper explores the intersection between critical methodologies and Indigenous knowledge. It is especially concerned with the ways in which the metaphors associated with the bricoleur researcher – tools and production – conceptualize Indigenous knowledge to that of an ecology and environmental work. This limits the appreciation for and engagement with narrative, and the ways in which “ecological” knowledge is embedded in narrative practices and interpretive processes. The author puts the work of Anishinaabe novelist and theorist Gerald Vizenor in conversation with the writings of J. Kincheloe as a way not only to contrast the central metaphors in critical and Indigenous methodologies, but similarly to highlight the differences between a bricoleur language of research and an Aboriginal language of survivance.     

Changers and the Changed: Moral Aspects of Coming Out in Physical Education

In this paper we draw from interviews with four lesbian sportswomen and physical educators whose personal journeys inform us about the difficulties and rewards of challenging homophobia and heterosexism. Our co-participants discussed their life stories in terms of the interrelationships among sport, moral, and lesbian identities and their coming out process. Analyses of these narrations revealed three major themes associated with coming out in sport and physical education settings: integrity, compassion, and community. Each of these themes is discussed in terms of our co-participants' experiences and interpretations of moving from fear and isolation to a sense of community and empowerment.     

A Nonfoundationalist Approach to Education in Religion

This article suggests an epistemologically nonfoundationalist approach to education in religion. First, it reviews the meaning of “epistemological foundationalism” and gives examples of its influence in the field of religious education. Then, differentiating between antifoundationalism and nonfoundationalism, it considers the educational implications of Richard Rorty's concepts of normal and abnormal discourse. Although acknowledging Michel Foucault's poststructuralist perspective as a critical caveat to Rortian optimism, it maintains the usefulness of Rorty's categories in relation to a proposed redefinition of the terms instruction and education.     

Research issues in evaluating learning pattern development in higher education

This article concludes the special issue of Studies in Educational Evaluation concerned with “Evaluating learning pattern development in higher education” by discussing research issues that have emerged from the previous contributions. The article considers in turn: stability versus variability in learning patterns; old versus new analytic techniques; handling missing observations; measures of effect size; predispositions versus processes; and why it should be so hard to improve the quality of student learning in higher education.     

Test “Oppression” and Recovery

How can we avoid the "why new teachers cry" phenomenon and the high dropout rate for beginning teachers? Start teacher preparation with an introductory foundations class that is experience based and allows students to study themselves and their preferences for teaching styles, learning styles, and classroom management by living through case studies of sample lessons and classroom simulations. The author describes the nature of the course and presents research showing the effectiveness of the course for five academic years: 2000-1 through 2004-5.