Reward and ideational fluency in preschool children

This study examined the effects of rewards on the ideational fluency of 75 preschool children. Assigned to a reward or nonreward condition, the children were administered two ideational fluency tasks, Unusual Uses and Pattern Meanings. Analyses revealed a significant main effect for reward on the ideational fluency components of originality, total fluency, and flexibility. In all cases the rewarded subjects scored lower than the nonrewarded group. These findings support the growing body of evidence that rewards are detrimental to creative functioning.     

Comparing Union and Nonunion Staff Perceptions of the Higher Education Work Environment

Evidence of substantial growth in unionization among university noninstructional staff over the past 20 years (Hurd and Woodhead, 1987) and the emergence of a quality movement in higher education linking employee attitudes toward the work environment with increased productivity point to the need for additional research into union and nonunion staff perceptions of the work environment. This paper describes a conceptually oriented, exploratory study of the university work environment as perceived and defined by union and nonunion noninstructional staff.     

The Changing Role of Higher Education in the United States

The role of higher education has changed in the United States. It has become a learning society where egalitarian pressures for equal opportunities led to the expansion of educational services to broader and more representative segments of society. Five propositions illustrate the current pressures for change. (1) Institutions of higher education no longer enjoy a monopoly on the provision of educational services. The learning society has given higher education new competition for the growing adult market. (2) The roles of education providers are increasingly blurred. (3) Higher education no longer has the full‐time commitment of students or of faculty. (4) Lifelong learning has become a lifelong necessity for almost everyone, which demands flexibility and responsiveness to change on the part of higher education. (5) A change is needed in the methods of teaching and learning to accommodate adult learners and to provide for the long‐ range needs of the learning society.     

A COMPARISON OF THE RELIABILITY AND VALIDITY OF TWO METHODS FOR ASSESSING PARTIAL KNOWLEDGE ON A MULTIPLE-CHOICE TEST

Differential weighting of response alternatives and confidence testing have been proposed as ways to assess partial knowledge on multiple-choice tests. 211 students in an educational measurement course took their midterm examination under one of three procedures. Results from those students administered the test under conventional directions provided a baseline for comparing, in terms of reliability and validity, the results from students who took the test under the differential weighting of response alternatives or the confidence testing instructions. Reliability was estimated by the split-half technique. Validity was estimated by correlating midterm test scores with scores on a final examination. This investigation provides some support for the contention that validity can be improved using more sophisticated testing techniques. Suggestions for the conduct of more definitive studies were offered.     

Sexual reconviction rates in the United Kingdom and actuarial risk estimates

OBJECTIVE: Assessing the risk of further offending behavior by adult sexual perpetrators of children is highly relevant and important to professionals involved in child protection. Recent progress in assessing risk in sexual offenders has established the validity of actuarial measures, although there continues to be some debate about the application of these instruments. This paper summarizes the debate between clinical and actuarial approaches and reviews the "base rate" for United Kingdom sexual offense reconviction. METHOD: A review of the literature revealed 16 UK sexual reconviction studies, 8 using incarcerated samples (N=5,915) and 8 using non-incarcerated samples (N=1,274). UK estimates of sexual reconviction rates are compared with European and North American studies. RESULTS: The mean sexual reconviction rates for the incarcerated sample at 2 years (6.0%), 4 years (7.8%) and 6 years or more (19.5%) were higher than that of the comparative non-incarcerated sample at 2 years (5.7%), up to 4 years (5.9%), and 6 years or more (15.5%). The overall sexual reconviction rate for both samples combined was 5.8% at 2 years, and 17.5% at 6 years or more. CONCLUSIONS: The sexual reconviction rate for incarcerated sexual offenders is higher than that of non-incarcerated sexual offenders. The UK sexual reconviction rates were comparable with European and North American studies.     

Exercising a bounded autonomy: novice and experienced teachers’ adaptations to curriculum materials in an age of accountability

This study explores teachers’ first enactments of a set of theory-based curriculum materials designed to support academic language instruction. Specifically, this multiple case study looks at how six middle school English teachers in three US schools adapted the materials; each case includes a pair of teachers, one novice and one more experienced. All schools were located in the same district where a school performance measurement system was being used to publicly rank schools’ academic performance and growth. Multiple measures were used to look for evidence of adaptations and why teachers made adaptations. We found that all teachers adapted the curriculum, most often in response to either perceived student needs or district reform pressures. In two cases, patterns of adaptation differed by teacher experience; experienced teachers appeared better able to adapt curriculum materials to meet instructional goals. This pattern did not hold up at the third school, where teachers faced greater reform pressures. Taken together, these findings suggest that researchers should pay more attention to the role of school and district policy on teachers’ enactments of theory-based reforms. We conclude with guidance to researchers, instructional leaders and others interested in the potential of theory-based curricula as a lever for improving classroom instruction.