Professional development for institutional research: A descriptive profile of academic programs and an analysis of curriculum

A survey of 88 American higher education programs found that 9 of the programs offer an area of concentration in institutional research and 17 programs have an institutional-research core course. These programs are identified, and the content of the curriculum is described. Planning topics received the most emphasis in institutional research courses; topics related to facilities and research methodology received low emphasis scores. The theoretical or practitioner orientation of the core course is analyzed in the second section. In most of the courses, there was a positive correlation between the topics emphasized in the core course and the theoretical orientation of those topics, but the coefficient was significant in only a few cases. As expected, programs with an area of concentration tend to stress theoretical concepts in their core course, while programs without an institutional research concentration are more practitioner-oriented.     

An Empirical Study on the Nature of Trick Test Questions

This study attempted to better define trick questions and see if students could differentiate between trick and not–trick questions. Phase 1 elicited definitions of trick questions so as to identify essential characteristics. Seven components were found. Phase 2 obtained ratings to see which components of trick questions were considered to be most crucial. The intention of the item constructor and the fact that the questions had multiple correct answers received highest ratings from students. Phase 3 presented a collection of statistics items, some of which were labeled on an a priori basis as being trick or not–trick. The analysis indicated that examinees were able to statistically differentiate between trick and not–trick items, but the difference compared to chance was small. Not–trick items were more successfully sorted than trick items, and trick items that were classified as intentional were sorted about as well as nonintentional items. Evidence seems to suggest that the concept of trickiness is not as clear as some test construction textbook authors suggest.     

Evaluating interactive video: Software and hardware

Summary The evaluation and selection of interactive video hardware is a difficult process even for experts. There seems to be a multitude of models, options, peripherals, and prices. The task becomes even more perplexing because of rapid advances in the technology. What is new today may be obsolete tomorrow. Using the checklist should help make your job easier. It allows you to compare computers “apple for apple.” The recommendations listed are general suggestions. Different organizations may require most or less than what is recommended. Always plan for at least the minimum requirements of your software, even if those requirements are above our recommendations.     

Improvements in school climate associated with enhanced health and welfare services for students

School improvement initiatives are needed to better meet the needs of underprivileged students, to reduce underachievement and to break a continuing cycle of disadvantage. This article describes part of a school improvement initiative in New Zealand that provided additional funding for school nurse and social worker services in nine secondary schools with the most disadvantaged students in New Zealand. It describes the nature and delivery of services provided by the social workers in these schools. In addition, the article reports changes over time in staff and student views about school climate including a comparison with non-participating schools of similar socioeconomic status. The findings indicated that school climate is a useful intermediate measure of the effectiveness of school improvement initiatives. There were significant improvements in staff views about school climate over time, with staff views about school climate becoming more favourable on scales measuring Improvements in the Last 12 Months and Support for Ethnic Diversity compared to eight non-participating schools. Student views were more favourable on scales measuring Satisfaction with School, Support for Achievement and Support for Ethnic Diversity, compared to the non-participating schools.     

Student Teacher Supervision—A Team Approach

Abstract

The recent reform in teacher education in Israel was aimed at raising the level of the teaching core mainly by elevating student admission standards in order to select better candidates, lengthening and improving the curriculum, and granting an academic degree to the graduates. In order to learn whether the reform succeeded in attracting better teaching students, this paper reports findings from a study of a wide sample of first‐year students in all the teacher education programs under the reform, before and after. An improved educational level in the general population has enabled Israeli academic teacher colleges to become more selective and raise their admission requirements. At present, students who are accepted have a higher entry level than in previous years, but they represent a similar social and educational stratum as before the academization of teacher education. The assumption that raising admission requirements and granting an academic degree would attract a qualitatively different group of candidates was not fulfilled.     

1787: An Eighteenth Century Sporting Year

Abstract

In later eighteenth-century England the old communal folk play may have been in decline but newer, organized sports were on the rise. The review of a single year shows regular contests, particularly in pugilism, cock fighting, horse racing, and cricket, through the summer season. The systematic and popular nature of much sport in 1787 suggests a questioning of any notion that organized sport was a product of nineteenth century industrialization.