Reliability of No Child Left Behind Accountability Designs

The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 requires states to establish accountability systems that are both valid and reliable. If one follows the language of the law literally, there is no design that will meet both requirements. If one interprets the law more flexibly, it is possible to create such a design. States will need to approach the problem carefully if they are going to appropriately balance the various probabilities of making incorrect decisions about schools.     

The contribution of education for self-reliance to manpower development in Tanzania — A critical appraisal

This paper is an attempt to describe the nature and scope of educational provision in Tanzania since 1967. It focusses on the implications of educational policy for the development of manpower which would be suited to the satisfaction of basic needs in rural areas.Tanzania since 1967 is reportedly attempting to implement what amounts to a basic needs strategy of development in line with the declared socialist objectives of the Government.This strategy is essentially a mixture of poverty and employment oriented strategies directed at satisfying essential human needs in areas such as health, education, safe water, housing and sanitation, and food supply as well as other requirements for a fully productive life.Although the provision of education is itself a basic need, it is also a vehicle for the production of trained manpower which is essential to the effective implementation of the basic needs strategy in the other sectors mentioned above. This paper presents preliminary and tentative impressions of the relevance of Tanzania's educational system to the Government's objective of meeting the basic needs of its people as soon as possible.The paper is divided into four sections: educational philosophy in Tanzania, educational growth and development, manpower implications and theoretical models explaining the development of educational resources in Tanzania since 1967.It concludes that, where planning has preceded political decisions, large measures of success have been achieved, but that, overall, political expediency and haste have created substantial divergences between policy and practice.     

Exploring the benefits of user education: a review of three case studies

This paper builds on Leslie Morton's vision of enabling users through education and training. It describes three different approaches to mediated training for medical students and clinicians provided by peers, juniors (i.e. medical students) and information specialists (i.e. clinical librarians) and considers the benefits to the participants. The training was provided either on a one-to-one basis or within teams in their work environments (e.g. offices, wards, team meetings). The first two projects (peer tutoring and reverse mentoring) suggest that contextualized training, using intermediaries, provides the direct benefit of cost-effective IT skill development and the indirect benefits deriving from the interactions between the trainers and the target groups. The third project, the outreach librarian study, provides evidence of both direct benefits (i.e. time saved, quality of service, skills acquired, financial savings and improved evidence-based medicine implementation) and indirect, long-term benefits relating to more social issues (e.g. perceptions of the library, clinical teams, job satisfaction and patient interactions). The general conclusion to emerge from this review of case studies is that the concept of educational benefits is very broad and that empirical studies need to look at both obvious and less obvious benefits.     

Quantifying physical activity in first-through fourth-grade physical education via pedometry

The aim of this study was to determine pedometry steps per minute (SPM) cutscores that accurately quantify physical activity (PA) time in first- through fourth-grade physical education. A total of 257 participants were grouped in two data pools, first- and second-grade (n = 126), and third- and fourth-grade (n = 131). Systematic observation was the PA criterion instrument and pedometry was the predictor instrument. Correlations between physical activity measures were strong (r = .82-.89, p < .01). Ten min of PA and 33.33% of the lesson time engaged in PA within a 30-min class can be quantified by 61-63 SPM for first- and second-grade, and 58-61 SPM for third- and fourth-grade. IN CONCOLUSION: (a) SPM values were a valid indicator of students achieving or not achieving PA criteria, and (b) pedometry is a valid and practical tool for physical activity surveillance within physical education.     

The development of education for medical librarians

Formal education for medical library specialization was initiated only thirty-two years ago despite the fact that medical libraries received special treatment for many years before that time. The philosophy of specialized education was developed as early as 1925, and this theory was finally put into practice beginning with the medical reference and bibliography course given at Columbia in 1939. In the late 1940s the requisites for medical librarians were formalized into a certification code by the Medical Library Association, and since that time specialized education for medical librarians has grown stronger using this code as a guideline. This education consists basically of two types-formal library school courses and internship programs which offer a working-while-learning situation. Now that the established programs have a few years of history, there is a need for evaluation and restatement of goals and methods.