EQUAL OPPORTUNITY OR INTEGRATION FOR WOMEN IN THE DUTCH ACADEMIC WORLD

In 1981, the career structure in Dutch higher education was modified in such a way that performance criteria, particularly possession of a doctorate and research and publication activity, were required for promotion. In particular, the hierarchy of university posts below that of full professor was modified in such a way that persons holding so‐called WHM(senior scientific staff level) positions were required to reapply for the new UHD(associate professor) positions on a competitive basis which stressed the publication record of candidates. Using a sampling of academic women drawn from the natural sciences, the authors offer an explanation as to why women academics did less well than men in the competitions for these new posts. Although the process did not discriminate against women as such, it did not favour academics on the periphery of the profession, where many women at the time found themselves. The situation identified was the result of social factors more than of institutional discrimination. Presently, younger women ‐graduate students ‐ are rapidly moving from the periphery of the profession to the centre. Active involvement in professional networks will aid academic women in their careers; however, over‐involvement in family matters (the care network) may be harmful to the career progress of academic women.     

How do people read the passages during a reading comprehension test? The effect of reading purpose on text processing behavior

In this study, we investigate the effect of reading purpose on students’ processing behavior during a reading comprehension test. In a repeated measures design, sixty undergraduates answered multiple-choice (MC) reading comprehension questions in a condition with no overarching goal for reading and in an alternate condition where the same students were first provided with the goal of summarizing the text before answering MC questions. Results from eye tracking analysis showed that when students read and answered questions without an overarching goal, they spent much less time reading the passages before answering the questions, more time re-reading the texts while answering the questions, and more time on parts of the text that were not necessary to answer the questions. We conclude that providing examinees without an explicit goal for reading may inadvertently encourage a “search for the answer” reading process, rather than on building a coherent mental model of text content.     

Stichwort: Professionelle Kompetenz von Lehrkräften

Ohne Zusammenfassung      

The limited value of planning in education: Getting back to the basics isn't all about curriculum

In these times of tight budgets and political intoleance for taxation, public schools, particularly urban public schools, will continually have to look for ways in which to spend less while dealing with ever-increasing societal problems. While the ability of schools to improve the overal “product” with less resources is highly suspect, this article addresses one way in which spending less might actually improve school perfomance. The best planners in the best schools should be the administration, techers, students, parents, and the comminitu at large, and not outside esxperts hired to improve a school's “comprehensive” or “strategic” plan. By forcing the segments of the public that have the largest stake in the educational outcomes of schools to work together to plan for the future, schools will improve the efficacy of their staffs, their students, and allow parents the self-satisfaction of playing an important role in their children's education. An improtant side effect of such a method may be an increasing awareness by the public of the difficulties that schools face, and perhaps a better understanding of the important need for higher expenditures. His research interests include professionalism, collective bargaining, and educational reform. His articles have appeared inPeople and Education, and a recent article has been aceepted for publication in theJournal of Collective Negotiations in the Public Sector.     

Pricing policy and the college choice process

Following the presentation of a marketing management paradigm for higher educational institutions, this paper discuses some aspects of the pricing policy process in colleges and universities. A statistical model of the college choice process is developed, and some empirical results related to the effects of price, among other factors, on the collegechoice decision-making behavior process of high school seniors are presented and interpreted. The two most important factors affecting the college choice process are seen to be college quality and price-related considerations. Marketing implications of these results are discussed.Presented at the Annual Forum of the Association For Institutional Research, Houston, Texas, May 1978.     

The data collection matrix model: A tool for functional area and program evaluation

The management and utilization of collected data is crucial in evaluating programs and functional area effectiveness. Various assessment instruments may address similar functional areas of the college, yet we often fail to compile these data for comprehensive evaluation. The data collection matrix makes possible the integration of functional area data from numerous assessment sources and presentation of the information in a unified composite report. The matrix model will be discussed in relation to the various assessment instruments and the evaluation of functional areas and programs. This paper is directed toward institutional researchers who may wish to adapt the model to their own institution.Presented at the Annual Forum of the Association for Institutional Research, Louisville, KY, May 13–16, 1990.