Higher education choice in Australia: Processes and impediments

This article outlines and interprets the results of a pilot study designed to evaluate the impact of various social and personal factors on the decision process stages (DPS) through which years 7–12 high school students proceed in choosing to undertake study in the university sector of higher education in Australia. The article also examines the associated effects of background factors influencing participation in higher education generally. Complex patterns of predictive associations between the factors and seven DPS which appear to operate differently during the various years of high school are outlined. The differences are described in terms of six general categories of predictors. Comparative studies evaluating the effects of background factors on participation in higher education are examined to broaden the contextual base of the research findings and to identify the contribution of theories of social change, with particular emphasis on the meritocratic thesis. The interpretation of the research findings is assisted by relating them to Erik Erikson's developmental framework concerned with the growth of the conscious self or personal identity.     

The measurement of administrative effectiveness of the academic department head

A total of 103 academic department heads in four universities rated a set of 15 administrative activities as to their importance. Faculty members in these departments (totalN=1,333) used the same set of activities to rate both the importance they should be given by the department head and the effectiveness with which the head performed each set during the previous 12 months. Tests of reliability revealed that faculty ratings of both importance and performance were made with reasonable internal consistency. Three tests of construct validity showed that each of the three types of ratings were made with at least minimal validity. A principal components analysis of faculty ratings of performance suggested that the department head has three major types of responsibility: personnel management; departmental planning and development; and building the department's reputation.     

Challenge in learning and teaching science

Taking as a basis a conceptualisation of personal challenge having both cognitive/metacognitive (thinking) and affective (feeling) components, the nature and extent of perceived challenge in learning and teaching science were explored for seven teachers and thirty-seven students in five secondary schools over a period of five months. Findings suggest that many secondary students are not challenged by the science they learn in school. Similary, many secondary science teachers are insufficiently challenged by the task of teaching. There are indications, however, that science teaching and learning attitudes and practices can be improved if teachers work to diagnose and change key classroom factors that influence level of perceived challenge in learning.     

Problems and needed directions in the profession of educational technology

Conclusion Finn’s 1953 assessment added up, in his opinion, “to the simply stated fact that the audiovisual field is not yet a profession” (p. 16). The current assessment can be concluded differently. In the past 25 years, educational technology has grown into a profession, but it is not a fully grown and developed profession. Educational technology has accomplished a great deal in relation to each of the criteria for a profession; this accomplishment is spelled out in AECT’sEducational Technology: Definition and Glossary of Terms. In addition, it has written about its ideals related to each of the criteria, but has not yet reached those goals. Finally, educational technology is a profession with problems related to each of the criteria—problems discussed in this paper. I have suggested directions educational technology needs to take to overcome its problems. Others will certainly think of alternative directions. If it makes no effort to overcome its problems, the profession will remain only partially developed or, perhaps, regress to a less fully developed stage. But if its leaders, its professional association, and all its members work to overcome those problems, the profession of educational technology can fulfill Finn’s (1964) prophecy that “the educational future will belong to those who can grasp the significance of [educational and] instructional technology” (p. 26).     

The effects of feedback from students to university instructors: An experimental study

This article reports the results of an experimental study of the effects of students' evaluative feedback to university instructors. Data obtained indicated that feedback from students did not have any significant effects on the instructors' teaching performance and their perception of teaching. Some limitations of the study are discussed with suggestions for further exploration of the problem.     

The effects of reading practice with compressed speech on reading rate and listening comprehension

Conclusions Reading practice with accompanying compressed speech as a pacer resulted in a significantly greater increase in reading rate without an accompanying loss in comprehension for the experimental group when compared with the control group. Scores on the delayed posttest seemed to indicate that the increase in reading rate was more than temporary. The significant increase in reading rate was accomplished with only 10 practice sessions. The number of sessions in earlier studies using pacers ranged from 16 (Marvel, 1959) to 50 (Wilson & Leavell, 1956). The present study suggests that a smaller number of sessions using compressed speech as a pacer can be effective in increasing reading rate. Since there was no significant difference between gain scores for the experimental and control groups for listening, this study provided no evidence to support the use of practice with compressed speech to improve listening ability. It might be noted however that the training sessions consisted of reading short storieswhile listening to the compressed speech. Thus, subjects did not receive practice in which listening to compressed speech was the sole activity. It is perhaps for this reason that the experimental group did not improve more in listening than did the control group. This article is based in part on Thameśs masteŕs thesis which was completed at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.     

Impaired visual attention in children with dyslexia

Reading involves the correct and rapid identification of visual stimuli with letters and words. The processing of visual stimuli depends not only on the integrity of the peripheral and central visual system but also on the attentional systems involved. In the present study, a cue-target visual attention task was administered to a population-based sample of 25 children with dyslexia from 10 to 12 years of age. A control group matched for group size, age, and gender was obtained from the same general population. A two-stage screening process involved a spelling task of regular words followed by a battery of five single-word reading tasks. The cue-target task involved both a computer-controlled stimulus presentation and a computer-controlled measurement of reaction time. The data were analyzed by visual field, cue condition (valid, invalid, and no cue), and cue-target interval (CTI). The results showed a general pattern of slower responses in the dyslexia group compared to the control group. The dyslexia group also had longer reaction times in the short CTI condition (covert shift of attention) and in the long CTI condition (overt shift of attention). The findings may reflect a general attentional deficit to visual stimuli in dyslexia, possibly related to problems with the recruitment of necessary cognitive resources for the performance of complex reaction time tasks and for fluent reading.