Book reviews

The Fiscal Administration of City School Systems. By J. R. Mcgaughy. A report reviewed and presented by the Educational Finance Inquiry Commission under the auspices of the American Council on Education, Washington, D. C. New York: Macmillan Co., 1924.

Child Accounting. By A. B. Moehlman (University of Michigan). Detroit: Courtis Standard Tests, 1924. Pp. 205. Price, $1.85.

Principles of Teaching Practically Applied. By Ruby Minor. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1924. Pp. xiii + 281. Price, $1.90.

Sex, for Parents and Teachers. By William Leland Stowell. New York: Macmillan Co., 1924. Pp. xx + 204. Price, $1.50.

The Child, His Nature and His Needs. Edited by M. V. O'Shea. Valparaiso, Ind.: The Children's Foundation, 1924. Pp. xi + 516.

Measuring Intelligence. By H. C. Hines (University of Washington). Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1924. Pp. xii + 146. Price, $1.20.     

Initial Characteristics and Mentoring Satisfaction of College Women Mentoring Youth: Implications for Training

Being a youth mentor is popular among college students, yet little is known about how their initial characteristics are related to mentoring satisfaction. Survey data from college women enrolled in a youth mentoring program (n = 158) and a comparison group (n = 136) were analyzed to determine how initial characteristics of youth mentors (a) differ from comparisons and (b) are associated with mentors’ satisfaction. Mentors reported higher autonomy, cultural sensitivity, and lower depression pre-participation than the comparison group, and their pre-participation GPA, cognitive empathy, and depression predicted post-participation mentoring satisfaction. Implications for mentor training are discussed.     

STABILITY OF SCALE QUALITY UNDER VARIOUS DATA COLLECTION PROCEDURES: A MODE COMPARISON ON THE 'DE JONG-GIERVELD LONELINESS SCALE

Data collection procedures can influence respondents' self-disclosure,accuracy and motivation to complete the interview. In comparingresearch results across different studies, it is important touse robust measuring instruments. The ‘De Jong-GierveldLoneliness Scale’ was developed to measure lonelinessamong different populations and in studies with different designs.Data on this loneliness scale were re-analyzed to investigatethe robustness of the scale. The data were from six Dutch surveys.Different interview modes were used for data collection: threesurveys with self-administered paper questionnaires, two surveyswith face-to-face interviews, and one telephone survey. In orderto compare the properties of the loneliness scale, a relativelyhomogeneous category of respondents was selected: single womenbetween the ages of 25 and 65. An examination of the scale withregard to five aspects of robustness showed in very few casesthat it was affected. No evidence was found for the assumptionthat the use of a self-administered questionnaire would leadto high item non-response, any higher than using other datacollection procedures. It was also assumed that in self-administeredquestionnaires or telephone interviews, a better inter-itemhomogeneity and a better person scalability would be found instudies with face-to-face interviews. The results sustainedthis hypothesis. Further, it was believed that the absence ofan interviewer would result in greater self-disclosure and thereforein higher scale means. We found on evidence to support this.In general the results showed that the loneliness scale metthe psychometric requirements of items non-response, scale homogenityand person scalability. After testing the robustness of thescale, we conclude that it is questionable on two aspects: theinter-item homogeneity and the person scalability.     

Reflecting on institutional support for SoTL engagement: developing a conceptual framework

This paper considers the support required to develop Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) capability across institutions. Rather than developing a checklist or a standardised audit approach, this paper describes the reflective journey taken by a group of academic developers who used strategies and structures previously identified in the literature to develop a conceptual framework for academic professional development. The framework was refined through an iterative process, including reflection on its use within diverse institutional contexts, combined with evaluative feedback from recognised experts in the field. The resulting framework is designed to facilitate and guide conversations to support institutional decision-making related to SoTL capacity building.     

Socioeconomic status and health in adolescents: the role of stress interpretations

The role of psychological interpretations in the relationship between low socioeconomic status (SES) and physiological responses was tested. One hundred high school students (ages 15–19) watched videos of ambiguous and negative life situations, and were interviewed about their interpretations. Lower SES was associated with greater threat interpretations during ambiguous (but not negative) situations and with greater diastolic blood pressure and heart rate reactivity. Threat interpretations partially mediated relationships between SES and reactivity. General life events (e.g., lack of positive life events), rather than specific life events (e.g., exposure to violence), partially explained the relationship between low SES and threat interpretations. Results suggest that the larger social environment helps explain how adolescents approach new social situations, which in turn has implications for adolescent physical health.     

Predictive validity of my class inventory

A recent guest-edited issue of this journal (Volume 6, Number 3, 1980) summarizes the considerable interest evident since the late 1960s in the conceptualization, assessment, and study of student perceptions of psychological characteristics of their classroom learning environment. This issue and several other recent key overviews (Moos, 1979; Walberg, 1979; Fraser, 1981; Fraser and Walberg, 1981) have firmly established classroom environment as a thriving field of study.When used as criterion variables in prior curriculum evaluation research, student perceptions of classroom environment characteristics have differentiated revealingly, usefully, and appreaciably between classrooms following alternative curriculum materials or instructional strategies (Anderson, Walberg, and Welch, 1969; Levin, 1980). In addition, other studies have established the criterion validity of classroom environment perceptions in differentiating between classrooms varying in class size (Walberg, 1969), grade level (Welch, 1979), and subject matter (Anderson, 1971a; Hearn and Moos, 1978), and between classrooms in five different types of schools (urban, rural, suburban, vocational, alternative) (Trickett, 1978). The strongest tradition in past research on classroom learning environment, however, has involved investigation of the predictive validity of student perceptions (i.e., the ability to predict student cognitive, affective, and behavioral learning outcomes).     

A comparison of actual and preferred classroom environments as perceived by science teachers and students

This study of perceptions of classroom environment is distinctive in that, first, it made use of two instruments (the Individualized Classroom Environment Questionnaire and Classroom Environment Scale) which have had very little use in prior science education research and, second, it involved assessment not only of student perceptions of actual environment, but also of student perceptions of preferred environments and teacher perceptions of actual environment. Administration of these instruments to a sample of 2175 junior high school students in 116 classes revealed that the environment scales exhibited satisfactory internal consistency reliability and discriminant validity in each of the three forms (student actual, student preferred, and teacher actual), and that there were some fascinating systematic differences between the profiles of environment scale scores obtained for the different forms. In particular, it was generally found that students preferred a more favorable classroom environment then was perceived as being actually present and that teachers perceived the environment of their classes more favorably than did students in the same classrooms.     

Notes on the progress and plans for educational research in the Socialist Republic of Vietnam

Educational research in Vietnam is directed primarily by the National Institute of Educational Science (NIES), which consists of some thirteen specialised research departments. The Institute investigates various long-term aspects of educational policy reform, curriculum innovation and methodological approaches to education as well as more specialised fields such as national-ethnic minorities and population education.The major tasks of educational research in Vietnam have to be predicated on the demands of a developing society wishing to modernise its educational structure qualitatively while coping quantitatively with enormous population growth and a situation where school-age children currently comprise some 30% of the total population. Hence, harsh demographic realities and limited economic resources have to be offset, where possible, by efficient utilisation of the intellectual capital of the people and by the establishment of realistic educational priorities on the part of the government. These are amongst the major considerations of the NIES and are exemplified by the kind of research publications already emanating from the Institute as well as by the recently announced five-year plan for research development during the period 1981–1985.

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Zusammenfassung In Vietnam wird pädagogische Forschung in erster Linie von dem National Institute of Educational Science (NIES) gesteuert, das aus dreizehn spezialisierten Forschungsabteilungen besteht. Das Institut erforscht verschiedene langfristige Aspekte der erziehungspolitischen Reform, Curriculum-Innovation und methodologische Erziehungsansätze sowie speziellere Gebiete wie das der national-ethnic minorities und das der population education.Die Hauptaufgaben der pädagogischen Forschung in Vietnam müssen auf den Forderungen einer sich entwickelnden Gesellschaft basieren, die einerseits ihr Erziehungssystem qualitativ modernisieren möchte, andererseits jedoch quantitativ bei einem enormen Bevölkerungswachstum mit einer Situation fertig werden muß, in der derzeit 30% der Gesamtbevölkerung Kinder im schulpflichtigen Alter sind. Deshalb müssen harte demographische Realitäten und begrenzte ökonomische Ressourcen so ausgeglichen werden, daß, wo immer möglich, das intellektuelle Kapital der Bevölkerung wirksam genutzt wird und realistische pädagogische Prioritäten von der Regierung gesetzt werden. Diese Gesichtspunkte gehören zu den Hauptüberlegungen des NIES. Sie werden durch die Art der von diesem Institut bereits herausgegebenen Forschungsberichte sowie durch den kürzlich angekündigten Fünf-Jahres-Plan zur Forschungsentwicklung für die Zeit von 1981 bis 1985 belegt.

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Résumé Au Viet-Nam, la recherche en matière d'éducation est assurée essentiellement par l'Institut National des Sciences de l'Education (INSE) qui regroupe quelque treize départements de recherche spécialisés. L'Institut étudie les différents aspects à long terme de la réforme de la politique de l'éducation, de l'innovation du curriculum et des approches méthodologiques de l'éducation ainsi que des domaines plus spécialisés tels les minorités ethniques nationales et l'éducation en matière de population.Les principales tâches de la recherche en matière d'éducation au Viet-Nam doivent être formulées d'après les besoins d'une société en développement qui souhaite moderniser qualitativement sa structure éducative et faire face quantitativement à une énorme augmentation de la population, à une situation où les enfants en âge scolaire représentent actuellement quelque 30% de la population totale. C'est pourquoi il faut compenser, là où c'est possible, la sévérité des réalités démographiques et les ressources économiques limitées par une utilisation efficace du capital intellectuel du peuple et par des priorités réalistes établies en matière d'éducation par le gouvernement. Ce sont les principales considérations de l'INSE comme le montrent le type de publications de la recherche émanant déjà de l'Institut ainsi que le plan quinquennal présenté récemment pour le développement de la recherche pour la période allant de 1981 à 1985.