The legitimation of OECD's global educational governance: examining PISA and AHELO test production

Although international student assessments and the role of international organisations (IOs) in governing education via an evidence-based educational policy discourse are of growing interest to educational researchers, few have explored the complex ways in which an IO, such as the OECD, gains considerable influence in governing education during the early stages of test production. Drawing on a comparative analysis of the production of two international tests – the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) and the Assessment of Higher Education Learning Outcomes (AHELO) – we show how the OECD legitimises its power, and expertise, and defines ‘what counts’ in education. The OECD deploys three mechanisms of educational governance: (1) building on past OECD successes; (2) assembling knowledge capacity; and (3) deploying bureaucratic resources. We argue that the early stages of test production by IOs are significant sites in which the global governance of education is legitimated and enacted.     

Piloting a dispersed and inter-professional Lesson Study using technology to link team members at a distance

This article presents an evaluation of distance technology used in a novel Lesson Study (LS) approach involving a dispersed LS team for inter-professional purposes. A typical LS model with only school teachers as team members was modified by including university-based lecturers with the school-based teachers, using video-conferencing and online video sharing. The aim was to examine the experiences of using video-conferencing and video transfer technology to support the use of LS procedures to connect team members between schools and university. The meetings from two LS teams (primary and secondary) were recorded and analysed using a discourse analysis framework, and team members were interviewed after the LS cycle. Despite some technical difficulties, the communication between the dispersed members of the teams was largely smooth and successful. Extending LS teams and practice to include non school teachers, using distance-linking technology, can more effectively support teachers, while reducing the practical constraints of bringing other professionals into the LS team.     

Engaging Undergraduate Students in Research Activities: Are Research Universities Doing a Better Job?

Engaging undergraduate students in research activities has been advocated as an innovative strategy to improve American higher education (Boyer Commission, Reinventing undergraduate education: A blueprint for America’s research universities. The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, Stony Brook, NY, 1998). This study compared the frequency of undergraduate student research experiences at different types of colleges and universities from the early 1990s through 2004. The results indicate that the frequency of student research experiences increased since 1998 at all types of institutions and that students at research universities were not more likely than their counterparts elsewhere to have such experiences. The findings were consistent across major fields. To live up to their claims, research universities must find additional ways to involve undergraduates in research with faculty members. Shouping Hu is Associate Professor of Higher Education at Florida State University. He received his M.S. degree in Economics and Ph.D. in Higher Education from Indiana University. His research and scholarship focuses on postsecondary access and persistence, college student experience, and higher education finance. George D. Kuh is Chancellor’s Professor of Higher Education and Director of the Center for Postsecondary Research at Indiana University Bloomington. He received his Ph.D. degree from the University of Iowa. His research focuses on the quality of undergraduate education. Joy Gaston Gayles is Associate Professor in Adult and Higher Education at North Carolina State University. She received her Bachelor’s degree from Shaw University, Master’s degree from Auburn University, and Ph.D. in Higher Education from The Ohio State University. Her research focuses on college student learning and development.     

A reassessment of the effects of inquiry-based science curricula of the 60's on student performance

In this project a re-synthesis of the research dealing with student performance in new science curricula was conducted using the refined statistical procedures proposed by Hedges (1981, 1982a, 1982b, 1982c) and Hedges and Olkin (1985). The results of the re-synthesis generally supported the conclusions drawn in the earlier meta-analysis by Shymansky, Kyle, and Alport (1983); i.e., that the new science curricula of the 60's and 70's were more effective in enhancing student performance than traditional textbook-based programs of the time. But the re-synthesis also revealed some notable differences as well. For example, in the re-synthesis mean effects were significantly positive on four performance clusters (achievement, process skills, problem solving, and attitude) compared to seven clusters in the earlier analysis, and then by a smaller margin (the 1981 mean was 0.34 and the 1986 mean was 0.25). In one case (related skills), the mean effect changed from a +0.25 (significant at the 0.05 level) to –0.10. But perhaps more important than any particular change in the many analyses performed, the application of refined statistical procedures in the re-synthesis yielded results of greater precision than those generated in the original study. Thus, it is recommended that the data generated in this re-synthesis be used in any discussion of the effects of the new science curricula on student performance.     

Special education professional development needs in Zimbabwe

Since 1980 when Zimbabwe obtained political independence, special education has not received the same priority as the entire education system. One of the manifestations of this discrepancy is the shortage of qualified special education teachers in the country. In order to address this trend and promote the development of special education, researchers have suggested the need for professional development in the area of special education. The purpose of this study was to identify the special education professional development needs of both special and general education in-service teachers in Zimbabwe. A semi-structured survey instrument, developed by the first and second authors, which included open- and closed-end questions was used in this study. The sample consisted of 204 schoolteachers drawn from two school districts of Zvishavane and Gwanda. The participating schoolteachers overwhelmingly expressed the need for more professional development in the area of special education. The schoolteachers also identified several topics that they considered to be important for professional development.     

Going deep: Learning from campuses that share responsibility for student success

Nearly two years of intensive research into the daily work of twenty institutions may finally put to rest any doubt that building cross‐campus collaborations to facilitate student success is essential.