Tests in Life and Learning: A deathly dialogue

This article is an imaginary Socratic dialogue between J. S. Mill and Michel Foucault, principally concerning educational assessment.     

Time and response matching with topographically different responses

Four pigeons were exposed to several nonindependent concurrent variable-interval schedules of reinforcement. One schedule component required a keypecking response; the other component required a treadlepressing response. The birds matched the ratio of their behavior (as measured by responses and time) between the two topographically different responses to the ratio of reinforcement in those two components. When additional foods not contingent on a keypeck or treadle-press were then added, the birds matched time spent in the components to total rates of food delivered in those components; response matching was somewhat disrupted. The matching law, developed under concurrent variable-interval schedules requiring similar responses, can thus account for choice behavior involving topographically different responses.     

History,crisis, and social panic: Minority resistance to privatization of an urban school system

While privatization is not new on the American scene, privatized management of a complete urban public school system is. This article takes an in-depth look at the first such instance in Chelsea, Massachusetts. The city's history and that of its schools are examined to determine the context for privatization and its implications for citizen participation. It is seen that this context contains the ingredients of intergroup responses to loss of dominance and urban decline. From this standpoint, the coming of Boston University and the resistance offered by Chelsea's Latinos to the takeover of the schools is examined. Finally, the implications of this case for minority politics and educational reform are analyzed.     

The Impact of Changing Roles on Relationships between Professionals in Inclusive Programs for Young Children

As inclusion of young children with disabilities into preschool programs has become more prevalent, there have been concomitant changes in the roles assumed by the professionals and paraprofessionals in these programs. In this paper we examine the ways in which inclusive models influence the roles assumed by the program staff and the factors that affect the ability of staff members to assume these roles. Data, which included interviews, participant observation and document analysis, were collected as part of a multi-site national study of inclusive education programs and practices. From these data, themes emerged regarding the changing roles and relationships of staff members in inclusive early childhood programs. These themes are discussed as both facilitators of and barriers to successful inclusive programs.     

Discrimination reversal learning in newts

The results of field research suggest that, contrary to being behaviorally inflexible, some amphibians may have the ability to respond effectively to changing environments. The performance of seven newts (Triturus viridescens) was studied across 20 successive reversals of a spatial discrimination problem in a dry T-maze. Submersion in shaded water served as reinforcement for correct responses. The subjects showed a decrease in mean errors across reversals and across ordinal trials within sessions. These results are discussed in terms of the importance of using biologically relevant methodologies in the study of comparative animal learning.     

Differences in Career Aspirations,Influences, and Motives as a Function of Class Standing: An Empirical Evaluation of Undergraduate Criminal Justice Majors

The purpose of this study was to determine whether career aspirations, influences, and motives differ by class standing (freshman, sophomore, junior, and senior). A cross-sectional analysis of surveys completed by 204 criminal justice majors revealed a negative correlation between class standing and student interest in a law enforcement career (i.e. freshman and sophomores showed greater interest in a law enforcement career than juniors and seniors). Further analysis indicated that television and movies had a greater impact on the career aspirations of underclassmen, whereas teachers and professors had a greater impact on the career aspirations of upperclassmen. Motivational factors did not differ by class standing, however: students, regardless of class standing, reported that helping others and the interesting nature of the subject matter were their two strongest motives for seeking a criminal justice career and wearing a uniform and power were the two weakest motives for seeking a criminal justice career.     

A note on attrition among college presidents, 1971–1974

Returning to the same stratified random sample of American colleges and universities studied by Cohen and March (1974) during the 1969–1970 academic year, the authors explore the extent to which theoretical estimates of attrition rates presented by Cohen and March predict recent presidential departures within their sample. They find that in the past four years (1971–1974) there has been little change in the attrition pattern among college presidents in this national sample. If there has been any change it is very small and in the direction of slightly longer tenure among presidents of large universities.