Construct Validation of the Self-Efficacy Teaching and Knowledge Instrument for Science Teachers-Revised (SETAKIST-R): Lessons Learned

Described herein is the academic lineage and independent validation of the Self-Efficacy Teaching and Knowledge Instrument for Science Teachers-Revised (SETAKIST-R). Data from 334 K-12 science teachers were analyzed using Partial Credit Rasch models. Principal components analysis on the person-item residuals suggest two latent dimensions: Knowledge and Teaching Self-Efficacies. Item-fit statistics were used to select items for each subscale. Person and item separation (reliability) indices were quite low, and we noted disordered response patterns on the person-item maps that revealed problems with item content and/or scaling for both subscales. These issues include the presence of: verbal negatives, ambiguous modifiers, counter-intuitive scaling, and an “undecided/uncertain” option. The SETAKIST-R, in its current form, cannot be recommended as a measure of science teacher self-efficacy.     

Teachers and librarians collaborating on inquiry-based science instruction: A longitudinal study

The qualitative, longitudinal study suggests how teachers and librarians learn to collaborate on inquiry-based science lessons that link science, information literacy, and structured English immersion standards for Latino elementary students. Teachers and librarians in the study received extensive professional development training about teacher and librarian collaboration (TLC), information literacy, inquiry-based science, as well as language and culture. In addition, expert peer mentors provided background information to teachers and librarians, as well as modeled high end TLC recommended by school librarian professional guidelines. Although increased interest and high motivation are generated by TLC, findings indicate that considerable time and experience are needed to prepare teachers and librarians to collaborate on instruction. Study results also indicate that there is an apparent lack of experience with inquiry-based science, particularly in schools with a culture of direct instruction. The study highlights teachers' lack of awareness of librarians' role as instructional partners. Greater communication between the professions is urged if TLC is to be successfully implemented as a way to bolster student achievement and stay updated in important fields, such as science, where instruction appears to be lagging behind.     

Distinguishing Polemic From Commentary in Science: Some Guidelines Illustrated With the Case of Sage and Burgio (2017)

Exposure to nonionizing radiation used in wireless communication remains a contentious topic in the public mind—while the overwhelming scientific evidence to date suggests that microwave and radio frequencies used in modern communications are safe, public apprehension remains considerable. A recent article in Child Development has caused concern by alleging a causative connection between nonionizing radiation and a host of conditions, including autism and cancer. This commentary outlines why these claims are devoid of merit, and why they should not have been given a scientific veneer of legitimacy. The commentary also outlines some hallmarks of potentially dubious science, with the hope that authors, reviewers, and editors might be better able to avoid suspect scientific claims.     

Anxious solitude across contexts: girls' interactions with familiar and unfamiliar peers

Cross-situational continuity and change in anxious solitary girls' behavior and peer relations were examined in interactions with familiar versus unfamiliar playmates. Fourth-grade girls (N=209, M age=9.77 years, half African American, half European American) were identified as anxious solitary or behaviorally normative using observed and teacher-reported behavior among classmates. Subsequently, girls participated in 1-hr play groups containing 5 same-race familiar or unfamiliar girls for 5 consecutive days. Results support both cross-situational continuity and change in anxious solitary girls' behavior and peer relations. Although anxious solitary girls exhibited difficulty interacting with both familiar and unfamiliar playmates relative to behaviorally normative girls, elements of their behavior improved in unfamiliar play groups, a context in which they received less peer mistreatment.     

Does competition improve public school efficiency? A spatial analysis

Advocates for educational reform frequently call for policies to increase competition between schools because it is argued that market forces naturally lead to greater efficiencies, including improved student learning, when schools face competition. Researchers examining this issue are confronted with difficulties in defining reasonable measures of competition within local educational markets. We approach the problem through the application of Geographical Information System (GIS) tools to the development of a school competition index (SCI) for the state of Mississippi. The SCI captures the degree of competition each public school in the state faces from peer private schools spatially located within their local market area. We find that higher degrees of competition from private schools significantly increase public primary and high school efficiency, as measured by the proficiency rates on high-stakes examinations. It is anticipated that the current results will inform policymakers regarding the viability of competition-based reforms.     

Imagining inclusive teachers: contesting policy assumptions in relation to the development of inclusive practice in schools

In this article we reflect on data from two research projects in which inclusive practice in the educational system is at issue, in the light of wider field experience (our own and others’) of school and teacher development. We question what we understand to be relatively common, implicit policy assumptions about how teachers develop, by examining the way in which teachers are portrayed and located in these projects. The examples discussed in this article draw on experience in Lao People’s Democratic Republic (PDR) and Bangladesh, critically exploring teachers’ roles, position and agency in practice. Similarities and differences rooted in cultural, political and institutional contexts highlight in a productive way the significance and potential dangers of policy assumptions about teachers within the process of development.

From Bangladesh, a success story is presented: the case of a group of primary and junior high schools with formal and non-formal characteristics facilitate the inclusion of young people who were previously outside the education system. In these schools, the institutional context for learning appears to sustain teachers’ commitment and motivation. These data suggest the importance of the institutional context to teachers’ practices, and raise questions about approaches to teacher development which omit consideration of that context by, for example, focusing inadvertently on features of individual teachers.

We then consider teachers’ responses to the movement for inclusive education in a primary school in the Lao PDR since 2004. Inclusion here was understood to require a significant shift in teacher identity and a movement away from authoritative pedagogy towards the facilitation of a pedagogy which aimed to encourage the active participation of all students. Through a longitudinal study of teachers in one school, the conditions for such change were identified and again cast doubt on some of the assumptions behind large-scale attempts at teacher development. Reflecting on these experiences and the evidence they provide, we suggest that teacher development programmes are more likely to be effective where teachers are considered not as individuals subject to training but as agents located in an influential institutional context.     

Using ICTs to create a culture of transparency: E-government and social media as openness and anti-corruption tools for societies

In recent years, many governments have worked to increase openness and transparency in their actions. Information and communication technologies (ICTs) are seen by many as a cost-effective and convenient means to promote openness and transparency and to reduce corruption. E-government, in particular, has been used in many prominent, comprehensive transparency efforts in a number of nations. While some of these individual efforts have received considerable attention, the issue of whether these ICT-enabled efforts have the potential to create a substantive social change in attitudes toward transparency has not been widely considered. This paper explores the potential impacts of information and ICTs – especially e-government and social media – on cultural attitudes about transparency.     

Writing for the discipline in the discipline?

This article explores the issue of students' writing skills in the discipline of Engineering and beyond. It is the result of a discussion between three academics from different discipline backgrounds: Teaching and Learning, the Humanities and Engineering. We start with a review of the strategies commonly used to address problems in students' academic writing skills, with an emphasis on the notions of ‘writing across the curriculum’ (WAC) or ‘writing in the disciplines’ (WID). Taking into consideration the issue of students' perception of their ‘real curriculum’ and the need to embed writing’ in the disciplines, we propose a strategy aimed at implementing an efficient teaching of writing skills targeted for a specific discipline. In so doing, we argue that the increasing recourse to independent Learning Development services decontextualises students' understanding of writing.     

University student perspectives on institutional non-disclosure of disability and learning challenges: reasons for staying invisible

ABSTRACT

Students with disabilities (SWD) in Australian higher education need to disclose to their institution to access a range of ‘reasonable adjustments’ to support their learning. Nationally, 5.8% of the university population disclose their disability to their institution. It is suspected that there is a much larger population of students who choose non-disclosure, and therefore decide not to access support. Very little is known about the reasons for non-disclosure as this group represents a hidden population in higher education. The research reported here is based on a survey of undergraduate students in one regional Australian university where disability was reframed as ‘learning challenge’. This identified the institutionally non-disclosed group. This research identified that there were sound reasons for non-disclosure, students continually weigh up potential disclosure during their study, and students have difficulty with the disclosure process. We conclude that institutions need to understand that they have an invisible group of non-disclosing SWD in their student populations and that, to meet their learning challenges, universities need to support changes to policies, procedures and curriculum design.