Statistical knowledge and the over-interpretation of student evaluations of teaching

Research shows that teachers interpret small differences in student evaluations of teaching as meaningful even when available statistical information indicates that the differences are not reliable. The current research explored the effect of statistical training on college teachers’ tendency to over-interpret student evaluation differences. A sample of 225 English, mathematics and psychology teachers evaluated statistical reports of student evaluation data corresponding to a fictional teacher’s courses. Teachers from the three disciplines varied significantly in their statistics training, but there were no differences in their tendency to rate small, non-significant differences in student evaluations as indicative of the need to make improvements in a course. These results illustrate that statistical knowledge alone does not prevent the over-interpretation of student evaluation means.     

New politics of higher education: Hidden and complex

Public universities in the United States are in a changed political environment, resulting from past enrollment growth and increased budget needs, centralization, the routinization of state-university relations, government budget uncertainty, and the emergence of strong competing claims on state or federal monies. The author argues that centralized government intervention is carried through technocratic approaches that mask the political forces at work. The article discusses characteristics of government intervention such as: buffer groups, formulas and data monopoly. It suggests these technocratic approaches hide the political weakness of the public universities. These, in turn, have been weakened. In conclusion, three new trends are suggested: (1) public universities will seek to do with less government support - that is, the privatization of some American public university services; (2) they will seek to increase government's or society's dependency on what it is the public universities do - that is, making universities more immediately useful to government and society; and (3) they will increasingly organize political coalitions both inside and outside the universities. This last strategy implies greater collaboration between faculty, students and university administrators and between higher education, the public schools and other potential allies.     

Teacher Education and European Community Policy

There is no policy of the European Community specifically labelled ‘teacher education’. However, policies which do exist at Community level have clear implications for teacher education. This can be seen from a study of the policy model developed within the Community; teacher education becomes a ‘dimension’ of policy in relation to objectives and as a sphere of action. The article illustrates these points and refers also to the currently ‘blocked’ policy dossiers of the Community.

Il n'existe aucune politique pour la formation des enseignants dans la Communauté Européenne. Cependant, les politiques qui existent dans le cadre de la Communauté ont une certaine portée sur la formation des enseignants. Ceci ressort d'une étude sur le modèle politique qui a été développée à l'intérieur de la Communauté; dans cette perspective, la formation des enseignants devient une dimension de la politique par rapport aux objectifs de cette politique et en tant que domaine d'action. L'article illustre ces point et fait aussi référence aux dossiers de politique actuellement ‘bloqués’ de la Communauté.     

Digital connections: transforming literacy in the primary school

Much has been written about the transformative influence of new technology on the school curriculum, but only a small number of studies have focused on the practical implications for primary literacy. The dominant paradigm seems less concerned with transformation, instead favouring a view of ‘technology as enrichment’. This case study examines the possibilities of transformation through an electronically mediated partnership between two primary schools in the North of England. Children's digital texts are analysed alongside interview and observational data in order to document what transformation might look like in practice. The study illustrates how technology can be used to promote new literacy practices in the classroom, through the production of new kinds of texts. It also documents the emergence of peer‐based learning relationships and changing perceptions of the teacher's role.     

Beyond Kolpak: European Union Law’s Unforeseen Contribution to the Movement of African Cricketers

Abstract

The movement of professional cricketers from South Africa to England to play in County Cricket has expanded since the late 1960s. It became more attractive during the period of South African isolation and some players saw English cricket as a route to play at Test match level through changing national allegiance. This paper explores the role of law in facilitating movement in two ways. First, in the case of Greig, the attempt to ban players who chose to participate in the new commercial venture, World Series Cricket, was overturned. Second, in the Kolpak case a decision of the European Court of Justice paved the way for South Africans and Zimbabweans to abandon their national side and play in England as domestic players without the usual constraints applied to overseas players. The opportunity was taken by numerous players because of the political upheaval in cricket that was contemporaneously taking place in both South Africa and Zimbabwe. The movement of players caused concern in both South Africa and England and led to a re-consideration of the financial relationships between governing bodies and players.     

The Use of Video Demonstrations and Particulate Animation in General Chemistry

Different visualization techniques have been used for teaching chemistry concepts. Previous studies have shown that when molecular animations and video demonstrations are used, students seem to better correlate all three levels of representation: macroscopic, submicroscopic, and symbolic. This thinking process allows the students to improve their conceptual understanding and ability to create dynamic mental models. In this study, general chemistry students viewed three experiments involving dynamic fluid equilibrium in a graphic design, a video demonstration, and a molecular animation. The study investigated whether video demonstrations or particulate animations helped the students' conceptual understanding, and if the order of visualizations (video or animation first) produced any differences. Students showed improvement after each visualization. Surprisingly, there was significant improvement in responses between the first and second visualization. This work shows the importance of combining both types of visualizations, but it does not indicate a preference toward a specific order.     

Influence of voluntary coffee certifications on cooperatives’ advisory services and agricultural practices of smallholder farmers in Costa Rica

ABSTRACT

Purpose: This article explores how voluntary certifications influence the way cooperatives provide advisory services to their members and the influence of these services on agricultural practices. Design/Methodology/Approach: Case studies were conducted in four representative Costa Rican cooperatives interviewing twenty interviewed cooperative administrators and members to determine changes in advisory services and farming practices over the past twenty years and factors which influenced those changes. Findings: Certifications induce cooperatives to offer new services to support farmers. Cooperatives form collaborations with new stakeholders or reconfigure existing collaborations to provide advisory services to their members. These services have helped to shape farmers’ attitudes about sustainable farming practices, though farm-level changes may be small. The main change at the cooperative level is adding new topics for group training, and certification issues are directly linked with practices such as maintaining a farm record book or wearing a mask when applying pesticides. Practices which compete with productivity are unlikely to change. Practical Implications: The results are useful to improve the advisory services provided by cooperatives by better identifying the key issues to be addressed to fulfill the certifications’ requirements. Theoretical implications: Cooperatives are a relevant player to induce more sustainable practices, by providing or coordinating advisory services, but their efforts cannot be seen disconnected from a broader institutional environment. Originality/Value: We demonstrate that certifications change the intensity and scope of advisory services and induce cooperatives to engage with a more diverse network of stakeholders.