Education returns of wage earners and self-employed workers: Comment

In a recent paper, García-Mainar and Montuenga-Gómez [García-Mainar, I. & Montuenga-Gómez, V. M. (2005). Education returns of wage earners and self-employed workers: Portugal vs. Spain. Economics of Education Review, 24(2), 161−170] apply the generalized IV model of Hausman and Taylor to estimate education returns of wage earners and the self-employed in Portugal and in Spain. Our examination reveals several problems which relate to the validity and documentation of the instrumental variables, as well as the robustness of the results.     

Modeling the Interrelationships Among Pre-service Science Teachers’ Understanding and Acceptance of Evolution, Their Views on Nature of Science and Self-Efficacy Beliefs Regarding Teaching Evolution

This study proposed a path model of relationships among understanding and acceptance of evolution, views on nature of science, and self-efficacy beliefs regarding teaching evolution. A total of 415 pre-service science teachers completed a series of self-report instruments for the specified purpose. After the estimation of scale scores using unidimensional IRT models, path analysis suggested that sophisticated views on NOS were associated with higher levels of both understanding and acceptance of evolution, and the higher level of understanding of evolution was related to the higher level of acceptance of evolution. Besides, higher levels of both understanding and acceptance of the theory and na?ve views on NOS were found to be associated with stronger self-efficacy beliefs for teaching evolution effectively.     

Exploring formative assessment as a tool for learning: students’ experiences of different methods of formative assessment

This study aims to provide a greater insight into how formative assessments are experienced and understood by students. Two different formative assessment methods, an individual, written assessment and an oral group assessment, were components of a pathology course within a medical curriculum. In a cohort of 70 students, written accounts were collected from 17 students and group interviews were carried out to explore the students’ experiences of these two forms of assessment. All students were engaged in both assessment methods, which were conducted a few weeks apart, and data were collected soon after each assessment. Our findings suggest that formative assessments motivate students to study, make them aware of what they have learned and where they need to study more. Thus, formative assessment can act as a tool for learning, contributing to the process and outcomes of learning. A closer look at students’ experiences of each form of assessment reveals interesting differences.     

Value differentiation in adolescence: the role of age and cultural complexity

Living in complex social worlds, individuals encounter discordant values across life contexts, potentially resulting in different importance of values across contexts. Value differentiation is defined here as the degree to which values receive different importance depending on the context in which they are considered. Early and mid-adolescents (N = 3,497; M = 11.45 years, SD = 0.87 and M = 16.10 years, SD = 0.84, respectively) from 4 cultural groups (majority and former Soviet Union immigrants in Israel and Germany) rated their values in 3 contexts (family, school, and country). Value differentiation varied across individuals. Early adolescents showed lower value differentiation than mid-adolescents. Immigrant (especially first generation) adolescents, showed higher value differentiation than majority adolescents, reflecting the complex social reality they face while negotiating cultures.     

Validity and Reliability of Trichotomous Achievement Goal Scale

The Trichotomous Achievement Goal Scale was developed by Agbuga and Xiang (2008 Agbuga, B. and Xiang, P. 2008. Achievement goals and their relations to self-reported persistence/effort in secondary physical education: A trichotomous achievement goal framework. Journal of Teaching in Physical Education, 27: 179–191. [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) by including selected items from the scales of Duda and Nicholls (1992 Duda, J. L. and Nicholls, J. 1992. Dimensions of achievement motivation in schoolwork and sport. Journal of Educational Psychology, 84: 290–299. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]), Elliot (1999 Elliot, A. J. 1999. Approach and avoidance motivation and achievement goals. Educational Psychologist, 34: 169–189. [Taylor & Francis Online], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]), and Elliot and Church (1997 Elliot, A. J. and Church, M. A. 1997. A hierarchical model of approach and avoidance achievement motivation. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 72: 218–232. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) and adapting them into Turkish. The scale consists of 18 items, and students rated each item on a 7-point Likert scale. To ascertain the validity and reliability of the Trichotomous Achievement Goal Scale, it was administered to 845 female and 861 male Turkish high school students attending three public schools in the 2008–2009 spring semester. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were conducted, and Cronbach's alpha and Fornell and Larcker's (1981 Fornell, C. and Larcker, D. F. 1981. Evaluating structural equation models with unobservable variables and measurement error. Journal of Marketing Research, 18: 39–50. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) criteria were tested on the items that measured the students' achievements, screening for the three distinct types of achievement goals proposed by the trichotomous framework. Based on the results of the study, the 16-item Trichotomous Achievement Goal Scale can be claimed as a valid a reliable scale.     

A new device for measuring ski running surface force and pressure profiles

The pressure/force acting between the running surface of a ski and the snow may indirectly change glide friction. Thus, measuring the pressure/force distribution may be important for a deeper understanding of glide in skiing. The present aim was to construct a device that allowed the pressure/force underneath the ski running surface (SRS) to be recorded. Pressure sensors were attached on top of a platform. Sheets of different materials were used to improve the interaction between the SRS and the sensors. Possible functions of the device are demonstrated in three applications that emphasized comparison of force distribution underneath skis selected for similarity, force distribution under both skis and a single ski as well as backward weight distribution. The results show that the device with the pressure sensors mapped pressure/force distribution underneath the skis in the applications presented, and the system can thus be a useful tool for further optimizing e.g., ski designs.