A New Approach to Avoiding Problems of Scale in Interpreting Trends in Mental Measurement Data

Extracting policy-relevant information from large national surveys of educational achievement is ordinarily a nontrivial task. It is made more treacherous when the data are expressed on scales that are not uniquely determined. The paper begins with a critical analysis of a recent attempt to interpret the findings on reading achievement obtained by the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). It then describes a new approach to the quantification and interpretation of change and demonstrates its appropriateness for repeated cross-sectional designs such as NAEP. Limitations imposed by the survey design and the nature of the measurements are highlighted     

Views from the field: program directors' perceptions of teacher education and the education of students who are deaf or hard of hearing

Arandom sample of directors of programs for the deaf in North America were surveyed to get their views about the skills that teacher education programs need to be teaching future teachers of students who are deaf or hard of hearing. The directors were queried about literacy practices, classroom management strategies, and communication strategies used in their programs, and were encouraged to comment freely on the questionnaire items presented to them. Program directors predicted a need for more itinerant and resource teachers. The survey also revealed that programs for the deaf are highly behaviorist (i.e., You do this and you'll get that) in the way they induce students to learn and in how they manage student behavior.     

Scientific Collaboration with Educators: Practical Insights from an in‐Class Noise‐Reduction Intervention

Moving the field of Mind, Brain, and Education forward requires researchers and educators to reframe the boundaries of their own discipline in order to create knowledge that is both scientifically based, and of practical relevance for education. We believe that this could be done by co‐constructing research projects from the start. We present a case study of a noise‐reduction intervention in elementary classrooms, in which teachers and researchers worked together from the onset of study design. We examine the processes behind: (1) selecting research questions and measures, (2) planning interventions, (3) receiving ethical approval and funding, (4) recruiting schools, and (5) collecting data. At each step, our study provides suggestions for future collaborative efforts, keeping in mind broader theoretical and methodological implications. We believe that our concrete examples and suggestions will be useful for beginning and confirmed researchers, as well as teachers aiming to know more about research projects.     

On the Nature and Role of English in Asia

The present paper is divided into eight sections:introduction,the global diffusion of English,perceptions of the new varieties,the issue of intelligibility,features that cause unintelligibility,need for a broader pragmatics,and pedagogical impli- cations,and conclusion,followed by the references.Not surprisingly,the global spread of English has generated varying perspec- tives on the nature and functions of its acculturated varieties.Broadly speaking,the debate has divided scholars into two camps holding diametrically opposing views on the multiple versions of English.On the one hand,some scholars view variations as symp- toms of linguistic degeneration and deterioration;on the other hand,some scholars legitimize them as inevitable manifestations ne- cessitated by the demands of the new cultural contexts.The normative view of the former camp stems,at least partly,from the problems the new forms of English pose in terms of international intelligibility.It is in this context that the paper examines the traditional,one-sided,native speaker-centred idea of intelligibility and the recent two-sided view of intelligibility that places the onus on both the native speaker and the non-native speaker.The argument of the latter camp is based on the premise that the new varieties require a broader pragmatic framework,because universal pragmatics is inadequate to describe them satisfactorily. Thus,the camp advocates a need for a language specific pragmatics,and a comparative pragmatics,in addition to the traditional universal pragmatics.Logically,the debate on phonological,lexical,grammatical,and discourse structure variations,and their le- gitimacy has prompted English language teaching specialists to have a fresh look at the goals and objectives of teaching English in the countries of the outer and expanding circles,and accordingly prioritize the teaching of national and regional varieties over that of the so-called native varieties.Thus,the paradigms of independence and centrality of the new varieties are replacing the paradigms of their dependence and marginality.     

Introduction to the research policy 20th anniversary special issue of the publication of “Profiting from Innovation” by David J. Teece

This introductory essay reviews the key contributions of David Teece's landmark paper “Profiting from Innovation” published in research policy in 1986. It summarises the contributions of each of the papers in the special issue. It then offers some perspectives on the key themes emerging from these papers, and on the broader challenges facing researchers, strategists and policymakers in the field of technology innovation today.