Education–occupation mismatch: Is there an income penalty?

This paper adds to the sparse literature on the consequences of education–occupation mismatches. It examines the income penalty for field of education–occupation mismatches for men and women with higher education degrees in Sweden and reveals that the penalty for such mismatches is large for both men and women. For mismatched men the income penalty is about twice as large as that found for US men, whereas for women the penalty is of about the same size as for US women. Controlling for cognitive ability further establishes that the income penalty is not caused by a sorting by ability, at least for Swedish men. The income penalty for men decreases with work experience, which is an indication that education-specific skills and work experience are substitutes to some extent.     

Work-related burnout syndrome in special education teachers working with children with developmental disorders – possible correlations with some socio-demographic aspects and assertiveness

ABSTRACT

The aim of this research was to examine the levels of burnout syndrome dimensions in special education teachers and correlations with some socio-demographic characteristics, job characteristics, and levels of assertiveness. The research included 225 special education teachers from Serbia (82% were women, 18% were men, with the average age of 42.51 ± 9.23 years). Research instruments included Maslach Burnout Inventory, Rathus Assertiveness Schedule, and a socio-demographic questionnaire. There were differences in all burnout dimensions in relation to types of students’ special needs. Higher levels of burnout symptoms were observed in teachers working with children with motor skill disorders. The assertiveness scores had a significant negative correlation with emotional exhaustion and depersonalisation, and a positive correlation with a lack of accomplishment. The results obtained may help in the planning of the adequate preventative measures for improving the mental health of those professionals.     

Developmental stability and changes in the impact of root consistency on children’s spelling

The study reported here examined grade 2–4 children’s sensitivity to the consistency in the spelling of roots in related words. We build on earlier research by attempting to quantify the extent that children’s spellings of both inflected and derived forms accord with this principle. We contrasted children’s accuracy and consistency in spelling the root form (e.g., rock) with that of its spelling in related inflected and derived forms (e.g., rocks and rocky), as well as unrelated control forms (e.g., rocket). Across grades 2–4, children’s spellings accorded with the root consistency principle to the same extent for inflected and derived forms. Nevertheless, it was not until grade 4 that spellings maximally reflected the principle. These results are discussed in terms of how children’s spelling might come to reflect the root consistency principle that guides spelling in English.     

The national politics of educational advocacy in the context of global governance: international funding and support for civil society engagement in Cambodia

This paper examines the Civil Society Education Fund’s (CSEF) impact on the non-governmental organisation education partnership (NEP) in Cambodia. With financial backing from the World Bank and the Fast Track Initiative, the CSEF is an initiative that is managed internationally by the Global Campaign for Education. Its goal is to help national networks of non-governmental organizations participate in education decision-making and to serve as a watchdog for progress related to internationally agreed upon goals. Through the CSEF, the deployment of various strategies, and other external factors, the NEP was able to able to achieve recognition, legitimacy and influence at the national level. However, the NEP has had to balance working with the state and working for the state. This case study highlights strategies used by civil society actors to engage state actors, the efficacy of international support, and the conflicts inherent in both.     

Parents’ perceptions of parent–teacher relationship practices in Dutch primary schools – an exploratory pilot study

This paper shows how parents’ perceptions of parent–teacher relationship practices differ between different types of schools with respect to children’s special needs and the socio-economic status of these children. Using a questionnaire, we compare parents’ views from two special education schools, two at-risk schools serving low SES-children, and two mainstream primary education schools in the southern part of the Netherlands. The theoretical framework is based on Epstein’s Model of Parental Involvement. The results illustrate that parents and teachers in special education and at-risk schools are very much accustomed to ‘two-way communication’, in contrast to mainstream schools, and that this is valued highly by these parents. Furthermore, teachers in special and at-risk schools are more familiar with interacting with parents, involve them more in decision-making and more often co-ordinate homework practice with parents.     

Identifying high-functioning dyslexics: is self-report of early reading problems enough?

We used a questionnaire to identify university students with self-reported difficulties in reading acquisition during elementary school (self-report; n=31). The performance of the self-report group on standardized measures of word and non-word reading and fluency, passage comprehension and reading rate, and phonological awareness was compared to that of two other groups of university students: one with a recent diagnosis (diagnosed; n=20) and one with no self-reported reading acquisition problems (comparison group; n=33). The comparison group outperformed both groups with a history of reading difficulties (self-report and diagnosed) on almost all measures. The self-report and diagnosed groups performed similarly on most tasks, with the exception of untimed reading comprehension (better performance for diagnosed) and reading rate (better performance for self-report). The two recruitment methods likely sample from the same underlying population but identify individuals with different adaptive strategies.     

Evaluation of mobile assessment in a learning management system

This article discusses the problem of using and delivering educational content from the Moodle learning management system to mobile devices. The primary goal of this study was to investigate the students' habits, motivations and technical possibilities in order to incorporate mobile‐learning activities in the e‐learning process. A mobile quiz has been chosen as an activity to be delivered on mobile devices. The developed mobile quiz application was integrated into Moodle. The application interface was tailored to various types of mobile devices aiming to foster mainstreaming of mobile technologies in e‐learning. For the purposes of the evaluation, an experiment was conducted within the e‐learning system at the Faculty of Organizational Sciences, the University of Belgrade. Data were obtained from the students who attended e‐learning courses in the area of e‐business. Research findings have shown that integration of the mobile quiz application into Moodle improves students' results and increases satisfaction and motivation for using mobile devices in their learning process.     

A Journal from the South: Lithuanian Papers

The Australian peer-reviewed journal Lithuanian Papers has been published since 1987 in Hobart, Tasmania. The editor summarizes its history and invites readers to subscribe.