How are the Perceptions of Learning Networks Shaped Among School Professionals and Headteachers at an Early Stage in their Introduction?

This paper draws on the findings of a research project funded by the Liverpool City of Learning consortium in the UK. The aim is to explore the process of introduction of ten authority wide learning networks, the impact these have on school professionals practice, the opportunities they offer for CPD and the extent to which they may impact on pupil learning. The research presented here draws on findings from a questionnaire distributed to school professionals and key issues emerging from their analysis point to the influence of national government agendas on school professionals’ interpretation of the purpose of the networks. They also point to the views of staff regarding the impact of the attainment agenda as well as the extent to which an increased emphasis on social inclusion and wider understandings of learning and achievement (which are less well represented by results-based performance monitoring) are having on their hopes for what Learning Networks might deliver. The expectations of staff of the opportunities offered by learning networks for long term professional development provide some interesting insights, and perhaps, some useful pointers as to how networks of this kind might develop in the future.     

Local Dependence in an Operational CAT: Diagnosis and Implications

The accuracy of CAT scores can be negatively affected by local dependence if the CAT utilizes parameters that are misspecified due to the presence of local dependence and/or fails to control for local dependence in responses during the administration stage. This article evaluates the existence and effect of local dependence in a test of Mathematics Knowledge. Diagnostic tools were first used to evaluate the existence of local dependence in items that were calibrated under a 3PL model. A simulation study was then used to evaluate the effect of local dependence on the precision of examinee CAT scores when the 3PL model was used for selection and scoring. The diagnostic evaluation showed strong evidence for local dependence. The simulation suggested that local dependence in parameters had a minimal effect on CAT score precision, while local dependence in responses had a substantial effect on score precision, depending on the degree of local dependence present.     

Assessment of Autism Symptoms From 6 to 18 Months of Age Using the Autism Observation Scale for Infants in a Prospective High-Risk Cohort

The objectives were to characterize behavioral signs of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in younger siblings of diagnosed children (high-risk; HR) and examine classification features of the Autism Observation Scale for Infants (AOSI). Participants (501 HR and 180 low-risk [LR]) were assessed between 6 and 18 months using the AOSI and at age 3 for ASD diagnoses. Total AOSI scores differentiated HR infants later diagnosed with ASD starting at 12 months. ROC analyses identified 12- and 18-month cutoff scores associated with 0.52 sensitivity and 0.74 specificity and 0.73 sensitivity and 0.65 specificity, respectively. Although classification accuracy does not support use as a standalone screen, the AOSI identifies features associated with ASD starting at 6 months and differentiates HR infants with ASD by 12 months.     

Psychology,market pressures,and pricing decisions in higher education: the case of the US private sector

Higher Education - We examine listed tuition and institutional aid practices within the US private sector, a sector where market pressures are relatively strong and consequently influence...     

Learning from Self-Diagnosis Activities when Contrasting Students’ Own Solutions with Worked Examples: the Case of 10th Graders Studying Geometric Optics

Research in Science Education - Self-diagnosis activities require students to self-diagnose their solutions to problems they solved on their own by detecting and explaining their errors. Worked...     

A follow-up power analysis of the statistical tests used in the Journal of Research in Science Teaching

It has been two decades since the first power analysis of a psychological journal and 10 years since the Journal of Research in Science Teaching made its contribution to this debate. One purpose of this article is to investigate what power-related changes, if any, have occurred in science education research over the past decade as a result of the earlier survey. In addition, previous recommendations are expanded and expounded upon within the context of more recent work in this area. The absence of any consistent mode of presenting statistical results, as well as little change with regard to power-related issues are reported. Guidelines for reporting the minimal amount of information demanded for clear and independent evaluation of research results by readers are also proposed.     

The influence of using a word processor on children’s story writing

In this work we tested the hypothesis that using a word processor for some months might produce a shift in the text production strategies used by fourth grade elementary school children. Children were expected to focus more on decisions of higher-order level, and to postpone the lower-order level choices to the revision phase. 51 Italian children attending the fourth elementary school grade participated in the study. 28 children formed the experimental group; they used the computer for various activities throughout the school year. 23 children formed the control group — they simply followed the normal curriculum for that school grade. Comparisons of hand-written Pre-test and Post-test narratives by the two groups showed the existence of significant differences between stories written by the experimental group after the training with the word processor, and by the control group. The results support our hypotheses that experimental children write longer texts but make more grammatical errors than control children. There were instead no relevant differences between hand-written and computer-written stories by the experimental group. This result shows that the shift in strategies induced by the use of a word processor is resistent to a change in setting.