Concurrent Validity of the standard progressive matrices for Hispanic and nonHispanic and seventh-grade students

Correlations between the Standard Progressive Matrices test (SPM) and the California Achievement Test, Reading, Language, and Mathematics Tests were examined for 99 Hispanic and 93 nonHispanic Caucasian seventh-grade students in the Southwest. All correlations were highly significant, indicating concurrent validity of the SPM. Correlations computed separately for Hispanic and nonHispanic students also were compared; those differences were not significant. This evidence supports the continued use of the SPM as a measure of nonverbal intellectual ability for Hispanic and nonHispanic students.     

The accreditation plus model

Summary Evaluation of teacher education became a major thrust of a Center for Excellence in teacher education when the Tennessee Higher Education Commission (THEC) established the project in 1986. A major accomplishment in the project was realized when the Accreditation Plus Model was amalgamated for the project's evaluation approach. A-Plus! Thorough study of existing evaluation approaches were convincing. No one approach seemed capable of doing the task. At the same time it seems ludicrous to create a new evaluation approach to add to the existing 40 or so models.As an evaluation form, Accrediatation Plus has a long history. It goes back to 1895 when staff members of the University of Michigan tried to determine the quality of secondary schools to decide whose graduates ought to be readily admitted into the University of Michigan. At the start (in the late 1890s), accreditation focused on program evaluation. The evaluation need in the work of the Center for Teacher Education Evaluation was the same—the quality assessment of education programs.The idea of eclecticism moves in the same general direction. By recognition that accreditation is not the be all and end all in evaluating teacher education programs, the Center keeps open the use of any/all the existing models in an application of the Accreditation Plus Model. Eclecticism means selecting what appears to be the best in various doctrines, methods, or styles. It also means being composed of elements drawn from the various sources. In selecting A-Plus as the evaluation approach for the project, we capitalize on a long and effective history supplemented by the best of the current crop.Figure 1 represents the evaluation of teacher education using the accreditation approach. It describes the model's components and in some places, the relationships of those elements. The Center's staff is working to detail further the elements of the accreditation approach to evaluation. Questions and comments are welcomed as we move further with this work.now on Sabbatical     

Helping children build self-esteem

Children in day care and early childhood programs are becoming more at-risk in the development of appropriate self-esteem. This is evidenced by a number of inappropriate practices in some programs. These practices include a heavy emphasis on testing, homogeneous grouping, the use of a large number of worksheets, heavy drill, and long periods of sitting and listening (Manning & Manning, 1981). Teachers and day care providers can have a great impact on a child's self-esteem. This article is concerned with helping teachers by answering the following questions: What is self-esteem? What are the requirements for high self-esteem? What can a teacher do to encourage appropriate self-esteem?     

Faculty development in the United States

This report gives an overview of faculty development in the United States during the past 30 years and suggests what remains to be done before this movement becomes fully institutionalized in American higher education.Jerry G. Gaff is Vice President at the Association of American Colleges. His degrees are at DePauw University (A.B.) and Syracuse University (Ph.D.) with specialization in psychology. He helped pioneer the establishment of campus-based faculty development programs in the 1970s, has worked on improving undergraduate general education programs, and currently directs a new project to prepare future faculty members for their roles in teaching and service, as well as research. Ronald D. Simpson is Director of the Office of Instructional Development at The University of Georgia, where he also is professor of Higher Education and Science Education. He holds degrees from The University of Tennessee and The University of Georgia.     

Programmed student achievement: A Hawthorne Effect?

Three groups of college students were given instructions using different testing techniques to determine whether the superior performance obtained with Programmed Student Achievement (PA) was due to a Hawthorne Effect. PA students, operating under the consequence of failing the course if they failed to evidence criterion performance (100% mastery) on weekly quizzes, exhibited superior performance, relative to control groups, on the weekly quizzes and on an unannounced retention test. The results seem to preclude any attempt to interpret the effectiveness of Programmed Student Achievement on the basis of a Hawthorne Effect.     

A Project‐Based Approach to Executive Education

Executive education (EE) has been an important part of business school offerings for nearly as long as there have been business schools. Similarly, business schools were among the first in higher education to adopt online approaches as a means for course delivery. Despite this experience, few business schools have been able to successfully integrate EE with online delivery approaches. This study suggests that a project‐based approach can achieve EE/online delivery integration. The case is first made for a project‐based approach by telling the story of our institution's journey toward a project‐based EE model. Challenges, successes, and plans for the future are then discussed.     

Intergroup Attitudes among Ethnic Minority Adolescents: A Causal Model

To examine the influence of ethnic idenilty and intergroup contact on adolescents' attitudes toward other ethnic groups, we studied eighth and eleventh graders from 2 predominantly non-white school districts. Surveys completed by 547 adolescents from 3 ethnic groups (133 African Americans, 219 Latinos, and 195 Asian Americans) assessed in-group and out-group attitudes, out-group interaction, out-group contact, and ethnic identity. A causal model suggested 2 pathways leading to positive out-group attitudes. In one pathway, ethnic identity increased with age and predicted positive in-group attitudes; these attitudes contributed to positive out-group attitudes. In a separate pathway, ethnic diversity outside of schcool led to more out-group interaction in school, which in turn predicted positive out-group attitudes. The results support developmental and multiculturalism views of intergroup relations.