The meaning of curriculum-related examination standards in Scotland and England: a home–international comparison

Abstract

The ways in which examination standards are conceptualised and operationalised differently across nations has not been given sufficient attention. The international literature on standard-setting has been dominated by the psychometrics tradition. Broader conceptualisations of examination standards have been discussed in the literature in England, which has curriculum-related examinations at the end of schooling. There has, however, been little analysis of conceptualisations of examination standards in Scotland. Different education systems and examinations operate in Scotland and England, and the stated value positions and processes relating to examination standards differ markedly. This paper critically examines policy positions on assessment standards in Scotland and England through the lens of recent theories of standard-setting. By analysing public statements on standards, the paper illuminates similarities and differences in conceptual bases and operational approaches, and examines the effects of these on outcomes for candidates. We conclude that both systems are operationalising attainment-referencing, but with different processes in Scotland and England and these practices do not fit within previous examination standards classifications. As such, the paper moves examination standards theory forward by concluding that there is at least one superordinate definitional category that draws upon more than one definitional stance.     

Alternative Conceptions: Turning Adversity into Advantage

Research in Science Education - While a vast body of research has identified difficulties in students’ understanding about forces and acceleration and their related alternative conceptions,...     

Environmental Education through Hiking: a qualitative investigation

The increasing popularity of outdoor activities, especially hiking, indicates that people are looking for new ways to interact with the natural environment. Hiking could play a role in environmental education by exposing people to cases of environmental deterioration and so raise an awareness of environmental problems. The contribution of hiking in developing a basic understanding of the environment and its problems could result in feelings of concern that lead to active involvement in resolving environmental issues. A qualitative investigation was carried out which involved the completion of three 5 day trails by the same five subjects. Each hiker was required to make daily notes on each hike, which were subsequently analysed. The purpose of the investigation was to ascertain what people notice in the environment during hikes and whether this could influence environmental education. Four themes were identified on analysis of the daily responses, namely the natural and physical environment, trail aspects, each hiker's physical and psychological preparedness and cognitive development and social aspects ranging from group interaction to human impact on the environment. Each of these themes is described and supplemented with appropriate quotations from the daily responses.     

A role of team and organizational identification in the success of cause-related sport marketing

As sport marketers are increasingly engaging in cause-related sport marketing (CRSM) programs, there is a growing interest in understanding what CRSM characteristics and circumstances can lead to success. This study extends prior research by examining the direct and moderating impacts of team identification and cause organizational identification on consumer attitudes toward cause related sport marketing (CRSM) programs using intercollegiate sport contexts in the United States. A two groups (high vs. low-fit CRSM messages), between subject, and post-test only experiment (N = 309) denoted that respondents showed more positive attitudes toward high-fit CRSM messages and both team identification and cause organizational identification had different moderating effects of sport/cause fit on attitudes. Fit between a sport team and a cause had a greater impact on attitudes when consumer affinity toward the sport team was more positive. However, fit had little or no impact when consumer affinity toward the cause was positive, but it played a significant and positive role when consumers showed low affinity toward the cause.     

Intelligence assessment: Gardner multiple intelligence theory as an alternative

In the multiple intelligence framework, newer and more contextualized cognitive tasks are suggested as alternative to more traditional psychometric tests. The purpose of this article is to examine whether or not these two types of instruments converge into a general factor of cognitive performance. Thus, the Battery of General and Differential Aptitudes (BADyG: reasoning, memory, verbal aptitude, numerical aptitude and spatial aptitude) and a set of Gardner's multiple intelligence assessment tasks (linguistic, logical, visual/spatial, bodily-kinesthetic, naturalistic and musical intelligences) were administered to 294 children aged 5 to 7. The confirmatory factor analysis points out the absence of a common general factor considering both batteries, indicating instead the existence of two general factors, which gather the tests that encompass them. Also, these two general factors correspond to traditional and multiple intelligence assessments and show a statistically moderate correlation between them. These results challenge Gardner's original position on refusing a general factor of intelligence, especially when considering the cognitive dimensions measured which do not coincide with the more traditional tests of intelligence.