UNDERSTANDING TEST‐TYPE ASSIGNMENT: WHY DO SPECIAL EDUCATORS MAKE UNEXPECTED TEST‐TYPE ASSIGNMENTS?

We interviewed special educators (a) whose students with disabilities (SWDs) were proficient on the 2008 general education assessment but were assigned to the 2009 alternate assessment based on modified achievement standards (AA‐MAS), and (b) whose students with mild disabilities took the 2008 alternate assessment based on alternate achievement standards (AA‐AAS) and then the 2009 AA‐MAS. We explored teachers’ rationales for test‐type assignment, student characteristics, and quality of instruction to determine the test‐type decisions’ appropriateness. All teachers based their decisions on combinations of factors in the guidelines plus subjective and noninstructional factors. Findings raised concerns about the subjectivity of the assessment assignment system and the inappropriate grade‐level instruction for SWDs. Future research, implications of these findings, and limitations are discussed.     

A comparison of Korean and American elementary educators’ self-determination practices

Korean general and special educators (n = 229) and American general and special educators (n = 348) were surveyed to explore (a) their perceptions of the importance of self-determination for students with disabilities, (b) how frequently they teach it, (c) the relationship between their perception of the importance of teaching self-determination and how often they teach it, and (d) the barriers they perceive that inhibit them from teaching it. American general and special educators attached higher importance to self-determination instruction than their Korean counterparts, but Korean educators taught self-determination skills to their students with disabilities more often than American educators did. There was greater incongruence between the value American educators placed on promoting self-determination and the time they devoted to teaching it than there was for Korean educators. Educators of both countries shared some perceived barriers to promoting self-determination (e.g., communication difficulty, students were too young, and other more urgent instructional needs), but each group cited barriers the other did not (e.g., teacher lacked sufficient skill, difficult to empathize with student, and no instructional latitude). Limitations and implications are discussed along with suggestions for future research.     

Reflections on a Job-Shadowing Experience

Various studies from the past 30 years indicate that the number of new, qualified catalogers is dwindling. This article explores the reasons why library students are being deterred from specializing in cataloging and suggests methods to improve the situation. One highly recommended solution is for library schools to promote job shadowing. Shadowing is a career exploration tool that can be beneficial for both students and practitioners. Both authors have experienced the benefits of shadowing and offer their perspectives on being a shadow and a host.     

Theme-Based Information Literacy Instruction

Theme-based library and information literacy instruction offers an innovative, challenging, and timely approach to teaching credit library courses. This mode of instruction creates a learning environment that enhances student engagement and expands the teaching repertoire of library instruction faculty. Two practical examples of this methodology are discussed.     

亚太（中国）金融并购 一笔交易 四步流程

从北京到班加罗尔。从悉尼到汉城．并购热潮席卷亚太金融服务业。2005年整个亚太地区银行、经纪和保险并购业务总额高达300亿美元，是过去十年来并购频繁程度排名第二的年度。显而易见，强劲的经济增长．颇具吸引力的目标公司价格促使国际投资者蜂拥在亚太金融市场下注。而中国在整个地区表现最为突出。 如何使并购交易能够成功，需遵守哪些规则．贝恩咨询公司最近的一项研究报告认为，他们与客户一起工作时发现，成功的并购交易，在甄别、评估和整合潜在目标公司以显著增加成功机会方面．以下四步流程的运作与管理显得确乎重要。[编者按]     

Bodily Regulation and Vocational Schooling

Since the late 1980s, young women in South Korea (hereafter Korea) have had to satisfy certain physical requirements in order to gain low-status clerical jobs in larger corporations. This article analyses the impact of these physical requirements on commercial high school education and the subjectivity of the female students. The discussion revolves around three main issues: (1) the socio-economic contexts in which large companies have come to demand certain physical characteristics of lower status female clerical workers; (2) the responses of commercial high schools and female students; and (3) the theoretical implications of this study.     

Do reductions in class size raise students’ test scores? Evidence from population variation in Minnesota's elementary schools

Many U.S. states and cities spend substantial funds to reduce class size, especially in elementary (primary) school. Estimating the impact of class size on learning is complicated, since children in small and large classes differ in many observed and unobserved ways. This paper uses a method of Hoxby (2000) to assess the impact of class size on the test scores of grade 3 and 5 students in Minnesota. The method exploits random variation in class size due to random variation in births in school and district catchment areas. The results show that reducing class size increases mathematics and reading test scores in Minnesota. Yet these impacts are very small; a decrease of ten students would increase test scores by only 0.04–0.05 standard deviations (of the distribution of test scores). Thus class size reductions are unlikely to lead to sizeable increases in student learning.     

Development of the human interaction dimension of the Self‐Regulated Learning Questionnaire in asynchronous online learning environments

Two studies focusing on the development and validation of the Online Self‐Regulated Learning Inventory (OSRLI) were conducted. The OSRLI is a self‐report instrument assessing the human interaction dimension of online self‐regulated learning. It consists of an affect/motivation scale and an interaction strategies scale. In Study 1, exploratory factor analysis of an initial affect/motivation item pool yielded four factors: enjoyment of human interaction, self‐efficacy for interaction with instructors, concern for interaction with students, and self‐efficacy for contributing to the online community. Exploratory factor analysis of an initial learning strategies item pool revealed three factors: writing strategies, responding strategies, and reflection strategies. In Study 2, confirmatory factor analysis was conducted in order to evaluate the stability of multidimensional factor structures. These exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses showed the OSRLI to be statistically moderate in terms of reliability and validity.     

Disciplinary enculturation experiences of five East Asian doctoral students in US-based second language studies programmes

This study reports on the non-discursive aspects of the disciplinary enculturation experiences of five international doctoral students from East Asia in three Second Language studies graduate programmes in the United States. Based largely on interview data, this study examined how students participate in their graduate discourse communities and what may contribute to or hinder academic success. It appeared that the kinds of social capital accrued through social ties and networks are key to students' successful disciplinary enculturation, suggesting the importance of establishing positive personal interactions and locating oneself within supportive discourse community contexts. The present study also sheds light on the issue that disciplinary enculturation is an inherent cultural practice, which may not favour students who do not adopt mainstream socio-academic conventions.