Inference making ability and its relation to comprehension failure in young children

Young children's reading comprehension skill is associated with their ability to draw inferences (Oakhill 1982, 1984). An experiment was conducted to investigate the direction of this relation and to explore possible sources of inferential failure. Three groups of children participated: Same-age skilled and less skilled comprehenders, and a comprehension-age match group. The pattern of performance indicated that the ability to make inferences was not a by-product of good reading comprehension, rather that good inference skills are a plausible cause of good reading comprehension ability. Failure to make inferences could not be attributed to lack of relevant general knowledge. Instead, the pattern of errors indicated that differences in reading strategy were the most likely source of these group differences.     

CPD: what The Library Association offers

This paper explores the role of The Library Association in providing and supporting opportunities for continuing professional development. Formal requirements for gaining qualifications are explained. The services and products of the Association designed specifically to meet the needs of those seeking formal professional development are outlined. Emphasis is placed on the opportunities offered to gain practical skills through active participation in professional activities. A brief conclusion points to the increasing emphasis on the need for continuing professional development at national level and within the profession.     

BIBCO Training and Its Influence on PCC Partnerships

Abstract

BIBCO is one of four programs in the PCC. This article summarizes the development of BIBCO and how its cataloging training program was strikingly different from the other three programs: NACO, CONSER and SACO. BIBCO grew out of the 1990–1991 recession which created widespread anxiety over the cost of original cataloging. BIBCO attempted to reduce the cost without sacrificing quality and increase record production through the use of core records. The early training emphasized the value of cooperation. PCC’s strength in this area is seen today in its partnerships and leadership in metadata initiatives such as linked data.     

Gender and Management in HEIs: Changing organisational and management structures

This paper reports on the second phase of a multi-country study examining cross cultural perspectives of gender and management in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). It examines the broader labour market context and legislative frameworks for higher education in each country and then analyses the literature on women in university management. The paper presents the findings of research with male and female senior managers about their perceptions of women as HEI managers within changing organisational and management structures. It concludes that although HEI’s are now largely aware of barriers to women getting into and on in senior management, they have not addressed the organisational structures and cultures that perpetuate this inequity.

     

Revisiting the dialogue on the transition from coteaching to inservice teaching: new frameworks, additional benefits and emergent issues

In this rejoinder, we respond to the major points made by Gallo-Fox (this forum), Beers (this forum), Carambo and Stickney (this forum), and Murphy, Carlisle and Beggs (this forum). We focus primarily on the benefits and considerations that stem from employing additional theoretical frameworks for analyzing research in coteaching. We also address some of the future directions that should be explored in coteaching research.

The Gutenberg‐e project: opportunities and challenges in publishing born‐digital monographs

The Gutenberg‐e project was created as an experiment to explore whether peer‐reviewed, born‐digital monographs would alter the way in which historical scholarship is presented, whether scholars would receive the same professional credit for these publications as for work published in print, and whether the project would enable publication of monographs that would otherwise be turned down by university presses for financial reasons. The project reached the following conclusions: authors and publishing staff collaborated in creating new models of scholarship and writing; over the course of the project, attitudes toward digital publications evolved toward acceptance of this new form of publication; the time and costs involved in creating these models exceeded expectations; continued experimentation is necessary in order to keep up with authors' growing expectations in publishing digital scholarship.     

Work placement experience: should I stay or should I go?

The opportunity to experience work placements that complement taught and practical courses in higher education has become a central strand of many undergraduate degree programmes. While there is tacit agreement that such placements are a good thing, in recent years the numbers of students opting for work placements has been declining. This paper uses a mixed method research design to probe the learning outcomes, attitudes and perceptions of undergraduate students who choose not to go on a work placement. Findings highlight some areas of concern that could be considered by institutions of higher education working to enhance good practice in students’ work placement experiences.     

What do students consider useful about student ratings?

Although measures of student ratings of instruction have been developed and examined empirically, students' attitudes about the utility of these ratings have yet to be meaningfully quantified. Using survey responses from 1229 students at a major Canadian university, we developed a psychometrically sound measure of the usefulness of student ratings. A principal components analysis with oblique rotation was conducted and three factors (Instructor characteristics, Course characteristics and Instructor's relative ranking) were obtained that explained 64% of the variance in six iterations. The usefulness of these three types of ratings information differs according to several student and course characteristics. The present results provide evidence for both reliability and validity of the instrument as an indicator of the utility of teaching evaluation for students.