Child abuse: adolescent records vs. adult recall

In a follow-up study of incarcerated Connecticut youth, 69 subjects were interviewed during young adulthood. On follow-up, 26 gave histories of abuse discrepant with histories obtained from records and interviews conducted in adolescence. Eleven subjects agreed to an additional clarification interview, at which time they were apprised of the discrepancies. Of these, eight had adolescent records indicating that abuse had occurred but denied abuse during the adult follow-up interview. The remaining three had adolescent records indicating no abuse had ever occurred, but, on follow-up, reported having been abused. The additional clarification interviews revealed that all 11 subjects with discrepant histories had, in fact, been abused. Reasons for these discrepant data and strategies to enhance the investigator's ability to obtain accurate data regarding abuse are discussed.     

Validity of self-reported reading disability by parents of reading-disabled and control children

Composite reading scores obtained from parents of 125 reading-disabled children and 125 matched control children who participated in the Colorado Family Reading Study were used to test the validity of self-reported reading problems. Parents who reported that they encountered serious difficulty learning to read had significantly lower reading scores than did those who reported no positive history of reading problems. Moreover, this difference was larger for parents of reading-disabled children than for those of controls. Thus, parental self-reports provide a valid index of reading problems.     

Managerial behavior of college chairpersons and administrators

To explore Daft's dual-core model of educational organization, this study compares the managerial behavior of academic department chairpersons and nonacademic unit managers across 140 colleges and universities. For the study, 6,357 faculty and administrators completed questionnaires that profiled their formal leader's behavior, their work group characteristics, and their personal satisfaction. Of 54 variables submitted to discriminant analysis, 31 discriminated the bureaucratic units from the academic groups. Managers of the two types of group behave differently in ways consistent with their distinct group tasks. The empirically derived role profiles of the academic and nonacademic managers are discussed, as are the implications of the findings for institutional researchers, change agents, and trainers of college managers.This article is based in part upon a paper presented at the Seventh Annual European AIR Forum, Copenhagen, Denmark, 1985.     

Early Intervention Practices for Children With Autism: Descriptions From Community Providers

Across the country, states are reporting increases in the number of children with autism enrolled in the education system. Although a few specific treatment methods have been established as efficacious for some children with autism in controlled settings, research examining the translation of these treatments into early intervention programs has been minimal. The current study examined provider self-reports of the use of interventions in community settings through focus groups. Providers report the use of both evidence-based and non-evidence-based techniques and indicate that they often combine and modify these techniques based on child, personal, and external factors. Few providers had a clear understanding of evidence-based practice, and all providers reported concerns about adequate training. Implications for early intervention research are discussed.     

Reflective pedagogy: the integration of methodology and subject-matter content in a graduate-level course

This article presents a critical reflection on how we, instructors of a graduate-level course in higher education administration, sought to integrate theoretical and subject-matter content and research methodology. Our reflection, guided by autoethnography and teacher reflection, challenged both our assumptions about curriculum design and our process of designing and teaching the redesigned course. We found that our efforts to integrate course content and methodology differed from students’ prior experiences and resulted in a disconnection between their experience and the intended course learning objectives. Recommendations include understanding the degree program culture and students’ course expectations, using assignments that facilitate learning of both theory and methods, and balancing classroom discussion among theory, methodology, and the integration of the two.     

Pedagogical Considerations for Examining Rater Variability in Rater‐Mediated Assessments: A Three‐Model Framework

Rater‐mediated assessments are a common methodology for measuring persons, investigating rater behavior, and/or defining latent constructs. The purpose of this article is to provide a pedagogical framework for examining rater variability in the context of rater‐mediated assessments using three distinct models. The first model is the observation model, which includes ecological/environmental considerations for the evaluation system. The second model is the measurement model, which includes the transformation of observed, rater response data to linear measures using a measurement model with specific requirements of rater‐invariant measurement in order to examine raters’ construct‐relevant variability stemming from the evaluative system. The third model is the interaction model, which includes an interaction parameter to allow for the investigation into raters’ systematic, construct‐irrelevant variability stemming from the evaluative system. Implications for measurement outcomes and validity are discussed.     

Comparing Student Performance and Growth in 2- and 4-Year Institutions

This study examines the organizational characteristics of 51 higher education institutions in relationship to student performance and growth. The study first finds that organizational measures of mission, size, wealth, complexity, and selectivity are statistically represented by the 2-year versus 4-year college mission. Findings indicate that 2-year and 4-year campuses indeed do exert significantly different influences on undergraduate GPA and self-reported intellectual growth. Next, the study uses both OLS regression and HLM to examine these influences. High school percentile rank and college classroom experiences are better predictors of Cum GPA at 4-year institutions, while student effort is a better predictor of GPA at 2-year institutions. Whereas the most important predictors of Cum GPA include precollege measures such as high school percentile rank and SAT score, the most influential predictors of student intellectual growth are campus experiences including classroom vitality, peer support, student effort, commitment, and involvement. Controlling for all other variables, students at 2-year institutions receive higher grades, and students at 4-year campuses experience more growth.