Effects of training and assessment in vocational education and training (VET): Reflections on the methodology of assessing the development of traits of self-regulation

This article focuses on the development of traits of self-regulation within vocational education and training (VET). This perspective is in accordance with the general objective of VET within the German speaking countries and is addressed in the objective “education and training for the ability of self-directed planning, regulation and evaluation of vocational performance”. In order to foster these and other relevant abilities, specific vocational training programs were developed and implemented in a training center in Switzerland. One such program was evaluated in a longitudinal study. From 1999 to 2003, a cohort of more than 100 aprentices was monitored with respect to the development of vocational skills and traits. One of the instruments used was a German-language version of the Trait Self-Regulation- Questionnaire (TSRQ) by O'Neil and Herl (1988). Participants filled out the questionnaire 5 times in the course of their 4-year apprenticeship. In this article, a first focus of the data analysis is on the development of the traits of self-regulation over time, looking especially at self-efficacy according to Bandura (1997). Results indicate differential effects for subgroups among the trainees. In a second focus, the analysis reflects on the effects of using a self-evaluation instrument within the longitudinal study. In this respect, the issue of validity of measurement is under consideration.     

Educational Rehabilitation in the German Democratic Republic

AN OVERVIEW of educational rehabilitation of persons with disabilities in the German Democratic Republic is given. The authors describe the education system, the health and welfare services as well as the forms of training of special educators for persons with disabilities. The topics are discussed in the context of the theoretical background and of the current political changes in the country.     

Flexible goal imitation: Vicarious feedback influences stimulus-response binding by observation

This study investigated whether vicarious feedback influences binding processes between stimuli and observed responses. Two participants worked together in a shared color categorization task, taking the roles of actor and observer in turns. During a prime trial, participants saw a word while observing the other person executing a specific response. Automatic binding of words and observed responses into stimulus-response (S-R) episodes was assessed via word repetition effects in a subsequent probe trial in which either the same (compatible) or a different (incompatible) response had to be executed by the participants in response to the same or a different word. Results showed that vicarious prime feedback (i.e., the feedback that the other participant received for her or his response in the prime) modulated S-R retrieval effects: After positive vicarious prime feedback, typical S–R retrieval effects emerged (i.e., performance benefits for stimulus repetition probes with compatible responses, but performance costs for stimulus repetition probes with incompatible responses emerged). Notably, however, S–R-retrieval effects were reversed after vicarious negative prime feedback (meaning that stimulus repetition in the probe resulted in performance costs if prime and probe responses were compatible, and in performance benefits for incompatible responses). Findings are consistent with a flexible goal imitation account, according to which imitation is based on an interpretative and therefore feedback-sensitive reconstruction of action goals from observed movements. In concert with earlier findings, this data support the conclusion that transient S–R binding and retrieval processes are involved in social learning phenomena.     

Pacing and perceived exertion in endurance performance in exercise therapy and health sports

When humans are physically active for an extended period of time, they regulate their physical performance in order to achieve the intended goal of that activity with an individually adequate effort. This permanent conscious or subconscious proportioning of energetic reserves towards an endpoint is termed as “pacing”. While pacing has primarily attracted notice in endurance sports competition, it also plays a vital role in other contexts of physical activity, such as locomotion or transport, work, leisure, and prevention and rehabilitation. The current paper outlines some of the fundamentals of pacing and aims to stimulate a debate by highlighting the potential and limitations of a stronger consideration of pacing in exercise therapy and health sports from a biomedical and psychosocial perspective. Endurance training that focuses on the learning of pacing and the perception of exertion may improve the control competence as one component of physical-activity-related health competence. In terms of client orientation, this would strengthen participants’ autonomy in exercise configuration, and it might positively influence well-being, self-responsibility, compliance, and long-term training effects. In fact, professional societies see scope for defined target groups in cardiac prevention and rehabilitation to self-regulate their training intensity based on perceived exertion. However, the training effects and the risks of self-regulation have yet to be investigated more carefully in subjects who are not experienced with exercise. Further research is also needed on the mechanisms of perception of physiological strain and effort, as well as on approaches for optimal support of the learning of pacing to achieve control competence.     

Psychological Assessment of High Ability: worldwide‐used Wechsler's intelligence scales and their psychometric shortcomings

Because the psychological assessment of high ability usually concentrates on intelligence testing, it is pertinent to discuss the validity of intelligence test batteries. The well‐known Wechsler's scales are analyzed and evaluated. Based on psychometric models, especially the Rasch model, analyses are made of some German editions, which show that hardly a single subtest scores fairly. That is, the true extent of testees’ abilities will not be correctly represented by the scores obtained under current scoring rules. Since many of the items of the analyzed editions correspond to items of the American edition (WISC‐R), the same shortcomings must also be suspect for that test battery. In this light, the administration of these tests is no longer acceptable. However, it is shown that Wechsler's basic concept is worthwhile when accompanied by (modern) psychometric tools: a new (German) test battery, AID, is introduced which, in particular, conforms to economic requirements if high ability is to be assessed.     

The 2004 Benjamin Franklin Medal in Chemistry presented to Harry B. Gray

The Franklin Institute, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, awarded the 2004 Benjamin Franklin Medal in Chemistry to Harry B. Gray for his pioneering contributions in the field of electron transfer in metalloproteins. In a series of elegant and challenging experiments beginning in the late 70s, Gray and his coworkers have shown that the transfer of electrons in metalloproteins can proceed over long distances (~ 20 Å) and at fast rates. These experiments have involved the regiospecific functionalization of structurally characterized electron transfer proteins with ruthenium complexes, coupled with laser excitation and transient spectroscopy. Probing the effects of thermodynamic driving force, temperature, donor-acceptor distance and electronic coupling, Gray has shaped our detailed current understanding of the principles governing biological electron flow. The mechanism of electron transfer has been identified as electron tunneling mediated by the molecules separating donor and acceptor. Tunneling timetables have been established for various intervening media. Important biological processes like respiration and photosynthesis depend on facile electron transfer, and Gray's contribution serves as the fundamental basis for understanding these and many related reactions.     

The Challenge of Unification and the Reform of Higher Education in Germany

Because the reunification of Germany came suddenly in the form of the accession of the former German Democratic Republic (GDR) to the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG), the unification of the systems of higher education of the two parts of Germany came about in similar manner. As a result, the higher education institutions of the former GDR system assimilated many of the problems of the FRG system. It proved impossible to merge the systems slowly while both of them underwent reform. More than ten years after the reunification of Germany, it is time to bring about a reform of the higher education system of the whole country. Many reform proposals are on the table.