The Person‐Situation Issue. Endler's Rejection of Alker's Specificity‐Consistency Claim Once More 1 2

Nygård, R. 1979. The Person‐Situation Issue. Endler's Rejection of Alker's Specificity‐Consistency Claim Once More. Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research 23, 185‐198. After different conceptualizations of behavior in terms of person and situation variables have been outlined, Endler's (1973) response to Alker's (1972) arguments on situational specificity as a personality variable is discussed. It is shown that Endler's data do not warrant the conclusions drawn by him, that Alker's claim does not imply greater individual differences in behavior within groups of abnormals than within groups of normals, and that the idea of situational specificity as a personality variable means that behavior is explained in terms of personality by situation interactions.

It is argued that there is no antagonism between interactionbm and conditioned situationism or personologism. Alker's claim is expected to have a capacity to enrich the interactional approach found in achievement motivation research.

     

Optimizing Conditions for Learning: Situating Refutations in Epistemic Cognition

A refutation text is designed to promote conceptual change by explicitly acknowledging commonly held misconceptions about a topic, directly refuting them, and providing an accurate explanation. In this study, we determined the impact of different types of refutation texts on adolescent readers’ conceptual change learning in science. Specifically, we manipulated the way the correct conception was justified and explained following work in epistemic cognition. Three different types of justification were compared to a control condition: justification by authority, justification by multiple sources, and justification by personal opinion. The findings showed that learning effects were optimized when the correct conceptions were presented in terms of a corroborated consensus among multiple sources.     

Innovation and isomorphism: A case-study of university identity struggle 1969–1999

Higher education institutions face today strongpressure from institutional environments toadopt certain structures and management systemsfor reasons of legitimacy and survival.However, the external pressure is multifaceted, demanding organisational and educationalinnovations on one side and adjustments todeveloping national and international standardson the other. By studying a Norwegianuniversity from its establishment in 1969 to1999, and by extensive triangulation of morequalitative studies on this university in thisperiod, the paper concludes that highereducation institutions may handle this dilemmaby relating it to the continuous struggle fororganisational identity.     

Exposure to bullying,reactions and psychological adjustment of secondary school students

A sample of 575 secondary school students aged 11–15 years was administered a checklist on experiences of bullying, then divided into groups of victims, witnesses and not exposed, and by gender. Participants completed the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire on psychosocial adjustment. Victims and witnesses completed another questionnaire on the extent to which they would endorse retaliation/vengeance and avoidance towards the perpetrator. Girls reported being victimised significantly more than boys. Amongst victims, boys scored higher than girls on desire for retaliation/vengeance and on externalising behaviours; girls scored higher on internalising behaviour. Experience of bullying victimisation, rather than merely witnessing it or not being exposed to it, was associated with internalising behaviours for both boys and girls. These measures of psychosocial adjustment were associated with the desire for retaliation/vengeance. Implications are discussed of the links between gender, exposure to bullying, reactions and psychosocial adjustment of secondary school children.     

Assessing Children’s Social Functioning and Reading Proficiency: A Systematic Review of the Quality of Educational Assessment Instruments Used in Norwegian Elementary Schools

Social functioning and reading proficiency are critical for success in school and society. Therefore, identifying children with such problems is important. This study had 2 parts: first, a random sample of 234 elementary schools was surveyed about which instruments they use to assess reading proficiency and social functioning. Second, a systematic review of the quality of these instruments was conducted using international standards for examining the quality of assessment instruments. The survey showed that schools more often assessed and had more instruments available for reading than for social functioning. The systematic review of the assessment instruments used revealed that the psychometric qualities of many was weak or undocumented, while the dimensions of test material quality were generally good. The findings demonstrate a need for a more thorough examination of the psychometric properties of assessment instruments to be used in school.