A Validity Framework for Evaluating the Technical Quality of Alternate Assessments

This article presents findings from two projects designed to improve evaluations of technical quality of alternate assessments for students with the most significant cognitive disabilities. We argue that assessment technical documents should allow for the evaluation of the construct validity of the alternate assessments following the traditions of Cronbach (1971) , Messick (1989, 1995) , Linn, Baker, and Dunbar (1991) , and Shepard (1993) . The projects used the work of Knowing What Students Know ( Pellegrino, Chudowsky, & Glaser, 2001 ) to structure and focus the collection and evaluation of assessment information. The heuristic of the assessment triangle ( Pellegrino et al., 2001 ) was particularly useful in emphasizing that the validity evaluation needs to consider the logical connections among the characteristics of the students tested and how they develop domain proficiency (the cognition vertex), the nature of the assessment (the observation vertex), and the ways in which the assessment results are interpreted (the interpretation vertex). This project has shown that in addition to designing more valid assessments, the growing body of knowledge about the psychology of achievement testing can be useful for structuring evaluations of technical quality.     

Teaching Literacy through Braille in Mainstream Settings whilst Promoting Inclusion: Reflections on Our Practice

We would describe teaching literacy through braille as one of the most rewarding and challenging aspects of the role of a Qualified Teacher for the Visually Impaired (QTVI). This article focuses on teaching literacy through braille in mainstream settings whilst promoting inclusion and meeting the social–emotional needs of children who use braille. It aims to share good practice and is based on reflections from our own practice and research carried out by some of the authors. The article considers the impact of vision impairment on opportunities for literacy development, the main challenges QTVIs working in a peripatetic (itinerary) way face, as well as what works well and how we can overcome these challenges. The article describes what characterises good practice in teaching braille, describes effective collaborative work between teachers, other professionals and parents, and analyses how to promote inclusion whilst ensuring pupils access the specialist curriculum and individualised instruction.     

Gender differences in mathematics and science: the role of the actiotope in determining individuals’ achievements and confidence in their own abilities

Despite changes, gender differences in math and science continue to exist in some countries. We examined whether the actiotopes of boys and girls at the high school level in math and science differed and the extent to which (a) their actiotope components, (b) the progressive development of their actiotopes (dynamic perspective), and (c) the co-adaptation of their actiotopes (systems perspective) function as predictors for girls’ and boys’ achievements and confidence in one’s own abilities in math and science. To answer these questions, we examined girls and boys (N?=?361) in Canada, the Czech Republic, and Germany with a questionnaire. The results suggest that girls are less effective at progressively developing their actiotopes in the fields of math and science and that modifications in their actiotopes were less well balanced by stabilizing forces. Independent of gender, the actiotope aspects considered here are suited to predicting achievements and confidence in one’s own abilities in math and science.     

Adult Attachment States of Mind: Measurement Invariance Across Ethnicity and Associations With Maternal Sensitivity

This study examined the developmental significance of mothers' adult attachment representations assessed prenatally with the Adult Attachment Interview in relation to observed maternal sensitivity at 6 months postpartum in an ethnically diverse sample (N = 131 African American; N = 128 European American). Multiple‐group confirmatory factor analyses provided evidence for partial measurement invariance of a two‐factor dismissing and preoccupied latent structure of adult attachment across the two ethnic groups of women. African American women showed modest elevations on the preoccupied factor relative to European American women. Although the dismissing factor showed an empirically equivalent negative association with maternal sensitivity in both ethnic groups, this effect was reduced to marginal significance when controlling for maternal socioeconomic status.     

Bullying May Be Fueled by the Desperate Need to Belong

Human beings have a fundamental need to belong, for ongoing positive interactions with others who provide companionship and caring (Baumeister & Leary, 1995 Baumeister, R. F., & Leary, M. R. (1995). The need to belong: Desire for interpersonal attachments as a fundamental human motivation. Psychological Bulletin, 117, 497–529. doi: 10.1037/0033-2909.117.3.497.[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]). Children may hit, exclude, or harass others electronically because when their own needs for belongingness are threatened, or when they want to enhance their own status, they lash out and hurt others in the way they think will be most painful, by engaging in behaviors that undermine the target's sense of belongingness. For reasons discussed herein, children and adolescents might be especially vulnerable to desperate needs for belongingness. Viewing bullying as motivated by the need to belong has profound implications for prevention and intervention programs to reduce bullying.     

‘You want the best for your kids’: improving educational outcomes for children living in poverty through parental engagement

Background: Existing evidence suggests a relationship between family social contexts, family relationships and interactions, children’s social and cognitive development and educational outcomes. Interventions that assist families in relation to parenting and supporting children’s development can have positive effects on both parents’ skills and the educational progress of their children.

Purpose: This article reports on a study conducted in an area with high levels of social and economic deprivation in Scotland, which aimed to investigate the nature and effectiveness of the services in place to support poor families. The project focused on capturing the experiences of parents and what they perceived as effective support from the nursery and school staff in terms of getting them more involved in their children’s learning.

Sample: There was a particular focus on the four-to-seven-year age group, thus covering the crucial transition from pre-school (or non-school) provision to primary school. A sample of three Early Education & Childcare Centres (EECCs) and three schools were selected. The schools and EECCs were all from areas of high social deprivation and had a high proportion of children on free school meals.

Design and methods: The study was qualitative in design and included in-depth semi-structured interviews with 19 service managers and practitioners, six focus groups with parents and six activity groups with children. Data were analysed using both pre-determined and emerging codes.

Results: While all parents recognised the value of education for their children’s social mobility and opportunities and were keen to engage in activities, they remained aware of the limited resources they could draw upon, mainly in terms of their restricted academic competencies, specialist knowledge and qualifications. The desire to help their children overcome their families’ economic circumstances was also hampered by the absence of strong social and kinship networks that they could draw upon.

Conclusions: We draw on concepts of social and cultural capital to examine parents’ positioning in relation to their children’s education. The conclusion highlights parents’ strategic orientation to school/nurseries, often seen as a resource of cultural capital, and calls for a more positive discourse of parental engagement in relation to disadvantaged groups.