Evaluation of the Parent-implemented Communication Strategies (PiCS) project using the Multiattribute Utility (MAU) approach

We conducted a multiattribute utility (MAU) evaluation to assess the Parent-Implemented Communication Strategies (PiCS) project which was funded by the Institute of Education Sciences (IES). In the PiCS project parents of young children with developmental disabilities are trained and coached in their homes on naturalistic and visual teaching strategies to enhance their children’s social-pragmatic communication skills. This report focuses on the evaluation process, the application of the MAU approach to evaluate the PiCS project, the results of the evaluation, and a discussion of the benefits and concerns related to the use of the MAU approach to conduct a comprehensive evaluation.     

Children’s Drawing in the UK and China

We report the results of a comparative study of drawings completed by 952 children aged between 6–13 years in the UK and Chinese ordinary schools. Although there was no significant difference in standard between the drawings of these two cultural groups the drawings of 240 children who attended a week-end art school in Beijing were given consistently higher ratings. In addition, there were noticeable differences in style, composition, colour and depth cues among all three samples.     

Lifelong learning for elders in Hong Kong: policy and practice

ABSTRACT

This article explores non-traditional student and graduate views of the university in Ireland and Portugal as it relates to their expectations of, and experiences in, the labour market. The research is based on in-depth biographical interviews with 61 non-traditional students and graduates conducted longitudinally (85 interviews in total). The article contextualises the research in relation to the expansion of higher education internationally as well as national and EU policies aimed at supporting a ‘knowledge-based economy’. It offers an overview of the meaning of precarity. It then outlines key empirical findings from the research related to student expectations of their degree and their post-graduation experience in the labour market. In particular, it explores the phenomenon of precarity amongst graduates how this is experienced and handled in various ways. Using a critical and egalitarian lens the overall aim of the research is to widen the focus of widening participation debates and explore how educational and institutional initiatives impact, or not, on wider social and employment inequalities.     

Learning to Love the LOR: Implementing an Internal Learning Object Repository at a Large National Organization

This article is a case study that discusses the development and implementation of an internal learning object repository (LOR) for a large national organization with a distributed working environment. It describes the organizational environment and why an internal LOR was needed. It describes technical considerations, including the various document management systems (DMS) available, and why an open source DMS was selected to use as an internal LOR. Lastly, this article weighs the benefits and challenges of implementing a LOR across a distributed working environment and reflects on challenges associated with implementation.     

The Human Figure Drawings of Normal Children and Those with Mild Learning Difficulties

The human figure drawings of 18 children with mild learning difficulties (MLD) were compared with those of 18 children with the same chronological age (mean 10 years, 4 months) and those of 18 children with the same mental age (mean 6 years, 0 months). The MLD children's drawings were similar to those of the 6‐year‐olds in terms of the number of developmental items they displayed; both these groups scored significantly lower than the 10‐year‐olds. Teachers could easily distinguish the 10‐year‐olds’ figures, but not those drawn by the MLD children and the 6‐year‐olds; they routinely confused the two. These findings suggest that, although their development is slower, MLD children follow a normal rather than a deviant developmental pattern.     

Exploring Differential Effects Across Two Decoding Treatments on Item-Level Transfer in Children With Significant Word Reading Difficulties: A New Approach for Testing Intervention Elements

In English, gains in decoding skill do not map directly onto increases in word reading. However, beyond the Self-Teaching Hypothesis, little is known about the transfer of decoding skills to word reading. In this study, we offer a new approach to testing specific decoding elements on transfer to word reading. To illustrate, we modeled word-reading gains among children with reading disability enrolled in Phonological and Strategy Training (PHAST) or Phonics for Reading (PFR). Conditions differed in sublexical training with PHAST stressing multilevel connections and PFR emphasizing simple grapheme-phoneme correspondences. Thirty-seven children with reading disability, 3rd to 6th grade, were randomly assigned 60 lessons of PHAST or PFR. Crossed random-effects models allowed us to identify specific intervention elements that differentially impacted word-reading performance at posttest, with children in PHAST better able to read words with variant vowel pronunciations. Results suggest that sublexical emphasis influences transfer gains to word reading.     

CHANGING SOURCES AND PATTERNS OF FINANCE FOR HIGHER EDUCATION: A REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL TRENDS

The last decade has seen considerable changes in patterns of financing higher education in both industrialized and developing countries. Financial stringency affecting public budgets, rapid growth in student numbers, and concern for both efficiency and equity have resulted in changes both in systems of financial support for students and mechanisms for funding higher education institutions. This article reviews recent changes in sources and methods of financing higher education in OECD countries, including Australia, France, Germany, Japan, Netherlands, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States. It examines attempts to shift some of the financial burdens, for higher education from public to private sources, through the introduction of tuition fees and student loans, not only in industrialized countries, but also in developing ones in Africa and Asia.