Using Multidimensional Item Response Theory to Evaluate Educational and Psychological Tests

Many educational and psychological tests are inherently multidimensional, meaning these tests measure two or more dimensions or constructs. The purpose of this module is to illustrate how test practitioners and researchers can apply multidimensional item response theory (MIRT) to understand better what their tests are measuring, how accurately the different composites of ability are being assessed, and how this information can be cycled back into the test development process. Procedures for conducting MIRT analyses–from obtaining evidence that the test is multidimensional, to modeling the test as multidimensional, to illustrating the properties of multidimensional items graphically-are described from both a theoretical and a substantive basis. This module also illustrates these procedures using data from a ninth-grade mathematics achievement test. It concludes with a discussion of future directions in MIRT research.     

为肯尼亚青年谋求STEM教育的平等机会

肯尼亚人口中18岁以下的青少年占50％,他们是肯尼亚社会中一股重要而活跃的力量,大力发展青少年教育是促进发展的有效方式。肯尼亚科学中心是一所筹建中的STEM教育机构,旨在为所有青少年提供平等的教育机会,并接受STEM教育方面的启迪。本文介绍了建设和发展肯尼亚科学中心的各种工作方式,期望能够借鉴国际上其他科学中心的经验,以达成独具特色的发展目标。     

Bridging the Gap Between Degree Programme Curricula and Employability Through Implementation of Work-related Learning

This article investigates the gap between employers' requirements of graduates and the skills which graduates are furnished with through degree programmes in the higher education (HE) sector in the UK. A survey of 88 subject review reports prepared by the Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) for environmentally related units in the UK showed little emphasis on employability issues. Surveys of first destination statistics of a cohort of graduates from two biological degrees and from national data showed that a significant proportion of graduates were in non-science-based activities. The non-knowledge-based learning outcomes from one degree were investigated, and showed that employability aspects were partially covered in the programme, but were not always associated with secure assessments. The concept of work-related learning is defined and a conceptual framework for HE practitioners is presented that could be used when designing curricula to better map programme learning outcomes onto graduate employment.     

Introduction−justifying a cross-cultural comparative approach to school leadership and management

England's Education Action Zones are a flagship New Labour policy geared towards raising standards and reducing social exclusion in areas of educational under-performance. This introduction outlines key features of the policy, considers its broader significance in relation to new models of educational governance and pulls out some of the key issues that arise from the contributions to this special feature.     

Parents and sex education—looking beyond ‘the birds and the bees’

The social and political climate of sex education over the last two decades has dramatically changed, with parents now being encouraged to work in partnership with professionals. This paper seeks to further the argument that involving parents in their child's sex education does matter and can have an impact on their child's future sexual health. It discusses the reality of parents' roles and skills in providing sex education within the family. In particular, the discussion explores myths parents associate with sex education, involving fathers in provision, siblings as peer educators, health professionals' attitudes towards involving parents, and school partnerships. The author calls for professionals to involve parents alongside other sources of sex education in health and educational strategies to address sexual health issues and improve sex education. Otherwise future generations of children will experience a closed cultural attitude towards sexual matters and we will not achieve lower teenage pregnancy rates or view sex education positively.     

A study of the difficulties of care and support in new university teachers’ work

This paper discusses some findings from a small‐scale qualitative study involving ‘new’ teachers in a medium sized, regional English university. Using Grounded Theory methods to inform and guide the research, the study explores participants’ views on working as both teachers and researchers whilst also managing considerable amounts of ‘caring work’ with a diverse body of students who often need academic and pastoral support in excess of that assumed within the university academic timetables or support networks. The voices of these teachers suggest that care is an overlooked aspect of university teachers’ work, yet it plays an important part in maintaining their and their students’ sense of scholarly endeavour. Further, our findings suggest that within the university at large there is a ‘discourse of difference’ in the way that many academics conceptualize and represent the student body and students’ needs to be supported. This discourse impacts on the development of new teachers’ identities and aspirations. Some implications of these findings for implementing strategies for supporting teachers to develop both academic and pastoral roles within universities are discussed.     

Imagining a different life in school: educating student teachers about ‘looked after’ children and young people

The research described in this paper concerns the acquaintance of student teachers with the educational and wider pastoral experiences of children and young people who are or have been ‘looked after’ and who they may well teach at some point, together with the familiarisation of student teachers with the ‘looked after’ system in the UK. We discuss an exploratory awareness‐raising curriculum project within a Teacher Education Department at a University in the UK that utilises digital multimedia to develop a ‘community of awareness’ of young people and student teachers. As a result of this work, the student teachers were able to reflect on their pedagogical knowledge and practices related to teaching and wider pupil pastoral care. Further, those involved in the project therefore not only learned how to use technology, but to apply it in meaningful, productive ways, which were potentially transforming in terms of appreciation and knowledge of diversity. Benefits for the participants – the young people involved and the student teachers, as well as implications for both student teachers’ understanding of diversity and limitations of the technology – are discussed.