Psychometric reevaluation of the scientific attitude inventory‐revised (SAI‐II)

The central purposes of this study were to review the development and evolution of the Scientific Attitude Inventory (SAI) and then reevaluate the psychometric properties of the revised form of the SAI, the Scientific Attitude Inventory II (SAI‐II). The SAI‐II was administered to a convenience sample of 543 middle and high school students from five teachers in four schools in four school districts in San Antonio, Texas, at the beginning of the 2004–2005 school year. Confirmatory factor analysis on the full data set failed to support the existence of a 12‐factor structure (as proposed by the scale developers) or a one‐factor structure. The data were then randomly divided into exploratory [exploratory factor analysis (EFA)] validation and confirmatory [confirmatory factor analysis (CFA)] cross‐validation sets. Exploratory and confirmatory models yielded a three‐factor solution that did not fit the data well [χ² (321) = 646, p < .001; RMSEA = .061 (.90 CI = .054–.068); and CFI = .81]. The three factors were labeled “Science is About Understanding and Explaining” (13 items), “Science is Rigid” (6 items), and “I Want to Be a Scientist” (8 items). The α‐coefficients for these three factors ranged from 0.59 to 0.85. Whether these identified subscales are valid will require independent investigation. In this sample, and consistent with prior publications, the SAI‐II in its current form did not have satisfactory psychometric properties and cannot be recommended for further use. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 45: 600–616, 2008     

Documenting the world’s sociological literature:Sociological abstracts

Since its founding in 1953,Sociological Abstracts has abstracted and indexed the worldwide literature of sociology and the related social sciences. Growth and specialization within the field are reflected in the number of publications screened, the addition of new document types, the range of languages covered, and the increased specificity of indexing and classication.     

Conceptualizing Justice: Revising the Introductory Criminal Justice Course*

Criminal justice is often criticized for lacking theoretical grounding. This article argues that the introductory criminal justice course should be reconceptualized in such a way that permits a critical assessment of theoretical bases underlying crime, law and justice. Doing so would better prepare students to understand key questions in the study of criminal justice and would also help give criminal justice greater credibility as a stand‐alone academic discipline. In addition to presenting the benefits of a theory‐driven introductory course, possible content and pedagogy are described.     

African universities and the state: Prospects for reform in Senegal and Uganda

Uganda's Makerere University and the University of Dakar in Senegal were for many years after independence among Africa's premier universities. Today, their facilities have visibly deteriorated and the quality of instruction the institutions provide is seriously threatened — the consequence of political and economic turmoil combined with persistent underfunding. If higher education remains supply-driven without reference to available resources, the problems of Makerere and the University of Dakar can only increase and become even more unmanageable. The governments of Senegal and Uganda are being encouraged by donors to undertake reforms to revitalize the university sector. However, it will not be possible to reform financing of public higher education, or to carry out many other reforms, unless the universities have more administrative and financial autonomy. Strategies for reforming higher education systems in these countries are proposed requiring a shift from government participation in the governance of public universities and in matters affecting their enrolments and utilization of resources to more indirect forms of control. Nevertheless, the policy implications for Senegal and Uganda are very different. In Senegal, measures to increase autonomy must be articulated with a larger role for the state in regulating the flow of students to university, rationalizing the programs of different institutions and restricting students' eligibility for support. In Uganda, there is need for greater government co-ordination of public and private investments in higher education and significant devolution of control of public universities.McGill University, Education and Employment Division, Population and Human Resources Department, The World BankEducation and Employment Division, Population and Human Resources Department, The World Bank     

Effect of women science career role models on early adolescents' attitudes toward scientists and women in science

In order to change the attitude of early adolescent female and male students toward scientists and women in science, students in the middle school/junior high grades were exposed over a two months' period to women science career role models as part of their science instruction. This treatment positively affected the students' attitude toward scientists and toward women in science. It is suggested that teachers of science in the middle school/junior high should periodically bring community resource people who use science in their careers to the classroom to act as role models and that women should be included among this group so that the attitudes of both male and female students toward scientists and women in science might be improved.     

Perceptions of U.S. Medical Residents Regarding Amount and Usefulness of Sexual Health Instruction in Preparation for Clinical Practice

Despite patient demand for sexual health discussions with their physicians, sexuality instruction in residency is often lacking. This exploratory quantitative study assessed the amount and usefulness of sexuality instruction received by a sample of medical residents, as well as the residents' self-perceived readiness regarding addressing sexuality issues. Data were obtained through a self-administered survey with 130 resident respondents. The majority reported receiving little/no formal sexuality instruction. Many indicated that additional sexuality instruction would be useful in their practice. Although the majority reported comfort discussing sexuality, they reported rarely/never initiating these discussions. Recommendations for changes in graduate medical education programming are provided.