Thurstone Scale for Measuring Attitudes of College Students toward Physical Fitness and Exercise

Abstract

Employing modified Thurstone techniques, two equivalent forms of an equal-appearing intervals attitude scale were constructed around the topic “physical fitness and exercise.” Experimental test items were subjected to an extensive refinement process preceding the formulation of the final alternate test forms. Validity of the test was based upon authoritative opinion and expert judgment. A reliability coefficient derived from test, retest sampling was .83 ± .06. A correlation coefficient of .87 ± .03 was obtained on the parallel lest forms.     

A longitudinal study of the educational and career trajectories of female participants of an urban informal science education program

The purpose of this longitudinal case study is to describe the educational trajectories of a sample of 152 young women from urban, low‐income, single‐parent families who participated in the Women in Natural Sciences (WINS) program during high school. Utilizing data drawn from program records, surveys, and interviews, this study also attempts to determine how the program affected the participants' educational and career choices to provide insight into the role informal science education programs play in increasing the participation of women and minorities in science, math, engineering, and technology (SMET)‐related fields. Findings revealed 109 participants (93.16%) enrolled in a college program following high school completion. Careers in medical or health‐related fields followed by careers in SMET emerged as the highest ranking career paths with 24 students (23.76%) and 21 students (20.79%), respectively, employed in or pursuing careers in these areas. The majority of participants perceived having staff to talk to, the job skills learned, and having the museum as a safe place to go as having influenced their educational and career decisions. These findings reflect the need for continued support of informal science education programs for urban girls and at‐risk youth. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 41: 835–860, 2004     

Maltreated children's developmental scores: treatment versus nontreatment

Following treatment in a therapeutic day treatment program, a group of 35 maltreated children were compared to a matched group of 35 maltreated children who had not been enrolled in a therapeutic day treatment program. The results of matched pairs t-test analyses indicated that the treatment subjects had significantly higher developmental scores in five areas of development--fine motor, cognitive, gross motor, social/emotional, and language. Further, pretest and posttest comparisons of the percentile scores of the treatment group indicated that the posttest scores were significantly higher than the pretest scores. This study demonstrates that remediation of developmental delays in maltreated children under the age of 6 years can be accomplished through an intensive day treatment program.     

Caught between a rock and a hard place: disruptive boys’ views on mainstream and special schools in New South Wales,Australia

Students with disruptive behaviour in the Australian state of New South Wales (NSW) are increasingly being educated in separate ‘behaviour’ schools. There is however surprisingly little research on how students view these settings, or indeed the mainstream schools from which they were excluded. To better understand excluded students’ current and past educational experiences, we interviewed 33 boys, aged between 9 and 16 years of age, who were enrolled in separate special schools for students with disruptive behaviour. Analyses reveal that the majority of participants began disliking school in the early years due to difficulties with schoolwork and teacher conflict. Interestingly, while most indicated that they preferred the behaviour school, more than half still wanted to return to their old school. It is therefore clear that separate special educational settings are not a solution to disruptive behaviour in mainstream schools. Whilst these settings do fulfil a function for some students, the preferences of the majority of boys suggest that ‘mainstream’ school reform is of first-order importance.     

A new approach to evaluating the well-being of PhD research students

This study describes the development of an assessment to evaluate the well-being of PhD researchers using a clinically approved methodology that places the perceptions and experiences of the subject population at the heart of its construction. It identifies and assesses the range and relative importance of seven distinct dimensions which are shown to impact adversely on the perceived well-being of student researchers across all stages of their studies. According to the findings, the well-being of doctoral students comprises needs relating to development, facilities, home and health, research, social, supervisor and university. The instrument was found to demonstrate good content validity and internal reliability. Its use offers new insights into the experiences of early career researchers and may inform efforts to better support them. This, in turn, may have a positive impact upon retention levels and future career choices for this research population.     

Essential foundations for establishing equivalence in cross-national higher education assessment

The global context of contemporary higher education demands international benchmarks. Quality assurance of teaching and learning would benefit from the insights gained from cross-cultural assessments. If cross-cultural assessments are used it is imperative that equivalence is assured, requiring attention to the technical standards used. In this paper we draw on our experiences implementing the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development’s Assessment of Higher Education Learning Outcomes (AHELO) Feasibility Study across 17 countries. We consider the key standards required in a number of core technical areas to achieve equivalence. We discuss how different elements were achieved in the AHELO Feasibility Study. These include the development of assessment materials for use across languages; selection and engagement of students; delivery of assessment materials and analysis of assessment data.     

The submergence and re-emergence of gender in undergraduate accounts of university experience

Gender distinction has been shown to characterise both undergraduate experiences and outcomes. Yet research recounted in this article supports work that shows that young people are often unaware of such trends, subscribing instead to individualist perspectives that foreground equality of opportunity and agency. This article examines the gender continuities and divergences in 64 undergraduate students' accounts of their experiences, and constructions of peers and lecturers, in higher education. Concepts of heteroglossia and monoglossia are applied to gender to explain how students submerged ‘structure’ and inequality in their accounts, but how discourses that presented the genders as distinct (and in which the masculine is elevated over the feminine) nevertheless ‘bubbled up’ in their articulations. The students tended to reject the notion that gender and other structural differences impact their experiences and outcomes; yet their broader discussions frequently reflected (often stereotypical) monoglossic constructions of gender difference. The article concludes with a discussion of the implications of these findings for the sociology of education and for higher-education pedagogy.     

World of work on TV: Ethnic and sex representation in TV drama

On the pages which follow, authors Seggar and Wheeler explore the increasing use of minority group members in network television programming. They focus on a sample period in 1971 to show variances in dramatic portrayals of minority versus white American roles. Dr. Seggar received his Ph.D. from Kentucky in 1968 and has since taught at Brigham Young University where he is now associate professor of sociology. Ms. Wheeler received her MA in sociology at BYU in 1971. An earlier version of this paper was first presented at the 1972 convention of the Association for Education in Journalism.