Measuring the quality of education at two levels: A case study of primary schools in rural Ethiopia

This paper constructs two measures of the quality of education. The first one is a quality measure on the institutional level, it is derived inductively from the answers provided by school directors from rural Ethiopia on several interview questions. A cornerstone in my definition of school "quality" in a resource constraint environment is the degree of responsiveness to household needs. The second one is a measure of the quality of teaching at the individual level based on teaching attitudes and teaching behaviour of teachers. Pearson correlations show that school quality is positively correlated with increased enrolment but also that the quality of teaching is negatively correlated with increased pupil/teacher ratios. Schools in rural Ethiopia thus make a quantity-quality trade-off. Evidence suggests that class size is not the relevant variable in the quality debate, but time allocation of teachers is.     

Body image perception, satisfaction and somatotype in male and female athletes and non-athletes: results using a novel morphing technique

Thirty-six adults (24 males, 12 females) were assessed for anthropometric somatotype and body image (perception and satisfaction) by a novel technique using quantitative distortion of a digital still image. Software produced random distortions in nine body regions. The participants manipulated interactive slider controls to adjust each body feature in turn, recreate their perceived image and indicate their desired image. There were no differences in perception between the sexes. However, the ideal-actual differences (i.e. satisfaction) indicated that males desired larger and females smaller features, respectively, in the chest and thighs (P < 0.001) and arms and calves (P < 0.01). When the male-derived data were partitioned by sport (strength, endurance, team-sport and controls), differences were found in the perceived image size in the chest and rib regions (P < 0.01 and P < 0.05, respectively). Strength athletes perceived these areas to be smaller and the control group perceived these areas to be larger than the true values. Somatotype analysis indicated that the physique associated with minimal dissatisfaction was 2.0-5.0-3.0 for males and 3.0-2.5-3.0 for females. Cluster analysis, combining anthropometric and satisfaction data, revealed seven distinct subgroups distinguished by particular attributes of physical appearance. We conclude that the method is reliable and that body image includes sex-specific, anthropometric, perceptual and personality-related components.     

Exploring information literacy in secondary schools in Hong Kong: A case study

Current curriculum reforms in Hong Kong emphasize learning how to learn and project-based learning. The most recent reform introduces “Liberal Studies” as a mandatory school subject in senior secondary school. This article reports on an exploratory case study of the information searching process (ISP) among Form 6 (Grade 12) students in a Liberal Studies course. Researchers examined sources of information used by students, students' cognitive and emotional experience during the ISP, and communication within the collaborative groups. Findings indicated that Internet-based sources were predominant but that most students had difficulty completing the ISP. Work is needed to help students develop a theory of knowledge in which the meaning of information is contextual and the process of interpreting information requires effort. Such work is important if collaborative inquiry projects in Liberal Studies courses are to lead to deep learning.