Strategies for sustainable funding: a metadata review of the independent library district model

ABSTRACT

Public libraries have seen a decline in public funding, relying on a mixture of external types of funding to keep services running. With state and local governments continuing to face financial pressures, some libraries have explored alternative ways to maximize funding, by forming library districts. This report aimed at exploring library districts in three states, Colorado, Michigan, and Oregon, which have similar funding structures. The report found more stable and predictable funding patterns in library districts versus their counterparts and provides evidence that is a strong alternative for public libraries seeking a change in the way they obtain funds.     

Evaluation of Procedure-Based Scoring for Hands-On Science Assessment

This article evaluates a procedure-based scoring system for a performance assessment (an observed paper towels investigation) and a notebook surrogate completed by fifth-grade students varying in hands-on science experience. Results suggested interrater reliability of scores for observed performance and notebooks was adequate (>.80) with the reliability of the former higher. In contrast, interrater agreement on procedures was higher for observed hands-on performance (.92) than for notebooks (.66). Moreover, for the notebooks, the reliability of scores and agreement on procedures varied by student experience, but this was not so for observed performance. Both the observed-performance and notebook measures correlated less with traditional ability than did a multiple-choice science achievement test. The correlation between the two performance assessments and the multiple-choice test was only moderate (mean = .46), suggesting that different aspects of science achievement have been measured. Finally, the correlation between the observed-performance scores and the notebook scores was .83, suggesting that notebooks may provide a reasonable, albeit less reliable, surrogate for the observed hands-on performance of students.     

What do preservice teachers want to learn about puberty and sexuality education? An Australian perspective

The processes of puberty are now commonly observed in primary school-aged students. Schools, therefore, need to address puberty and sexuality education for students’ health, well-being, safety and pastoral care. Similarly, preservice teacher education needs to address future primary school teachers’ unfamiliarity and lack of confidence with these issues and topics, and develop appropriate and normative learning and teaching practices to benefit students of all ages. This paper explores the types of sexuality education content and pedagogies student-teachers prefer to learn about, and be assessed on, in a dedicated sexuality education course in their preservice Bachelor of Education (Primary) degree. A mixed-method design collected quantitative preference ratings and qualitative responses revealing that student-teachers prefer content about the social, developmental and psychological aspects of primary school children’s puberty and sexuality. Student-teachers also prefer school counsellors and school nurses as guest speakers, learning pedagogies in tutorial or small groups and assessments through case studies by oneself or small groups. This Australian evidence may be useful to designers of preservice health and sexuality education courses, who aim to assist primary school student-teachers become more competent, confident and professionally trained in puberty and sexuality education.     

A Framework for Conceptualizing and Evaluating the Validity of Instructionally Relevant Assessments

Assessments that function close to classroom teaching and learning can play a powerful role in fostering academic achievement. Unfortunately, however, relatively little attention has been given to discussion of the design and validation of such assessments. The present article presents a framework for conceptualizing and organizing the multiple components of validity applicable to assessments intended for use in the classroom to support ongoing processes of teaching and learning. The conceptual framework builds on existing validity concepts and focuses attention on three components: cognitive validity, instructional validity, and inferential validity. The goal in presenting the framework is to clarify the concept of validity, including key components of the interpretive argument, while considering the types and forms of evidence needed to construct a validity argument for classroom assessments. The framework's utility is illustrated by presenting an application to the analysis of the validity of assessments embedded within an elementary mathematics curriculum.     

Assessing Literary Reasoning: Text and Task Complexities

This article addresses 3 broad challenges of assessment in reading comprehension: (a) explicitly articulating the knowledge and skills students need to recognize and be able to use in comprehending complex texts; (b) understanding how knowledge and skills progress and successively deepen and develop over repeated opportunities to engage in tasks that require critical thinking and interpretation; and (c) how to approach text selection and sequencing. The article examines these challenges in terms of discipline specific comprehension, specifically in the domain of response to literature. It further illustrates how these discipline specific assessment challenges are taken up in Project READI in the design of authentic assessments of literary reasoning.     

Sexuality Education across the Lifecycle in the New Millennium

Everyone has the right to sexuality education. In the past, mainly in Western countries, this has been provided by parents and some schools, usually as formal programmes. However, many people receive sexuality education informally from other sources, such as peers, television, magazines and books. The technological age upon us now in the new millennium provides yet another source for everyone. The Internet has a growing number of sites specifically for sexuality education for all ages. Here, a selection of relevant sites are identified and presented for their developmental appropriateness. For the first time in history, sexuality education will be potentially accessible by everyone over the Internet, which is technology-derived, personal, instantaneous, on demand, accessible any time and any place, not controlled by social or educational structures, inexpensive and individualised. The opportunities this promotes are almost limitless for enhanced personal understanding and improved interpersonal relationships of all kinds for everyone on the globe.     

Letter to the Editor

Juliette Goldman and Christine Collier have recently proposed that the editor of Sex Education should adopt a policy of replacing the phrase ‘opposite sex’ with ‘other sex’ in all published articles, on the grounds that the word ‘opposite’ has connotations of hostility or adversity. In this brief reply I argue that their reasoning does not stand up to scrutiny and that their proposal ought therefore to be rejected.     

Teaching about Human Relationships Education for primary school student‐teachers using an interactive CD‐ROM

Human Relationships Education is a very important part of primary school student‐teacher education. All primary school children need sound guidance and enhanced knowledge about puberty, growing up successfully, and feeling competent and confident in themselves. An interactive multimedia CD‐ROM was designed and developed for some Australian university student‐teachers in the final fourth year of their Bachelor of Education (Primary School), and addresses the Human Relationships Education curriculum. This paper analyses some of the pedagogies used in this pastoral care learning as examples of a Constructivist approach to designing multimedia interactivities based on Anderson and Krathwohl's learning framework. Such an approach may be useful for other educational designers to improve student‐teacher involvement in their pastoral care learning, to provide pedagogical variation and to use interactive multimedia, thus enhancing learning outcomes for student‐teachers and, in turn, their primary school students.