English and German academics’ perspectives on metrics in higher education: evaluating dimensions of fairness and organisational justice

Higher Education - Many contemporary analyses criticise metrics-based evaluation in the higher education context as a neoliberal technology, notwithstanding the different national contexts and...     

Assessing the Correlates of Over- and Underrating of Academic Competence: A Conceptual Clarification and a Methodological Proposal

The present article addresses 3 issues pertaining to the conceptualization and assessment of the effects of over- and underrating academic competence. First, it is shown that it is impossible to separate the effects of over- and underrating from the effects of both perceived and actual competence. Second, it is shown that the method used by Connell and Ilardi in a previous article to assess the effect of net overversus underrating is of questionable validity. Finally, a new definition and method for assessing the effects of over- and underrating is presented. The new method was applied to Connell and Ilardi's data to retest the hypothesis that overrating is associated with more problematic psychological profiles than accuracy and underrating. Results did not generally support the hypothesis, but did show that the correlates of over- and underrating vary as a function of both extremity of over- or underrating and the level of children's actual competence.     

Teaching Patrons to Fish: The Educational Value of Cancelling Requests for Locally Available Materials

Expansive document delivery service for locally available materials is becoming increasingly popular, but is a learning component lost with the implementation of this service? In this study, the authors compare data from two institutions, one that provides an unadvertised document delivery service without instruction, and another that cancels requests for locally available materials with an instructional component. The behavior of each institution's patrons over a 4-year period is analyzed and found to differ at statistically significant levels. These findings will be useful for interlibrary loan policy makers who are considering whether to implement document delivery for locally available items.     

When the Spirit Shows Up: An Autoethnography of Spiritual Reconciliation with the Academy

This article is an autoethnography of the author's journey toward the reconciliation of her spirituality with the academy. She depicts the origin of her crisis in the academy, and why the climax of the crisis was critical to her reconciliation. Drawing on Cynthia Dillard's notion of an endarkened feminist epistemology, she identifies the Black Church community as the site where her spirituality is nurtured and recognizes its influence on her reconciliation with the academy. Implications of this study suggest the necessity for researchers to become engaged in public discourse about our spirituality as it relates to education, to continue to invite others to the conversation, and to recognize how the discourse might influence our decisions as researchers/educators.     

Why do market ‘reforms’ persistently increase inequality?

The dominant market logic in contemporary education produces social inequalities in education, through new mechanisms. To create markets in education, services and resources have to be rationed, so inequality is built in. To motivate parents to buy privatised services, losers have to be created and publicised – this is the function of NAPLAN testing and the MySchool website. In neo-liberal rhetoric, the actual pattern of social inequality is misrepresented, e.g. the idea of ‘pockets of poverty’, while institutional restructuring embeds the new mechanisms. Neoliberalism seeks to close down arenas for debate and create a monopoly for the market perspective; it is important to sustain other agendas.     

The Changing Landscape of Alternate Assessments Based on Modified Academic Achievement Standards: An Analysis of Early Adopters of AA-MASs

Several states had an assessment that they considered to be an alternate assessment based on modified academic achievement standards (AA-MAS) in place, or in development, when the April 2007 federal regulations on modified achievement standards were finalized. This article uses publicly available information collected by the National Center on Educational Outcomes to analyze changes in states' AA-MAS between 2007 and 2008. The article compares across the 2 years the number of states that had an assessment they considered to be an AA-MAS, states' participation guidelines, and the characteristics of these assessments. We also provide information about the number of students who participated in this assessment option during the 2006–07 school year. In 2007, six states (Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma) either had or were in the process of developing an assessment they considered to be an AA-MAS. In 2008, California, Connecticut, and Texas also offered this assessment option. Six of the nine states that have been early implementers of the AA-MAS were states that had offered an out-of-level testing option until federal policies required that option to be phased out. Most states had fewer items on their AA-MAS than on their regular assessment. States that had participation guidelines for the AA-MAS in 2007 developed them prior to finalization of the federal regulations, and some changes between 2007 and 2008 in states' participation guidelines appear to have been made to better align the guidelines with the regulations. The characteristics of the assessments states consider to be AA-MASs are changing rapidly and will probably continue to change rapidly over the next few years as more is learned about the advantages and limitations of this assessment.     

Are Older Adults Prepared to Ensure Food Safety During Extended Power Outages and Other Emergencies?: Findings from a National Survey

Natural disasters and other emergencies can cause an increased risk of foodborne illness. We conducted a nationally representative survey to understand consumers’ knowledge and use of recommended practices during/after extended power outages and other emergencies. Because older adults are at an increased risk for foodborne illness, this paper presents findings from a sample of older adults (n = 290). Only 17% of respondents reported they are fully prepared to keep food safe during an extended power outage. Respondents identified lack of cogitation (42%), storage space (19%), and concern (27%) as barriers to not being fully prepared. Of those who had experienced a recent power outage, less than 40% followed the recommended practices of discarding frozen foods that had thawed and discarding refrigerated, perishable foods. Additionally, 21% to 36% of respondents reported they tasted food to determine whether it was safe to eat. Awareness and likelihood of following recommended practices were higher among women than men. Many older adults are not following recommended practices to ensure food safety during/after extended power outages and other emergencies. Educational materials need to address barriers and be tailored to specific locations and subpopulations of older adults. Educators and public health officials can use the survey findings to address gaps in older adults’ knowledge and practices and to help reduce the risk of foodborne illness among older adults.     

The Role of Healthcare Providers and Caregivers in Educating Older Adults about Foodborne Illness Prevention

Adults aged 60 or older are more likely than younger adults to experience severe complications or even death as a result of foodborne infections. This study investigated which specific groups of healthcare providers or other caregivers are most receptive to providing food safety information to older adults. Telephone-based focus groups were conducted with health care providers and caregivers to determine their knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors regarding foodborne illness prevention for older adults. Focus groups identified a gap between older adults’ trust in healthcare providers as a credible source of food safety information and healthcare providers’ lack of training, knowledge, and willingness to provide food safety information to older adults.     

A good education: girls' extracurricular pursuits and school choice

This paper draws on the case studies of six girls between the ages of 10 and 13 and considers their transition to secondary school and involvement in extracurricular sports. Within it, I explore how the girls' understandings of ‘a good education’ affects both their academic and extracurricular/sporting choices. Despite government educational targets which seem to value ‘performative’ academic results, I argue that ideas about a ‘well‐rounded student’ continue to hold particular resonance for middle‐class parents and students. Conversely, I suggest that models of excellence and achievement within education are increasingly echoed in students' sporting participation and that this has specific consequences for working‐class and middle‐class students. I draw particular attention to the girls' experiences of these systems with a view to their ability to convert physical capital accrued in physical activity into other forms of social or cultural capital.