Inter-rater reliability assessment for the new-born screening quality assurance

IntroductionTo ensure the quality of the new-born screening (NBS), our laboratory reviewed the analytical procedure to detect subjective steps that may represent a risk to the patient. Two subjective activities were identified in the extra-analytical phases: the classification of dried blood spots (DBS) according to their quality and the assignment of haemoglobin patterns. To keep these activities under control, inter-rater studies were implemented. This study aimed to evaluate the inter-rater reliability and the effectiveness of the measures taken to improve the agreement between observers, to assure NBS results’ quality.Materials and methodsDried blood spots specimens were used for the inter-rater studies. Ten studies were performed to assess DBS quality classification, and four to assess the assignment of haemoglobin patterns. Krippendorff’s alpha test was used to estimate inter-rater reliability. Causes were investigated when alpha values were below 0.80.ResultsFor both activities, the reliability obtained in the first studies was inadequate. After investigation, we detected that the criterion to classify a DBS as scant was not consolidated, and also a lack of consensus on whether or not to report Bart’s haemoglobin depending on its percentage. Alpha estimates became higher once the training was reinforced and a consensus about the appropriate criteria to be applied was reached.ConclusionInter-rater reliability assessment helped us to ensure the quality of subjective activities that could add variability to NBS results. Furthermore, the evolution of the alpha value over time allowed us to verify the effectiveness of the measures adopted.     

Drawing Conclusions from New Media Research: Reflections and Puzzles Regarding Children's Experience of the Internet

New media studies are now benefiting from a burgeoning of empirical studies and theoretical analyses from diverse academic disciplines seeking to locate new media, especially the Internet, within longstanding traditions of social science research. By reviewing and reflecting upon findings from UK Children Go Online, a multimethod research project examining the role of the Internet in children's and young people's everyday lives, the present article takes the opportunity to draw out some general conclusions, and associated puzzles, to guide future research. These contribute toward an emerging framework for understanding questions regarding new media access, use, and consequences within the social, cultural, and political parameters of young people's lives. A range of research findings are discussed that illuminate the shifting balance of opportunities and risks posed by the Internet for children, youth, and the family.     

Educational assessment in Canada

This article describes the Canadian education system and provincial/territorial, national, and international large‐scale assessment (LSA) programmes that currently operate within this large multicultural country. We highlight the policy implications of LSA programmes within Canada’s 10 provinces and three northern territories, and how the country balances international pressures with the demand for independence in the educational practices of its distinct provinces and territories. The discussion outlines how the systematic use of performance information is institutionalised through two kinds of accountability, ethical‐professional and economic‐bureaucratic accountability.     

Understanding higher education access: Inequalities and early learning in low and lower-middle-income countries

Globally, access to higher education has increased, but inequalities by socio-economic background remain. This article explores the relationship between early schooling opportunities (and learning) and progression into higher education in four low and middle-income countries. We analyse data from the Young Lives longitudinal study, following cohorts of young people from age 5 to 22 in four country settings: Ethiopia, Peru, Vietnam and India. We reveal wide variability in higher education participation between the four countries, with a common pattern of a very strong association between early learning and later higher education participation, even after allowing for a range of demographic characteristics. Whilst early learning is important in predicting later higher education participation, we also find that significant barriers to higher education participation remain for low socio-economic status groups, even if they initially show good levels of learning. We track the trajectories of children who have initial good levels of learning, and hence arguably the potential to progress to higher education, and assess the extent to which socio-economic background plays a mediating role in these trajectories. Pupils with initially good levels of learning at primary school age, but who are from poor backgrounds, fall back in terms of their relative attainment during secondary schooling years. This implies that socio-economic status continues to be a barrier to educational attainment throughout these children’s lives. We discuss the implications of these findings for policy initiatives aimed at narrowing inequalities in higher education access in poorer countries.     

The Theory of Planned Behavior Within the Stages of the Transtheoretical Model: Latent Structural Modeling of Stage-Specific Prediction Patterns in Physical Activity

This is the first study to test whether the stages of change of the transtheoretical model are qualitatively different through exploring discontinuity patterns in theory of planned behavior (TPB) variables using latent multigroup structural equation modeling (MSEM) with AMOS. Discontinuity patterns in terms of latent means and prediction patterns for the different stage groups were examined. Adults (n = 3,462) were assessed on their physical activity stages of change and TPB variables. The TPB was separately examined within the five stage groups. The TPB measurement model fit was acceptable. Latent mean analyses with post-hoc contrast and MSEM indicated discontinuity patterns. Results underscore the qualitative differences between the stages that may guide further research and the design of interventions integrating the approaches.     

English in action: school based teacher development in Bangladesh

In the Least Economically Developed Countries (LEDCs), School Based Teacher Development (SBTD) is sometimes advocated as a potential mechanism for improving the classroom practices experienced by millions of children in a complete school system, as quickly as possible. Robust evidence is required for approaches to be implemented with some confidence by Government development agencies, such as the UK Department for International Development (DFID). SBTD has a long history stemming from ideas of school-based curriculum development, which underlay the ideas on teacher-as-researcher, and is typically advocated in the developed world based on a view of the teacher as a professional. How might such notions play out, and to what effect, in LEDC contexts? This article examines the issues at stake in introducing SBTD in LEDCs, by examining: the nature of the evidence for various forms of teacher development, the nature of SBTD in particular and the evidence for its effectiveness. The latter issues will be illustrated through examination of English in Action (EIA, www.eiabd.com), a large-scale SBTD programme for primary and secondary English language (EL) teachers serving government schools across Bangladesh.     

Peer–led Approaches to Care

In this paper the reasons for and research on the importance of peer–led approaches to care are explored. Examples of peer–led approaches are explored and these include peer–led pastoral care systems and initiatives such as befriending, circle of friends and peer mediation. Finally the development of resilient schools is discussed and the necessary context of peer–led approaches examined.     

Equalizing educational opportunities and its problems

The Editors are glad to be able to open the third year of theInternational Review of Education with an article by Isaac Leon Kandel. They offer him. their respectful greetings and best wishes on the occasion of his 75th birthday, celebrated in 1956, and on his entry into the fourth quartercentury of his life.They admire him as one of the grand old men of Comparative Education and hope that he will continue to bring an unbroken freshness and further stimulus to education in general and especially to his favourite subject.

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Das Problem der Schaffung Gleicher Bildungs-Möglichkeiten Für Alle

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La Démocratisation de L'enseignement et Ses Problémes

     

A longitudinal analysis of the alignment between children’s early word-level reading trajectories,teachers’ reported concerns and supports provided

Reading and Writing - In this longitudinal study, the word-level reading trajectories of 118 children were tracked alongside teachers’ reported concerns and types of support provided through...     

Examining the Effectiveness of a Professional Development Program: Integration of Educational Robotics into Science and Mathematics Curricula

Journal of Science Education and Technology - This study describes a professional development (PD) program designed to support middle school teachers in effectively integrating robotics in science...