How valid is self-reported financial aid information?

This paper compares the accuracy of college freshmen self-reported information about financial aid awards with actual data on the types and amounts of these awards. Data from the 1986–87 National Postsecondary Aid Study (NPSAS) file are replicated with evidence from a single institution. The study shows that college freshmen are relatively accurate in reporting whether any financial aid was received. However, students' self-reports of specific financial aid awards and amounts do not correspond closely to actual data. Campus administrators would come to very different conclusions about both the types and amounts of student aid if they rely on survey data compared to actual data. The results provide evidence for how nonsampling errors may bias survery results.     

The under-recognition of the significance of social class conceptions of education in Piketty’s Capital

Abstract

Piketty’s Capital has created enormous interest around the world, not least in educational circles. One reason for this may be his readiness to refer, in a book largely focused on economic history, to the ways that education has, and might, contribute to better and more equal social outcomes. This article welcomes this approach, but argues that Piketty’s suggestions remain somewhat limited due to his adherence to a more or less distributional, rather than relational, approach, and then sets out to address this issue by arguing that the assumption that it is the distribution of credentials which accounts for their contribution is mistaken. Instead, the article advances arguments which recognize the separate contributions of the content of credentials, and their valorization. The main focus of this article is thus on the different ways educational credentials are realized, which, it is argued, is a major basis for the maintenance of educational inequality.     

Changes in children's self-competence and values: gender and domain differences across grades one through twelve

This study extended previous research on changes in children's self-beliefs by documenting domain-specific growth trajectories for 761 children across grades 1 through 12 in a longitudinal study of perceptions of self-competence and task values. Hierarchical Linear Modeling was used to (1) describe changes in beliefs across childhood and adolescence within the domains of mathematics, language arts, and sports; (2) examine the impact of changes in competence beliefs on changes in values over time in the same domains; and (3) describe gender differences in mean levels and trajectories of change in competence beliefs and values. The most striking finding across all domains was that self-perceptions of competence and subjective task values declined as children got older, although the extent and rate of decline varied across domains. For example, in language arts, competence beliefs declined rapidly during the elementary school years, but then leveled off or increased to some extent; whereas the decline in self-competence beliefs in sports accelerated during the high school years. Significant gender differences in beliefs were found in most domains; however, the gender differences in developmental trajectories appeared to be domain specific rather than global. Importantly, the gender differences between boys and girls did not systematically increase with age, as predicted by some socialization perspectives. Adding competence beliefs as an explanatory variable to the model for task values revealed that changes in competence beliefs accounted for much of the age-related decline in task values. In addition, competence beliefs accounted for most of the gender differences in task values for language arts and sports.     

Remembering and Re-Creating the Great Debates of 1960: Presidential Libraries as Sites for Political Argumentation

The September 26, 1960 presidential debate between Vice President Richard M. Nixon and Senator John F. Kennedy is widely regarded as one of the great moments in U.S. politics. As such, it is not surprising that this spectacle is prominently featured in exhibits at both presidential museums. By deftly manipulating physical space, text and artifacts, and televisual elements, the exhibits develop competing narratives about the meaning of this historic event. The close reading of the exhibits contained in this article offers new insights into political debates, the nature of collective memory, and the complicated relationship between substance and appearance in political discourse.     

Genetic and Environmental Influences on Temperament in Middle Childhood: Analyses of Teacher and Tester Ratings

Parent ratings of temperament in infancy and childhood yield evidence for genetic influence in twin studies but not in adoption studies. The present study used the sibling adoption design to investigate teacher and tester ratings of temperament in middle childhood. When each child was 7 years old, ratings on the Colorado Childhood Temperament Inventory were obtained from a teacher and tester for more than 50 pairs each of adoptive and nonadoptive siblings in the Colorado Adoption Project. Significant genetic influence emerged for both teacher and tester ratings of Activity, for tester ratings of Sociability, and for teacher ratings of Emotionality. Results obtained from bivariate genetic analysis suggest that the modest covariance between teacher and tester ratings of Activity is entirely mediated genetically. Except for teacher ratings of Attention Span, evidence of shared family environment was nonsignificant, despite the power of the sibling adoption design to detect it.     

A Comparison of Pupil Learning and Achievement in Computer Aided Learning and Traditionally Taught Situations with Special Reference to Cognitive Style and Gender Issues

This article is concerned with comparing learning and achievement in the context of computer aided learning (CAL) and traditionally taught environments. The results of a small‐scale study involving 49 Year 10 pupils from a school in the north‐east of England are reported. Cognitive style, gender, attitude to CAL, and test results from a unit of work that used a CAL package and one that used traditional teaching material are analysed and conclusions are drawn. The study was too small to enable generalisations to be made although it did provide an informed picture suggesting that there are differences in how well a pupil may learn and perform in different teaching situations and that these differences are more marked for pupils of certain cognitive styles and/or gender.     

Achievement Emotions and Academic Performance: Longitudinal Models of Reciprocal Effects

A reciprocal effects model linking emotion and achievement over time is proposed. The model was tested using five annual waves of the Project for the Analysis of Learning and Achievement in Mathematics (PALMA) longitudinal study, which investigated adolescents’ development in mathematics (Grades 5–9; N = 3,425 German students; mean starting age = 11.7 years; representative sample). Structural equation modeling showed that positive emotions (enjoyment, pride) positively predicted subsequent achievement (math end‐of‐the‐year grades and test scores), and that achievement positively predicted these emotions, controlling for students’ gender, intelligence, and family socioeconomic status. Negative emotions (anger, anxiety, shame, boredom, hopelessness) negatively predicted achievement, and achievement negatively predicted these emotions. The findings were robust across waves, achievement indicators, and school tracks, highlighting the importance of emotions for students’ achievement and of achievement for the development of emotions.     

Development of a formative peer observation protocol for STEM faculty reflection

Abstract

Faculty peer observation has seen increasing uptake in recent years, in some cases as an alternative or supplement to student teaching evaluations. While many universities encourage faculty peer observation, it is not widely used in a formal way for formative assessment. This article outlines the development of a new faculty peer observation protocol designed for formative assessment of evidence-based educational practices. The goal of the protocol is to foster reflective teaching practices. The peer observation protocol has been designed to mitigate common faculty fears of classroom observation, with detailed assessment methods for specific topic areas. Preliminary testing of the protocol at one university indicated positive faculty outcomes with regard to personal reflection: all the faculty who tested the protocol reported that the observation process had been helpful for them to reflect on their teaching.