政策和实践的困境(上)

教育政策和实践总是处在困境之中,这是困扰政策制定者和实践者的问题.本文着力从教育政策和实践所面临的困境、如何处理困境的角度,重新审视政策和实践两者的关系,并从政策目标、政策工具和实践中的能力三方面对其展开论述,以期在冲突的基础上促进教育政策和实践间的融合.     

Understanding Examinees’ Responses to Items: Implications for Measurement

Examinees' thinking processes have become an increasingly important concern in testing. The responses processes aspect is a major component of validity, and contemporary tests increasingly involve specifications about the cognitive complexity of examinees' response processes. Yet, empirical research findings on examinees' cognitive processes are not often available either to provide evidence for validity or to guide the design or selection of items. In this article, studies and developments from the author's research program are presented to illustrate how empirical studies on examinees' thinking processes can impact item and test design.     

Reactivity and regulation in cortisol and behavioral responses to stress

This study examined relations between reactivity (i.e., peak response) and regulation (i.e., response dampening) in 6-month-old infants' cortisol and behavioral responses to inoculation (N = 62). Data showed that reactivity and regulation were unrelated for both cortisol and behavior. The independence of reactivity and regulation suggests that measures of both are needed to characterize infant cortisol or behavioral response to stress more completely. For both reactivity and regulation, cortisol and behavior were unrelated, suggesting that measures of both are needed to assess infant stress more adequately. There was considerable variation in the timing of the peak cortisol response, suggesting that obtaining only a single poststressor cortisol sample does not provide a sensitive measure of cortisol reactivity.     

Cost-effective models for delivering behaviour analysis teaching in UK schools and local authorities

Education programmes based on behaviour analysis are often used to teach children with learning disabilities. A common application of behaviour analysis is Early Intensive Behaviour Intervention (EIBI), which is evidence-based, but most children in the UK do not have access to this approach. EIBI is usually implemented for 30 to 40 hours per week, over two years. High levels of supervision from behaviour analysts are essential to ensure EIBI's effectiveness. A recent cost-effectiveness study concluded that EIBI was not cost-effective: while the children make progress relative to treatment as usual, the outcomes did not justify the cost of the intervention. Other low-cost models of delivery need to be considered. School-based models used in the UK may provide cost-effective and sustainable ways to use applied behaviour analysis in schools. They could be used in other local authorities to increase access to an education that includes behaviour analysis.