Measurement of teacher performance: A study in instrument development

The procedures used to produce a research-based teaching evaluation system, containing low-inference indicators of effective and ineffective teacher behavior, included instrument development, content validation, and field testing. An extensive reliability study produced estimates for three types of consistency: intercoder agreement (r = 0.85), stability across teaching situations r = 0.86, and discriminant reliability among teachers (r = 0.79). The norming component of the study conducted in 45 schools, generated over 1200 observations of current teacher practice at all grade levels and in various subject areas. The results indicated the substantially generic nature of these behaviors; only grade level and instructional method (interactive, lecture, and independent seatwork) produced meaningful differences among groups of teachers. In addition, the average teacher used most of the effective behaviors (70%), and a few of the ineffective behaviors (8%) during observation. These results support the instrument's value in teacher training, remediation, and evaluation.     

Predicting Parent-Child Differences in Perceptions of How Children Use the Internet for Help With Homework,Identity Development,and Health Information

Bioecological systems theory provides a framework to understand how factors in the child's environment contribute to parent-child differences in estimations of how often children are helped by their Internet use. A national sample survey of 456 matched parent-child pairs investigated how parents-child relational factors, parental attitudes toward the Internet, and the bio-ecology of the child, are related to differing perceptions of the frequency of using the Internet to seek help with homework assignments, to aid in identity development, and to find health information. While previous research shows that parents underestimate risky online behaviors, we investigate whether parent-child differences will emerge in regards to how often the child engages in the behaviors under investigation here. The findings show that parents overestimate these online activities, suggesting they are biased in their estimations. Parent-child relational factors emerged as predictors of parental overestimation for each of these online activities, with trust perceptions as the most consistent predictor. Parental attitudes toward the Internet predicted parent-child differences in perceptions of how frequently the child used the Internet for help with homework and identity development, while the bioecology of the child was only predictive in the case of using the Internet for help with homework.     

Cross-cultural Perspectives of Successful Aging: Young Turks and Europeans

Successful aging (SA) has been conceptualized in a number of ways. Despite increasing research into how laypersons define SA, few studies capturing lay perspectives of SA in younger cohorts and in non-English speaking countries have been undertaken. The current study examines cross-cultural perspectives of SA in young (aged 18–35), lay adults from a variety of continental European countries and Turkey. Participants were recruited via snowball sampling from social network sites and invited to participate in an online survey. Persons between 18–35 years from Belgium, Estonia, Germany, Netherlands, Romania, Switzerland, or Turkey were included. Respondents (total: 390; Belgian: 32; Estonian: 96; German: 76; Romanian: 47; Swiss: 39; Dutch: 30; Turkish: 70), were primarily women (56.4%) and students (66.2%), with an average age of 24.1 years (SD 3.7). Personal resources, social and active engagement all emerged as dominant themes across countries, but were articulated in subtly different ways in the participant countries. Positive perspectives, desirable attributes and satisfaction themes were intertwined within themes of acceptance and engagement. The current study provides a first step in the inclusion of geographic and cultural diversity into the SA literature. These results suggest that layperson conceptualizations of SA have broad-sweeping similarities, but further research is required to articulate the nuance of cultural influences on SA.     

Proceedings of the Eighth Annual Conference of the National Council for Jewish Education

Research about Jewish choral singers provides insight to a previously unstudied population of adult Jewish learners. Drawing on over 2,000 responses to the First-Ever Survey of Jewish Choral Activity, this article describes how Jewish choral experiences enable adults to deepen their involvement in Jewish life and learning. Survey results suggest that participants in Jewish choral groups resemble secular singers in terms of social, identity, and skill development, but derive additional benefits in terms of Jewish Peoplehood, Jewish Competence, Spirituality, and Jewish Community. Jewish choral activities particularly benefit singers under 45 by providing them opportunities to integrate their Jewish and musical lives.