CATHOLIC ACTION IN RELIGIOUS AND NATIONAL WELFARE

The purpose of this column is to keep religious educators abreast of relevant significant research in the general field of psychology. Each section describes a group of findings which have been reported in PSYCHOLOGICAL ABSTRACTS together with titles of these works so that those who wish may go to the original source. This column is written as a service to religious educators by the Union College Character Research Project. All abstracts are used with permission of the periodical, PSYCHOLOGICAL ABSTRACTS. The abstract numbers are Volume 38, Numbers 1‐3, 1964.     

Building next generation video game collections in academic libraries

Most academic libraries do not yet have gaming collections, let alone gaming services and facilities that support the unique and growing teaching and research needs of campus environments. Academic libraries in particular need to start thinking about developing the next generation of gaming collections and services. This article examines the experiences in developing an academic library gaming initiative at a large research university, and works towards identifying the questions academic libraries need to be asking and the issues that need investigating in order to map out a path for developing next generation gaming collections that will meet the needs of academic instructors and researchers in the coming decade, and take advantage of the unique opportunities gaming and gaming technology provide.     

Assessment matters: The strength of mixed research methods for the assessment of learning communities

At Georgia State, combining quantitative and qualitative techniques provides greater insight than using either method alone.     

Acceptable Masculinities: Working-Class Young Men and Vocational Education and Training Courses

Since the 1970s, the process of deindustrialisation, accompanied by social, cultural and political changes, has altered youth transitions from school to work. This paper is drawn from an Economic and Social Research Council-funded study that explored the diversity of white, working-class young men (aged between 16 and 18) in a post-industrial community. The study focused on how young men performed their masculinities through different post-16 educational pathways and within the limits of place and a disadvantaged social class position. In this paper, I explore the way three of these young men who were enrolled on different vocational education and training courses learned how to display acceptable masculinities within these settings. Drawing on the work of Goffman, I argue that these vocational courses can ‘frame’ traditional forms of working-class masculinity, but also have the potential to enable alternative performances of masculinity to come through. However, the role of a locale’s industrial heritage on gendered and classed expectations is important, and the impact this has on successful futures needs to be recognised.     

‘This is my new normal’: teachers’ accounts of evaluation policy at local school board meetings

In this study, we seek to illuminate teachers’ constructions of US teacher evaluation policies through close analysis of the way teachers in one district describe these policies. We conducted a thematic discursive analysis of 60 teachers’ speeches, recorded during local school board meetings in a Tennessee school district. Using discursive psychology as a lens, analysis focuses on the teachers’ constructions of teacher accountability policies and their own positioning within the policies. We also attend to the linguistic resources teachers used in justifying their decision to speak during the meetings. Findings showed that while drawing upon repertoires of human capital and one-size-fits-all education, the teachers’ patterned participation involved the contestation of status quo practices of teacher evaluation and effectiveness by contrasting them with imagined possibilities of what evaluation could be instead. Implications for developing teacher evaluation are discussed.     

An NCME Instructional Module: Guidelines for the Development of Item Banks

Use of item banking technology can provide much relief for the chores associated with preparing assessments; it may also enhance the quality of the items and improue the quality of the assessments. Item banking programs provide for item entry and storage, item retrieval and test creation, and maintenance of the item history. Some programs also provide companion programs for scoring, analysis, and reporting. There are many item banking programs that may be purchased or leased, and there are banks of items auailable for purchase. This module is designed to help those who develop assessments of any kind to understand the process of item banking, to analyze their needs, and to find or develop programs and materials that meet those needs. It should be useful to teachers at all leuels of education and to school-district test directors who are responsible for developing district-wide tests. It may also provide some useful information for those who are responsible for large-scale assessment programs of all types.