An intensive study of the reliability of Rhode Island Pupil Identification Scale

A recent study of the factorial structure of the Rhode Island Pupil Identification Scale (RIPIS), a pupil behavior-observation scale for use by classroom teachers for detecting young children with learning problems, has led to profile scoring. This study describes the procedures and the results of an intensive and comprehensive investigation of the homogeneity of the subscales and their reliabilities as well as those of the two profiles yielded by the scale. All subscales, profiles, and composites were found to be highly internally consistent and stable over a time interval of five months. The authors also wish to show why complex psychometric scales require that more than cursory attention be paid to reliability issues.     

Italian students’ results in the PISA mathematics test: does reading competence matter?

In Italy, from the 2003 reports to the present, the National Institute for the Educational Evaluation of Instruction and Training (INVALSI) has conducted research on Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) results in order to understand Italian students’ low achievement in mathematics. In the present paper, data from a representative sample of 15-year-old Italian students who participated in PISA 2012 were analysed. This study’s primary aim is to verify how students’ linguistic competences are associated with their performance in mathematics. For the evaluation of the impact of item reading demand on students’ performance, we selected 24 mathematics items with a high reading demand and 31 mathematics items with a low reading demand, as classified by Italian language and methodology experts. Repeated measure variance analyses were conducted. The results showed differences in function of gender: females are advantaged in mathematics items with a high reading demand, independent of their level of reading literacy. In contrast, males are advantaged in mathematics items with a low reading demand, independent of their level of reading literacy. Possible policy implications are discussed.     

Regulating global capitalism amid rampant corporate wrongdoing—Reply to “Three frames for innovation policy”

Despite progress in science and technology and the economic prosperity achieved by numerous countries over the past century, contemporary global capitalism has left us with severe grand challenges for the future including rising inequality, global warming, modern slavery, child labor and several other human rights struggles. How can we fix them? For many years, scholars and policy makers alike have believed that economic growth (fueled by innovation) would fix institutional failures and lift people out of human misery. We now know that this story creaks. I would suggest that the current grand challenges are related in a non-trivial way to companies’ wrongful business conduct, especially that of large multinational corporations which have grown to rival governments in size, and have proven to be powerful agents capable of shaping the global governance agenda. I challenge technological determinism and ‘transformative change’ frameworks by arguing that the regulation of global capitalism needs to put powerful private actors at center stage since neglecting them will give rise to yet another generation of dysfunctional development and innovation policies.     

The micro-determinants of meso-level learning and innovation: evidence from a Chilean wine cluster

Most analyses of the relationship between spatial clustering and the technological learning of firms have emphasised the influence of the former on the latter, and have focused on intra-cluster learning as the driver of innovative performance. This paper reverses those perspectives. It examines the influence of individual firms’ absorptive capacities on both the functioning of the intra-cluster knowledge system and its interconnection with extra-cluster knowledge. It applies social network analysis to identify different cognitive roles played by cluster firms and the overall structure of the knowledge system of a wine cluster in Chile. The results show that knowledge is not diffused evenly ‘in the air’, but flows within a core group of firms characterised by advanced absorptive capacities. Firms’ different cognitive roles include some—as in the case of technological gatekeepers—that contribute actively to the acquisition, creation and diffusion of knowledge. Others remain cognitively isolated from the cluster, though in some cases strongly linked to extra-cluster knowledge. Possible implications for policy are noted.     

SCiMet: Stable,sCalable and reliable Metric-based framework for quality assessment in collaborative content generation systems

In collaborative content generation (CCG), such as publishing scientific articles, a group of contributors collaboratively generates artifacts available through a venue. The main concern in such systems is the quality. A remarkable range of research considers quality metrics partially when dealing with the quality of artifacts, contributors, and venues. However, such approaches have several drawbacks. One of the most notable ones is that they are not comprehensive in terms of the metrics to evaluate all entities, including artifacts, contributors, and venues. Also, they are vulnerable to potential attacks.In this paper, we propose a novel iterative definition in which the quality of artifacts, collaborators, and venues are defined interconnectedly. In our framework, the quality of an artifact is defined based on the quality of its contributors, venue, references, and citations. The quality of a contributor is defined based on the quality of his artifacts, collaborators, and the venues. Quality of a venue is defined based on both quality of artifacts and contributors. We propose a data model, formulations, and an algorithm for the proposed approach. We also compare the robustness of our approach against malicious manipulations with two well-known related approaches. The comparison results show the superiority of our method over other related approaches.     

Teachers’ professional development through university–school partnerships: theoretical standpoints and evidence from two pilot studies in Chile

This paper presents a teacher professional development programme, based on a university–schools partnership and a collective reflection model, addressing the needs of in-service teacher education in Chile. First, the main challenges faced by both teachers and teacher education in Chile are summarised. Then, the foundations of this model are presented. Finally, an illustration of the model is provided by presenting two pilot studies implemented in Chile. A qualitative analysis of interviews showed that the programme was successful in promoting teacher reflection, leading to reported changes in their practices. Finally, the advantages and the challenges arising from this study, and the educational possibilities of this model of professional development, are discussed.     

Core Elements of the European (Higher) Education Policy: Market-Driven Restructuring or Impetus for Intercultural Rapprochement?

For many years there has been a debate about the existence or not, of a common European education policy. In this article I argue that there has been a real European education policy since the approval of the Maastricht Treaty, with a proper content and which offers many new possibilities to students. The core of this policy is the setting up of the European Higher Education Area, designed not only for attendance-based universities, but also for distance and virtual universities. However, the policies, expected to be in force by 2010, have not been without problems and a critique of the implications for European higher education institutes is offered following an outline of the development and evolution of the policies.     

Near-peer teaching in an anatomy course with a low faculty-to-student ratio

Near-peer teaching is an educational format which utilizes tutors who are more advanced in a curriculum's content to supervise students' activities and to act as instructors in laboratory settings. This format is often used in anatomy laboratory courses. The goal of the present study is to describe the design and implementation of near-peer teaching in an anatomy course and to evaluate students' perceptions of the program. A total of 700 students were registered for this anatomy course which employed near-peer instructors. Of enrolled students, 558 (79.7%) agreed to participate in this study. In general, the practical section (e.g., the clinical hour, image-based anatomy session, and gross anatomy laboratory) of the course was viewed more favorably compared to the theory section (54.8%, n = 306), with dissection and prosection in the laboratory rated as the most valued experiences (34.9%, n = 195). Near-peer teaching is a viable option that satisfies the demands of modern curricula using small groups. This format stimulates learning within courses that have large numbers of students and low faculty-to-student ratios.     

What makes a student feel vital? Links between teacher-student relatedness and teachers’ engaging messages

Recent studies suggest that teacher messages can affect students’ well-being. Using a multilevel, variable, and person-centred approach, this study aimed to identify profiles of students according to their teachers’ use of engaging messages and analyse the relation among these profiles and teacher-student relatedness and students’ subjective vitality. A total of 1209 students participated in the study. At the student-level, profile analysis indicated the existence of four different profiles: the few messages profile, the autonomous motivational appeals profile, the loss-framed messages profile, and the gain-framed messages profile. At the teacher level, profile analysis indicated the existence of two profiles: the variant and the invariant profiles. Results showed that overall, at both levels of analysis, teachers’ engaging messages related with teacher-student relatedness (either positively or negatively) with clear differences among profiles. Moreover, also at both levels of analysis, teacher-student relatedness related with students’ subjective vitality. Main findings and implications for practice are discussed.