Assessing metacognitive knowledge in 3–5 year olds: the development of a metacognitive knowledge interview (McKI)

Historically, early cognitive skills have been underestimated, largely as a result of the ways these competencies have been measured, which is particularly pervasive in the area of metacognition. Only recently have researchers begun to detect evidence of contextualized metacognition in 3–5 year old preschool children through the use of observational assessment tools (e.g., Whitebread et al. J Cogn Educ Psychol 3:433-455, 2007, Metacognition Learn 4:63-85, 2009). While these observational methods are a more sensitive way to capture metacognition in young children, their exclusive use may not result in a comprehensive depiction of early metacognitive competency. In the current study, we describe the development of a metacognitive knowledge interview (McKI) and what it reveals about metacognitive processes in 43 3–5 year olds (including investigating face validity). Findings indicate that the McKI (a) is a developmentally appropriate measure for 3–5 year olds, (b) is capable of eliciting articulated metacognitive knowledge when engaging in a contextualized problem-solving task, (c) shows the expected developmental trend (i.e., older children perform at a higher level and scores increased over the course of a school year), and (d) provides sufficient variation across children. Implications for future research are discussed, including the importance of using multiple measurement tools when studying early metacognitive development.     

Adverse childhood experiences,health perception,and the role of shared familial factors in adult twins

To examine the relationship between adverse childhood experiences (ACE) and health perception in adulthood, and to explore the contribution of shared familial factors to these associations. Data were collected from 180 female twins (90 pairs) from the community-based University of Washington Twin Registry. Participants completed questionnaires including the modified ACE Questionnaire, Traumatic Life Events Questionnaire, McGill Pain Questionnaire-Short Form, and the SF-36. Mixed effects linear regression modeling investigated the effects of ACE on indices of health perception controlling for correlated twin data. Additional models examined the associations while controlling for the experience of physical and/or sexual abuse in childhood; within-twin pair models that inherently adjust for familial factors explored shared familial influences. After controlling for relevant demographic variables, more ACE was associated with worse perceptions of general health (p = .01) and vitality (p = .05) on the SF-36. After controlling for childhood physical and/or sexual abuse, the relationship between ACE and general health remained significant (p = .01) while vitality was no longer significant. None of the associations remained significant after accounting for the influence of familial factors. These results support previous findings on the negative link between ACE and perceived health in adulthood. The detrimental effects of ACE on vitality may be accounted for by the experience of childhood physical and/or sexual abuse. Shared familial factors might play a partial role in the relationship between ACE and health perception. Future research should further investigate the genetic and environmental mechanisms that may explain this relationship.     

Gender differences in primary and secondary education: Are girls really outperforming boys?

A moral panic has broken out in several countries after recent studies showed that girls were outperforming boys in education. Commissioned by the Dutch Ministry of Education, the present study examines the position of boys and girls in Dutch primary education and in the first phase of secondary education over the past ten to fifteen years. On the basis of several national and international large-scale databases, the authors examined whether one can indeed speak of a gender gap, at the expense of boys. Three domains were investigated, namely cognitive competencies, non-cognitive competencies, and school career features. The results as expressed in effect sizes show that there are hardly any differences with regard to language and mathematics proficiency. However, the position of boys in terms of educational level and attitudes and behaviour is much more unfavourable than that of girls. Girls, on the other hand, score more unfavourably with regard to sector and subject choice. While the present situation in general does not differ very much from that of a decade ago, it is difficult to predict in what way the balances might shift in the years to come.     

East Meets West in Assessment Development: Western Technical Assistance to Eastern Needs. Part II: Project and Team Management in the AERo Project in Romania

This is Part II of a three-part series describing the consultancy and training demands that are encountered in technical assistance projects in Central and Eastern Europe. This part highlights project management and cooperation aspects in delivering support to the Romanian Assessment and Examination Service. Part I dealt with strategic issues for a successful delivery of "Western Technical Assistance to Eastern Needs." Part III will address training of Polish subject experts, preparing to take on responsibility for a decentralized and drastically changed final exam, the Matura.     

Decentralisation and Combating Educational Exclusion

The main question in our study was: which success factors and obstacles can be expected in the Netherlands when implementing a new, decentralised policy relating to educational disadvantage? Part of this research was to look at international experiences of decentralised policies to combat educational disadvantage. Thus three countries were studied in this context and their policies analysed and compared via a literature study and interviews with various experts. In this article we first report on changes in Dutch policy to combat educational disadvantage and then we describe the decentralised educational-disadvantage approach in the three countries chosen: England/Wales, the United States and Australia. Evaluation of the processes and results in these countries leads to predictions of the success of the Dutch policy reforms.