Promoting educational reforms in weak states: the case of radical policy discontinuity in Peru

The present article explores the making of education policies in weak states, particularly in the context of developing nations and in view of the increasing influence of international organisations, such as the World Bank, in definition of education reform agendas. The discussion seeks to contribute to the theory of weak states by highlighting the importance of political processes of interest articulation and mobilisation, and by suggesting that state weakness can vary internally from one policy to another. It does so with reference to education and to a study of radical discontinuity in Peruvian education policies.     

Of half-bloods and street dogs,Arnold Clavio vs. the Azkals: discourses and definitions of national identity

Football might not be as popular as basketball in the Philippines, but it has a loyal following. In 2012, broadcaster Arnold Clavio claimed that members of the Men’s National Team, the Azkals, were not true Filipinos. Most of the Azkals are children of Filipinos and foreign nationals, and spent their childhood abroad. Clavio’s statement prompted an online writing storm, which the researcher analyzed to examine how Filipinos constructed their identity. Analysis showed that Azkals supporters constructed the Filipino as a ‘citizen of the world’, with a dynamic identity defined by individual emotions. Clavio supporters tended to construct the Filipino as a ‘citizen of the country only’, with an identity fixed by location and acted out in culture. The debate centred on whether Filipino identity could be inherited but changed, or was fixed and immutable. These struggles raise interesting questions on national identity and unity, whether or not football is involved.     

Meta‐evaluation in clinical anatomy: A practical application of item response theory in multiple choice examinations

The nature of anatomy education has changed substantially in recent decades, though the traditional multiple‐choice written examination remains the cornerstone of assessing students' knowledge. This study sought to measure the quality of a clinical anatomy multiple‐choice final examination using item response theory (IRT) models. One hundred seventy‐six students took a multiple‐choice clinical anatomy examination. One‐ and two‐parameter IRT models (difficulty and discrimination parameters) were used to assess item quality. The two‐parameter IRT model demonstrated a wide range in item difficulty, with a median of ?1.0 and range from ?2.0 to 0.0 (25th to 75th percentile). Similar results were seen for discrimination (median 0.6; range 0.4–0.8). The test information curve achieved maximum discrimination for an ability level one standard deviation below the average. There were 15 items with standardized loading less than 0.3, which was due to several factors: two items had two correct responses, one was not well constructed, two were too easy, and the others revealed a lack of detailed knowledge by students. The test used in this study was more effective in discriminating students of lower ability than those of higher ability. Overall, the quality of the examination in clinical anatomy was confirmed by the IRT models. Anat Sci Educ 3:17–24, 2010. © 2009 American Association of Anatomists.     

From Military Member to Student: An Examination of the Communicative Challenges of Veterans to Perform Communication Accommodation in the University

This study examined the transition of veterans from the military to the classroom. Guided by communication accommodation theory (CAT), results of semi-structured interviews (N = 20) of military veterans were analyzed to see how and why participants described communication approaches in the university setting. Approaches appeared guided by inculcated values developed during earlier cultural experiences, in the military. Participants described interpersonal and group communication exchanges in three broad themes: cultural clash, perspective taking, and self-silencing. This research supports prior psychological research that explored difficulties combat veterans face after exit and extends this research to non-combat veterans from a communicative perspective.     

Mean Effects of Test Accommodations for ELLs and Non‐ELLs: A Meta‐Analysis of Experimental Studies

The objective was to examine the impact of different types of accommodations on performance in content tests such as mathematics. The meta‐analysis included 14 U.S. studies that randomly assigned school‐aged English language learners (ELLs) to test accommodation versus control conditions or used repeated measures in counter‐balanced order. Individual effect sizes (Glass's d) were calculated for 50 groups of ELLs and 32 groups of non‐ELLs. Individual effect sizes for English language and native language accommodations were classified into groups according to type of accommodation and timing conditions. Means and standard errors were calculated for each category. The findings suggest that accommodations that require extra printed materials need generous time limits for both the accommodated and unaccommodated groups to ensure that they are effective, equivalent in scale to the original test, and therefore more valid owing to reduced construct‐irrelevant variance. Computer‐administered glossaries were effective even when time limits were restricted. Although the Plain English accommodation had very small average effect sizes, inspection of individual effect sizes suggests that it may be much more effective for ELLs at intermediate levels of English language proficiency. For Spanish‐speaking students with low proficiency in English, the Spanish test version had the highest individual effect size (+1.45).     

How Robert A. Millikan Got the Physics Nobel Prize

In 1923, R.A. Millikan was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for his work on the elementary charge of electricity and on the photoelectric effect. Recently, historical research had a focus on Millikan’s publication practice, as well as on the role of his assistant, Harvey Fletcher. Several studies have raised doubts on whether Millikan can actually be taken as a role model for scientific practice; however, what has not been discussed yet is the question of how the Nobel Committee came to their decision to award Millikan’s work. Based on archival material from the Nobel Committee, this paper discusses the nomination procedure, as well as the evaluation process of Millikan’s work.     

Relationship between accuracy and complexity when learning underarm precision throwing

Learning precision ball throwing was mostly studied to explore the early rapid improvement of accuracy, with poor attention on possible adaptive processes occurring later when the rate of improvement is reduced. Here, we tried to demonstrate that the strategy to select angle, speed and height at ball release can be managed during the learning periods following the performance stabilization. To this aim, we used a multivariate linear model with angle, speed and height as predictors of changes in accuracy. Participants performed underarm throws of a tennis ball to hit a target on the floor, 3.42 m away. Two training sessions (S1, S2) and one retention test were executed. Performance accuracy increased over the S1 and stabilized during the S2, with a rate of changes along the throwing axis slower than along the orthogonal axis. However, both the axes contributed to the performance changes over the learning and consolidation time. A stable relationship between the accuracy and the release parameters was observed only during S2, with a good fraction of the performance variance explained by the combination of speed and height. All the variations were maintained during the retention test. Overall, accuracy improvements and reduction in throwing complexity at the ball release followed separate timing over the course of learning and consolidation.     

Uso/adquisición de una lengua extranjera en el marco escolar entre los tres y los seis años

A partir de actividades organizadas en torno a la escenificación activa de cuentos por parte de toda la clase—maestra y alumnos—, y que funcionan como primer «territorio compartido» en la nueva lengua. Se presentan en este artículo un conjunto de materiales elaborados para la introducción escolar de una lengua extranjera entre los 3 y los 6 años (preescolar y primero de EGB). El diseño presentado se ha realizado partiendo de una doble hipótesis: en primer lugar, que, lejos de ser primero aprendida y posteriormente utilizada, la nueva lengua es adquirida a través de su propio uso; en segundo lugar, que este « uso/adquisición» de la lengua que aún no se conoce (suficientemente) es un proceso interactivo que, inevitablemente, sólo podrá construirse en colaboración con otros interlocutores.