Methodological issues in value-added modeling: an international review from 26 countries

Educational Assessment, Evaluation and Accountability - Value-added (VA) modeling can be used to quantify teacher and school effectiveness by estimating the effect of pedagogical actions on...     

Between-School Variation in Students' Achievement,Motivation, Affect,and Learning Strategies: Results from 81 Countries for Planning Group-Randomized Trials in Education

To plan group-randomized trials where treatment conditions are assigned to schools, researchers need design parameters that provide information about between-school differences in outcomes as well as the amount of variance that can be explained by covariates at the student (L1) and school (L2) levels. Most previous research has offered these parameters for U.S. samples and for achievement as the outcome. This paper and the online supplementary materials provide design parameters for 81 countries in three broad outcome categories (achievement, affect and motivation, and learning strategies) for domain-general and domain-specific (mathematics, reading, and science) measures. Sociodemographic characteristics were used as covariates. Data from representative samples of 15-year-old students stemmed from five cycles of the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA; total number of students/schools: 1,905,147/70,098). Between-school differences as well as the amount of variance explained at L1 and L2 varied widely across countries and educational outcomes, demonstrating the limited generalizability of design parameters across these dimensions. The use of the design parameters to plan group-randomized trials is illustrated.     

A computer-supported method to reveal and assess Personal Professional Theories in vocational education

This article introduces a dedicated, computer-supported method to construct and formatively assess open, annotated concept maps of Personal Professional Theories (PPTs). These theories are internalised, personal bodies of formal and practical knowledge, values, norms and convictions that professionals use as a reference to interpret and acquire knowledge, and to direct their behaviour, and which vocational students are expected to develop. Monitoring the development of PPTs and assessing their quality are difficult as they are, essentially, mental schemes. Traditional methods, such as semi-structured interviews and concept mapping, are either too labour-intensive to be used in an educational setting or are not able to reveal their full quality. The study presents a new method which is valid, reliable and easy to use in education and which reveals the quality in a way that is comparable to or better than interviews.     

Vers l'intégration de la théorie et de la pratique dans la formation initiale et continue des enseignants du second degré

The article examines issues pertaining to the training of the ‘second degree’ in France—i.e. those who teach Secondary pupils aged 11 to 18. The different categories of suck teachers, and the different forms of training received, are identified, and the article focuses specifically on the situation of lycée (upper‐Secondary) teachers. Historically, the element of pedagogy has been undervalued in this area.

In‐service education is very important. Many courses are provided, although Secondary teachers do not have statutory rights to INSET release.

Recent examination of training for this sector has revealed a number of weaknesses, among them a tendency to compartmentalisation and the fact that university trainers themselves lack pedagogic background. The de Peretti Report is referred to.

The article concludes with a close examination of aspects of the theory‐practice issue, based on the writer's extensive experience.     

Biomedical Discourse on Women's Physical Education and Sport in France (1880–1922)

This article aims at studying the contradictions in scientific discourse on physical education for women in France from 1880 to 1922. In 1880 a law made gymnastics compulsory at school, and physical practices became a topic of public and scientific debate. 1922 is the date of the first medical congress on women's and children's physical education. Our study is based on a corpus of more than 200 scholarly texts about physical education or sport. They discuss women, exclusively conceived in their biological functions as procreators, thus physiologically qualifying the socially constructed properties of femininity. However, as soon as the first steps towards female physical practices appeared, contradictions came up. On the one hand, some doctors wanted to preserve reproductive organs from any violent exercises. On the other hand, other doctors wanted to reinforce female bodies through sport practices.     

A comparison of methods to determine maximal accumulated oxygen deficit in running

Abstract

The aim of this study was to compare maximal accumulated oxygen deficit (hereafter O₂ deficit) estimated from the methods of Whipp et al. (1986 Whipp, B. J., Ward, S. A. and Wasserman, K. 1986. Respiratory markers of the anaerobic threshold. Advances in Cardiology, 35: 47–64. [Crossref], [PubMed] , [Google Scholar]), Medbo et al. (1988 Medbo, J. I., Mohn, A. C., Tabata, I., Bahr, R., Vaage, O. and Sejersted, O. M. 1988. Anaerobic capacity determined by maximal accumulated O₂ deficit. Journal of Applied Physiology, 64: 50–60. [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]), and Hill et al. (1998 Hill, D. W., Ferguson, C. S. and Ehler, K. L. 1998. An alternative method to determine maximal accumulated O₂ deficit in runners. European Journal of Applied Physiology, 79: 114–117. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) to determine whether they agree sufficiently to be used interchangeably. Nineteen moderately to highly trained endurance runners first performed an incremental test to exhaustion for the determination of maximal oxygen uptake ([Vdot]O_2max) and peak treadmill speed, followed by six randomly ordered constant-speed tests at 95, 100, 105, 110, 110, and 120% of peak treadmill speed. All tests were separated by at least 72 h and were performed within 4 weeks. The method of Whipp produced an O₂ deficit estimate that was lower than that derived from the method of Hill or Medbo (bias ± 95% limits of agreement: ?29.6 ± 36.6 and ?26.1 ± 32.8 ml · kg^?1, respectively; P < 0.001). The O₂ deficit did not differ between the methods of Hill and Medbo (bias ± 95% limits of agreement: 3.5 ± 41.6 ml · kg^?1; n.s.). However, poor correlations (0.21 < r < 0.33; n.s.) together with wide limits of agreement between O₂ deficit estimates (70 – 80% of the mean response) clearly question using these methods interchangeably.     

A propos d'une rencontre consacrée aux pproblèmes de l'éducation des Parents,Hambourg, Septembre 1955

Sans résumé     

Une rencontre internationale sur les “Moyens audio-visuels et l'Éducation populaire”

Sans résumé