Multiculturalism: An "as if" phenomenon

Multiculturalism has come to have multiple meanings depending on the context and voice it is given. In higher education it has become a symbol for particular notions about minority and majority groups, and their places in the institution. While multicultural affairs and concerns at academic institutions appear to be genuinely supported and give the impression of commitment, they are, on closer inspection, a superficial and reactionary response to environmental pressures. Multicultural initiatives are not integrated into the very heart of the institution, but, rather, relegated to a cursory importance that, while genuinely intended, maintains the status quo. This paper attempts to closely examine the process of multiculturalism in small liberal arts colleges from the perspective of a minority faculty and administrator. That is, from a simultaneous position of subject and object.     

The Rôle of Television in the Teaching of Modern Languages

Black author James Baldwin has observed, ‘People are trapped in history and history is trapped in them. This perceptive comment invites teachers to explore the experiences of their students as the content of classroom instruction. Unfortunately, most history instructors have ignored this approach. This omission is particularly lamentable in regard to black students. The ability of a teacher to stimulate reflection on issues of significance to young blacks is clearly dependent upon his or her skill in identifying the universal concerns of the Afro-American community. One instructional resource that might help a history instructor accomplish this goal is popular music. However, the lyrics of black singers are rarely introduced in the classroom. One critic has capsuled the shortsightedness of this instructional omission by noting, ‘Black music has been the vanguard reflection of black feeling and the continuous repository of black consciousness’. His words warrant serious consideration by history teachers.     

Microcomputer Integration into a Special Education Institute in Bahrain: A Pilot Project

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the introduction of microcomputers into the Hope Institute, a school for mildly mentally retarded children. Readily available software in English could not be implemented, hence software had to be specially written for this pilot project. The package was demonstrated to the officials concerned at the Institute and was well received. It is expected that the growing awareness about the use of computers in the secondary schools of Bahrain will reinforce the results of our experiment and promote the introduction of computers into the special education institutes of the country.     

Evaluating students' science notebooks as an assessment tool

The idea of using science notebooks as a classroom assessment tool is not new. There is general agreement that science notebooks allow teachers to assess students' conceptual and procedural understanding and to provide the feedback students need for improving their performance. In this study we examined the use of science notebooks as an unobtrusive assessment tool that can also be used by individuals outside the classroom (for example, school district personnel), and as a means for obtaining information about students' learning and their opportunities to learn. More specifically, in this study students' science notebooks were used as a source of data about the (a) implementation of a curriculum's intended activities, (b) students' performance, and (c) quality of teachers' feedback. Our results indicated that: (1) Students' science notebooks can be reliably scored. Unit implementation, student performance, and teacher feedback scores were highly consistent across raters and units. (2) High and positive correlations with other performance assessment scores indicated that the student performance score can be considered as an achievement indicator. And (3) low performance scores across the two units revealed that students' communication skills and understanding were far away from the maximum score and did not improve over the course of instruction during the school year. This result may be due, in part, to the fact that no teacher feedback was found in any of the students' notebooks across the six classrooms studied. This may reflect some characteristics of the teachers' assessment practices that may require further professional development.     

Rater Cognition: Implications for Validity

The scoring process is critical in the validation of tests that rely on constructed responses. Documenting that readers carry out the scoring in ways consistent with the construct and measurement goals is an important aspect of score validity. In this article, rater cognition is approached as a source of support for a validity argument for scores based on constructed responses, whether such scores are to be used on their own or as the basis for other scoring processes, for example, automated scoring.     

The system of intellectual support for making decisions by planning and training

The paper is devoted to the problem of the qualitative training of management specialists. New methods and instruments permitting the quality of accepted decisions to be heightened are described. It is suggested to use an SISDM containing the functions of the system as an instrument for planning decisions and training in decision making with the use of computerized methods for the active teaching of the method for the analysis of concrete situations and management games.     

A general model of performance and quality for one-stop e-Government service offerings

This paper introduces a framework and methodology for establishing indicators and metrics in order to assess the quality and performance of one-stop e-Government service offerings. The set of quality and performance indicators and metrics proposed has been derived in an outcomes assessment approach, based on the perspectives of e-Government service providers and end-users and following a goal-question-metric line of work that departs from some key quality and performance benefits. A methodology that employs the proposed framework to set improvement targets according to alternative scenarios is presented, and a strategy is elaborated for analyzing root causes of potential quality and performance shortcomings and undertaking appropriate countermeasures. Some results of application in a real case study, in the context of an EU-funded R&D project, are also provided. Finally, recommendations are given about usefulness of the proposed approach for e-Government service providers, as well as policy and decision-makers, and directions of future work are discussed in order to enhance the conceptual coverage of this approach, while at the same time not compromising its simplicity of application and generality of purpose.