Using a situative perspective to gain a deeper understanding of how children’s strengths are related to social context

Over the last twenty-five years, there has been an increase in the availability of published checklists and schedules which allow practitioners to identify the strengths of children and young people, including those with special educational needs. While helpful, these assessments are unable to tell us about the nature of contextual factors which support the expression of particular strengths. In this study, we took a situative perspective to explore how specific classroom practices facilitated strengths. A multiple case study design was used to analyse practices nominated by three children/young people with special educational needs. Qualitative analysis revealed how aspects of practice afforded the opportunity for each child to participate in ways which they equated with their strengths. This style of strength-based assessment led to a more sustained examination of supportive practice features than would have been achieved through interview alone.     

First in,best dressed: The presence of order-effect bias in journal ranking surveys

The purpose of this study is to test for the presence of order-effect bias in journal ranking surveys. Data were obtained from 379 active knowledge management and intellectual capital researchers who rated 25 journals on a 7-point scale. Five different versions of the survey instrument were utilized. Consistent with the cognitive elaboration model, the satisficing theory, and the Gricean maxim of orderliness, order-effect bias was observed in journal ranking surveys. Journals that appear in the beginning of the ranking list delivered to survey respondents consistently receive higher scores than journals at the end of the list. Overall, the position of the journal in the list explains over 10% of its score. Therefore, authors of journal ranking studies are recommended to use multiple versions of the survey instrument with randomized journal orders.