How do we know research and development projects in vocational education and training are cost‐effective?

This article reviews a recent U.K. study which sought to identify the steps that have to be taken to improve the efficacy of research and development (R&D) projects in Vocational Education and Training (VET). The review is facilitated by making reference to the approach and findings of a parallel study in Switzerland.

The review seeks to highlight the importance of more rigorously establishing what really happens to the results of R&D projects after they are completed. In particular, it seeks to identify what is necessary to ensure that each R&D project has a positive impact on practice. It does this in order to ensure that the now substantial investment in R&D for VET is cost effective. On the basis of the review the article proposes an agenda for an effective and coordinated approach to action and research in the area.     

An Approach for Evaluating the Technical Quality of Interim Assessments

Increasing numbers of schools and districts have expressed interest in interim assessment systems to prepare for summative assessments and to improve teaching and learning. However, with so many commercial interim assessments available, schools and districts are struggling to determine which interim assessment is most appropriate to their needs. Unfortunately, there is little research-based guidance to help schools and districts to make the right choice about how to spend their money. Because we realize the urgency of developing criteria that can describe or evaluate the quality of interim assessments, this article presents the results of an initial attempt to create an instrument that school and district educators could use to evaluate the quality and usefulness of the interim assessment. The instrument is designed for use by state and district leaders to help them select an appropriate interim assessment system for their needs, but it could also be used by test vendors looking to evaluate and improve their own systems and by researchers engaged in studies of interim assessment use.     

Using Appleworks in the Geography Class:

This study investigated whether using multimedia-based instructional material in a problem-based social studies simulation enhances student learning about world issues, increases interest in social studies, and generates positive attitudes toward the instruction. The GlobalEd Project, a Web-based international negotiation simulation embedded in the middle school social studies curriculum, was used in this investigation. The study employed a quasi-experimental design with a multimedia group (MG) and a text group (TG). A total of 190 students participated in the study. Results indicated that students in the MG had marginally larger gains in knowledge and interest than their counterparts in the TG. In addition, students in the MG used the Web site more extensively than students in the TG. Directions for future research and multimedia developers are discussed.     

Weighing the difference: the validity of multiplicative and subtractive approaches to item weights in an instrument assessing college choice decisions

The Admitted Student Questionnaire Plus (ASQ⁺) is a standardised measure that provides an analysis of the student's college selection process. Among other things, the instrument inquires about the importance of 16 college characteristics, followed by quality ratings of specific colleges that the student considered on these same characteristics. This study investigated the utility of importance weights in the assessment of college choice, examining how much the importance rating would improve one's ability to predict the student's actual college choice over and above what is possible with just the quality ratings. Another purpose of the study was to determine if importance ratings and quality ratings were independent of each other or associated in some way. Two types of weights were studied: (1) standardised weights created by averaging the importance ratings of the entire sample; and (2) subjective weights unique to each respondent. The weights were combined with quality ratings by either: (1) multiplying the quality rating by the importance rating; or by (2) subtracting the quality rating from the importance rating (gap score). Standardised weights did not improve prediction at all, and subjective weights only improved the predictability of college choice by a very miniscule amount (about 1%). Importance and quality ratings were found to be associated, especially in the ratings of the college that the student decided to attend. Some correlations were linear in nature, but many were non-linear, such that characteristics rated high or low were perceived as more important than characteristics assigned mid-range quality ratings. It was concluded that importance weights do not enhance prediction of college choice, but they may be useful for administrators in prioritising interventions.     

Contextualizing Nature of Science Instruction in Socioscientific Issues

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of two learning contexts for explicit-reflective nature of science (NOS) instruction, socioscientific issues (SSI) driven and content driven, on student NOS conceptions. Four classes of 11th and 12th grade anatomy and physiology students participated. Two classes experienced a curricular sequence organized around SSI (the SSI group), and two classes experienced a content-based sequence (the Content group). An open-ended NOS questionnaire was administered to both groups at the beginning and end of the school year and analyzed to generate student profiles. Quantitative analyses were performed to compare pre-instruction NOS conceptions between groups as well as pre to post changes within groups and between groups. Both SSI and Content groups showed significant gains in most NOS themes, but between-group gains were not significantly different. Qualitative analysis of post-instruction responses, however, revealed that students in the SSI group tended to use examples to describe their views of the social/cultural NOS. The findings support SSI contexts as effective for promoting gains in students’ NOS understanding and suggest that these contexts facilitate nuanced conceptions that should be further explored.     

The Australian situation: not so touchy?

Fear of unmediated touch between adults and children has become a feature of life in Anglophone countries, including Australia. Previous research has shown that this fear has had an impact on interactions between adults and children, particularly in education and early years care contexts. To assess the extent to which these fears have influenced Australians' willing to participate or allow their children to participate in junior sport 20 semi-structured interviews were conducted with sports administrators, parents, junior sports officials and young sportspeople. Results suggest that Australians are aware of the prevailing discourses of risk but see these as irrelevant to their own contexts. As a result, junior sport in Australia continues to thrive.     

Sport's social provisions

This paper explores the relationship between sport and social capital by reporting on research that examined the social provisions of individuals’ involvement in sport and non-sport community organisations. Data were collected on levels of involvement in community sport and other third sector organisations, selected demographic variables, and a measure of social support using the Social Provisions Scale (Cutrona, 1984, Cutrona, 1986, Cutrona and Russell, 1987). The findings support the contention that social support developed through involvement in sport organisations is stronger than that developed through involvement in non-sport community organisations, but reveal that differences in the type, tenure and intensity of involvement in sport organisations had no significant impact on the strength of support developed.     

Sport as a (mere) hobby: in defense of ‘the gentle pursuit of a modest competence’

In this essay, I defend sport as a (mere) hobby in contrast to sport as a ‘mutual quest for excellence through challenge’. With the assistance of ideas found in the novel Don Quixote, I raise questions about the clarity, merit, and sufficiency of the quest-for-excellence apologetic. I employ arguments made by James and Dewey to support my alternate defense of sporting activity as a hobby, that is, as ‘the gentle pursuit of a modest competence’. Based on the work of Wu, my defense stands as both a philosophic argument and a cultural critique.     

In vivo lumbo-sacral forces and moments during constant speed running at different stride lengths

Abstract

The aim of this study was to introduce a Newton–Euler inverse dynamics model that included reaction force and moment estimation at the lumbo-sacral (L5-S1) and thoraco-lumbar (T12-L1) joints. Data were collected while participants ran over ground at 3.8 m · s^?1 at three different stride lengths: preferred stride length, 20% greater than preferred, and 20% less than preferred. Inputs to the model were ground reaction forces, bilateral lower extremity and pelvis kinematics and inertial parameters, kinematics of the lumbar spine and thorax and inertial parameters of the lumbar segment. Repeated measures ANOVA were performed on the lower extremity sagittal kinematics and kinetics, including L5-S1 and T12-L1 three-dimensional joint angles, reaction forces and moments at touchdown and peak values during impact phase across the three stride conditions. Results indicated that L5-S1 and T12-L1 vertical reaction forces at touchdown and during the impact portion of the support phase increased significantly as stride length increased (P < 0.001), as did peak sagittal L5-S1 moments during impact (P = 0.018). Additionally, the transverse T12-L1 joint moment increased as running speed increased (P = 0.006). We concluded from our findings that our model was sensitive to our perturbations in healthy runners, and may prove useful in future mechanistic studies of L5-S1 mechanics.