The Relation between Teacher Specialization and Student Reading Achievement

This study investigates the relationship between teacher specialization and the reading achievement of fourth-grade students in Sweden. The empirical base is data from PIRLS 2011. The main method of analysis is a two-level regression. Results revealed a positive relationship between reading achievement and teacher education relevant for subject and grade level while there was no relationship between reading achievement and teaching experience. The relation between reading achievement and teacher specialization remained significant when the influence of parents’ educational levels and students’ early reading abilities were controlled for. A tendency of compensatory effects could be observed, with teacher specialization having a stronger effect in low-performing classrooms. The findings support the conclusion that relevant teacher education is of importance for teacher effectiveness.     

Preschool twin study of the relation between attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and prereading skills

Numerous studies have examined the etiology of the association between reading difficulties and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in school-age children, but little is known about the relation between prereading skills and ADHD behaviors prior to the beginning of formal reading instruction. A population-based sample of 809 pairs of preschool twins completed an extensive battery of prereading measures, and the parent of each twin completed an ADHD rating scale. Phenotypic analyses revealed small but significant correlations between DSM-IV inattention ratings and six prereading composite measures, whereas hyperactivity–impulsivity symptoms were not independently associated with any of the prereading scores. Multivariate twin analyses indicated that virtually all of the phenotypic correlation between inattention and prereading performance is attributable to common genetic influences, consistent with results obtained in studies of older twins. Although additional research is needed to test alternative causal models in children younger than five years old, these results are most consistent with the hypothesis that reading difficulties and inattention symptoms are attributable to common genetic influences.     

Same Same,but Different: Word and Sentence Reading in German and English

The current study compared eye fixation patterns during word and sentence processing in a consistent and an inconsistent alphabetic orthography. German and English children as well as adults matched on word reading ability read matched sentences while their eye fixation behavior was recorded. Results indicated that German children read in a more small-unit plodder-like style with more diligent first-pass reading and less rereading. In contrast, English children read in a more large-unit explorer-like style with a greater tendency to skip words, and more regressions. It is important that these cross-linguistic processing differences largely persisted in the adult readers. Orthographic consistency thus influences both local word recognition and global sentence processing in developing and skilled readers.     

Preservice mathematics teachers’ beliefs about peer feedback,perceptions of their peer feedback message,and emotions as predictors of peer feedback accuracy and comprehension of the learning task

Peer feedback is increasingly used to train assessment skills in teacher-training programs. However, studies investigating the roles of peer feedback providers’ beliefs about peer feedback provision, their perceptions of their peer feedback message and their experienced emotions are still limited. This study aimed to explore how peer feedback accuracy and providers’ comprehension of the learning task were related to these characteristics. Analysis of peer feedback provided by 53 preservice mathematics teachers revealed that peer feedback accuracy was predicted by cognitive-verification, cognitive elaboration and self-efficacy types of peer feedback. Providers’ perceptions of their peer feedback message and anxiety also predicted peer feedback accuracy. No evidence was found that peer feedback related beliefs and perceptions predicted providers’ comprehension of the learning task.     

Training Interventions to Foster Skill and Will of Argumentative Thinking

Argumentative thinking requires not only the skill to apply argumentative strategies such as supporting theories with evidence but also the will to apply these strategies by considering argumentative thinking to be both reasonable and worthwhile. Focusing on direct instruction for the initial acquisition of both skill and will, we developed a new short-term computer-based training intervention. We tested its effects on learning processes and learning outcomes in an experimental study with 147 German high school students. Our intervention fostered facets of both skill (i.e. a declarative knowledge about argumentation) and will (i.e., epistemic orientation, intellectual values, and epistemic knowledge). We gained additional insights into learning mechanisms, such as the mediating effects of the learners' self-explanation activities and the advantage of addressing will before skill.     

Genetic and environmental influences on early literacy

Prereading and early reading skills of preschool twin children in Australia, Scandinavia and the United States were explored in a genetically sensitive design (max. N=627 preschool pairs and 422 kindergarten pairs). Analyses indicated a strong genetic influence on preschool phonological awareness, rapid naming and verbal memory. Print awareness, vocabulary and grammar/morphology were subject primarily to shared environment effects. There were significant genetic and shared environment correlations among the preschool traits. Kindergarten reading, phonological awareness and rapid naming were primarily affected by genes, and spelling was equally affected by genes and shared environment. Multivariate analyses revealed genetic and environmental overlap and independence among kindergarten variables. Longitudinal analyses showed genetic continuity as well as change in phonological awareness and rapid naming across the 2 years. Relations among the preschool variables of print awareness, phonological awareness and rapid naming and kindergarten reading were also explored in longitudinal analyses. Educational implications are discussed.     

Rechtliche Parameter der interuniversitären Studienangebots-Entwicklung

Die durch das UG 2002 mit größerer Autonomie ausgestatteten Universitäten nützen diese auch zur Kooperation bei der Einrichtung von interuniversitären Studien. Die rechtlichen Rahmenbedingungen für diese sind jedoch nur rudimentär. Es ist nicht möglich, gemeinsame Organe (Curriculakommissionen, monokratische Organe) für derartige Studien einzurichten. Möglich ist nur, ein Organ zu schaffen, das durch Personalunionen für beide Universitäten entscheidet. Bei der Durchführung der Studien kommt den Studierenden ein Wahlrecht hinsichtlich der Universität der Zulassung zu. Bei prüfungsrelevanten Fragestellungen richtet sich die Zuständigkeitsverteilung zwischen den Universitäten nach dem Curriculum und den dort vorgesehenen Prüfungen. Dies führt dazu, dass zB Studierende in einem interuniversitären Studium je nach Prüfungsuniversität eine unterschiedliche Anzahl von Prüfungsantritten haben können.     

Student psychological distress and degree dropout or completion: a discrete-time,competing risks survival analysis

Studies of psychological distress (PD) in university students have shown that they have high prevalence rates. These findings have raised concerns that PD may be leading to poorer student outcomes, such as elevated dropout rates. The aim of this study was to examine the association of PD in undergraduate university students with the competing risks of degree dropout or completion. It analysed data from the Household Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) survey. The sample comprised 1265 university students. PD (i.e., probable depression and/or anxiety) was measured with a validated cut-off score of ≤65 on the 5-item Mental Health Inventory (MHI-5) from the Short Form 36 (SF-36). The study used an accelerated longitudinal design with student year of study as the metric of time and estimated dynamic discrete-time, competing risks survival models. Contrary to expectations, the study found that students with PD had lower odds of degree dropout and higher odds of degree completion than students without PD in year 4 of their degrees. This study contributes to the empirical literature on university student mental health by showing that, while PD can be debilitating and negatively affect students’ general educational experience, it is not as harmful to academic progress as might be assumed.     

Investigating the theoretical structure of the DAS‐II core battery at school age using Bayesian structural equation modeling

Bayesian structural equation modeling (BSEM) was used to investigate the latent structure of the Differential Ability Scales—Second Edition core battery using the standardization sample normative data for ages 7–17. Results revealed plausibility of a three‐factor model, consistent with publisher theory, expressed as either a higher‐order (HO) or a bifactor (BF) model. The results also revealed an alternative structure with the best model fit, a two‐factor BF model with Matrices (MA) and Sequential and Quantitative Reasoning (SQ) loading on g only with no respective group factor loading. This was only the second study to use BSEM to investigate the structure of a commercial ability test and the first to use a large normative sample and the specification of both approximate zero cross‐loadings and correlated residual terms. It is believed that the results produced from the current study will advance the field's understanding of not only the factor structure of the DAS‐II core battery but also the potential utility of BSEM in psychometric investigations of intelligence test structures.     

Knowledge transfer processes in IT outsourcing relationships and their impact on shared knowledge and outsourcing performance

What is the impact of specific knowledge-transfer processes on the level of shared knowledge and, in turn, on outsourcing performance in outsourcing relationships? Drawing on a series of case studies covering IT providers and banks, we investigate several applied knowledge-transfer processes dedicated to the transfer of explicit or tacit knowledge between outsourcing banks and their providers. We examine the differential influence of various types of knowledge transfer on shared knowledge between the parties and on the resulting outsourcing performance. Results depict the differential impact of various knowledge-transfer processes dedicated to the transfer of explicit, or tacit knowledge, respectively, on the development of shared knowledge. Interestingly, the combination of both knowledge-transfer processes dedicated to the transfer of explicit knowledge and those dedicated to the transfer of tacit knowledge proves to be most effective. Furthermore the results indicate that high levels of shared knowledge positively influence outsourcing performance. In addition to previous literature, we found transfer processes for explicit knowledge in an outsourcing context to consist of two dimensions: The content dimension, primarily focused on in literature, and the sender–receiver dimension of transfer processes which are rarely addressed in outsourcing literature. The content dimension embraces mechanisms such as trainings, SLAs and standards that define how content has to be interpreted, whereas the sender–receiver dimension of transfer processes of explicit knowledge defines explicit, documented interaction structures between parties.