A new global policy regime founded on invalid statistics? Hanushek,Woessmann, PISA,and economic growth

Several recent, highly influential comparative studies have made strong statistical claims that improvements on global learning assessments such as PISA will lead to higher GDP growth rates. These claims have provided the primary source of legitimation for policy reforms championed by leading international organisations, most notably the World Bank and OECD. To date there have been several critiques but these have been too limited to challenge the validity of the claims. The consequence is continued utilisation and citation of these strong claims, resulting in a growing aura of scientific truth and concrete policy reforms. In this piece we report findings from two original studies that invalidate these statistical claims. Our intent is to contribute to a more rigorous global discussion on education policy, as well as call attention to the fact that the new global policy regime is founded on flawed statistics.     

A cross-country empirical test of cognitive abilities and innovation nexus

In this study we analyze the relationship between national cognitive abilities and innovational output using data from 124 countries of the world. By employing cross-country IQ scores traditionally used by psychological literature to represent national intelligence, and Economic Complexity Index as a novel measure of innovation, our study shows that there is a positive connection between them. We use a variety of tests to check the robustness of the nexus. Overall, our findings indicate that more intelligent nations export more sophisticated and diverse products to the world market and thus are more innovative. Therefore, developing countries should consider investing in human capital and related institutions if they are to boost innovative capabilities and move up the technology ladder in producing and exporting sophisticated and varied lines of products. This should bring them greater economic diversity which could be a right lever in mitigating negative external shocks.     

Adolescents’ epistemic profiles in the service of knowledge revision

Refutation texts have been previously shown to be effective at promoting knowledge revision. The current study builds on recent trends to gain deeper insights into how this learning advantage can be enhanced and extended to more learners. In particular, we examined whether distinct epistemic profiles can be discerned on the basis of individuals’ beliefs about justification for knowing (i.e., justification by authority, personal opinion, or multiple sources) in the natural sciences. Further, we designed refutation texts according to this trichotomous framework of epistemic justification. We tested whether profiles stronger in certain dimensions would attain higher learning scores over others and whether consistency between profiles and texts would confer a learning advantage compared to when these factors were inconsistent. Results showed that distinct epistemic profiles are discernable and a profile with stronger preference for justification by multiple sources, authority, and lower preference for justification by personal opinion in natural science attained higher learning scores. Further, higher learning scores were observed when refutation texts justified by authoritative explanations were consistent with one cluster dominant in preference for justification by authority. Theoretical and instructional design implications are discussed.     

High graduate unemployment rate and Taiwanese undergraduate education

An expansion in higher education in combination with the recent global economic recession has resulted in a high college graduate unemployment rate in Taiwan. This study investigates how the high unemployment rate and financial constraints caused by economic cutbacks have shaped undergraduates’ class choices, job needs, and future income expectations. Therein, the results obtained from a structural equation model indicate that students whose expenditures were most affected by the economic recession were in greater need of paid employment and were also more likely to take practical and credential courses, which resulted in heavier course loads. Clearly, the economic downturn and the consequential high unemployment rate have directed undergraduates to select more practical education, wherein they now prefer classes that are more likely to increase their employability. The results obtained in this study indicate that people use college courses to enhance their competencies and employability. Finally, regardless of the economic situation, female undergraduates expected significantly lower pay after graduation in comparison to their male counterparts.     

对辽宁沿海经济带开发中湿地保护的探讨

辽宁沿海经济带地处环渤海的重要位置,蕴藏着丰富多样的滨海湿地资源。长期以来,由于不合理的开发利用,湿地存在环境恶化、功能下降、数量减少等诸多问题,而维持一定的湿地面积,对于构建健康的滨海城市生态系统必不可少。针对辽宁沿海经济带开发中湿地的现状、存在的问题,从正确处理好经济开发与生态保护的关系,坚持开发与保护共生,发展与生态共赢的原则,提出解决的对策。     

成渝经济区城市综合竞争力评价与聚类分析

成渝经济区是我国区域发展战略的重要组成部分,其经济发展水平在西部地区位居前列,然而在经济总量和质量方面,与其它成熟经济区还存在着一定的差距。随着目前城市以及城市圈逐步成为区域竞争的主体,对成渝经济区的主要城市进行综合竞争力评价,可以认清它们各自的竞争力类型和发展条件,并以各城市为抓手,扬长避短,探讨出整体上构建成渝增长极的发展策略。     

成人高等教育会计专业“学历+技能”培养模式的探索——以宁波教育学院成教学院会计专业为例

成人高等教育会计专业人才培养模式必须打破传统的以会计理论为主、实践教学为辅的课程教学体系,不断创新。按照"学历+技能"的人才培养模式,以"岗位核心能力"为基础,以学历教育与技能培养、考证辅导融为一体的思想改革教学内容,创新成人高等教育会计人才培养模式。     

The Implications of Research on Expertise for Curriculum and Pedagogy

Instruction on problem solving in particular domains typically relies on explanations from experts about their strategies. However, research indicates that such self-reports often are incomplete or inaccurate (e.g., Chao & Salvendy, 1994; Cooke & Breedin, 1994). This article evaluates research on experts’ cognition, the accuracy of experts’ self-reports, and the efficacy of instruction based on experts’ self-reports. Analysis of this evidence indicates that experts’ free recall of strategies introduces errors and omissions into instructional materials that hinder student success. In contrast, when experts engage in structured knowledge elicitation techniques (e.g., cognitive task analysis), the resultant instruction is more effective. Based on these findings, the article provides a theoretical explanation of experts’ self-report errors and discusses implications for the continued improvement of instructional design processes.

Children’s informal learning in the context of schools of the knowledge society

This paper builds on a key finding of a 5-year Danish research project con-cerning children in the 7 to 15 age group: children’s principal use of computers and the internet takes place in their spare time, and it is during their spare time that the majority of children really learn how to use interactive media. The project shows that in children’s spare-time use of ICT they employ informal forms of learning based to a large extent on their social interaction both in physical and virtual spaces. These informal learning forms can be identified as learning hierarchies, learning communities and learning networks; they are important contributions to the school of the knowledge society. The ICT in New Learning Environments project based on anthropologically inspired methods and social learning theories shows that students bring their informal forms of learning into the school context. This happens particularly when the school has undergone physical alterations and when its organisation of learning and teaching are also restructured, with project-based learning becoming an important part of the school work and with the media available in the learning environment. Using organisation theory, the school working with ICT and project-based learning is shown to simultaneously constitute a mixed mode between the school of the industrial and the knowledge society. The research shows that it is possible to tip the balance in the direction of the school of the knowledge society, and thus of the future, by comprehensively using ICT and project work in the day-to-day activities of the school, alongside and integrated with the traditional forms of learning, and not least by employing the informal learning processes children develop outside school. For teachers this will mean an extension of their function: no longer merely communicators of knowledge, they will have to become knowledge managers and overall leaders of projects, and this entails much more dialogue with the pupils.