Assessing pupils’ skills: implications for research in education

The subject of this article is the structure and evolution of skills developed by pupils at primary level. Starting from an analysis of the panel data provided by the French Ministry of Education, the main object of this paper is an original measurement of skills using structural models. The findings of this research raise two complementary issues. The first issue concerns the cross‐curricular nature of skills suggesting a logic of disciplinary interdependence. The acquisition of a skill may be strongly correlated to the acquisition of other skills belonging to the same subject area or to other subject areas. The notion of a set of skills is used to account for the connections between the different aspects of acquired skills. The second issue concerns the evolution of skills over time. Here the aim will be to identify the kinds of skills that are the most predictive of subsequent educational success. This issue is highly relevant for educational policy‐making. It is hoped that the results presented in this paper will improve one’s understanding of the ways in which schools might provide pupils with the best chances of success in the earliest stages of their educational career.     

The third sector and the governance of education

This article explores the nature, scope and form of third-sector involvement in education in New Zealand as demonstrated through a comparison of its relationship with the state in two distinct periods of state and educational development. It begins with an analysis of the period of state expansion from crown colony to centralised administration in the mid-1870s. It then examines the relationship in the decade following the restructuring of education in 1989, as the neoliberal state negotiated economic changes at the national and supranational levels, and challenges to the existing educational organisation from both the political left and the political right. Although an almost mirror image of nineteenth-century arrangements is identified, the nature of the state/third-sector relationship was vastly different as a smaller, but nonetheless stronger, state retained control over the governance of education and, with it, possibilities and limitations for third-sector involvement.     

Power Analysis in Two-Level Unbalanced Designs

Previous work on statistical power has discussed mainly single-level designs or 2-level balanced designs with random effects. Although balanced experiments are common, in practice balance cannot always be achieved. Work on class size is one example of unbalanced designs. This study provides methods for power analysis in 2-level unbalanced designs with random effects. Overall, the nesting affects power negatively, the treatment affects power positively, and the Level-2 units affect power more than Level-1 units. Computing power assuming balanced designs provides reasonable estimates only when imbalance is mild or moderate. When imbalance is large or extreme, computing power assuming balanced designs produces larger estimates of power. The use of the harmonic mean provides accurate estimates of power in unbalanced 2-level designs even when imbalance is large.     

Undergraduate Understanding of Climate Change: The Influences of College Major and Environmental Group Membership on Survey Knowledge Scores

A survey covering the scientific and social aspects of climate change was administered to examine U.S. undergraduate student mental models, and compare knowledge between groups based on major and environmental group membership. A Knowledge Score (scale 0–35, mean score = 17.84) was generated for respondents at two, central East Coast, U.S. universities (n = 465). Elements of student mental models examined include environmental issue confusion, skepticism, and self-reported understanding. This study finds that students frequently confuse climate change with other environmental issues, and that a substantial majority of students do not have an understanding of climate change that closely matches the scientific model. These misconceptions extend to their understanding of mitigation actions. Environmental group membership is shown to be a greater determinant of climate change knowledge than enrollment in a science major.     

Students' Perceptions and Communicative Management of Instructors' Online Self–Disclosure

Computer-mediated communication has become one of the many teaching strategies used to enhance students' cognitive and affective learning. What happens, however, when instructors use the Internet for personal purposes, such as staying in touch with friends and sharing gossip? This study investigated how college students perceive and communicatively manage their instructors' private information after viewing these profiles. An interpretive analysis of 21 interviews with college students confirmed previous research regarding student perceptions of instructors' self-disclosure, and students reported the information online impacted their communication with the instructor in various ways. Implications and future research suggestions are discussed.     

Using Case Study Analysis and Case Writing to Structure Clinical Experiences in a Teacher Education Program

This study reports on the design and results of a two-semester study on the use of case study analysis and case writing in clinical experiences in an undergraduate teacher education program. Findings indicated that structured experiences with case studies and case writing increase preservice teachers' informed decision making on educational issues.     

Labels [Agrave] La Aristotle

High-stakes standardized student assessments are increasingly used in value-added evaluation models to connect teacher performance to P–12 student learning. These assessments are also being used to evaluate teacher preparation programs, despite validity and reliability threats. A more rational model linking student performance to candidates who actually teach these students is presented. Preliminary findings with three candidate cohorts indicate that the majority of their students met learning objectives and showed substantial pre-to-post learning gains.     

A rising tide of primary school standards—The role of data systems in improving equitable access for all to quality education in Vietnam

The approach taken over the past decade to introduce minimum primary school standards in Vietnam is reviewed, with annual school audits that measured both input (quality) and output indicators.