Editor's Introduction

Two points of current interest and potential significance in the educational field are called to the attention of the readers.     

Total Quality Management in Engineering Education—A Case Study from University College Dublin (National University of Ireland-Dublin)

The last 3 years have seen extensive time and resources invested in quality assessment/quality improvement (QA/QI) within the Irish university sector. The introduction of a formalized QA/QI programme in the 1998/99 academic year at University College Dublin (UCD) of Ireland-Dublin, will mean that every department in College will have a direct and compulsory involvement in the quality assurance programme in the coming years. There is limited experience of formalized quality assessment in the higher education sector in Ireland, and several pilot projects have been running which represent a first step in establishing a methodology suited to conditions prevailing within the Irish context. The Universities Act 1997 in Ireland will drive the issue of quality assessment in the university sector and ensure that emphasis is placed on the attainment of the highest possible standards in teaching and research. The universities are responding to this new challenge by adopting a pro-active approach and implementing the QA/QI schemes as a matter of some urgency. This paper outlines details of key pilot projects undertaken in recent times.     

THE EFFECT OF DIFFERENTIAL OPTION WEIGHTING ON MULTIPLE-CHOICE OBJECTIVE TESTS1

The purpose of this study was to determine in what way Guttman weighting affected the internal consistency and intercorrelation of the suhtests of the Scholastic Aptitude Test. The tests were first scored with Guttman weights and then with conventional correction-for-guessing weights. The internal consistency of the tests increased markedly when Guttman weights were used. The correlation of the two verbal subtests increased somewhat when Guttman weights were used, but the correlation of the two mathematics subtests as well as the intercorrelation of all verbal and mathematics subtests decreased. Differences in the factor structure of the Guttman- and conventionally-weighted subtests were used to explain the result.     

Visioning New Modes of Integrated and Shared Schooling in Northern Ireland

Planning for shared schooling in Northern Ireland requires a re-consideration of the decision-making processes that underpin the choices made by parents and a re-thinking of the nature and purpose of alternative modes of educating young people from the different communities together. The article provides evidence that demand for existing integrated schools in Northern Ireland is growing at a rapid rate and that there is a need to ensure that school places are provided where demand exists. Given recent developments in Scotland, however, in relation to shared schools, it is suggested that new approaches may involve examining the application of this policy to Northern Ireland and, also, opening debate concerning the potential for further development of new forms of shared schooling. These new possibilities offer opportunities to enable young people to encounter a broader range of peers and experience more diverse cultures while retaining the support of the current Controlled (Protestant) and Maintained (Catholic) sectors. The fraught journey towards integrated education in a divided society has implications for European societies where religious belief, intertwined with ethnicity, has been implicated in communal discord and conflict.