THE CONTRIBUTION OF ACADEMIC INTEREST MEASURES TO THE DIFFERENTIAL PREDICTION OF MARKS

In a study of differential predictions of course marks in grades 12 and 13 interest measures were found to add appreciably to differential validities, particularly at the high school level. Differential validities remained quite low; however–typically in the .20's and .30's-probably because of high intercorrelations among the criteria. The relationship between intercorrelations of actual criteria and intercorrelations of predicted criteria was examined, and the implications of this relationship for differential validities were discussed.     

Are Students Becoming Consumerist Learners?

This article explores how consumerism is impacting education, with a special focus on the ‘student as consumer’ model. I begin by exploring the distinctive features of consumerism and school commercialism. The tension between consumer and citizen leads into a discussion of the distinction between education as/for a public good versus as/for private gain, leading to a discussion of the notion of ‘Me, Inc.’ as an instrumental and privatized conception of education as self-branding that redirects peoples’ attention from environmental issues to personal gain and consumption. Explanation of this phenomenon is provided through a discussion of economistic approaches to education, such as the creation of human capital and the commodification of knowledge, which minimizes the importance of environmental sustainability education (ESE). The political challenges that consumerism presents in confronting ESE are such that attention is directed away from the urgency of political change and civic engagement and instead towards consumer satisfaction. I explore how the promotion of critical thinking is compromised as a result. I conclude by suggesting that consumerism undermines how education involves risk in the sense that we don't always know what we're getting into or how we will be impacted, as consumerism promotes the assumption that education should be easy and palatable and not involve suffering or adversity.