DIMENSIONS OF EDUCATIONAL ATTITUDES: FACTORIAL CONGRUENCE OF TWO SCALES

A second-order factor analysis of responses to Kerlinger's ES-VII and Oliver and Butcher's Survey of Opinions about Education was performed. Both scales were designed to measure "Attitudes toward Education". Seven first-order factors emerged, as follows: (1) Career Training; (2) Moral vs. Religious Training; (3) Corporal Punishment; (4) Individualized Instruction; (5) Subject Matter and Knowledge; (6) Expansion of Education; and (7) School as a Social Force. Two second-order factors emerged. The first was a bipolar factor involving Kerlinger's concept of "Traditionalism" and Oliver and Butcher's "Tendermindedness". The second combined Kerlinger's "Progressivism" with Oliver and Butcher's "Radicalism".     

Leadership and Strategic Management: keys to institutional priorities and planning*

Allocating and managing resources have always been important cornerstones of institutional leadership. Institutional resources include financial, physical and human components. Even in the best of times, it is a challenge to do this effectively. In times of diminished and shrinking resources, distributing these precious commodities across the institutions in the most equitable and productive manner is fraught with complications. As higher education funding streams expand and present more options, they also create new challenges. Leaders today must be well-versed in the emerging realms of philanthropy and entrepreneurialism. Beyond monetary resources, leaders and senior managers must monitor and understand the external environment in order to make discerning decisions about the viability of further infrastructure investments because of changing student demographics or the complexities of personnel within the dynamic culture of social organisations. This article will stress the need for leadership and an institutional planning process as essential prerequisites to effective resource allocations. Portugal will also be discussed as a case study.     

A COMPARISON OF EXAMINEE SAMPLING AND MULTIPLE MATRIX SAMPLING IN TEST DEVELOPMENT

For the purpose of obtaining data to use in test development, multiple matrix sampling (MMS) plans were compared to examinee sampling plans. Data were simulated for examinees, sampled from a population with a normal distribution of ability, responding to items selected from an item universe. Three item universes were considered: one that would produce a normal distribution of test scores, one a moderately platykurtic distribution, and one a very platykurtic distribution. When comparing sampling plans, total numbers of observations were held constant. No differences were found among plans in estimating item difficulty. Examinee sampling produced better estimates of item discrimination, test reliability, and test validity. As total number of observations increased, estimates improved considerably, especially for those MMS plans with larger subtest sizes. Larger numbers of observations were needed for tests designed to produce a normal distribution of test scores. With an adequate number of observations, MMS is seen as an alternative to examinee sampling in test development.