Do we see through their eyes? Testing a bilingual questionnaire in education research using cognitive interviews

The paper aims to demonstrate the value of cognitive interviewing (CI) as a survey pretesting method in comparative education research. Although rarely used by education researchers, CI has been successfully applied in different disciplines to evaluate and improve question performance. The method assumes that observing people’s thought processes when they answer survey questions can detect response problems and point to possible solutions. To illustrate the merits of CI, we present the findings from eight cognitive interviews, which informed the development of a bilingual English/Georgian online questionnaire. The main objectives of our CI study were to (a) examine cognitive validity of survey questions, (b) determine semantic equivalence of the source (English) and translated (Georgian) versions of the questionnaire and (c) establish conceptual equivalence of survey measures across two cultures. We conducted two rounds of cognitive interviews, one in each language, using a combination of think-aloud and verbal probing techniques. Our analysis suggests that CI can help to identify causes of response difficulties and develop more accurate and comparable survey measures for cross-cultural education research.     

School voucher funding system of post-Soviet Georgia: From lack of funding to lack of deliverables

This research explores the school funding system in post-Soviet Georgia. The research aimed to answer the following research questions:

(1) Does the voucher system promote cost effectiveness, and does increased funding improve the academic achievements of schools?

(2) To what extent does the school voucher funding system promote freedom of school choice?

(3) How effective is the school funding system in promoting the privatization of general education?

(3) The content analysis research method was used in the study. The study revealed important problems in the general education funding system of post-Soviet Georgia in terms of cost effectiveness, school choice, and the development of the private school sector. The authors argue that the absence of linkages between funding and educational reform is the main challenge facing the education system. The introduction of a differentiated, need-based, top-up funding model for private schools could improve opportunities for school choice and promote the establishment of free schools.