Examining Intermediate Omitted Levels in Hierarchical Designs via Latent Variable Modeling

This article outlines an interval estimation procedure that can be used in a 3-level setting to evaluate the proportion of outcome variance attributable to the second level of clustering. The method is useful for examining the necessity of including a possibly omitted intermediate level of nesting in analyses of data from a multilevel study, and represents an informative addendum to current statistical tests of second-level variance. The approach is developed within the framework of latent variable modeling and can be used as an aid in the process of choosing between 2-level and 3-level models in a hierarchical design. The discussed procedure is illustrated with an empirical example.     

Exploring the determinants of knowledge sharing via employee weblogs

Weblogs have been used by organisations as both a communication means and a knowledge sharing tool. Traditionally, research has explored the use of weblogs and virtual communities for knowledge sharing. Nevertheless, relatively little has been published focusing on the factors that influence the intention to share knowledge in employee weblogs. This paper aims to address this gap based on a survey of 175 respondents. The results indicate that self-efficacy, perceived enjoyment, certain personal outcome expectations, and individual attitudes towards knowledge sharing are positively related to the intention of knowledge sharing in employee weblogs.     

A comparison between primary school principals’ and teachers’ perceptions of students’ online risk behaviours: the role of perceived self-efficacy

ABSTRACT

The present study aimed to investigate and compare school principals’ and teachers’ perceptions regarding online risk behaviours in school-aged children, examining simultaneously the predictive role of their perceived self-efficacy in their perceptions under study. The participants were 237 principals and 295 teachers, mainly from Central Macedonia and Attica, who completed a self-reported online questionnaire. According to the findings, participants declared awareness of students’ online risk behaviours. However, compared to teachers, principals to a greater extent felt confident to manage this issue and support school community involvement in the prevention of/intervention in it. Furthermore, principals’ self-efficacy in promoting students’ learning/ethical behaviours in school and teachers’ self-efficacy in managing students’ behavioural problems inside a classroom predicted positively their perceptions under study. The findings indicate the necessity of applying differentiated related training programmes for principals and teachers, highlighting simultaneously the importance of their perceived self-efficacy in how they approach the issue studied.     

Florida Poly Primers: Calculus

At Florida Polytechnic University, a STEM University founded in 2014, Calculus I is the first mathematics course required by students in every major. In order to ensure students received the support necessary for Calculus I, an online Primer course was developed. The course, which is housed in the online platform CANVAS, targets specific topics and skills necessary for students to achieve success in Calculus I. In this paper, we present the positive effect of the Primer on the retention rate for Calculus I, on pass rate, and on average grade received.     

Surveys of Programs and Emplopent in Eklucational Measurement

What is the supply and demand for educational measurement specialists? What types of jobs are more difficult to fill? How can NCME aid recruitment in to the profession ?