Frame of Reference Effects Following the Announcement of Exam Results     

Möller J  Köller O 《Contemporary educational psychology》2001,26(2):277-287

The internal/external frame of reference (I/E) model by Marsh (e.g., 1990a) assumes two central information sources for the constitution of domain-specific academic self-concepts: (1) social comparisons (external frame of reference), in which students compare their own achievements with those of their classmates; and (2) intraindividual comparisons (internal frame of reference), in which students compare their own achievements in one subject with their achievements in other subjects. In path analyses, it has been found that the latter type of comparison leads to negative paths from achievement indicators in subject A to self-concept measures in subject B. To investigate the actual impact of achievement feedback and of the frames of reference on changes in self-concept variables, we analyzed math and German self-concepts immediately following the announcement of exam results in each subject. Participants were 258 7th- to 9th-graders. Path analyses using structural equation modeling supported the validity of the I/E model with respect to the impact of simultaneously given current exam results. In particular, German achievement had a negative impact on subsequent math self-concept. Copyright 2001 Academic Press.  相似文献   

Motor Origins of Tool Use     

Björn A. Kahrs  Wendy P. Jung  Jeffrey J. Lockman 《Child development》2013,84(3):810-816

The current study examines the developmental trajectory of banging movements and its implications for tool use development. Twenty (6‐ to 15‐month‐old) infants wore reflective markers while banging a handled cube; movements were recorded at 240 Hz. Results indicated that through the second half‐year, banging movements undergo developmental changes making them ideally suited for instrumental hammering and pounding. Younger infants were inefficient and variable when banging the object: Their hands followed circuitous paths of great lengths at high velocities. By 1 year, infants showed consistent and efficient straight up‐down hand trajectories of smaller magnitude and velocity, allowing for precise aiming and delivering dependable levels of force. The findings suggest that tool use develops gradually from infants' existing manual behaviors.  相似文献   

Statement of Theme     

Lejf Moos  Jorunn Möller  Olof Johansson 《The Educational forum》2013,77(3):200-201

The objective of this article is to examine the rhetoric of educational leadership within a Scandinavian context, as it occurs within the framework of New Public Management. The study asks questions about new demands on leadership expressed in policy documents.

Local culture and distinctive aspects of national life tend to modify external influences such as those inherent in the philosophy and practice of New Public Management. Scandinavian schools reflect key elements of Scandinavian life such as a commitment to collaboration, democracy, and individual enlightenment. These are themes in the curriculum of many of these countries and key values of the teachers who lead the learning processes. The range of tensions and dilemmas that teachers and their leaders are now facing are a direct result of the clash between generic public policy and the distinctive approach to support life and democratic culture in the Scandinavian countries. School leaders, it seems, are clearly in the middle of this clash and must mediate between these two trends. To remind us of the ultimate objectives of schooling, we outline a Scandinavian vision of democratic reflective leadership.  相似文献   

Confirmatory Factor Analysis of Ordinal Variables With Misspecified Models     

Fan Yang-Wallentin  Karl G. Jöreskog  Hao Luo 《Structural equation modeling》2013,20(3):392-423

Ordinal variables are common in many empirical investigations in the social and behavioral sciences. Researchers often apply the maximum likelihood method to fit structural equation models to ordinal data. This assumes that the observed measures have normal distributions, which is not the case when the variables are ordinal. A better approach is to use polychoric correlations and fit the models using methods such as unweighted least squares (ULS), maximum likelihood (ML), weighted least squares (WLS), or diagonally weighted least squares (DWLS). In this simulation evaluation we study the behavior of these methods in combination with polychoric correlations when the models are misspecified. We also study the effect of model size and number of categories on the parameter estimates, their standard errors, and the common chi-square measures of fit when the models are both correct and misspecified. When used routinely, these methods give consistent parameter estimates but ULS, ML, and DWLS give incorrect standard errors. Correct standard errors can be obtained for these methods by robustification using an estimate of the asymptotic covariance matrix W of the polychoric correlations. When used in this way the methods are here called RULS, RML, and RDWLS.  相似文献   

School‐based teacher collaboration in Sweden and Greece: formal cooperation,deprivatized practices and personalized interaction in primary and lower secondary schools     

Konstantin Kougioumtzis  Göran Patriksson 《Teachers and Teaching》2013,19(1):131-154

During recent years, educational restructuring efforts have commonly regarded schools as both learning communities and sites for teachers’ professional development. A plethora of attributes influence prerequisites as well as outcomes of the efforts, while teachers’ local cultures constitute a cornerstone. More specifically, enhanced school‐based teacher collaboration is associated with upgraded school effectiveness and enhanced professional growth. However, the comparative study of school‐based teacher collaboration remains a subjective research area. The overall aim of this study is to highlight teacher collaboration in Sweden and Greece utilizing nationwide surveys with physical education teachers in both countries. The final sample consisted of 707 Swedish and 451 Greek professionals. The high response rate combined with restricted internal dropout forms the basis of the generalization of the findings. The presentation of the results is connected with issues of formal cooperation, deprivatized practices and personalized interaction in four teachers groups: primary and lower secondary schools in Sweden and in Greece. According to the data, formal cooperation and deprivatized practices occur more frequently in Sweden than in Greece. However, personalized interaction is rather high in Greek lower secondary schools. Despite differences between the four contexts, a second order model represents obtained information adequately with very good fit indexes. It seems that school‐based teacher collaboration in authentic settings can be connected to complex processes with multifaceted characteristics in different national contexts as well as in educational stages within one country as well. Manipulating distinct aspects of schooling may consequently jeopardize expected outcomes, as development ambitions should be targeting several interdependent dimensions. Swedish schools generally and lower secondary schools specifically constitute original examples of enhanced school‐based teacher collaboration, while an intensification of combined endeavours is needed in Greece. The comparative mapping of interconnected collaboration characteristics might contribute to more holistic restructuring struggles towards schools as learning communities and sites for teachers’ professional development.  相似文献   

The importance and degree of implementation of the European standards and guidelines for internal quality assurance in universities: the views of Portuguese academics     

Claes Elmgren  Ola Román  Maivor Sjölund  Staffan Wahlén  Malin Östling 《Tertiary Education and Management》2013,19(3):245-259

Abstract

The article aims at critically discussing the role and position of a buffer agency from the point of view of some of its different tasks, viz. accreditation, quality audit, support of academic leadership and internal quality enhancement The contribution seeks to illuminate the conflicting roles of a buffer orgamsation in the light of these tasks and pressures from the government and higher education institutions. It concludes that the different roles can support and complement each other, and that change is best accomplished by emphasising support in the early stages of the establishment of a national quality assurance system.  相似文献   

Association between parental involvement in school and child conduct,social, and internalizing problems: teacher report     

Bente Kirkhaug  May Britt Drugli  Christian A. Klöckner  Willy-Tore Mørch 《Educational Research and Evaluation》2013,19(4):346-361

The present study examined the factor structure of the Teacher Involvement Questionnaire (Involve-T) by means of exploratory factor analysis and examined the association between children's socio-emotional and behavioural problems and teacher-reported parental involvement in school, using structural equation modelling. The study was conducted with a Norwegian sample of school children in Grades 1–3. Results of the factor analysis supported the use of 3 separate scales, as suggested by the scale author (Webster-Stratton, 1998); however, a number of items in each scale were reduced. Furthermore, the results showed among other findings that teachers reported more frequent contact with parents of children with conduct problems than with those of children who did not display conduct problems, and that parents of children with high levels of socio-emotional competence were more involved in their children's education than other parents. The results need to be replicated in future research in a more representative study population.  相似文献   

The role of public extension in introducing environment-friendly farming methods in Turkey     

S. Akgüngör 《The Journal of Agricultural Education and Extension》2013,19(4):65-74

Abstract

Public good will towards the investment in research and extension on environment-friendly production practices is the justification for publicly funded extension services. Although there are major environmental problems associated with agricultural production in Turkey, the present role of public extension service to control and reduce adverse environmental effects is minimal.

The short term goal of the publicly funded agricultural extension is to establish a control and enforcement system which will ensure that the current production practices cause as little harm as possible to the environment. In the long term, however, publicly provided investment in research and extension on sustainable agricultural systems is necessary. The investments should aim towards ensuring a wholesome food supply for the community whilst maintaining the quality of the environment and natural resources.  相似文献   

“I Don't Know What You're Looking for”: Professional Vision in Swedish Agricultural Extension on Nature Conservation Management     

H.L. Bergeå  C. Martin  F. Sahlström 《The Journal of Agricultural Education and Extension》2013,19(4):329-345

Abstract

The article addresses how farmers learn to appropriate the gaze of the ‘new farmer’, by describing how farmers and advisers in the field discursively construct farmland under scrutiny for inclusion in government support schemes. Based on the findings, recommendations for successful agricultural extension are presented. The methodological perspective is an interaction analysis based on video recordings of advisory encounters. The analysis is focused on the professional vision of the participants. The results show how the participants manifest different professional visions when they walk through the same piece of land. Despite an interest in contributing to the encounter, insufficient access to relevant resources is an obstacle for the farmer. Due to asymmetries between the participants, the professional vision of the adviser becomes the dominating and acknowledged one, but the prerequisites are insufficient to afford learning by the farmer. To overcome this dilemma, we encourage reflection on the role of the adviser by challenging the frames for participation in extension encounters.  相似文献   

Assessing Fit of Item Response Models Using the Information Matrix Test     

Jochen Ranger  Jörg‐Tobias Kuhn 《Journal of Educational Measurement》2012,49(3):247-268

The information matrix can equivalently be determined via the expectation of the Hessian matrix or the expectation of the outer product of the score vector. The identity of these two matrices, however, is only valid in case of a correctly specified model. Therefore, differences between the two versions of the observed information matrix indicate model misfit. The equality of both matrices can be tested with the so‐called information matrix test as a general test of misspecification. This test can be adapted to item response models in order to evaluate the fit of single items and the fit of the whole scale. The performance of different versions of the test is compared in a simulation study with existing tests of model fit, among them the test of Orlando and Thissen, the score test of local independence due to Glas and Suarez‐Falcon, and the limited information approach of Maydeu‐Olivares and Joe. In general, the different versions of the information matrix test adhere to the nominal Type I error rate and have high power for detecting misspecified item characteristic curves. Additionally, some versions of the test can be used in order to detect violations of the local independence assumption.  相似文献