The use of minimization to form comparison groups in educational research     

Carole J. Torgerson  David J. Torgerson 《Educational studies》2007,33(3):333-337

Randomized controlled trials in educational research tend to be small. Small trials can have large, chance, imbalances in important covariates. For studies with sample sizes greater than 50, chance imbalances can be corrected using analysis of covariance; for small trials, however, statistical power is maximized if the trial is balanced and analysis of covariance is used in the analysis. The aim of the present study was to discuss methods of improving covariate balance in trial design and to demonstrate the method of minimization. Using an exemplar of a cluster or class‐randomized trial with 29 classes, we employed minimization to achieve covariate balance. Minimization achieved good balance on four prognostic variables. Many trialists in education use restricted forms of allocation, including pairing or stratified randomization. These approaches have disadvantages. Another approach rarely used in educational research is minimization. Minimization uses a simple arithmetic algorithm to produce balanced groups across a number of important covariates and should be more widely used in educational and psychological research.  相似文献   

Mothers' and Child-Care Providers' Cognitive, Affective, and Behavioral Responses to Children's Misbehavior     

Carole Logan Kuhns  Susan Holloway  M. Catherine Scott-Little 《Early education and development》1992,3(3):232-243

This study compared mothers' and caregivers' attributions for children's misconduct and their corresponding affective and behavioral responses. Forty mothers of 4-year-olds and 40 caregivers employed in childcare settings responded to a series of hypothetical incidents in which a 4-year-old child engaged in a norm violation such as aggression or failed to be altruistic. ANCOVA analyses indicated that mothers and caregivers differed in their causal attributions for children's misbehavior. Mothers and caregivers also differed in their affective and behavioral responses to children's failures to be altruistic, but not in their responses to children's norm violations. Regression analyses performed on the combined scores of mothers and caregivers found that attributions to the stability of the behavior predicted use of induction and a greater emphasis on responding to the misbehavior. A power assertive response was particularly likely if a respondent believed that a behavior was caused by stable personality factors. The documentation of linkage between causal attributions and socialization behavior has implications for parent training and early childhood education. Increasing parents' awareness of developmental processes and external factors that affect a child's behavior may result in a less punitive approach to discipline. Early childhood curricula that encourages examination of adult biases in analyzing children's behavior may assist caregivers to become more reflective and self-aware in interactions with young children.  相似文献   

Creativity and the young child     

Carole Mindham Senior lecturer in Primary Education 《Early Years: An International Journal of Research and Development》2005,25(1):81-84

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Industry steps up its day-care output     

Carole Kleiman 《Early Childhood Education Journal》1973,1(1):26-30

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The Dynamics of Picturebook Communication     

Maria Nikolajeva  Carole Scott 《Children‘s Literature in Education》2000,31(4):225-239

This article offers new perspectives and theoretical tools to interpret and appreciate the complex relationships that can exist between words and pictures. The spectrum of text/image interaction is laid out and analyzed, and several picturebooks from different countries are explored to uncover a number of intriguing dynamics ranging from the simple to the highly elaborate. Text/image interaction may give rise to significant ambiguity, and the article points to future opportunities for dual audience research in this field. The article offers a taste of Nikolajeva and Scott's How Picturebooks Work (Garland, 2000).  相似文献   

Developing curriculum evaluation research in higher education: Process, politics and practicalities   总被引：1，自引：0，他引：1  

Carole Leathwood  David Phillips 《Higher Education》2000,40(3):313-330

Demands for greater accountability, globalcompetition, and concern about standards have allcontributed to the increasing interest in evaluationin universities in the UK. At the same time, bothpedagogic research and teacher development in highereducation are gaining prominence.This paper describes the initial development of aprogramme of systematic curriculum evaluation researchwithin a `new' university. The focus of the research is a newundergraduate curriculum which emphasises graduateoutcomes and incorporates the development of core`capabilities' within the subject context. Our taskhas been to develop a longitudinal programme ofresearch that will combine both a summative evaluationof educational outcomes with formative evaluation oflearning processes to inform continued curriculumdevelopment.Questions of performance indicators, measurement, andeducational outcomes all come under scrutiny in acontext of multiple purposes and stakeholders, themicropolitics of the university and wider debatesabout the purpose and effectiveness of undergraduateeducation. This paper explores these issues and theirimplications for the development of a curriculumevaluation strategy, describing the initial stages ofthe multi-level longitudinal design that is emerging.  相似文献   

The Effect of Early Intervention Services on Maternal Well-Being     

Marji Erickson Warfield  Penny Hauser-Cram  Marty Wyngaarden Krauss  Jack P. Shonkoff  Carole C. Upshur 《Early education and development》2000,11(4):499-517

In this investigation we examine the relation between intensity, duration, and comprehensiveness of early intervention (EI) services and changes in three aspects of maternal well-being: parenting stress, social support, and family cohesion. Data on the hours, length, and types of services received by a sample of 133 children and families from EI programs in Massachusetts and New Hampshire were gathered from the point of entry into EI to the point of discharge around the child's third birthday. Hierarchical regression analyses were used to determine which measure of EI service intervention contributed significantly to the explained variance in changes in maternal well-being, over and above aspects of the child's functioning and prior levels of maternal well-being. Results indicated that, although greater service intensity was associated with improved family cohesion overall, mothers of children without motor impairment reported greater increases than mothers of children with motor impairment. Service intensity and comprehensiveness predicted significant increases in social support levels. EI services did not have a significant impact on parenting stress. Three practice and policy implications are discussed: building flexibility into EI service provision to be responsive to individual family needs; attending to the accommodations required of families raising a child with a motor impairment; and incorporating other aspects of family functioning into future studies of EI effectiveness.  相似文献   

Patterns of Subject Mix in Higher Education Institutions: A First Empirical Analysis Using the AQUAMETH Database     

Benedetto Lepori  Lukas Baschung  Carole Probst 《Minerva》2010,48(1):73-99

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Introducing Iranian Primary Children to Atoms and Molecules     

Baji  Fatima  Haeusler  Carole 《Research in Science Education》2022,52(4):1387-1418

Research in Science Education - In common with many other countries, the Iranian science curriculum does not introduce primary children to atoms and molecules but instead leaves the teaching of...  相似文献   

The price of pleasure,directed and produced by Chyng Sun and Miguel Picker     

Kim Allen  Sumi Hollingworth  Carole Leathwood  Ayo Mansaray  Chris Richards 《Gender and education》2010,22(5):591-593

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