Students in competence-based senior secondary vocational education are expected to actively construct personal knowledge during school-based learning and workplace learning. This study introduces the construct ‘personal professional theory’ (PPT) to monitor and analyse students' personal knowledge development. It aims to investigate the development of the content and nature of students' PPTs and their perceptions of learning processes in vocational education during school-based learning and workplace learning. One group of students (n=20) in the domain of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) is followed during one course of 40 weeks in which they alternately participate in school-based learning and workplace learning. A longitudinal design (t=4) including semi-structured concept maps is used to reveal the content and nature of students' PPTs (n=240). Semi-structured interviews (n=10) and log files (n=39) are used to explore students' perceptions of their learning process. No significant differences are found between the four measurements concerning the content and nature of students' PPTs. However, the actual content of students' PPTs shows a relatively unsteady and changeable pattern. Additionally, students perceive workplace learning as an essential process for the development of their PPT. It is concluded that the development of students' PPTs involves knowledge compilation as well as thematic turbulence.
In Of Good Character, James Arthur reports the findings and conclusions of an extensive and comprehensive mixed-method research study into the virtues and values of young people between the ages of 3 and 25 years. The study, largely funded by an extensive grant from the John Templeton Foundation, is notable for being the largest exploration of character education to date in the UK. The content of Of Good Character brings together the results of five substantial age-phased reports and in doing so adds greatly to the literature in the field. As the author reminds us, and as the research presented here attests, whilst the family remains the primary source in developing the character of the child, the role of education, schooling and teachers should not be underestimated. Following an introduction by Lord Watson of Richmond, the book comprises nine chapters. Chapter 1 provides a brief summary of the educational and public policy context relating to character education. Chapter 2 sets out the research aims and methods used throughout the project. Each of the remaining seven chapters concentrates on a particular thematic analysis drawn from across the data-set, namely the Individual, Family and Friends, Community Civic Engagement and Volunteering, Schools and Teachers, Universities and Employment, Language and Media and Religion. Each of these chapters is clearly and usefully structured, starting with extracts from respondents, a summary of the studies’ main findings in relation to the respective theme, a discussion of these findings in relation to the literature and a set of recommendations for consideration. The style employed is accessible and direct, and readers are likely to enjoy its refreshing clarity. Of Good Character contains many more notable findings than can be given attention here, and so I will choose to summarise briefly two which I found to be of particular interest. The first relates to the language used by young people in their discussions of character and values. Whilst the research found that across the dataset, ‘young people are interested in their own character and are concerned with enhancing the good aspects of their character’ (p. 21), Arthur reports that a ‘finding consistent throughout the reports is that young people lacked a language to talk meaningfully about character and virtues’ (p. 79). This finding is disconcerting and suggests that schools and teachers need to pay greater attention not only on how they may help young people to develop a substantive moral language and vocabulary, but also on how they may work effectively with other sources of character development (e.g. the family) towards such an end. The second finding of particular interest, which is related to the first, concerns teacher perceptions of character and values within education. Arthur reports that whilst teachers believe: ‘it is the role of the school to develop values . . . there does not seem to be a consistent understanding of what these are, the areas of school life they relate to, and the processes through which Evaluation & Research in Education Vol. 24, No. 3, September 2011, 217 225
Successful dissertations: the complete guide for education, childhood and early childhood studies students, by Mark O'Hara, Caron Carter, Pam Dewis, Janet Kay and Jonathan Wainwright, London, Conti...
The design of learning spaces, by Pamela Woolner, London, Continuum, 2010, 144 pp., £24.99 (paperback), ISBN: 978-1-85539-774-3 The Design of Learning Spaces is a very accessible read for those inv...
"Educational research and inquiry: qualitative and quantitative approaches." Evaluation & Research in Education, 24(3), pp. 222–223
The present study explored the association between child internalising and externalising problems in schools and demographic factors (sex and age), school functioning (academic performance and adaptive functioning) and teacher-reported student–teacher relationship quality in a cross-sectional study using structural equation modelling. The study was conducted among a sample of Norwegian schoolchildren (n=825) in grades 1–7. The results showed among others that conflict in student–teacher relationships had the strongest association with teacher-reported child externalising and internalising problems. The school system and the teachers probably need to place more focus on how to support children with these kinds of mental health problems. Keywords: internalising problemsexternalising problemsschool functioningstudent–teacher relationshipView correction statement:Corrigendum
Equity in education: an international comparison of pupil perspectives, by Stephen Gorard and Emma Smith, Basingstoke and New York, Palgrave Macmillan, 2010, 256 pp., $85.00 (hardback), ISBN-13: 97...
Abstract Student Evaluations of Teaching (SETs) play a central role in modern academia. They are used for tenure, promotion, teaching improvement and other important decisions. One would think that the data collected from a SET would be analysed correctly, but such is typically not the case, as can be seen in this study later. Therefore we propose a correct method for analysing SET data. The present paper compares the two methods on a large data-set of actual SETs. We show that the traditional method can misrepresent a teacher's performance, and that the traditional method can be extremely sensitive to outliers; neither of these characteristics is desirable. In contrast, the proposed method appears to suffer from neither of these defects. Keywords: assessmentdata analysisstatistics Acknowledgements We thank the referees for numerous comments and suggestions, which greatly improved the paper. We thank also Sheila Vaidya and Rodger Collons for useful conversations, and Tom McWilliams for comments. Finally, we are deeply indebted to David Urias, who procured the data-set we used, and who urged us to complete this paper; without his support this paper would not have been written. Notes 1. We do not advocate the use of such an overall student assessment question to evaluate anyone's ability to teach. This type of summary question is highly subjective, not interpreted uniformly by students and, unfortunately, used extensively while most disliked by faculty. We recommend this question be ultimately avoided in making administrative and merit (pay raise) decisions and the focus turn to more objective questions that usually exist on a well-designed SET. 2. In fact, for the statistically inclined, 3.86 is 5.7 standard deviations below the mean. 3. How to implement goals in practice is not obvious, and here we raise just one issue that needs to be worked out. Suppose that a school's goal for satisfactory performance is that 70% of respondents judge the teacher to be ‘good’ or ‘excellent’ (4 or 5 on a five point scale). Does the teacher meet the goal if a test of H0: p45≥0.70 vs. H1: P45<0.70 fails to reject the null, or should the test employ H0: p45≤0.70 vs. H1: P45>0.70? Should the null and alternative hypotheses be structured the same way for ensuring satisfactory performance and for identifying outstanding teachers?
Vygotsky and special needs education: rethinking support for children and schools, edited by Harry Daniels and Mariane Hedegaard, London, Continuum, 2011, 230 pp., £24.99 (paperback), ISBN: 978-1-4...
This study explains the development and validation of a questionnaire instrument to measure the self-efficacy beliefs of 180 in-service schoolteachers in Pakistan. Four dimensions of teacher self-efficacy were identified in the Pakistani context: classroom management, persistent behaviour, level of teacher anxiety and professional mastery. Validation of the four scales for the Pakistani teachers was achieved by obtaining unidimensional factors. Cronbach alpha reliabilities varied from 0.85 to 0.71. Subsequent breakdowns of scale scores show significant differences between teachers in government/private schools, their professional qualifications and whether they are in permanent or temporary employment. Intercorrelation of the four factors supports the applicability of Bandura's teacher efficacy model to teachers in Pakistan.
Doing a literature review: releasing the social science research imagination, by Christopher Hart, London, Sage, 2002, 230 pp., £20.99 (paperback), ISBN: 0-7619-5975-0 Doing a Literature Review: Re...
Building on findings from existing qualitative research into public perceptions of reliability in examination results in England, a questionnaire was developed and administered to samples of teachers, students and employers to study their awareness of and opinions about various aspects of reliability quantitatively. Main findings from the study include: there was substantial variability in the understanding of reliability concepts and attitudes to unreliability in examination results among the respondents; the majority of the respondents appeared to understand the assessment process and the factors that affect students’ performances in examinations; to a degree, the respondents also understood the factors that could introduce inconsistency in examination results; the respondents showed various degrees of experience of the examination process and acceptance of measurement error in examination results; the level of tolerance of the respondents for assessment error to some degree was positively correlated to the level of belief about the examinations system, knowledge of aspects of unreliability and approaches to trust. Based on findings from this study and those from other studies, steps that should be taken to communicate with the public about reliability of assessment outcomes have been proposed.
"Researching education: data, methods and theory in educational enquiry." Evaluation & Research in Education, 24(3), pp. 218–219
Structuring mass higher education: the role of elite institutions, edited by David Palfreyman and Ted Tapper, New York, Routledge, 2010, 346 pp., £23.50 (paperback), ISBN: 978-0-415-88507-2 This bo...
Online surveys are increasingly common due to the myriad of benefits they offer over traditional survey methods. However, research has shown that response rates to web-based surveys are typically lower than to traditional surveys and can possibly yield biased results. University-based faculty members are a unique cohort that may be ideally suited as subjects for web-based surveys. This paper presents the results of a formal assessment of response bias from a large scale anonymous national survey of faculty members in the discipline of health administration. Results suggested that response bias was at levels undetectable using standard methodological approaches. This paper provides the reader with an overview of steps that can assist evaluators in assessing response bias from data collected with surveys. Thus, it will be of interest to researchers utilising electronic survey methods, especially those interested in surveying university-based faculty members.
Introduction Defining Some Terms Research Ethics The Purpose of This Book: Starting from Uncertainty and the Question Format Researchers as Insiders or Outsiders The Contents of This Book PART ONE: THE PLANNING STAGES Planning the Research: Purpose and Methods Two Basic Questions Questions about Purpose and Methods Is the Research Worth Doing? Do Theories Matter? Do Viewpoints Matter? Do Methods Matter? Three Phases in Growing Awareness of Research Ethics Three Ethics Frameworks for Assessing Research Uncertainty - The Basis of Ethical Research Summary of Questions Assessing Harms and Benefits Harms Benefits Risk, Cost, Harm and Benefit Assessments Confusion in Risk-Benefit Assessments Risk of Distress or Humiliation Summary of Questions Respect for Rights: Privacy and Confidentiality Legal Rights to Confidentiality Opt-in or Opt-out Access Practical Respect Privacy Rights Data Protection Act 1998 Confidentiality or Acknowledgement? Intimacy between Strangers: Research Interviews Ethics and the Internet Respecting Local Values Privacy and Encouraging Freely Given Responses in Face-to-Face Contact Does Traditional Ethics Cover Modern Research Experiences and Relationships? Summary of Questions Designing Research: Selection and Participation Framing the Topics and Extent of the Research Combining Respect, Inclusion and Protection Does Traditional Ethics Cover Social Exclusion? Images and Symbols Beyond Inclusion to Participation: Children and Young People as Researchers UN-Related Work With Young People Respecting Young Researchers' Own Qualities Summary Of Questions Money Matters: Contracts, Funding Research and Paying Participants Planning, Budgeting and Research Agendas Ethics and Funding Sources Carbon Costs Ethics and Contracts Freedom to Publish Paying Young Researchers and Participants Payments in Context Summary of Questions Reviewing Aims and Methods: Ethics Guidance and Committees Review and Revision of Research Aims and Methods Does Social Research Need Research Ethics Committees? Recent Experiences with Research Ethics Committees International Standards A National Social Research Ethics Forum? Summary of Questions PART TWO: THE DATA COLLECTING STAGE Information Spoken and Written Information Research Information Leaflets Leaflet Layout Examples of Research Information Leaflets Leaflets in Other Languages Information in Semi-Literate Societies Relevant Research? Two-Way Information Exchanged Throughout the Research Study Summary of Questions Consent Consent and Rights The Meaning of Consent Consent to Open-Ended Research Assent Consent and the Law Consent by and for Children and Young People Double Standards Complications in Parental Consent Defining and Assessing Competence to Consent Levels of Involvement in Decision Making Respecting Consent and Refusal Consent to Longitudinal Research Consent and Secondary Data Analysis International Standards of Consent Research and International Contexts Why Respect Children's Consent? General Questions about Children's Consent Summary of Questions PART THREE: THE WRITING, REPORTING AND FOLLOW-UP STAGES Disseminating and Implementing the Findings Involving Children in Data Analysis Dissemination: Getting to the Heart of Debate and Change Dissemination and Implementation: Children, Young People and Adults Working Together for Change Problems with Dissemination Creative Ways Round the Problems Dissemination and the News Media Critical Readers and Viewers Underlying Attitudes to Children and The 3 Ps Summary of Questions The Impact on Children What Collective Impact Can Research Have on Children and Young People? Reviewing the Impact of Research on Children Positive Images Summary of Questions Conclusion Ways Forward for Individuals and Teams Questions that Cannot be Solved by Individuals Alone The Need for Social Research Ethics Authorities Summary of National Policy Is the Research Worth Doing? And Finally References And Index
Abstract Learning and achievement issues among Foundation Year (FY) students at the Royal College of Surgeons (RCSI) Bahrain have been responded to by the Language and Culture Unit to address the educational problems that have arisen as a direct consequence of the differences in skills students have on leaving secondary school and the skills that are required at third level institutions. The findings of the study assess the extent to which an integration of sustainable development into course objectives and learning outcomes takes place and how the content of the course responds to specific students' needs. The research consists of an in-depth quantitative and qualitative case study that evaluates the extent to which the course enables the transition from a secondary to a third level institution and teaches the students the skills required to ‘survive’ at a western-type university. In support of our claim, the results from this case study will be presented and implications of a more general relevance will...
Doing your literature review: traditional and systematic techniques, by Jill Jesson, Lydia Matheson and Fiona M. Lacey, London, Sage, 2011, 192 pp., £20.99 (paperback), ISBN: 978-1-848-60154-3 This...
We use unique administrative data from a leading Italian university to estimate whether the use of admission tests and conditional progression schemes are effective strategies to select high-performing students. Previous work, which has been predominantly correlational, has focused on the effect of selectivity policies on widening university access for individuals from ethnic minorities and disadvantaged backgrounds. Our evaluation method applies a difference-in-difference (DD) design, which, under the assumption that the trends of the outcome variables would be the same across all departments within the same university in the absence of treatment, identifies the causal impact of selectivity policies. The estimates indicate that selectivity schemes may not lead university students to achieve better outcomes, in terms of greater likelihoods of completing their degrees, obtaining top marks and finishing their studies within the required minimum period. The study concludes with a discussion of the main findings and their implications.
Education as a global concern, by Colin Brock, London, Continuum, 2011, 184 pp., £24.99 (paperback), ISBN: 978-1-4411-3028-0 This highly readable book forms part of a series with the overall title ...
