bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Student Ratings of Instruction and Student Achievement: A Meta-analysis of Multisection Validity Studies
Authors: Cohen Peter A.
Published: March 2008

The present study used meta-analytic methodology to synthesize research on the relationship between student ratings of instruction and student achievement. The data for the meta-analysis came from 41 independent validity studies reporting on 68 separate multisection courses relating student ratings to student achievement. The average correlation between an overall instructor rating and student achievement was .43; the average correlation between an overall course rating and student achievement was .47. While large effect sizes were also found for more specific rating dimensions such as Skill and Structure, other dimensions showed more modest relationships with student achievement. A hierarchical multiple regression analysis showed that rating/achievement correlations were larger for full-time faculty when students knew their final grades before rating instructors and when an external evaluator graded students’ achievement tests. The results of the meta-analysis provide strong support for the validity of student ratings as measures of teaching effectiveness.
Bloom’s Taxonomy of Educational Objectives for the Cognitive Domain: Philosophical and Educational Issues
Authors: Furst Edward J.
Published: March 2008

A recent review of the Taxonomy of Educational Objectives, cognitive domain, commonly known as Bloom’s taxonomy, concentrated on its statistical properties. The present review complements and supplements this earlier one by concentrating on philosophical and educational issues. It covers unpublished studies as well as published literature over about a 25-year period. The focus is on the claimed properties of neutrality, comprehensiveness, cumulative hierarchical structure, and usefulness.
The Organizational Context of Individual Efficacy
Authors: Fuller Bruce , Wood Ken , Rapoport Tamar , Dornbusch Sanford M.
Published: March 2008

Efficacy—the individual’s perceived expectancy of obtaining valued outcomes through personal effort—appears to yield a variety of important effects in school organizations. Efficacy has been identified as a social psychological antecedent to many individual-level outcomes, such as student performance and teacher effectiveness. Program implementation and evaluation studies also increasingly point to efficacy as a significant determinant of resistance to, or persistence of, organizational interventions. This paper moves from looking at research on individual efficacy as the antecedent to various school outcomes, to the dependent variable linked to characteristics of organizational structure. First, alternative views of the efficacy construct are reviewed, pertinent to varying interpretations of how the same structural feature may differentially influence alternative forms of efficacy. Second, a distinction is made between organizational and performance efficacy. Then, general images of structural determinants of individual efficacy are outlined from existing organizational theory. The paper concludes with specific propositions related to the pattern of interaction between contiguous structural levels which might guide future research and practice on efficacy in school organizations.
The Relationship Between Self and Achievement/Performance Measures
Authors: Hansford B. C. , Hattie J. A.
Published: March 2008

This meta-analysis examines the relationship between the various self-measures and measures of performance and achievement. The statistical results of 128 studies are transformed to a common measure, namely, correlation coefficients. These studies represent a total sample of 202,823 persons and produce a data base of 1,136 correlations between self-ratings and performance measures. A range in the relationship of —.77 to .96 was reported with an “average” correlation of .21. It was found that this average relationship was modified by a number of variables. The more significant modifiers of the average relationship were the grade-level of subjects, socioeconomic status, ethnicity, ability of subjects, self-term used in the study, name of self-test used, type and name of performance/achievement measures, and the reliability of both the self-ratings and performance/achievement measures.
Institutional Performance in Higher Education: The Efficiency Dimension
Authors: Lindsay Alan W.
Published: March 2008

The concept of institutional performance can be regarded as embodying components on two dimensions: effectiveness, which is concerned with the congruence between outputs and goals or other criteria; and efficiency, which links outputs with inputs. The efficiency dimension, which has been relatively neglected in attempts to assess institutional performance, is defined, and its relationship to the economic concepts of efficiency and productivity is examined. The practical difficulties in assessment relate to the conceptualization and measurement of inputs and outputs in a manner reflecting an educational institution’s purposes and processes, and in a form which can be used as management information. This paper reviews the progress toward overcoming these difficulties and examines the ways that recent research addresses the analytical problems of assessing the input-output component of institutional performance. Studies of input-output relationships are classified into three categories: (1) input-output-ratio studies, which include the use of cost-analysis techniques and “productivity” ratios; (2) regression studies, which use statistical procedures to estimate the typical relationships among the variables; and (3) production frontier or data envelopment techniques, which identify and explore the most desirable input-output combinations or estimate the feasible range of these combinations.
Characteristics of Media Selection Models
Authors: Reiser Robert A. , Gagné Robert M.
Published: March 2008

This paper identifies and evaluates the learning effectiveness of the major features found in media selection models. The 10 different models employed as examples are not described individually, as is done in some previous reviews. Instead, the article focuses on the characteristics noted across models. Features discussed include the physical forms the models take, the ways in which they classify media, and the media selection factors they consider. Selection factors embodied in models affect media choices. Characteristics of learners, setting, and task are identified as factors to be given primary consideration in media selection.
Psychological Models of Educational Performance: A Theoretical Synthesis of Constructs
Authors: Haertel Geneva D. , Walberg Herbert J. , Weinstein Thomas
Published: March 2008

This paper reviews eight theories or models presenting holistic conceptions of student learning in classroom settings (Bennett, 1978 ; Bloom, 1976 ; Bruner, 1966 ; Carroll, 1963 ; Cooley & Leinhardt, 1975 ; Gagné, 1974 ; Glaser, 1976 ; Harnischfeger & Wiley, 1976 ). To be included, a model or theory was required to describe variables important to the performance of individual learners or single instructional tasks. Most models also derived implications for the organization of curriculum and/or group instruction. Following discussions of the eight models, major constructs posited by different theorists are cross-tabulated and related to factors of the model of educational productivity (Walberg, 1980 ).
The Conceptualization of Educational Evaluation: An Analytical Review of the Literature
Authors: Nevo David
Published: March 2008

Recent decades have been productive in the conceptualization of educational evaluation, trying to clarify its meaning and exposing the distinction between evaluation and other related concepts. This article reviews the evaluation literature through an analytical framework representing issues addressed by major evaluation approaches in education. The analytical framework is comprised of 10 dimensions referring to: (1) the definition of evaluation, (2) its functions, (3) the objects of evaluation, (4) the variables that should be investigated, (5) criteria that should be used, (6) the audiences that should be served, (7) the process of doing an evaluation, (8) its methods of inquiry, (9) the characteristics of the evaluator, and (10) the standards that should be used to judge the worth and merit of an evaluation. Some implications for the advancement of evaluation theory and practice conclude this review of the literature.
Research on the Composing Process
Authors: Humes Ann
Published: March 2008

Writing research has undergone a transformation: Research techniques have expanded beyond the classical experimental paradigm. The methodologies employed in recent research on the composing process are discussed. These methodologies include laboratory case studies of the composing process, naturalistic studies, quasi-product studies that interpret results in terms of the process, and studies that use unique procedures. The results of the research are presented in terms of the process and of the subprocesses of writing (planning, translating, renewing, and revising). Limitations of the methodologies are explored, and conclusions about the results are presented.
Mainstreaming Students with Mild Handicaps: Academic and Social Outcomes
Authors: Madden Nancy A. , Slavin Robert E.
Published: March 2008

This paper reviews research on the effects of placing students with mild academic handicaps in full-time special education classes, part-time regular classes with resource support, and full-time regular classes. It also reviews research on the effects of programs designed to improve the achievement, social-emotional adjustment, and social acceptance of academically handicapped students by their nonhandicapped classmates. Methodologically adequate studies of placements of academically handicapped students indicate few consistent benefits of full-time special education on any important outcomes. The research favors placement in regular classes using individualized instruction or supplemented by well-designed resource programs for the achievement, self-esteem, behavior, and emotional adjustment of academically handicapped students. Experimental research indicates that cooperative learning and individualized instruction programs can improve the self-perceptions and behavior of mainstreamed academically handicapped students and acceptance by their nonhandicapped classmates.
Classroom Factors Affecting Students’ Self-Evaluations: An Interactional Model
Authors: Marshall Hermine H. , Weinstein Rhona S.
Published: March 2008

This paper presents a complex interactional model of classroom factors that contribute to the development of students’ self-evaluations. This model integrates previously investigated factors, suggests the operation of additional factors, and extends the notion of the operation of classroom factors to account for the possibility that certain factors may compensate for or negate the effect of otherwise crucial factors in influencing students’ interpretations of and reactions to classroom events. Described are (a) task structure, (b) grouping practices, (c) feedback and evaluation procedures and information about ability, (d) motivational strategies, (e) locus of responsibility for learning, and (f) the quality of teacher-student relationships. This notion of compensating and negating features within the classroom environment can be applied to understanding other student outcomes as they are influenced by teaching processes.
The Classification of Research Questions
Authors: Dillon J. T.
Published: March 2008

What are the kinds of questions that may be posed for research? A dozen schemes proposing to classify research questions are surveyed, analyzed, and applied to the understanding and practice of inquiry. The extent to which the various schemes account for questions found in educational journals is estimated. Some principles and issues are identified to stimulate work on the classification of research questions in education and other enterprises of inquiry. On the whole, little is known about the kinds of questions that may be posed for research.
Meta-Analysis of the Effects of Type and Combination of Feedback on Children’s Discrimination Learning
Authors: Getsie Rosemary L. , Langer Philip , Glass Gene V.
Published: March 2008

The incentive model of the effects of reward and punishment on human learning has often been researched. To estimate the relative effects of three types and three combinations of feedback on children’s discrimination learning, a meta-analysis was performed on the findings of 89 studies. In general, reward campared to punishment or to reward plus punishment is the least efficient feedback for teaching children discrimination materials. Reward plus punishment appears to result in the best performance. However, in four comparisons of punishment versus reward plus punishment, punishment is either as effective or more effective than the combination. The data also suggest that these findings are also mediated by the type of feedback used. Punishment also seems to be comparatively more effective when the task is simple rather than complex. Punishment results in the best performance, compared to reward plus punishment, when the child is bright, upper class, and in the fourth or higher grades
A Tale of Two Variables: A Review of the Intellectual Consequences of Sibship Size and Birth Order
Authors: Steelman Lala Carr
Published: March 2008

This paper critiques the literature on the relationship between sibling structure and academic abilities and achievement since Cicirelli’s (1978) earlier commentary on this topic. Assessed is the extent to which the confluence model, a theoretical explanation of the influence of sibling structure, fits the empirical observations made recently on the association between sibship structure and intellectual development. Since the studies reviewed in general tend to refute the confluence model, alternative interpretations of the impact of sibling structure on academic consequences are presented. Implications for future research are also provided.
A Conceptual Model of Nontraditional Undergraduate Student Attrition
Authors: Bean John P. , Metzner Barbara S.
Published: March 2008

Older, part-time, and commuter students have composed an increasingly larger portion of college student bodies. The reasons why these students drop out of school are not well understood. The purpose of this paper is to describe the rise in nontraditional enrollments, define the nontraditional undergraduate student, and develop a conceptual model of the attrition process for these students. The chief difference between the attrition process of traditional and nontraditional students is that nontraditional students are more affected by the external environment than by the social integration variables affecting traditional student attrition.
The Effects of Adjunct Questions on Prose Learning
Authors: Hamaker Christiaan
Published: March 2008

The research literature on the effects of factual and higher order adjunct questions is reviewed. The influence of 13 design variables on the direction and size of adjunct-questions effects was investigated. Adjunct questions of all cognitive levels have a strong facilitative effect on repeated test questions and a weaker effect on test questions related to the adjunct questions. Unrelated test questions are affected negatively by factual prequestions and by factual postquestions when study time is controlled. Factual postquestions have a positive effect on unrelated questions only when no time restrictions are imposed. Effect sizes are found to be related to text length, density of adjunct questions, adjunct-question format, test-question format, and the level of performance in the control group; they are unrelated to subjects’ age, the interval between reading task and test, whether or not subjects are allowed to consult the text while answering the adjunct questions, and the average distance between adjunct questions and relevant text information. When compared to factual adjunct questions, higher order adjunct questions lead to improved performance on repeated, related, and unrelated higher order test questions, and possibly also on unrelated factual test questions. This indicates that higher order adjunct questions may have a more general facilitative effect than factual adjunct questions. The analysis of a recent adjunct-questions study illustrates the role that review results can play in (re)interpreting experimental findings.
High School Dropouts: A Review of Issues and Evidence
Authors: Rumberger Russell W.
Published: March 2008

The problem of high school dropouts has generated increased interest among researchers, policymakers, and educators in recent years. This paper examines the many issues involved in trying to understand and solve this complex social and educational problem. The issues are grouped into four areas covering the incidence, causes, consequences, and solutions to the problem. Within each area, the discussion identifies the important issues involved, the current state of research on the issues, and considerations for future research.
Mastery Learning Reconsidered
Authors: Slavin Robert E.
Published: March 2008

Several recent reviews and meta-analyses have claimed extraordinarily positive effects of mastery learning on student achievement, and Bloom (1984a , 1984b) has hypothesized that mastery-based treatments will soon be able to produce “2-sigma” (i.e., 2 standard deviation) increases in achievement. This article examines the literature on achievement effects of practical applications of group-based mastery learning in elementary and secondary schools over periods of at least 4 weeks, using a review technique, “best-evidence synthesis,” which combines features of meta-analytic and traditional narrative reviews. The review found essentially no evidence to support the effectiveness of group-based mastery learning on standardized achievement measures. On experimenter-made measures, effects were generally positive but moderate in magnitude, with little evidence that effects maintained over time. These results are discussed in light of the coverage versus mastery dilemma posed by group-based mastery learning.
Ability Grouping and Student Achievement in Elementary Schools: A Best-Evidence Synthesis
Authors: Slavin Robert E.
Published: March 2008

This article reviews research on the effects of between- and within-class ability grouping on the achievement of elementary school students. The review technique—best-evidence synthesis—combines features of meta-analytic and narrative reviews. Overall, evidence does not support assignment of students to self-contained classes according to ability (median effect size [ES] = .00), but grouping plans involving cross-grade assignment for selected subjects can increase student achievement. Research particularly supports the Joplin Plan, cross-grade ability grouping for reading only (median ES = +.45). Within-class ability grouping in mathematics is also found to be instructionally effective (median ES = +.34). Analysis of effects of alternative grouping methods suggests that ability grouping is maximally effective when done for only one or two subjects, with students remaining in heterogeneous classes most of the day; when it greatly reduces student heterogeneity in a specific skill; when group assignments are frequently reassessed; and when teachers vary the level and pace of instruction according to students’ needs.
Correlates, Causes, Effects, and Treatment of Test Anxiety
Authors: Hembree Ray
Published: March 2008

Results of 562 studies were integrated by meta-analysis to show the nature, effects, and treatment of academic test anxiety. Effect sizes were computed through the method invented by Glass ( Glass, McGaw, & Smith, 1981 ). Correlations and effect-size groups were tested for consistency and significance with inferential statistics by Hedges and Olkin (1985) . Test anxiety (TA) causes poor performance. It relates inversely to students’ self-esteem and directly to their fears of negative evaluation, defensiveness, and other forms of anxiety. Conditions (causes) giving rise to differential TA levels include ability, gender, and school grade level. A variety of treatments are effective in reducing test anxiety. Contrary to prior perceptions, improved test performance and grade point average (GPA) consistently accompany TA reduction.
Timing of Feedback and Verbal Learning
Authors: Kulik James A. , Kulik Chen-Lin C.
Published: March 2008

A meta-analysis of findings on feedback timing and human verbal learning showed that a variety of results have been obtained in 53 separate studies of the topic. Applied studies using actual classroom quizzes and real learning materials have usually found immediate feedback to be more effective than delayed. Experimental studies of acquisition of test content have usually produced the opposite result. Laboratory studies of list learning have produced a variety of results, but the variation in results seems to be related systematically to features of the studies.
Peer Response Groups in the Writing Classroom: Theoretic Foundations and New Directions
Authors: DiPardo Anne , Freedman Sarah Warshauer
Published: March 2008

The peer response group in which students respond to one another’s writing is commonly used in the writing classroom, from kindergarten through college. Although enthusiastically advocated by practitioners and supported by current theories of the teaching and learning of writing, response groups are difficult to organize effectively. This review examines the pedagogical literature on response groups, places that literature in the context of current theories of the teaching and learning of writing, and then examines the small number of studies of peer response groups. Key issues include (a) the degree of teacher control over the groups and the effects of control structures, and (b) the kinds of social interactions within groups, with attention to how those interactions relate to the larger instructional context and to teaching and learning in the groups. Suggestions are made for reconceptualizing peer response to writing, with an emphasis on moving away from the teacher-initiated and controlled response group toward encouraging spontaneous peer talk during the writing process.
Patterns of Misunderstanding: An Integrative Model for Science, Math, and Programming
Authors: Perkins D. N. , Simmons Rebecca
Published: March 2008

This article examines unifying factors among diverse problems of understanding in several fields. Certain misunderstandings in science, mathematics, and computer programming display strong structural analogies with one another. Even within one of these domains, however, not all misunderstandings are structurally similar. To explain the commonality and variety, four levels of knowledge are posited: (a) content, (b) problem-solving, (c) epistemic, and (d) inquiry. Through analysis of several examples, it is argued that misunderstandings have causes at multiple levels, with highly domain-specific causes predominant at the “content” level and somewhat more general causes at the other levels. The authors note that education characteristically neglects all but the content level, describe successful interventions at all levels, and urge more attention in education to integration across the levels.
Promoting Access to Knowledge, Strategy, and Disposition in Students: A Research Synthesis
Authors: Prawat Richard S.
Published: March 2008

The emphasis in this paper is on access, defined as the ability to draw on or utilize one’s intellectual resources in situations where those resources are relevant. A number of factors influence access. They have been identified in various strands of research representing different construct and curriculum perspectives. To date, few attempts have been made to synthesize this research. This is the purpose of the present paper, which utilizes a framework thought to have relevance across research domains. According to this framework, two factors influence students’ ability to access knowledge, strategy, and disposition. The first is organizational in nature, the second relates to the amount of reflective awareness possessed by the individual. This paper discusses how organization and awareness factors influence access in each of the informational categories and how teachers can better attend to these factors and thus promote access or transfer in students.
Determinants of Educational Participation and Achievement of Women in the Third World: A Review of the Evidence and a Theoretical Critique
Authors: Stromquist Nelly P.
Published: March 2008

This review discusses several factors that affect women’s participation and achievement in the formal educational system and that contribute to significant gender inequalities in education. Cultural norms and the division of labor within the home function to the detriment of girls, who are defined primarily as future mothers. Women in higher socioeconomic classes experience less restriction in gaining access to university, but cultural norms still lead them to select from a limited number of fields of study. The school experience of most women provides them with messages and practices that reinforce rather than challenge the sexual division of labor. Although the literature treats the various determinants of participation and achievement in a segmented, decontextualized manner, the evidence suggests that the family and school-related factors are not independent but operate in a symbiotic relationship. The review uses feminist theories to provide an interpretation of the empirical findings and discusses the explanatory power of these theories. The review concludes with a number of recommendations to improve and expand research on gender issues in education.
Critical Ethnography in Education: Origins, Current Status, and New Directions
Authors: Anderson Gary L.
Published: March 2008

Interpretivist movements in anthropology and sociology have recently merged with neo-Marxist and feminist theory to produce a unique genre of research in the field of education known as “critical ethnography.” Critical ethnographers seek research accounts sensitive to the dialectical relationship between the social structural constraints on human actors and the relative autonomy of human agency. Unlike other interpretivist research, the overriding goal of critical ethnography is to free individuals from sources of domination and repression. This review traces the development of critical ethnography in education, including a brief discussion of its view of validity; discusses its current status as a research genre; and describes criticisms and suggests new directions.
Teacher-Based Judgments of Academic Achievement: A Review of Literature
Authors: Hoge Robert D. , Coladarci Theodore
Published: March 2008

The focus of this paper is on data reflecting the match between teacher-based assessments of students’ achievement levels and an objective measure of student learning. These data are treated as relevant to the validity or accuracy of the judgmental measures. The paper begins with a discussion of two contexts in which such judgments are relevant: the teacher decision-making and assessment contexts. The second section presents a review of studies in which data are presented on the match between judgments and test scores. Two types of studies are reviewed. The first represents an indirect test of validity in the sense that there is a discrepancy between the judgmental measure (usually a rating of achievement) and the criterion measure (a score on a standardized achievement test). The second provides a more direct test of validity in that teachers are directly asked to estimate the achievement test performance of their students. On the whole, the results revealed high levels of validity for the teacher-judgment measures. The studies revealed, however, some variability across teachers in accuracy levels and suggested the operation of certain other moderator variables. The paper concludes with a set of recommendations for future research on the judgments and a set of recommendations for improvements in the teacher-assessment process.
The Uses of Function: James Britton’s Category System and Research on Writing
Authors: Durst Russel K. , Newell George E.
Published: March 2008

The theoretical and empirical work of James Britton has been influential in promoting a view of writing as a means of learning and reflecting about subject matter. In detailing the heuristic potential of writing and the wide range of possible uses of writing, Britton’s work has played a significant role in countering the traditional view of writing instruction emphasizing mechanical correctness and the teaching of a rigid set of discourse forms. In particular, Britton’s theory of written discourse function has been used widely in research on writing and has made an important contribution to writing theory and pedagogy. Employed as a key variable in a host of empirical studies on writing, the function system has also been examined and critiqued in a number of theoretical studies. Yet the body of research in which the function system appears has never been analyzed systematically to determine what the theory has contributed to our understanding of how writing is learned and taught. In this review, we examine research employing or critiquing Britton’s theory. Studies are divided into four categories, centering on (a) the nature of school writing; (b) writing processes and written text structures; (c) connections between writing and learning; and (d) critiques of the function system. We also discuss ways in which the function theory could be improved and extended, and examine the theory’s relevance in light of critical issues in American education.
Student Self-Assessment in Higher Education: A Meta-Analysis
Authors: Falchikov Nancy , Boud David
Published: March 2008

Quantitative self-assessment studies that compared self- and teacher marks were subjected to a meta-analysis. Predictions stemming from the results of an earlier critical review of the literature ( Boud & Falchikov, 1989 ) were tested, and salient variables were identified. Factors that seem to be important with regard to the closeness of correspondence between self- and teacher marks were found to include the following: the quality of design of the study (with better designed studies having closer correspondence between student and teacher than poorly designed ones); the level of the course of which the assessment was a part (with students in advanced courses appearing to be more accurate assessors than those in introductory courses); and the broad area of study (with studies within the area of science appearing to produce more accurate self-assessment generally than did those from other areas of study). Results of the analysis are discussed and differences signaled by the results of the three common metrics examined. The distinction between relative and absolute judgment of performance is drawn. It is recommended that researchers give attention to both good design and to adequate reporting of self-assessment studies.
Coaching for the Scholastic Aptitude Test: Further Synthesis and Appraisal
Authors: Becker Betsy Jane
Published: March 2008

Analyses of results of studies documented in 23 reports on coaching for the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) indicated that, on average, coaching can help increase SAT scores. However, considerable variability in results for 48 studies reflected the fact that not all coaching is necessarily effective and that all studies of coaching do not provide similar views of coaching’s effectiveness. Results of published and unpublished studies were analyzed separately. Characteristics related to the magnitudes of coaching effects included date of publication of the study, whether the study was sponsored by the Educational Testing Service and used as a comparison group, whether instruction included test practice and attention to test-taking skills, and whether homework was assigned to students. Coaching effects were stronger for the SAT Mathematical subtest. Published comparison studies gave consistent results with coached groups exceeding controls by 0.09 standard deviations on SAT-V and 0.16 on SAT-M. Studies of coaching were found to be rather poorly reported and designed without much attention to the issues discussed in reviews of the coaching literature.
Interest and Its Contribution as a Mental Resource for Learning
Authors: Hidi Suzanne
Published: March 2008

It is argued that interest is central in determining how we select and persist in processing certain types of information in preference to others. Evidence that shows that both individual and text-based interest have a profound facilitative effect on cognitive functioning and learning is reviewed. Factors that contribute to text-based interest are discussed, and it is suggested that interest elicits spontaneous, rather than conscious, selective allocation of attention. It is further proposed that the psychological and physiological processes associated with interesting information have unique aspects not present in processing information without such interest. Current advances in neuro-cognitive research show promise that we will gain further knowledge of the impact of interest on cognitive functioning and that we will finally be in a position to integrate the physiological and psychological aspects of interest.
Word Processing and Writing in Elementary Classrooms: A Critical Review of Related Literature
Authors: Cochran-Smith Marilyn
Published: March 2008

Word processing has been widely endorsed as one of the most promising uses of microcomputers in the elementary school curriculum. This article reviews the burgeoning literature that pertains to word processing and writing in elementary classrooms by constructing five major propositions that cut across individual studies and methods. Together, the propositions provide a schema for understanding and categorizing what is known and still needs to be known about word processing and young writers, a framework for probing the significant theoretical and substantive issues underlying the findings, and a point of departure for discussing the most provocative themes and questions that emerge from many fields of study. Throughout the review, I demonstrate that using word processing for writing in individual classrooms is a practice that is social as well as technical. I argue, therefore, that we cannot determine how word processing is most effectively used in classrooms apart from the ways particular teachers work in particular instructional contexts and that we cannot understand how word processing affects the quality, quantity, or processes of children’s writing apart from the ways these are embedded within, and mediated by, the social systems of classrooms. I conclude that, although we know a great deal about the capacities of word processing to influence students’ writing, we know much less about the ways this technology is actually introduced and used in school settings over time or the ways these introductions and settings interact with the social processes of classrooms.
Characteristics of Entering Teacher Candidates
Authors: Brookhart Susan M. , Freeman Donald J.
Published: March 2008

Characteristics of entering teacher candidates, defined as students enrolled in their first education course, have been the focus of 44 studies located for this review. Four major categories of variables have been studied: (a) demographics and high-school background; (b) motivation to teach and career expectations; (c) confidence and optimism or anxiety and concerns about teaching; and (d) perceptions of the roles and responsibilities of teachers. Most of the research employed a survey methodology. This article presents a descriptive synthesis of findings from these studies. The principle of thematic consistency with empirical variability—that is, that the general conclusions of the studies have been similar even though the data have shown differences from study to study—is advanced to organize a discussion of what is known about entering teacher candidates and suggestions for future research in this field.
Shifting Conceptions of Validity in Educational Measurement: Implications for Performance Assessment
Authors: Moss Pamela A.
Published: March 2008

Recent developments in the philosophy of validity, highlighting the importance of investigating the consequences of assessment use, provide theoretical support for the move toward performance assessment. The problem for validity researchers is finding the appropriate set of criteria and standards to simultaneously support the validity of an assessment-based interpretation and the validity of its impact on the educational system. My intent is to provide an integrative and critical review of the guidance available for conducting validity inquiry in the context of performance assessment. In the first section is a summary of the emerging consensus among measurement scholars—not reflected in the 1985 Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing (American Educational Research Association [AERA], American Psychological Association [APA], & National Council on Measurement in Education [NCME])—about the centrality of construct validity to the evaluation of any assessment-based interpretation and about the importance of expanding the concept of validity to include explicit consideration of the consequences of assessment use. The description of this emerging consensus suggests general epistemological principles for validity inquiry. In the second section is a description and synthesis of various categories of questions, evidence, or criteria that have been used to describe or guide validity inquiry, either for assessment in general or for performance assessment in particular. These analytic schemes, like the traditional construct-content-criterion categories, highlight specific issues that their authors consider important for validity researchers to address. Each balances technical concerns about such issues as reliability, generalizability, and comparability with concerns about the consequences of assessment. In the final section is an overview of concerns, expressed largely by interpretive researchers, about validity criteria that privilege standardized forms of assessment, whether performance-based or multiple-choice. These arguments suggest the importance of further expanding the conception of validity inquiry to treat as problematic the epistemological principles used to warrant validity conclusions.
Teachers’ Beliefs and Educational Research: Cleaning Up a Messy Construct
Authors: Pajares M. Frank
Published: March 2008

Attention to the beliefs of teachers and teacher candidates should be a focus of educational research and can inform educational practice in ways that prevailing research agendas have not and cannot. The difficulty in studying teachers’ beliefs has been caused by definitional problems, poor conceptualizations, and differing understandings of beliefs and belief structures. This article examines the meaning prominent researchers give to beliefs and how this meaning differs from that of knowledge, provides a definition of belief consistent with the best work in this area, explores the nature of belief structures as outlined by key researchers, and offers a synthesis of findings about the nature of beliefs. The article argues that teachers’ beliefs can and should become an important focus of educational inquiry but that this will require clear conceptualizations, careful examination of key assumptions, consistent understandings and adherence to precise meanings, and proper assessment and investigation of specific belief constructs. Implications of findings and directions for future research are offered.
The Limited Presence of African-American Teachers
Authors: King Sabrina Hope
Published: March 2008

The limited presence of talented African Americans in the teaching profession has been and continues to be a serious problem confronting the education profession and the African-American community in the United States. This review summarizes what is known from the research literature. It explores the reasons that African-American teachers are important as well as overall demographic, entry, and retention trends and the distinctive factors that influence the limited presence of African-American teachers. Finally, a suggested research agenda is presented.
Techniques and Procedures for Assessing Cognitive Skills
Authors: Royer James M. , Cisero Cheryl A. , Carlo Maria S.
Published: March 2008

The intent of the article is to survey procedures that could be used to assess progress in instructional programs designed to enhance cognitive skills. The organizational framework is provided by J. R. Anderson’s (1982) theory of cognitive skill development and by Glaser, Lesgold, and Lajoie’s (1985) categorization of dimensions of cognitive skills. After describing Anderson’s theory, the article discusses the following types of measures of cognitive skills: (a) measures of knowledge acquisition, organization, and structure; (b) measures of depth of problem representation; (c) measures of mental models; (d) measures of metacognitive skills; (e) measures of the automaticity of performance; and (f) measures of efficiency of procedures. Each of the sections describing measurement procedures is followed by a discussion of the strengths and weaknesses of the procedures. The article closes with a general discussion of techniques for measuring cognitive skills.
The Utility of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator
Authors: Pittenger David J.
Published: March 2008

An evaluation of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator is made using a “unified view” of test validity (e.g., Messick, 1981 ). The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator is an assessment of personality based on Jung’s theory of types. During the past decade, the test has received considerable attention and use in a variety of applied settings. The unified view of validation requires that validity be considered as an approach that requires many sources of corroboration. This procedure contrasts with previous procedures that tended to focus on single validation procedures (e.g., construct validation). A review of the available literature suggests that there is insufficient evidence to support the tenets of and claims about the utility of the test.
Interest, Prior Knowledge, and Learning
Authors: Tobias Sigmund
Published: March 2008

This article discusses the importance of studying interest and reviews research on the association between interest and prior knowledge. It is concluded that there is a substantial linear relationship between interest and prior knowledge. Previous findings of minimal interest-knowledge relationships were attributed to one, or more, of the following: (a) Knowledge and interest measures reflecting different content, (b) questionable reliability or validity of the measures, (c) ideographic assignment to high/low groups introducing error into group assignments, (d) use of materials not suited to the sample, and (e) possible confounding of interest and knowledge measures. Research suggests that working on interesting, compared to neutral, materials may engage deeper cognitive processing, arouse a wider, more emotional, and more personal associative network, and employ more imagery. A model of the interest-knowledge relationship is updated, and suggestions for further research are made. Finally, the similarity between interest and curiosity is explored, and the advantages of research on these constructs are discussed.
The Role of Subject-Matter Knowledge and Interest in the Processing of Linear and Nonlinear Texts
Authors: Alexander Patricia A. , Kulikowich Jonna M. , Jetton Tamara L.
Published: March 2008

Sixty-six studies were reviewed that met several a priori criteria. Specifically, the studies had to be empirical investigations that related to a particular academic domain and that involved connected discourse presented either in traditional written form or on computer. In addition, the studies had to incorporate some measure of both knowledge and interest. The resulting body of literature was first summarized and analyzed in terms of the domains chosen, the subjects selected, the nature of the texts used, the manner in which knowledge and interest were assessed, and the principal outcomes reported. Next, from this analysis, six premises were proposed as guides for future research and practice. Finally, concluding remarks were advanced that address the overall significance of text-processing research that interactively considers the domain of knowledge and the interest of the reader.
Joint Book Reading Makes for Success in Learning to Read: A Meta-Analysis on Intergenerational Transmission of Literacy
Authors: Bus Adriana G. , van IJzendoorn Marinus H. , Pellegrini Anthony D.
Published: March 2008

The current review is a quantitative meta-analysis of the available empirical evidence related to parent-preschooler reading and several outcome measures. In selecting the studies to be included in this meta-analysis, we focused on studies examining the frequency of book reading to preschoolers. The results support the hypothesis that parent-preschooler reading is related to outcome measures such as language growth, emergent literacy, and reading achievement. The overall effect size of d = .59 indicates that book reading explains about 8% of the variance in the outcome measures. The results support the hypothesis that book reading, in particular, affects acquisition of the written language register. The effect of parent-preschooler reading is not dependent on the socioeconomic status of the families or on several methodological differences between the studies. However, the effect seems to become smaller as soon as children become conventional readers and are able to read on their own.
Cooperative Versus Competitive Efforts and Problem Solving
Authors: Qin Zhining , Johnson David W. , Johnson Roger T.
Published: March 2008

The impacts of cooperative and competitive efforts on problem solving were compared. In order to resolve the controversy over whether cooperation promotes higher- or lower-quality individual problem solving than does competition, 46 studies, published between 1929 and 1993, were examined. The findings from these studies were classified in 4 categories according to the type of problem solving measured: linguistic (solved through written and oral language), nonlinguistic (solved through symbols, math, motor activities, actions), well-defined (having clearly defined operations and solutions), and ill-defined (lacking clear definitions, operations, and solutions). The 63 relevant findings that resulted were subjected to a meta-analysis for purposes of integration. Members of cooperative teams outperformed individuals competing with each other on all 4 types of problem solving (effect sizes = 0.37, 0.72, 0.52, 0.60, respectively). These results held for individuals of all ages and for studies of high, medium, and low quality. The superiority of cooperation, however, was greater on nonlinguistic than on linguistic problems.
English-as-a-Second-Language Learners’ Cognitive Reading Processes: A Review of Research in the United States
Authors: Fitzgerald Jill
Published: March 2008

An integrative review of United States research on English-as-a-second-language (ESL) learners’ cognitive reading processes suggested that, on the whole, ESL readers recognized cognate vocabulary fairly well, monitored their comprehension and used many metacognitive strategies, used schema and prior knowledge to affect comprehension and recall, and were affected differently by different types of text structures. In the main, where United States ESL readers’ processes appeared to be used differently from those of native English readers, the differences were in speed and depressed activation of selected processes. Significantly, overall, the findings from the studies suggested a relatively good fit to preexisting reading theories and views generally thought to describe native-language readers. However, the quantitative differences between processes of ESL readers and those of native English readers indicated that the preexisting theories and views might need to be revisited and elaborated to address a subset of factors special to ESL learners.