The "Special Ability Selection Examination" (SASE), which is used to select appropriate students for the music education departments of educational faculties in Turkey, has many subsections and must evaluate highly competitive cohorts of students according to a broad range of criteria. The test consists of three subsections, with a large…

The author used Rasch measurement to examine the reliability and validity of 382 Korean university students' scores on the Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale (MCSDS; D. P. Crowne and D. Marlowe, 1960). Results revealed that item-fit statistics and principal component analysis with standardized residuals provide evidence of MCSDS'…

In response to a previous article, the paper suggests it is unrealistic to expect one theory or even multiple theories within one paradigm to explain learning disabilities. The emphasis on reaching a consensus regarding theory or paradigm is seen as unproductive. (DB)

The concept of structure is recast as an instantaneous correspondence between an infrastructure, a sociostructure, and a superstructure--manifestations of collective life juxtaposed through technological solutions, political exchanges, and social interpretations involving organizations. Ultimately, structuring is a dialectical unfolding of…

Discusses development of Didaktik, a teaching and learning theory which investigates relationships between disciplined-based and general teaching theories; discusses the need for concretization of general teaching models in terms of discipline-based teaching theory in distance education; and postulates the necessity of a theory of distance…

Argues that the regularity theory of causation, which underlies traditional conceptions of validity, is inadequate for describing and explaining many causal inferences made in professional practice and everyday life. Advocates an expanded, pluralistic conception of validity that allows for the validity of inferences made in a variety of ways. (FMW)

Bourdieu's social theory offers a way of understanding some of the most important features of the field of educational research, while also providing educational researchers with a rich conceptual apparatus for their practice. This article addresses both of these methodological themes and the connections between them. We begin by outlining some…

This comprehensive "Handbook" focuses on the most used polytomous item response theory (IRT) models. These models help us understand the interaction between examinees and test questions where the questions have various response categories. The book reviews all of the major models and includes discussions about how and where the models…

This paper identifies two broad types of "critical" ethnographic research. One type attempts to empower social actors by providing emic-oriented accounts which tend to emphasize the integrity of their constructs, thus laying the groundwork for a redistribution of social power. The other type attempts to combine analysis of phenomenal, micro-level…

An international conference on the theme "Advancing the European Education Agenda" took place in Brussels and Leuven, Belgium from 30 November to 1 December 2007. This conference, part of a conference series organised by the European Education Policy Network, aimed to stimulate debate among policy researchers and policy makers who are…

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 allows schools to use a child's response to research-based intervention (RTI) as a part of procedures to identify students with learning disabilities. This paper considers whether RTI-based assessment models meet ethical and legal standards for acceptable assessment practices.…

This article introduces a bootstrap generalization to the Modified Parallel Analysis (MPA) method of test dimensionality assessment using factor analysis. This methodology, based on the use of Marginal Maximum Likelihood nonlinear factor analysis, provides for the calculation of a test statistic based on a parametric bootstrap using the MPA…

This paper overviews the qualitative research method of autoethnography and its relevance to research in vocational psychology and practice in career development. Autoethnography is a reflexive means by which the researcher-practitioner consciously embeds himself or herself in theory and practice, and by way of intimate autobiographic account,…

Recent work has shown that multidimensionally scoring responses from different tests can provide better ability estimates. For educational assessment data, applications of this approach have been limited to binary scores. Of the different variants, the de la Torre and Patz model is considered more general because implementing the scoring procedure…

Despite several decades of research into the teaching and learning of Science/Chemistry, at both secondary and tertiary level, it has had relatively little impact on practice. In many countries interest in studying Science at school and university is falling, and there is concern over falling numbers and falling standards. There is a changing…