Although many research studies report students' Lamarckian misconceptions, only a few studies present learning and teaching strategies that focus on the successful development of the concept of natural selection. The learning and teaching strategy for upper secondary students (aged 15-16) presented in this study conducted in The Netherlands is…

This paper analyzes a research project that maps implementation efforts of comprehensive and mandated change at the primary school level in The Netherlands. In examining this large-scale national reform program, the report deals with schools whose innovation efforts acquired funding from the central education department in return for their local…

In this paper it is shown that differential item functioning can be evaluated using the Lagrange multiplier test or C. R. Rao's efficient score test. The test is presented in the framework of a number of item response theory (IRT) models such as the Rasch model, the one-parameter logistic model, the two-parameter logistic model, the generalized…

A study investigated dialect change in a southern Netherlands city, where the dialect spoken is distant from Dutch in phonology, morphology, and lexicon. The dialect is commonly spoken in the city of Maastricht, and is not restricted to one social class. Subjects were 64 native inhabitants of Maastricht from three generations: older (over 55…

During the 1970s, evaluation researchers realized that adoption of a curricular innovation does not ensure its implementation. This paper asks which strategies of educational policy and external support are relevant for implementing curricular innovations, particularly in the Netherlands. The first three sections discuss why and for whom…

Describes the origins and sources of the sociology of education in the Netherlands, the institutional context in which it is embedded, and the fields of research and theory that it covers. The realization of expected trends of the field is examined. (AM)

Describes some of the theoretical approaches of political education that have been developed in Dutch high school-level citizenship education programs. Dutch political education has focused on conflict resolution, citizenship and moral approaches, critical approaches, Marxist ideas, sociological and/or political science approaches, and social…

Proposes four different operationalizations of the basic hypothesis of politeness theory, ranging from the possibility that linguistic choices are determined by social norms to one allowing considerable freedom of choice for individual language users. Reports on a questionnaire carried out with adolescents in two urban multicultural areas:…

Examined the potential and adequacy of the workplace as a site for teacher learning in view of a large-scale secondary education reform in the Netherlands. Teacher surveys and interviews indicated that there were great discrepancies between theory and practice in opportunities for professional learning in the workplace. Rate of participation in…

Tests an educational-effectiveness model by reanalyzing a large-scale dataset containing (Dutch) elementary school data of subsequent student cohorts, their teachers, and their schools. Researchers found some expected positive achievement effects of individual classroom and school factors, but these were unstable across school subjects and student…

Compares descriptions and interpretations of their children's personality and behavior among Dutch and American parents' of infants to 8-year-olds. Analysis of relevant descriptors in parents' discourse and how they talked about core constructs of dependence, and independence reveals a systematic difference defying simple dichotomies of…

Proposes a procedure for empirical initialization of the trait (theta) estimator in adaptive testing that is based on the statistical relation between theta and background variables known prior to test administration. Illustrates the procedure for an adaptive version of a test from the Dutch General Aptitude Battery. (SLD)

In this article, the authors present essential aspects of the help-seeking behavior with regard to mental health problems of Ghanaian migrants in the Netherlands. Samples of citizens in the general population (n=97) and outpatients treated in mental health care facilities (n=36) were included. Data were acquired by administering a semi-structured…

The 14 chapters of this book focus on the technical advances, advances in applied settings, and emerging topics in the testing field. Part 1 discusses methodological advances, Part 2 considers developments in applied settings, and Part 3 reviews emerging topics in the field of testing. Part 1 papers include: (1) "Advances in…

Most linguists assume that bound anaphors such as "himself" are connected with their antecedents in a different way from free anaphors such as "him." Bound anaphora resolution is deterministic, based on Principle A of Chomsky's binding theory. Free anaphors, pronominals, cannot be bound in the domain of reflexives (principle…