This study explored the validity of the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale in a sample of 853 practicing teachers from Australia, Canada, China (Hong Kong), Indonesia, and Oman. The authors used multigroup confirmatory factor analysis to test the factor structure and measurement invariance across settings, after which they examined the relationships…

Psychometric practice does not always converge with the advances of psychometric theory. In order to investigate this gap, the authors focus on the 10 most used psychological tests in Europe, as identified by recent surveys. The article analyzes test manuals published in 6 different European countries for these 10 most used tests. A total of 32…

This article re-examines the much maligned piechart and provides justification for its use. It identifies common pitfalls when drawing piecharts in Microsoft Excel and offers advice on how to avoid them. (Contains 6 figures and 5 tables.)

The WOrk-reLated Flow inventory (WOLF) measures flow at work, defined as a short-term peak experience characterized by absorption, work enjoyment, and intrinsic work motivation. Results of Study 1 among 7 samples of employees (total N=1346) from different occupational groups offer support for the factorial validity and reliability of the WOLF.…

ICUE (Interactivity Centered Usability Evaluation) is an enhanced usability testing protocol created by the researcher. ICUE augments the facilitator's role for usability testing, and offers strategies in developing and presenting usability tasks during a testing session. ICUE was designed to address weaknesses found in the usability evaluation of…

This research evaluated the inter-rater reliability of the Performance Assessment for California Teachers (PACT). Multiple methods for estimating overall rater consistency include percent agreement and Cohen's Kappa (1960), which yielded discrepancies between rater agreement in terms of whether candidates passed or failed particular PACT rubrics.…

The study of student error, important across many fields of educational research, has begun to attract interest in the field of e-learning, particularly in relation to usability. However, it remains unclear when errors should be avoided (as usability failures) or embraced (as learning opportunities). Many domains have benefited from taxonomies of…

This paper addresses the development and validation of the Interagency Collaboration Scale (ICS), a 17-item self-report measure that investigates secondary special educators' perceptions of interagency collaboration. An exploratory factor analysis was conducted on data from a sample (N = 260) of secondary special educators who are members of the…

The article describes the development of the Portuguese version of the Children's Hope Scale and the examination of its psychometric properties. A sample of 367 Portuguese students completed the Portuguese-language versions of the Children's Hope Scale (CHS; Snyder et al., 1997), Students' Life Satisfaction Scale (SLSS; Huebner, 1991), Global…

Contemporary trends in social service delivery systems require human service agencies to engage in greater levels of advocacy to reform structures and protect programs that serve vulnerable populations. Objective: The purpose of this study was to develop an instrument to measure the policy advocacy behavior of nonprofit human service agencies.…

The current study evaluated whether a manualized training in functional behavioral assessment (FBA) would result in typical school professionals being able to conduct a procedurally adequate FBA with a technically accurate summary statement for student behavior. Additionally, the study examined whether summary statements obtained by trained school…

The purpose of this investigation is to tell the story of how six states are developing Programs of Study (POS) as mandated by the Perkins IV federal legislation. The authors' effort focuses on how states' technical assistance systems evolved and what successes and challenges existed for states developing POS. There was no intent to compare one…

Background: Institutional theorists suggest environmental stakeholders in the "organizational field" have a symbiotic relationship with governing agencies, leading to institutional isomorphism. Hence state policy makers copy the work of their colleagues across states to create a sense of legitimacy, certainty, and professionalization…

The Program Quality Criteria include ten components designed to help validate a comprehensive career and technical education (CTE) program. Upon a self review or third party review, any program may use this instrument to determine how the program has made progress in its development. The review instrument is not designed as an evaluation tool,…

A debate is emerging concerning the use of deception in social science research (especially when it employs experimental methods), driven primarily by the relatively recent move by many economists into experimental work. These economists generally argue that deception should be banned. Deception includes a variety of practices in social science…