Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research Commons^™

Lessons Learned From A Training Of Trainers Model In Africa, Corinne Brion

Educational Leadership Faculty Publications

Few adequate educational leadership trainings are available for school leaders in Africa (Bush & Oduro, 2006). Due to the lack of professional development in leadership, the use of a Training of Trainers (TOT) model appears to an effective way to build the capacity of large numbers of school leaders. For the past few years, Dr. Paula Cordeiro and I have worked on a TOT model in Burkina Faso, Ghana, Liberia, Ethiopia and Rwanda. This article provides key lessons we learned from our experience with TOT.

Teachers’ Perspectives Of The Observation Process Within The Evaluation, Christine E. Lenhart

Teacher Education, Educational Leadership & Policy ETDs

One of the largest challenges for administrators is to create and implement teacher evaluation systems that help improve teaching and student learning. As policymakers and administrators have worked throughout the United States to develop and implement new teacher evaluation systems, teacher involvement in developing those teacher evaluation systems has been limited. Specifically, the evaluation process and the tools used in a state in the southwestern part of the United States to evaluate teachers do not incorporate teachers’ perspectives, yet they directly impact teacher standing, ability to receive tenure status, and, in some cases, their salary.

The purpose of this research …

Teacher Evaluation Practices And Policy Implications: Effective Strategies For Changing Instruction, Scott Grens

Dissertations

This study is a program evaluation of the effectiveness of teacher evaluation practices in a small suburban elementary school district in Illinois from 2017-2019. The primary research question explored in this program evaluation is whether and to what extent the teacher evaluation process is changing teacher practices in Washington School District 25. Employing a qualitative research methodology, with data gathered from teacher interviews, school administrator interviews, and document analysis, this study identified several key components to the improvement of instructional practices for teachers. Policy implications and recommendations highlight the importance of the following: a common instructional framework, staff involvement in …

The Relationship Between Elementary School Administrators' And Teachers' Perceptions Of The Influence Of Male Teachers And Schools' Male Student Achievement Growth In English Language Arts, Kathleen Elizabeth Kaump Truitt

Theses and Dissertations

There is a national achievement gap between male and female students in the United States. A common recommendation to reduce this achievement gap has been to hire more male teachers. The purpose of this study was to examine the perceptions that elementary administrators and teachers have of male teachers’ influence on male student growth in English Language Arts. In order to measure perceptions, a five-point Likert scale survey was adapted from an existing qualitative questionnaire. A pilot study was conducted, an Exploratory and Confirmatory Factor Analyses were performed, and the survey was found valid and reliable to measure four constructs …

Teachers Engaging In Action Research To Increase Learner Agency, Dawn M. Childress

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study is designed to explore the perceptions of teachers in a Northwest Arkansas urban elementary school context as they engage in design-based action research to increase learner agency. It is based on the Carnegie Project on Education Doctorate (CPED) framework that includes identifying a problem of practice and engaging in research to address the problem. A problem of practice was identified in this school setting by an incoming school principal following a principal that had been in the school for many years. The new principal, also the researcher in this study, recognized that there was a low level of …

Organizational Conditions That Promote And Impede Research Engagement: The Principal’S Perspective, Renee Treat

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The researcher explored perceptions of the research-practice gap in education, the process through which central actors make decisions related to teacher retention and development, and the organizational conditions that promote and impede research-engagement in this qualitative study. The researcher limited the study to the role of the campus principal and used purposive sampling to select participants from 3 diverse districts in the state of Texas. Because there may be discrepancies between leaders’ perceptions and behaviors, the researcher conducted interview sessions with principals and principal supervisors and conducted observation sessions in principals’ natural work environments. The study results showed that good …

Assessing Christian Learning: Vocation, Practices, And Investment, David Smith, Mia Kurkechian, Beth Green, Albert Cheng

Education Reform Faculty and Graduate Students Publications

This paper describes a new initiative co-funded by the Kuyers Institute for Christian Teaching and Learning at Calvin University and Cardus. The initiative builds upon past Cardus work on assessing Christian school outcomes as well as the Kuyers Institute’s work on Christian pedagogical practices. The project has developed a new online assessment tool to help Christian secondary schools assess the Christian formation that they seek to offer their students and review their own educational practices. This tool, the Practicing Faith Survey, will be piloted in an initial cluster of schools in 2020. It asks students to self-report on their investment …

The Assessment Of Faith And Learning, Beth Green, Albert Cheng, David Smith

Education Reform Faculty and Graduate Students Publications

The Practicing Faith Survey (PFS) is a new assessment tool designed to measure the extent to which schoolchildren connect their faith to learning. This paper reviews the landscape of educational assessment and argues that assessment remains a critical element in the design of Christian teaching and learning. It suggests that unease around the concept of educational measurement leads to limited attempts to assess faith formation in the context of learning. The paper discusses PFS as a way to reframe the design process consistent with distinctively Christian practices of teaching and learning.

The Development And Validation Of The Practicing Faith Survey, Albert Cheng, Beth Green, David Smith

Education Reform Faculty and Graduate Students Publications

The Practicing Faith Survey (PFS) is a new assessment tool designed to measure the extent to which schoolchildren connect their faith to learning. PFS measures student engagement with five domains of Christian practice in connection with learning: intellectual, relational, introspective, benevolence, and formational practices. We describe the item-development process and then present evidence for the validity and reliability of the PFS based on a sample of 1,300 fifth- through twelfth-grade students who participated in a pilot of the instrument.

Why Assessment Matters: On The Road For Change, Kelsey P. Bowen, Kate A. Bergey, Shannon S. Edmond

Showcase of Graduate Student Scholarship and Creative Activities

In higher education, assessment is used to intentionally develop, implement, and modify programs that are grounded in student learning outcomes (SLOs). Assessment results may highlight program effectiveness, or lack thereof. This gives educators the chance to revise components of the program in order to improve student learning (Meixner, 2016). Assessment also creates a sense of accountability by offering methods to justify the value of a program, especially when time and resources are limited. We offer a model for assessment as foundational to program development by highlighting our course-related consulting work with the Dux Leadership Center’s pilot On the Road for …

Learners’ Perspectives On The Use And Support Of Student Created Video Assignments At James Madison University, Annette Bruff Liskey

Showcase of Graduate Student Scholarship and Creative Activities

This research is an exploratory analysis of the use of student created video assignments at JMU, a pedagogical strategy that is increasingly common but not widely researched. The study collected quantitative data via an online survey of JMU students with the objective of examining the use, design, and outcomes of student created video assignments at James Madison University. Survey topics included the requirements of the assignment, the course that included the assignment, resources available and/or used to complete the assignment, students’ perceptions of the learning outcomes, as well as non-identifying information about each respondent’s demographics and academic experience at JMU. …

How Schools Create Healthy Testing Cultures And How Principals Use Standardized Test Data To Become Leaders Of Learning, Holly A. Gurule

Teacher Education, Educational Leadership & Policy ETDs

Standardized tests are not new to the field of education. The problem with them seems to lie in the ways these tests are now being used as criteria for various high-stakes decisions such as teachers’ evaluations, school grades, school sanctions, and even graduation from high school with a diploma. With so many different uses for standardized tests, it is easy to see how our perception of them has become skewed.

This bounded case study of a small elementary school in a large urban district centered on shifting the focus away from looking at standardized tests as a negative, as mere …

Cultural Proficiency: The Missing Link To Student Learning, Corinne Brion

Educational Leadership Faculty Publications

This case illustrates why school leaders must be culturally proficient to serve all students and lead effectively. I discuss one case in Ohio that is representative of many other American schools. In particular, I examine the cultural challenges educational leaders must commonly face. This case encourages administrators to participate in meaningful conversations with stakeholders to solve complex issues. The hope is to better understand how school leaders in diverse contexts can lead and embrace different cultures, beliefs, and norms. I also pose questions designed to prepare educational leaders for similar situations where they must address issues of culture.

Professional Competency Development Utilizing Emotional Intelligence In Medical Programs, Christopher Carlin

All Theses And Dissertations

The purpose of this mixed methods study was to examine the perceptions of physician assistant faculty about emotional intelligence. The study sought to determine PA educators’ familiarity with EI as a construct and to elicit perceived barriers in implementing EI within PA educational programs. The data were collected from a both a focus group of physician assistant faculty was convened from a university in New England and an online cross-sectional survey of randomized physician assistant faculty throughout the United States. The quantitative portion of the research investigated the perceptions faculty held about emotional intelligence. Additionally, the survey asked participants to …

Nurse Educators’ Experiences With Integrated Learning Intervention Practice Systems And Learning Outcomes, Nikolaos S. Moraros

All Theses And Dissertations

Traditional learning interventions or remediation processes provided to underperforming students are often reactionary and offered too late in a course or program to be effective. These students’ knowledge gaps or learning deficiencies are not adequately addressed to effectively change his or her academic performance or learning outcomes in a timely manner. This descriptive qualitative phenomenological research study explored the lived experiences of a nursing school administrator and nurse educators who used a fully-integrated learning intervention practice system that includes proactive strategic remediation approaches at all levels in a pre-licensure vocational educational nursing program.

Purposeful sampling was used to select six …

Information Function For Item And Test And Reliability When Using Three Forms Of Multi-Choice Test Under Item Response Theory, Mo'en Slman Al-Nasraween Dr

International Journal for Research in Education

This study aimed at revealing the effect of the number of alternatives in the multiple choice tests on the information function of the item and the test according to the three-parameter model under the item response theory. To achieve the objective of the study, a multi-choice achievement test was constructed in the second part of mathematics subject for the 10th grade students in the public schools in the capital city of Amman. The final test consists of 38 paragraphs and three models are prepared, which differ only in the number of item alternatives. The sample of the study consisted of …

Evaluation Of Students For Teaching Performance Of The Members Of Teaching Staff College Of Education For Girls - King Khalid University Of Saudi Arabia, Nilly Hussien Elamrousy Famel, Eman Hamdi Ammar Famel

International Journal for Research in Education

The purpose of the study was to evaluate the level of teaching performance of the members of teaching staff in some educational courses from the point of view of the students of the general educational diploma in the Faculty of Education for Girls in King Khalid University in Saudi Arabia. The study used the analytical descriptive method and the researchers prepared a questionnaire to evaluate the teaching performance of members of teaching staff. The study reached the following results: The teaching performance of members of teaching staff from the point of view of students of the General Educational Diploma was …

From Practices To Teaching: : Challenges And Opportunities Of Public Administration In The Arab World, Abdalhadi M. Alijla

International Journal for Research in Education

This paper examines the challenges facing PA education, considering the colonial heritage of the region. Over the past decade, researchers have paid attention to Public Administration (PA) and its education in the Middle East. Many explored the history of the PA in the region and the quality of PA programs within high education institutes. In the context of the developmental challenges that face the current generation in the region, and under the current political circumstances which have negative consequences on PA, many voices call for a reliable and high-quality PA education and good governance, which includes accountability, transparency, democracy, and …

Proposed Proposal For The Development Of Technical Education Institutions In Egypt In The Light Of Contemporary Global Trends, Reda Abdelbadiea Attia Dr

International Journal for Research in Education

The study deals with how to take advantage of the Contemporary global trends the development of technical education institutions education by studying the development of technical education institutions in some countries besides studying the reality of technical education in Egypt, similarities and differences that can be derived through the comparative analytical study, Technical education institutions in Egypt, working to take advantage of global trends The study uses the comparative approach with its analytical descriptive approach through a comprehensive description of the phenomenon and analysis of information and data related to the study subject in the light of strong and cultural …

German Entries In Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia V, Julia Wulandari, Shabrina Nabila Kiasati

International Review of Humanities Studies

Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia (KBBI) is an official Indonesian defining/monolingual dictionary. In the KBBI V offline language features, there are 27 German entries have been absorbed into Indonesian. Hence, this research focuses to analyse which German entries contained in KBBI V, does the lexical meaning of those entries in KBBI V differ from the German defining dictionary, and what characters of Germany is represented in those entries. This research applies qualitative method, and the lexical meaning of the 27 German entries in the KBBI V are compared to the German defining dictionary as the ground to analyse the experience alteration. …

Mastery Learning In Action: One District's Journey Toward The Continuous Improvement Of Assessment Practices To Positively Impact Student Learning, Michael Carpenter, Justin Rentschler, Stephanie Zee

Purdue Journal of Service-Learning and International Engagement

In the last year, Southwest Allen County Schools (SACS) instituted a “Portrait of a Graduate” vision in their community. This vision provides all stakeholders with information on the skills graduates from SACS will possess at the end of their senior year of high school. To accomplish this, SACS wanted to examine how well the teaching, learning, and reporting of learning aligned. One aspect of this process was to examine how well report cards were communicating student learning and progress to parents and students. To achieve this goal, SACS collected survey data from a variety of community members that evaluated their …

Can Information Widen Socioeconomic Gaps In Postsecondary Aspirations? How College Costs And Returns Affect Parents’ Preferences For Their Children, Albert Cheng, Michael Henderson, Paul E. Peterson, Martin R. West

Education Reform Faculty and Graduate Students Publications

To estimate whether information can close socioeconomic gaps in parents’ aspirations for their child’s postsecondary education, we administer a four-armed survey experiment to a nationally representative sample of U.S. parents. After respondents estimate costs of and returns to further education, we ask whether they prefer that their child pursue a four-year degree, a two-year degree, or no further education. Before this question is posed, the treated are first told:

(1) the net annual costs of pursuing a four-year and two-year degree in their state,

(2) the annual returns to four-year and two-year degrees as compared to no further education in …

Obstacles To Excellence: Academic Freedom And China's Quest For World-Class Universities, Chelsea Blackburn Cohen

Biennial Conference: The Social Practice of Human Rights

China’s government has made significant investments to develop universities that already compete with the world’s best. Their progress has captured global attention over the years, with universities around the world forging partnerships with institutions in the People’s Republic of China (PRC), and scholars and students around the world flocking to study, teach, and research in the country. But while China continues to stoke its ambitions for developing more world-class universities, respect for academic freedom and other human rights essential to quality higher education lags behind, leaving scholars and students at risk, and the country’s goals in balance.

With the recent …

Nurturing Wonder And Igniting Passion: Designs For A Future School Curriculum. Nsw Curriculum Review Interim Report, Geoff N. Masters

NSW Curriculum Review

This report is an interim report of the New South Wales Curriculum Review. This review has concluded that change is required. The changes proposed by the Review are significant. They relate to the amount and nature of syllabus content, the overall structure of the curriculum, and the focus of learning in the senior years of school. It has been produced as a progress report and a basis for consultation on the broad directions it identifies.

Exploring Students’ Agentic And Multidimensional Perceptions Of Oppressive Campus Environments: The Development Of A Transformational Impetus, Elvira J. Abrica, Deryl K. Hatch-Tocaimaza

Department of Educational Administration: Faculty Publications

The campus climate literature obscures the complexity of individuals’ perspectives in relation to multiple dimensions of the broader learning environment. Unexamined are the ways students from marginalized backgrounds may respond to oppressive dimensions of the campus climates in unique ways that moderate observed outcome differences. To fill this gap, we leverage survey data to reveal multiple latent facets of the campus climate perceptions and explore how they potentially relate to students’ development of a transformational impetus, proposed as an agentic measure of students’ responses to perceived oppression in the form of a desire to change the world in the …

Cross-Cultural Considerations: Raising Language Teachers Awareness About The Importance Of Multiculturalism, Abir El Shaban

Journal of Research Initiatives

Abstract

With the worldwide use of English as a second language (ESL) and globalization, teachers are expected to understand, acknowledge and interact with culturally and linguistically diverse students and integrate their linguistic and multicultural backgrounds in classroom settings. Teachers need to be multicultural to be able to successfully impact their students to be multicultural. This paper provides English language teachers with valuable recommendations based on cross-cultural studies and my experience, as an ESL teacher, on how to be responsive to students from different cultures to empower and enhance their language proficiency skills.

The Story Of Growth: A Case Study Of New Jersey Underperforming Underprivileged High School, Michelle L. Shelton

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

Socioeconomics has been a factor that exposes the disparities in student achievement across communities within the state of New Jersey, and as a result of the disparities, in 1985, the Education Law Center filed the first ruling of Abbot v. Burke; this case ruled that significant funding be provided in an effort to ensure that underprivileged students within these underperforming districts receive public education in accordance with the state constitution. However, despite the funding efforts, since 1985, (87%) of the 31 school districts identified as Abbott not only remain underprivileged, but they also remain underperforming. Therefore, to remedy the underperformance …

Parental Occupational Choice And Children's Entry Into A Stem Field, Albert Cheng, Katherine Kopotic, Gema Zamarro

Education Reform Faculty and Graduate Students Publications

We explore the intergenerational occupational transmission between parents and their children as it pertains to entry into the STEM field. Using the Education Longitudinal Study of 2002, we study student’s aspirations to work in a STEM field and eventual STEM education and employment. We show how these patterns change depending on whether the student’s parents work in a STEM field. We find strong effects of parental occupation type on student’s STEM outcomes that are heterogeneous by student gender. High school boys are more likely to aspire to work in STEM if one of their parents do so. By adulthood, both …

Book Review Of Debunking The Myth Of Job Fit In Higher Education And Student Affairs , Jamie Workman, Daniel W. Calhoun, Steve Tolman

Leadership, Technology & Human Development: Faculty Publications

Book review of Debunking the Myth of Job Fit in Higher Education and Student Affairs by Jamie L. Workman, Daniel W. Calhoun, and Steven Tolman.

Pedagogical Approach To Developing The Hiring Practices Of Higher Education Administrators, Steve Tolman, Daniel Calhoun

Leadership, Technology & Human Development: Faculty Publications

Most student affairs professionals will serve in a managerial and/or supervisory role at some point in their careers, but only a limited number of higher education graduate preparatory programs have required coursework focusing on this competency area. This situation is disconcerting, as there seems to be an assumption within the student affairs field that new professionals have the formal training and experiences needed to immediately be placed into these managerial and/or supervisory roles. In an effort to address this discrepancy, and in particular staffing practices, one higher education graduate preparatory program developed a course on staffing practices, using an innovative …