Elementary school children between 9 and 12 years of age were interviewed on what they believed to be the causes of learning difficulties and were invited to take part in the analysis of the data. We achieved this with Trochim's concept mapping approach that combines qualitative and quantitative data analyses. Study results indicated that…

Two studies were conducted to validate the Chinese version of the Career Decision-Making Profiles (CDMP) questionnaire, a multidimensional measure of the way individuals make career decisions. Results of Study 1 showed that after dropping 1 item from the original CDMP scale, the 11-factor structure was supported among Chinese college students (N =…

This article reviews the extant research on the relationship between students and teachers in higher education across three main areas: the quality of this relationship, its consequences and its antecedents. The weaknesses and gaps in prior research are highlighted and the importance of addressing the multi-dimensional and context-bound nature of…

Experiential learning is recommended as a way to increase critical thinking and engagement, enhance theory-informed practice, increase preparedness, and improve multicultural understanding for students involved in social work education. The purpose of this study is to validate the Experiential Learning Survey (ELS), which measures students'…

This study conducted comparative assessment of friendship in preschoolers with high-functioning autism spectrum disorder (HFASD, n = 29) versus preschoolers with typical development (n = 30), focusing on interactions with friends versus acquaintances. Groups were matched on SES, verbal/nonverbal MA, IQ, and CA. Multidimensional assessments…

Limited studies have investigated the latent autistic traits in the mainland Chinese population for autism spectrum conditions (ASC). This study explored the psychometric properties of a Mandarin Chinese version of the CAST in a sample consisting of 737 children in mainstream schools and 50 autistic cases. A combination of categorical data factor…

Complexity thinking is relatively new to education research and has rarely been used to examine complex issues in physics and engineering education. Issues in higher education such as student retention have been approached from a multiplicity of perspectives and are recognized as complex. The complex system of student retention modelling in higher…

Several sources of bias can plague research data and individual assessment. When cultural groups are considered, across or even within countries, it is essential that the constructs assessed and evaluated are as free as possible from any source of bias and specifically from bias caused due to culturally specific characteristics. Employing the…

The authors of this article comment on "Construct Maps as a Foundation for Standard Setting," by Adam E. Wyse (this issue) in which Wyse presents construct maps, a visual display of a variety of sources of evidence that support standard-setting decisions, and shows how this approach could be used with a variety of existing…

This study inquires ethical evaluation of teachers, investigating their moral reasoning to ethical decision making, in Turkey. Specifically three hypotheses were tested: Overall ethical awareness of teachers is high; Teachers will identify reasons for ethical evaluation related to philosophical values such as justice, deontology, utilitarianism,…

Problem solving likely involves at least two broad stages, problem space representation and then problem solution (Newell and Simon, Human problem solving, 1972). The metric centrality that Freeman ("Social Networks" 1:215-239, 1978) implemented in social network analysis is offered here as a potential measure of both. This development research…

Validity evidence based on test content is of essential importance in educational testing. One source for such evidence is an alignment study, which helps evaluate the congruence between tested objectives and those specified in the curriculum. However, the results of an alignment study do not always sufficiently capture the degree to which a test…

The current research aimed to develop a multidimensional measure of career locus of control (LOC) and examine its predictive validity on objective and subjective career success among Chinese employees. Items of career LOC were generated based on literature review of the significant predictors of career success, as well as the open-ended responses…

We provide a critical review of existing teacher responsibility measures, develop the rationale for, and introduce a new Teacher Responsibility Scale (TRS). Evidence from a sample of German pre-service teachers (Study 1) and American in-service teachers (Study 2) supported a multi-dimensional model of teacher responsibility with four subscales…

This article considers potential problems that can arise in estimating a unidimensional item response theory (IRT) model when some test items are multidimensional (i.e., show a complex factorial structure). More specifically, this study examines (1) the consequences of model misfit on IRT item parameter estimates due to unintended minor item-level…