Delwyn L. Harnisch

Sociocultural and Educational Correlates of Success-Failure Attributions and Evaluation Anxiety in the School Setting for Black, Hispanic, and Anglo Children

The role of social, cultural, and personal factors in moderating achievement attributions and evaluation anxiety as they affect math performance in school was studied for 397 Anglo, black, and Hispanic students in grades four to eight. Cross-group analyses indicated that motivation contributed to low academic achievement in all groups, but different factors were important for different groups; causal attributions were more predictive of math scores for the black and Anglo children, while anxiety scores were more predictive for the Hispanic children. Across ethnic groups, those children who do experience a debilitating constellation of motivational variables are from families who are upwardly mobile and on the borderline of socioeconomic or cultural strata. The findings suggest the importance of developing instructional activities to facilitate positive motivation that are in accord with the motivational needs of the particular child as well as further research to pinpoint the motivational needs of different groups of children.

Self‐esteem in children: Do goal orientations matter?

BACKGROUND Although perceived competence has been identified as an essential component of global self-esteem, individual differences in the way competence is conceptualised have been virtually ignored. Achievement goal theory suggests that two conceptions of competence operate in achievement contexts: competence can be conceived as capacity or improvement. These two conceptions are embedded within two goal orientations, namely task and ego orientation. AIMS The study examined the relationship of goal orientations and perceptions of athletic ability to global self-esteem. SAMPLES Children (N = 907) attending summer sports camps participated in the study. METHOD Children completed the Perception of Success Questionnaire and the Self-Esteem Scale and recorded their perceptions of normative athletic ability. RESULTS High task-oriented children reported significantly higher self-esteem than low task-oriented children. Among high task-oriented boys, those with high perceived ability had higher self-esteem. In addition, high ego-oriented boys had high self-esteem when they perceived themselves as having high ability in relation to their peers. Finally, among low task-oriented girls, those with high perceived ability reported higher self-esteem. CONCLUSIONS The findings are consistent with the tenets of achievement goal theory that success and failure are subjective psychological states. It is recommended that different conceptions of competence are considered in the study of self-esteem.

Validity Generalization and Situational Specificity: An Analysis of the Prediction of First—Year Grades in Law School

Results from 726 validity studies were analyzed to determine the degree of validity generalization of the Law School Admission Test for predicting first- year grades in law school. Four validity generaliza tion procedures were used and their results com pared. As much as 70% of the variance in observed validity coefficients could be accounted for by dif ferences in the within-study variability of LSAT scores, simple sampling error, and between-study differences in criterion reliability. The 90% credibil ity value for the true validities was estimated to be .45, and the average true validity was estimated to be .54. Despite the substantial degree of validity generalization, law school and the year the study was conducted explained significant portions of the residual variance in validities. Thus, some degree of situational specificity of validity remained.

Mathematics productivity in Japan and Illinois

Abstract The scores of 1,700 Japanese and 9,582 Illinois high school students on the High School Mathematics Test (containing 60 items on algebra, geometry, modern mathematics, data interpretation, and probability with an internal consistency reliability of .87) were regressed on background questionnaire measures of several factors in learning. Quantity of instruction and motivational variables emerge as the stronger statistically controlled correlates of mathematics achievement in both Japan and Illinois. In addition, older students did better than younger, and males outscored females in Japan. The two-standard-deviation achievement advantage of Japanese over Illinois students at three age levels dwarfs the differences within countries and may be attributable to unmeasured extramural factors as well as to superior quantity and quality of instruction in Japan.

A Developmental Approach To Research and Practice In Adult And Continuing Education

The issue of applicability of research and theory to the practice of adult and continuing education is addressed. Particular attention is given to what researchers can do to improve the applicability of their research. Three basic areas are discussed: variables and the role of practitioner-nominated alterable variables, external validity and the role of site-specific data collection, and general conceptualizations of the research process. The idea of methodological pragmatism is introduced and critically applied to theory-focused and practice problem-focused research approaches. A third approach, a developmental model, is introduced. A case example of its use is provided through a discussion of the Participation Reasons Scale. Its practical utility is discussed and demonstrated with data collected from a multi-week residential executive development program at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Career expectations and aspirations of youth with and without handicaps

Abstract Youth with handicaps were found to have much lower career aspirations than their nonhandicapped peers. Discriminant function analyses demonstrated that each group had the same components contributing to their career expectations, and that handicapping status was not a significant factor. The results of an examination of other factors possibly contributing to these aspiration differences indicate that the youth with handicaps were more likely to be in vocational preparation streams and the nonhandicapped youth in academic streams. These differences had emerged by the sophomore year. It was also found that the expectations of parents, teachers, counselors, friends and relatives perceived by the students with handicaps were for the lower-status occupational outcomes. Implications of these findings were discussed in relation to the practice of streaming students with handicaps into areas that would lower their chances for success in later life.

Human judgment and the logic of evidence: A critical examination of research methods in special education literature

Abstract This paper provides a conceptual framework for evaluating research into the transition of handicapped youth from high school to post-high school experiences. It notes that much of the transition research is quasi-experimental and that researchers have typically failed to address issues pertaining to threats to validity, which are pervasive. The paper reviews common research designs and provides examples from the transition literature for each design discussed. It discusses the need for a broader and more sophisticated treatment of scientific evidence in the consideration of causal influences. Finally, it argues that the role of human judgment in evaluating research results should be enhanced.

Collaborative Inquiry with Technology in Secondary Science Classrooms: Professional Learning Community Development at Work.

The development of critical scientific literacy in primary and secondary school classrooms requires authentic inquiry with a basis in the real world. Pairing scientists with educators and employing informatics and visualization tools are two successful ways to achieve this. This article is based on rich data collected over eight years from middle and high school chemistry, physics, biology, vocational, social studies, engineering, mathematics, computer science, and environmental studies classrooms across Illinois. Situated, longitudinal, external evaluation reveals strategies for successful — and significant — technology integration with demonstrable impact on science learners. Conclusions from the data are: (1) collaboration within teams composed of graduate students and faculty from the university and cooperating schools influences the degree of sustainable and transformative change in the classroom; (2) when teachers, scientists, and students feel supported by their institutions, meaningful inquiry occurs; (3) technologies have long-term impact when they are utilized for authentic problem solving, creating engaging experiences for both students and teachers; (4) sustainability and scalability can be achieved at and between institutions where teaming, tools, and inquiry are allowed to develop. This research was conducted as part of the National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Teaching Fellows in K-12 Education (GK-12) Program at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign under Principal Investigators Eric Jakobsson, Richard Braatz, and Deanna Raineri.

Performance-based assessment: A quality improvement strategy

This paper presents a performance-based view of assessment design with a focus on why we need to build tests that are mindful of standards and content outlines and on what such standards and outlines require. Designing assessment for meaningful educational feedback is a difficult task. The assessment designer must meet the requirements of content standards, the standards for evaluation instrument design, and the societal and institutional expectations of schooling. At the same time, the designer must create challenges that are intellectually interesting and educationally valuable. To improve student assessment, we need to design standards that are not only clearer, but also backed by a more explicit review system. To meet the whole range of student needs and to begin fulfilling the educational purposes of assessment, we need to rethink not only the way we design, but also the way we supervise the process, usage, and reporting of assessments. This paper outlines how assessment design is parallel to student performance and illustrates how this is accomplished through intelligent trial and error, using feedback to make incremental progress toward design standards.

Book Review: Intermediate Statistics: A Modern Approach James Stevens Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum, 1990. xvi + 303 pp

Stevens has written a text that emphasizes conceptual understanding of statistical techniques and effective use of statistical software in analysis and interpretation of results. He provides references to sources offering greater mathematical depth of discussion/analysis as well as incorporating these into the text and exercises. The level and extent of coverage suggest an audience of advanced undergraduate or beginning graduate students in the social sciences. Six chapters cover traditional intermediate statistics topics: review of t tests for independent and dependent samples (chap. 1), one-way analysis of variance (chap. 2), power analysis (chap. 3), factorial analysis of variance (chap. 4), analysis of covariance (chap. 5), and repeated measures analysis (chap. 6). Excellent examples, exercises, and illustrations connect to both SAS and SPSSX through inclusion of a large number of printouts with interpretive notes. This text represents a modern approach to statistics by providing an instructional mix of strategies to introduce each statistical technique. First, definitional formulas are presented on small data sets to convey conceptual insights into what is being quantified. Second, Stevens introduces statistical programs for processing data by guiding the reader to check first for outliers and critical assumptions underlying the analyses before jumping to the main hypotheses being tested. Examples are run using both the SAS and SPSSX statistical packages. Chapter 1 begins with an overview of basic statistical terminology. A section summarizes the summation notation with four properties of the summation operator illustrated with examples. Comparisons among means for independent and dependent samples are discussed in the next section with a review of the basic assumptions and the statistical test statistics noted. Emphasis is given to interpreting the confidence intervals rather than the mere statistical test results of the null hypothesis. Excellent examples are provided, which focus on the detection and impact of outliers on statistical results. The chapter concludes with an introduction to the basic program commands for SAS and SPSSX.