This article provides an overview and analysis of a relatively new phenomenon: congregational schools that have altered the conventional grammar of schooling, either through their structural arrangements or through their curricular approaches. Five pre-bar/bat mitzvah models are discussed: family schools, schools as communities,…

Background: Many university departments use students' evaluations of teaching (SET) to compare and rank courses. However, absenteeism from class is often nonrandom and, therefore, SET for different courses might not be comparable. Objective: The present study aims to answer two questions. Are SET positively biased due to absenteeism? Do…

This paper seeks to provide insights into the local context of ICLHE (Integrating Content and Language in Higher Education) in Italy. Its principal aim is descriptive although it also discusses theoretical models since it seeks to establish the extent to which Focus on Form (FonF) is present in ICLHE lectures. By means of observations, recordings…

Internationally, the question of how to qualify the workforce seems to be of increasing importance for competitive economies. How can politics govern the quantity and quality of employment structures and optimise both? In this article a theoretical framework is outlined that has been developed for the analysis of institutional constructs serving…

The authors investigated the ability of 9- to 11-year-olds and of adults to use similarity-based and rule-based processes as a function of task characteristics in a task that can be considered either a categorization task or a multiple-cue judgment task, depending on the nature of the criterion (binary vs. continuous). Both children and adults…

This study investigated the Outcome Questionnaire's (OQ-45) factor structure and demonstrated the use of factor mixture modeling (FMM) for the purpose of score validation. OQ-45 scores did not fit the one-class, one- and three-factor models. Use of FMM to identify a two-class model is detailed. Implications for OQ-45 users are provided. (Contains…

Higher education in America has a long tradition of civic engagement education. Although there is theoretical and rhetorical support, many institutions still struggle with implementing effective civic engagement on their campuses. The aim of this study was to provide an understanding of factors that contribute to successful civic engagement,…

Exemplar-similarity models such as the exemplar-based random walk (EBRW) model (Nosofsky & Palmeri, 1997b) were designed to provide a formal account of multidimensional classification choice probabilities and response times (RTs). At the same time, a recurring theme has been to use exemplar models to account for old-new item recognition and to…

The generalized graded unfolding model (GGUM) has been recently developed to describe item responses to Likert items (agree-disagree) in attitude measurement. In this study, the authors (a) developed two item selection methods in computerized classification testing under the GGUM, the current estimate/ability confidence interval method and the cut…

Two basic data sources required for research studies have been secondary and primary. Secondary data collection helps the researcher to provide relevant background to the study and are, in most cases, available for retrieval from recorded sources. Primary data collection requires the researcher to venture into the field where the study is to take…

Interest in modeling the structure of latent variables is gaining momentum, and many simulation studies suggest that taxometric analysis can validly assess the relative fit of categorical and dimensional models. The generation and parallel analysis of categorical and dimensional comparison data sets reduces the subjectivity required to interpret…

There are many different models or approaches to doing program evaluation. Fitzpatrick, Sanders, and Worthen classify them into five general approaches: (a) objectives oriented, (b) management oriented, (c) consumer oriented, (d) expertise oriented, and (e) participant oriented. Within each of these general categories, of course, reside many…

The paper by Drs. Rupp and Templin provides a much needed step toward the general application of diagnostic classification modeling (DCMs). The authors have provided a summary of many of the concepts that one must consider to properly apply a DCM (which ranges from model selection and estimation, to assessing the appropriateness of the model using…

The forms of students' political participation in the administration of higher education in Spain have evolved throughout history. Spain has developed from a period characterised by the corporatist model of Sindicato Espanõl Universitario--as a single syndicate of students controlled by the Franco Regime--towards the emergence of a student…

This dissertation answers three research questions: (1) What are the characteristics of a combinatoric measure, based on the Average Search Length (ASL), that performs the same as a probabilistic version of the ASL?; (2) Does the combinatoric ASL measure produce the same performance result as the one that is obtained by ranking a collection of…