Purpose: This article presents focus groups as a method to enhance questionnaire design to frame and test items for a mass survey on corruption and austerity in democracy. Such methodology lacks systematization when it comes to the description of implementation procedures and the discussion of effective contribution to the development of survey…

This article presents an instrument for measuring the effectiveness of literacy programmes for youth and adults. To assess the impact of participation on individual learners' lives and their environment, the authors developed a structure comprising five main dimensions: (1) "personal sphere" (six sub-dimensions); (2) "social…

Background: The MAKASI intervention aimed to empower sub-Saharan immigrants living in the Paris metropolitan area regarding sexual health and reduce their HIV exposure. The intervention was developed based upon a theoretical model of individual empowerment. Purpose: A scale was developed using sixteen 4-point Likert items adapted from existing…

This study aims to develop a scale for determining the anxiety levels of secondary school students in situations that require them to use their spatial skills. The scale was developed in three stages. In the first stage, after expert assessments, a pilot study was conducted. In the second stage, the scale was applied to all students (N=348)…

Many school systems face recurring shortages of qualified teachers. Research suggests that improving teachers' working environment is one way of improving teachers' job satisfaction and retention in the profession. However, working environment is inconsistently measured in the literature, hampering cumulation of knowledge. This article develops…

Broadly understood, values represent orientation guidelines for daily action, thinking, and feeling. Thus, they affect teachers' everyday work and are among their professional competencies. While general values and some single profession-specific values of teachers (e.g., responsibility) have already been investigated empirically, the current…

There is dearth of research in happiness among Africans, because of no indigenous scale among the plethora of scales used in measuring happiness. Consequently, an indigenous happiness scale was conceived using a three stage method (stage 1 = 48, stage 2 = 408, stage 3 = 1468 participants). A sequential mixed method approach and cross sectional…

This paper reports an approach to addressing library anxiety by evaluating user confidence in information literacy using a red/amber/green 'traffic light' tool. It discusses the development of the tool, which takes elements of a more complex toolkit, adapting those elements for library use. It then outlines the learning from use of the tool,…

In an attempt to engage more students in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) subjects, schools are encouraged by STEM educators and professionals to introduce students to STEM through projects which integrate skills from each of the STEM disciplines. Because little is known about the learning environment of STEM classrooms, we…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate the components of college students' readiness for connectivist learning in technology-enhanced learning environments through the development of the readiness for connectivist learning scale (RCLS). Design/methodology/approach: After the constructs of the scale had been identified, their items…

While the measurement of treatment integrity is important to determine how much, and how well, interventions are delivered in schools, the science of treatment integrity is not well developed in education research. The purpose of this paper is to describe a program of research that has developed treatment integrity measures over the past 10 years…

This cross-sectional mixed-method study with a small sample of 62 mothers of children with asthma is a pilot evaluating a new brief online e-health intervention: The Asthma Knowledge Test for Parents (TAKT-40), "with all true answers." The TAKT-40 was highly recommended (77.4%) by mothers to others parents with children with asthma. The…

This paper describes the development and validation of an instrument to assess how students deal with emotionally challenging classroom situations (the DECCS Questionnaire). The questionnaire is based on a vignette with one learning and one performance situation in a classroom, and is intended for students in grades 4 to 7. On a sample of N = 639…

Placement tests are used to support a particular need in a local context--to determine the best starting place for a student entering a specific programme of language study. This brief report will focus on the development of an innovative placement test with self-directed elements for our local needs at a university in Canada for students studying…

This paper presents simple and intuitive strategies for effective online assessment of a freshman engineering course. The proposed strategies for unproctored online exams include creating multiple sets with identical options, using image-format questions, maintaining short duration of exam, and employing a rotational assignment. Unlike a…