The purpose of this study was to provide insight into the interplay between student perceptions of competence-based assessment and student self-efficacy, and how this influences student learning outcomes. Results reveal that student perceptions of the form authenticity aspect and the quality feedback aspect of assessment do predict student self-efficacy, confirming the role of mastery experiences and social persuasions in enhancing student self-efficacy as stated by social cognitive theory. Findings do not confirm mastery experiences as being a stronger source of self-efficacy information than social persuasions. Study results confirm the predictive role of students’ self-efficacy on their competence outcomes. Mediation analysis results indicate that student’s perceptions of assessment have an indirect effect on student’s competence evaluation outcomes through student’s self-efficacy. Study findings highlight which assessment characteristics, positively influencing students’ learning, contribute to the effectiveness of competence-based education. Limitations of the study and directions for future research are indicated.
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Assessment of the seismic vulnerability of the building stock in the earthquake-prone Marmara region of Turkey is of growing importance since such information is needed for reliable estimation of the losses that possible future earthquakes are likely to induce. The outcome of such loss assessment exercises can be used in planning of urban/regional-scale earthquake protection strategies; this is a priority in Turkey, particularly following the destructive earthquakes of 1999. Considering the size of the building inventory, Istanbul and its surrounding area is a case for which it is not easy to determine the structural properties and characteristics of the building stock. In this paper, geometrical, functional and material properties of the building stock in the northern Marmara Region, particularly around Istanbul, have been investigated and evaluated for use in loss estimation models and other types of statistic- or probability-based studies. In order to do that, the existing reinforced concrete (RC) stock has been classified as 'compliant' or 'non-compliant' buildings, dual (frame-wall) or frame structures and emergent or embedded-beam systems. In addition to the statistical parameters such as mean values, standard deviations, etc., probability density functions and their goodness-of-fit have also been investigated for all types of parameters. Functionalities such as purpose of use and floor area properties have been defined. Concrete properties of existing and recently constructed buildings and also characteristics of 220 and 420 MPa types of steel have been documented. Finally, the financial effects of retrofitting operations and damage repair have been investigated. © 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Background: Early detection and remediation of language disorders are important in helping children to establish appropriate communicative and social behaviour and acquire additional information about the world through the use of language. In the Netherlands, children with (a suspicion of) language disorders are referred to speech and hearing centres for multidisciplinary assessment. Reliable data are needed on the nature of language disorders, as well as the age and source of referral, and the effects of cultural and socioeconomic profiles of the population served in order to plan speech and language therapy service provision. Aims: To provide a detailed description of caseload characteristics of children referred with a possible language disorder by generating more understanding of factors that might influence early identification. Methods & Procedures: A database of 11,450 children was analysed consisting of data on children, aged 2–7 years (70% boys, 30% girls), visiting Dutch speech and hearing centres. The factors analysed were age of referral, ratio of boys to girls, mono‐ and bilingualism, nature of the language delay, and language profile of the children. Outcomes & Results:Results revealed an age bias in the referral of children with language disorders. On average, boys were referred 5 months earlier than girls, and monolingual children were referred 3 months earlier than bilingual children. In addition, bilingual children seemed to have more complex problems at referral than monolingual children. They more often had both a disorder in both receptive and expressive language, and a language disorder with additional (developmental) problems. Conclusions & Implications: This study revealed a bias in age of referral of young children with language disorders. The results implicate the need for objective language screening instruments and the need to increase the awareness of staff in primary child healthcare of red flags in language development of girls and multilingual children aiming at earlier identification of language disorders in these children.
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Formative assessment (FA) is an effective educational approach for optimising student learning and is considered as a promising avenue for assessment within physical education (PE). Nevertheless, implementing FA is a complex and demanding task for in-service PE teachers who often lack formal training on this topic. To better support PE teachers in implementing FA into their practice, we need better insight into teachers’ experiences while designing and implementing formative strategies. However, knowledge on this topic is limited, especially within PE. Therefore, this study examined the experiences of 15 PE teachers who participated in an 18-month professional development programme. Teachers designed and implemented various formative activities within their PE lessons, while experiences were investigated through logbook entries and focus groups. Findings indicated various positive experiences, such as increased transparency in learning outcomes and success criteria for students as well as increased student involvement, but also revealed complexities, such as shifting teacher roles and insufficient feedback literacy among students. Overall, the findings of this study underscore the importance of a sustained, collaborative, and supported approach to implementing FA.
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Earlier research argues that educational programmes based on social cognitive theory are successful in improving students’ self-efficacy. Focusing on some formative assessment characteristics, this qualitative research intends to study in-depth how student teachers’ assessment experiences contribute to their self-efficacy. We interviewed 15 second year student teachers enrolled in a competence based teacher educational programme. Thematic content analysis results reveal that the assessment characteristics ‘authenticity’ and ‘feedback’ exert a positive influence on student teachers self-efficacy during all phases of the portfolio competence assessment. The results provide a fine-grained view of several types of self-efficacy information connected with these assessment phases.
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The central goal of this study is to clarify to what degree former education and students' personal characteristics (the 'Big Five personality characteristics', personal orientations on learning and students' study approach) may predict study outcome (required credits and study continuance). Analysis of the data gathered through questionnaires of 1,471 Universities of Applied Sciences students make clear that former Education did not come forth as a powerful predictor for Credits or Study Continuance. Significant predictors are Conscientiousness and Ambivalence and Lack of Regulation. The higher the scores on Conscientiousness the more credits students are bound to obtain and the more likely they will continue their education. On the other hand students with high scores on Ambivalence and Lack of Regulation will most likely obtain fewer Credits or drop out more easily. The question arises what these results mean for the present knowledge economy which demands an increase of inhabitants with an advanced level of education. Finally, implications and recommendations for future research are suggested.
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This case study presents the structured and evidence-informed approach toward developing a psychological assessment instrument within a national basketball federation. To this end, a two-phase approach was adopted. During the first phase, a focus group with the coaches was conducted to determine the key psychological characteristics pertinent to the case environment. This resulted in 10 identified key psychological characteristics. During the second phase, the results from the focus group were used to develop and conduct preliminary testing of a context-specific assessment instrument. Preliminary testing resulted in a refined instrument including nine characteristics. Based on the findings of this case study, the authors conclude this paper by outlining a number of reflections that can provide important considerations for sport psychologists, coaches, and talent identification and development organizations looking to develop and implement psychological assessment within their programs.
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Communication plays an important role in manyprofessional contexts. This is especially truefor students in the field of social work. Theaim of this study was to develop formative,self-regulated multimedia self-assessment ofsocial-communicative competencies for socialwork students. First, a pilot study wasconducted to gain insight into the students'specific characteristics. This insight was usedto design guidelines for the development of theassessment instrument in order to tune these tothe students' perceptions, instructionalpreferences, and personalities and thusenhancing the students' enthusiasm to use theself-assessment instrument. This might increasethe chance for successful implementation ofthis new form of assessment. A first version of a multimedia test wasdeveloped. A quality expert meeting wasorganised to gain insight into expertjudgements on the quality of the test and toobtain indications for improvement of theassessment. A second version of the test wasconstructed and put on the Internet. Nearly 400students completed the assessment and expressedtheir opinions on this new way of communicationassessment. We found it was possible to testsocial-communicative competence by means ofmultimedia, with the help of digital video. Theuse of Internet makes assessments available atany time to fit curriculum needs and alsoresolves time and space constraints. Ourconclusion was that the multimedia test isreasonably valid. All students reported havingliked the multimedia assessment.
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Speech-language pathologists generally agree that cluttering and stuttering represent two different fluency disorders. Differential diagnostics between cluttering and stuttering is difficult because these disorders have similar characteristics and often occur in conjunction with each other. This paper presents an analysis of the differential diagnostic characteristics of the two disorders, and a proposal for distinguishing between the two in clinical settings. The main goal of this two-part article is to set objective norms for differential diagnostic assessment of cluttering and stuttering symptoms, based on the three main characteristics of cluttering indicated/identified by St. Louis, Raphael, Myers & Bakker [St. Louis, K. O., Raphael, L. J., Myers, F. L., & Bakker, K. (2003). Cluttering updated. The ASHA leader. ASHA, 4–5, 20–22]: a fast and/or irregular articulatory rate together with errors in syllable, word or sentence structure and or a high frequency of normal disfluencies (not being stuttering). In the first half of the article objective measures are compared to the subjective clinical judgement made by fluency experts. In other words, which characteristics can be found in the speech profiles of persons who were diagnosed as people who clutter or stutter? In the second part of the article results on the Predictive Cluttering Inventory [Daly, D. A., & Cantrell, R. P. (2006). Cluttering characteristics identified as diagnostically significant by 60 fluency experts. Proceedings of second world congress on fluency disorders] are discussed in relationship to the subjective and objective measurements studied in the first half of the article.
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This study aims to map VE teachers’ perceived importance of assessment competence. The study was conducted in the Netherlands among teachers of professional studies in Universities of Applied Sciences. A large-scale study was conducted to represent a broad population of teachers, including various vocational fields, roles, and situations, allowing for the exploration of differences across these contextual variables.
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