Dr. Petra Lietz

The Contribution of IEA Research Studies to Australian Education

John Ainley et al. — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 18:02:54 PDT

This chapter is concerned with the contribution of the research studies conducted by the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA) to Australian education. During a period of 50 years education across the world has undergone a remarkable transformation. Many of the changes that have occurred have been initiated by the United Nations Organization and its agen¬cies, particularly UNESCO. From its origins within the UNESCO Institute in Hamburg, IEA and its programs have evolved to develop the worldwide conduct of research in education both through the undertaking and reporting of studies as well as the informal training of research workers to participate in these studies. Consequently, the large group of people who have been involved in the IEA studies together with their colleagues have built a new world vision of education in schools. This vision that extends beyond the boundaries of western Europe and North America has been presented in the two editions of the International Encyclopaedia of Education with its numerous Handbooks as well as an electronic version named the Complete Encyclopaedia.

The Relationship of IEA to some Developments in Educational Research Methodology and Measurement during the Years from 1962 to 1992

John P. Keeves et al. — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 17:50:35 PDT

The marked expansion of education at all levels from early childhood education to primary and secondary schooling, as well as to universi¬ties and institutes of technology and to programs of lifelong learning and recurrent education in the workplace, led to the development of educational research as a major field of scholarly inquiry during the second half of the twentieth century. Research into education involves many disciplines in addition to psychology and operates with large numbers of individuals, institutions and systems at several levels across the approximately 200 states of the world. Moreover, it neces¬sarily involves change over time since it is specifically concerned with the learning and development of young people, who are being taught in an increasingly complex world. During the years from 1962 to 1992 the authors of this chapter were actively engaged in the research stud¬ies of the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA). IEA formed part of this movement for the advancement of education and educational research. This chapter examines the links between IEA and the developments that occurred in educational research methods and measurement. These links included the conduct of research studies that involved: (a) large num¬bers of students, teachers and schools, (b) methods and procedures for the examination and the analysis of data, (c) the measurement of change over time and across countries, (d) the testing of models and hypotheses for statistical and practical significance, and (e) the draw¬ing of implications from the findings for policy and practice in the field of education.

Large-scale group score assessments: Past, present, and future

B Naemi et al. — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 17:32:05 PDT

The impact of values and learning approaches on student achievement: Gender and academic discipline influences

Liudmila Tarabashkina et al. — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 17:22:14 PDT

This paper presents results from a longitudinal study of sojourner students which was conducted at an international university in Germany from 2004 to 2007. The study followed a cohort of undergraduate students from the first week of their studies to their graduation. Participants completed three questionnaires: the Portrait Value Questionnaire (Schwartz et al., 2001), the Study Process Questionnaire (Biggs, 1987b), and the Student Background Questionnaire (Matthews, Lietz, & Darmawan, 2007). Structural Equation Modelling was used to examine how personal values influenced students' learning approaches and how these, in turn, were related to students' achievement. It was also examined how robust these relationships were once gender and discipline area (i.e., Social Sciences or Natural Sciences) were included in the models and whether or not they changed over time. Results showed that specific combinations of values were related to each learning approach. Certain consistency of these relationships was observed over the three years. The deep and achieving learning approaches were associated with higher achievement, whereas students who displayed more characteristics of the surface learning approach had lower academic performance. Finally, analyses pinpointed higher performance of female students and the predominant absence of effects of academic discipline on learning approaches or achievement over time.

Trail of the Engagement Matrix - Component 1 - the effectiveness of labels: report

Petra Lietz et al. — Sun, 11 Sep 2011 19:16:34 PDT

The Engagement Matrix (EM) was designed by the Department of Education and Children’s Services in South Australia to measure engagement levels of students enrolled in the Innovative Community Action Networks (ICAN)/ Flexible Learning Options (FLO) program once a term. Innovative ICANs work with young people (year 6-age 19), families, schools, community groups, businesses and different levels of government to encourage young people to finish their secondary education. Flexible Learning Options (FLO) was first introduced in 2006 as an enrolment option in ICAN schools which is funded by DECS. FLO is an approach that is more flexible than the traditional full-time enrolment in school to support young people most at risk to successfully complete their secondary education (DECS, 2010). In its current form, the EM is a high-level inference instrument that requires raters to provide one overall rating of a student’s engagement in (a) well-being, (b) relationships and (c) learning in five categories. These categories’ previous labels of ‘Resistant’, ‘Disinterested’, ‘Compliant’, ‘Enthusiastic’ and ‘Proactive’ have been changed to ‘Significantly disengaged’, ‘Partly disengaged’, ‘Moderately engaged’, ‘Highly engaged’ and ‘Very highly engaged’. This report describes an initiative to ascertain the effectiveness of the labels of the EM. To this end, an online survey was designed to obtain information on the levels of engagement and disengagement current and potential users of the EM associated with different labels (e.g. ‘Disinterested’, ‘Active’) and different intensifiers (e.g. ‘Very’, ‘Moderately’) as well as a combination of intensifiers and labels as currently proposed in the EM. Cognitive interviews were conducted to inform the online survey.

Final Evaluation Report: Supporting Improved Literacy Achievement (SILA) Project

Robert Hattam et al. — Sun, 11 Sep 2011 19:16:32 PDT

The Supporting Improved Literacy Achievement (SILA) project has attempted to make a difference to literacy achievement in some of the most ‘educationally disadvantaged’ schools in South Australia, and hence to take on seriously what has been an intractable policy and practice problem for many decades. In brief, the SILA project has adopted a coaching model as the means of providing schools with support for developing responses to diagnostic reviews. This strategy is a significant departure from common practice in DECS where schools are expected to undertake regular self-review processes using the DIAf tools with support for post-review development usually left to negotiations with the District Office. The SILA Project is thus a pilot for a more active intervention to support schools in the post-review process. We therefore think it is useful to attempt to map what the SILA project, as a pilot, contributes to the debate about what is possible in primary schools serving high poverty contexts that have been historically resistant to policy interventions. SILA needs to be understood as providing (inter)nationally significant insight into innovation that makes a difference in schools serving high poverty contexts. In addition, we have attempted to draw out particular features of the SILA approach that could be adopted by the system, regions and schools in the future. This report attempts to: understand the effects of the SILA Project on: (1) understandings of SILA school principals; (2) teachers’ understandings; (3) teachers’ practice; (4) development of a viable coaching model and strategies; and (5) student literacy achievement. It is not possible to make claims that the SILA Project has made significant and homogenous changes across all of the SILA schools where the evaluation took place. Instead SILA has made very profound changes in some schools; been the cause of very significant turnarounds in school culture, leadership practices, pedagogy and student learning in others but then not all of these changes are apparent in equal measure; and made some changes in other schools. Put simply, there has been a mixed uptake of the SILA approach across the 32 schools but mostly the uptake has been very positive across the 5 areas of interest stated above. This Evaluation Report is structured according to seven key features of the SILA Project: A. a diagnostic review to ensure that strategies are tailored to specific needs, B. the development of clear, sustained whole school approaches to lift literacy levels, C. use of a coaching model D. leadership coaching support to achieve recommendations and build an effective culture, E. specialist literacy and early years coaches working with teachers and in networks, F. high quality and targeted in-school professional learning for teachers, G. ongoing evaluation, with a significant focus on using student outcomes data, and H. strengthened preschool-school-community partnerships. Asserting causality is difficult in this evaluation, as all SILA schools were involved in a range of initiatives and hence any positive changes are caused by a range of factors. Nevertheless, we believe the SILA Project should definitely be understood as a substantial contributor to positive change in the SILA schools.

ICCS 2009 Latin American Report : civic knowledge and attitudes among lower-secondary students in six Latin American countries

Wolfram Schulz et al. — Sun, 11 Sep 2011 19:16:30 PDT

The International Civic and Citizenship Education Study (ICCS) focused on the ways in which young people are prepared to undertake their roles as citizens. Preparing students for citizenship involves developing relevant knowledge and understanding as well as encouraging the formation of positive attitudes toward being a citizen. Descriptions of the conceptual background for and the design of ICCS appear in the publication detailing the ICCS assessment framework (Schulz, Fraillon, Ainley, Losito, & Kerr, 2008). Regional contexts are important for civic and citizenship education because they shape how people undertake their roles as citizens. ICCS included, in addition to the core international survey, regional modules in Europe, Latin America, and Asia. This report from ICCS focuses on the six countries that participated in the study’s Latin American regional module. It is based on a regional student survey and an assessment of knowledge specific to the region as well as on data from the international student and school instruments. We recommend viewing this Latin American report within the context of the international reports on the findings from ICCS (Schulz, Ainley, Fraillon, Kerr & Losito, 2010a, 2010b). The results reported in this publication are based on data gathered from random samples of almost 30,000 students in their eighth year of schooling in more than 1,000 schools from the six ICCS Latin American countries. The regional module for Latin America was connected to a broader initiative known as the Regional System for the Development and Evaluation of Citizenship Competencies (SREDECC), the aim of which is to establish a common regional framework for citizenship competencies, basic criteria for effective citizenship education, and a system for evaluating the outcomes of this area of education. The Latin American module of ICCS investigated variations in civic knowledge across the ICCS Latin American countries as well as region-specific aspects of civic knowledge. It generated information about students’ perceptions of public institutions, forms of government, corrupt practices, and obedience to the law. The data gathered also gave insight into students’ dispositions with respect to peaceful coexistence. This body of data included information on students’ attitudes toward their country and the Latin American region, sense of empathy, tolerance toward minorities, and attitudes toward use of violence. Data also allowed exploration of the contexts for learning about citizenship, namely, home, school, and community. The report also profiles the particular context for civic and citizenship education evident in each of the six countries. Common themes across all six ICCS Latin American countries in relation to the curricular agenda for citizenship included the following: violent conflict, democracy, general interest in sustainable development and the environment, issues related to globalization, tolerance, and plurality, and the social and political inclusion of large, formerly excluded segments of society. The countries deemed civic and citizenship education important. In three of the six countries, this area of education had been the focus of public debate. Most of the countries had seen a broadening of civic and citizenship education toward the inclusion of democratic values and participatory skills. However, the data also show that evaluation and assessment of civic and citizenship content were not common practice. The countries participating in this study were: Mexico, Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Columbia, Paraguay and Chile.

School quality and student achievement in 21 European countries

Petra Lietz — Wed, 27 Oct 2010 21:16:22 PDT

The Heyneman-Loxley effect (1982, 1983) refers to an effect moderating the degree to which school quality affects student achievement. This moderating effect was found to relate to a country’s economic productivity. More specifically,the effect is one in which school quality has a greater impact on student achievement in countries that are less developed economically than in countries that are more highly developed. This article presents a reexamination of this effect using hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) analyses of data for 21 European countries that participated in the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) in 2003. Two models are analyzed. The first is a three-level model that includes each country’s economic status at the highest level, school resources at the middle level, and students’ respective family backgrounds at the lowest level. The second is a two-level model that includes school and student context variables only and examines these separately for each country. Results indicate little evidence to support the Heyneman-Loxley effect in the selected group of countries in 2003.

The selection of cases for culturally comparative psychological research.

Petra Lietz — Wed, 27 Oct 2010 21:06:49 PDT

Sampling is at the core of data collection, and a plethora of techniques and procedures have been described in the literature. Opinion polls and social science surveying are at the forefront of research and practical applications in this context. Despite a multitude of handbook articles and much rarer textbook chapters the lege artis sampling of participants of psychological research remains a neglected topic. Amongst psychologists, common sense convictions about the importance of the sampling topic range from implicitly declaring the question irrelevant for the discipline to accepting as sound science only studies that employ a rigid probability sampling approach.

I'm a girl, you're a boy. You study Social Science, I study Natural Science:

Petra Lietz et al. — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 21:15:02 PDT

In this multiple case study (n= 8) with process orientation (Yin, 2003) in-depth interviews were conducted annually over a three-year period with undergraduate students from eight countries at an international university. They had been purposely selected to reflect a mix of learning approaches, gender and discipline areas. Interviews probed students about their instructional experiences, such as evaluation of teaching, assessment preferences and preparation, adaptation of learning approaches and plans for the future. The systematic content analysis was aimed at comparing responses across learning approaches, gender and discipline areas. Results indicated commonalities across learning approaches, gender and discipline areas in terms of assessment preparation, certain elements of satisfaction with teaching, motivation for study and changes in career plans. Differences emerged concerning preferences of assessment methods, reasons for dissatisfaction with certain elements of teaching and the degree of adaptation of the learning approach depending on the course taken.

The impact of values and learning approaches on achievement: Do gender and academic discipline make a difference.

Petra Lietz et al. — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 20:46:43 PDT

This paper presents results from a longitudinal study of sojourner students which was conducted at an international university in Germany from 2004 to 2007. The study followed one cohort of undergraduate students from the first week of their studies to graduation from their Bachelor of Science or Bachelor of Arts degree. Participants completed three questionnaires at the beginning of each year: the Portrait Value Questionnaire (PVQ) (Schwartz et al. 2001), the Study Process Questionnaire (SPQ) (Biggs 1987), and the Student Background Questionnaire (Matthews, Lietz & Darmawan 2007). Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) was used to examine how personal values influenced students’ learning approaches (achieving, deep, or surface) and how these, in turn, impacted upon students’ academic achievement. Furthermore, it was examined how robust these relationships were once gender and discipline area (i.e. Social Sciences or Natural Sciences) were included in the models and whether or not they changed over time. First, results showed differences in term of which personal values were related to the three learning approaches and a certain consistency of these relationships at the beginning, the middle and the end of students’ undergraduate studies. Second, whereas the deep and achieving learning approaches resulted in higher achievement students who displayed more characteristics of the surface learning approach showed lower achievement. Finally, analyses using data from all three occasions showed that while some differences emerged as regards the specific personal values related to the different learning approaches, the positive impact of the achieving and the deep approach on achievement, the higher performance of female students and the predominant absence of effects of academic discipline on learning approaches or achievement were the same over the three-year period.

Quality of education in madrasah: Phase 1 – Findings from pilot study one.

Julie Kos et al. — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 17:56:30 PST

Submitted by the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) to Contractor Strategic Advisory Services (CSAS).

Motivationen in Grossbritanien und Deutschland im Vergleich

D Dabringhausen et al. — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 16:58:08 PDT

Welche Faktoren beeinflussen die Leistungen in Wirtschaftskunde?

Dieter Kotte et al. — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 16:54:26 PDT

Research into questionnaire design – A summary of the literature

Petra Lietz — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 16:50:55 PDT

The effects of college students’ personal values on changes in learning approaches

Petra Lietz et al. — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 16:49:38 PDT

Many studies of changes in learning approaches have used data from different age groups at one point in time only (Gow and Kember, High Educ 19:307–322, 1990; Watkins and Hattie, Br J Educ Psychol 51:384–393, 1981) or have analyzed the effects of just two or three factors using single level analytical techniques (Cano, Br J Educ Psychol 75:203–221, 2005; Duckwall et al., Res High Educ 32(1):1–13, 1991; Jay and Love, NCSSSMST J 7(2):4–8, 2002; Loo, Educ Psychol, 17(1/2), 1997; Watkins and Hattie, Hum Learn 4:127–141, 1985; Zeegers, Br J Educ Psychol 71:115–132, 2001). This study employs multilevel modeling as a more appropriate technique for the analysis of longitudinal data to examine factors influencing changes in the learning approaches of 153 international undergraduate students over a 3-year period. Specifically, using hierarchical linear modeling (HLM), the effects of personal values (level-2) on learning approaches and changes in them over time (level-1) are examined. Results show no changes within students in the deep and surface approaches to learning but a significant decline for the achieving approach, particularly for students who previously experienced a more formal teaching authority. Furthermore, students’ personal values in terms of security, achievement and hedonism affect the achieving approach while no effects emerge for the personal values of tradition, conformity, universalism, self-direction and stimulation. Finally, these effects can be observed while no significant effects emerge for gender, discipline and ability.

Quantitative Datenerherbungsverfahren

Margrit Schreier et al. — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 16:37:06 PDT

Quantitative Auswertung: Uni- und bivriate Statistik

Petra Lietz et al. — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 16:13:15 PDT

Quantitative Auswertung : Multivariate Statkistik

Petra Lietz — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 16:10:04 PDT

Science and education: analyses of science-related variables of the PISA-2000 survey

Petra Lietz et al. — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 20:25:07 PDT

How will humanity continue to meet its energy needs without destroying the conditions necessary to sustain human life on earth? The search for an answer to this question depends as much on the past as on the present; and as much on the physical sciences as on the social sciences.

This book offers a truly trans-disciplinary and trans-cultural look at the problem of energy production and consumption in modern times. Discussing issues of history, politics, science, risk, lifestyle and representation, contributors demonstrate that experiences through time can provide insights into the kinds of solutions that have succeeded, as well as reasons why other solutions have failed. They also show what different countries and cultures might learn from each other, emphasizing how discoveries in one discipline have inspired new approaches in another discipline. Among many other important conclusions, the book suggests that energy transitions do not occur simply because of the exhaustion of old energy sources, and any solutions to the incipient energy crisis of the 21st century will depend on people's perceptions of science, environment and risk, informed and shaped in turn by the media.