A Gradient in Education Due to Health? Evidence from the Study of Health Behavior in School-Aged Children

Research exploring the relationship between education and health suggests that people with higher levels of schooling report better health. To emphasize health as a determinant of educational achievement, this article establishes a gradient in education by health among Canadian students. Using data from the 2006 Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) study, the relationship between self-rated health and achievement is examined for 8,626 students from 131 schools. The variation of the gradient in education by health within and between schools suggests that increases in self-rated health are associated with increased achievement for students. Moreover, the within-school regression accounted for 2.7 % of the variation in achievement due to health, whereas the between-school regression slope accounted for 19.8% of the variation in achievement due to health. Inequalities in achievement associated with health were more pronounced between schools than within schools. Policy implications as they relate to the findings are discussed.La recherche portant sur le rapport entre l’éducation et la santé donne à penser que les gens les plus instruits se disent en meilleure santé. Afin de mettre en relief la santé comme facteur déterminant dans le niveau d’instruction, cet article développe une échelle liant le niveau de scolarité et la santé chez les élèves canadiens. Puisant dans des données de l’enquête sur les comportements liés à la santé chez les enfants d’âge scolaire (2006), nous examinons le rapport entre la santé et la scolarité telles que décrites par 8 626 élèves provenant de 131 écoles. La variation notée dans le rapport scolarité/santé à l’intérieur des écoles et entre elles donne à penser que plus l’état de santé déclaré est positif, plus le rendement est élevé chez les élèves. De plus, la régression au sein des écoles représente 2,7% de la variation dans le rendement attribuable à la santé, alors que la régression entre les écoles représente 19,8 % de la variation dans le rendement attribuable à la santé. Les inégalités dans le rendement associé à la santé étaient plus prononcées entre les écoles qu’au sein des écoles. Nous discutons des incidences sur la politique qui découlent de ces résultats

Chinese Graduate Students at North American Universities: Learning Challenges and Coping Strategies

The paper investigated four Chinese graduate students’ perceptions of the challenges they face and the coping strategies they use in their English academic learning at two North American universities. They reported experiencing the following seven major challenges in their academic learning: 1) financial difficulties; 2) problems in using English for academic purposes; 3) frustrations in becoming a permanent resident; 4) difficulty in adapting to the classroom learning environment; 5) lack of critical thinking skills; 6) acculturation problems; and 7) loneliness and academic anxiety. For each of the seven challenges they have developed corresponding coping strategies. Cet article examine la perception des défis auxquels devaient faire face quatre étudiants chinois et les stratégies qu’ils employaient pour survivre dans le milieu d’apprentissage académique anglais de deux universités en Amérique du nord. Ils ont éprouvé, disaient-ils dans leurs récits, les sept défis importants suivants: 1) des difficultés financières; 2) des problèmes sur l’usage de l’anglais pour des fins académiques; 3) des frustrations dans leurs applications pour la résidence permanente; 4) des difficultés d’adaptation au milieu d’apprentissage de leurs classes; 5) un manque d\u27aptitude d’esprit crituque; 6) des problèmes d’acculturation; et 7) la solitude et l\u27anxiété académique. Pour chacun de ces défis, ils ont développé des stratégies de survie correspondantes

An Investigation of the Accuracy of Alternative Methods of True Score Estimation in High-Stakes Mixed-Format Examinations

Increasingly, high-stakes large-scale examinations are used to make important decisions about student achievement. Consequently, it is equally important that scores obtained from these examinations are accurate. This study compares the estimation accuracy of procedures based on classical test score theory (CTST) and item response theory (Generalized Partial Credit model, GPCM) for examinations consisting of multiple-choice and extended-response items. Using the British Columbia Scholarship Examination program, the accuracy of the two procedures was compared when the scholarship portions of the examinations were removed. For the subset of examinations investigated, the results indicate that removing these scholarship portions led to an error rate of approximately 10% with approximately seven out of 10 errors resulting in the denial of scholarships. The results were similar for both the CTST and the GPCM, indicating that for mixed-format examinations the two procedures produce randomly equivalent results. Implications for policy and future research are discussed.Lors de la prise de décisions importantes quant au rendement des élèves, on tient de plus en plus compte d'examens à grande échelle et à enjeu considérable. Il est donc tout aussi important que les résultats qu'obtiennent les élèves à ces examens soient justes et précis. Cette étude compare la justesse de l'estimation de procédures reposant sur la théorie classique des scores (classical test score theory, CTST) d'une part, et la théorie de la réponse d'item (Generalized Partial Credit model, GPCM) d'autre part, pour des examens comprenant des questions à choix multiples et des questions ouvertes. La justesse des deux procédures à été comparée dans le contexte du programme d'évaluation pour les bourses d'études de la Colombie britannique (British Columbia Scholarship Examination program) duquel la section sur les bourses d'études avait été retranchée. Les résultats de l'étude portant sur le sous-ensemble d'examens indiquent que le fait d'enlever la section liée aux bourses d'études donnait un taux d'erreurs d'environ 10% où à-peu-près 7 erreurs sur 10 menait à un refus d'accorder la bourse. Les résultats pour les deux procédures (CTST et GPCM) étaient similaires, ce qui indique que pour les examens à format mixte, les procédures donnent des résultats équivalents au hasard. Une discussion des incidences de l'étude sur les politiques et la recherche termine l'article

"Best Tradition": CREATE, JCSEE and the Program Evaluation Standards

Background: Evaluation “is a task in the best tradition of the most abstract theoretical science as well as the most practical applied science” (Scriven, 1968, p .9). The Program Evaluation Standards of the Joint Committee on Standards for Educational Evaluation (JCSEE) operationalize the theoretical aspects of evaluation and, when used, facilitate sound evaluation methods in applied settings. Between the publications of the first and second editions of The Program Evaluation Standards, the Center for Research on Educational Accountability and Teacher Evaluation (CREATE) was funded in 1990 at Western Michigan University with federal monies of $5.2 million, and between 1990 and 1995 by the United States Department of Education, Office of Educational Research and Improvement (OERI). CREATE was established for the betterment of evaluation within the educational context (Stufflebeam, 1991; Stufflebeam & Shinkfield, 1994). CREATE’s mandate and subsequent mission furthered the work of the Program Evaluation Standards and the JCSEE by using the standards in applied settings. Keeping to Scriven’s notion of evaluation as the best tradition, the collaborative work between CREATE and JCSEE is a well-established tradition that furthers the development of theoretical aspects of evaluation and the application of the evaluation standards. Purpose: Examine CREATE’s impact on the Program Evaluation Standards’ theoretical development and applied use. Setting: Not applicable. Intervention: Not applicable Research Design: Not applicable. Data Collection and Analysis: Systematic review of the theoretical development and applied use of the Program Evaluation Standards in the books, journal articles, monographs, special papers, meeting minutes, conference programs, and presentations associated with CREATE. Findings: CREATE has contributed to the operationalization of the theoretical aspects of evaluation with the Program Evaluation Standards and facilitated their use in applied settings. CREATE has also furthered the work of the Personnel Evaluation Standards and the Classroom Assessment Standards (formerly the Student Evaluation Standards). Leading scholars from CREATE and the JCSEE have contributed to the standards since the 1990s. Members of CREATE have published a notable range of books, journal articles, monographs, special papers and conference presentations related to the Program Evaluation Standards. Organizational capacity and shared goals of both the JCSEE and CREATE guided the practical application and theoretical development of the Program Evaluation Standards. Keywords: Program Evaluation Standards; Consortium for Research on Educational Assessment and Teaching Effectiveness; Joint Committee for Standards on Educational Evaluatio

Using Statistical and Judgmental Reviews to Identify and Interpret Translation Differential Item Functioning

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the equivalence of two translated tests using statistical and judgmental methods. Performance differences for a large random sample of English- and French-speaking examinees were compared on a grade 6 mathematics and social studies provincial achievement test. Items displaying differential item functioning (DIF) were flagged using three popular statistical methods—ManteTHaenszel, Simultaneous Item Bias Test, and logistic regression—and the substantive meaning of these items was studied by comparing the back-translated form with the original English version. The items flagged by the three statistical procedures were relatively consistent, but not identical across the two tests. The correlation between the DIF effect size measures were also strong, but far from perfect, suggesting that two procedures should be used to screen items for translation DIF. To identify the DIF items with translation differences, the French items were back-translated into English and compared with the original English items by three reviewers. Two of seven and six of 26 DIF items in mathematics and social studies respectively were judged to be nonequivalent across language forms due to differences introduced in the translation process. There were no apparent translation differences for the remaining items, revealing the necessity for further research on the sources of translation differential item functioning. Results from this study provide researchers and practitioners with a better understanding of how three popular DIF statistical methods compare and contrast. The results also demonstrate how statistical methods inform substantive reviews intended to identify items with translation differences.Le but de cette étude était d'évaluer l'équivalence de deux examens traduits avec des méthodes basées sur les statistiques et d'autres reposant sur le jugement. On a comparé les différences dans la performance d'un grand échantillon aléatoire de sujets anglophones et francophones qui avaient complété des examen provinciaux de sixième année en mathématiques et en études sociales. Les items démontrant une divergence par rapport aux autres (differential item functioning - DIF) ont été marqués d'un indicateur dans le contexte de trois méthodes statistiques bien connues - Mantel-Haenszel, Simultaneous Item Bias Test et la régression logistique. La signification de fond de ces items a été étudiée en comparant la version traduite de l'examen avec l'original en anglais. Les items marqués par les trois procédures statistiques étaient relativement constants mais pas identiques d'une version à l'autre. Alors que la corrélation entre les mesures de l'effet DIF étaient aussi forte, elle était loin d'être parfaite, ce qui suggère que l'on devrait avoir recours à deux procédures dans le dépistage du DIF en traduction. Pour identifier les items DIF présentant des différences en traduction, trois réviseurs ont comparé les items français retraduits en anglais avec les originaux en anglais. Ceux-ci ont jugé que deux sur sept items en mathématiques et six sur vingt-six items en études sociales n'étaient pas équivalents d'une langue à l'autre à cause des différences introduites par le processus de traduction. Les autres items ne présentaient pas de différences apparentes de traduction, ce qui révèle le besoin de poursuivre la recherche sur les sources du DIF en traduction. Les résultats de cette étude aideront les chercheurs et les praticiens à mieux comprendre les similarités et les différences entres trois méthodes statistiques DIF souvent employées. De plus, ils démontrent comment les méthodes statistiques contribuent aux études de signification dont le but est l'identification des items présentant des différences de traduction

Academic Resilience During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Triarchic Analysis of Education Policy Developments across Canada

This study employed a qualitative content analysis of provincial policy documents, following deductive methods, to examine academic resilience and education policy developments across Canada during the COVID-19 pandemic. More specifically, the study explicates the nature and scope of provincial policy responses to the global pandemic that address academic issues, physical health and well-being, and mental health issues for K–12 students. The pan-Canadian analysis revealed a total of 62 documents were issued between January 2020 and December 2021 that addressed one or more of the triarchic dimensions of academic resilience. The findings suggested greater attention was devoted to academic issues and there was a general lack of policy differentiation in terms of how specific resources and supports were to be directed within provincial educational jurisdictions.Cette étude a employé une analyse qualitative de contenu des documents de politiques provinciales, en suivant des méthodes déductives, pour examiner la ténacité scolaire et le développement des politiques d’éducation à travers le Canada pendant la pandémie de COVID-19. Plus précisément, l’étude détaille la nature et la portée des réponses politiques provinciales à la pandémie mondiale qui traitent des questions relatives à l’éducation, à la santé physique, au bien-être, et à la santé mentale des étudiants de la maternelle à la 12e année. L’analyse pancanadienne révèle qu’un total de 62 documents ont été publiés entre janvier 2020 et décembre 2021 qui abordaient une ou plusieurs dimensions triarchiques de la ténacité scolaire. Les conclusions mènent à penser qu’une plus grande attention est accordée aux problématiques scolaires et qu’il y a un manque général de différenciation dans les politiques quant à la façon dont les ressources et les soutiens seraient utilisés au sein des instances éducatives provinciales

Identification and Characterisation of Pseudomonas 16S Ribosomal DNA from Ileal Biopsies of Children with Crohn's Disease

Molecular analysis of bacterial 16S rRNA genes has made a significant contribution to the identification and characterisation of bacterial flora in the human gut. In particular, this methodology has helped characterise bacterial families implicated in the aetiology of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). In this study we have used a genus specific bacterial 16S PCR to investigate the prevalence and diversity of Pseudomonas species derived from the ileum of children with Crohn's disease (CD), and from control children with non-inflammatory bowel disease (non-IBD) undergoing their initial endoscopic examination. Fifty eight percent of CD patients (18/32) were positive using the Pseudomonas PCR, while significantly fewer children in the non-IBD group, 33% (12/36), were PCR positive for Pseudomonas (p<0.05, Fischer's exact test). Pseudomonas specific 16S PCR products from 13 CD and 12 non-IBD children were cloned and sequenced. Five hundred and eighty one sequences were generated and used for the comparative analysis of Pseudomonas diversity between CD and non-IBD patients. Pseudomonas species were less diverse in CD patients compared with non-IBD patients. In particular P.aeruginosa was only identified in non-IBD patients

Examining students' after-school literacy activities and their literacy performance on the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test

This study examined relationships between the after?school literacy activities and test performance of students who passed and students who failed the 2003 administration of the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test. It included both students who have been in the Canadian school system for most of their school lives and mostly use English as a first language (L1), and students who have recently entered the Canadian school system and use English as a second language (L2). This study demonstrates the relatively small yet complex relationship between the test performance of these different groups of students on this literacy test and their after-school reading and writing activities