Child observation is a critical component of quality pedagogy in early childhood education and care (ECEC). The ORICL (Observe, Reflect, Improve Children's Learning) tool was co-designed by ECEC researchers, policymakers, leaders, and practitioners to support this work. Educators rate the experiences of individual children, and responses of…

High-quality early childhood education and care is of critical importance to children's optimal development and wellbeing, and to a nation's social and economic capital. Consequently, assessing and monitoring quality through regulatory mechanisms has become increasingly significant across the world. Yet, literature pertaining to the impact of…

In 2015, the Australian Government's Excellence in Research for Australia (ERA) assessment of research quality declined to rate 1.5 per cent of submissions from universities. The public debate focused on practices of gaming or "coding errors" within university submissions as the reason for this outcome. The issue was about the…

Assessment is a crucial component of gifted education. Not only does it facilitate the recognition of the potential and specific needs of gifted students, it also monitors the progress and growth of gifted students, and allows for the evaluation of gifted education programs. In the present review, we synthesize the literature on assessment in…

There is a need for more comprehensive assessments of young children's emerging print knowledge. Traditional letter and numeral identification assessments score children's responses as either correct or incorrect and this approach can underestimate what children know. The present study tested an assessment scale that scored three- and…

This study explored motivation and engagement among North American (the United States and Canada; n = 1,540), U.K. (n = 1,558), Australian (n = 2,283), and Chinese (n = 3,753) secondary school students. Motivation and engagement were assessed via students' responses to the Motivation and Engagement Scale-High School (MES-HS). Confirmatory factor…

With the development of the English as an Additional Language or Dialect (EAL/D) Teacher Resource, the educational needs and outcomes of refugee and immigrant children have been placed on the national mainstream teaching agenda. This new national resource sits alongside a plethora of other resources, known as scales and standards, which have been…

The research assessment framework is an unstable reality in many countries. While few would disagree that there is a need to measure and reward research excellence, there has been little investigation of how assessment mechanisms relate to knowledge itself. With a focus on the arts and humanities and writing from an Australian perspective, this…

Quantitative approaches to defining and measuring quality in early childhood education and care (ECEC) have provided a key platform for policy development. Yet their strengths and limitations as informants of high-quality ECEC have not been tested. In this study we examine two sources of quantitative data collected over a five-year period for 74…

Practitioner use of the revised Individual Child Engagement Record--Revised (ICER-R) for observing children with disabilities in inclusive childcare is examined. Training in the use of the ICER-R, which includes both a momentary time sampling observation system and rating scales, was provided across two training phases with five to seven…

Assessment of higher order learning outcomes such as critical thinking, problem solving and creativity has remained a challenge for universities. While newer technologies such as social networking tools have the potential to support these intended outcomes, academics' assessment practice is slow to change. University mission statements and unit…

Purpose: Group-based tasks or assignments, if well designed, can yield benefits for student employability and other important attribute developments. However there is a fundamental problem when all members of the group receive the same mark and feedback. Disregarding the quality and level of individual contributions can seriously undermine many of…

An analysis of student verbatim responses in the Student Outcomes Survey provides suggestions for how the vocational education and training (VET) system could be improved. Eight major domains are discussed: course relevance and design; staff attributes and behaviours; teaching and learning practices; access to courses; facilities and services;…

Objective: The aims of the study were to examine differential symptom functioning (DSF) and agreement across parent and teacher ratings for the "DSM-IV" ADHD inattention (IA) and hyperactivity/impulsivity (HI) symptoms, listed in the Disruptive Behavior Rating Scale (DBRS). Method: DSF was examined using a parametric technique involving…

A research study on the use of technology on Australian literacy programs for adults is reported. Questions were directed to administrators (e.g., objectives, outcomes) teachers (e.g., appropriateness, flexibility, portability), and adult learners (e.g., expectations, needs, feedback). The resulting rating scales were used for specific…