Studio music teachers have always been constant in Australian society, rarely recognised beyond their immediate surrounds. Building a 'connection' of students required advertising, primarily by word-of-mouth or via local press announcements. Few teachers placed individual advertisements in local papers. This changed in 1911 with the establishment…

With the renovation of the building and the redesign of the Wien Museum's (the City Museum of Vienna) permanent exhibition, the Nazi period is now finally being told as part of the city's history after decades of neglect. The education department was thus faced with the task of including these important and multifaceted topics in our educational…

In this article we argue that the practice of requisite criminal/ized history disclosure in college admissions enhances carceral state power. Situating institutions of higher education as key sites through which surveillance is practiced, we traced the available evidence regarding targeted punishment in the US and the ramifications of a criminal…

Personal narratives can be seen as iterative theories-of-valued-selves: thick, deliberate outlines traced over and selectively enhancing and obscuring the finer details of life as lived. Through telling such stories we represent and orient ourselves towards certain potential actions while turning away from others. Biographical narration is in this…

Contemporary educational initiatives require more non-fiction reading in English/language arts (ELA), close readings of primary and secondary sources in social studies/history (SSH), and text-based writing in all curricula. Teachers rely on various objective reading measures to determine a suitable challenge level for students. Primary sources, a…

Investigations of differential item functioning (DIF) have been conducted mostly on ability tests and have found little evidence of easily interpretable differences across various demographic subgroups. In this study, we examined the degree to which DIF in biographical data items referencing academically relevant background, experiences, and…

The purpose of this research was to determine whether particular biographic and academic characteristics would predict whether an applicant would matriculate into and successfully complete an online secondary teacher certification program. Results of statistical analyses conducted on 170 applicants over the past three years affirm the importance…

A United States Employment Service (USES) General Aptitude Test Battery (GATB) plan was formulated to evaluate and develop additional job-related assessment methods. Eighteen alternative predictors were reviewed, from which biodata was selected for development. The literature indicates that biodata provides increased validity with little or no…

Demonstrates how social studies classroom teachers can personalize historical events by getting students to empathize with historical individuals. Describes an activity which investigates factors influencing immigrants to North America. Students are involved in acquiring data, applying data, reaching a conclusion, taking a position, and analyzing…

The article traces the construction, validation, and revision of 24 biographical inventories resulting in the Form U Biographical Inventory, which yields four scores (academic performance, creativity, leadership, and artistic potential) to identify gifted and talented elementary and secondary students as defined by the U. S. Department of…

This study is an investigation into Chinese EFL teachers' knowledge and understanding of teaching English as a foreign language within the context of a time of tremendous social change in China. In a medium-sized city, biographical narrative interviews and observation were used to three Chinese secondary EFL teachers, of three successive…

Ethnographic methods were integrated with survey procedures in an experimental daytime count of homeless persons in a major city. Ethnographic data proved valuable for choosing sites, designing questionnaires, developing new interview approaches, and interpreting test results. Recommends a wider use of ethnographic insights in developing surveys,…

Biographical inventory is a selection device used as an alternative or supplement to cognitive testing because this measurement method predicts aspects of job performance that are not predicted by cognitive measures. Some of the issues and concerns about using biographical inventories are discussed. The use of biographical inventories (biodata) is…

The construct validity of biographical items in the Individual Achievement Record (IAR) was assessed in an attempt to develop a confirmatory factor model. This first phase of a two-phase study focused on the IAR's use as a predictor of job performance. The IAR is an empirically keyed biodata inventory containing 112 multiple-choice items. Item…

One way for agencies to reduce fiscal stress is to minimize employee turnover. A project undertaken by San Bernardino County (California) to reduce employee turnover through the development, validation, and use of a non-traditional worker selection instrument (biographical inventory) is described. This project was aimed at the specific…