Over the past ten years, propensity score methods have made an important contribution to improving generalizations from studies that do not select samples randomly from a population of inference. However, these methods require assumptions and recent work has considered the role of bounding approaches that provide a range of treatment impact…

Conceptual replications have received increased coverage in the educational research agenda. This article argues for clarity in, and justification of, the definition, scope, and boundaries of a conceptual replication and what it can and cannot do. It argues for clear justifications when changing components from those of the original study. The…

Over the past 50 years, scientists have made amazing discoveries about the origins of human language acquisition. Central to this field of study is the process by which infants' perceptual sensitivities gradually align with native language structure, known as "perceptual narrowing." Perceptual narrowing offers a theoretical account of…

Many high-stakes examinations in the United Kingdom (UK) use both constructed-response items and selected-response items. We need to evaluate the inter-rater reliability for constructed-response items that are scored by humans. While there are a variety of methods for evaluating rater consistency across ratings in the psychometric literature, we…

Carl Kaestle defines a generalization as "how we know when we know." Kaestle sketches a model of increasing certainty in historical claims as they are developed and refined at increasing scales of research, from local to international. A historical claim might originate in the study of a particular place or case, but to know that the…

In this paper the authors examine the uses of teaching performance assessments (TPAs) as resources for learning, program evaluation, and improvement in teacher education. The authors begin by outlining their conceptual framing and related research questions about the uses of TPAs as resources for program evaluation and improvement. They describe…

Many classroom-observation instruments have been developed (e.g., Gleason et al., 2017; Nava et al., 2019; Sawada et al., 2002), but a very small number of studies published in refereed journals have rigorously examined the quality of the ratings and the instrument using measurement models. For example, Gleason et al. developed a mathematics…

Within evidence-based education, results from randomised controlled trials (RCTs), and meta-analyses of them, are taken as reliable evidence for effectiveness -- they speak to "what works". Extending RCT results requires establishing that study samples and settings are representative of the intended target. Although widely recognised as…

This paper provides a historical analysis of the past century of progressive education, within the general socio-political context of schooling within the US. The purpose of this review is to create a social, historical and philosophical context for understanding the current narrative of progressive education that exists in educational policy…

Special education researchers conduct studies that can be considered replications. However, they do not often refer to them as replication studies. The purpose of this article is to consider the potential benefits of conceptualizing special education intervention research within a framework of systematic, conceptual replication. Specifically, we…

This article describes a situative approach to studying motivation to learn in social contexts. We begin by contrasting this perspective to more prevalent psychological approaches to the study of motivation, describing epistemological and methodological differences that have constrained conversation between theoretical groups. We elaborate on…

The dimensional comparison theory (DCT) focuses on the effects of internal, dimensional comparisons (e.g., "How good am I in math compared to English?") on academic self-concepts with widespread consequences for students' self-evaluation, motivation, and behavioral choices. DCT is based on the internal/external frame of reference model…

Observer ratings in psychotherapy are a common way of collecting information in psychotherapy research. However, human observers are imperfect instruments, and their ratings may be subject to variability from several sources. One source of variability can be raters' assessing more than 1 instrument at a time. The purpose of this research is to…

Our goal in this investigation was to evaluate the reliability of scores from the Balanced Inventory of Desirable Responding (BIDR) more comprehensively than in prior research using a generalizability-theory framework based on both dichotomous and polytomous scoring of items. Generalizability coefficients accounting for specific-factor, transient,…

The Circle of Security™ interventions are psychosocial treatments intended to increase maternal sensitivity and thus child attachment security in infants and young children. A small number of publications have reported empirical research on outcomes of these treatments. This article reviews the research evidence, plausibility, theoretical…