Eighty-three teachers across the curriculum were interviewed to explain their views on and approaches to, the teaching of socio-scientific controversial issues to 14-19 year olds, particularly with regard to developments in biomedicine and biotechnology. This study focused on teachers' views on the nature of evidence in controversial issues and…

It is widely acknowledged that there are problems with school science in many developed countries of the world. Such problems manifest themselves in a progressive decline in pupil enthusiasm for school science across the secondary age range and by the fact that fewer students are choosing to study the physical sciences at higher levels and as…

Evaluation of environmental education (EE) interventions is at an early stage of development. Within a quantitative paradigm, the authors examined the psychometric properties of the Children's Environmental Attitudes and Knowledge Scale (CHEAKS) with data from a sample of Irish adolescents (N = 338) participating in a repeated measures design.…

This article reports on the development of a short questionnaire to measure work engagement--a positive work-related state of fulfillment that is characterized by vigor, dedication, and absorption. Data were collected in 10 different countries (N = 14,521), and results indicated that the original 17-item Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES) can be…

The primary purpose of this study was to identify the perceived barriers to employment incarcerated youth felt they faced. Due to the uniqueness of this population, a measure tool entitled "My Future Employment Outlook" was designed to assess their particular perceptions. Three hundred seventeen juveniles in a southwestern correctional…

The role of assessment is central to the current work in the field of self-regulation research, to the conceptualizations derived from empirical work, and to the operationalisation of its concepts in individual and classroom implementations. The various instantiations of the concept of self-regulation, all presuppose a detailed accounting of many…

This article reviews different research approaches to understanding the significant experiences that influence peoples environmental concern and behaviour, with an emphasis on identifying the strengths and weaknesses of existing studies. It also reviews relevant findings regarding the validity of autobiographical memory, as memory is the medium…

The purpose of this study was to systematically develop an instrument to measure computer aversion, computer attitudes, and computer familiarity. The study is an extension of previous research (Schulenberg, 2002). Development involved item generation, pilot testing, and exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses. The measure was administered to…

The purpose of this study was to develop a new measure of incidental behaviors that put college students at increased risk of legal consequences while using alcohol, the Legal Risk Behaviors while using Alcohol (LRBA) scale. Two hundred and twenty one college students who used alcohol were recruited to complete an online study about their use of…

The purpose of this study was to replicate previous research on the construct validity of the paper-based version of the TOEFL and extend it to the computer-based TOEFL. Two samples of Graduate Record Examination (GRE) General Test-takers were used: native speakers of English specially recruited to take the computer-based TOEFL, and ESL…

This study evaluated the structural reliability, construct-related validity, and cultural validity generalization of the Hare Psychopathy Checklist: Screening Version (PCL:SV) in a sample of more than 560 male and female Swedish forensic psychiatric treatment patients, forensic evaluation patients, and criminal offenders. Structural reliability…

Confirmatory factor analysis was used to test the factorial invariance of the Africultural Coping Systems Inventory's (ACSI) measurement model and underlying factor structure across three independent and ethnically distinct samples of African descent populations. Results indicated that factor pattern coefficients of the ACSI's underlying…

This study examined the factorial validity of scores on the newly developed Students' Evaluation of Teaching Effectiveness Rating Scale (SETERS) through a series of confirmatory and multilevel structures. Conventional confirmatory factor analyses using the total covariance and pooled within-covariance matrices from two midwestern universities…

Recent studies indicate that students in the United States are not achieving sufficient mathematics skills to meet the demands required of them within and outside of school. Among the keys to preventing mathematics difficulties are to identify and intervene with those students who may be most at risk for later failure, monitoring their progress as…

In 2002, nearly 100,000 high school students took one of the Advanced Placement Program? (AP?)language examinations in French, German, or Spanish. One way in which the validity of these exams is ensured is through periodic college comparability studies. The purpose of such studies is to equate the AP scores with performance standards in the third…