The functioning of a cognitive taxonomy within the test specifications of an allied health certification examination was studied. The taxonomy used was a simplification of the scheme of B. S. Bloom (1956), in which items were classified as comprehension, application, or analysis. Whether items written purposely to assess higher order cognitive…

This paper demonstrates how Q-methodology combines artistic and scientific procedures to allow social science researchers to develop and test theories about differences in persons. Q-methodology is based on factor analysis. In R-technique factor analysis, the most commonly used technique, variables define the columns and persons define the rows of…

A multidimensional item response theory (IRT) model for polytomously scored items, based on the graded response model and using the normal ogive, is developed; and an EM algorithm that may be used to estimate the parameters of the model is also discussed. The model is illustrated through a simulation study in which the polytomous item responses of…

This paper examines the effects of two types of data collection strategies on Q-technique factor analysis. The subjects (classroom teachers) were divided into two groups: Group 1 (n=21) and Group 2 (n=23). The subjects responded to an instrument designed to measure the degree to which certain aspects of teaching are viewed as problems; the…

Adapting credentialing examinations for international uses involves translating tests for use in multiple languages. This paper explores methods for evaluating construct equivalence and item equivalence across different language versions of a test. These methods were applied to four different language versions (English, French, German, and…

Some results are presented relating to the dimensionality of the 1990 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) mathematics item-response data. Based on theoretical considerations, practical limitations, and previous research, two procedures were selected for study: full information factor analysis as implemented in the TESTFACT computer…

Three learning modules are described and investigated as they reflect different students' conceptions of and approaches to learning. The Schoolwork Module (SWM) focuses on task performance and involves a passive, incremental, piecemeal, and rote memory method of learning, parallel to what might be implied by the Information Processing model of…

From 1990 to 1992, 13,065 secondary students in selected midwestern school districts filled out questionnaires asking for information on their use of alcohol, tobacco, marijuana, and cocaine. The questionnaires also requested information on the following variables: the student's involvement in activities in and out of school, employment, church…

Many studies of the reasons people select teaching as a career have used quantitative instruments featuring a checklist of reasons one might enter teaching to which subjects respond using a checklist or a continuously scaled Likert format. In this study, results of an effort to establish the construct validity of such an instrument are reported. A…

The structure of a concept generally labeled "teacher efficacy" is examined. A sample of 342 prospective and experienced teachers was administered an efficacy questionnaire adapted from the research of S. Gibson and M. H. Dembo (1984). Factor analytic procedures with varimax rotation were used to generate a 2-factor solution that accounted for 32…

Educational researchers have begun exploring teachers' beliefs and construction of knowledge through their use of metaphors. In this study, undergraduate (N=104) and graduate (N=102) education students were asked to respond to open-ended statements concerning what teachers, students, and classrooms were like. The subjects also responded to lists…

A multivariate model, refined by factor analysis, was formulated to investigate the degree of community and life satisfaction among a multistage cluster sample of 249 rural residents in 3 racially-mixed, low-income rural North Carolina counties. The sample was almost equally divided between black (49.8%) and white (50.2%) respondents. Analysis of…

Teacher and administrator responses to the Connecticut School Interview, conducted as part of the Spencerport (New York) More Effective Schools/Teaching Project, indicated (1) that there are a number of correlates which can be considered areas of strength and (2) that steady improvement has occurred in installing correlates in each building and in…

The Air Force Occupational Measurement Center conducts task-based occupational surveys of Air Force specialties that include supervisor ratings on recommended training emphasis for entry-level airmen. Priorities are input to the Instructional System Development training model, which guides the development and revision of specialty training…

European studies that investigated motivational and contextual influences on students' approaches to learning are reviewed. The studies used both quantitative and qualitative methodologies. Both interviews with students and factor analysis of inventories have assessed deep and surface approaches to learning. In some studies, learning approaches in…