Relative age effects (RAEs) are independent of specific cutoff dates that can vary from country to country. However, the consequences of changing the selection cutoff dates within a national sport organization are unknown. Further, the transition from international youth to senior representation is yet to be explored in rugby union. Thus, the aims…

In this article we attempt to reconstruct the tacit and implicit notions of quality in the humanities. This reconstruction is based on a series of semi-structured qualitative interviews with 33 humanities scholars. Applying Max Weber's theory of authority, we argue the quality notions have two different sources--external and internal. External…

I offer this critical essay as a reminder of the prevalence of unproven negative dialogue about Initial Teacher Education (ITE) in New Zealand, taking selection practices as an example. The focus of this critical essay is the evidence base about selection of students into English-medium undergraduate ITE programmes. In New Zealand and elsewhere,…

Critical appraisal of evidence is performed to assess its validity, trustworthiness and usefulness in evidence-based practice. There currently exists a large number and variety of critical appraisal tools (also named risk of bias tools and quality assessment instruments), which makes it challenging to identify and choose an appropriate tool to…

This paper presents a framework for utilizing Student Evaluations of Teaching (SET) in faculty evaluations. Recognizing the ongoing debate about the validity of SET as a measure of teaching effectiveness, the authors agree with scholars who propose viewing SET as a tool for gauging 'student perceptions of learning'. They present a method that…

Purpose: Improving and assuring the quality of higher education has become a key element of policy agendas worldwide. To this end, a complete accountability system has been developed through various evaluation procedures. Specifically, this study analyzes the perceptions of university teaching staff on the impact of performance appraisal systems…

This paper examines ChatGPT's capability in evaluating educational learning outcomes, investigating its effectiveness in assessing SMART criteria alignment and identifying the presence of fundamental components. The hypothesis posits that ChatGPT can proficiently accomplish these tasks, offering potential benefits to educational design and…

This report is focused on the uptake of General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) subjects in England in 2023. Uptake in a GCSE subject is defined as the number or percentage of students at the end of Key Stage 4 (KS4) taking the subject. This report was produced using publicly available data from the Department for Education's (DfE). The…

We study the returns to experience in teaching, estimated using supervisor ratings from classroom observations. We describe the assumptions required to interpret changes in observation ratings over time as the causal effect of experience on performance. We compare two difference-in-differences strategies: the two-way fixed effects estimator common…

Dynamic structural equation modeling (DSEM) is a useful technique for analyzing intensive longitudinal data. A challenge of applying DSEM is the missing data problem. The impact of missing data on DSEM, especially on widely applied DSEM such as the two-level vector autoregressive (VAR) cross-lagged models, however, is understudied. To fill the…

When measuring latent constructs, for example, language ability, we use statistical models to specify appropriate relationships between the latent construct and observe responses to test items. These models rely on theoretical assumptions to ensure accurate parameter estimates for valid inferences based on the test results. This dissertation…

Graduate enrollment management (GEM) is a relatively new organizational concept and discipline. As an emerging profession, a common body of knowledge to structure and regulate the profession is critical to its professionalization. Identifying competencies is one method to create that knowledge and is a well-established method of measuring a…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the longitudinal prevalence of relative age effects (RAEs) across playing levels and positions in Northern Ireland international male soccer. Birthdates of U17 (n = 276), U19 (n = 320), U21 (n = 331), and senior (n = 108) international players between 2011 and 2023 were recorded. Chi-square tests and…

Acclaimed children's books in the United States (U.S.) may be utilized as resources to instruct global issues. As children's literature reflects social context and values, acclaimed books may provide curricular materials for those within the U.S. and to international audiences. Stakeholders, including librarians, teachers, national industry…

Researchers have extensively investigated the quantitative relationship between various admissions requirements and their predictive capability for academic success in DPT programs; however, limited investigators have examined the perceptions of these requirements by admissions faculty. The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine the…