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Background: National ranking from the triennial Programme of International Student Assessment (PISA) often serves as a barometer of national performance and human capital. Though excessive student- and school-level covariates (n > 700) may prove intractable for traditional least-squares estimate procedures, shrinkage methods may be more suitable for subset selection., Aims: With a focus on the United States, this paper proposes sparse regression for PISA 2012 to discover salient student- and school-level predictor variables for mathematical literacy achievement., Sample: The sparse regression analysis was conducted on 10 top-tiered OECD countries/economies, Canada, and the United States in mathematical literacy on the 2012 PISA. Two- and three-level hierarchical regression analyses were performed on Canadian and US students (N = 26,522) along with five of the ten top-tiered countries/economies (N = 58,385)., Methods: Using the 'least absolute shrinkage and selection operator' (LASSO) technique, the study (1) identified salient predictor variables of mathematical literacy performance for the top-tiered countries/economies, Canada, and the United States and (2) used these salient variables to perform two- and three-level hierarchical regression on data from Canada and the United States along with five top-tiered countries/economies. Weights and replicates were used to account for complex sample design. A weighted, two-level confirmatory factor analysis was performed to identify latent constructs. Missing data were handled through multiple imputation., Results: Separate two-level hierarchical models accounted for 32-35% student-level and 58-70% school-level variance in Canada and the United States, respectively; three-level models accounted for 33% of level-one variance, 62-65% level-two variance, and 13-44% of level-three variance for the US/Canada and US/Canada/top-tiered students, respectively. Following top-tiered countries/economies, Canadian students had high levels of self-efficacy, were more likely to encounter advanced concepts in class, were less activity/small group-centred, and were more likely to consider truancy a learning hindrance. Factor analyses revealed a positive relation with rigour and class organization (teacher-centred) for top-tiered countries and Canada, though not for the United States. For all countries, there was a strong relation between rigour and self-beliefs., Conclusion: Compared to top performers, a less rigorous curriculum, coupled with class and school factors, may explain lag in US performance., (© 2018 The British Psychological Society.)

Background: Thomas Bessell Kidner is well-known in the United States as a great contributor to occupational therapy. He is not well-known in Canada despite the fact that his first contributions to the profession were made here between 1900 and 1918., Purpose: To tell the story of Thomas Bessell Kidner and his impact on occupational therapy., Methods: Interpretive biography research methods using archival materials, published papers and family papers., Results: Kidner's work as an organizer of manual training in elementary schools in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick and as Director of Technical Education for Calgary prepared him for his work as Vocational Secretary of the Military Hospitals Commission during World War I. Kidner developed, implemented and oversaw the reeducation program for injured soldiers across Canada. It included bedside occupations, off-ward and curative workshop activities provided by ward aides, as well as industrial training and apprenticeships in the workplace., Practice Implications: Kidner's story stimulates us to revisit our profession's early emphasis on return-to-work. Knowing about our past helps occupational therapists to build a stronger identity.

"This paper briefly presents the results of surveys made in 1983 and 1984 within the Greek and Portuguese communities of Montreal [Canada], in order to investigate the reaction of these two groups with respect to policy measures directing their children towards the French school system. Results show that, among Greeks, legislation did not markedly affect the privileged place of English, while among Portuguese, who previously were already much more French-oriented, the main impact of these policy measures seems to have been a decline in the knowledge of English among the young." (SUMMARY IN ENG AND SPA), (excerpt)