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Addressing the participation rates in senior secondary mathematics courses in Australian schools remains a critically important issue. In this paper, the authors report on quantitative findings from a study in which all year 11 and year 12 (aged 17-18 years) Australian Tertiary Admissions Ranking (ATAR) students in Western Australia were invited to participate. The aim was to explore the perceptions of these students regarding their enrolment in higher-level mathematics courses. Data from 1633 students were collected using a survey instrument comprised of 12, 5-point, Likert-scale items. Data were analysed by applying two statistical procedures: calculating frequencies of the 12 items in the scale and examining associations with demographic characteristics and individual items through generalised linear modelling. Analyses indicated most students agreed that other courses of study were more attractive, with almost half indicating that they did not like mathematics. In addition, approximately half of the students said that they did not need to enrol in any mathematics course for ATAR or for university entrance. Significant findings were also identified for gender, school type, and school gender. The knowledge gained from this research is valuable in understanding students' reasons for choosing not to enrol in higher-level mathematics courses when they have the option to do so and, more broadly, to address persistently low or declining participation rates in these areas of study.

While several test concordance tables have been published, the research underpinning such tables has rarely been examined in detail. This study aimed to survey the publically available studies or documentation underpinning the test concordance tables of the providers of four major international language tests, all accepted by the Australian Department of Home Affairs for Australian visa purposes. To evaluate the concordance studies, we first identified the good practice principles in concordance research through a review of both the relevant literature and leading professional standards in the field of educational measurement and language assessment. Next, we reviewed the concordance studies against the identified good practice principles. Our findings revealed that the information supplied by test providers varied, with some making the full research papers available, whereas others providing little information about their underpinning research. None of the concordance studies fulfilled all the good practice principles. Based on the findings of this study, we offer recommendations for future concordance research in the field of language testing as well as suggestions for practice.

This paper examines the psychometric properties of an existing school-based Parent Opinion Survey (POS) in order to investigate its validity as a measure of parent sentiments which may (eventually) be used to better inform the decision making of school leaders. The study focusses on the POS administered by all Victorian public schools at the time of this study, and uses Rasch analysis to identify a subset of items which form a psychometrically robust, unidimensional measure of parent sentiment. We propose that 13 items identified through this analysis could lay the foundation for providing policy makers who currently manage the distribution and collation of this survey, as well as school leaders, with a more reliable and valid overarching POS Scale score. Such an approach could better inform and support the home-school partnership that forms a crucial part of the Victorian Framework for Improving Student Outcomes (FISO) school improvement continuum.

The present study aimed to empirically evaluate the knowledges, attitudes and perspectives of pre-service teachers towards Indigenous peoples, and to identify relationships between student learning experiences and student knowledges, attitudes and preparedness to work with Indigenous peoples, at one Australian university. The project was part of a broader mixed-methods study utilising an Indigenous Graduate Attribute evaluation instrument developed by Indigenous scholars at another Australian university, hence we also present construct validation of the instrument for the present sample. The project identified that students entered the units with positive attitudes towards Indigenous peoples and knowledges and found value in their learning. Students reported that the units facilitated authentic engagement with Indigenous standpoints even though some educators were non-Indigenous. Visible pedagogical and content decisions such as Indigenous leadership in the course, collaboration between Indigenous and non-Indigenous staff, professionally relevant learning opportunities, and engaging with Indigenous perspectives through assessment were all identified to be related to positive experiences of learning.

This paper presents the results of a confirmatory factor analysis on two self-efficacy scales designed to probe the self-efficacy of college-level introductory astronomy (Astro-101) students (n ¼ 15181) from 22 institutions across the United States of America and Canada. The students undertook a course based on similar curriculum materials, which involved students using robotic telescopes to support their learning of astronomical concepts covered in the "traditional" Astro-101 courses. Previous research by the authors using these self-efficacy scales within a pre-/post-test approach showed both high reliabilities and very high construct validities. However, the scale purporting to measure students' self-efficacy in relation to their use of the astronomical instrumentation associated with online robotic telescopes was particularly skewed and required further investigation. This current study builds on the previous work and shows how a slight adjustment of the survey items presents an improved and robust scale for measuring self-efficacy.

The concept of variability is central to statistics. In this research report, we review mathematics education research on variability and, based on that review and on feedback from an expert panel, propose a learning progression (LP) for variability. The structure of the proposed LP consists of 5 levels of sophistication in understanding variability, ranging from the learning that occurs prior to Grade 6 through an expert understanding of variability. Following our analysis of the variability research, the full LP is presented along with example tasks designed to elicit evidence of understanding at each of the proposed levels. The LP described in this report constitutes a new theoretical structure that must be independently validated vis-à-vis empirical recovery of the proposed levels by analyzing student responses to tasks designed to target different levels of the progression.

This study aimed to develop a survey instrument to measure student attitudes towards mathematics teaching-learning processes that is appropriate for the Indonesian context. This study consisted of two phases: Phase 1 (n = 320) was a pilot study to assess the suitability of the instrument items for Indonesian students. Phase 2 (n = 1001) was conducted to examine the construct validity of the instrument. The data collected from Phase 1 were analysed using descriptive statistics (i.e., frequency counts, simple correlation, and one-way ANOVA for item analysis). Factor analysis was utilised to select items and for scale construction. The result of the screening process (44 items) was piloted to assess its reliability and validity. The instrument, consisting of 22 items, is a reliable and valid rating scale that measures three distinct factors: Teacher Presentation, Mathematics Interest, and Mathematics Value. The data from Phase 2 were analysed by employing confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and the results confirmed that the three factors identified in the previous factor analysis underlie the student attitudes instrument.

Scientific reasoning competencies are relevant science competencies and therefore the development of assessment instruments for scientific reasoning competencies has become an integral part of science education research. However, some authors have questioned the validity of the instruments available so far, since their psychometric quality has not been evaluated satisfactorily. In this study, an established German multiple-choice instrument to assess scientific reasoning competencies has been translated into English and Spanish and the translated versions were evaluated based on the "translation," "review," "adjudication," "pretesting" and "documentation" (TRAPD) approach. Based on samples of German (N = 497), Australian (N = 103), and Chilean (N = 135) pre-service science teachers, statistical analyses (e.g. dimensionality and DIF analyses) provide psychometric evidence for test equivalence between the German and the translated versions of the instrument. Known groups comparisons provide evidence for the valid interpretation of the test scores as measures of scientific reasoning competencies. It is discussed that further studies might evaluate additional sources of validity evidence for the translated versions of the instrument, particularly focusing on cultural specificities. Independent of this need for further research, it is suggested that the three versions can be used to assess the scientific reasoning competencies of pre-service science teachers whose first language is English, German, or Spanish.

The Australian Professional Teaching Standards require pre-service teachers to complete a minimum number of days of professional experience in order to graduate. Problems can arise, however, when the evaluation of their professional experience against the Standards shifts from the providers of teacher education programmes to school-based supervising teachers. The Lesson Observation On-line Platform (LOOP) begins to address these problems by utilising a secure, shared digital platform to facilitate evidence-based evaluation of the performance of pre-service teachers. In this research, we evaluated the potential of LOOP to assess pre-service teachers against the Standards as well as to enhance the professional development of both pre-service teachers and their supervising teachers. The responses from two pre-service teachers and their supervising teachers demonstrate that the methodological matters can be easily overcome. Nevertheless our findings indicate that there are several practical issues that need to be overcome if LOOP were to be fully successful.

The following paper describes the development of an instrument designed to assess middle school students' interest in statistical literacy. The paper commences with a review of the literature as it relates to interest in this context and then proposes a theoretical model upon which the proposed instrument is based. The Rasch Rating Scale model is then applied to student responses to items in the instrument and fit statistics are analysed in order to assess the extent to which these responses conform to the requirements of the measurement model. The paper then presents evidence, including interview data, to support the validity of interpretations that can be made from the proposed instrument. The findings suggest that the proposed instrument provides a theoretically sound measure of middle school students' interest for statistical literacy that will be useful for the evaluation of interventions aimed at developing these students' statistical literacy. (Contains 6 tables and 2 figures.)

The purpose of this paper is to introduce an integrated values, skills and knowledge (VSK) framework for initial teacher preparation programmes. The VSK framework articulated, in broad terms, the desired skills and knowledge components for beginning teachers, with the underlying core values permeating the programmes. The paper has two parts, the first of which details the development as well as the conceptual underpinning of the VSK framework. Part two, through a programme evaluation, discusses the validity and reliability of items developed through the VSK framework to measure the values, skills and knowledge that student teachers perceived through their initial teacher preparation programme. (Contains 10 tables and 1 figure.)

The Ruminative Thought Styles Questionnaire (RTS) conceptualizes rumination as repetitive, recurrent, intrusive, and uncontrollable thinking. This article outlines the development and validation of a Chinese language version of the RTS, the RTS-CH. Following independent translation, back translation, and final translation checking, the factor structure, convergent and divergent validity, and item-level congruence of the RTS-CH was examined and improved. The resultant scale showed equivalence to the RTS and had attractive psychometric properties. The RTS-CH is the first Chinese language rumination measure that does not have inherently negative or depressive content.

Like other universities, RMIT recognises the significance of graduates' ratings of their experience and has had a long-term commitment to improving student learning. As at other universities, RMIT's standard subject-level survey (the Course Experience Survey [CES]) incorporates items from the national Course Experience Questionnaire, with the aim of eliciting student views and prompting improvements that will take effect before the students graduate. The university has been seeking strategies to make the results of these surveys more accessible to academic staff, so that staff can use them as a starting point for change. The current project is part of this work. The starting point is discipline-based analysis of the university's CES data. Surveys were stratified into fifty disciplines, and categorical factor analysis applied to ascertain common interpretable factors. The results have been presented to staff for discussion in the context of planning for improvement. This article explores the results of the factor analysis and its potential for providing academics with useful information on students' experiences.

The Course Experience Questionnaire (CEQ) was administered to recent university graduates by Graduate Careers Australia (GCA) in order to obtain feedback about their perceptions of their course. Students were asked to rate the extent to which they agree with a series of 49 statements covering issues surrounding the education and support services provided by their university. Although data from international graduate students were collected, there is no commonly used standard, nor is there a systematic way, for reporting and tracking these results; and little is understood regarding the utility of the CEQ items as a scale of international student satisfaction. This article investigates the utility of two of the CEQ scales--Generic Skills and Good Teaching--and compare differences in satisfaction levels between domestic and international graduates. A better understanding of the experience of this student cohort will provide further insights, enable meaningful comparisons and allow university administrators and policy practitioners to make critical decisions in program planning and educational policy. Ultimately, our goal is the same, to enhance the international student's total experience.

This paper reports the use of several quantitative analytic methods, including Rasch analysis, to re-examine teacher responses to questionnaire items probing opinions related to the compulsory numeracy tests conducted in Years 3, 5, and 7 in Queensland, Australia. Nisbet and Grimbeek (2004) previously reported an interpretable and statistically acceptable 6-factor exploratory factor solution. The present paper improved on this outcome by utilising Rasch analysis to identify items with orderly sequences of scores across response categories, and to subject these to fresh exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis. The resulting 3-factor scale proved acceptable in terms of exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis as well as in terms of Rasch item analysis. The paper briefly discusses the implications of these outcomes in relation to the refined instrument's capacity to gather information about how teachers view the Queensland numeracy reporting system. (Contains 4 tables, 2 figures, and 1 footnote.)

Career goal feedback provides information about career goal suitability, adequacy of goal progress, and whether changes are needed to reach the goals. Feedback comes from external (e.g., parents, peers) and internal sources (e.g., self-reflection), and plays an important role in the career development of young people. As there is no existing measure that adequately captures this construct, we devised and validated a 24-item inventory for use with young adults. In Study 1, initial items were developed, expert reviewed, and administered to a sample of Chinese university students (N = 1,055; M[subscript AGE] = 19 years). We used exploratory factor analysis to test the factor structure and confirmatory factor analysis on a holdout sample to validate a third-order solution (one third-order factor manifested by three second-order factors). In addition, we provided evidence for convergent and incremental validity. In Study 2, we confirmed the factor structure on Australian university students (N = 184; M[subscript AGE] = 19 years).

Objective: To translate and evaluate the psychometric properties of an Arabic-language version of the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS). Method: The items were translated, back translated, refined, and tested in an Australian immigrant sample (N = 220). Results: Confirmatory factor analysis showed that the Arabic DASS discriminates between depression, anxiety, and stress but to a lesser degree than the English DASS. The factor loadings for all 42 items were comparable to those of the English DASS, indicating that the items had been appropriately translated and adapted. Analysis of exploratory items suggested by Arabic-speaking mental health professionals failed to reveal any new items that were both psychometrically adequate and theoretically coherent. Analysis of a bilingual sample (N = 24) indicated that the English norms was appropriate for the Arabic DASS. Conclusion: The results support the universality of depression, anxiety, and stress across cultures and provide initial support for the psychometric properties of the Arabic DASS.

Bullying in schools is a major health concern throughout the world, contributing to poor educational and mental health outcomes. School nurses are well placed to facilitate the implementation and evaluation of bullying prevention strategies. To evaluate the effect of such strategies, it is necessary to measure children's behavior over time. This scoping review of instruments that measure the self-report of aggressive behavior and bullying by children will inform the evaluation of bullying interventions. This review aimed to identify validated instruments that measure aggression and bullying among preadolescent children (age 8-12). The review was part of a larger study that sought to differentiate bullying from aggressive behavior by measuring the self-report of power imbalance between the aggressor and the child being bullied. The measurement of power imbalance was therefore a key aspect of the scoping review.

Background: Both parent-report and clinician-administered autism spectrum disorder (ASD) screening instruments are important to accurately inform ASD risk ascertainment. The aim of this study was to adapt a clinician-administered ASD screening instrument, the Autistic Behavioural Indicators Instrument (ABII), as a parent questionnaire equivalent (ABII-PQ). Method: The modification of ABII items into parent questions is described. The ABII-PQ was trialled in a sample of parents of children, aged between 12 months and 6 years, with an ASD (n = 65, M child age = 4.03 years) or typical development (n = 37, M child age = 2.09 years). Results: Internal consistency was high, a = 0.92. Receiver operator curves analysis identified the optimal ABII-PQ cut-off score, which yielded high sensitivity (0.97) and specificity (0.95). Classification accuracy was high for children across the autism spectrum (autistic disorder: n = 35, 100%; Asperger syndrome: n = 14, 93%; pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified: n = 14, 93%). Conclusion: The ABII-PQ shows promise as a parent questionnaire version of the ABII.

Anti-bullying strategies are significant approaches addressing bullying in schools, however their capacity to produce a reduction in bullying behaviour is open to question. This article examined a resilience-based approach to bullying. One hundred and five primary and high school students were surveyed using several standardised instruments. The study found that high school students reported more victimisation than primary students; that students reporting greater resilience; experienced less distress regarding bullying; that relatedness demonstrated a stronger negative correlation than mastery with distress levels to bullying; that students exhibiting greater emotional reactivity engaged in more bullying behaviour compared to others; and that a younger group exhibited greater resilience levels compared to an older group. The results support an evolutionary psychology view of bullying and suggest an operational definition of bullying in terms of power differentials within a relational context. Further examination and development of a resilience-based intervention model focused on developing a sense of relatedness is supported.

Large-scale studies, such as the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), provide data to understand cross-national differences and similarities. In this study, we aimed to identify factors predicting mathematics achievement of Turkish students by comparing to Australian students. First, construct equivalence and item bias were evaluated to check the comparability. Second, factors predicting mathematics achievement of Turkish and Australian students were identified. Then, propensity score matching on background variables was conducted to identify the remaining achievement differences. Results indicated that mathematics skills were free of construct bias in these groups. After removal of some biased items, we obtained an item bias free booklet. Additionally, students' self-confidence and educational resources at home were significant predictors of achievement. Propensity score analysis indicated that educational resources and to a somewhat lesser extent self-confidence were effective in explaining achievement differences between these two countries.

This study validated the semantic items of three related scales aimed at characterising the perceived worth of mathematics-education-related mobile applications (apps). The technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) model was used as the conceptual framework for the analysis. Three hundred and seventy-three preservice students studying primary school education from two public and one private Australian universities participated in the study. The respondents examined three different apps using a purposively designed instrument in regard to either their explorative, productive or instructive instructional role. While construct validity could not be established due to a broad range of variability in responses implying a high degree of subjectivity in respondents' judgments, the qualitative analysis was effective in establishing content validity.

There have been many attempts over the last five decades to measure students' attitudes towards school science. Many of these studies investigated attitudes towards limited aspects of science and utilized large numbers of items to draw snapshot summaries of the educational landscape. An understanding of attitudes towards science, and how these change over time, is of particular importance to educators in Australia and farther afield, who are forming a response to the continued declines in enrolments seen in post-compulsory science courses. We identify a gap among the available instruments for a tool that can measure multiple facets of attitudes using a minimal number of items, while being suited for use in pre-/post-test and longitudinal studies. In this article we describe the definition, validation and statistical refinement of a digital survey tool using single-item web-based visual analogue scales to measure five key perceptions of school science that lead to the formation of a Science Attitude Profile. We suggest that a particular strength of the resulting data analyses is the ability to provide a comparative "does it work?" critique of various interventions implemented by educators and inform local and national educational policy.

Student plagiarism is a growing problem within Australian universities and abroad. Potentially exacerbating this situation, research indicates that students' attitudes toward plagiarism are typically more permissive and lenient than the policies of their tertiary institutions. There has been suggestion that this is especially so in Asian countries relative to Western countries; however, very little research has sought to empirically validate this suggestion. Moreover, existing research in this area has typically compared international and domestic students studying in Western countries. As yet, no studies have directly compared Chinese and Australian university students' attitudes toward plagiarism, as they exist within their native countries. Rasch analysis/differential item functioning were conducted to contrast 131 Australian and 173 Chinese undergraduate university students' attitudes towards plagiarism. Results indicated distinct cross-cultural differences in aspects of students' plagiarism attitudes. Regardless of ethnic background, the results highlight undergraduate students' typical lack of understanding of plagiarism and plagiarist behaviours.

A number of validated survey instruments for assessing technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) do not accurately discriminate between the seven elements of the TPACK framework particularly technological content knowledge (TCK) and technological pedagogical knowledge (TPK). By posing simple questions that assess technological, pedagogical, and content knowledge (TK, PK and CK) the logical associations forming the TPACK framework can be used to synthesise TPK, TCK survey items that are inherently valid. This process can further be applied to constructing TPACK survey questions that agree closely with those from validated surveys.

An estimated 20% of all adolescents will experience a depressive disorder by the age of 18, with schools being at the forefront of initiatives to promote resilience and well-being. This study reports on the development of the 24-item Student Perception of Wellbeing Questionnaire (SPWQ), created as a measure of well-being in three areas: exercise, explanatory style, and conflict resolution. The SPWQ was administered to 235 male school students from Years 6-8 and 251 female students from Years 7-9, and a principal components analysis with varimax rotation was performed on the data obtained. A three-factor solution was identified dealing with explanatory style, conflict resolution, and exercise, which explained 31% of the total variance. The scale was found to have strong internal consistency with a Cronbach alpha coefficient of a = 0.80 for the male students and a = 0.84 for the female students.

The present study investigated multidimensional motivation and engagement among Chinese middle school students in Australia (N?=?273), Hong Kong (N?=?528), and Mainland China (N?=?2106; randomly selected N?=?528). Findings showed that a multidimensional model of motivation and engagement fit very well for all three groups. Multi-group invariance tests showed that the number of factors, factor loadings, factor correlations and item uniquenesses were invariant across the three groups -- as were inter-correlations with a set of cognate correlates (class participation, school enjoyment, positive intentions, academic buoyancy) -- hence no differences of "kind". However, differences of "degree" were indicated through significant mean-level effects between groups, with self-reports favouring Australian Chinese students over Hong Kong and (to a lesser extent) Mainland Chinese students. We propose these findings shed important light on Chinese students' academic motivation and engagement and also on socio-cultural perspectives on motivation and engagement because they assist understanding about effects attributable to context and effects attributable to ethnicity. Given this, the study is a timely contribution to current understanding of the Chinese learner in this, the "Asian Century".

The purposes of this study were to develop and to conduct an initial psychometric evaluation of the Interactive Whiteboard Acceptance Scale (IWBAS). The process of item-generation for the IWBAS was carried out through the sequential mixed-method approach. A total of 149 student teachers from a teacher-education institution in Australia participated in the project.The principal component analysis (PCA) yielded a five-factor model comprising 14 items, and its factorial validity was confirmed through the use of confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) using structural equation modelling (SEM). The IWBAS reached the minimum thresholds for an acceptable model fit. In addition to the factorial validities, the convergent validity and discriminant validity of the IWBAS were examined, both showing satisfactory validity and good internal consistency for all five constructs. On this basis, the IWBAS can be considered a valid and reliable instrument designed specifically for assessing IWB acceptance among student teachers.

Interpreting the image-language interface in multimodal texts is now well recognized as a crucial aspect of reading comprehension in a number of official school syllabi such as the recently published Australian Curriculum: English (ACE). This article outlines the relevant expected student learning outcomes in this curriculum and draws attention to the need for further research to provide a robust and comprehensive account of the nature of image-language relations to explicate these intended outcomes in a manner that will support multimodal literacy pedagogy. Recent semiotic accounts of image-language interaction are outlined and related to the results of a study showing the relative comprehension difficulty of different kinds of image-language relations. Also discussed in relation to this study are the extent to which the current Australian national assessment program in reading addresses the image-language interface and the nature of the image-language relations included in this assessment program. This research suggests that the current discrepant emphases on the image-language interface in the ACE and the national assessment program could be brought much more into alignment to generate an assessment program that more adequately addresses reading as the integrative negotiation of visual and verbal information. This could provide not only more curriculum responsive national literacy tests but could also improve tests such as the Program for International Student Assessment so that the range of image-language relations included in them more adequately reflects those encountered in school and everyday reading materials.

This article discusses key issues surrounding the nature and development of professional knowledge for effective teaching of mathematics, especially at the secondary school level. In the education research community it is generally accepted that teachers need more than knowledge of the content they will teach; an additional construct, pedagogical content knowledge, has been proposed to describe the knowledge teachers need in order to make the content comprehensible to learners. Studies demonstrate that mathematical content knowledge (MCK) and pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) predict students' mathematics achievement gains, and that PCK has the greater influence on achievement. However, the relationship between these two types of knowledge, and how their development might be influenced by studying university level mathematics, remains unclear. The article reports on an Australian study of the knowledge for teaching mathematics of prospective secondary school teachers, which found that MCK is a statistically significant predictor of PCK, and vice versa, although in each case only a small proportion of the variance in the outcome variable was explained. A higher level of prior mathematical experience was also associated with higher levels of MCK, but not PCK. These results suggest that although university level study of mathematics may be beneficial in developing secondary school MCK, it does not have a significant influence on PCK and is therefore inadequate, on its own, for preparing effective teachers of secondary school mathematics.

The Children's Hand-Skill ability Questionnaire (CHSQ) is a new parent-report questionnaire that assesses children's manual ability in three domains: leisure and play, school/education, and activities of daily living. The CHSQ can be used with children presenting with a range of disabilities and works as a companion assessment before detailed performance-based observations of hand skill are completed. This study further investigated the internal and external construct validity of the CHSQ. Participants included 53 Australian children and 70 Taiwanese children with known disabilities ranging age from 2 to 12 years. Rasch analysis results confirmed the appropriateness of the CHSQ's 3-level rating scale in this combined group of children. Twenty-one of the 22 items in the CHSQ formed three individual unidimensional scales representing with the domains of leisure and play, school/education, and activities of daily living. The CHSQ also exhibited sufficient person-response validity (all the three domains) and item-difficulty range (all but one domain) when applied to children with disabilities. Less than half of the CHSQ items were found to exhibit differential item functioning with regards to gender (4 items) and cultural difference (7 items). In addition, moderate to high correlations (0.61 less than or equal to Pearson's r coefficients less than or equal to 0.76, p less than 0.01) were found with the assessments of self-care and hand skill performance. Therefore, the CHSQ exhibits preliminary evidence of construct validity for its clinical use in obtaining children's manual ability based on parent-report information. (Contains 1 figure and 4 tables.)

The aim of this study was to assess the effect of the introduction of peer review processes on the quality of multiple-choice examinations in the first three years of an Australian medical course. The impact of the peer review process and overall quality assurance (QA) processes were evaluated by comparing the examination data generated in earlier years (2008) with those held under the new QA regime (2009 and 2010) from the same blueprint. Statistical analysis and comparisons of overall examination performance were made by year. Regarding multiple-choice questions (MCQs), item analysis was used to compare the proportion of difficult and discriminating items and functional distractors on summative examinations in 2008 (pre-implementation of peer review) and 2009 and 2010 (post-implementation). The impact of peer review processes resulted in a decrease in the number of items with negative discrimination; increases in reliability, appropriate item difficulty, and numbers of items with significant discrimination. There was an associated improvement in the effectiveness of distractors for the MCQ items. The trend of overall improvement in the quality of MCQ items continued in 2009 and 2010. The introduction of QA processes, specifically peer review of MCQ items has resulted in a sustained improvement in the quality of MCQ items within our examinations. (Contains 3 tables and 1 figure.)

This study explored the validity of the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale in a sample of 853 practicing teachers from Australia, Canada, China (Hong Kong), Indonesia, and Oman. The authors used multigroup confirmatory factor analysis to test the factor structure and measurement invariance across settings, after which they examined the relationships between work engagement, workplace well-being (job satisfaction and quitting intention), and contextual variables (socioeconomic status, experience, and gender). The 1-factor version of the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale was deemed preferable to the 3-factor version and showed acceptable fit to the cross-national data. The 1-factor Utrecht Work Engagement Scale showed good internal consistency and similar relationships with workplace well-being and contextual variables across settings. The Utrecht Work Engagement Scale was invariant within broadly construed Western and non-Western groups but not across Western and non-Western groups. The authors concluded that the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale needs further development before its use can be supported in further cross-cultural research. (Contains 4 tables.)

The authors conducted two studies to develop and test a short form of the 60-item Physician Values in Practice Scale (PVIPS). The PVIPS, which draws on the theory of work adjustment for its theoretical base, measures personal values specific to medical occupations. In Study 1, 217 first- and final-year medical students completed a Web-based survey. Item analysis and exploratory factor analysis reduced the original PVIPS 60 items to 30. Validity was tested by examining the interfactor correlations among and between the 60-item and 30-item subscales and by examining bivariate correlations with gender and personality. In Study 2, a second sample of 316 first-year medical students responded to the 30-item shortened form. Confirmatory factor analysis confirmed 6 subscales measuring the same core values of prestige, service, autonomy, lifestyle, management, and scholarly pursuits that were assessed by the original 60-item version. (Contains 4 tables.)

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to report innovative research aimed at ascertaining whether standards for school leaders could be applied to the process of selecting senior secondary school principals for appointment. Specifically, psychometrically robust measures of performance are sought that would sufficiently differentiate performance to support judgement about whether or not to appoint candidates in the public educational authority in Western Australia. Design/methodology/approach: Initially, the authors describe previous research in the application of standards to selection in education, followed by a brief review of selection practices undertaken in two international settings and the Western Australian educational setting. The authors then describe the innovative design of performance-based assessment tasks for the selection process including task and rubric development, rater training and data validation. The Rasch measurement model is used to analyse the datasets gathered during three iterations of selection process for the Western Australian education authority. Findings: The Rasch analysis of each dataset provides evidence of construct validity and a robust measure of reliability. The person and item location distributions indicate the tasks were better targeted for the highest performing candidates in the second and third iterations and that fine-grained discrimination was evident across the candidate locations. Originality/value: The paper describes psychometrically robust measures of performance that would sufficiently differentiate performance to support judgement about whether or not to appoint candidates in the public educational authority in Western Australia. Specifically, the paper describes the development of performance-based tasks over three years and demonstrates the application of Rasch analysis to examine the psychometric properties of the assessment tasks. (Contains 3 tables and 4 figures.)

All tertiary institutions in Australia use the same Course Experience Questionnaire (CEQ); however, for the internal evaluation of teaching they use their own surveys. This paper performs an analysis of the internal Quality of Teaching Surveys (QTS) used in Australian universities. We classify the questions within the QTS surveys. This classification is used to explore how different universities' surveys are similar to each other. We find that some universities use a QTS that is quite distinct from other universities. We also investigate whether there is a particular pattern to the types of questions used in the surveys. We find that there are some question types that are employed widely in a typical survey and others that are not. This analysis can be used by universities to determine how their surveys compare to their peer institutions and other institutions across Australia. (Contains 3 tables, 2 figures and 9 notes.)

Cross-sectional age differences in the Big Five personality traits were examined in a nationally representative sample of Australians (N = 12,618; age range = 15-84). Extraversion, Neuroticism, and Openness were negatively associated with age, whereas Agreeableness and Conscientiousness were positively associated with age. Effect sizes comparing the youngest and the oldest sample members were usually medium to large in size. Item-level analysis revealed that although most personality descriptors showed patterns similar to those exhibited by their respective global traits, this was not always the case. Thus, investigations of narrower aspects of personality may reveal more nuanced age differences and may begin to explain contradictory results from different studies. (Contains 3 tables and 5 figures.)

Mandatory numeracy tests have become commonplace in many countries, heralding a new era in school assessment. New forms of accountability and an increased emphasis on national and international standards (and benchmarks) have the potential to reshape mathematics curricula. It is noteworthy that the mathematics items used in these tests are rich in graphics. Many of the items, for example, require students to have an understanding of information graphics (for example, maps, charts and graphs) in order to solve the tasks. This investigation classifies mathematics items in Australia's inaugural national numeracy tests and considers the effect such standardised testing will have on practice. It is argued that the design of mathematics items is more likely to be a reliable indication of student performance if graphical, linguistic and contextual components are considered both in isolation and in integrated ways as essential elements of task design. (Contains 3 figures and 3 tables.)

The ALTC Exchange (formerly the Carrick Exchange), is a national repository and networking service for Australian higher education. The Exchange was designed to provide access to a repository of shared learning and teaching resources, work spaces for team members engaged in collaborative projects, and communication and networking services. The Australian Learning and Teaching Council (ALTC) established the Exchange for those who teach, manage and lead learning and teaching in higher education. As part of the research conducted to inform the development of the Exchange, models for peer review of educational resources were evaluated. For this, a design based research approach was adopted. Findings from the literature and feedback from key practitioners and leaders within the sector are discussed in this paper. Finally, key recommendations for implementation are identified. (Contains 2 figures.)

While there has been a good deal of discussion about the scholarship of teaching and learning, and models have been developed to understand its scope, the effects on students' learning of academics engaging in the scholarship of teaching and learning are unclear. In the context of initiatives to develop the scholarship of teaching and learning in a large research-intensive university in Australia, this paper discusses the relationship between faculty performance on a set of scholarly accomplishments in relation to teaching and learning from 2002 to 2004, and changes in students' course experiences from 2001 to 2005. The paper provides evidence of the relationship between the scholarship of teaching and learning and students' course experiences and demonstrates the effectiveness of institutional strategies to encourage the scholarship of teaching and learning. (Contains 1 table and 2 figures.)

This article focuses on the accuracy of satellite data, which may then be used in wave power applications. The satellite data are compared to data from wave buoys, which are currently considered to be the most accurate of the devices available for measuring wave characteristics. This article presents an analysis of satellite- (Topex/Poseidon) and buoy-measured significant wave heights for a 1-year period at Cape Sorell and Rottnest Island, off the Australian coast. The analysis found that the satellite-measured wave heights showed a slight positive bias. This is contrary to the findings of most other authors, who have analyzed data from the Northern Hemisphere and generally found a negative bias in the satellite-measured wave heights. The implication is that calibration functions to improve the correlation between the buoy and satellite data may vary for different hemispheres or even regions within these. (Contains 7 figures and 2 tables.)