Critical language assessment literacy of EFL teachers: Scale construction and validation

Critical language assessment (CLA) has been addressed in numerous studies. However, the majority of the studies have overlooked the need for a practical framework to measure the CLA dimension of teachers’ language assessment literacy (LAL). This gap prompted us to develop and validate a critical language assessment literacy (CLAL) scale to further underscore the role of CLA principles and their practice as an essential part of teachers’ LAL. In the first phase, a pool of items was generated through a comprehensive review of the related studies. In the quantitative phase, the developed scale was administered to 255 English as a foreign language teachers selected through convenience and snowball sampling. The data were analyzed through exploratory factor analysis for construct validity and Cronbach’s alpha for estimating internal consistency. The results showed that the items loaded on five factors: (a) teachers’ knowledge of assessment objectives, scopes, and types; (b) assessment use consequences; (c) fairness; (d) assessment policies; and (e) national policy and ideology. It was found that the scale had a high level of internal consistency and construct validity, which suggests that this scale has the potential to be useful in assessing language teachers’ CLAL and to raise language teachers’ awareness of CLAL constructs.

Key Considerations for Traditional Residential Universities Intending to Offer Bachelor of Laws (LLB) through the Distance Mode of Tuition: A Case Study

This case study aims to provide key considerations that traditional residential universities should consider when deciding to offer a distance tuition programme alongside an existing contact tuition programme. The University of the Free State is the only residential university to offer the Bachelor of Laws through both contact and distance modes of tuition. Therefore, an evaluation of this programme serves as an ideal case study to extract specific and essential considerations that other institutions, faculties or departments may use when deciding to offer a distance tuition programme in addition to its contact programme. The case study suggests that it is not feasible to merely duplicate an existing contact tuition programme and present it as a distance programme. A distinct pedagogical approach must be followed. It entails training, redesign of material, and rethinking assessment policies. Faculties should weigh the potential benefits of presenting a distance LLB against the labour-intensive nature of distance tuition and its probable limited success in realising broader access and student success. The funding model for distance tuition remains problematic and is financially unfeasible and unsustainable for many higher education institutions. Rethinking the funding model will be one step closer to achieving the objectives set out in the distance tuition policy framework.

Program foundations and beginning of concerns (part one of 3). When residents shouldn’t become clinicians: getting a grip on fair and defensible processes for termination of training

Training programs have the dual responsibility of providing excellent training for their learners and ensuring their graduates are competent practitioners. Despite everyone’s best efforts a small minority of learners will be unable to achieve competence and cannot graduate. Unfortunately, program decisions for training termination are often overturned, not because the academic decision was wrong, but because fair assessment processes were not implemented or followed. This series of three articles, intended for those setting residency program assessment policies and procedures, outlines recommendations, from establishing robust assessment foundations and the beginning of concerns (Part One), to established concerns and formal remediation (Part Two) to participating in formal appeals and after (Part Three). With these 14 recommendations on how to get a grip on fair and defensible processes for termination of training, career-impacting decisions that are both fair for the learner and defensible for programs are indeed possible. They are offered to minimize the chances of academic decisions being overturned, an outcome which wastes program resources, poses patient safety risks, and delays the resident finding a more appropriate career path. This article (part one in the series of three) will focus on the foundational aspects of residency training and the emergence of concerns.

The appeal process and beyond (part three of 3). When residents shouldn’t become clinicians: getting a grip on fair and defensible processes for termination of training

Training programs have the dual responsibility of providing excellent training for their learners and ensuring their graduates are competent practitioners. Despite everyone’s best efforts a small minority of learners will be unable to achieve competence and cannot graduate. Unfortunately, program decisions for training termination are often overturned, not because the academic decision was wrong, but because fair assessment processes were not implemented or followed. This series of three articles, intended for those setting residency program assessment policies and procedures, outlines recommendations, from establishing robust assessment foundations and the beginning of concerns (Part One), to established concerns and formal remediation (Part Two) to participating in formal appeals and after (Part Three). With these 14 recommendations on how to get a grip on fair and defensible processes for termination of training, career-impacting decisions that are both fair for the learner and defensible for programs are indeed possible. They are offered to minimize the chances of academic decisions being overturned, an outcome which wastes program resources, poses patient safety risks, and delays the resident finding a more appropriate career path. This article (Part Three in the series of three) will focus on the formal appeals and what to do after the appeal.

Formal remediation and probation (part two of 3). When residents shouldn’t become clinicians: getting a grip on fair and defensible processes for termination of training

Training programs have the dual responsibility of providing excellent training for their learners and ensuring their graduates are competent practitioners. Despite everyone’s best efforts a small minority of learners will be unable to achieve competence and cannot graduate. Unfortunately, program decisions for training termination are often overturned, not because the academic decision was wrong, but because fair assessment processes were not implemented or followed. This series of three articles, intended for those setting residency program assessment policies and procedures, outlines recommendations, from establishing robust assessment foundations and the beginning of concerns (Part One), to established concerns and formal remediation (Part Two) to participating in formal appeals and after (Part Three). With these 14 recommendations on how to get a grip on fair and defensible processes for termination of training, career-impacting decisions that are both fair for the learner and defensible for programs are indeed possible. They are offered to minimize the chances of academic decisions being overturned, an outcome which wastes program resources, poses patient safety risks, and delays the resident finding a more appropriate career path. This article (Part Two in the series of three) will focus on what to do when concerns become established, and a formal remediation or probation is necessary.

Multi-Hazard Risk Assessment Policies in the Agrarian Sector using Business Continuity Data

Inspired by the negative consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic on agriculture, the primary objective of the current paper is the utilization of real business continuity template data to, firstly, construct a business intelligence multidimensional and multihazard risk assessment data model and, secondly, conduct an aggregate pivot descriptive analysis regarding the influence of the pandemics and other hazards on selected agrarian industries. The second part includes an additional predictive regression analysis model regarding the influence of multiple hazards on the recovery time of interrupted due to these hazards key agricultural operations. The pilot multidimensional model can inspire agribusiness practitioners to assess efficiently the risks posed by multiple hazards to key agricultural activities. Data from specific agrarian sectors have been collected for the present study.

The Current Status of GM and GE Crops

In recent months there have been regular announcements of new crops developed via new breeding techniques (NBTs) such as gene editing (GE) and the debate continues whether they should be considered as GM or not in the UK and Europe. It is not surprising that countries who approve cultivation of GM crops are also approving new crops derived from GE technologies, so will gain an advantage from cultivation of these new crop varieties over the UK and Europe. The USA, Brazil and Argentina have a flexible approach for the regulation of crops derived from new breeding techniques such as GE. Canada has recently (March 2021) reassessed their risk assessment policies for genetically engineered (GE) plants and food products and have started approvals.

A Proposed Web-based System to Evaluate the Performance of Course Learning Outcomes Based on Educational Process: By Using Ordinal Scale Approach

This study aims to develop a web-based system that evaluates the teaching process based on the course learning outcomes. It includes the active involvement of both the course teacher and the enrolled students on the course. Usually, the teacher delivers the course contents by following the course specification and the course learning outcomes. Here, the teacher is a source of equipping students with all the necessary information about the course and the assessment policies. The students participate in the scheduled assessments, and the teacher evaluates students’ performances based on the course learning outcomes. Significantly, the presented study applies the ordinal scale method for evaluating the students’ performances in the conducted assessments. The students’ performances are measured, and the outcomes help the teacher understand the students' learned skills of the course. Further, the result of the measured outcomes uses for the program performance evaluation at the end of the academic cycle. The presented approach is easy to adapt for any academic course in higher education and enables an effective approach for performance evaluation.