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Promoting teaching, learning and informed decision-making through the lenses of international large-scale assessment: looking beyond numbers

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Abstract

Public discussion on the quality of education in different corners of the world very much relies on the data provided by the international large-scale assessment (ILSA) studies. While aware of different methodological keystones and technicalities embedded in these, the idea behind this special issue is to contribute to the understanding of how students solve ILSA items and the kinds of literacy skills they rely on. A shared element of reported studies is that they seek to document and analyse test-taking as a concrete practice using different theoretical and methodological perspectives. We find such scrutiny to be important and significant at this point in time as it offers some new lenses through which ILSA items could be inspected and further discussed.

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Notes

  1. A twin study the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) is designed to measure children’s reading literacy.

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Correspondence to Jelena Radišić.

Additional information

Roger Säljö. Department of Education, Communication and Learning, Faculty of Education, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden. E-mail: roger.saljo@ped.gu.se

Current themes of research:

Research on learning, interaction and human development in a sociocultural perspective. Issues of how people learn to use cultural tools and how we acquire competences and skills that are foundational to learning in a socially and technologically complex society. Issues that concern how the so-called new technologies transform human learning practices inside and outside formal schooling.

Most relevant publications in the field of Psychology of Education:

Säljö, R. (2018). Conceptual change, materiality and hybrid minds in T. G. Amin & O. Levrini (Eds.), Converging perspectives on conceptual change. Mapping an emerging paradigm in the learning sciences (pp. 113-120).London: Routledge.

Mäkitalo, Å., Linell, P., & Säljö, R. (Eds.), (2017). Memory practices and learning. Interactional, institutional and sociocultural perspectives. Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing,

Adalberon, E. & Säljö, R. (2017). Informal use of social media in higher education: a case study of Facebook groups. Nordic Journal of Digital Literacy, 12(4), 114-128.

Hjörne, E., & Säljö, R. (2017). Categorizing learners beyond the classroom. In S. Wortham, D. Kim & S. May (Eds.), Discourse and education. Encyclopedia of language and education, 3rd Ed. (pp. 123-134), New York, NY:Springer International Publishing.

Säljö, R. (2017). Apps and learning: a sociocultural perspective. In N. Kucirkova & G. Falloon (Eds.), Apps, technology and younger learners: international evidence for teaching (pp. 3-13). London: Routledge.

Jelena Radišić. Department of Teacher Education and School Research, Faculty of Educational Sciences,University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway. E-mail: jelena.radisic@ils.uio.no

Current themes of research:

Student, teacher and school characteristics affecting academic achievement. Quality and efficacy of the education system (secondary analysis of PISA and TIMSS results). Teacher beliefs and practices and their impact on student learning. Motivation for learning. Mathematics anxiety. Emergent literacy.

Most relevant publications in the field of Psychology of Education:

Radišić, J., Videnović, M., & Baucal, A. (2018). Distinguishing successful students in mathematics: a comparison across European countries. Psihologija, 51(1), 69-89.

Marković, J., Radišić, J., Jovanović, V. & Ranković, T. (2017). Developing a model for dropout prevention and intervention in primary and secondary schools in Serbia: assessing the model effectiveness. Psihološka istraživanja, 20(1), 145–169.

Radišić, J. & Baucal, A. (2016). Using video-stimulated recall to understand teachers’ perceptions of teaching and learning in the classroom setting. Psihološka istraživanja, 19(2), 165–183.

Radišić, J. & Jošić, S. (2015). Challenges, obstacles and outcomes of applying inquiry method in primary school mathematics: example of an experienced teacher. Teaching Innovations, 28(3), 99–115.

Radišić, J., Videnović, M., & Baucal, A. (2015). Math anxiety—contributing school and individual level factors. European Journal of Psychology of Education, 30(1), 1–20.

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Säljö, R., Radišić, J. Promoting teaching, learning and informed decision-making through the lenses of international large-scale assessment: looking beyond numbers. Eur J Psychol Educ 33, 419–426 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10212-018-0388-7

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