State Certification Research Articles

STANDARDIZATION OF UNCERTAINTY SITUATIONS IN TRAINING MODULES

The aim of this study is the description of modular structure of the academic discipline in accordance with the requirements of Federal State Educational Standards. Methods. The authors use the methods of standardization of the educational system that are based on educational theory quality measurement. As the process of learning does not depend on the perspective of the diagnostician, the objectification of the results has been achieved by using relative units, allowing the authors to compare the effectiveness of different stages of education quality assessment with quantitative methods. Furthermore, sampling method, correlation and comparative analysis of statistical significance of the obtained distributions have been used to exclude from analytical data the results that were not confirmed experimentally. Results. Statistical methods are presented in a complex, allowing the authors to receive experimental result at level of the statistical importance of psychological and pedagogical researches. According to ideas of the competence-based education and general theory of systems and educational qualimetry, it is shown that constructs of vocational training are problem, test and detailed designs included in structure of educational modules. Funds of estimated means have been used to measure the level of trainee’s competences: – problematic situation of uncertainty orientation for current control; – situations of test and project orientation for boundary control at the end of each module, intermediate control in the form of the exam held at the end of the semester, as well as state certification of control at the end of the study at the university. Validity of the degree of interest of the learning process, reliability of coincidences constructive reflection of students’ own achievements with independent project performance and efficiency as the ratio of the result obtained to the costs of implementing the target function of the educational system have been determined consistently in the framework of the implementation of standardization situations of uncertainty. Integrated indicator of efficiency of the educational system has statistically confirmed the advantage of competence-based education over the traditional practice of teaching and educating. Scientific novelty. The methods of education standardization including the determination of the validity, reliability and efficiency have achieved further development. Practical significance. The research findings can be useful while designing an experimental framework for modular learning model that is currently important nowadays.

К вопросу формирования фонда оценочных средств по итоговой государственной аттестации

К вопросу формирования фонда оценочных средств по итоговой государственной аттестации

Documentary archives of the Museum of History of Kazan state medical university as historical source

The aim of the research - to evaluate complex documentary archives stored in the Museum of History of Kazan State Medical University as a source providing evidence needed for the reconstruction of various historic events linked to high medical education in Kazan. Source-classification methods, as well as external and internal criticism of historical documentary sources were applied. The article discusses the features of the documentary sources study analysis of the documentary archives stored at the Museum of History of the Kazan State Medical University. Stages of forming of a number of documentary collections that became the product of faculties, institute and later university clinical and theoretical departments’ activities, are characterized. While structuring an array of written sources, the decision to allocate three fundamental stages that determined the particular characteristics of documentary collections creation was made. The features of numerous documents were considered; their value for reconstruction of separate aspects of national medical science development in general, as well as the activities of the Kazan medical schools in particular, were defined. As a result of the source-study analysis of the written sources deposited in the Museum of History of Kazan State Medical University five independent groups were allocated. These are collection of business documents; collection of state certification documents; collection of personal papers; collection of official documents reserving copyrights; collection of manuscripts of scientific researches of scientists-physicians. Results of research allow to determine the source value and information potential of documentary archives of the Museum of history of the Kazan State Medical University. Written sources fund is an important historical source for studying the history of the Kazan medical schools, in general, and individual medical scientists, in particular. From the source-study point of view, an extensive array of documents that were not previously included in the scientific examination and require comprehensive analysis, are of considerable interest. Among them there are documents of healthcare manager V.V. Treiman, internist V.F. Bogoyavlenskiy, neurologist L.I. Omorokov, etc. Thus, documentary collections contribute to the expansion of the source base for researches.

A Moving Target: The Problem of Defining Teacher Quality

With No Child Left Behind Legislation, the United States Department of Education defined a Highly Qualified Teacher as a teacher who has earned a bachelor degree, full state certification, and demonstrated competency as defined by the state in each core academic subject he or she teaches (USDOE, 2002). The Obama Blueprint for Education (USDOE, 2010) introduces the term Teacher Effectiveness, a measure that places emphasis on the assessment of student outcomes, but the Blueprint maintains the requirements for Highly Qualified Teacher. There is a problem of shifting and indistinct definitions of teacher quality. As educators, we are accustomed to the creation and use of rubrics to assess knowledge, skills, and dispositions of learners, yet a consistent U.S. Federal rubric to assess Teacher Quality or Teacher Effectiveness is lacking. It is a challenge for teacher educators to create on target professional development for pre-service or in-service teachers when the target keeps moving. Defining Teacher Effectiveness is particularly challenging in diverse multicultural teaching contexts with compounding issues such as English Language Learner (ELL) adaptations and culturally relevant pedagogy. This exploratory case study describes teachers’ perceptions of Highly Qualified Teacher criteria and interventions that are being pilot tested to define and support Highly Effective teacher professional development in the Pacific. Corresponding Author: ATINER CONFERENCE PAPER SERIES No: EDU2013-0405

The impact of state certification of community health workers on team climate among registered nurses in the United States.

A number of states have adopted certification programs for community health workers (CHWs) to improve recognition of CHWs as members of health care teams, increase oversight, and to provide sustainable funding. There has been little research into the impact of state CHW certification on the diffusion and adoption of CHWs into existing health care systems. This study examined the impact of state CHW certification on the perceptions of team climate among registered nurses (RNs) who work with CHWs in states with and without CHW certification programs. The study recruited RNs using a purposeful sampling method and used an online survey, which included the Team Climate Inventory (TCI), and compared the perceptions of team climate between the two groups. The study found no significant differences in the overall mean TCI score or TCI subscale scores between RNs who work in states with CHW certification programs (n = 81) and those who work in states without CHW certification programs (n = 115). There was a statistically significant difference on one survey question regarding whether RNs believe state certification of CHWs improved the ability of their health care team to deliver quality care. More research is needed to assess impact of state certification of CHWs and other factors that influence the diffusion and adoption of CHWs into the current health care system.

Coordinating and implementing multiple systems for forest management: implications of the regulatory framework for sustainable forestry in Sweden

Abstract The complexity of multi-level governance is well illustrated by forest management in one of Europe's large forested states, Sweden. Deregulated government policies emphasize ‘freedom with responsibility’, largely expecting the forest sector to determine ways in which policy goals and legal requirements are reached. In relation to this, Sweden has become one of the countries with the largest share of forests certified by third-party organizations, such as the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), in accordance with specific environmental and social criteria. This multi-level case study draws on official documents and semi-structured interviews to analyze Swedish forest governance; specifically, the impact of multiplicity and complexity of environmental considerations on agreement over goal coordination, implementation, and evaluation for feedback and accountability. This contributes to previous research by analyzing interactions between state regulation and certification at multiple levels.

Classical Item Analysis of the Greek State Certificate of English Language Proficiency "A" Level Exam

Classical Item Analysis of the Greek State Certificate of English Language Proficiency "A" Level Exam

An Empirical Study: To What Extent and In What Ways Does Social Foundations of Education Inform Four Teachers’ Educational Beliefs and Classroom Practices?

Within the state selected for this study, teacher preparation programs and state certification criterion require that educators examine the relationship between school and society within social foundations of education (SFE) coursework. Using observations and interviews, this study examines to what extent four experienced, urban classroom teachers both speak in belief and exhibit in classroom practice an understanding of SFE. Two sets of measures, rooted in the social foundations and curriculum traditions, were devised to examine the degree to which teachers’ beliefs and practices matched to the tenets of SFE. Inconsistencies were evident within each teacher's beliefs and practices. Also, among the four respondents, there was minimal uniformity. From this study, when teaching even with a limited understanding of SFE, instructors engendered practices essential for a democracy. Students composed critical works, combining academic content as well as skills essential for life in a self-representative government. Use of these particular measures could be applied to inform pre-service teacher education programs as well as professional, in-service development.

Licensing One of the World’s Oldest Professions: Massage

In this paper, we analyze the development of occupational regulation of massage therapists in the United States as well as the effects of state licensing and certification on their earnings and numbers. Our results suggest that massage therapists working in states with licensing receive an earnings premium of as much as 16.2 percent. We also find some evidence that licensing seems to reduce the number of massage therapists. We find less convincing evidence that certification has had similar effects. We argue that, taken together, our results suggest that licensing restricts entry at the expense of consumers and that its effects are less likely to be explained by other competing factors.

Testimony to the Nevada Senate Transportation Committee Regarding S.B. 190

Written testimony submitted to the Nevada Senate Transportation Committee regarding S.B. 190 and Nevada statutes regulating moving companies, taxicabs, and limousines -- specifically, the state's Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity Requirement. Nevada's restrictions on Certificates makes its law the most anti-competitive licensing law in the nation.

Not All Avoidance Help Seekers Are Created Equal

This study examined 86 teacher candidates’ use of help seeking strategies and beliefs for preparing to pass a state certification examination. Using cluster analysis, we identified three different kinds of help seekers among the participants. One of the clusters represented teacher candidates for whom help seeking was an important and adaptive self-regulatory strategy and essential to their successful academic performance. The other two clusters represented the group of teacher candidates who had help-avoidance tendencies, but they were different in that for one group, seeking help implied inadequate use and maladaptive self-regulatory strategies while for the other, coping and adaptive self-regulatory strategies were utilized to ask for help when needed. The results revealed that students’ tendencies for help seeking vary according to their teacher’s self-efficacy beliefs, and use of self-regulatory strategies, such as delay of gratification. These findings suggested that help seeking is indeed a self-regulatory learning strategy used by learners to pursue valuable academic goals, and that differences do exist in approaches to help avoidance.

The practice of state certification of higher education students that specialize in the organization and technology of data protection

The current importance of information security and data protection issues is discussed. The experience of public certification of the graduates from a private higher-education institution, the Moscow Academy of Finance and Law (at present, the Moscow University of Finance and Law), which was performed in the period of 2008---2012 is described; a list of basic data-protection learning materials developed by the Moscow Academy of Finance and Law is presented. The organization and practice of the two-stage certification of students, the graduation dynamics of specialists who completed a full-time or part-time study program, as well as their professional pathways, are analyzed.

A New Professionalism in Middle Level Teacher Preparation: Toward a Signature Pedagogy

An analysis of an effective level teacher preparation program reveals pedagogies.The John H. Lounsbury College of Education (JHL COE) at Georgia College (GC) is located in a state well known as a national leader in level education; and within the JHL COE is a grades program that has been preparing teachers to teach young adolescents for more than 30 years-a claim few programs in the country can make. In 1996, the JHL COE made the transition to an innovative field-based teacher preparation program in which candidates are guided by a knowledgeable leader. According to the JHL COE's conceptual framework, the goal is to produce teachers who will be architects of change- prepared to take a leadership role in the community and possessing the skills to collaborate with others to meet the needs of students in the 21st century.A successful programSince that transition, the grades faculty has worked diligently to ensure that program graduates are highly-qualified grades teachers. Through specialized professional development, application of findings from program and self-evaluations, and extensive collaboration we have developed a distinctive program through which graduates become exemplary grades educators. For example, 98% of the teacher candidates pass our state's certification test on their first attempt, principals have rated 91% of our beginning teachers as good or excellent' on performing their teaching duties (JHL COE Survey), and graduates of the grades education program remain in the profession at unparalleled rates (JHL School of Education Retention Study, 2006). In addition, our graduates often elect to return to graduate school to complete master's, specialist, and doctoral programs; assume leadership roles in their schools; and achieve recognition for their excellent teaching. In the last three years, 14 graduates have been selected for school-level teacher of the year awards, and three were honored for such awards at the system level.These data underscore noteworthy achievements of our graduates, yet recurring observation persuades us that our graduates' impact is more extensive than even these measures suggest. The number of graduates from this program who embody and enact the knowledge, skills, and dispositions of professional grades educators and who have embraced the specialized professional preparation to teach young adolescents, as endorsed by the Association of Middle Level Education (AMLE) is noteworthy (National Middle School Association [NMSA], 2006) and has led us to reflect upon what our program instills in teacher candidates that explains this intensive impact.The grades education at GCThe grades education program is a two-year, field-intensive curriculum managed through a cohort model. Each cohort of teacher candidates is directed by one mentor leader who is responsible for shepherding them through all facets of a complex developmental process. Within the program, faculty are able to grades structures and practices such as advisory, integrated curriculum, looping, teaming, and advocacy; this modeling helps candidates develop the knowledge, skills, and dispositions they will need to collaborate and work as successful grades team members. Using a middle school model in higher education to prepare future grades teachers seems like a natural fit, but enacting grades pedagogy matters as well. How might the structures and practices that define effective schools for young adolescents work in concert with current findings about teacher development to reliably produce exemplary professional grades educators? This is the question that drives our inquiry into a new professionalism (Lieberman & Pointer Mace, 2008) for grades teachers and a search for signature pedagogies.Theoretical frameworkShulman (2005) and others associated with the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching have developed the concept of signature pedagogies to describe the fundamental means by which practitioners are prepared in various fields: medicine, law, engineering, and the clergy. …

Association between Traditional Nursing Home Quality Measures and Two Sources of Nursing Home Complaints

To test for an association between traditional nursing home quality measures and two sources of resident- and caregiver-derived nursing home complaints. Nursing home complaints to the North Carolina Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program and state certification agency from October 2002 through September 2006 were matched with Online Survey Certification and Reporting data and Minimum Data Set Quality Indicators (MDS-QIs). We examine the association between the number of complaints filed against a facility and measures of inspection violations, staffing levels, and MDS-QIs. One observation per facility per quarter is constructed by matching quarterly data on complaints to OSCAR data from the same or most recent prior quarter and to MDS-QIs from the same quarter. One observation per inspection is obtained by matching OSCAR data to complaint totals from both the same and the immediate prior quarter. There is little relationship between MDS-QIs and complaints. Ombudsman complaints and inspection violations are generally unrelated, but there is a positive relationship between state certification agency complaints and inspection violations. Ombudsman and state certification agency complaint data are resident- and caregiver-derived quality measures that are distinctive from and complement traditional quality measures.

STRATEGY OF ESTIMATION OF MEDICAL AND PHARMACEUTICAL SPECIALISTS’ TRAINING QUALITY

The major principles of elaborating the procedures of estimationare formulated. In this context, qualimetry is consideredas assessing process. Necessity of changing the system of medical education is conditioned by numerous social and professional factors. It is obvious that medicine is a specific field of knowledge. Raised responsibility while making decision, frequently lack of time for gathering necessary data and insufficient information caused by this factor on pathological process, which a patient suffers from, - forces one to say that a doctor is compelled to work under conditions of evident uncertainty. Now, tendencies of withdrawal from integral conservatively - declarative system of medical (pharmaceutical) education can be seen. Numerous non-state educational establishments using new systems, techniques and technologies of training have appeared. An open education, i.e. – a system of organizational, pedagogical and informational technologies in which architectural and structural decisions provide open standards on interfaces, formats and reports of information interchange began forming extensively. However granting to the educational system of qualities of open system is reasoun of cardinal change of its properties. Transition from a principle «education for all life» to a principle «education through all life» is being realized. It should be emphasized that the direction of knowledge transfer is being changed: nowadays, it is not a subject in training who moves to knowledge but there is reverse process – knowledge is conveyed toward a human being. Educational process in open education is based on purposeful, controllable, intensive independent work of the subject in training. In all cases of reforming educational system, the creation of a monitoring system of training quality is of key importance. The quality of training in a concrete discipline or in a speciality in general is characterized by the results of work of the subject in training during a definite period of time. While developing the criteria of functioning of the system of quality of professional training it is necessary to take into account the level of knowledge of a subject of training in three strategic directions - theoretical knowledge, practical skills and skill of applying the received knowledge in practical situations. While developing above mentioned criteria, it is important to provide an integral approach in interpreting the contents of each of three components, namely - rating of the competence of the subject in training. State certification of graduates of HIGH SCHOOLS is of great significance. It is considered as a rating-qualimetric procedure directed to establishing conformities of the degrees of quality in training graduates, who completed educational programs in definite directions of training or a specialities, that meet requirements of corresponding State educational standard of supreme medical (pharmaceutical) education. At the same time, qualimetry rating process penetrates all the stages the process (algorithm) of certifying the quality of training of graduates in HIGHER SCHOOLS and lateron specialists. The general?systemic model of quality in training specialists, which is formalized as rating complex of directed correlations, is suggested. The formula, to a certain degree, displays the rating of quality conformity of the contents of educational programs to requirements of State Educational Programs. The procedures of qualimetry in assessing specialists education quality should be organized so that their competence is realized not as a set of isolated criteria, but as a complete structure of a personality according to requirements of society.

State “Technical Assistance Programs” for Nursing Home Quality Improvement: Variations and Potential Implications

To improve nursing home quality, many states have developed “technical assistance programs” that provide on-site consultation and training for nursing facility staff. We conducted a national survey on these state programs to collect data on program design, operations, financing, and perceived effectiveness. As of 2010, 17 states had developed such programs. Compared to existing state nursing home quality regulations, these programs represent a collaborative, rather than enforcement-oriented, approach to quality. However, existing programs vary substantially in key structural features such as staffing patterns, funding levels, and relationship with state survey and certification agencies. Perceived effectiveness by program officials on quality was high, although few states have performed formal evaluations. Perceived barriers to program effectiveness included lack of appropriate staff and funding, among others. In conclusion, state technical assistance programs for nursing homes vary in program design and perceived effectiveness. Future comparative evaluations are needed to inform evidence-based quality initiatives.

Collaboration Cubed: Isolated Mainstream Teachers Become ESL Experts to School Systems

This article reports on mainstream teachers who took part in a federally funded master's in teaching English to speakers of other languages (TESOL) program and through a series of collaborative efforts have become experts in their own school systems and leaders in English as a second language (ESL) teacher preparation throughout their region. Southern Connecticut State University's Training for All Teachers (TAT) Program addressed the needs of three medium‐sized urban school districts in the geographically isolated, historically underserved eastern half of Connecticut by offering teachers the opportunity to pursue the master's degree in bilingual education and TESOL via a satellite program. All three districts serve significant English language learner populations and had failed to make annual progress benchmarks. Through this experience, 10 teachers from the three districts earned a master's degree in TESOL and state certification in bilingual education and/or ESL. This article chronicles three programmatic collaborative efforts that played a significant role in this process: collaborative class‐based research projects, ongoing Community of Practice activities, and commitments to pay it forward.

Historical and pedagogical analysis of formation and development of institute of academic certification of personnel

The article is devoted to the history and modern development of domestic system of certification of academic personnel. We analysed university statutes and regulations establishing legitimately and regulating the confering of degrees and academic ranks. The necessity of improving the state certification of academic and scientific - pedagogical personnel in accordance to international practice was grounded.

The Evolution of an Online Substance Abuse Counseling Certificate Program

In the field of rehabilitation services, substance abuse counseling requires unique skills. Post-baccalaureate academic certificate programs offer professionals an opportunity to retool or expand their skills and meet licensure needs in this evolving field. East Carolina University's online Substance Abuse Counseling Certificate Program was established to address both changes to the state's certification and licensure requirements and workforce development needs. This article will describe the evolution and refinement of the certificate program.

Pressure Cooker Politics: Partisanship and Symbolism in State Certification of Federal Stimulus Funds

AbstractTo access funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009, state governors had to formally certify their intent to do so within 45 days of the law's enactment. All governors eventually certified, but with considerable variation in celerity. This study employs event history techniques to model the probability of certifying the ARRA. It argues that the statute's design combined with economic distress within the states rendered manifest rejection of the law politically infeasible but, for state officials with certain partisan commitments, left open the possibility of symbolic resistance or support in the form of time to certification. State leaders relied on party identification to guide their decisions, resulting in markedly different propensities toward certification for Republican and Democratic governors. Results lend credence to this thesis: States with Republican governors were nearly 60% less likely to certify the ARRA on a given day than states with Democratic governors. This finding suggests that when economic constraints and policy design foreclose actual rejection of a federal law, state policymakers may rely on party labels to register their approbation or disapprobation through other means, including the amount of time taken to accept federal funding.