Annual Reports

The conference programme of Network 9 consisted of 44 sessions with a total number of 112 papers. Four posters were presented and 3 research workshops were held. The sessions attracted a varied audience due to the range of different topics presented, with 15 to 25 people attending on average. Single key sessions had more than 50 participants.

The network programme contained five symposia:

1. Findings from International Comparative Achievement Studies
   (Symposium organizers: Tjeerd Plomp, Wilfried Bos, Martin Goy and Pekka Kupari)
   In sum, the symposium included 18 papers.The papers were organized into 6 thematic sessions.
   
   
2. Linguistic Super-diversity in Urban Areas:
   (Symposium organizers: Joana da Silveira Duarte and Ingrid Gogolin)
   This symposium contained 3 sessions with a total number of 11 papers.
   
   
3. Study of Instrumental Introduction in Primary Schools (SIGrun) – Empirical Research between Musicology and Educational Research
   (Symposium organizers: Sabrina Kulin and Knut Schwippert)
   This symposium included 4 papers in one thematic session.
   
   
4. Collaborative Problem Solving in the 21st Century: Definitions and Assessments
   (Symposium organizer: Patrick Griffin)
   This symposium included 3 papers in one thematic session.
   
   
5. Strategies and Implications of Changing Educational Systems: Consequences of Large-Scale Assessments
   (Symposium organizers: Jenny Lenkeit and Knut Schwippert)
   This symposium included 5 papers, which were organized in 2 thematic sessions on the overall symposium topic.

Furthermore, the programme of Network 9 included 26 paper sessions with 71 papers on the following topics:

• Findings from PISA: Challenges of Cross-Cultural Validity
• Findings from PISA: Student Attitudes, Perceptions and Aspirations
• Findings from PISA: Reading and Literacy Issues
• Assessment in Higher Education (2 sessions)
• Issues in Secondary Education: Competencies and Attitudes in Heterogeneous Classrooms
• Assessment of Competencies and Attitudes in Science Classrooms
• Attitudes and Behaviors Affecting Student Performance
• Social Disparities in Education (2 sessions)
• Transitions in the Education System: Conditions and Consequences
• Assessment of Competencies and Attitudes in Mathematics Classrooms
• Teacher Competencies and Student Achievement
• Assessing the Relations of Student and Teacher Variables in Mathematics Classrooms
• Theoretical and Methodological Issues in Testing and Measurement (2 sessions)
• Assessments, Examinations and Grades
• System Monitoring and Accountability: International and Intranational Issues
• Assessments, Grades and Student Achievement
• Development and Implementation of Assessment Practices
• Language and Literacy Assessments (2 sessions)
• Evaluation Policies, Monitoring and Assessments
• Findings from International Comparative Achievement Studies: Social Disparities and Student Achievement
• Findings from International Comparative Achievement Studies: Methodological Challenges
• Computer-Based Assessments

The network programme comprised 3 research workshops on the topics of Using the ICCS 2009 International Database, Using International Large-Scale Assessment Data from TIMSS 2007, and Systematically Assessing Individual and Program Outcomes.

Our network piloted an interactive poster session as a joint session with Networks 8, 10 and 27, and participated in the Emerging Researchers’ Conference of ECER 2011 with an Open Network Session and with a mentored paper session.

The overall intake of submissions in Network 9 was the highest in the network’s history, with more than 140 submissions before rejections, redirections and withdrawals.

In the network meeting, Monica Rosén (University of Gothenburg) was announced and accepted as a new Co-convenor of Network 9, succeeding Tjeerd Plomp (University of Twente), who becomes an emeritus convenor after serving the network for many years as Link Convenor and Co-convenor. Tjeerd Plomp was awarded the first Honorary Membership of Network 9 for his longstanding and continued work for the Network and within the field of Assessment, Evaluation, Testing and Measurement.

Please refer to the minutes of the Network Meeting for more details on the work and activities in Network 9.

Minutes of the Network Meeting of EERA Network 9 at the European Conference on Educational Research 2011, Berlin, September 14

This meeting was attended by about 50 network members, and was held by the Link Convenor of Network 9, Wilfried Bos, in co-operation with his Co-convenors Pekka Kupari and Tjeerd Plomp as well as Monica Rosén as a new Co-convenor. Six main topics were addressed:
 

1. Network 9 programme overview
   For the overview of the submissions in Network 9, please refer to the above sections of this report.
   
   
2. Acknowledgements of chairpersons, discussants and reviewers
   In sum, 33 chairpersons and discussants from 15 countries were included in the ECER 2011 programme of Network 9. Our network is indebted to the commitment of these scholars, and to the large number of international researchers who support the network by participating in the review process for the ECER conferences. The network convenors thank all chairpersons, discussants and reviewers for volunteering their valuable time and expertise, and for contributing to the conference organization and the scientific quality of the research presented in Network 9.
   
   The names of the chairspersons and discussants are listed in the conference programme. In order to make the effort of the reviewers visible as well, an acknowledgement with a list of the reviewers for each ECER beginning with ECER 2010 is included on the Network website.
   
   
3. Network activities
   3.1 Spring schools on Advanced Methods in Educational Research in 2011 and 2012
   Wilfried Bos and Monica Rosén give a short report on a one-week spring school on advanced methods in educational research held in 2011 at TU Dortmund University and present an outlook on a second one-week spring school on advanced methods in educational research to be held in 2012 at the University of Gothenburg. These spring schools are a joint project of the Institute for School Development Research at TU Dortmund University, Germany, and the Department of Education and Special Education at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, co-ordinated by Wilfried Bos (Dortmund) as well as Monica Rosén and Jan-Eric Gustafsson (Gothenburg).
   
   The schools aim to bring together European and international emerging researchers, train them on methodological topics, promote exchange of research and offer the opportunity for capacity building and international research collaborations. The topics of the spring schools are:
   
   a) Methods for Causal Inference from Observational Data (2012, University of Gothenburg)
   
   b) Combining Categorical and Continuous Latent Variable Modeling with Mplus (2011, TU Dortmund University)
   
   A call for proposals for the 2012 school and a report on the 2011 school are available on the website of this project: http://www.ifs-dortmund.de/1520.html
   
   3.2 Publications
   Network 9 works on several international, peer-reviewed publications that derive from symposia held at ECER 2009 and ECER 2010:
   
   a) Two special issues of the journal Educational Research and Evaluation (ERE) on the topic of Rasch Measurement in Educational Contexts (in press)
   
   b) A special issue of the Journal for Educational Research Online (JERO) on the topic of Assessing Social Competencies in Childhood and Adolescence (in preparation)
   
   
4. Network activities: Promoting poster submissions
   The network convenors propose to encourage submissions of posters, as this format of presentation allows young researchers to participate in the ECER conference with a first contribution without having to shoulder the more challenging task of a paper presentation especially for those with a limited proficiency in the English language. In order to foster the idea of poster sessions, Network 9 piloted an interactive poster session in co-operation with Networks 8, 10 and 27 at ECER 2011. To further promote the submission of posters, Network 9 provided the impetus to initiate a Best Poster Prize for the ECER main conference:
   
   a) Waxmann Publishing House sponsors a Best Poster Price for ECER Main Conferences 2011-2013, awarded to the best three posters
   b) The best posters are suggested per network by the network convenors and selected from this shortlist by a group of EERA officers
   
   
5. Succession of Co-convenors in Network 9 and Honorary Membership for Tjeerd Plomp
   Monica Rosén (University of Gothenburg) was announced and accepted as new Co-convenor of Network 9 to succeed Tjeerd Plomp (University of Twente), who retires as Co-convenor after serving the network for many years as Link Convenor (2006–2008) and Co-convenor (1999–2006 and 2008–2011). Wilfried Bos thanks Tjeerd Plomp, for his longstanding and continued contribution to the work and mission of the network and within the field of Assessment, Evaluation, Testing and Measurement. On behalf of the network, Wilfried Bos commends and honors the work of Tjeerd Plomp, one of the founding fathers of the ECER conferences, by awarding him the first Honorary Membership of Network 9. Wilfried Bos welcomes Monica Rosén as a distinguished researcher and valued colleague to the group of convenors of Network 9.
   
   
6. Discussion on symposium proposals
   The role of symposium submissions, discussants and chairpersons is addressed. Different experiences with the current procedure in Network 9 and ideas for improving the role of discussants, for instance by stricter adherence to a full-paper / full presentation submission, are discussed within the context of EERA rules and regulations. The network convenors will take the arguments of the discussion into consideration for the development of symposia for ECER 2012.