Decentralization of First Nations Education in Canada: Perspectives on Ideals and Realities of Indian Control of Indian Education

Fuelled by the concept of self-determination, efforts to improve schooling under the banner of decentralization are taking hold in First Nations communities throughout Canada. Proponents of decentralization hold the perception that decentralized systems are more likely to improve education than centralized systems. But is there a chance that local control can improve First Nations education? From the point of view of the realization of the decentralization values, the outcome is uncertain at best and gloomy at worst. To the extent that First Nations are alert to the emerging educational needs and problems and strong enough to mobilize First Nations resources on their behalf, we may entertain a cautious optimism on the resolution of some of the manifold contradictions of decentralization. I contend that unless there is a genuine devolution that entails the empowerment of First Nations communities to provide an education that is specifically suited to each community, schools for Aboriginal children will remain mediocre in quality. If decentralization is to sustain its momentum and advance productively in coming years, at least it should meet three conditions. First, certain constraints or contradictions internal to decentralization will have to be resolved. Second, Aboriginal scholars and First Nations school authorities need to employ appropriate change strategies by providing a framework for local control, and finally, First Nations communities and federal authorities need to find the key symbolic and structural characteristics of decentralizing First Nations schools.     

Toward Academically Based Community Scholarship: Ideals,Realities, and Future Needs

Service to the community, a recent interest in higher education, poses numerous challenges and questions including: How can public colleges and universities fulfill their responsibilities to their surrounding communities? In doing so, how do formal responsibilities of faculty and students change? How do courses and programs change? What are the benchmarks or progress indicators for success? What are the facilitators, constraints, and barriers for this type of orientation? We explore these questions in the ensuing analysis. We begin with indices of need and an accompanying rationale. Then we share the results of a faculty focus group's problem-solving in relation to these kinds of questions. We conclude by     

Prospective Teachers' Perspectives of Physical Education and Sport

Occupational socialisation research within the teaching profession is typically divided into three separate stages: recruitment, professional education, and entry into the work place. The beginning phase, also known as anticipatory socialisation, assumes that people who choose to enter teaching have already formed a perspective about the profession. Teaching is particularly susceptible to such perspectives as students spend at least 12 years of their lives observing and interacting with teachers before they enter a tertiary institution. The recruitment phase of socialisation is considered important because it affects the rest of the socialisation process. It is important to know what perceptions and experiences prospective physical education teachers have about physical education and sport before they start their professional training. This study examines the perspectives that recruits joining a training programme bring with them and compares the results with previous research findings in the area of anticipatory socialisation.     

Expert Perspectives on the Future of Physical Education in Higher Education

Despite physical education teacher education/physical education sport pedagogy’s (PETE/PESP’s) significant strides in the past century, there are concerns about its future. Grounded in participatory research, and through an interview-Delphi method, this study purposefully sampled five male PETE/PESP scholars’ expert critiques of current threats, projections of probable and preferable futures, and recommendations for transformation. Data were analyzed through an interpretive approach. Findings included: (a) limitations in physical education policy, teacher preparation, and status as key threats; (b) more of the same conflicts in the probable future and increased cooperation regarding conflicts in the preferable future; and (c) proactively revising the subdisciplinary framework and doctoral studies as transformative recommendations. We interpret issues critiqued as threatening PETE/PESP’s future, and projections of the probable future, as reflective of neoliberal rationality that has renormalized academic work in de-democratizing ways. We interpret that projections of preferable futures and transformative recommendations call for a re-emphasis on ethical academic attitudes to resist neoliberalization and reclaim democracy.     

Understanding the Realities of School Life: Recommendations for the Preparation of Physical Education Teachers

While quality physical education teacher education requires recruits to be trained in the knowledge, skills, and dispositions necessary for effective teaching, research stemming from socialization theory and role theory indicates that this may not be adequate. Pre-service teachers also need to be made aware of organizational challenges they will face when transitioning into their first teaching position. These challenges stem from the ways in which recruits are socialized into physical education, and are related to the complex, sociopolitical structure of schooling. The purpose of this article is to provide a review of the organizational challenges faced by beginning physical education teachers and to present recommendations for how teacher training programs can better prepare pre-service teachers to meet these challenges. The discussion includes both general and specific strategies that can be implemented to provide pre-service teachers with the knowledge and skills necessary to enhance their ability to navigate life in the sociopolitical contexts of schools. Preparing students for the realities of school life should correspond with a decrease in reality shock and the washout effect.     

Navigating the Realities of the Induction Years: Exploring Approaches for Supporting Beginning Physical Education Teachers

Because significant challenges continue to exist in the retention of teachers, the need for an infusion of proactive assimilation strategies, especially related to the induction phase, has become a mandate in physical education. Beginning teachers face countless potential hurdles. From marginalization, role conflict, and teaching diverse student populations, to reality shock and limited resources, the effects of organizational socialization and the realities of the day-to-day workload can be powerful influences on a teacher’s effectiveness and desire to persist. Creating meaningful mentoring relationships, opportunities for purposeful professional development, and timely feedback can serve to help propel teachers through their transition into the field. Acquiring skills to navigate the school culture and provide effective instruction benefits all educational stakeholders. The purpose of this article is to examine the factors that enhance or constrain beginning teachers’ induction processes and offer recommendations for supporting physical educators as they assimilate into the field.     

The Societally Responsive University: Public Ideals,Organisational Realities,and the Possibility of Engagement

The increased public scrutiny of colleges and universities has sparked efforts to reconsider what academic institutions are doing, and what they should be doing, in relation to the needs of the larger society.This paper develops a conceptualisation of societal responsiveness on campus, with the intent of exploring the factors constraining the responsiveness of faculty and their home institutions to public needs.     

Beware of Ideals in Education

In reaction to Doret De Ruyter's recent defence of the importance of ideals in education, I advocate cautiousness in three respects. First, I explain the importance of distinguishing ideals more sharply from goals by demonstrating the problems of considering ideals even approximately realisable. Second, I substantiate my doubts about their indispensability in human motivation, and question the desirability of encouraging the motivational use of ideals. Third, I question whether ideals could or should be ‘passed on’ in education, drawing attention to their non‐objective, personally created nature.     

Compatibility and Complementarity of Classroom Ecology and Didactique Research Perspectives in Physical Education

ABSTRACT

A large diversity of theoretical frameworks exists in the physical education literature. This article focuses on two of those frameworks to examine their compatibility and their complementarity. The classroom ecology paradigm concentrates on the balance between three task systems, two vectors, and programs of actions proposed by the physical education teacher and negotiated by students. The didactique research program studies the teaching and learning processes using the concepts of didactic contract and didactic milieu that focus on how the knowledge content emerges within teacher and students’ joint action. The article underlines the complementarity and the compatibility of the two frameworks when analyzing teaching and learning in physical education. It argues that the gray areas left by the classroom ecology paradigm could be filled with the insights of the didactique research program. A concise example of how the two frameworks have already been utilized is presented.     

Self-Evaluation of Expertise in Teaching Elementary Physical Education from Constructivist Perspectives

The Constructivist Teaching Practices Inventory in Elementary Physical Education (CTPI-EPE) was developed for the purpose of this study to assess teachers expertise in constructivist-oriented physical education teaching. One hundred and eighty-three elementary physical education teachers completed the CTPI-EPE. Four subscales of the CTPI-EPE emerged from an exploratory factor analysis and were in line with major dimensions of constructivist-oriented teaching practices. The results established support for the reliability and validity of the CTPI-EPE that provided us with diagnostic information about identifying expertise in constructivist-oriented physical education teaching practices within the continuum from novice to expert teaching levels.     

New Realities: The Relationship between Higher Education and Employment

The paper addresses one aspect of the`New Realities' of higher education: theemployer-higher education interface. It explores thedevelopment of the `employability' agenda in highereducation, examines the nature and implication oforganisational change for graduates and assesses whatattributes graduates will need in the next decade.Flexible organisations need flexible, and increasinglyempowered employees; that in turn calls fortransformative and empowering learning. The way thathigher education might address this, particularly inthe context of lifelong learning, is explored.     

Perspectives of Students with Disabilities Toward Physical Education: A Qualitative Inquiry Review

The purpose of this article is to review published qualitative inquiries that examine the perspective of students with disabilities toward experiences in physical education. Keyword searches were used to identify articles from electronic databases published from 1995 to 2014. Thirteen articles met all inclusion criteria, and findings were extracted. The 13 located qualitative articles were subject to a narrative analysis, and study characteristics were tabulated. The findings of targeted studies were explored and 3 thematic clusters emerged: (a) perspectives toward typically developing peers, (b) perspectives toward physical educators, and (c) perspectives toward inclusion and exclusion. Findings from this review support the notion that positive attitudes of physical educators may be a critical feature in ensuring meaningful learning experiences for students with disabilities. Meaningful learning experiences can be constructed through modifications and accommodations during activities, creating a welcoming physical education environment and providing a choice between inclusive and segregated learning environments. Directions for future research in this area are discussed.     

Understanding Students' Motivation in Sport and Physical Education: From the Expectancy-Value Model and Self-Efficacy Theory Perspectives

In this article, the roles of individuals' expectancy beliefs and incentives (i.e., task value, outcome expectancy) in sport and physical education are examined from expectancy-value model and self-efficacy theory perspectives. Overviews of the two theoretical frameworks and the conceptual and measurement issues are provided, followed by a review of developmental and gender/racial differences and the influences of sport and physical education on children's motivational beliefs.     

Inclusion Paradigms and Perspectives: A Stepping Stone to Accepting Learner Diversity In Physical Education

Learner diversity is the focus of this paper. Parallels are drawn among attenlpts to integrate children with disabilities (who have unique motor needs), less skilled learners, and/or disinterested learners. Paul and Ward (1996) propose that debates over inclusion are paradigmatic in that ethical inclusion paradigm proponents (all children should be included) are at odds with comparative inclusion studies (determining whether or not inclusion really works). Application of Paul and Ward's idea about paradigm conflict and other special education perspectives are discussed to draw attention to low skilled and/or disinterested learners as well as to children with disabilities so that the needs of all children are uniformly addressed. When conducting research about learners without disabilities that are currently not fitting into physical education classes, paradigm dilemmas must be avoided. Future studies in physical education should focus on how diverse learners can be accommodated more than on how diverse learners affect other children. Further, physical educators may be better able to serve the needs of all students through coltural/social minority models (Paul, 1998; Sherrill. 1998) and infusion-based curricula (Rizzo, Broadhead, & Kowalski, 1997).