The Impact of an Obstacle Course Sport Education Season on Students' Aerobic Fitness Levels

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine if factor patterns of selected sports skills were similar for two samples, a skilled sample and one consisting of a wide range of skills. Comparisons were also made with kinesiological evidence regarding the patterning of basic sports skills. Data consisting of performance scores on various sports skills were available for 166 high school girls. Out of this sample, a smaller sample was drawn consisting of 69 girls who were above average in skill. Two factor models, alpha and incomplete image analysis, were used in the analysis of this data. The factor pattern of selected sports skills performed by subjects above average in skill was similar in many respects to that of a sample which included a wide range of skill. The primary difference lay in the clustering of overarm skills which appeared in the above-average factor pattern. The overarm and push patterns of the above-average sample resembled the patterns of skill obtained through kinesiological analysis. The structure of kicking, underarm, and sidearm skills remained obscure, based on the results of factor analytic techniques.     

Fresh thinking about academic development: authentic,transformative, disruptive?

We highlight three ways of conceptualising and enacting academic development: firstly as authentic, practice-based activity, secondly in terms of a new transformative paradigm for academic development units (ADUs), and thirdly as a space for disruption. We illustrate these conceptualisations through our investigation of the practice of internal secondment of faculty to ADUs. We report our findings from a sector-wide survey of Scottish higher education institutions and a series of in-depth interviews with secondees and their managers in two Scottish universities. We recommend further investigations to identify new ways of enacting authentic, practice-based, transformative, and disruptive academic development.     

Equitable representation of deaf people in mainstream academia: Why not?

Approximately 5% of people in most countries have deafness or significant hearing loss. This significant minority is underrepresented in mainstream universities across the world. Background information about deafness, relevant technology and its drawbacks, and the use of interpreters are discussed. The barriers to equitable representation of qualified Deaf academics in university settings are reviewed. The experiences of three Deaf academics who teach in mainstream universities are discussed, and suggestions for resolution are offered. Examples are cited for teaching, research and service, the threefold duties of the successful academic. Continuing access difficulties mean that only a few deaf graduates now consider doctoral study; cost and the perception of cost, as well as negative attitudes and lack of knowledge may mean that the few successful graduates have difficulties gaining employment; successful tenure and promotion prospects may also be hindered for the same reasons. We also provide recommendations how barriers for successful Deaf academics can be removed or mitigated.     

Bacchus,M. Kazim. 1994. Education as and for Legitimacy. Developments in West Indian Education between 1846 and 1895

International Review of Education -     

The influence of grandparents’ social class on children’s aspirations

Social class mobility from grandparent to grandchild is a relatively neglected topic. Grandparents today are often healthier and more active, and have longer relationships with their grandchildren than in previous generations. We used data from the UK’s Millennium Cohort Study (n = 8570) to investigate the influence of maternal and paternal grandparents’ social class on the aspirations of children at age seven. Using path analysis and controlling for family income, mother’s and father’s education, lone motherhood, and child’s ethnicity and gender, we found very small direct effects from the paternal grandmother’s social class to the grandchild’s classed aspirations, and small, indirect effects, via parents’ class, of grandparents’ class on child’s classed aspirations. Multi-group analyses found few differences by ethnicity and gender. There was no evidence that, at this age, mixed-class parentage raises the aspirations of working-class children (the ‘sunken middle-class’ hypothesis).     

The growing (but still limited) importance of evidence in education policy and practice

The last decade of education change has been characterized by the rise of evidence-based policy and practice agendas. Internationally, we are witnessing efforts to increase and incorporate research use in public services. This article examines efforts in education to address the research–practice gap through an emerging field we term knowledge mobilization (KM). We explore some of the controversy surrounding the use of ‘evidence’, outline national and international KM initiatives and consider some of the issues and challenges that arise from the increased interest in evidence and research use in education. We also assess the current state and desirable future directions of efforts to strengthen the role of research and evidence in education.     

The National Curriculum and Standards in Primary Schools: A comparative perspective

A comparison is made of the standards in primary school mathematics in England and Cyprus, drawing upon national curricula, content of textbooks and data from international comparisons of attainment. Standards are conceptualised in three ways: expected, planned and realised. It is demonstrated that high expected and high planned standards, as set in national curricula and textbooks, are not associated with high realised standards. Four possible explanations are explored and policy issues associated with national standard setting are discussed. The value of setting national curriculum standards and targets by reference to comparative international data is raised.