Gross motor teaching in preschool education: where,what and how do Singapore educators teach? (Enseñanza de la motricidad gruesa en educación infantil: ¿dónde,qué y cómo enseñan las maestras en Singapur?)

ABSTRACT

Fostering the development of gross motor (GM) skills is important in itself and beneficial for the holistic development of children. While early childhood curriculum frameworks for GM teaching have been recently articulated, there is limited research on actual pedagogical practices. This study explored GM teaching practices in Singapore Kindergarten 1 classrooms (4–5 years), focusing on where (indoors vs outdoors), what (types of GM skills) and how (teaching strategies and opportunities for practice) preschool educators teach. The study is part of a longitudinal project in which 108 Kindergarten 1 classrooms were observed and videotaped during a full ‘typical day’ (3–4 hours). GM teaching was observed to occur predominantly indoors. Non-locomotor skills were the most frequently taught to children, followed by locomotor and manipulative skills. Many educators were observed using explicit teaching strategies before and during GM activities, with low involvement after activities had been completed. While GM teaching was predominantly teacher-led, opportunities for unguided practice and play were more frequent outdoors. We conclude that Singapore preschool educators need support to better enact the guidelines of the GM curriculum framework. The study enriches the thin classroom-based international literature on GM education.     

Enhancing Force Concept Inventory diagnostics to identify dominant misconceptions in first-year engineering physics

This work presents the results of a study whose aim is to detect systematic errors about the concept of force among freshmen students. The researchers analysed the results of the Force Concept Inventory test, which was administered to two different groups of students. The results show that, although there were significant performance variations between the two groups, they, nonetheless, shared common incorrect answers that were consistently triggered by the same misconceptions. The analysis proposed in this paper could also be applied in other universities to reveal the students’ a priori mindset in Newtonian mechanics and serve as a guideline for developing effective computer simulations or other tools.     

Academic Librarian Burnout: A Survey Using the Copenhagen Burnout Inventory (CBI)

Abstract

In the Spring of 2018, the authors administered the highly validated and reliable Copenhagen Burnout Inventory work-related sub-scale to 1,628 academic librarians employed within the United States. Academic librarians reported a total work-related burnout score of 49.6. Overall, female participants who were 35–44?years of age reported the highest levels of work-related burnout with males and older individuals reporting the lowest levels of work-related burnout. This study also revealed some interesting information about non-binary/third-gender librarians that suggests further research is warranted.     

Integrating Social Justice Into Counseling Theories Pedagogy: A Case Example

As they explore counseling theories, students are encouraged to examine their own values, attitudes, and beliefs to find congruence with these theories. This traditional approach inadequately addresses the social injustices that may be perpetuated by selecting theories that further oppress clients and other marginalized communities. Prilleltensky (1997) introduced a social justice paradigm, emancipatory communitarianism, to address the limitations of existing theories on the basis of their underlying values. The authors discuss how incorporating emancipatory communitarianism and values discussions into counseling theories pedagogy can enhance critical thinking and self‐exploration among developing students. Implications for counseling pedagogy, practices, and research are discussed.     

The decentralisation of the school system in post‐communist Romania

Following the fall of the Iron Curtain in December 1989, the Romanian system of education has started a deep process of reconstruction that asked for a comprehensive package of reforms among which decentralisation. Broadly the paper aims to make a contribution to the emerging knowledge base about the realities of restructuring of post‐communist education systems and the impact that governance through markets is having on public services. The paper focuses on presenting and discussing the attempts to decentralise pre‐higher education in Romania in considering the role of the state and governance in the provision of public services and the introduction of market mechanisms in education. The decentralisation of education has been proposed by the then Minister of Education Andrei Marga. Although decentralisation in pre‐higher education has been piloted for three academic years and the policy documents that introduced it have been permanently amended and updated, more than a decade later, this reform has not reached its aims mainly due to the various changes on the political scene. However, provided that no major amendments will be made to the Laws of National Education (2009), decentralisation in pre‐higher education will be a reality from 2010–11.     

Intergenerational conflict and public education expenditure when there is co-residence between the elderly and young

The main objective of this paper is to show that a family arrangement in which the elderly co-reside with the young determines that the elderly support the public education expenditure. Considering that this type of family arrangement is more common in Latin American countries than in the United States, our study is concentrated in Brazil. This study is based on a panel of 2054 Brazilian municipalities using data from the 1991 and 2000 censuses.     

A model of equitable and sustainable redistribution of knowledge

Education is one of the pillars in which a Welfare State is effectively based on in order to achieve an equitable distribution of wealth. In contemporary society, knowledge and education are among the most appreciated goods, and everyone should have the right to acquire them, without distinction of gender, race, age, health or religion. From our experience of over 15 years at the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya we can claim that virtual learning makes access to education easier for certain population strata, whereas otherwise, they would be excluded from such a right. A very significant group of students to consider are women with family burdens who, thanks to this kind of education, are able to gain access to higher education for the first time in their lives and at their maturity ages. Another significant group is students with disabilities, for whom virtual education makes it possible to get training in fields for which it would be more difficult to get in the case of the non-virtual university. Geographic factors are also relevant, since virtual education has provided rural areas and other places with poor infrastructures with a chance to gain access to higher education. This brings with it a redistribution of wealth among territories, and also among different social strata with fewer resources and limitations to commute long distances to higher education institutions. Another issue that needs pointing out is virtual communication. As it is asynchronic, it can lead to a high degree of reflection. All these elements enable us to have a virtual discussion about cultural and linguistic issues which have huge educational value.     

Bidirectional cross-sectional and prospective associations between physical activity and body composition in adolescence: birth cohort study

The aim of this study was to investigate the cross-sectional and prospective associations between physical activity and body composition in adolescence. This is a prospective study, including 4,103 adolescents belonging to the Pelotas (Brazil) 1993 birth cohort, who were followed up at the mean ages of 11.3 and 14.7 years. Subsample analyses included 511 individuals with accelerometry and deuterium dilution data at 13.3 years. Sum of skinfolds at age 11.3 years was highly correlated with skinfolds at age 14.7 years (rho = 0.74, P < 0.001). More than 85% of participants remained in the same quintile or changed by not more than one quintile during the 3.4 year period. Tracking of physical activity was considerably lower, although still significant; the correlation was 0.24 (P < 0.001) and 61.4% of the adolescents moved one or less quintiles. In fully-adjusted models, no significant cross-sectional or longitudinal associations were found between physical activity and body composition, neither in boys nor in girls. These null results were confirmed in the 511 individuals with accelerometry and deuterium data. We provide evidence of tracking of physical activity and particularly body composition during adolescence. Our results do not support the hypothesis that physical activity and fatness are strongly related in adolescents.     

Isokinetic hamstrings-to-quadriceps peak torque ratio: the influence of sport modality, gender, and angular velocity

The purpose of this study was to determine differences in hamstrings-to-quadriceps (H/Q) peak torque ratios evaluated at different angular velocities between men and women who participate in judo, handball or soccer. A total of 166 athletes, including 58 judokas (26 females and 32 males), 39 handball players (22 females and 17 males), and 69 soccer players (17 females and 52 males), were evaluated using an isokinetic dynamometer. The H/Q isokinetic peak torque ratios were calculated at angular velocities of 1.05 rad · s?1 and 5.23 rad · s?1. In the analysis by gender, female soccer players produced lower H/Q peak torque ratios at 1.05 rad · s?1 than males involved in the same sport. However, when H/Q peak torque ratio was assessed at 5.23 rad · s?1, there were no significant differences between the sexes. In the analysis by sport, there were no differences among females at 1.05 rad · s?1. In contrast, male soccer players had significantly higher H/Q peak torque ratios than judokas (66 ± 12% vs. 57 ± 14%, respectively). Female handball players produced significantly lower peak torque ratios at 5.23 rad · s?1 than judokas or soccer players, whereas males presented no ratio differences among sports At 5.23 rad · s?1. In the analysis by velocity, women's muscular ratios assessed at 1.05 rad · s?1 were significantly lower than at 5.23 rad · s?1 for all sports; among men, only judokas presented lower ratios at 1.05 rad · s?1 than at 5.23 rad · s?1. The present results suggest that sport modality and angular velocity influence the isokinetic strength profiles of men and women.