Pupils’ Subject Preferences at Key Stage 3 in South Wales

The perceptions of pupils towards the foundation subjects of English, mathematics, science and technology were determined by structured interviews. The pupils were selected by their responses to a Likert‐type attitude scale previously administered; pupils were banded from the results of the scale into one of three bands: those with positive attitudes, neutral attitudes and negative attitudes towards the subjects under study. Approximately 48 pupils per subject were interviewed for each of the subjects, representing 4.5% of the original survey sampled in the previous research. The results of the research showed a marked predilection for English and games and a lack of enthusiasm for modern foreign languages. There was also little positive response for subjects which occupy a small amount of curriculum time—music and religious education—with art being an exception to this. There were indications that mathematics and science were more ‘love‐hate’ subjects than others. It was found that girls were more forthcoming with criticisms whereas boys were more forthcoming with praise. Overall, there was no evidence that the National Curriculum had either improved or damaged attitudes towards subjects. However, this research indicates that the National Curriculum had removed some of the pre‐existing gender divisions, such as those relating to the separate sciences.     

Turning the soul: Nurturing the inner lives of student teachers

Abstract

This article describes activities and experiences that encourage students to construct and reconstruct knowledge of self and teaching through community building and reflective practices. Following the assumption that teacher education should focus on the human and ethical dimensions of teaching, and the conscious development of a sense of self, specifically the inner self, the author makes the claim that teaching is an act of “soul turning,” or self‐transformation. When students of teaching are given opportunities to reflect on who they are in the context of their teaching and in relationships with others, possibilities exist for the development of greater self‐understanding and awareness. © 2005 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.     

Resting MAPK expression in chronically trained endurance runners

Purpose: There is a paucity of research investigating the expression of mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPK) in chronically trained (CT) athletes. Thus, it is unclear how MAPK may contribute to performance and muscle adaptation in CT subjects. The purpose of this study was to determine MAPK total protein, and phosphorylated expression of extracellular signal-regulated kinases 1 and 2 (ERK1/2), c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK), and p38-MAPK (p38) between untrained, and chronically trained runners. Methods: Tissue samples were analysed from sedentary (SED; n?=?5) controls and chronically trained runners (CT; n?=?5). Resting muscle biopsy samples were analysed for total-MAPK – and ratio of phosphorylated/total (p-MAPK) – ERK1/2, JNK, and p38-MAPK via western blotting. Mann–Whitney U tests and effect sizes were utilized to determine differences in total MAPK protein content and phosphorylation status between SED and CT subjects. Results: There was no difference in total-MAPK expression between SED and CT (p?>?.05). p-p38-MAPK tended to be greater for CT compared to SED (p?=?.07). There were moderate effect sizes of decreased pERK/total-ERK (d?=??0.69) and increased pJNK/total-JNK (d?=?0.54) in CT compared to SED. There was a positive correlation between p-p38-MAPK/total-MAPK and the percentage of type I fibres (r?=?0.73, p?=?.016). Conclusion: Contrary to previous studies, chronic endurance training does not greatly influence total MAPK protein expression in chronically trained runners. However, resting phosphorylation of p38-MAPK may contribute to enhanced oxidative metabolism at chronically trained levels. These alterations are likely involved in the different physiological adaptations that occur following long-term training or at highly competitive levels.     

Learning surgically oriented anatomy in a student-run extracurricular club: an education through recreation initiative

Didactic and laboratory anatomical education have seen significant reductions in the medical school curriculum due, in part, to the current shift from basic science to more clinically based teaching in North American medical schools. In order to increase medical student exposure to anatomy, with clinical applicability, a student-run initiative called surgically oriented anatomy prosectors (SOAP) club was created within the extracurricular program at the Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, The University of Western Ontario, London, Canada. SOAP invites surgeons and residents from various surgical specialties to demonstrate, on a cadaver, a surgical procedure of their choosing. During the demonstration, the anatomy, as it relates to the surgical procedure, is discussed. The students then break into smaller groups to examine the relevant anatomy on the cadavers, during which time the discussion is broadened. The group continues the conversation in a social environment with refreshments. SOAP is one of the most popular extracurricular clubs with 65% of first and second year medical students registered as members. The high demand for SOAP, along with the positive participant feedback, may be due to its utilization of the principle of education through recreation, which seeks to provide opportunities for learning seamlessly throughout all facets of life. It also demonstrates the desire, amongst certain medical students, to learn applied anatomy, particularly within a surgical context.     

Balancing act: Government roles in an energy conservation network

Government-led interorganizational alliance networks present a sensible opportunity to overcome many societal challenges through collaborative governance. In particular, few researchers have studied alliance networks in the field of energy conservation in commercial buildings—a sector with unique barriers to greater diffusion of innovative cost-saving strategies. We applied an analytic inductive case-based method and social network analysis to study one particular alliance network: the United States Commercial Building Energy Alliances representing interests from retail, commercial real estate, and healthcare sectors. This alliance network was initiated by the United States Department of Energy, with assistance from several federally funded research laboratories in the United States, to promote the diffusion of knowledge and ultimately encourage greater deployment of energy efficiency and clean energy strategies in commercial buildings. We draw upon interview data from 28 cases of private, non-profit, and governmental organizations and complete network data from the alliance participants. We honed in on eight focal cases of governmental organizations to provide insight on how the four forms of energy and environmental data, information, and knowledge shared within an alliance network address the challenge of a vastly underutilized energy resource, namely conservation. Further, we identify and discuss the public's four roles—Commissioner, Interpreter, Marketer, and User—in providing balance to the diffusion of both private and public goods in a network.     

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).     

Social science doctoral students’ needs and preferences for written feedback

The purpose of this study was to investigate social science doctoral students’ preferences and needs with regard to written feedback on academic writing and to develop a written feedback categorization. In an exploratory mixed methods approach, qualitative data collected during interviews were used to form a questionnaire to collect quantitative data in two research-intensive universities. The results based on 276 doctoral students’ responses provided a clear list of feedback types needed by doctoral students, including comments addressing their main idea, argumentation, clarity, and information coverage. Their preferences varied on issues of autonomy, criticism, and ambiguity, all critical factors in the transition to independence expected during their doctoral education. The resulting written feedback categorization encompasses three aspects: function, focus, and presentation. The findings of this study have the potential to guide supervisors, feedback providers, and doctoral students as well as inform further research, including instrument development and written feedback content analyses.     

Explaining the academic performance of community college students who transfer to a senior institution

The academic performance of 361 community college students was investigated after their transfer to a comprehensive university. The predictor variables included personal, environmental, demographic, and pretransfer academic measures. The criterion was grade point average (GPA) at the senior institution. Analyses included moderated linear regression and a branching algorithm which forms subgroups to best explain criterion scores (AID-3). The academic pattern and performance at the community college was found to be very important to the relevance of specific factors related to the curriculum selected at the senior institution.