Statistics and the Mathematical Processes

The increasing emphasis on what mathematicians do as distinct from what they know in the development of school mathematics curricula presents some interesting possibilities for teachers of statistics. This article looks at these processes and suggests the kind of influence that they may be having on schools.     

Knowing me knowing you: building valuable relationships outside the classroom

This small-scale case study begins with some background to outdoor education and residential trips. The article then moves on to look at some of the research around the importance of the child as person and the nature of pupil–teacher relationships in the working environment of the classroom. It then investigates the development of pupil–teacher relationships on a residential trip by discussing the range of interactions which took place. How these interactions may enhance learning back at school is considered as are the benefits of these interactions to newly qualified teachers and to more experienced teachers. The conclusion suggests that outdoor learning should have a stronger place in primary and middle school activity to challenge labeling and create a more effective ‘working consensus’.     

Students’ academic self-perception

Participation rates in higher education differ persistently between some groups in society. Using two British datasets we investigate whether this gap is rooted in students’ misperception of their own and other's ability, thereby increasing the expected costs to studying. Amongst high school pupils, we find that pupils with a more positive view of their academic abilities are more likely to expect to continue to higher education even after controlling for observable measures of ability and students’ characteristics. University students are also poor at estimating their own test performance and over-estimate their predicted test score. However, females, White and working class students have less inflated view of themselves. Self-perception has limited impact on the expected probability of success and expected returns amongst these university students.     

Being human: Transdisciplinarity in nursing

Nursing as an academic discipline typically draws on a wide range of other disciplines. There is debate about whether this is a sound basis for the discipline, or whether nursing needs to develop a distinctive body of knowledge. The concept of transdisciplinarity, though little discussed in nursing, is of considerable value in understanding nursing as an academic discipline, and provides a possible resolution to the debate above. In order to get a better understanding of what transdisciplinarity might mean in a nursing context, we conducted a qualitative interview-based study of faculty in a UK school of nursing. The debate about nursing’s status as a discipline was reproduced by the interviewees. Despite these differences, a degree of consensus emerged about the concept of nursing as a transdisciplinary discipline. Transdisciplinarity in nursing offers an overarching approach that is applicable to a broader range of disciplines. This approach offers the possibility of moving beyond some of the major debates in nursing as an academic discipline. This broad and pragmatic approach grounds nursing knowledge in nursing practice, which means that as a transdisciplinary discipline it does not overstate its claims to knowledge, but instead explicitly acknowledges tacit and ‘craftsmanship’-type forms of knowledge.     

Definitions of bullying: a comparison of terms used,and age and gender differences,in a fourteen-country international comparison

The study of school bullying has recently assumed an international dimension, but is faced with difficulties in finding terms in different languages to correspond to the English word bullying. To investigate the meanings given to various terms, a set of 25 stick-figure cartoons was devised, covering a range of social situations between peers. These cartoons were shown to samples of 8- and 14-year-old pupils (N = 1,245; n = 604 at 8 years, n = 641 at 14 years) in schools in 14 different countries, who judged whether various native terms cognate to bullying, applied to them. Terms from 10 Indo-European languages and three Asian languages were sampled. Multidimensional scaling showed that 8-year-olds primarily discriminated nonaggressive and aggressive cartoon situations; however, 14-year-olds discriminated fighting from physical bullying, and also discriminated verbal bullying and social exclusion. Gender differences were less appreciable than age differences. Based on the 14-year-old data, profiles of 67 words were then constructed across the five major cartoon clusters. The main types of terms used fell into six groups: bullying (of all kinds), verbal plus physical bullying, solely verbal bullying, social exclusion, solely physical aggression, and mainly physical aggression. The findings are discussed in relation to developmental trends in how children understand bullying, the inferences that can be made from cross-national studies, and the design of such studies.     

Enhancing the scholarship of teaching and learning: an organic approach

The aim of this paper is to report on an experiment in the School of Management at the University of Surrey whereby the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning is being promoted through an approach which is organic in nature. The paper argues that the nature of such scholarship means that its promotion is more likely to be successful when the approach taken is bottom-up and emergent as this is more likely to foster commitment and trust. In defining this approach, the paper draws on a diverse range of literature which is synthesised into a general concept of how such organic approaches may work. The paper concludes by suggesting that developing a Scholarship of Teaching and Learning requires the collective effort of all stakeholders involved.     

Endurance tests are the most reliable core stability related measurements

PurposeTo determine the intra-tester reliability of clinical measurements that assess five components related to core stability: strength, endurance, flexibility, motor control, and function.MethodsParticipants were 15 college-aged males who had not suffered any orthopedic injury in the past year. Core strength measurements included eight isometric tests and a sit-up test. The four core endurance tests were the trunk flexor test, trunk extensor test, and bilateral side bridge tests. Flexibility tests included the sit-and-reach test and active range of the trunk and hip joint motions. Proprioception via passive reposition tests of the hips and a single limb balance test on an unsteady platform were used to evaluate core motor control. Functional measurements consisted of a squat test and a single leg hop test for time and distance. Measurements were performed during two data collection sessions with a week's rest between the sessions. Intra-class correlation coefficients were calculated to establish reliability.ResultsThe overall intra-rater reliability for all core stability related measurements ranged from low (ICC = 0.35, left hip reposition) to very high (ICC = 0.98, sit-and-reach). As a group, the core endurance tests were observed to be the most reliable.ConclusionThere are highly reliable tests in each of the five groups. Overall, core endurance tests are the most reliable measurements, followed by the flexibility, strength, neuromuscular control, and functional tests, respectively.     

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