Cross-cultural comparisons of child-reported emotional and physical abuse: rates, risk factors and psychosocial symptoms

OBJECTIVES: This study was designed to assess the incidence of child emotional and physical abuse, associated risk factors and psychosocial symptoms in a cross-cultural comparison between post-communist bloc countries. Method: One-thousand one-hundred forty-five children ages 10-14 from Latvia (N = 297), Lithuania ( N = 300), Macedonia (N = 302), and Moldova (N = 246) participated in the study. They completed questionnaires assessing their experience of emotional or physical abuse, and provided information about family risk-factors and psychosocial symptoms, including PTSD-related symptoms. RESULTS: Incidence rates of maltreatment differed by country, as did levels of reported psychosocial symptoms. Incidence of emotional and physical abuse differed by region, with higher levels of abuse reported in the rural regions. In all four countries, a similar association between emotional/physical abuse and psychosocial symptoms was found, with the uniformly largest correlation between emotional abuse and anger. When examining the combined scores of emotional and physcial abuse, even higher correlation's were found, particularly in relation to anger and depression. In all four countries, parental overuse of alcohol was associated with emotional and/or physical abuse. CONCLUSIONS: Findings show differences by country in child-reported levels of emotional and physical abuse, but similar patterns of correlation with psychosocial symptoms and the risk factors of parental alcohol overuse and living in a rural area.     

Faculty identity through spheres of teaching and research activity and associated genres

This study aims to understand how faculty identity development is related to a differential use of writing genres in the teaching and research spheres of activity and whether this development follows different paths, on the bases of faculty perceptions regarding what they consider their main goal at university and their preferred sphere of activity. Participants (N?=?67) answered the online survey Faculty identity and academic writing. A mixed-method design combining quantitative and qualitative data analysis was used. Results showed first that the most often used genres were written exams in the teaching sphere of activity. Second, activities related to the research sphere, such as writing-related activities and participation in events were the least reported while evaluative activities were mentioned in all spheres. Third, faculty’s perceptions regarding their main goal at university (research) were not in alignment with their preferences (teaching). Writing genres used and activities reported closely mirror preferred spheres of activity and mismatch faculty’s perceptions of their main goal at universities. In conclusion, sphere of activity preferences relate to different paths of faculty’s identity development.     

“I wanted to go here”: Adolescents’ perspectives on school choice

New Zealand legislation removing school zones radically reshaped school choice, resulting in increased school stratification from parental choice frequently driven by social factors such as ethnic makeup of the school community. This article considers school choice through the eyes of 1,465 adolescents from 12 secondary schools in Dunedin (New Zealand). The most common reasons for school choice included: preference for a coeducational school, school’s facilities, positive comments from parents/students, and friends’ enrollment. Reasons for school choice differed by who was making the decision. Social factors and school programs/facilities, rather than proximity to home, influenced school choice decisions in Dunedin.     

Can schools become an inclusive space shared by all families? Learnings and debates from an action research project in Catalonia

ABSTRACT

This article discusses a 2-year action research project carried out in Catalonia using a sample of seven schools with varying degrees of social and ethnic diversity, focusing on the debate and critical perspectives surrounding the question of family–school relationships. It underlines four considerations, which are seen as symbolic, practical and probable barriers to this partnership: unequal power relationships, diversity and inequality of families, the grammar of schooling and how teachers view their professional identity. We present an action research project that involved the critical participation of the teaching staff in these seven schools and designed to answer the following question: under what conditions could family–school relationships be improved with and for all families, pupils and teachers? The conclusion discusses both the limitations of the critical action research and the lessons learnt from it: (a) the true transformation of the grammar of schooling is a slow and complex process; (b) this process is positive for teachers and makes their work better and easier; (c) the evaluation of constructive critical support is relevant and highly valued; and (d) the assessment of improved daily actions is key to making them visible and sustaining the change process.     

The relative age effect in a professional football club setting

Abstract

The relative age effect is an uneven distribution of birth date favouring subjects born in the initial months of a selection year. This study compared the birth-date distributions between several subgroups of Basque football players to identify whether the relative age effect is influenced by age and/or skill level. The study comprised 13,519 players including 114 senior professionals from the Spanish league's AC Bilbao over 21 seasons; over the season 2005–2006, it comprised elite youth (n = 189) from the same club's academy; regional youth (n = 4382) U11–U14 locally federated players; school youth (n = 8834) U10–U11 locally registered school district players. Differences between the observed and expected birth-date distributions were tested based on data from the general Basque male population. Significant chi-square values were followed up by calculating odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for the quartile and half-year distributions to examine subgroup differences in the relative age effect. Birth-date distributions of all groups of players showed a significant bias towards early birth in the selection year compared with the reference population (senior, χ² ₃ = 24.4, P < 0.001; elite youth, χ² ₃ = 59.1, P < 0.001; regional youth, χ² ₃ = 41.4, P < 0.001; school youth, χ² ₃ = 40.9, P < 0.001). Between-group comparison revealed that the relative age effect incidence progressively increased with a higher level of involvement in youth football. This bias represents a significant loss of potential youth football talent.     

The impact of secondary history teachers’ teaching conceptions on the classroom use of computers

During the past 15 years, various studies have described factors affecting the use of computers in the classroom. In analysing factors of influence, many studies have focused on technology-related variables such as computer experience or attitudes toward computers, and others have considered teachers’ beliefs as well; most of them have studied undefined categories of teachers and focused on explaining the frequency of technology in classrooms. The present study centres on secondary history teachers’ teaching conceptions as a precursor to the ways in which they use computing technology in the classroom. The research is a qualitative study examining the theoretical assumption that teachers’ conceptions of teaching and learning guide their pedagogical action. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 10 Chilean history teachers, and their didactic sequences were filmed extensively. The research found patterns among educational uses of technology in relation to teaching conceptions (defining the latter based on three conceptual groups: direct instruction or individual or social construction of knowledge) in terms of the allotment of time and the manner of teacher technology use, and less sharply defined patterns were also noted in student technology use and teacher–student–technology interactions.     

Making Poor Choices? Demand Rationalities and School Choice in a Chilean Local Education Market

Although the literature on school choice rationalities is extensive, different authors interpret the processes of school choice for poor families in different ways. Positions vary between those that consider that poor families have the same capacity to choose as middle class families and those that value structural factors as constraints for choice. The objective of this article is to identify different school choice rationalities of low income families in the context of a highly marketized education system such as Chile. Beyond the restrictions of a different nature that poor families face, this social group mostly expresses high levels of reflexivity and complex sets of preferences when it comes to choosing schools for their children. This article tries to overcome the dualistic division that prevails in school choice literature between choice as an outcome of utility maximization for all, and choice as a denial for deprived groups.     

Science Teachers’ Thinking About the Nature of Science: A New Methodological Approach to Its Assessment

This paper describes Spanish science teachers’ thinking about issues concerning the nature of science (NOS) and the relationships connecting science, technology, and society (STS). The sample consisted of 774 in-service and pre-service teachers. The participants responded to a selection of items from the Questionnaire of Opinions on Science, Technology & Society in a multiple response model. These data were processed to generate the invariant indices that are used as the bases for subsequent quantitative and qualitative analyses. The overall results reflect moderately informed conceptions, and a detailed analysis by items, categories, and positions reveals a range of positive and negative conceptions about the topics of NOS dealt with in the questionnaire items. The implications of the findings for teaching and teacher training on the themes of NOS are discussed.