Predicting Participation in Environmental Education by Teachers in Coastal Regions of Tanzania

Theories of responsible environmental behavior (REB) have most often been applied in developed countries and to direct forms of REB such as recycling and conserving water. This study applied a model of REB to a developing country setting in Tanzania based in part on variables from a Hungerford and Volk (1990) Hungerford, H. R. and Volk, T. L. 1990. Changing learner behavior through EE. Journal of Environmental Education, 21: 8–21. [Taylor & Francis Online] , [Google Scholar] model and targeting an indirect form of behavior: teaching environmental education (EE) to youth. A quantitative survey was developed and administered to 397 teachers from schools in coastal regions of the country. Regression analyses revealed a sequential model in which entry level variables predicted ownership variables, and ownership variables predicted empowerment variables. In addition, cognitive variables were particularly strong in predicting behavioral intent compared to affective variables.     

One School, Many Differences: An Assessment Tool for School Counselors and Multicultural Counseling

Multicultural counseling competencies (MCCs) have typically been measured with instruments designed for and normed on mental health professionals – for example, MCCTS-R; Holcomb-McCoy (Professional School Counseling 4:195–208, 2001); MCI; Sodowsky et al. (Journal of Counseling and Development 41:137–148, 1994); D’Andrea et al. (Journal of Counseling & Development 70:143–150, 1991). One published instrument specifically assesses school counselor MCCs – MCCTS-R; Holcomb-McCoy (Professional School Counseling 4:195–208, 2001) – but it does not conform to ASCA standards (2010, E.2). Following a set of validation procedures, an instrument designed to specifically assess school counselors’ multicultural counseling competencies was created that conforms to American School Counselor Association and Association for Multicultural Counseling and Development standards. Its creation is detailed here and the resulting instrument is presented for examination and consideration.     

Frequency analyses of prephonological spellings as predictors of success in conventional spelling

The present study explored how children's prephonological writing foretells differential learning outcomes in primary school. The authors asked Portuguese-speaking preschool children in Brazil (mean age 4 year 3 months) to spell 12 words. Monte Carlo tests were used to identify the 31 children whose writing was not based on spellings or sounds of the target words. Two and a half years later, the children took a standardized spelling test. The more closely the digram (two-letter sequence) frequencies in the preschool task correlated with those in children's books, the better scores the children had in primary school, and the more preschoolers used letters from their own name, the lower their subsequent scores. Thus, preschoolers whose prephonological writing revealed attentiveness to the statistical properties of text subsequently performed better in conventional spelling. These analytic techniques may help in the early identification of children at risk for spelling difficulties.     

‘Chasing the Elusive Pill’: YMCA Men,the Paris Baseball League and Making Baseball French, 1919–1925

American Baseball was introduced in France in the late nineteenth century, to little appeal. During the First World War, American soldiers immediately began playing the sport for recreation in France, but it was YMCA men in the new Foyers du Soldat, rest and relaxation huts, who truly re-introduced baseball to the French. After the war, Americans in Paris created an amateur league that perpetuated baseball, but the sport still did not resonate with but a minority ofthe French, despite great efforts. It was only in 1924, in the wake of the Olympics, that the French took organisational control of baseball, winning government recognition and establishing firm roots for the sport by making baseball nominally French.     

The role of the athletes’ entourage on attitudes to doping

ABSTRACT

The present study investigated athletes’ and coaches’ beliefs about the role of athletes’ entourage in deterring or promoting doping. Competitive athletes and coaches in Greece and Australia took part in semi-structured interviews. Our analysis of the interviews produced five main themes: coach influence, peer influence, doping stance, doping stigma, and entourage’s culture. Overall, coaches and peers having a close and trusty relationship with the athletes were considered most influential with respect to doping-related decisions. The majority of the athletes held a strong anti-doping stance but could not articulate why they held this position. This inability could be ascribed to the stigmatization of doping which led to lack of knowledge and anti-doping education. Finally, an anti-doping culture in the athletes’ environment was considered central to an anti-doping stance. The study findings provide valuable information towards a comprehensive understanding of the role athletes’ entourage can play in shaping athletes’ attitudes and decision for doping.     

Evaluating leadership development in an academic program

An evaluation of the Royal Military College of Canada's Aboriginal Leadership Opportunity Year leadership practicum was conducted in 2009. This novel approach used several human performance technology (HPT) models to frame the evaluation and identify the dimensions and subdimensions of merit. This article explains the theoretical framework of the evaluation, how and why different HPT models complemented the evaluation process, the challenges faced in executing the evaluation, and the teams' findings on using this approach.     

人生教我的20个功课

为了庆祝变得更老（下个月我这把老骨头就90岁了）：我写下人生教我的一些功课。这是我写过的最叫座的专栏。1．人生是不公平的,但还是好得很。2．怀疑的时候,为未来踏出一小步。3．人生太短,短到来不及浪费时间去恨任何一个人。4．生病的时候,你的工作不会照顾你,你的朋友和父母才会和你保持联络。5．每个月付清你的账单。6．你不需要每一次都吵赢,同意你原本不同意的。7．找人一起哭,这要比独自啜泣更能治疗伤痛。8．对上帝生气没有关系,他受得了。