Negotiating Difference: How Aboriginal Athletes in the Maritimes Brokered their Involvement in Canadian Sport

Aboriginal perspectives on experiences in sport in Canada are largely missing from the existing body of literature on sociocultural aspects of sport, but this is especially the case in terms of Aboriginal people from the Maritimes region of Canada. Such an absence impedes our understanding of sport as an important cultural institution that can be used to normalize certain social practices, as well as challenge them. In this paper, we aim to contribute to the body of knowledge on Aboriginal sport by examining the lived experiences of nine elite Aboriginal athletes from the Maritimes, specifically those who won a Tom Longboat Award, through a postcolonial lens. In doing so, we reveal some of the nuanced power relationships that shaped their involvement in organized, competitive sport – distinctions that are not often addressed in the scholarly literature and thus limit our understanding of the complex and sometimes difficult realities of Aboriginal sport development in Canada. The participants’ stories tell us a great deal about the recipients as individuals, about Aboriginal peoples’ involvement in contemporary sport, and how the ways in which they negotiated difference within sport marked their lives.     

Self-regulation of learning and preference for written versus audio-recorded feedback by distance education students

Teacher feedback is critically related to student learning. This study sought to determine the relationships between distance education (DE) student level of self-regulated learning (SRL) and their preference for audio-recorded vs. written feedback from tutors. DE students (n = 102) enrolled in a first-year university course completed an online questionnaire that assessed eight dimensions of SRL as well as a personal evaluation of written vs. audio-recorded tutor feedback that was provided during the academic study period. In general, the participating DE students expressed preference for written over audio-recorded feedback. However, complex patterns of relationships emerged between dimensions of SRL and evaluation of written vs. audio-recorded feedback. For example, DE students who were most likely to listen to audio-recorded feedback appreciated peer interaction and personal challenges more than students who preferred written feedback. In DE learning environments, a variety of feedback formats may best meet the needs of all students, although exposure to various technologies may facilitate SRL.     

An elusive policy imperative: data and methodological challenges when using growth in student achievement to evaluate teacher education programs’ ‘Value-Added’

In this study researchers examined the effectiveness of one of the largest teacher education programs located within the largest research-intensive universities within the US. They did this using a value-added model as per current federal educational policy imperatives to assess the measurable effects of teacher education programs on their teacher graduates’ students’ learning and achievement as compared to other teacher education programs. Correlational and group comparisons revealed little to no relationship between value-added scores and teacher education program regardless of subject area or position on the value-added scale. These findings are discussed within the context of several very important data and methodological challenges researchers also made transparent, as also likely common across many efforts to evaluate teacher education programs using value-added approaches. Such transparency and clarity might assist in the creation of more informed value-added practices (and more informed educational policies) surrounding teacher education accountability.     

Mystery Boxes: Helping Children Improve their Reasoning

   This guest editorial describes ways teachers can use guessing games about an unknown item in a “mystery box” to help children improve their abilities to listen to others, recall information, ask purposeful questions, classify items by class, make inferences, synthesize information, and draw conclusions. The author presents information from a qualitative analysis of 90 preservice teachers’ reflections on using mystery boxes with preschool through elementary students in urban public school settings in central New York State. Children were enthusiastic about the game, used a variety of strategies to generate questions, experienced difficulties in paying attention, remembering and synthesizing information, and had difficulty focusing on more than one characteristic at a time. Errors included repetition of questions and class inclusion/exclusion errors. Modeling, thinking out loud, and giving hints helped children become successful. Creating one’s own mystery box, exercises in identifying attributes and classifying items, and practice in questioning techniques are among suggested follow-on activities.     

A comparison of pregnant women presenting for alcohol and other drug treatment by CPS status

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to describe the demographic, substance use, and treatment variables of alcohol and other drug (AOD) treatment seeking pregnant women. This study also compared women on these variables based on Child Protective Service (CPS) status. METHOD: Secondary data of all pregnant women with at least one child entering all publicly funded AOD treatment programs (N=678), in a southwest county, over a 3-year period were analyzed to examine the differences between pregnant women also involved with CPS and those not involved with CPS. RESULTS: Pregnant women reporting CPS involvement were similar to non-CPS women on demographic variables but differed on drug use and treatment variables. CPS women were more likely to report marijuana use as their primary problem drug, be mandated to treatment, attend day treatment and be released from treatment unsatisfactorily compared to the non-CPS pregnant women. Those without CPS involvement were more likely to report cocaine or crack as their primary drug, attend outpatient treatment and be found to have a satisfactory release from treatment compared to those with CPS involvement. Results from the multiple logistic regression analysis found that the significant predictors of CPS involvement were mandated status and unsatisfactory treatment release. CONCLUSIONS: Differences in treatment outcomes may be based on AOD agencies' difficulty in working with mandated clients and/or with the multiple demands placed by CPS on clients as part of their treatment plans. Further research is needed to determine reasons for CPS clients' high failure rates in AOD treatment.     

The Effect of Fine Motor Skill Activities on Kindergarten Student Attention

This study explored the effect of fine motor skill activities on the development of attention in kindergarteners (n = 68) in five classes at a suburban public school in the Intermountain West through a pretest/posttest experimental group (n = 36) control group (n = 32) design. All children received the regular curriculum which included typical fine motor activities such as painting, coloring, writing, and play activities with small items. The treatment was a series of supplemental fine motor activities in which children used tongs, tweezers, and spoons to move small items. The assessment was the attention subtest of the Cognitive Assessment System (CAS) (Naglieri, J. A., & Das, J. P. (1997a). Cognitive assessment system. Itasca, IL: Riverside). A significant group × sex interaction with females positively responding to the treatment was found, suggesting that fine motor skill activities are effective in increasing female kindergartners’ attention. Further studies exploring effective materials for males and factors such as student choice and interest are needed.