The Very Big Picture

It is argued that education systems are of considerable importance in the evolving worlds economic and social order. A range of policies are offered which it is argued will improve British educational practices and outcomes considerably. Further advances are argued to be necessary in the improvement of global knowledge management, extending international networks, rethinking public/private collaboration, learning the lessons of research on the human brain, embracing educational transformation and cherishing the ethical core of education.     

Teaching Practices that Promote Motor Skills in Early Childhood Settings

Early childhood educators, especially those in preschool centers, are often expected to design and implement movement programs. However, these individuals may not have been taught these skills during their education. The purpose of this study was to determine if early childhood majors could successfully be taught to implement a mastery climate instructional approach to promote motor skill development to preschool-age children. Twenty undergraduate Early Childhood Education majors, who completed a Motor Development Across the School Years course, designed and implemented a movement program to develop preschoolers’ locomotor and object control skills. Fourteen preschoolers participated in an 11-week movement program. Preschoolers’ motor performance was assessed with the Test of Gross Motor Development—2nd Edition prior to and following the intervention. Results indicate significant improvements in total performance (p < .05) and locomotor skills (p = .037). Findings indicate that with guidance and training, early childhood majors can effectively design and implement a mastery-based movement program that enhances motor skill competence. The findings also demonstrate the need and value for early childhood majors to receive training in the design and implementation of movement programs. This paper provides a conceptual framework and practical recommendations to assist teachers and educators with implementing a mastery climate movement programs.     

PERSPECTIVES ON THE INSTRUCTION OF BIOLOGICAL AGING COURSES

Courses in biological aging are becoming increasingly common and necessary in college curricula for several reasons. At the same time, there is a lack of guidance for instructors regarding necessary content in such a course, which is in part perpetuated by uncertainty about the background of students who need this instruction and a lack of consistency in the content and style of human aging textbooks. In this article, the authors, as instructors who have taught undergraduate level human biological aging courses for many years, describe the areas of study and needs of students likely to enroll in such a course and also detail strategies and organizational methods found to be advantagous in teaching this material in a coherent and understandable manner to a largely nonscience major student cohort. Strategies discussed include alteration of course content, decompartmentalization of topics, relation of biological topics to social science reference points, and contrasting “universal” and pathological age‐related changes. Also included is an outline of the content and order of subjects that the authors have found through experience to be successful in the instruction of a biological aging course.     

Polychronicity: review of the literature and a new configuration for the study of this hidden dimension of online learning

Polychronicity is the natural tendency or preference for structuring time that has an influence on people’s behaviors. Highly polychronic individuals are involved in everything, doing many things at once because they value human relationships and interactions over arbitrary schedules and appointments. In contrast, highly monochronic individuals focus on one thing at a time, perceive other events as interruptions, and stress a high degree of scheduling, and promptness in meeting obligations and attending appointments. Although time is an important variable in educational contexts, and in particular in online learning, there is a lack of studies on polychronicity in educational research. This article reviews, summarizes, and extends the literature on polychronicity conceptualization and assessment; it discusses the limitations of the results and offers a multidimensional proposal for a polychronicity construct. Finally, the implications of students’ time differences and their impact on instructional situations are discussed.     

Engaging with Molecular Form to Understand Function

Understanding the relationship between form and function is critical for appreciating biology at the molecular level. This feature explores online materials that connect molecular structures with their functional relevance.Cells are bustling factories with diverse and prolific arrays of molecular machinery. Remarkably, this machinery self-organizes to carry out the complex biochemical activities characteristic of life. When Watson and Crick published the structure of DNA, they noted that DNA base pairing creates a double-stranded form that provides a means of accurately copying the genetic information. Understanding this link between form and function is important for understanding the basis of any biological activity. At the most basic level, a biomolecule''s function is dictated by its structure. The molecule''s shape and chemical properties facilitate interactions with other molecules and determine its role in the cell. Protein function depends on the precise folding of encoded linear stretches of amino acids into three-dimensional shapes. Protein misfolding can lead to various disease states. In this review, we explore engaging online resources that highlight the connection between structure and function in biomolecules. These resources are particularly relevant for instruction at the advanced high school and undergraduate biology levels.     

The role of child temperament as a predictor of early literacy and numeracy skills in preschoolers

A study was performed to explore the role of temperament as a predictor of early literacy and numeracy skills in preschoolers. The participants in this study were 94 children (46 males, 48 females) enrolled in half-day junior kindergarten (M_age= 51.52,SD = 3.25 mos.). Parents completed theColorado Child Temperament Inventory (CCTI, Buss and Plomin 1984 and Plomin). Child interviews were conducted, and vocabulary, concepts about print, counting, and numeracy skills were assessed. Results from hierarchical regression analyses revealed that temperament contributed uniquely to the explanation of literacy and numeracy skills over and above well-established indicators of a child’s academic achievement (i.e., parental education, gender, vocabulary). Results are discussed in terms of educational and developmental implications.     

The profile and progress of neglected and abused children in long-term foster care

ObjectivesThis study compared the profile of neglected and abused children in the Australian foster care system as well as differences between maltreatment types in relation to parental contact, reunification and psychosocial progress in care.MethodThe case files of 235 children entering foster care were examined and their social workers were administered standardised questionnaires at the point of intake. All measures were repeated for those remaining in care 1 year and then again 2 years later.ResultsNeglected children were younger than non-neglected children, more likely to have a physical or mental disability, more likely to experience multiple forms of maltreatment and less likely to pose conduct problems for carers. Neglected children were more likely than non-neglected children to experience a decline in parental contact over time, and were less likely to be reunified with their families of origin. There was minimal difference between neglected and non-neglected in their psychosocial progress while in care. Aboriginal children were more likely to be reunified than non-Aboriginal children when neglect was attributable to transient factors (parental incapacity) but the reverse was true for non-neglected children.ConclusionsThe fact that neglected children more often require a second form of maltreatment before being removed from home suggests that children's services workers are less inclined to remove children for neglect than for other forms of maltreatment. As a consequence, those neglected children who are in care tend to come from more dysfunctional families than non-neglected children do, as evidenced by the relatively poorer parental contact and reunification results of neglected children.Practice implicationsNeglected children differ systematically from non-neglected children and suffer relative disadvantage in relation to multiple forms of maltreatment, parental contact, and reunification. The fact that declines in parental contact among neglected children in care occurred only when indirect contact was provided suggests that, wherever possible, care plans should include face-to-face visits and overnight stays rather than being restricted to less direct forms of contact. The difference in the success of reunification according to type of neglect (chronic or transient) also suggests that parental intervention programs need to focus their efforts on chronic factors rather than transient parental factors.     

Inclusive and accessible physical education: rethinking ability and disability in pre-service teacher education

This paper identifies and explores emergent themes in inclusive PE in the specific context of pre-service teacher preparation programs. Fully inclusive PE encompasses four areas: knowledge and curricula related to ability and disability, teacher attitudes, pre-service teacher education and a reframing of our understandings of multiple perspectives on physical literacy. Fully accessible PE involves material and attitudinal conditions configured to render these programs actually usable by all those whose ‘inclusion’ is intended. Access is, indeed, conceptually implied in ‘inclusion’, however, in practice the latter can easily become more of a slogan naming an aspiration than a realizable state of affairs. Unless an organization or individual brings a universal commitment to access, attitudinal barriers may prevent full inclusion from becoming a reality. The paper uses qualitative case study methodology to examine pre-service teacher education students’ preconceptions about ‘dis’ability and analyses heuristically how pre-service teachers pre-conceived notions of ability and disability may be challenged through an intervention. 21C PE programs can move towards an emphasis on inclusive activities which are not based on traditional conceptions of physical competence, size, shape, appearance and ability, but instead focus on how all bodies can develop fundamental movement skills, functional fitness and physical literacy. The author challenges pre-service students to address issues of accessibility, normative notions of ability, body equity, social justice and inclusion, as well as the need for multiple definitions of physical literacy. The paper is a case study of the specific phenomenon of ‘broadening student teachers’ understandings of ability and disability in PE’ as a necessary condition for preparing students to work in schools where full inclusion may not have been integral to PE policies, programs and practices.     

Mobile Phones in the Bedroom: Trajectories of Sleep Habits and Subsequent Adolescent Psychosocial Development

Mobile phones are an essential part of an adolescent's life, leading them to text, phone, or message into the night. Longitudinal latent growth models were used to examine relations between changes in adolescent night‐time mobile phone use, changes in sleep behavior, and changes in well‐being (depressed mood, externalizing behavior, self‐esteem, and coping) for 1,101 students (43% male) between 13 and 16 years old. Both night‐time mobile phone use and poor sleep behavior underwent positive linear growth over time. Increased night‐time mobile phone use was directly associated with increased externalizing behavior and decreased self‐esteem and coping. Changes in sleep behavior mediated the relation between early changes in night‐time mobile phone use and later increases in depressed mood and externalizing behavior and later declines in self‐esteem and coping.