The twilight years? Educational ethnography and the five moments model

The growth and variety of qualitative research in education is used as a test case to challenge the narrative of ethnography proposed by Denzin and Lincoln. Their characterization of qualitative methods in terms of five (subsequently six) ''moments'' is not reflected in research on education. Ironically, their model is shown to be a modernist narrative that does not do justice do the diversity of qualitative research in the past. It is suggested that qualitative research has always been marked by greater diversity than is captured in unilinear developmental histories.     

The roles of specialist provision for children with specific speech and language difficulties in England and Wales: a model for inclusion?

Children with specific speech and language difficulties pose a challenge to the education and health systems. In addition to their language difficulties they are also at risk of literacy and social, emotional and behavioural difficulties. The main support for children with more severe difficulties has been enhanced provision in mainstream schools (language units or integrated resources) and special schools. The move to an inclusive education system challenges this tradition. This paper reports the results of interviews with heads of language units/integrated resources and head teachers of special schools (n = 57) as part of a larger study within England and Wales. Their views are considered with reference to criteria for entry to specialist provision, the development of collaborative practice between teachers, teaching assistants and speech and language therapists, and the implications for inclusive education.     

Designing Blended Inquiry Learning in a Laboratory Context: A Study of Incorporating Hands-On and Virtual Laboratories

This article reports on the development of a methodology that integrates virtual and hands-on inquiry in a freshman introductory biology course. Using a two time × two order-condition design, an effective combination (blend) of the two environments was evaluated with 39 freshman biology participants. The quantitative results documented no significant effect of presentation order but demonstrated a significant effect of the combined learning experience. The qualitative results showed a strong preference by students for the virtual work preceding the hands-on laboratory. The study provides practitioners an effective alternative to traditional instructional practices by combining virtual and hands-on inquiry learning.

The within-participant correlation between perception of effort and heart rate-based estimations of training load in elite soccer players

ABSTRACT

The measurement of relative physiological stress during training is important because this is the stimulus for the long-term adaptive response. Measurements of perceived exertion (RPE) have been reported to correlate with the heart rate during field-based training sessions. Nevertheless, there are few studies on how well RPE tracks with the heart rate over repeated training sessions in elite soccer players. Therefore, we aimed to quantify the within-participant correlations between variability in session-RPE (sRPE) and the heart rate in elite male soccer players, and to determine whether the playing position moderated these correlations. The field-based training of four central defenders, four wide defenders, six central midfielders, two wide midfielders and three attackers from an elite English Premier League squad were monitored over an entire in-season competitive period, giving a total of 1010 individual training sessions for study. Correlations between session-RPE and heart rates were quantified using a within-participant model. The correlation between changes in sRPE and heart rates was r = 0.75 (95% CI: 0.71–0.78). This correlation remained high across the various player positions (wide-defender, r = 0.81; central-defender, r = 0.74; wide midfielder, r = 0.70; central midfielder, r = 0.70; attacker, r = 0.84; P < 0.001). The correlation between changes in RPE and heart rates, measured during a season-long period of field-based training, is high in a sample of elite soccer players.     

Using a computer game to teach school-aged children about asthma

The purpose of this study was to determine whether playing Quest for the Code?, a computer game designed to teach children about asthma, would help healthy children acquire knowledge about and attitudes towards asthma and whether the beneficial effects would be maintained over time. The sample consisted of 155 children from four middle schools who were randomly assigned to play Quest for the Code? or a game about nutrition serving as the control condition. Data were collected on knowledge and attitude pre-intervention, post-intervention, and at follow-up four weeks later. The results revealed that children who played Quest for the Code? were more knowledgeable and had more positive attitudes than their peers in the control condition. And these benefits were maintained on follow-up tests. Our findings indicate the effectiveness and potential of using Quest for the Code? as a tool for asthma education in a classroom setting.