How times change: Secondary teachers' job satisfaction and dissatisfaction in 1962 and 2007

In this article we explore the level of job satisfaction and the sources of job dissatisfaction for 210 secondary school teachers in southwest England and compare our results with the results from a similar study published in 1962. Using anonymous questionnaires, we asked 210 secondary teachers in southwest England (63% female) to rate their level of job satisfaction and to rate 16 sources of job dissatisfaction that we adapted from the 1962 study. Teachers in 2007 rated their job satisfaction significantly lower and ordered the sources of job dissatisfaction significantly differently than did teachers in 1962. Whereas teachers in 1962 were most concerned with external sources of job dissatisfaction (e.g. salary, condition of buildings and equipment and poor human relations), teachers in 2007 expressed the most concern about factors relating to teaching itself (e.g. time demands and pupils' behaviour). The changes in sources of dissatisfaction hold true for male and female teachers, with no difference in rankings according to years of teaching experience.     

Toleration, Children and Education

The paper explores challenges for the interpretation of the ideal toleration that arise in educational contexts involving children. It offers an account of how a respect-based conception of toleration can help to resolve controversies about the accommodation and response to diversity that arise in schools.     

Running economy,mechanics, and marathon racing shoes

ABSTRACT

The choice of marathon racing shoes can greatly affect performance. The purpose of this study is to metabolically and mechanically compare the consumer version of the Nike Vaporfly 4% shoe to two other popular marathon shoes, and determine differences in running economy. Nineteen subjects performed two 5-minute trials at 4.44m/s wearing the Adidas Adios Boost (AB), Nike Zoom Streak (ZS), and Nike Vaporfly 4% (VP) in random order. Oxygen uptake was recorded during minutes 3–5 and averaged across both shoe trials. On a second day, subjects wore reflective markers, and performed a 3-minute trial in each shoe. Motion and force data were collected over the final 30 seconds of each trial. VP oxygen uptake was 2.8% and 1.9% lower than the AB and ZS. Stride length, plantar flexion velocity, and center of mass vertical oscillation were significantly different in the VP. The percent benefit of the VP over AB shoe was predicted by subject ground time. These results indicate that use of the VP shoe results in improved running economy, partially due to differences in running mechanics. Subject variation in running economy improvement is only partially explained by variation in ground time.     

The microstructure of practice activities engaged in by elite and recreational youth cricket players

Abstract

Practice plays an important role in skill acquisition, although not all practice is of equal quality. We examined the types of team practice activities in four groups of youth cricket players. The groups were recreational- and elite-children (9 to 12 years of age) and recreational- and elite-adolescent players (13 to 17 years of age). Time motion analysis recorded the duration in two types of practice activities, namely, Training Form and Playing Form. Training Form is mainly drill-type activities, whereas Playing Form is mainly games-based activities. Training Form activity is thought to contain fewer opportunities to develop the perceptual, cognitive and motor skills required for successful performance in competition when compared to Playing Form. Session duration was a mean value of 95, s?=?29?min. All players combined spent 69% of session time in Training Form activity and 19% in Playing Form, with the remaining percentage of time spent in transition between activities. Recreational-children spent around half of their time in Playing Form activity, whereas both elite and adolescent groups spent little or no time in this activity. Findings from this research highlight a gap between research and practice that may not be optimal for skill acquisition.     

A Better Way to Begin Again Together: the value of a comparative approach to teaching poetry in school

This paper suggests a particular value to treating the teaching of poetry in school comparatively. It argues that the justification for this claim derives from the ways in which peculiar symbiotic dependencies between poetry, languages, cultures and uniquely individual consciousness‐‐and between poetry, childhood learning and children's achievement of literacy‐‐can be represented in a teaching methodology. It refers to a unique teaching and research project, directed by the author at Goldsmiths’ College, University of London, which has developed principles and strategies for building a new pedagogy with children and in teacher education.     

The historical context of Newton's Third Law and the teaching of mechanics

Many studies have shown that Newton's Third Law of Motion is not easy for students to accept when they consider the interaction of two objects. A number of prominent science educators believe that it should not be taught to students before Year 11. This paper reports the results of a study of the historical origins of Newton's Third Law with a view to identifying the context from which it emerged in the 17th century and the conceptual changes which accompanied its emergence. Some of the possible implications of a study such as this for improving the teaching of introductory mechanics are discussed. Specializations: physics education, concept development, history and philosophy of science in science teaching.     

How student perceptions about online learning difficulty influenced their satisfaction during Canada's Covid-19 response

The COVID-19 pandemic has posed a significant challenge to higher education and forced academic institutions across the globe to abruptly shift to remote teaching. Because of the emergent transition, higher education institutions continuously face difficulties in creating satisfactory online learning experiences that adhere to the new norms. This study investigates the transition to online learning during Covid-19 to identify factors that influenced students' satisfaction with the online learning environment. Adopting a mixed-method design, we find that students' experience with online learning can be negatively affected by information overload, and perceived technical skill requirements, and describe qualitative evidence that suggest a lack of social interactions, class format, and ambiguous communication also affected perceived learning. This study suggests that to digitalize higher education successfully, institutions need to redesign students' learning experience systematically and re-evaluate traditional pedagogical approaches in the online context.

Practitioner notes

What is already known about this topic

• University transitions to online learning during the Covid-19 pandemic were undertaken by faculty and students who had little online learning experience.
• The transition to online learning was often described as having a negative influence on students' learning experience and mental health.
• Varieties of cognitive load are known predictors of effective online learning experiences and satisfaction.

What this paper adds

• Information overload and perceptions of technical abilities are demonstrated to predict students' difficulty and satisfaction with online learning.
• Students express negative attitudes towards factors that influence information overload, technical factors, and asynchronous course formats.
• Communication quantity was not found to be a significant factor in predicting either perceived difficulty or negative attitudes.

Implications for practice and/or policy

• We identify ways that educators in higher education can improve their online offerings and implementations during future disruptions.
• We offer insights into student experience concerning online learning environments during an abrupt transition.
• We identify design factors that contribute to effective online delivery, educators in higher education can improve students' learning experiences during difficult periods and abrupt transitions to online learning.