Vorwort

Ohne Zusammenfassung     

Body image, perceived and actual physical abilities in normal-weight and overweight boys involved in individual and team sports

The aim of the study was to examine the relationships among body image, perception of physical abilities, and motor performance in boys involved in organized individual (i.e. tennis, fencing, judo) and team (i.e. soccer, handball, volleyball) sports. Altogether, 162 children (12.6 ± 1.0 years) were categorized as normal-weight (n = 85) or overweight (n = 77). Body image was measured using Collins' Child Figure Drawings, while individuals' perceptions of strength, speed, and agility were assessed using the Perceived Physical Ability Scale. Fitness tests of the standing long jump, 20 m sprint, and 10 × 5 m shuttle-run were also administered. Overweight boys showed greater body dissatisfaction and lower actual physical abilities than normal-weight peers. Participants involved in team sports reported lower body dissatisfaction and better performances in the shuttle-run compared with those involved in individual sports. For boys participating in team sports, body dissatisfaction was a significant mediator of the effect of body mass index on perceived physical ability. Results may influence intervention efforts, suggesting that targeting personal, psychological, and physical factors may prove efficient across physical activity locations and weight groups.     

Training and Education for Conducting Physical Education Classes in Croatia since 1875

This research analyzed the activities and events that enabled the establishment of an education and training system for physical education (PE) teachers in Croatia. The beginning of professional PE education in Croatia is related to its introduction as an obligatory subject in the elementary school curriculum of the Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia in 1874. Most elementary school teachers did not have the knowledge needed to conduct PE classes. We recognized two parallel systems of training introduced in 1875: the first consisted of short training courses, and the second was the introduction of gymnastics as an obligatory course at teacher-training colleges. Twenty years after these obligatory PE classes were introduced to Croatian schools, Franjo Bu?ar organized and managed a two-year course for secondary school gymnastics teachers (1894–1896) after his return from a two-year educational programme at the Royal Central Gymnastic College in Stockholm (Sweden). This high school was the first for PE training not only in Croatia but also this region of Europe. In 1959, the first Croatian institution for PE education was established: the High School for Physical Culture in Zagreb.     

Career development of foreign trained immigrants from regulated professions

In this article, we aim to examine and understand the career development experiences of foreign-trained immigrants from regulated professions (FTIRPs) in Canada. To provide some background on immigration in a Canadian context, we focus on a myriad of factors that affect the vocational well-being of FTIRPs. We apply key concepts from several major career development theories to FTIRPs, proposing some general helping strategies intended to empower this population in managing and developing their careers in a new world of work in their host country.     

Examining a Ferguson Effect on College Students’ Motivation to Become Police Officers

Abstract

The current study examines the impact of the Ferguson Effect and related public scrutiny on college students’ motivation to become police officers. Using data from 654 students located at two US universities with over 20,000 students, the results indicate that students’ who perceived that officer motivation and dangerousness has been affected by negative media scrutiny had significantly higher log-odds of strongly agreeing that such scrutiny has negatively impacted their trajectory to work in the police profession and had higher log-odds of strongly agreeing that it has made them apprehensive about applying for police positions in comparison to the reference category. The current study highlights how the negative attention directed towards law enforcement is adversely influencing college students’ motivation to enter the police profession. Police departments must make a concerted effort to mitigate such negative scrutiny in order to ensure a strong candidate pool for prospective police officers.     

Rhodesia's ‘rebel and racist’ Olympic team: Athletic glory,national legitimacy and the clash of politics and sport

This article traces the history of the Olympic participation of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, then the British colony of Southern Rhodesia, and then unilaterally independent settler-ruled Rhodesia after 1965, placing heavy emphasis on the racially integrated aspects of the sporting sphere. Rhodesia's status in the International Olympic Committee inevitably came under assault after 1965 owing to its white government and international sporting sanctions. The battles of the press, the high-level diplomatic manoeuvring, and finally the IOC debate first to exclude Rhodesia from Munich and then to permanently expel the Rhodesian NOC in 1975 are analysed in detail. As a charismatic organization, the IOC operated outside the world of rules and rational principles, devoted to certain values expressed in ‘Olympism’. Because of this commitment, and the resulting belief that politics had no place in sport, the IOC was insulated from the great changes taking place in the world at large. The newly independent world sought to make democratic equality a part of the Olympic vision, trumping the long-held charismatic principles of the IOC; the expulsion of Rhodesia was the culmination of this trend.     

Research interests of secondary science teachers

In the past few years, science educators and the nation at large have become increasingly concerned about the “Crisis in Science Education.” An underlying cause of this crisis is the nonuniform quality of instruction delivered by secondary science teachers. One way to improve the quality of teaching in the schools is the application of science education research findings to teaching. Most teachers are unaware of the research findings and/or do not apply them in their classrooms. This study helps determine the areas of research which are of greatest interest to secondary science teachers. Results will be used by NSTA to determine the contents of future volumes of the monograph What Research Says to the Science Teacher. A random sample of 600 secondary science teachers was obtained from the National Registry of NSTA. Teachers were sent a 23 item questionnaire that asked them to rate their interest in each research topic on a five point scale. The questionnaire contained the 12 items prepared by a NARST-NSTA committee in 1979 and an additional 11 items using the same format. Demographic data collected from the survey included sex, teaching assignment, role in school, type of school, type of community, years of teaching experience, and familiarity with What Research Says. … Data were analyzed using this demographic data as well as according to whether teachers returned the original or a follow-up questionnaire. Teachers who returned the first questionnaire had basically the same preferences as those who returned the follow-up questionnaire. Sixty percent of the teachers completed the questionnaire in usable form. Overall results of the study based on both frequency of response and on mean rating indicate that the following five topics are of greatest interest to secondary science teachers: laboratory experiences, motivational techniques, effect on college courses, problem solving, and meaningful learning. Analysis of data according to the subject taught indicated that chemistry and physics teachers are more interested in problem solving than biology teachers, and that chemistry, physics, and earth science teachers are also interested in the sequence of the content. Males and females had the same top five interests but in a different order. The same is true for teachers of grades 7–9 versus grades 10–12. Rural teachers preferences varied substantially from those in other settings and differences were also found for teachers familiar with What Research Says … compared to the rest of the sample. For every classification of teacher, the area of least interest was sex difference research.     

Concept mapping: A useful tool for science education

This article describes the genesis and development of concept mapping as a useful tool for science education. It also offers an overview of the contents of this special issue and comments on the current state of knowledge representation. Suggestions for further research are made throughout the article.