A voice in the wilderness: Meetings as ritual in a cross-cultural context

Drawing on a wider ethnographic study of cross-cultural interaction in a Papua New Guinean tertiary institution, this paper examines the interactions occurring in staff meetings. While the cross-cultural context is important, there are patterns here that are illuminating for all who have participated in meetings in any context. Meetings are framed as ritual: stereotypic, quasi dramatic, repetitive behaviors that persevere and are valued regardless of what is actually achieved. Having access to prestigious forms of knowledge, along with the prerogative to determine which knowledge and discourse types may be legitimately drawn upon in the meeting frame, allows those with power to determine the rules. Perhaps more importantly, it allows them to treat these rules, once normalized, in a more flexible way than less knowledgeable participants. Those who have communication competence, as defined within this frame, not only exercise influence but determine others' ability to do so. Non-participants collude with this in their silence. Collusion sustains existing perceptions of power, knowledge, and competence. If there is a genuine desire for more equitable decision making in meetings, participants might begin by probing the rituals of their meetings.     

Playing for position: education policy,Physical Education and nationalism in Wales

This paper explores the connections between Physical Education, nationalism and citizenship in England and Wales focusing upon how education legislation, in particular the National Curriculum (NC) and Local Management of Schools (LMS), are implicated in the cultural production of ideational differences between and amongst the peoples of England and Wales. As our previous research has centred heavily on the making and implementation of education policy and PE in England, we take this opportunity to adjust our gaze and focus squarely on issues of cultural production in Wales, particularly relationships between the construction of images of Welsh identity and education policy and practice relating to PE and sport in schools. The analysis highlights that tendencies towards a narrow, conservative, cultural restoration are as evident in Wales as they are in England and obstruct progression towards more innovative and progressive ideals.     

Creating Community on the Margins: The Successful Black Female Academician

The experiences of a Black Female academic, working at a Predominately White Institution (PWI), is explored in this work. The author suggests that Black women have been historically marginalized within most PWI’s and historically this has been viewed in a negative light. Here it is suggested that Black women in academe view this position as one of power which can be used to propel them towards the goals of tenure and promotion. This work uses Black Feminist Theory to examine these experiences and to provide a proper context for analysis.     

The interface between arts practice and research: attitudes and perceptions of Australian artist‐academics

Whilst an academic working in the arts may have been appointed as a consequence of artistic accomplishment and a capacity to teach, the research that underpins such work is an intrinsic part of its production and also needs to be recognised. In Australia, the ability of the artist‐academic to translate research into a form that is respected and rewarded is an issue of contention. This paper gathers responses to this issue. Perceptions of and attitudes to creative work as research are canvassed alongside life decisions arising from those perceptions and attitudes. This research occurs in the context of a new Australian framework for the evaluation of research. This framework offers some recognition of the research that supports creative practice. Thus, the long‐standing experience of compromise reported by the Australian artist‐academics interviewed for this study are discussed alongside new policies that seek to construct methodologies for its amelioration.     

Codes of Conduct for Undergraduate Teaching in Four Types of Colleges and Universities

Codes of conduct for undergraduate teaching stipulate quality professional standards for teaching. Besides contributing to the safeguarding of student welfare, such codes are critical given the autonomy the professoriate has in the performance of its teaching role, the need for professional self-regulation, and research evidence linking positive teacher behaviors to student success. This study investigated the incidence of publicly-posted codes of conduct for undergraduate teaching in four types of institutions. It is the first stage of a research program that will assess the extent of faculty adherence to codes of conduct and arrangements for reporting and instituting sanctions for violations of such codes.     

Preparing beginning teachers for inclusion: designing and assessing supplementary fieldwork experiences

Inclusive education requires restructuring educational provision so that mainstream schools are able to provide for the needs of all students in their communities. To help realise this goal, initial teacher education programmes need to better prepare new graduates for teaching students with complex special education needs, including students with intellectual disability. Concerns about the capacity of current school-based placements to prepare new teachers for inclusive classrooms have led some teacher education institutions to develop supplementary fieldwork experiences. The current study involved an investigation into such an experience and looked at the benefits to pre-service teachers (PSTs) of tutoring a young adult with intellectual disability. The findings indicate that PSTs learned effective strategies for differentiating a programme of work and, in their first year of study, were developing a teacher identity. The importance of aligning experiences with coursework units is highlighted and the need for valid assessments of how well initial teacher education programmes are preparing beginning teachers for inclusion, and what these assessments may look like, is discussed.     

Let's Talk About Sex … Education

An important goal of any sexuality education program is to support youth and young adults to develop a positive self-image and develop competence and confidence in skills needed to express sexuality and develop positive relationships. For youth and young adults with disabilities, sexuality education is offered far less often than for their same aged peers without disabilities. This article describes a three-step process for developing specially designed instruction in sexuality education using principles of instructional design to meet the unique needs of students with disabilities.     

A Consideration of Why Active Participation in Sport and Leisure Might Reduce Criminal Behaviour

This paper contributes to sport, sociology and the body literature by exploring the ‘exposure and effect’ of culture, in particular bodily practices placed on three adolescent swimmers immersed in the Australian swimming culture using an ethnographic framework. The research reported is particularly notable as it addresses two distinct time points in the swimmers’ lives. The first section explores the adolescent experiences of three female swimmers within the cultural context of Australian swimming by articulating some of the specific body practices and ‘memes’ (ideas, symbols and practices) that they were exposed to and/or engaged within relation to the body. The second section of this paper focuses on the same three swimmers in the ‘present day’, some 10–30 years after being immersed in the Australian swimming culture as adolescents. It excavates their body practices and the relationships they now have with their body, and thus pursues the sustained impact of the body practices and ‘memes’ they were exposed to as adolescents. Analysis employs concepts drawn mainly from Foucault, particularly his thesis in regard to ‘disciplinary power’, ‘regulation’ ‘classification’ and ‘surveillance’. At a club (amateur) and National level, Australian swimming is revealed as an institution, a site and culture where particular techniques of power have become concentrated and have been brought to bear on individuals in systematic ways, with sometimes damaging effects arising for athletes’ long-term health and well-being, particularly if the individuals concerned continue to engage with cultural practices in regard to the body post-career.     

Change in Parenting Democracy during the Transition to Adolescence: The Roles of Young Adolescents' Noncompliance and Mothers' Perceived Influence

OBJECTIVE: This study assessed the direct relation between young adolescents' regulated noncompliance and mothers' democratic childrearing practices as well as the potential mediating role of mothers' perceived influence during the transition to adolescence. DESIGN: Three years of self-reported adolescent noncompliance, perceived influence, and parenting democracy were gathered from 166 mothers and their firstborn children (55% female), ages 9 - 11 years at time 1. RESULTS: Longitudinal path analysis indicated a total effect between adolescents' regulated noncompliance and higher maternal democracy. In addition, the total effect was mediated by mothers' perceived influence, such that adolescents' regulated noncompliance at time 1 was associated with greater perceptions of influence at time 2, which, in turn, was associated with greater maternal democracy at time 3. CONCLUSIONS: Mothers with young adolescents who resist in a relatively mature, regulated manner tend to have more positive perceptions of their influence on their emerging adolescents' behavior. In turn, mothers expecting to maintain their influence despite normative adolescent resistance are more likely to use democratic parenting strategies, granting their adolescents more input in decisions.