Development of the Sport Orientation Questionnaire

Abstract

The Sport Orientation Questionnaire (SOQ) was developed as a multidimensional, sport-specific measure of individual differences in sport achievement orientation. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses revealed a stable, three-factor structure across three separate samples of university and high school students. The three separate but related subscales of competitiveness, win, and goal orientation demonstrate high internal consistency and stability over time. The SOQ competitiveness score differentiates students in competitive activities from those in noncompetitive activities, providing evidence for construct validity. The overall factor stability, reliability and validity evidence suggests that the SOQ can be a valuable measure for the investigation of competitiveness and achievement behavior in sport and exercise settings.     

Competition and Instructional Set Effects On the Speed and Accuracy of a Throwing Task

Abstract

Two experiments were conducted to investigate the effects of competition and instructional sets on the speed and accuracy of a dart-throwing task. In both experiments individuals competed against another subject on one day, and performed under noncompetitive conditions on a second day. The five distinct instructional sets varied from extreme emphasis on speed to extreme emphasis on accuracy. Multivariate analyses of variance revealed main effects for instructional sets on speed and accuracy in both experiments. Strong tradeoffs occurred with speed slowing and accuracy improving as the instructional emphasis changed from speed to accuracy. A competition by instructional sets interaction in Experiment 2 indicated that competition facilitated speed when speed was important, but when instructions emphasized accuracy, speed was slower in competition than in noncompetition. Accuracy was not affected by competition.     

Applying Incidental Teaching (Including Contingent Access to Materials) with Second Language Learners in a Multi‐ethnic Nursery Unit: effects on child‐teacher initiations and child language use

A nursery teacher and a nursery nurse were introduced to and instructed in the use of ‘Incidental Teaching’ (IT) procedures (including contingent access to materials) designed to encourage child‐initiated language interactions in the natural nursery classroom environment. The effects of introducing these procedures were monitored over the course of a school year on a target group of second language learning children from Panjabi‐speaking homes. Throughout the study teacher‐child language interactions were sampled using a radio microphone linked to a tape recorder. For each sample all child initiations addressed to the teacher were transcribed together with all teachers’ responses to child initiations. A multiple baseline design across morning and afternoon classes was employed so that the introduction of IT procedures was staggered following the collection of baseline data. After the initial training session, use of IT procedures increased markedly and in both classes children initiated more frequently, as a consequence. The total number of words spoken to the teacher/nursery nurse, and the average number of words spoken per child, increased in both groups. Analyses of the data for the morning class also demonstrated that the IT procedures resulted in marked increases in the use of more complex language forms.     

Meeting the challenge of HIV and AIDS in the classroom

Contemporary early childhood teachers are facing new challenges as children who test HIV positive or who have AIDS enter the classroom. Providing appropriate health care and educational programs for these children is a major concern of teachers. This article presents a brief discussion of guidelines and issues that might be addressed in an in-service for teachers in general education to prepare them for a student with HIV or AIDS in their classrooms.     

Responding to the technological imperative: the experience of an open and distance education institution

This paper examines the key impact that technology is having on shaping and, indeed, fusing the worlds of work both outside and inside tertiary institutions. The transformation of organisations by technology creates key challenges for tertiary institutions which are identified. One tertiary institution's attempts to engage with these challenges is illuminated through case study research. The institution in question, Deakin University, is a major open and distance education organisation in Australia. In grappling with the technological imperative, issues of leadership, management and organisational change come to the fore. Leadership in dynamically evolving organisations committed to the use of educational technologies in a range of diverse teaching‐learning contexts is an enormously complex and difficult task. The complexities, ambiguities and difficulties of leadership in such an environment are illuminated in this paper through the presentation of a set of eight interconnected issues which reveal some of the experiences of people within the University who are attempting to manage educational change and technological innovation.     

Broadening the Definition of Collaboration in Early Care and Education

ABSTRACT

Research Findings: This article summarizes current peer-reviewed research and conceptualizations of collaboration and presents a new conceptual model. Authors found that the existing peer-reviewed literature does not adequately reflect emerging understandings of the nature of early childhood collaborations or the contributions such collaborations make to outcomes. The paper fills a gap in the literature by presenting a broader conceptualization of collaboration in which stakeholders work together and use data to achieve common goals through engaging in shared activities. Authors provide examples of how collaborations take place within a network of early care and education programs. Practice or Policy: Practitioners can use information presented in this to support collaborations at different levels of an early childhood system. More research needs to be conducted to identify and measure collaborative activities and outcomes across levels of collaboration to align with a broader definition of collaboration.     

A professional development model for the positive practice of school‐based reading consultation

This paper reports on two years of a multiyear consultation/professional development project based on socioconstructivist principles (situated cognition, social context, and scaffolded instruction) that are consistent with key elements of positive psychology. The consultation model used a case analysis framework to engage 12 elementary school teachers in workshops, demonstration lessons, ad hoc inquiry groups, and coaching. Interview, questionnaire, and field note data from the participants identified “control and choice,” “focus on student needs,” “applicability to classroom practices,” “direct instruction of skills,” and “consultant feedback” as key elements of the model. Changes in classroom practices were reported by 78% of the participants with changes in confidence noted from pre‐ to posttests. Better learning for students was mentioned by 89% of the teachers. Discussion focuses on critical theoretical elements associated with positive psychology. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Psychol Schs 41: 51–65, 2004.     

Uncovering young children's motivational beliefs about learning science

Young children, ages 5–6 years, develop first beliefs about science and themselves as science learners, and these beliefs are considered important precursors of children's future motivation to pursue science. Yet, due to a lack of adequate measures, little is known about young children's motivational beliefs about learning science. The present two‐part study explores the motivational beliefs of young children using a new measure—the Young Children's Science Motivation (Y‐CSM) scale. Initial measurement development involved a thorough literature review of existing measures, and an extensive piloting phase until a final instrument was reached. To establish scale reliability, measurement invariance as well construct and criterion validity, the final instrument was administered to a new sample of 277 young children, age 5–6 years, in northern Germany. Results reveal that children's motivational beliefs can be empirically differentiated into their self‐confidence and enjoyment in science at this young age. Older children were more motivated in science, but no significant gender differences were found. Importantly, children in preschools with a science focus reported significantly higher science motivation. This finding stresses the importance of early science education for the development of children's motivational beliefs science.     

Differential effects on the achievement of males and females of teaching the particulate nature of chemistry

Chemistry concepts in three 2‐week modules were presented to a treatment and control group of high school students from 10 different high schools. The treatment group was taught using three representations of matter (macroscopic, particulate, and symbolic), whereas only two representations (macroscopic and symbolic) were used with the control group. The treatment group scored significantly higher across the combined score of all three modules. When the data were analyzed for gender–group interactions, females who were taught the particulate representation scored as well as males whereas those who were not taught the particulate representation scored significantly lower than males. Teaching males the particulate representation did not significantly affect males' achievement. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 39: 911–927, 2002