The developmental and professional activities of female international soccer players from five high-performing nations

ABSTRACT

We study the developmental and professional activities engaged in by 86 female adult soccer players from the senior national teams of Australia, Canada, England, Sweden, and the United States of America. Players completed the Participation History Questionnaire (PHQ) to elicit the amount and type of activities engaged in across their developmental and professional years, including milestones, soccer-specific activity and engagement in other sport activity. Greater specialisation than diversification characterised their childhood developmental activities, including all players starting in soccer in childhood and accumulating more hours in soccer activity than other sports during this period. However, interindividual variation further characterised these childhood activities, with a proportion of players diversifying into other sports and/or soccer play to a greater or lesser degree during childhood when compared to the other players. The amount of coach-led soccer practice increased for all players across their development culminating in an average of 15–16 h/wk across a 40-week season in early adulthood. In contrast, the amount of engagement in other sports and soccer peer-led play varied between players but generally decreased across adolescence to negligible amounts in late adolescence. Findings are commensurate with the deliberate practice framework and early engagement.     

Examining IEPs of English Learners with Learning Disabilities for Cultural and Linguistic Responsiveness

Effective education of English learners (ELs) with learning disabilities requires special educators to deliver culturally/linguistically responsive instruction within the context of special services, embracing the interaction between exceptionality and diversity. A critical concept is the notion that cultural and linguistic features are mandated by law to remain integral to teaching and learning once ELs are appropriately placed for special services. We examined a sampling of IEPs for ELs receiving special education for learning disabilities for cultural/linguistic responsive features to inform instruction. We found from our pilot study that the IEPs contain little to no reference to ELs' diverse linguistic and cultural qualities to (1) meet legislative mandates, and (2) guide delivery of appropriate special education. Practitioner implications for developing culturally and linguistically responsive IEPs are provided to support educators who teach ELs with learning disabilities.     

Life inside a professional development school: What experienced teachers learn

Abstract

Most professional development schools emphasize the benefits to preservice teacher preparation but rarely focus on the professional development opportunities for the practicing, experienced teachers at the site (Clark, 1999). Professional development schools are not only changing the way preservice teachers are prepared, but are drastically changing the roles of the experienced teachers who participate in the process. By telling their stories of involvement in a growing and changing professional development school, experienced teachers can reflect on their experiences and learn new and different lessons from them each time.

Recorded stories of participants in professional development schools can be used to help teachers gain renewed insights into their potential as leaders in school reform. Storytelling, as a strategy for connecting theory to practice in real school settings, allows and encourages teachers to be active participants in creating progress. It acts as a catalyst for generating and clarifying personal and common visions.     

Literature of broadcasting: Book in review

ADVERTISING: ITS ROLE IN MODERN MARKETING. Ry S. Watson Dunn. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1961. 621 + xvi pp. $8.95.     

Alternative inquiry and its potential contributions to gifted education: A commentary

There is no absolute knowledge. And those who claim it, whether they are scientists or dogmatists, open the door to tragedy. All information is imperfect. We have to treat it with humility” (Bronowski, 1973, p. 353).