Interrelationships between Physical Fitness Scores

Abstract

Ten moderately well-conditioned male students at the University of Toledo ran on a treadmill, fully attired in football equipment, with an environmental temperature of 90 F and relative humidity of 70%. Each subject was partially acclimatized and then exposed to the experimental conditions on five consecutive days (balanced Latin square). Four 1-liter water replacement schedules (designed to test specific hypotheses), and a control of no water, served as five levels of the independent variable. Data were collected on rectal temperature, heart rate, pulse pressure, specific gravity changes for whole blood and for plasma, and sweat loss. Results showed that water ingestion early during the work session combated the effects of heat stress better than late administration; however, this advantage was reduced toward the end of the work session. The results were mixed concerning the relative merits of ingesting the water in one or two administrations.     

Acquisition of Elementary Swimming Skills by Negro and White College Women

Abstract

This study was undertaken to compare Negro and white college women in beginning swimming on performance, motor ability, buoyancy, and body measurements. Thirteen Negro and 44 white nonswimmers were assigned to one of four classes for eight weeks of instruction. The criterion of a nonswimmer was the inability to propel the body 15 feet in a prone position with the face immersed. Preliminary tests included the Scott Motor Ability Test and measurements of height, weight, sitting height, leg length, shoulder width, hip width, and breathing capacity. Buoyancy was assessed by hydrostatic weighing. Learning rate was recorded as the number of trials required to execute successfully 15 progressive swimming skills. The Fox Power Test was administered as a measure of terminal achievement. Evidence indicated that the Negro group was significantly superior in motor ability, while the white group was significantly superior in swimming performance and was more buoyant. Because of the difficulty experienced by the Negro group with skills demanding buoyancy, swimming progressions for nonbuoyant college women should not utilize horizontal flotation as an integral component.     

Current Status of Graduate Education in Physical Education: Program Demography

The extent of specialization that exists among graduate students, faculty, and program of physical education was explored, particularly as it relates to published rankings of doctoral programs and other sources. Comparisons were made among data obtained from a questionnaire constructed by the investigators, the Gold Book: Directory of Physical Educators in Higher Education 1982–84, and two unpublished reports for the Research Council/Consortium. In addition, comparisons were made with results from other published sources. The graduate programs appeared to be meeting departmental employment needs, with the newly appointed faculty members having specializations consistent with the most prevalent departmental research specializations. Graduate programs were also shown to be fragmented and specialized in multidimensional aspects. As one might expect, the largest proportion of graduate programs and faculty specializations are in the areas of exercise physiology, administration, and professional preparation. However, the dissimilarity in the graduate programs was so diverse that evaluations and comparisons on global scales appear to be useless.     

Tertiary teachers and student evaluations: never the twain shall meet?

Internationally, centralised systems of student evaluation have become normative practice in higher education institutions, providing data for monitoring teaching quality and for teacher professional development. While extensive research has been done on student evaluations, there is less research-based evidence about teachers’ perceptions of and engagement with student evaluations, the focus of the research reported in this paper. An interpretive approach framed the study in which data were gathered through questionnaire and interview responses from teaching staff at three New Zealand tertiary institutions. Results highlighted the general acceptance of the notion of student evaluations, recurring ideas about the limitations of evaluations and significant gaps in the way academics engage with student evaluation feedback. Recommendations for enhancing teacher engagement with student evaluation are made to optimise the potential for student evaluations to inform teaching development and to improve students’ learning experiences.     

Education the Handmaid of Philosophy

Abstract

This article addresses how we might teach for global citizenship in world history classrooms. Despite the name, secondary world history courses in the United States have not consistently focused on global interconnections, multiple perspectives, and inquiry into global issues. We explore why this might be, as well as suggest specific learning activities and curricular topics in world history that could help meet global citizenship goals.