Measuring Physical Activity in Preschoolers: Reliability and Validity of the System for Observing Fitness Instruction Time for Preschoolers (SOFIT-P)

The purpose of this study is describe the initial feasibility, reliability, and validity of an instrument to measure physical activity in preschoolers using direct observation. The System for Observing Fitness Instruction Time for Preschoolers was developed and tested among 3- to 6-year-old children over fall 2008 for feasibility and reliability (Phase I, n = 67) and in fall 2009 for concurrent validity (Phase II, n = 27). Phase I showed that preschoolers spent >75% of their active time at preschool in light physical activity. The mean inter-observer agreements scores were ≥.75 for physical activity level and type. Correlation coefficients, measuring construct validity between the lesson context and physical activity types with and with the activity levels, were moderately strong. Phase II showed moderately strong correlations ranging from .50 to .54 between the System for Observing Fitness Instruction Time for Preschoolers and Actigraph accelerometers for physical activity levels. The System for Observing Fitness Instruction Time for Preschoolers shows promising initial results as a new method for measuring physical activity among preschoolers.     

Ethics,politics and bio-pedagogy in physical education teacher education: easing the tension between the self and the group

In this paper, we argue that reflecting upon our personal experiences and the origins of our ethical and political beliefs can be useful to see that, as much as society has a strong influence on us, each of us has the capacity to influence society. Also we suggest that there exist intimate links between personhood and pedagogy. As such, through the use of bio-pedagogical passages, we examine the process of coming to the realisation of the need to develop ethical principles that enable us to contribute to society in universally beneficial ways through our teaching. Moreover, we explain that, as they try to help prospective educators understand their future role in society, physical education teacher educators (PETEs) ought to start with clear ethical principles, not just merely technical (or even scientific) ones. These principles, in turn, can serve as a guide for all pedagogical (read political) actions, both inside and outside the classroom. We close this paper offering viable guidelines as to how this can be done.     

‘Governmentality’ in the origins of European female PE and sport: the Spanish case study (1883–1936)

The purpose of the paper is twofold: (1) to contribute to the analysis of the origins of modern European female PE and sports from a power perspective, inspired by Foucault's work; and (2) to present a detailed analysis of female PE and sport in Spain (1883–1936) as a specific European case study. It is argued that these physical activities could be conceived in the Spanish case as part of a specific kind of ‘governmentality’ with a dual nature. On the one hand they represented disciplinary ‘technologies of power’ over the female body. Selected physical activities—dictated mainly from the hygienic-moral position of the Regeneracionistas (‘Regenerationists’)—were exerted as a kind of ‘bio-power’ for the control of the female population. On the other hand, such kind of activities (especially sports) represented certain ‘technologies of the self’ for middle and upper class women. Through participation in sports, women gained a more active and public role in the Spanish society of the era, obtaining some degree of autonomy in self-governance over their bodies and their lives.     

Three strikes and you’re out: culture,facilities, and participation among LGBTQ youth in sports

ABSTRACT

School-based sports and physical education play an important role in the development of youth (Jones, Edwards, et al., 2017), but participation in athletics is unequal for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) youth compared to their straight/cisgender peers [Greenspan, S. B., Griffith, C., & Murtagh, E. F. (2017). LGBTQ youths’ school athletic experiences: A 40-year content analysis in nine flagship journals. Journal of LGBT Issues in Counseling, 11(3), 190–200]. Sport cultures, generally, recreate dynamics of exclusion for marginalized youth. However, there are opportunities to transform these spaces into more inclusive and positive environments to support positive growth for all young people [Newman, T., Alvarez, A., & Kim, M. (2017). An experiential approach to sport-based positive youth development. Journal of Experiential Education, 40(3), 308–322]. Our study uses a data set of adolescents, collected as part of a community-based participatory action research project led by high school students in southeast Michigan, USA. Respondents reported their sexual and gender identities, as well as experiences in youth sport, as well as safety using sex-segregated facilities (i.e., bathrooms and locker-rooms). Using mediation models based on linear regression, we found evidence that LGBQ high school students play sports at a significantly lower rate compared to straight students, and among those who play sports, LGBTQ respondents felt significantly less safe compared to straight and cisgender students. Opposite to the LGBQ and trans youth in this study, straight/cisgender youth also reported feeling safer using all facilities. The mediation models suggest that these inequalities help to explain disparities in rates of sports participation and feelings of safety while participating. These findings have important implications for policy, practice, and future research.     

Velocity profiling using inertial sensors for freestyle swimming

The ability to unobtrusively measure velocity in the aquatic environment is a fundamental challenge for engineers and sports scientists and important in assessing the skill level. The aim of this research was to develop a method for velocity profiling in freestyle swimming utilising a purpose-built inertial sensor. Seventeen swimmers with different experience levels participated in this study performing a total of 159 laps in the velocity range from 0.79 to 2.04 m s^?1. Data were collected using a triaxial accelerometer and a tethered velocity meter. The collected acceleration data were filtered using a 0.5 Hz Hamming-windowed FIR filter to remove the gravitational acceleration before the lap velocity profiles were calculated. These calculated lap velocity profiles were then compared with the velocity profiles measured by the velocity meter using Bland–Altman analysis. The scattering follows a normal distribution with a mean skewness of 0.96 ± 0.47 and kurtosis of 2.93 ± 1.12. The results show that an inertial sensor alone can be used to determine a lap velocity profile from single point acceleration records.     

Is passive drag dependent on the interaction of kayak design and paddler weight in flat-water kayaking?

Abstract

Drag is one of the major factors that influences kayaking performance. To focus on the drag of the kayak’s hull shape and the paddlers’ weight per se, the passive drag (D_p) was measured on a flat-water sprint course for one paddler with added weights. D_p was measured by an electromechanical towing device using a load cell, at incremental and constant velocities from 2.78 to 5.56 m/s. Three kayaks of different sizes and shapes (Nelo® K1 Quattro-M, ML, and L) were used and the paddlers’ body weight was adjusted with weights so the total paddler weight in the kayak was 65, 75, and 85 kg. The mean D_p increased by the power function of D = kvⁿ (mean R² = .990; SD .006). The D_p went from 21.37?±?1.29 N at 2.78 m/s to 89.32?±?6.43 N at 5.56 m/s. For the two lighter weighted kayaks (65 and 75 kg), the lowest D_p was observed with different kayak sizes (M, ML, or L) depending on the target velocity. The manufacturers suggest that paddlers should select a kayak size according to their body weight to minimise drag; however, the results of this study suggest that target velocities, and thus competition distance should also be factored into kayak selection.     

Equating Exams as a Prerequisite for Maintaining Standards: Experience with Dutch centralised secondary examinations

National examinations in The Netherlands play an important role both as school-leaving exams and in providing access to tertiary education. For most subjects the exams consist of two parts: a part internal to the school which is constructed, set and marked by the individual schoolteacher; and a central part which is constructed by Cito, the Dutch National Institute for Educational Measurement, but administered and marked by the schools. For many years, and until the 1990s, the procedures for the construction of the exams and for setting cut-off scores remained largely unchanged. In the 1990s, in response to concerns over standards, studies were conducted which demonstrated the necessity and feasibility of using equating procedures. Acting upon the outcomes, the State Secretary for Education and Science provided funds for introducing and maintaining equating as a standard procedure in central exams. From 1994 onwards, more and more exams have involved formal equating procedures.     

The Teaching of the Mathematical Disciplines in Sixteenth-Century Spain*

This essay examines some aspects of the teaching of mathematics and its applications in three of the principal sixteenth century Spanish universities (Salamanca, Valencia and Alcalá) and in other institutions sponsored by the monarchy, such as the “Casa de la Contratación” (House of Trade) of Seville and the so-called Academy of Mathematics of Madrid. All three of the above universities had chairs of mathematics. In the Casa de la Contratación and other nautical schools the teaching of mathematics was oriented toward providing the foundations of navigation (nautical astronomy, instruments and maps, etc.). The Academy of Mathematics was oriented mainly towards subjects related to cosmography and navigation. Although the different areas of the teaching of mathematics imposed conditions on the discourses and practices of the mathematical disciplines, they did not impede the circulation of persons, knowledge, and practices among these areas. This work has partially financed by grants from Spanish Ministry of Science and Technology (BHA 2000–1456) and from Ministry of Education and Science (BHA2003-08394-(02-01).     

Teaching social studies to high school students with academic handicaps in a mainstreamed setting: effects of a computerized study guide

This research investigated the effectiveness of a computerized study guide, in comparison to a notetaking condition, as a method to increase textbook comprehension among students with learning disabilities and remedial education pupils enrolled in a ninth-grade world geography class. Results indicated that the computerized study guide produced significantly higher performance than notetaking for both groups of students. There was no significant difference in the performance of the two groups within treatments. Several practical issues concerning the implementation of computerized study guides in secondary programs serving students with academic handicaps are discussed.     

Self-esteem and Academic Achievement Among Adolescents

The main purpose of this research is to analyse what strategies are pursued in order to protect self-esteem when it is threatened by a negative self-evaluation of school competence. Participants were 838 secondary-school students from the seventh to the ninth grades. Data were collected using Harter's Self-Perception Profile for Adolescents, together with a Scale of Attitudes towards School. Our results show that there are significant differences between the self-esteem enjoyed by successful and unsuccessful students in the seventh grade; such differences disappear in the eighth and ninth grades. They also reveal success-related differences in domain-specific self-evaluation. We also found that students with low levels of academic achievement attribute less importance to school-related areas and reveal less favourable attitudes towards school. We discuss these results in terms of Harter's self-esteem model and Robinson and Tayler's self-esteem protection model.