The Resilient Mind: The Psychology of Academic Resilience

Using six years of data chronicling the experiences of 50 academically resilient college students, this article focuses on the seldom-researched area of the psychology of academic resilience. Ubiquitous stressors such as subpar public schooling and the lack of social and cultural capital; psychosocial issues that arise during the resilience journey; and the compensatory psychological responses necessary to cope with the stress and, ultimately, thrive within the academic environment are explored in this article.     

Powerful words: skillful and sensitive empowerment of urban undergraduate pre‐service teachers through improvement of Standard English usage

With the goal of assisting predominantly low‐socio‐economic status and minority undergraduate education majors to achieve necessary competence in the use of oral and written Standard English, an innovative action research initiative was incorporated into an introductory education class at a comprehensive urban university in the northeastern part of the United States. The project integrated written and oral Standard English exercises into the course’s curriculum as a means of bolstering students’ skills while still helping them master the course content. Preliminary results demonstrate students’ improved competence in both written and oral Standard English, and an increased awareness of how and when to use various forms of English.     

Negotiating Breakups and Renewals in On-Again/Off-Again Dating Relationships: Traversing the Transitions

Using phase-oriented interviews (N = 65), this study explored how partners in on-again/off-again relationships negotiated the turning points of breakups and renewals in their relationships. The qualitative analysis revealed themes reflecting transition initiation (i.e., the communication or behavior instigating the transitions) as well as themes reflecting how partners enacted and managed the transitions (e.g., viewing transitions as provisional, resolving past problems and planning for new issues, and using external factors to maintain the transition). Navigating the relational transitions created a struggle for some partners, but the negotiation process elicited feelings of a fresh start for others. Collectively, the themes highlight factors related to communication as well as partners' subjective interpretations, which may be useful in further understanding how partners negotiate relational transitions.     

A comparison between children's physical activity levels at school and learning in an outdoor environment

Physical activity levels were measured with an accelerometer in a case study including 19 children, from nine to ten years of age, in a Danish primary school. The teachers conducted their teaching in a forest every Thursday from 2000 to 2003. The purpose of this study was to measure the students' activity levels during outdoor learning days in the forest and compare them with a traditional school day on the one hand, and a traditional school day including two physical education lessons, on the other. The mean activity levels were more than twice as high on the forest days measured on two occasions. Expressed in percentages, winter (2000) measurements were 106% (range 14–194%), and summer (2001) measurements were 113% (range 41–224%) higher compared to traditional school days. Furthermore, in 2002 the mean activity level measured on a day including two physical education lessons was equal to a day in an outdoor environment. In conclusion, this case study demonstrates a significantly higher level of physical activity when indoor and outdoor learning contexts are combined. From a physical health perspective outdoor learning is recommended in the folkeskole.     

A comparison of childrens’ statements about social relations and teaching in the classroom and in the outdoor environment

Two teachers from a school in Copenhagen were allowed to move their third grade teaching into a forest every Thursday for three years. Thus 20% of the class's regular teaching took place in an outdoor environment. The purpose of the present study was to ask the children how they experienced lessons in the classroom and the forest settings. Therefore, two almost identical questionnaires including a total of 26 statements adjusted to each context were completed by the children four times from 2000 to 2003. Further, in the forest questionnaire three specific statements were added about the outdoor environment plus one question about their choice of playmates during breaks at school and breaks in the forest. Ten statements were categorized as ‘social relations’, 14 statements as ‘teaching’ and finally two related to ‘self-perceived physical activity’. A significant difference (p < 0.001) was found between the school/classroom and the outdoor environment when scores from all four questionnaires (2000–2003) were summed. The categories ‘social relations’ (p < 0.001), ‘teaching’ (p < 0.001) and ‘self-perceived physical activity’ (p < 0.001) all showed significant differences. It is concluded from the present case study that the combination of classroom and outdoor teaching, over a three-year period had a positive effect on the children's social relations, experience with teaching and self-perceived physical activity level.     

The Structure of Attitudes Towards Israel‐Diaspora Relations Among Diaspora Youth Leaders: An Empirical Analysis

The goals of this study are to describe the motivations and aims of young Israelis for choosing Reform rabbinical studies and to explore how the Israeli and Reform contexts are manifested in students’ motivations and aims. This question was examined by a study of the personal background, the decision-making process, and the motivations of 10 students in the Reform rabbinical program at the Jerusalem campus of Hebrew Union College (HUC). Though most of the students’ exposure to Reform Judaism occurred following an encounter with North American Reform Jewry, the choice of rabbinical studies was described by most of the participants as the result of a sense of incongruity between the personal, cultural, and professional dimensions of their lives.     

Comprehensive Return on Investment Evaluation System for Local Self‐Government Training in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Case: Project Cycle Management Course

This article describes a case study in the use of the return on investment (ROI) evaluation methodology in local self‐government training in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH). Out of 20 training programs, the Project Cycle Management course was selected. The article describes pioneering work for the ROI approach in the Western Balkan public sector. A main challenge was to identify an impact measure due to difficulties in accessing relevant data. A conservative approach to data management showed the strengths of the ROI methodology and the reliability of the results.     

When favourites fail: tournament trophies as reward cues in tennis finals

In tournaments in various sports that feature one-on-one competition, the trophy is sometimes prominently displayed near the athletes during the final. Based on recent research on subtle reward cues, we propose that such trophies have the potential to induce choking under pressure in the match favourites, who are known to be most at risk. To test this idea, we analysed real-life tennis performance data (service performance and rally performance) from professional tournaments. While favourites generally outperformed underdogs during rallies, they did not do so in finals in which (a) large amounts of money were at stake and (b) a trophy was on display near the court. These findings support the idea that tournament trophies may distract favourites by continuously reminding them of what is at stake, and via that route may severely thwart their performance.