Crosslinguistic influence on phonological awareness for Korean–English bilingual children

This study examined (1) the potential influence of oral language characteristics of two languages that bilingual children acquire on their PA and (2) the relationship of PA in L1 with PA and literacy skills in L2, using data from Korean–English bilingual children. Thirty three Korean–English bilingual children, composed of two subsamples from two different locations/bilingual programs, participated in the study. The findings showed that the sample of bilingual children from two bilingual programs differed in their mean performances on intrasyllabic phonological awareness in Korean (i.e., rime awareness and body awareness). Furthermore, children’s Korean rime awareness, but not body awareness, was positively related to their phonological awareness and literacy skills in English. Finally, these children’s phonological awareness in Korean made a positive contribution to English decoding skills even after controlling for their English sight word reading skills. The results are discussed in light of interlingual influence on bilingual children’s phonological awareness.

Training needs and online learning preferences of early childhood professionals

Providing early childhood professionals with professional development opportunities to enhance their skills and knowledge can improve quality of care. For professional development to be valued by the early childhood workforce, it is essential to offer meaningful content that accommodates the needs of the learner. With an increasing demand for quality professional development, as well as the expansion of online learning opportunities, this qualitative study explores the opinions of 14 North Carolina early childhood professionals regarding their professional development training needs and online learning preferences. Training content needs, experiences with online learning, and recommendations for training development are discussed. This study has implications for professional development creators and trainers for advancing the education and growth of the early childhood workforce.     

Sport team emotion: Conceptualization,scale development and validation

The purpose of this study was to identify key emotions associated with professional sport team brands and to develop a valid, reliable scale to measure the recall of these emotions. A pool of 30 potential emotions was drawn through a content analysis, a qualitative study (n?=?67), frequency analysis (n?=?560), and categorization process. The identified emotions were subjected to an exploratory factor analysis (n?=?260) and confirmatory factor analysis (n?=?286). The emotion recall scale consists of 24 emotions representing 7 dimensions: connectedness, elation, competitiveness, surprise, anger, unhappiness, and worry. The authors offer evidence of internal consistency of the scale and convergent, discriminant, and criterion validity evidence. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.     

Learning through the adventure of youth sport

Background: Participation in youth sport is often associated with a variety of positive development outcomes. In order to effectively utilize sport as a context of learning and development, the sport must be intentionally designed and programed. One often-used approach is known as sport-based positive youth development (PYD). Recently, to further enhance the intentionality of a sport-based PYD approach, several researchers have posited the potential benefits of applying experiential learning theory to youth sport programing. Through utilizing experiential learning within a sport-based PYD approach, it is believed youth sport can be designed to intentionally promote desired PYD outcomes.Purpose: Experiential learning theory offers a deep understanding and history of effective youth programing. However, within the field of experiential learning, many different pedagogical approaches exist. To date, sport-based PYD has yet to identify a specific pedagogical approach within experiential learning. In order to be accessible and applicable for youth sport leaders, a more definitive pedagogical approach is needed. One specific application of experiential learning which offers specific programing techniques that are compatible with a sport-based PYD approach is adventure pedagogy.Conclusions: Adventure pedagogy draws from adventure-based learning and adventure-based groupwork. Thus, adventure pedagogy is defined as a participant-centered approach consisting of intentionally designed and sequenced challenging group activities, which, when processed and debriefed, can lead to a shared opportunity for growth and development related to the intrapersonal development and interpersonal skills. Specifically, to enhance the programing and practices of the youth sport leader, this paper identifies key tenets of adventure pedagogy and highlights their applicability within a sport-based PYD approach. These tenets include the promotion of PYD outcomes, physical and emotional safety, intentionally designed activities, sequencing of prescribed activities, a novel learning experiences, intentional facilitation, challenging group activities, real and immediate consequences, and debriefing to transfer learning. Through the integration of adventure and sport-based PYD, youth sport leaders can effectively program and facilitate youth sport to promote desired PYD outcomes.     

Specific muscle synergies in national elite female ice hockey players in response to unexpected external perturbation

This study aimed to investigate specific muscle synergies in elite ice hockey players indicating highly developed postural control strategies used to restore balance against unexpected external perturbations. Seven elite athletes (EA) on the women’s national ice hockey team and 7 non-athletes (NA) participated in this study. Based on trajectories of centre of mass (COM), analysis periods were divided into an initial phase (a balance disturbance after perturbation onset) and a reversal phase (a balance recovery response), respectively. Muscle synergies were extracted at each phase by using non-negative matrix factorization. k-means cluster analysis was performed to arrange similar muscle synergies in all participants. EA showed significantly shorter recovery period of COM and smaller body sway than NA. In the initial phase, we identified 2 EA-specific synergies related to ankle plantar flexors or neck extensors. In the case of an NA-specific synergy, co-activation of the ankle plantar flexors and dorsiflexors was found. In the reversal phase, no specific muscle synergies were identified. As the results, EA-specific muscle synergies showed low co-activation strategy of agonists and antagonists in ankle and neck extensors. Our results could provide critical information for rehabilitation strategies in athletes requiring high postural stability.     

Building a Culture of Engagement through Participatory Feedback Processes

In response to school environments in which teachers and students feel disconnected from the learning process, we developed a three-part curriculum feedback system with the goal of creating a school-wide culture of engagement through participatory feedback processes. Here we describe the barriers to participation and ownership that are addressed by our curriculum feedback process, provide a rationale for each component of the multi-prong feedback process, and illustrate how each part of the feedback system was implemented in our pilot schools. We argue that addressing feedback regularly, optimizing the process to be user-friendly, and demonstrating appreciation for positive and constructive feedback can help any curriculum supervisor foster a school-wide culture of engagement among teachers and students.     

The Effect of Positive Faculty Support on Mathematical Self-Concept for Male and Female Students in STEM Majors

Using hierarchical linear modeling, this study examined how positive faculty support is associated with mathematical self-concept development among students in STEM fields and how the association differs for male and female students. The study utilized data from the 2003 Freshman Survey and the 2007 College Senior Survey (CSS) and a sample of 2184 students across 27 baccalaureate institutions nationwide. This study found that positive faculty support was significantly and positively related to STEM students’ mathematical self-concept development in general; however, this positive connection held for male STEM students only. Findings also suggested that female STEM students’ mathematical self-concept remained significantly below males’ throughout college and positive faculty support did not narrow the persistent gender gap in this area. The study discusses the theoretical and practical implications of the findings.     

Reflexivity,positionality and power in cross-cultural participatory action research with research assistants in rural Cambodia

This paper draws on the experiences of a doctoral student undertaking a cross-cultural, cross-language participatory action research (PAR) project in rural Cambodia. Cambodia is a largely Buddhist country with a complex history of religion, invasion, colonisation, war and oppression. Despite a democratic constitution, political control and fear of challenging authority are ever present; and all had an impact on the participation and development of this project. I recruited eight volunteer community health workers (CHWs) and two research assistants (RAs) with an aim to explore methods and challenges faced when trying to improve health with and for community members. Over eight participatory workshops and a two-day training session CHWs identified, implemented and reflected on solutions to community health problems. Simultaneously, the RAs and I reflected on the processes and challenges we faced. Creating opportunity for reflexivity allowed for discussion to emerge around culture, position and power and how these were impacting on the research process and outcomes. Established social hierarchical power structures in Cambodia presented challenges to undertaking a PAR project with emancipatory and social change aims. Such structures also impacted on the ability and readiness of participants to be critical and analytical. The importance of the RAs as cultural navigators and the necessity of embracing their situated knowledge as both an insider and outsider is a key finding.     

Is there a startup wage premium? Evidence from MIT graduates

While startups are the center of extensive policy discussion given their outsized role in job creation, it is not clear whether they create high quality jobs relative to incumbent firms. This paper investigates the wage differential between venture capital-backed startups and established firms, given that the two firm types compete for talent. Using data on MIT graduates, I find that non-founder employees at VC-backed startups earn roughly 10% higher wages than their counterparts at established firms. To account for unobserved heterogeneity across workers, I exploit the fact that many MIT graduates receive multiple job offers. I find that wage differentials are statistically insignificant from zero when individual fixed effects are included. This implies that much of the startup wage premium in the cross-section can be attributed to selection, and that VC-backed startups pay competitive wages for talent. To unpack the selection mechanism, I show that individual preferences for risk as well as challenging work strongly predict entry into VC-backed startups.     

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