The motivating role of positive feedback in sport and physical education: evidence for a motivational model

Based on self-determination theory (Deci & Ryan, 2000), an experimental study with middle school students participating in a physical education task and a correlational study with highly talented sport students investigated the motivating role of positive competence feedback on participants' well-being, performance, and intention to participate. In Study 1, structural equation modeling favored the hypothesized motivational model, in which, after controlling for pretask perceived competence and competence valuation, feedback positively predicted competence satisfaction, which in turn predicted higher levels of vitality and greater intentions to participate, through the mediation of autonomous motivation. No effects on performance were found. Study 2 further showed that autonomous motivation mediated the relation between competence satisfaction and well-being, whereas a motivation mediated the negative relation between competence satisfaction and ill-being and rated performance. The discussion focuses on the motivational role of competence feedback in sports and physical education settings.     

The volleyball athlete’s shoulder: biomechanical adaptations and injury associations

In volleyball, the dominant shoulder of the athlete undergoes biomechanical and morphological adaptations; however, definitive conclusions about their exact nature, aetiology, purpose and associations with shoulder injury have not been reached. We present a systematic review of the existing literature describing biomechanical adaptations in the dominant shoulders of volleyball players and factors that may predispose to shoulder pain/injury. A thorough literature search via Medline, EMBASE and SCOPUS was conducted for original studies of volleyball players and 15 eligible articles were identified. Assessment of study quality was performed using the STROBE statement. The reviewed literature supports the existence of a glenohumeral internal rotation deficit (GIRD) and a possible (and less pronounced) external rotation gain in the dominant vs. the non-dominant shoulder of volleyball athletes. Unlike other overhead sports, the GIRD in volleyball athletes appears to be anatomical as a response to the repetitive overhead movements and not to be associated with shoulder pain/injury. Additionally, the dominant shoulder exhibits muscular imbalance, which appears to be a significant risk factor for shoulder pain. Strengthening of the external rotators should be used alongside shoulder stretching and joint mobilisations, core strengthening and optimisation of spike technique as part of injury management and prevention programmes.     

Identifying talented track and field athletes: The impact of relative age effect on selection to the Spanish National Athletics Federation training camps

This study examined the impact of relative age effect (RAE) on selection to the Spanish National Athletics Federation (RFEA) training camps (TC) between 2006 and 2013. Overall, 1,334 selected athletes at U15 years (cadet) and U17 years (juvenile) were compared against 27,711 licensed but unselected athletes for the same age groups. The results highlighted the influential role of the RAE on selection to national level track and field training camp opportunities. Interestingly, this effect was mediated by age and gender, where effects were stronger for both males and younger athletes (U15), with no evidence of RAE for older (U17) female athletes. These results support the “maturation-selection” hypothesis as a mechanism for RAE. Particularly given the long-term goals of RFEA (e.g., production of successful senior elite athletes), these results highlight the need to consider the impact of current selection processes on effective provision of opportunities to those athletes with most potential to succeed in the long term. A number of possible context-relevant solutions are discussed, including education and awareness raising, using holistic selection criteria and correction adjustments techniques.     

Insights into the epidemiology,aetiology and associations of infraspinatus atrophy in overhead athletes: a systematic review

Infraspinatus atrophy (IA) is much more prevalent in overhead sports compared with the general population. Its exact aetiology in this group of athletes remains unclear and definitive associations with pathology and performance have not yet been reached. The aim of this systematic review is to present the evidence on IA in overhead athletes focussing on the proposed mechanisms of suprascapular neuropathy and its associations with shoulder pathology and performance. A thorough literature search via Medline, EMBASE and Scopus was performed. From the nine articles identified, the majority of authors propose suprascapular nerve (SN) injury at the spinoglenoid notch; however, the suprascapular notch has also been suggested as a potential site of injury. With regard to the exact mechanism of suprascapular neuropathy, the majority of authors propose repeated traction of the nerve during extreme shoulder abduction and horizontal adduction and/or eccentric contractions of the infraspinatus. In the limited relevant literature, convincing links between IA and performance or shoulder pathology have not been identified. IA in overhead sports is most likely of multi-factorial aetiology. Important questions about IA and its significance in overhead sports remain unanswered and more biomechanical and prospective studies are warranted to provide further insights into this athletic injury.     

Links between early rhythm skills, musical training, and phonological awareness

A small number of studies show that music training is associated with improvements in reading or in its component skills. A central question underlying this present research is whether musical activity can enhance the acquisition of reading skill, potentially before formal reading instruction begins. We explored two dimensions of this question: an investigation of links between kindergartners’ music rhythm skills and their phonological awareness in kindergarten and second grade; and an investigation of whether kindergartners who receive intensive musical training demonstrate more phonological skills than kindergartners who receive less. Results indicated that rhythm skill was related to phonological segmentation skill at the beginning of kindergarten, and that children who received more music training during kindergarten showed improvement in a wider range of phonological awareness skills at the end of kindergarten than children with less training. Further, kindergartners’ rhythm ability was strongly related to their phonological awareness and basic word identification skills in second grade. We argue that rhythm sensitivity is a pre-cursor skill to oral language acquisition, and that the ability to perceive and manipulate time intervals in sound streams may link performance of rhythm and phonological tasks.     

Constructivism: Defense or a Continual Critical Appraisal A Response to Gil-Pérez et al.

This commentary is a critical appraisal of Gil-Pérez et al.'s (2002) conceptualization of constructivism. It is argued that the following aspects of their presentation are problematic: (a) Although the role of controversy is recognized, the authors implicitly subscribe to a Kuhnian perspective of `normal' science; (b) Authors fail to recognize the importance of von Glasersfeld's contribution to the understanding of constructivism in science education; (c) The fact that it is not possible to implement a constructivist pedagogy without a constructivist epistemology has been ignored; and (d) Failure to recognize that the metaphor of the `student as a developing scientist' facilitates teaching strategies as students are confronted with alternative/rival/conflicting ideas. Finally, we have shown that constructivism in science education is going through a process of continual critical appraisals.     

Higher and lower-order cognitive skills: The case of chemistry

A major driving force in the current effort to reform science education is the conviction that it is vital for our students to develop their higher-order cognitive skills capacity in order to function effectively in our modem, complex science and technology-based society. In line with this rationale, this study focuses on the use of examinations for studying student performance in chemistry examination on items that require higher-order cognitive skills (HOCS) or lower-order cognitive skills (LOCS). This usage of examinations is explored and demonstrated via “post-factum” data analysis of two case studies: the General Examination (in chemistry) and the Panhellenic Chemistry Competition administered natinally in Greece for secondary-school graduates in 1991. The main findings were: (a) students performed considerably lower on questions requiring HOCS than on those requiring LOCS; (b) performance on questions requiring HOCS may not correlate with that on questions requiring LOCS for which affective factors, LOCS-orientation in teaching and the extent of prior examination preparation may be responsible; and (c) examinations that contain intems of both types can be effectively used to identify HOCS- and LOCS- students within various contexts of chemistry teaching. Based on the above and previous related studies, the fostering of students' HOCS by appropriate teaching and assessment trategies is advocated.     

Goal importance and students at risk of having language difficulties: an underexplored aspect of student motivation

The purpose of this study was to compare the motivational determinants of students at risk of language difficulties (in reading and spelling) and students with high language skills. Teachers' evaluations in language and mathematics at the end of the academic year constituted the dependent variable. Motivational orientations were examined using the constructs that reflect the theory of planned behavior and goal importance. Participants were 202 elementary school students-22 at risk of language difficulties and 180 with high language skills-drawn from 30 elementary schools in northern Greece. The results indicated that the two groups differed significantly, with the at-risk students exhibiting significantly lower perceptions of goal importance, intention to achieve, belief strength, outcome evaluation, and normative beliefs, and eventually scoring lower in language and mathematics at the end of the academic year. A finer analysis of students' motivational orientations was conducted using covariance structural modeling (CSM) and EQS 5.7b. The planned behavior model with goal importance produced a comparative fit index (CFI) of 1.00 in language and mathematics for the at-risk group. The respective CFIs for the high language skills group were .97 and 1.00 in language and mathematics, respectively. Although model fit was excellent across samples, different weights and signs linking motivational orientations to achievement partly explained the observed differences in language and mathematics manifested in the two groups.     

Why are students with LD depressed? A goal orientation model of depression vulnerability

The thesis of the present study was that failure in achievement tasks may constitute a stress factor that can trigger a depression episode, particularly for students with learning disabilities (LD), and that a particular motivational pattern may constitute a cognitive diathesis for depression. Participants were 104 students referred for LD who were drawn from a pool of approximately 900 students from Grades 5 and 6. Students were challenged with a series of difficult math exercises, and their achievement behaviors were examined as a function of achievement goal orientations. Results from structural equation modeling provided empirical support of the contention that performance-avoidance goals may account for a series of negative cognitions and affect. Direct positive paths linked performance-avoidance goals to anxiety, depression, and negative affect; negative paths were revealed with regard to self-esteem and positive affect. Thus, performance-avoidance goals may possess elements of the diathesis mechanism described by Dykman, constituting a vulnerability factor that triggers the mechanism of depression when negative events are in place.