Literacy in church and family sites through the eyes of Samoan children in New Zealand

Samoan school children living in New Zealand were given disposable cameras and asked to photograph examples of the uses of reading and writing outside the school. Interviewed later, they explained their photographs including information about literacy in church and family. Rote learning and oral presentation of biblical texts that were read and committed to memory were characteristic of church literacy and supported by practices in the home as Shirley Brice Heath and others have reported. The purpose is closely connected to maintenance of Samoan culture and survival of the language. However, it was found that older siblings introduced school ways of learning to younger family members and that church literacy involved techniques for understanding and assessment that were similar to those of the school. It is asked whether the disparity in measured literacy performance of Samoan people is the consequence of a mismatch between church and family literacy and the literacy of the school.     

The Rise of ‘The World's Largest Sport and Athletic Outfitter’: A Study of Gamage's of Holborn, 1878–1913

This essay explores the evolution of modern sporting goods retailing through the development of Gamage's (A.W. Gamage Holborn Ltd.) before the First World War. The essay examines how Gamage's exploited new models of fashionable consumerism to create a unique retail environment that directly targeted young male consumers enjoying modern forms of sporting and recreational activities. By the end of the nineteenth century, the so-called ‘People's Popular Emporium’ purported to be the ‘world's largest sport and athletic outfitter’. The essay considers Gamage's rise to prominence in a crucial period in the development of commodity culture. It examines the changing cultural form of shops and shopping in relation to the desires of a burgeoning mass market that sought to express and visibly display its economic, sporting, and social status.     

Strategies to improve impact efficiency in football kicking

In football, kicking with high ball velocity can increase scoring opportunities and reduce the likelihood of interception. Efficient energy transfer from foot to ball during impact is important to attain a high ball velocity. It is considered impact efficiency can be increased by reducing the change in ankle plantarflexion during foot–ball impact. However, conflicting evidence exists, questioning its effectiveness as a coaching cue. The aim of the present study was to systematically analyse joint stiffness, foot velocity and impact location with a mechanical kicking machine to determine if change in ankle plantarflexion during foot–ball impact and ball velocity are influenced. Sagittal plane data of the shank, foot and ball were measured using high-speed video (4,000 Hz). Increasing joint stiffness reduced change in ankle plantarflexion and increased ball velocity from a greater effective mass. Increasing foot velocity increased change in ankle plantarflexion and increased ball velocity. Distal impact locations increased change in ankle plantarflexion and reduced ball velocity as coefficient of restitution decreased. These results identify that change in ankle plantarflexion is a dependent variable during foot–ball impact and does not directly influence ball velocity. Coaches can assess ankle motion during impact to provide feedback to athletes on their impact efficiency.     

What can age by grade tell us about education in Australia?

The education systems in the States and Territories of Australia are analyzed using age by grade (Year) tables produced by the Australian Bureau of Statistics from the 1 July returns from government and nongovernment schools. The demographic patterns of 8-year-olds at Year levels show that the system of promotion through school and the rates of retention in the early years differ by State and Territory. The factors producing these variations are explored. Indigenous/non-indigenous differences in school progress are uneven across States and Territories and there are small differences favoring girls. Policy implications for the findings are discussed.     

Using a blended learning approach to support women returning to STEM

ABSTRACT

This paper examines a blended learning model designed to support women returning to STEM after a career break and its delivery in a unique partnership between an online distance education provider and a community-based equality organisation. Through this partnership additional activities such as networking events, returnships, career clinics and webinars were used in conjunction with a structured online Badged Open Course (BOC), which enabled a successful return to employment for many of the participants. This article outlines the results and implications of this integrated model and argues that blended learning approaches need to be flexible and adaptable to be able to incorporate the needs of learners at different life-course stages, taking into consideration gender and other diversity characteristics.     

The invisible hand: designing curriculum in the afterward

This paper diffracts a curriculum design workshop via online collaboration of a collective emerging from that event. Through the workshop, involving theory, conceptual art, writing, photography and curriculum planning, and the subsequent sharing of words and images, we move beyond interrogating designs for future subjects to asking how the pedagogical imagination composes both the material and immaterial, the corporeal and incorporeal, within ecologies continually transforming in the process of making. We complicate ‘delivery’ or ‘conduit’ metaphors of education and perceive ‘design’ in co-compositions of human and nonhuman elements, resisting stasis, resisting closure. This workshop paper positions design in the realm of the artist–activist, rather than that of the bureaucrat–technician, and shifts intentionality beyond the invisible and controlling hand of humanism, as curriculum design we might do in the afterwards, rejecting instrumentalism.     

Cultural studies of science education

In response to Stetsenko’s [2008, Cultural Studies of Science Education, 3] call for a more unified approach in sociocultural perspectives, this paper traces the origins of the use of sociocultural ideas in New Zealand from the 1970s to the present. Of those New Zealanders working from a sociocultural perspective who responded to our query most had encountered these ideas while overseas. More recently activity theory has been of interest and used in reports of work in early childhood, workplace change in the apple industry, and in-service teacher education. In all these projects the use of activity theory has been useful for understanding how the elements of a system can transform the activity. We end by agreeing with Stetsenko that there needs to be a more concerted approach by those working from a sociocultural perspective to recognise the contribution of others in the field.

Online Learning as a catalyst for reshaping practice – The experiences of some academics developing online learning materials

While tertiary teaching staff are familiar with teaching strategies used in traditional course delivery, the design and delivery of courses integrating new technologies such as online materials poses new challenges for many. Hence, although technology may be used, its use is often at a superficial level, failing to have significant impact on teaching practice. Motivated by the authors' belief that the development of online learning materials is an endeavour aimed at improving the quality of the learning environment, this paper explores the experiences of several lecturers within Griffith University as they engage in the design and development of online materials as part of the university's flexible learning initiative. Insights into the experiences and perceptions of teaching staff developing online materials are used to highlight issues that can then be used to inform appropriate professional development support for tertiary staff. This in turn will enable the integration of technology into the learning environment to act as a catalyst for positive changes to teaching practice.     

The literature landscape of blended learning in higher education: the need for better understanding of academic blended practice

If we are to realise the potential of blended learning in higher education, then further research into academic practice and relevant academic development is essential. Our review of literature on blended learning in higher education reveals an interesting scholarship landscape which, when described in detail, pointedly directs attention to the lack of literature seeking to understand academics’ current blended practices. We argue that this is problematic in terms of formulating the required professional development and support. In essence, this paper uncovers the need for further research into understanding not only why academics may choose to engage in blended learning, but also, once engaged, why some choose to integrate technology to create transformative blends while others choose minimally impacting blends. This paper may interest those supporting academics in developing blended learning. It provides a guiding resource both for researchers investigating blended practices and those embarking on blended learning implementations.