Effects of a 15-week accumulated brisk walking programme on the body composition of primary school children

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to establish whether an accumulated brisk walking programme, performed during the school day, is effective in changing body composition in primary school children aged 5–11 years. Altogether, 152 participants (79 boys and 73 girls) took part in this repeated-measures intervention study, divided into groups of walkers and controls. The walkers took part in the intervention during school time, which involved brisk walking around the school grounds for 15 min in the morning and afternoon, at least three times a week for 15 weeks. This represented an additional 90 min of moderate physical activity per week. The controls undertook their usual school day activities. Pre- and post-intervention anthropometric and body composition measures were taken. Body fat (?1.95 ± 2.6%) and fat mass (?0.49 ± 1.0 kg) were significantly reduced in the walkers after the intervention, whereas the controls showed no significant changes in these measures. Our results show that regular accumulated bouts of brisk walking during the school day can positively affect body composition in primary school children.     

Learning from Evaluation at the Open University II. Helping students to learn from audio-visual media

Much of previous media research suggests that there are no significant differences between the teaching effectiveness of different media. As a distance teaching institution, however, the Open University is highly dependent on media to perform functions which in a more conventional context would be handled by live, face-to-face, tuition. Consequently, the University has a keen interest in exploiting the special properties of different media to the full, and in developing students' skills to handle different media. The new technology foundation course, T101 'Living with Technology', attempts both of these aims with some success. The main conclusions drawn from a study of the way audio-visual media are used in the course are that the characteristics of television, radio and audio-cassettes do lend themselves to particular teaching functions but that, in a distance teaching context, a factor of overriding importance is the extent to which any educational medium is accessible and controllable by the learner. The findings also suggest that students can be helped to learn more effectively from audio-visual media, providing a carefully structured approach is taken to the gradual development of learning skills, and the various media are well integrated with each other.     

THE USE OF EVIDENCED‐BASED PRACTICES IN THE PROVISION OF SOCIAL SKILLS TRAINING FOR STUDENTS WITH AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER AMONG SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGISTS

This study aimed to explore school psychologists’ use of evidence‐based practices (EBP), specifically in the area of social skills training, for students with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Participants were 220 school psychologists practicing in public school settings who provided social skills training to students with ASD. Participants were recruited through e‐mail solicitations and completed surveys administered on‐line. Results indicated that 47% of the participants reported that their graduate program did not provide courses including content addressing social skills training for students with ASD, and 58% did not receive training on the topic during their internship. The most and least frequently endorsed EBP reported were the provision of clear and measurable treatment objectives and regular communication with parents, respectively. Greater use of EBP was reported when school districts perceived implementing EBP as important. Implications of findings for training programs of school psychologists, school districts, and individual school psychologists are discussed, as well as implications for future research.     

Conceptions of inclusion and inclusive education: a critical examination of the perspectives and practices of teachers in Poland

This small‐scale study details the development and execution of a system of inclusive education in 20th and 21st century in Poland. A detailed review of the literature and employment of in‐depth semi‐structured interviews aimed to establish how inclusion is defined and operationalised in Poland. In addition, the study sought to establish how the teachers' levels of professional development and personal attitudes towards inclusion were influencing the evolution of this important educational initiative. The data from the study detail that the concept of inclusion is not well known in Poland, and that integrative education still dominates educational thinking. The study provides data to suggest integration in Poland works well in the early stages of education, but that it struggles to provide for and integrate older children into the mainstream educational settings. The research concludes that Poland has taken an important but perhaps faltering step towards educating all children in the mainstream schools.     

The Wind in the Willows and the Style of Romance

The style of Kenneth Grahame??s The Wind in the Willows arises from an alternative vision and choice of values characteristic of romance. Romance seeks fulfillment beyond the consequences of everyday relationships and the constrictions of ordinary life. Causal relationships give way to lists of independent items, unmotivated outcomes, and fulfilled wishes. Typical syntax in The Wind in the Willows includes compound listing of elements: instead of subordinating the parts to each other, both sentence style and larger organization deemphasize causality, giving an additive and coordinate nature to the work. Grahame??s style is an appropriate vehicle for a ??new life?? that is inherently rather than conditionally worthwhile. Characters acknowledge each other as ends. Such a style is a natural outcome of the worldview of romance.     

The role of Women's/Gender Studies in the changing lives of British women

This paper explores the role played by part-time Women's/Gender Studies (WGS) courses in women's lives in the UK through interviews with 35 women who were among 8000 students who studied one of the UK Open University's undergraduate interdisciplinary WGS courses between 1983 and 1999. A thematic analysis of these interviews shows how these mainly working and lower middle-class, mature women were living through a time of great social change for women. The WGS course they studied helped them understand these changes and grasp the educational, social and employment opportunities that opened for UK women after 1980. The authors reflect on these social and educational changes and using Nussbaum's Capabilities Approach (2011) analyse the capabilities these women developed through their study of these courses, which helped them to change their own lives and the lives of others around them. Looking forward, the authors argue that WGS courses have the potential to develop these capabilities in a time of economic recession and reduced opportunities for women.