Novice principals setting goals for school improvement in New Zealand

While principal goal-setting has been shown to be an important leadership practice, there is little research examining principals’ goal-setting and goal-achievement. This research examined novice principals’ school improvement goals and factors affecting their achievement. Goals from 460 principals enrolled in a national induction programme were categorised revealing a strong emphasis on instructional and student-centred leadership. After 18 months, 258 of those principals, and their mentors, rated their achievement. Principals also rated five potential achievement predictors. Goal achievement tended to be high, with commitment, effort, learning and support serving as positive predictors of success. In contrast to what goal-setting theory suggests, goal challenge was a negative predictor of achievement. The analysis of two contrasting cases revealed possible explanations for this negative relationship. These included novice principals’ ability, self-efficacy and attributional processes. This study highlights the role of self-efficacy in the process of goal-setting and pursuit. It emphasises that consideration needs to be given to how novice principals’ self-efficacy can be developed and sustained. Implications for practice in the area of educational leadership and leadership development are discussed.     

Abduktion, Induktion – Konfusion

When education research speaks of category-building, a reference is usually made to “induction”. The empirical confirmation of existing laws would also occure inductively, as is the data also collected inductively. The ambiguous use of this term contradicts a unified understanding of the logic of research. With reference to the American philosopher Charles Sanders Pierce, an alternative theory of knowledge acquisition through “abduction” has been discussed recently. This paper contributes to this debate. A unified and (logic-)philosophically adequate reflexion of results of investigations from interpretative social research will be proffered using a structural look at the process of knowledge acquisition and securing knowledge.     

机械产品加速模拟试车法研究及推广应用

本系统介绍了以短时间的产品加速模拟试车法，阐述了设计理论和试车规程的编制依据。     

基于思想政治教育生活化的大学生主体意识培育

思想政治教育生活化是实现高校思想政治教育目标的一种重要理念和重要方式,大学生主体意识培育是思想政治教育生活化的必然要求。高校应积极利用思想政治教育生活化的方法手段,探索大学生主体意识的培育途径,增强思想政治教育的实效性。     

Preschooler's physical activity levels and associations with lesson context,teacher's behavior,and environment during preschool physical education

Preschools offer two main opportunities, recess and physical education (PE), for preschool children to participate in physical activity (PA) and are considered a suitable institution for PA promotion given the large number of children enrolled. Although PE can have a meaningful effect on preschoolers’ PA levels, preschool PE characteristics associated with increased PA have, to the best of our knowledge, not been identified. Therefore, the purpose of the present study was to examine preschooler's PA levels and the associations with lesson context, teacher behavior, and environment during preschool physical education. A random sample of 573 preschoolers (288 boys; M_age = 5.4 years, SD = 0.4) from 35 preschools was examined during one PE class. Findings indicated that preschoolers accumulated 12 min (33%) of moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA), 5 min (13%) of light PA, and 20 min (54%) of sedentary behavior during PE. Forty-seven percent of the variance in pupils’ MVPA may be attributed to differences between PE classes. Less knowledge content, less promotion, less management, less preschoolers per 100 m², using obstruction material, and not using throwing equipment were significantly associated with higher MVPA levels. These predictors explained 56% of the variance in MVPA at the PE class-level. To conclude, PE in its current format contributes only a small amount to the PA requirements of preschoolers. Preschoolers’ MVPA levels were related to modifiable PE characteristics indicating that preschool PE can be restructured to increase MVPA.     

Mission and Diversity Statements: What They Do and Do Not Say

For this study we used institutional web sites to examine the mission statements of 80 higher education institutions for messages about diversity. Of the 80 institutions, 59 (75%) referenced diversity in their mission statements; but only 19% defined diversity in racial or ethnic terms. In addition to mission statements, 52 (or 65%) of the 80 institutions had a separate diversity statement; but only 18 of these were an official institutional statement. These treatments of diversity are interesting in light of the changing demographics of the incoming college student population and the recognized need for greater cultural development or awareness on campuses. If mission and diversity statements reflect the priorities of the institution, 35% of the institutions in the sample said nothing about diversity.     

Children’s use of subtraction by addition on large single-digit subtractions

Subtractions of the type M − S = ? can be solved by various strategies, including subtraction by addition. In this study, we investigated children’s use of subtraction by addition by means of reaction time analyses. We presented 106 third to sixth graders with 32 large non-tie single-digit problems in both subtraction (12 − 9 = .) and addition format (9 + . = 12). We examined the fit of three regression models, which represented the consistent use of direct subtraction, of subtraction by addition and of flexibly switching between both strategies based on the relative size of the subtrahend. Findings revealed that children did not switch flexibly between the two strategies, as adults do, but that they rely on direct subtraction for problems presented in subtraction format and on subtraction by addition for problems in addition format. We end with the major theoretical, methodological and educational implications of these results.     

Biomechanical analysis of the penalty-corner drag-flick of elite male and female hockey players

The aim of this study was to analyse the kinematic sequencing in the penalty-corner drag-flicks of elite male and female field hockey players of international calibre. Thirteen participants (one skilled male drag-flicker and six male and six female elite players) participated in the study. An optoelectronic motion analysis system was used to capture the drag-flicks with six cameras, sampling at 250 Hz. Select ground reaction force parameters were obtained from a force platform which registered the last support of the front foot. Twenty trials were captured from each subject. Both player groups showed significantly (p < 0.05) smaller ball velocity at release, peak angular velocity of the pelvis, and negative and positive peak angular velocities of the stick than the skilled subject. Normalised ground reaction forces of the gender groups were also smaller than that of the skilled drag-flicker. By comparing these players we established that the cues of the skill level are a wide stance, a whipping action (rapid back lift) of the stick followed by an explosive sequential movement of the pelvis, upper trunk and stick.     

Exploration of the Relative Contributions of Domain Knowledge and Search Expertise for Conducting Internet Searches

The relative contributions of expertise in search skills and domain knowledge were examined when using the Internet to find information. Four conditions were compared: expert searchers/high domain knowledge; expert searchers/low domain knowledge; novice searchers/high domain knowledge; and novice searchers/low domain knowledge. Search outcomes and verbal protocols were analyzed. The combination of search expertise and high domain knowledge yielded the most efficient searches. Higher search expertise yielded access to sites rated more accurate and credible. High domain knowledge yielded sites rated more thorough. Verbal protocols depicted searching as a complex decision process. Findings have implications for instructional support.