Academic Administrators’ Beliefs About Diversity

As our nation and society becomes more racially and ethnically diverse, college campuses are experiencing a dynamic shift in the student demographic on campus as well. Purposes of the study were to: (a) analyze the beliefs of kinesiology academic unit leaders (i.e., chairs, directors, heads) regarding faculty and student diversity within their programs and departments and (b) inquire about strategic goals for faculty and student diversification within their programs and departments. The participants were 68 administrators (43 men, 25 women) and all current members of the American Kinesiology Association (AKA) as of 2015. Thematic content data analysis of the open-ended probes exposed the recurrent themes: (a) advocacy, motives, and actions; (b) diversity identified, but rarely defined; and (c) history, status, and outlook. Implications of the findings are that issues associated with diversity in kinesiology programs and departments should be addressed with vigor and progressive actions.     

Children’s Cortisol and the Quality of Teacher–Child Relationships in Child Care

Teacher–child relationships were examined as predictors of cortisol change in preschool children. Saliva for assays was collected from one hundred and ninety‐one 4‐year‐olds (101 boys) in the mornings and afternoons on 2 days at child care, and before and after a series of challenging tasks and a teacher–child interaction session outside the classroom. Parents reported on children’s temperament, teachers and children reported on teacher–child relationship quality, and observers rated group‐level teacher insensitivity. Teacher‐reported relationship conflict predicted cortisol increases during teacher–child interaction and teacher‐reported overdependence predicted cortisol increases from morning to afternoon, even after controlling for individual teacher, child, and classroom characteristics. The findings extend earlier work by suggesting that cortisol change across the child‐care day is influenced by teacher–child relationship characteristics.     

The Impact of a Mentor-coaching Model on Teacher Professional Development

The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of the mentor–coach initiative model on participating Head Start Programs. The researchers interviewed 44 participants across two mid-western states. The participants provided positive feedback about the initiative and identified specific literacy practices based on this model that were successfully implemented in their classrooms. Evidence from this study suggests the importance of incorporating the mentor-coaching initiative model to enhance teacher pedagogical practices.     

Leadership styles predict career readiness in early college high‐school students

This study examined leadership style as a predictor of career readiness among a sample of (N = 281) students from two early college high schools from the Rio Grande Valley in South Texas. Participants included 165 females and 116 males ranging from 14 to 19 years of age and 96.8% identified as Hispanic. Participants provided demographic information and reported their own leadership style using the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ 5x) as well as their career readiness using the Employability Skills Inventory (ESI). Additionally, pre‐existing district Texas Success Initiative (TSI) data was used to identify college readiness in Reading, Writing, and Math. The results indicated that college readiness, dual enrollment, year in school and gender predicted some of the dimensions of career readiness, but leadership style emerged as a significant predictor of all eight dimensions of career readiness.     

Can changes in midsole bending stiffness of shoes affect the onset of joint work redistribution during a prolonged run?

Purpose:This study aimed to investigate if changing the midsole bending stiffness of athletic footwear can affect the onset of lower limb joint work redistribution during a prolonged run.Methods:Fifteen trained male runners(10-km time of <44 min) performed 10-km runs at 90% of their individual speed at lactate threshold(i.e.,when change in lactate exceeded 1 mmol/L during an incremental running test) in a control and stiff shoe condition on 2 occasions.Lower limb joint kinematics and kinetics...     

Thought and language: Effects of group-mindedness on young children's interpretation of exclusive we

The current study investigated whether age-related changes in the conceptualization of social groups influences interpretation of the pronoun we. Sixty-four 2- and 4-year-olds (N = 29 female, 50 White-identifying) viewed scenarios in which it was ambiguous how many puppets performed an activity together. When asked who performed the activity, a speaker puppet responded, “We did!” In one condition, the speaker was near one and distant from another puppet, implying a dyadic interpretation of we. In another condition, the speaker was distant from both, thus pulling for a group interpretation. In the former condition, 2- and 4-year-olds favored the dyadic interpretation. In the latter condition, only 4-year-olds favored the group interpretation. Age-related conceptual development “expands” the set of conceivable plural person referents.