How Young Schoolboys Become Somebody: The role of the body in the construction of masculinity

This paper explores the key role of the body in the construction of identity in school boys aged 10-11. The findings are based on data gathered from a 1-year empirical study set in three UK junior schools. I argue that the body is used by the boys as a means of classification, inclusion and differentiation, and is the principal resource to establish status and position within the pupil peer group. The most prevalent and esteemed resource is physicality and athleticism (found particularly in sports and informal playground games), but I also examine how the body is used in tough and intimidating ways, and show how boys construct identities by using their bodies as a social symbol to display items of sports-related and brand-inscribed clothing. Finally, I consider how the body forms a major component in the construction of dominant and subordinated forms of masculinity.     

Class placement and competence attainment among students with special educational needs

John Olav Myklebust is Professor of Sociology at Volda University College in Norway. In this article, he discusses his analysis of data emerging from a longitudinal study of 494 young people with special educational needs who have been followed over a period of six years. This analysis focuses on the attainments of these students during their time in upper secondary education and asks whether placement in special or ordinary mainstream class groupings is more beneficial. The results indicate that students receiving special support in ordinary classes obtain vocational or academic qualifications more often than students in special classes. Professor Myklebust pursues his analysis by looking at the influence of a number of other variables, including assessments of functional level, family stability and gender. He concludes that the relationship between attainment and placement in an ordinary classroom does not change, even when these variables are taken into account, and argues that his findings provide further support for the inclusion of learners with special educational needs in ordinary mainstream classes.     

Assessment of a Microsoft Kinect-based 3D scanning system for taking body segment girth measurements: a comparison to ISAK and ISO standards

Use of anthropometric data to infer sporting performance is increasing in popularity, particularly within elite sport programmes. Measurement typically follows standards set by the International Society for the Advancement of Kinanthropometry (ISAK). However, such techniques are time consuming, which reduces their practicality. Schranz et al. recently suggested 3D body scanners could replace current measurement techniques; however, current systems are costly. Recent interest in natural user interaction has led to a range of low-cost depth cameras capable of producing 3D body scans, from which anthropometrics can be calculated. A scanning system comprising 4 depth cameras was used to scan 4 cylinders, representative of the body segments. Girth measurements were calculated from the 3D scans and compared to gold standard measurements. Requirements of a Level 1 ISAK practitioner were met in all 4 cylinders, and ISO standards for scan-derived girth measurements were met in the 2 larger cylinders only. A fixed measurement bias was identified that could be corrected with a simple offset factor. Further work is required to determine comparable performance across a wider range of measurements performed upon living participants. Nevertheless, findings of the study suggest such a system offers many advantages over current techniques, having a range of potential applications.     

PANdora’s box: distance learning technologies in Asia

This article provides an international perspective on learning technology developments, with emphasis on the special challenges of designing distance learning technologies (DLT) in the developing countries of Asia. A commentary on the current achievements and problems of DLT designers is provided, based on the authors’ recent study tour of distance education (DE) initiatives in 11 Asian countries: Bhutan, Cambodia, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Laos, Mongolia, Pakistan, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam. The authors compare these initiatives with others they observed in their previous visits to DE institutions in North America and Europe, China and Japan. The prospects for collaboration among DLT projects and research initiatives are discussed and the emergence of a ‘Pandora’s box’ of educational possibilities is described—innovative, economical, and occasionally troubling in the challenges it provides to accepted DE practice.     

Mutual influence of marital conflict and children's behavior problems: shared and nonshared family risks

This within-family, longitudinal study including biological and stepfamilies investigated mutual influences between marital conflict and children's behavior problems. Children (4 to 17 years; N=296) residing in 127 families drawn from a general population study were investigated at Time 1 and again 2 years later. These nested data were analyzed using multilevel modeling, controlling for previous child behavior or marital conflict. Marital conflict about children predicted change in children's behavior. Children's behavior also predicted an increase in marital conflict, particularly in stepfamilies. Differences between siblings in exposure to conflict and the extent to which siblings were a source of argument increased more in stepfamilies than in biological families. Boys were exposed to more conflict over time than were girls.     

Principals and teachers as partners in critical,participatory action research

Abstract

This article reports on a two-year study of one principal’s professional learning practices in ‘Transform,’ a professional learning program in Edmonton Catholic Schools, Alberta, Canada. Transform was designed to be a bottom-up, morally-oriented professional learning approach in which principals and teachers worked as partners on critical, participatory action research projects. This article examines the research question ‘How are principals shifting from technically- to morally-oriented professional learning practices in their schools?’ and explores one theme – co-creating social spaces for risk-taking – to illustrate how principals shifted from being managers of teachers’ learning to being partners with teachers in researching and refining classroom practices.