Voices from the Field: Perspectives of U.S. Kinesiology Chairs on Opportunities,Challenges, and the Role of Mentoring in the Chair Position

This study examined perspectives of U.S. collegiate kinesiology department chairs (n = 54/144; 37.5% response rate) relative to: (a) opportunities and most enjoyable aspects of being a department chair, (b) challenges and least enjoyable aspects of being a department chair, and (c) perspectives on mentoring. The majority of participants enjoyed their chair role (90%) and did not aspire to advance in administration (61%). Job-related opportunities included mentoring others, facilitating department success, and leading initiatives (e.g., curricula, policies, and finances). Job-related challenges included a lack of university support, personnel issues, and urgent requests for information. Many had a mentor for a long time (mean = 7.9 ± 7.6 years; range 1 to 28 years), and the majority (71%) did not consider their dean a mentor. Protégés appreciated their mentors’ experience, listening skills, and willingness to share information, advice, and empathy. Results from this study provide helpful information for serving as a kinesiology chair.     

Innovations in creative education for tertiary sector in Australia: present and future challenges

Abstract

Recent significant changes in technology such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) and big data analysis have a wide impact in many areas of human societies, not least in education. Advances in efficiency of new technologies, with impacts in renewable energy and transport affected by environmental concerns and climate change mitigation, demand a reassessment and adjustment of the industrial structure of the economy. Technological advances enhancing creativity and analytical skills mean people must learn and adapt to a fast-changing economic environment. This paper present some key changes in Australian educational areas in recent years that are important and relevant to the subject of education innovation and philosophy to achieve outcomes in training and sustainable economic development, as anticipated by the community and government. Education courses and curricula in many countries have been transformed by technological advance. It is the swift incorporation of new technologies that best prepares students for the dynamics of economic and social change. Even though technological responsiveness is not a new phenomenon, it is established that the teaching methods found to be most successful include complementary and supplemental courses producing multi-skilled and creative graduates. These courses are delivered with significant emphasis upon self-development skills and are less focused upon traditional content. A move toward horizontal focus and a student-centric balance is the current trend, displacing vertical over-specialisation of learning. Yet, the central role of educator is seen as still appropriate and necessary where the aim is to equip graduates with creative and adaptive skills.     

Contrasting landscapes: A comparison of the impact of different induction programs on beginning secondary science teachers' practices,beliefs, and experiences

Induction programs are essential in addressing the unique pedagogical and content needs of secondary science teachers. Yet most secondary science teachers have little access to general induction programs, and even less opportunity to participate in specialized science induction programs. This study examines the impact of three different induction programs on secondary science teachers. The teachers were matched by grade level among three groups; one group participated in a science‐focused support program, another participated in a general support program, and a third had no formal support. All teachers were monitored during the spring semester to understand their teaching beliefs, instructional practices, and experiences in the classroom. The analysis of data revealed that the secondary science teachers in the science‐focused support program implemented more student‐centered inquiry lessons, held beliefs aligned with student‐centered practices, and felt fewer constraints in their teaching than did the other two groups of teachers. This study reinforces the importance of induction programs for teachers, suggests there is a need for specialized support programs for beginning science teachers, and recommends that universities and school districts work together to develop such programs. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 40: 77–97, 2003     

Challenges to successful quality management implementation in higher education institutions

This article discusses the key challenges to successful quality management implementation in higher education institutions identified by 160 colleges and universities at various stages of quality management practices. Survey findings suggest that there are five key challenges that affect the successful implementation of quality management practices in colleges and universities: organizational culture, senior leadership commitment, faculty support, implementation time, and training.Julie E. Horine, Ph.D. (The Florida State University) is Assistant Professor of Organizational Behavior in the Department of Educational Leadership at the University of Mississippi. Her areas of professional expertise include quality management and the use of the Baldrige criteria as a diagnostic tool for organizational improvement. Julie is a two-year Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award Examiner and an evaluator of the Baldrige Education Pilot Criteria. William A. Hailey, DBA (University of Kentucky), is Professor of Operations Management and Information Systems and holder of the H.E McCarty Chair in the Else School of Management at Millsaps College in Jackson, Mississippi. He is recognized as a Fellow, Certified Quality Engineer, and Certified Quality Auditor by the American Society for Quality Control. His areas of professional expertise include strategic quality planning, quality management training, and designing information systems for implementing continuous improvement principles.     

Continuing education module-maternal calcium intake and metabolism during pregnancy and lactation

Calcium is an essential nutrient during pregnancy and lactation. Calcium contributes to bone development in the fetus and neonate and is considered a critical nutrient. Physiological changes in calcium metabolism occur during pregnancy and lactation. Some women may lose some of their bone density during pregnancy and/or lactation, and then regain it after the cessation of lactation. Implications for childbirth educators include content regarding the topic of calcium in their classes.     

Academic integrity in web based distance education

Conclusion This paper has identified a major gap in the research revolving around academic integrity/dishonesty and WBDE. Statistical evidence and empirical data are almost nonexistent. However, the evidence and data that do exist, strongly challenge many widespread assumptions related to the lack of integrity and the widespread dishonesty that are assumed to exist in WBDE today. Considering the continuing unprecedented growth of distance education, the extremely limited amount of statistical data available on this topic and the implications associated with the (possibly incorrect) assumptions of academic integrity in this environment, it seems that there is a critical need for further study. In the meantime, educational institutions can feel confident about the academic security of their WBDE programs by implementing the few safeguards suggested in this article to protect against dishonesty     

Vocabulary does not complicate the simple view of reading

Gough and Tunmer’s (1986) simple view of reading (SVR) proposed that reading comprehension (RC) is a function of language comprehension (LC) and word recognition/decoding. Braze et al. (2007) presented data suggesting an extension of the SVR in which knowledge of vocabulary (V) affected RC over and above the effects of LC. Tunmer and Chapman (2012) found a similar independent contribution of V to RC when the data were analyzed by hierarchical regression. However, additional analysis by factor analysis and structural equation modeling indicated that the effect of V on RC was, in fact, completely captured by LC itself and there was no need to posit a separate direct effect of V on RC. In the present study, we present new data from young adults with sub-optimal reading skill (N = 286). Latent variable and regression analyses support Gough and Tunmer’s original proposal and the conclusions of Tunmer and Chapman that V can be considered a component of LC and not an independent contributor to RC.     

Linking family hardship to children's lives

The impact of drastic income loss on children is mediated by a number of family adaptations, including the shift toward more labor-intensive households and altered relationships. Using newly developed codes on parenting behavior during the Great Depression, this study investigates the role of parental behavior (rejecting, nonsupportive) in linking economic hardship to children's lives in the Oakland Growth Study. The results extend beyond those reported in Children of the Great Depression by showing that economic hardship adversely influenced the psychosocial well-being of girls, but not boys, by increasing the rejecting behavior of fathers. The parenting behavior of mothers did not vary significantly by income loss. In addition, the rejecting influence of hard-pressed fathers was more pronounced in relation to less attractive daughters, as judged by physical features. Attractive daughters were not likely to be maltreated by their fathers, no matter how severe the economic pressure. These outcomes on family mediation and conditional effects underscore the importance of viewing economic decline in relation to both the child's characteristics and parenting behavior. An understanding of the effects of economic decline in children's lives requires knowledge of parent and child behavior within the family and life course.