The game within the game: girls' underperforming position in Physical Education

Since 1980 the Swedish compulsory school curriculum has stipulated that Physical Education (PE) should be taught co-ed and schools are legally required to promote gender equality. The latest evaluation of PE in Sweden shows that more boys than girls ranked the subject highly and that they had a higher level of activity during the PE lessons. Drawing on a case study, the aim of this article is to illuminate how games placed girls and boys in different subject positions. The logic governing the observed lessons was ‘proper game’, i.e. playing according to the official rules. Combined with hegemonic masculinity and the passivity of the teacher, this kind of logic resulted in the game being dominated by several dominant boys and by the ball-playing girls either being positioned or allowing themselves to be placed in situations in which they consistently underperformed. A gender category in late modernity, resting on hegemonic masculinity, can be seen as a cultural flashpoint that reflects problems in society rather than problems in the gym.     

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.     

The relation between tools used in action research and the zone of proximal development

This article describes a national school improvement project involving five compulsory schools for hard‐of‐hearing pupils, located in different parts of Sweden. Using action research, the teachers tried to change the communication patterns among the pupils by changing their own classroom practices, In this process the teachers tested and used different tools, such as writing, shadowing and facilitating each other, over a three‐year period. The purpose of this article is to examine how tools used in action research can be used to promote learning in relation to the concept of the zone of proximal development. The theoretical framework of the study is based on action research, as a collaborative way of creating knowledge, and on sociocultural learning theories. The basic assumption is that teachers, by using different tools, also challenge each other’s learning. The results show the importance of internalising tools that become owned by individuals or communities of practise. To be able to assume an active role in the zone of proximal development, and to produce knowledge collaboratively, a meaning‐making process was needed. It was found that this could be realised if the participants had an awareness of how to function as a critical friend among colleagues. Furthermore, the results revealed that, by using different tools, different voices can be heard. Three categories of voices were identified.     

Learning motivation from a cross-cultural perspective: a moving target?

This paper investigates the relationship between educational achievement and the motivation to learn. We used the 2006 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) that contains representative samples from 55 nations. A strong negative correlation between educational achievement and motivation toward science learning emerged at the national level. We found that differences in the socioeconomic levels of nations are associated with this unexpected negative correlation. Children from developed societies achieve higher educational results but may tend to be rather critical in describing their learning motivation, and vice versa, students from developing countries do not attain very high educational outcomes, but their motivation, as stated on the self-report questionnaires, is high. We offer different explanations for this phenomenon. The motivation to learn in relation to the level of development of countries is a moving target, and this should be taken into account at all levels of education policymaking, from schools to national governments.     

Zooming in on infinitesimal 1–.9.. in a post-triumvirate era

The view of infinity as a metaphor, a basic premise of modern cognitive theory of embodied knowledge, suggests in particular that there may be alternative ways in which one could formalize mathematical ideas about infinity. We discuss the key ideas about infinitesimals via a proceptual analysis of the meaning of the ellipsis “...” in the real formula \(\hbox{.999\ldots = 1}\). Infinitesimal-enriched number systems accommodate quantities in the half-open interval [0,1) whose extended decimal expansion starts with an unlimited number of repeated digits 9. Do such quantities pose a challenge to the unital evaluation of the symbol “.999...”? We present some non-standard thoughts on the ambiguity of the ellipsis in the context of the cognitive concept of generic limit of B. Cornu and D. Tall. We analyze the vigorous debates among mathematicians concerning the idea of infinitesimals.     

Digital Age Document Delivery Librarianship

This paper points out some significant areas in which document delivery librarians may contribute to the current academic climate in which disintermediation has impacted our usual roles.     

Methods of Teaching and Class Participation in Relation to Perceived Social Support and Stress: Modifiable factors for improving health and wellbeing among students

Social support and stress have previously been found to be predictors of health among students. In this study, we investigated whether methods of teaching and class participation were related to social support and stress via questionnaire responses from 947 Norwegian adolescents aged 13-15. Linear associations between the variables were assessed in univariate and multivariate analyses of covariance. Highly significant overall effects were found with the amounts of group work, class discussions, and verbal activity. Borderline significant effect was also seen in relation to the amount of independent work. An increasing amount of group work increased the perception of social support from teachers and peers, but showed no significant association with stress. Increasing amounts of class discussions were significantly related to increasing perception of social support, in particular among boys. Class discussions also seemed to reduce the experience of stress, although somewhat inconsistently. Increasing amounts of independent work increased stress, but also increased the perception of social support from peers among boys. No significant associations with traditional teacher instruction were found. Verbal activity was strongly related both to increasing perception of social support and decreasing experiences of stress. In view of the present results, participatory learning activities may promote health by preventing stress experience and promoting social relationships.     

Educational psychology as an evolving discipline: trends and synthesis in Asia Pacific Education Review

Educational psychology has seen rapid growth as an academic discipline in recent years. The current study reviewed research articles published in Asia Pacific Education Review (APER), a journal that has been gaining greater international recognition, to reveal recent trends in educational psychology research in Asia Pacific. Specifically, the study reviewed general (country, research methods and academic subject) and topical trends among 84 articles published in APER from 2005 to 2013. Findings of the study revealed that studies on diverse age groups were conducted in various countries. Although quantitative research greatly outnumbered qualitative research, qualitative research appeared to be increasingly accepted. Topics from special education and counseling were actively studied, with the greatest focus on learner characteristics highlighting individual differences. Outlined research trends and related discussions in this study may be useful for educational psychology researchers in East Asia.     

Development of Rapid Temporal Processing and Its Impact on Literacy Skills in Primary School Children

In a longitudinal study, auditory and visual temporal order thresholds (TOTs) were investigated in primary school children (N = 236; mean age at first data point = 6;7) at the beginning of Grade 1 and the end of Grade 2 to test whether rapid temporal processing abilities predict reading and spelling at the end of Grades 1 and 2. Auditory and visual TOTs differed but showed comparable developmental trajectories over 20 months. Visual TOTs were not predictive of literacy measures; auditory TOTs in Grade 1 were the best predictor. Interestingly, they were related to spelling in Grade 2 while auditory TOTs in Grade 2 were not, suggesting that rapid auditory processing abilities have a causal influence on literacy development.