Both Sides Now: Examining Transformative Learning and Professional Development of Educators

The purpose of this mixed method research is to understand and support educators' continuing learning and growth better by using a lens of transformative learning to examine their experience and professional development practice and responsibility. Data from 58 participants and the course professor are analyzed to consider the occurrence of transformative learning and the related needs that emerged. This article also presents trends across the learning experiences and recommendations for practice and responsibility. Additionally, there are implications of the research for higher education professors, administrators, and developers reflecting on their concepts and planning of formal professional development.     

And Baby Makes Four: Predictors of Attachment Security among Preschool-Age Firstborns during the Transition to Siblinghood

The present study examined preschool-age firstborns' adjustment to siblinghood, as indexed by security of firstborn-mother attachment, in a sample of 194 2-parent families. Security of firstborn attachment decreased significantly after a secondborn's birth, but the size of the decrease was smaller among firstborns under 24 months relative to 2–5-year-olds. Mothers' marital harmony and affective involvement with firstborns predicted firstborn security before and after the baby's birth, whereas mothers' psychiatric symptoms predicted firstborn security only after the birth. Post-hoc analyses of select subgroups revealed that mothers of firstborns with high security scores before the newborn's birth, regardless of whether scores remained high or dropped after the birth, showed higher levels of psychosocial and behavioral functioning than did mothers of firstborns with consistently low security scores at both time points. However, substantial drops in firstborn security after a secondborn's birth were associated with higher maternal psychiatric symptom scores both prior to and following the birth. Results suggest that quality of firstborn adjustment to siblinghood can be predicted from both structural and familial aspects of the firstborn environment.     

Examining the Black-White achievement gap among low-income children using the NICHD study of early child care and youth development

The Black–White achievement gap in children’s reading and mathematics school performance from 4½ years of age through fifth grade was examined in a sample of 314 lower income American youth followed from birth. Differences in family, child care, and schooling experiences largely explained Black–White differences in achievement, and instructional quality was a stronger predictor for Black than White children. In addition, the achievement gap was detected as young as 3 years of age. Taken together, the findings suggest that reducing the Black–White achievement gap may require early intervention to reduce race gaps in home and school experiences during the infant and toddler years as well as during the preschool and school years.     

How pre-service teachers observe teaching on video: Effects of viewers’ teaching subjects and the subject of the video

As critical component of teachers’ expertise, professional vision should be developed during teacher education. Professional vision draws on subject specific and generic knowledge, however, little is known about the knowledge interplay. This study systematically investigated pre-service teachers’ (n = 32 majoring in mathematics/science; n = 56 in social sciences/humanities) professional vision as elicited by videos of various subjects. Such a design allows studying the relevance of subject matter for professional vision. We found evidence for different professional visions among pre-service teachers majoring in different fields, indicating that—beyond knowledge acquisition—subject-specific socializations may result in distinct sets of shared beliefs and values.     

Lived experience and community sport coaching: A phenomenological investigation

Coaching in the participation domain is the act of coaching participants that are less intensely engaged in sport than performance orientated athletes. This form of coaching is a popular activity occurring in community settings such as schools or sport clubs, and it is often undertaken with a broad range of social and health outcomes in mind. The experiences and practices of the large army of ‘community coaches’¹ have been under-explored in comparison to those of elite performance coaches who focus on competitive success and dominate much academic research. This study focuses on the little known world of the community coach. Drawing on the philosophy of phenomenologists such as Husserl, and in particular the methodology of Van Manen, the study explored the lived experiences of a single case study community coach. Derived from semi-structured interviews and in keeping with Van Manen's methodology, findings are presented in a narrative format. The narrative describes the ‘lifeworld’ of the coach and seeks to identify the ‘essential features’ of community coaching in this case. Specifically, the narrative illustrates a dichotomy in the lifeworld of the coach; between a frenetic practical delivery mode visible in the public arena and a ‘hidden’ largely unknown, private world used predominantly for planning and organising. For this case study coach, the essence of community coaching lay in two complementary activities; planning and then delivering fun based activities that achieved social, health and sporting outcomes. Additionally, interacting with others, such as parents, carers and teachers was identified as an essential feature of this coach's experience.