Pathways linking perceived athletic competence and parental support at age 9 years to girls' physical activity at age 11 years

Girls' perceived athletic competence and parental support of physical activity across the ages of 9 to 11 years were examined as predictors of girls' physical activity at age 11 years. Participants were 174 girls and their mothers and fathers who completed questionnaires when the girls were ages 9 and 11 years. Two alternative temporal pathways linking perceived competence, parental support, and physical activity were assessed using path analysis. Results provided evidence for the child elicitation pathway; higher perceived competence at the age of 9 years predicted higher parental support at age 11 years, which, in turn, predicted higher physical activity among girls. Findings highlight the importance of encouraging parents to make a special effort to support physical activity among girls who do not perceive themselves as being athletically competent.     

How to Foster Active Processing of Explanations in Instructional Communication

In instructional communication settings, instructional explanations play an important role. Despite the very common use of instructional explanations, empirical studies show that very often, they have no positive effects on learning outcomes. This ineffectiveness might be due to mental passivity of the recipient learners that leads to shallow processing of the explanations. Against this background, we introduce several types of instructional assistance to foster active processing of written instructional explanations in asynchronous computer-mediated instructional communication settings. The findings of three experiments showed that prompts or training for focused processing regarding the central principles and concepts of the explanation are especially effective with respect to fostering learning outcomes.     

The politics and policies of parental involvement

Today's parents are involved in college students' lives more than those of any previous generation. Kirsten Kennedy suggests an institution-wide policy on communication with these important stakeholders.     

商业出版的再思考:科技与专业知识的平衡

探讨六种力量对知识经济时代商业出版的影响。技术创新对个体消费者是重要的,但是编辑技巧对团队更重要。具体来说,商业出版对组织机构的知识管理功能将变得不可或缺,并随着组织知识管理需求的增长,出版商拥有一个将自身角色从产品供应商向企业界的服务提供商拓展的机会。     

Governing the Family through Education: A Genealogy on the Home/School Relation

We examine a century of rhetoric on the home/school relation and investigate how current ideas about this relationship and associated parent involvement might inhibit the realization of justice, equity, and excellence in education. The phrase home/school relation refers to the actual and theoretical pattern of prescribed interactions and communication between families and schools, with an emphasis on optimizing children's development and achievement. Parent involvement, in the home and in the school, is defined as a set of behaviors that results from parents' and schools' understanding of the home/school relation. Excerpts from texts written by post-structuralist philosopher Michel Foucault guide the historical analysis of published rhetoric on the home/school relation. Ultimately, this review serves to refocus attention on the home/school relation and associated parent involvement to expand insight and opportunity for equity in schools.