Three Worlds: new directions in participant development in sport and physical activity

The twin challenges of inactivity and the 2012 Olympics have tightened the focus in UK sport promotion. However, the twin track approach which treats these challenges as distinct concerns may limit the efficacy of interventions in either area. We propose that a continuum between participation, performance sport and elite achievement represents the most efficacious and logical focus for practitioners and researchers alike. We explore the genesis of this, and other problematic features through critical consideration of key theories. Finally, we propose a multidimensional approach to lifelong sport and activity participation as a theoretically justified basis for research and intervention design.     

Beyond the Research Paper: Extending the Use of Collections

The increasing availability of high quality digital texts and usage data about them provides opportunities to identify new uses for collections, alternative ways to present and explore content, and expanded audiences for the materials. Using this information and a rapid development model called a “flash build,” JSTOR is creating and partnering with other organizations to build new tools that add value to library investments in digital collections. Two examples are discussed: “Classroom Readings,” a tool designed to help educators find articles on JSTOR that are good candidates for teaching, and “Understanding Shakespeare,” a resource created in collaboration with the Folger Shakespeare Library that enables scholars to follow links in lines from Shakespeare plays to articles on JSTOR that reference them. The rapid development model used for these projects is easily reproducible and effective, and could be applied to many library-driven efforts.     

Effects of auditory perception training on reading achievement

This study investigated the effect of an auditory training programme with backward readers who were also deficient in one or more auditory perceptual subskills. Thirty subjects were randomly assigned to one of three groups. The experimental group received a nine hour taped programme devised by the experimenter and designed to teach the skills of auditory discrimination, memory, analysis and synthesis and auditory-visual integration. The comparison group listened to stories on tape for the same duration as the experimental group, while the third group served as a control merely being tested at the beginning and at the end of the experiment. It was found that although the training programme significantly improved the performance of the experimental group over the other two groups on a total auditory perceptual test, there was no corresponding improvement in reading, on word recognition or comprehension tests. The particular auditory subskills which appeared amenable to training were auditory discrimination (rhyme) and auditory synthesis (blending and closure).     

Building an assessment of community-defined social-emotional competencies from the ground up in Tanzania

Two studies were conducted in 2017 to investigate children's competencies seen as important by communities in Mtwara, Tanzania. Qualitative data from 95 parents (34 women) and 27 teachers (11 women) in Study 1 indicated that dimensions of social responsibility, such as obedience, were valued highly. In Study 2, the competencies of 477 children (245 girls), aged 4–13 years, were rated by teachers and parents. Factor analysis found the obedient factor explained the most variance in parent rating. In line with predictions, urban residence, parental socioeconomic status (SES), and parental education were all positively associated with ratings of curiosity, and parental SES was negatively associated with obedience and emotional regulation. Findings illustrate the need for culturally specific frameworks of social-emotional learning.     

Assessing environmental understanding: an application of the concept mapping strategy

Despite its importance as a central goal in environmental education, there appears to be little consensus about how best to document, assess and evaluate understanding of environmental concepts. This illustrative case study describes and demonstrates the use of the concept mapping strategy as an effective tool for assessing environmental understanding. Data were collected from 325 middle school‐aged (11–14 years) individuals and comparisons were made among those enrolled in a model, university‐based, informal, residential marine education program (viz. MarineQuest) and a matched group of non‐participating students. Using a non‐randomized Solomon Four Group experimental design, differences in the structural complexity and content validity of knowledge about marine animal life were explored. Results reveal significant differences in the frequencies of concepts, relationships, levels of hierarchy, branching and cross‐linking and in the frequencies and types of critical concepts depicted. In all cases, where differences were found, they favored participants who enrolled in the environmental education intervention. The findings suggest that concept maps offer a valuable alternative or adjunct to traditional pencil and paper tests and provide both a qualitative and a quantitative measure of conceptual understanding.     

An exploration of trans* kinship as a strategy for student success

Abstract

Although the notion of queer kinship has been well discussed within literature on queer individuals, it has not been used as a lens to make sense of how trans* college students successfully navigate rigidly gender dichotomous collegiate environments. Using interview data from the National Study of LGBTQ Student Success, this study explores the narratives of 18 trans* students concerning their experiences of success in college and the role of queer kinship in supporting their success. Analysis documented three domains of kinship (i.e. material, virtual, and affective), which promoted students’ success.     

The Scandinavian Folk High School: A Model For the Education and Integration of Handicapped Youth

For almost 150 years the Scandinavian folk high school has served as an important institution in helping young people in their transition from adolescence to adulthood. In recent decades it has also become an avenue for the education and integration of young adults with special needs. At present, there are in the Scandinavian countries of Sweden, Norway, Denmark, and Finland almost 400 folk high schools, each with an enrolment of about 100 students. Some of these schools are sponsored by handicap organizations and are primarily designed for handicapped students, but include a smaller number of nonhandicapped students. The present article describes in detail some of these schools. Several developing countries in Africa and Asia have initiated educational projects based on the Nordic folk high school concept.     

Modeling Student Cognition in Digital and Nondigital Assessment Environments

Inferences about student knowledge, skills, and attributes based on digital activity still largely come from whether students ultimately get a correct result or not. However, the ability to collect activity stream data as individuals interact with digital environments provides information about students’ processes as they progress through learning activities. These data have the potential to yield information about student cognition if methods can be developed to identify and aggregate evidence from diverse data sources. This work demonstrates how data from multiple carefully designed activities aligned to a learning progression can be used to support inferences about students’ levels of understanding of the geometric measurement of area. The article demonstrates evidence identification and aggregation of activity stream data from two different digital activities, responses to traditional assessment items, and ratings based on observation of in-person non-digital activity aligned to a common learning progression using a Bayesian Network approach.