Using social cognitive theory to predict physical activity and fitness in underserved middle school children

Few researchers have used social cognitive theory and environment-based constructs to predict physical activity (PA) and fitness in underserved middle-school children. Hence, we evaluated social cognitive variables and perceptions of the school environment to predict PA and fitness in middle school children (N = 506, ages 10-14 years). Using multiple regression analyses we accounted for 12% of the variance in PA and 13-21% of the variance in fitness. The best predictors of PA were barrier self-efficacy, classmate social support, and gender; whereas, only gender predicted fitness. The results affirmed the importance of barrier self-efficacy and gender differences. Our findings regarding classmate social support are some of the first to illuminate the importance of school-specific peers in promoting PA.     

Engaging students in active learning: use of a blog and audience response system

Librarians provide instruction to medical students as part of a core course in the medical school curriculum. Instruction was provided, in part, through didactic sessions covering professional-level medical information resources, PubMed search skills, psychosocial information, and evidence-based medicine. Librarians redesigned instructional sessions with the goals of increasing student engagement and minimizing the lecture format, maximizing the number of students receiving feedback on their search and evaluation skills, and permitting students to see a variety of possible responses as well as engage in peer- and self-evaluation. Librarians integrated the use of a blog and an audience response system (ARS) into the instruction to help accomplish these goals.     

Experiences of a gifted and talented enrichment cluster for pupils aged five to seven

There has been an increased commitment to gifted and talented education in the UK in recent years, with a national strategy of grant-funded programmes. However, research into the effective-ness of gifted programmes is relatively limited. This paper, written by Anne Morgan of the Centre for Education and Inclusion Research at Sheffield Hallam University, investigates parents', teachers' and children's experiences and views of the impact of an enrichment programme for gifted and talented pupils aged five to seven. Methods included a survey of mainstream teachers (n = 15), interviews with parents (n = 17) and activities with pupils (between 16 and 24 children). Results showed that children and parents rated the cluster highly, particularly the varied teaching styles and interaction with other gifted children. There were few concerns regarding withdrawal of children from school in order to attend. All parents felt that their children had benefited from attending and around half said there had been an impact on their social and academic development. Similarly, around half of mainstream teachers said that attending the cluster had benefited children socially and academically.     

The impact of Specialist School status: a case study of two contrasting mathematics and computing colleges

The research examines the range of effects of obtaining Specialist School status in two contrasting mathematics and computing colleges, concentrating on the mathematics department. The positive impact of a wider range of technology was evident in both schools although the inherent pedagogical perspectives within each mathematics department remained fixed. Some definite tensions were evident in both schools – timetabling difficulties mitigating against maintaining and strengthening partnerships, a growing assumption that, having obtained Specialist School status, all mathematics staff were deemed to be ‘experts’. Key subject personnel in both schools obtained promotion within two years; each left a significant ‘gap’ in provision and development and raised issues of ‘succession management’ which had been unforeseen.     

Cultural complexity, post-colonialism and educational change: Challenges for comparative educators

This study explores various elements in the struggle for a post-colonial refashioning of cultural identity through education. Drawing on experiences in Australia and the Caribbean, the author illustrates how educational systems undergoing decolonisation reflect socio-cultural tensions of race and power. The author discusses the complexities for comparative educators in engaging with suppressed knowledge, recognising the yearnings of the marginalised, challenging the conditions that lead to poverty, and refashioning education for social justice in an era when the achievement of justice seems increasingly difficult. She argues that comparative educators can benefit from using post-colonial thinking to understand cultural complexity and promote lifeaffirming practices in educational change.     

'Goslob is a Boy's Name'

This class-based case study explores how firmly established are primary school children's gender expectations and how far a primary school environment serves to reinforce or challenge their expectations. Children of differing ages responded to a specially written story framework. Their responses indicated a gender stereotyping which influenced interpretation. Implications for teaching are discussed.