Self-efficacy theory and the theory of planned behavior: teaching physically active physical education classes

The purpose of our investigation was to examine determinants of teachers' intentions to teach physically active physical education classes (i.e., spend at least 50% of class time with the students engaged in moderate to vigorous physical activity). Based on the theory of planned behavior, a model was examined hypothesizing that teachers' intentions were determined by subjective norm, attitude, and perceived behavioral control. Grounded in self-efficacy theory, it was hypothesized that program goal importance and hierarchical and barrier self-efficacy would also predict intention. Using a series of hierarchical regression analyses, the theory of planned behavior was supported by accounting for 59% of the variance in intention due to attitude, perceived behavioral control, and subjective norm. Self-efficacy theory based variables received minimal support.     

Valuing the lived experience: a phenomenological study of skiing*

Abstract

Hermeneutic phenomenology is a little used approach in sport settings yet is widely advocated in other disciplines (e.g. health research). This article contributes to the theoretical understanding and practical application of hermeneutic phenomenology in sport research. It considers and explores the lived experience of skiing through a phenomenological approach and in so doing exposes a deeper understanding into the meaning skiing may hold in the lifeworlds of those who ski. Such research highlights the growing use of interpretive paradigms to elucidate lived experience in sport research, contrasting measurement of experience with seeking to understand the experiences themselves. We assert that hermeneutic phenomenology has much to offer sport research where an understanding of how one’s subjective encounter can reveal much about the shared knowings, meanings and experiences of participation in sport in our society.     

The possibilities and constraints of multimedia as a basis for critical reflection

The use of video evidence as a vehicle for promoting discussion and critical reflection is well established in educational literature in the field of professional development and is gradually becoming more accepted as a research method. There is general agreement also that in relation to image‐based research the combination of video evidence of practice and professional dialogue promote critical reflection and can be instrumental in bringing about changes to that practice. Our aim in this paper is firstly to explore briefly our use of video images as a catalyst for promoting rich dialogue that supports multiple perspectives, meanings and interpretations of classroom events. We describe from a very practical perspective the trials and tribulations of developing a methodology for collecting and analyzing video recordings of classroom practice. Secondly, we describe our attempts to capture and narrate the experience as a multimodal account (Kress & Leeuwen, 2001 Kress G Leeuwen T 2001 Multimodal discourse: the modes of contemporary communication (London, Arnold)  [Google Scholar]) for dissemination purposes. The experience of coming to understand and work with the possibilities and constraints offered by the integration of media such as graphic/video image, text, music and becoming familiar with the language of ‘roll‐overs’, ‘one‐stop‐shops’, ‘rendering’ was for us a very steep learning curve which proved both exciting and challenging.     

Becoming a problem: Behaviour and reputation in the early years classroom

How does it happen that some children acquire a reputation as a ‘problem’ in school? The article discusses some findings of a qualitative study involving children in the Reception year (ages 4–5). The research focused on problematic behaviour as this emerged within, and was shaped by, the culture of the classroom. A key question for the research was: what makes it difficult for some children to be, and to be recognised as, good students? Using an analytic framework derived from discourse and conversation analysis, we identify some critical factors in the production of reputation, including: the ‘discursive framing’ of behaviour; the public nature of classroom discipline; the linking of behaviour, learning and emotions; the interactional complexities of being (seen to be) good, and the demands on children of passing as the ‘proper child’ required by prevailing discourses of normal development, as coded in UK early years curriculum policy and pedagogy.     

A Campus Partnership to Foster Compliance with Funder Mandates

Data from federally funded research must now be made publicly accessible and discoverable. Researchers must adhere to guidelines established by federal agencies, and universities must be prepared to demonstrate compliance with the federal mandate. At Utah State University, the Office of Research and Graduate Studies and the Merrill-Cazier Library partnered to facilitate data sharing and create an audit trail demonstrating compliance with the terms of each researcher's award. This systematic approach uses existing resources such as the grant management system, the institutional repository (IR), and the Library online catalog. This paper describes our process and the first eight months of implementation.     

NERMLS: The first year

The Countway Library, Boston, was the nation's first Regional Medical Library under the Regional Medical Library Program of the NLM. New England Regional Medical Library Service (NERMLS) began in October 1967 and is the outgrowth of traditional extramural services of the Harvard and Boston Medical Libraries (constituents of the Countway). During the first year over 27,000 requests were received of which 84 percent were filled. Some problems of document delivery (and their solution) are recounted. Other activities were: a limited amount of reference work; distribution of a Serials List; and planning for a region-wide medical library service. Proposals call for consultation and education, regional reference service, and improved document delivery service. Emphasis is placed on the role of the Community Hospital as a center for continuing education and the need to strengthen and assist hospital medical libraries. With the Postgraduate Medical Institute, Boston, NERMLS assisted in the compilation of a small physician-selected medical Core Collection which would serve as a minimum standard collection for community hospital libraries.     

‘I think autism is like running on Windows while everyone else is a Mac’: using a participatory action research approach with students on the autistic spectrum to rearticulate autism and the lived experience of university

This co-authored article outlines the research process and key findings from the Stratus Writers Project, a participatory action research project with a group of seven students on the autistic spectrum at a university in the North of England. The project explores their experiences of university through critical autobiographies and offers unique insider perspectives into some of the key issues, challenges and successes. Building on a participatory action research approach, the data were collected by the participants themselves; however, this study departs from traditional research in that the participants also analysed the data, thus offering rich and potentially overlooked theoretical knowledge. The article concludes by demonstrating the strength of participatory action research approaches by identifying the impact that our project and its findings have had so far.