An Examination and Validation of an Adapted Youth Experience Scale for University Sport

Limited tools assess positive development through university sport. Such a tool was validated in this investigation using two independent samples of Canadian university athletes. In Study 1, 605 athletes completed 99 survey items drawn from the Youth Experience Scale (YES 2.0), and separate a priori measurement models were evaluated (i.e., 99 items, YES 2.0, YES for Sport [YES-S]). Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and exploratory structural equation modeling (ESEM) results indicated issues with model fit. Post-hoc modifications improved fit, resulting in a 46-item, 9-factor model with five positive and four negative dimensions. In Study 2, 511 athletes completed the same items. The resultant model was confirmed using both CFA (comparative fit index [CFI] = .911, standardized root mean square residual [SRMR] = .056, root mean square error of approximation [RMSEA] = .040) and ESEM (CFI = .956, SRMR = .023, RMSEA = .034). The resultant University Sport Experience Survey provides a reliable and factorially valid instrument for measuring development in university sport.     

Body composition of female road and track endurance cyclists: Normative values and typical changes

The aims of this study were to describe normative values and seasonal variation of body composition in female cyclists comparing female road and track endurance cyclists, and to validate the use of anthropometry to monitor lean mass changes. Anthropometric profiles (seven site skinfolds) were measured over 16 years from 126 female cyclists. Lean mass index (LMI) was calculated as body weight?×?skinfolds^?x. The exponent (x) was calculated as the slope of the natural logarithm of body weight and skinfolds. Percentage changes in LMI were compared to lean mass changes measured using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) in a subset of 25 road cyclists. Compared to sub-elite and elite cyclists, world class cyclists were (mean [95% CI]) 1.18?kg [0.46, 1.90] and 0.60?kg [0.05, 1.15] lighter and had skinfolds that were 7.4?mm [3.8, 11.0] and 4.6?mm [1.8, 7.4] lower, respectively. Body weight (0.41?kg [0.04, 0.77]) and skinfolds (4.0?mm [2.1, 6.0]) were higher in the off-season compared to the early-season. World class female road cyclists had lower body weight (6.04?kg [2.73, 9.35]) and skinfolds (11.5?mm [1.1, 21.9]) than track endurance cyclists. LMI (mean exponent 0.15 [0.13, 0.18]) explained 87% of the variance in DXA lean mass. In conclusion, higher performing female cyclists were lighter and leaner than their less successful peers, road cyclists were lighter and leaner than track endurance cyclists, and weight and skinfolds were lowest early in the season. LMI appears to be a reasonably valid tool for monitoring lean mass changes.     

Internship: integrating theory and practice

This article describes a number of special features of the internship programme which has been developed at the Southern Cross University (SCU) in collaboration with the North Coast Region of the Department of School Education, the Catholic Education Office with selected primary schools. Arrangements are described for interns’ time spent in classrooms, collaborative teaching strategies which underpin these placements, the security which supports interns’ practice and approaches to integrate their practice with university studies. Processes of appraisal of interns’ development are explained, and the potential of mentoring for their teachers’ professional development is examined. Throughout the article, the congruence of these arrangements with Schools Council recommendations is considered.     

Ecological Mural as Community Reconnection

Murals are particularly visually captivating forms of public art due to their size and accessibility. Mural images also capture public attention and provoke viewers to explore layers of meaning and find hidden stories. They are often in places that people come to visit, study, play, congregate and discuss matters that may relate to the content of the mural. To this end, murals can be effective tools for helping communities think about their environmental issues. This article discusses the Mystic River mural project in Somerville, Massachusetts, USA. It addresses how the local art councils, mural artists, local students, community members and non‐profit organisations collaborated to carry out this ongoing mural project. The purpose of this research is to examine how Mystic River eco‐murals were created, what challenges and benefits the eco‐murals provided, how local social concerns were represented through the eco‐murals, how eco‐murals can continue to promote environmental awareness and inspire youth about their community and the local environment, and how the mural can continue to reflect or affect the meaning of the place. This process can serve as an example for other communities that seek to address their environmental concerns through public art.     

The Effects of a Kit-Based Science Curriculum and Intensive Science Professional Development on Elementary Student Science Achievement

The science achievement of 226 5th graders from districts that have a kit-based inquiry science curriculum supported by intensive professional development (PD) is compared with data from a group of 173 5th graders from other districts that use nonkit science materials and do not have systematic science PD for teachers. Within the kit-based project, the sample of project teachers is stratified to select teachers with a high number of science PD hours versus those with few hours. While there were no significant differences in the mean total scores for kit-based students with low PD versus high PD teachers, the kit-based classrooms scored significantly higher than students in nonkit classrooms on both the pretest and posttest, though there were significantly more minutes of science instruction in the nonkit classrooms. Finally, nonkit teachers taught more units of shorter length and reported lower levels of preparedness to use reform pedagogical approaches.     

Change and Equity in Higher Education

In this article, I explore the dynamic relationship between political and organizational change in higher education. Change is interrogated in relation to policies and discourses of New Right reform, mass expansion, new managerialism, equity and post‐modernist theories of power, with questions raised about the interconnection of demographic changes, consumer entitlement and equality of opportunity. I consider the extent to which economic, intellectual and socio‐cultural changes intersect. Equity is examined in relation to the democratic rhetoric of enhanced access and connections are made between equality and quality by questioning the changing nature of the product being accessed by new student populations.     

The Impact of an SES-Based Model on a College's Undergraduate Admissions Outcomes

In Grutter vs. Bollinger, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the use of race as one factor, among many in admissions decisions is constitutional. It is not known, however, whether future legal opinions will continue to uphold the use of affirmative action policies. Some have argued that class-based preferences can achieve many of the same goals as in affirmative action while being more likely to withstand legal challenges. To date, no empirical studies have been conducted on the potential impact of a class-based admissions policy if implemented at an undergraduate institution. This paper reports on a study at a selective public college and compares a number of outcomes under three admissions models: the original admissions decisions, a purely academic model, and an socio-economic status (SES)-based model. The findings showed that use of the SES-based model would have led to a more academically qualified class than in the original admitted class while maintaining substantially greater student diversity that was found under the academic model. An admissions policy based on preferences for socio-economically disadvantaged applicants appears to hold promise for other colleges and universities with similar institutional and applicant characteristics. The ideas and research design reported in this paper are based on the doctoral dissertation study of the second author, Undergraduate Admissions Models Incorporating Socioeconomic Factors (Johnson, 2000).     

Continuity of Care,Caregiver–Child Interactions,and Toddler Social Competence and Problem Behaviors

ABSTRACT

Research Findings: Continuity of care is a recommended practice in child care intended to promote secure and supportive relationships between infants and toddlers and their caregivers. Toddlers (N = 115) between 12 and 24 months were observed in 30 continuity and 29 noncontinuity classrooms. The average duration of care for toddlers with caregivers was 14 months in the continuity rooms and 5 months in noncontinuity rooms. Toddlers observed in continuity rooms experienced higher levels of interactive involvement with their caregivers and were rated by their caregivers as having fewer problem behaviors compared with the toddlers in noncontinuity rooms. Toddlers in rooms with higher staff–child ratios also experienced more involved caregiving. We did not find evidence that the level of involved caregiving mediated the association between continuity of care and toddlers’ social competence or problem behaviors. Practice or Policy: Continuity of care may be a promising practice for programs that strive to provide high-quality care for infants and toddlers.