Early Family and Child-Care Antecedents of Awakening Cortisol Levels in Adolescence

This study examined early observed parenting and child-care experiences in relation to functioning of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical axis over the long term. Consistent with the attenuation hypothesis, individuals ( n  =   863) who experienced: (a) higher levels of maternal insensitivity and (b) more time in child-care centers in the first 3 years of life had lower awakening cortisol levels at age 15. Associations were small in magnitude. Nonetheless, results were (a) additive in that both higher levels of maternal insensitivity and more experience with center-based care uniquely (but not interactively) predicted lower awakening cortisol, (b) not accounted for by later caregiving experiences measured concurrently with awakening cortisol at age 15 or by early demographic variables, and (c) not moderated by sex or by difficult temperament.     

Organizational Learning Capacity, Evaluative Inquiry and Readiness for Change in Schools: Views and Perceptions of Educators

In recent review of the literature on integrating evaluative inquiry into organizational culture, Cousins, Goh, Clark and Lee [Cousins, J.B., Goh, S., Clark, S. & Lee, L. (2004). Canadian Journal of Program Evaluation 19(2), 99–144] suggest that there is a link between evaluative inquiry and organizational learning in schools. However, there have been no published studies examining the views, perceptions and importance teachers and administrators attach to these practices and activities in their schools. This article reports results from a survey of 970 educators about their views on both of these topics – organizational learning and evaluation. Teachers and school administrators in 41 middle and secondary schools in Manitoba, Canada, responded to questions about current evaluation practices, attitudes towards evaluation and experience with systematic inquiry, as well as organizational learning capacity, school support structures and their readiness for evaluation and change. The survey results suggest that educators perceive their schools to have a moderate capacity for organizational learning. Similarly, respondents indicated that a moderate to low level of evaluation activity is currently taking place in their schools. Some implications for change in building a learning capacity and an evaluative inquiry culture in schools and suggestions for further research are discussed.     

Computer Experience,School Support and Computer Anxieties

Past research has shown computer anxiety to be present in a sizeable minority of school teachers, and has identified some of the personal and school‐based correlates of this anxiety. Before effective interventions can be introduced, however, more needs to be known of the various forms and sources of this problem. The current study involved a survey of the experiences, attitudes and anxieties of a random sample of 350 Australian primary and secondary school teachers. Levels of self‐rated computing competence among these teachers were moderately low. Computing competence and anxiety were highly correlated, r= ‐ 0.78. Three distinctive types of computer anxiety were identified, as was a set of factors predictive of each. As hypothesised, computer anxieties were inversely related to the quality of prior computer learning experiences, and to the extent of current school support for computer usage. Implications for the reduction of computer anxiety among teachers are discussed.     

Internationalisation and migrant academics: the hidden narratives of mobility

In this paper, we present an analysis of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education (SoTL) which contributes to SoTL both as a field of research practice and as a background to professional development in higher education. We analyse and describe the constitution of the field, and in so doing address its nature in the face of the dilemma of, on the one hand, its diversity and, on the other hand, its generally agreed set of purposes. Our analysis of SoTL knowledge is conceptualised as relational, connecting SoTL practitioners with the work they disseminate to the community at large. We describe and exemplify the internal horizon of the field in terms of five domains: the didactic and the epistemic, which we refer to as the knowledge building domains, and the interpersonal, the moral/ethical and the societal domains, which we refer to as the axiological domains. The external horizon is described in terms of four aspects of the context that can impact the production and implementation of SoTL knowledge: the disciplinary, the professional, the cultural and the political aspects. Methodological emphasis is equally on the axiological underpinnings of SoTL, its values and attitudes, as the ontological and epistemological underpinnings that are predominant.     

Understanding the persistence of inequality in higher education: evidence from Australia

During the latter half of the twentieth century, Australia, like many countries in the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, experienced rapid expansion in participation in higher education which was supported by government through increases in the number of publicly funded university places. However, in spite of this expansion, a disproportionately large share of the undergraduate student population is still drawn from higher socio-economic backgrounds. This paper seeks to understand the persistence of inequality in higher education by examining changes in patterns of participation in Australian universities since the 1970s. Using logistic regressions to analyse data collected by three Australian surveys conducted between 1987 and 2005, the authors examine the influence of having a university-educated parent on an individual’s chances of obtaining a higher education degree. They find that although the expansion of higher education has had some impact in terms of reducing inequality, having a university-educated parent continues to exert a direct effect on an individual’s propensity to graduate from university. The paper draws on the theories of maximally maintained inequality and relative risk aversion to interpret institutional and student behaviour. The policy challenges of addressing structural inequality in higher education are also discussed.     

Self-reported tolerance of the intensity of exercise influences affective responses to and intentions to engage with high-intensity interval exercise

This study investigated the effect of self-reported tolerance of the intensity of exercise on affective responses to, self-efficacy for and intention to repeat low-volume high-intensity interval exercise (HIIE). Thirty-six healthy participants (mean age 21 ± 2 years) were split into high tolerance (HT; n = 19), low tolerance (LT; n = 9), and very low tolerance (VLT; n = 8) of exercise intensity groups. Participants completed 10 × 6 s cycle sprints with 60 s recovery. Affective valence and perceived activation were measured before exercise, after sprints 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, and 20 min post-HIIE. Intention and self-efficacy were assessed 20 min post-HIIE. Affective valence was significantly lower in VLT vs. LT (P = 0.034, d = 1.01–1.14) and HT (P = 0.018, d = 1.34–1.70). Circumplex profiles showed a negative affective state in VLT only. The VLT group had lower intentions to repeat HIIE once and three times per week than HT (P < 0.001, d = 1.87 and 1.81, respectively) and LT (P = 0.107, d = 0.85; P = 0.295, d = 0.53, respectively). Self-efficacy was not influenced by tolerance. Self-reported tolerance of exercise intensity influences affective responses to and intentions to engage with HIIE.     

Creating effective teaching and learning environments: Building a positive behavioural support (PBS) model for UK special schools

The importance of reducing restraint and restrictive interventions in special schools has been recognised across the four nations of the UK. Government guidance for England and Wales, and recommendations produced by Restraint Reduction Scotland, both reference Positive behavioural support (PBS) as an evidence-based approach that can be used to proactively support pupils with, or at risk of, behaviours that challenge. The Department of Education of Northern Ireland recommends the development of behaviour support plans to support children with special education needs and disabilities. Special schools, however, also have a responsibility to set high expectations for every pupil, to provide access to the respective national curricula and to meet individual needs. School-wide positive behavioural support (SW-PBS), originated in the USA in the 1990s in response to a body of evidence that showed improved social and academic outcomes when behavioural interventions were implemented across whole school settings. It is increasingly being adopted in the UK. Drawing upon examples from schools in England and Wales with which the authors are familiar, this paper outlines the rationale for a special schools' model of SW-PBS and illustrates the ways in which this can be adjusted to meet the specific needs of each setting.

Key Points

• Reducing restraint and restrictive interventions in schools is a high priority across all four nations of the UK.
• Special schools also have a responsibility to provide children with special education needs and disabilities positive learning environments that maximise learning opportunities and meet individual needs.
• School-wide positive behaviour support (SW-PBS) provides a useful framework to help special schools meet these expectations.