Dragon wings and butterfly wings: implicit gender binarism in early childhood

Despite explicit focus on addressing gender inequality in educational settings in Australia, without challenging gender binarism, inequality will persist. This article demonstrates the everyday and implicit means through which hierarchical gender binaries continue to be perpetuated. Observational fieldwork undertaken in three Australian early childhood settings with 13 members of staff and 53 children (ages 2–6) demonstrates how bi-gendered language, as well as wider discourses and practices, are being engaged in these settings. The data indicate that gender binarism continues to be (re)constructed and reinforced through subtle, but omnirelevant, invocations of gender. This happens in the constant categorisation and addressing of children by attributed gender alongside the hierarchisation of gendered attributes, and the sanctioned performativity of bi-gendered heteronormativity in play situations. This demonstrates how children continue to be encouraged into binary gendered practices in their most formative years and that this will, in turn, perpetuate gender inequalities.     

Do we need to move from communication technology to user community? A new economic model of the journal as a club

Much of the argument around reforming, remaking, or preserving the traditions of scholarly publishing is built on economic principles, explicit or implicit. Can we afford open access (OA)? How do we pay for high‐quality services? Why does it cost so much? In this article, we argue that the sterility of much of this debate is a result of failure to tackle the question of what a journal is in economic terms. We offer a way through by demonstrating that a journal is a club and discuss the implications for the scholarly publishing industry. We use examples, ranging from OA to prestige journals, to explain why congestion is a problem for club‐based publications, and to discuss the importance of creative destruction for the maintenance of knowledge‐generating communities in publishing.     

Publication Productivity among Doctoral Graduates of Educational Psychology Programs at Research Universities before and after the Year 2000

Research suggests that new doctoral graduates face increased publication pressure to achieve tenure: doctoral programs may have also increased this expectation. We examined whether faculty graduating before and after the year 2000 differed significantly in total publications, peer-reviewed publications, and first-authored publications as of the year they graduated with their doctoral degrees along with peer-reviewed publications as of tenure. A sample of 197 curriculum vitae was retrieved from educational psychology departmental websites across the 24 universities; vitae were coded for year the faculty member completed his/her doctorate and total number of publications, number of peer-reviewed publications and number of first-authored, peer-reviewed publications. Results indicated that faculty who graduated in the year 2000 and beyond had a significantly greater number of total publications—more peer-reviewed publications, more first-authored, peer-reviewed publications as of the year they graduated with their doctoral degrees, along with more peer-reviewed publications as of tenure. Publication productivity among doctoral graduates of educational psychology programs at research universities before and after the year 2000.     

The Use of Fictional Stories in Science Exhibits: The Emperor Who Only Believed His Own Eyes

The authors explore how fictional narratives (stories) can be used as a learning tool in the context of informal science environments and specifically science centers. They base their argument on an analysis of the theoretical, structural and epistemological properties of stories and how those can serve to establish a story as a cognitive tool. They offer an example of an application of these properties to a story‐based learning design called “The Emperor who only Believed his own Eyes” in the context of a large, public science center, and specifically an exhibition about “senses”. This paper focuses on the idea of a “hack,” a museum sanctioned strategy for exploring the potential and implications of narrative‐based design as a way to reinterpret science exhibits in a way that can engage young users in content exploration and offer recommendations for future research.     

The strength-based approach to educational psychology practice: a critique from social constructionist and systemic perspectives

The positive psychological research underpinning the strength-based approach makes two important claims of relevance to the practice of educational psychologists (EPs): (1) there are key, ubiquitous strengths, some of which are more worthy of development and amplification than others; and (2) this approach could resolve some of the issues associated with the traditional deficit model, by moving practice away from problem-focused language, negative labelling and within-person hypotheses. This paper aims to explore these two claims from social constructionist and systemic perspectives, respectively. It is argued that it is imperative for EPs to critically reflect on the research underpinning this approach and to consider how the principles of social constructionism and systemic thinking may facilitate its application in practice. It is concluded that, in order to move the approach forward, it will be essential for personalised strength-based approaches, which consider an individual’s strengths contextually, to be developed and utilised.     

Meeting in the circle: examining identity,attitudes, and pedagogy in the context of an early childhood teacher education program in the United States

As a team of teacher educators at a university in the United States, we engage in participatory action research to reflect on how reflective tools which we design engage teacher candidates (TCs) in their reflecting on teaching. In this paper, we describe how we invite TCs to write in-class reflections, respond to self-assessment probes, and practice problem-solving processes. We critically analyze our approaches and identify further intentional approaches to promote university students’ understandings of (1) links between the self and working with children and families and (2) connections between attitudes and pedagogy towards social justice and inclusion. We conclude that we must continue to explore how the teaching practices we use affect students’ understandings of social justice in education. Doing so demands our focus on examining attitudes through self-reflection among and between faculty and university students so that identity, relationships, attitudes, inclusion, and social justice are prioritized as pillars of curriculum in early childhood education at all levels of schooling.     

Kinematics of preferred and non-preferred handballing in Australian football

In Australian football (AF), handballing proficiently with both the preferred and non-preferred arm is important at elite levels; yet, little information is available for handballing on the non-preferred arm. This study compared preferred and non-preferred arm handballing techniques. Optotrak Certus (100 Hz) collected three-dimensional data for 19 elite AF players performing handballs with the preferred and non-preferred arms. Position data, range of motion (ROM), and linear and angular velocities were collected and compared between preferred and non-preferred arms using dependent t-tests. The preferred arm exhibited significantly greater forearm and humerus ROM and angular velocity and significantly greater shoulder angular velocity at ball contact compared to the non-preferred arm. In addition, the preferred arm produced a significantly greater range of lateral bend and maximum lower-trunk speed, maximum strike-side hip speed and hand speed at ball contact than the non-preferred arm. The non-preferred arm exhibited a significantly greater shoulder angle and lower- and upper-trunk orientation angle, but significantly lower support-elbow angle, trunk ROM, and trunk rotation velocity compared to the preferred arm. Reduced ROM and angular velocities found in non-preferred arm handballs indicates a reduction in the degrees of freedom and a less developed skill. Findings have implication for development of handballing on the non-preferred arm.     

Kinematic effects of a short-term fatigue protocol on punt-kicking performance

The punt kick is a fundamental skill used in several team sports; however, there has been a lack of research on how fatigue affects its technique. The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of short-term fatigue on punt-kicking performance. Eight elite and sub-elite Australian Football players performed maximal drop punt kicks on their preferred leg prior to, during and after a match-specific fatigue protocol. Optotrak Certus collected kinematic data from kick foot toe-off until ball contact. Repeated-measures analysis of variance showed a significant increase in 20 m sprint times after each short-term protocol, indicating fatigue. Foot speed did not significantly change with fatigue; however, increases in the range of motion at the pelvis and kicking thigh, along with increases in kicking thigh angular velocity, occurred. For the support leg, maximum knee flexion angular velocity increased while there was greater flexion found at the knee and hip, and greater range of motion at the knee. Players are able to make kinematic adaptations in order to maintain foot speed while punting for maximal distance after short-term efforts.