Children's Peer Relationships: Longitudinal Prediction of Internalizing and Externaliziing Problems from Middle to Late Childhood

In this longitudinal study, the predictive relations between social difficulties in early childhood (grade 2) and subsequent internalizing as well as externalizing problems in middle childhood (grade 5) were examined. Of particular interest was whether early indices of social isolation would predict internalizing problems 3 years later. A longitudinal sample of 87 children were assessed in both grades 2 and 5 on a variety of measures, including sociometric ratings, peer assessments of aggression and isolation, and self-appraisals of social competence. In the second grade, observations of isolated and aggressive behavior were made, as well, and teacher ratings of internalizing and externalizing difficulties were obtained. In the fifth grade, teacher ratings of shy-anxious and acting-out behavior and self-reports of loneliness and self-esteem were collected. Consistent with previous research, results demonstrated predictive links between early peer rejection (unpopularity) and aggression and subsequent externalizing difficulties. Internalizing problems in middle childhood were significantly related to early social difficulties, particularly those of an internalizing sort, including poor peer acceptance, social isolation, and perceptions of social incompetence. Social isolation, then, may indeed be a risk factor in early development.     

Implementing curriculum evaluation: case study of a generic undergraduate degree in health sciences

This case study presents a longitudinal, evidence‐based approach to health science curriculum reform and evaluation. Curriculum in higher education must meet the needs of diverse stakeholders and must respond to dynamic local, national and international contexts, and this creates challenges for evaluation. The long lead time prior to the introduction of new or revised university curriculum (at least two years), the length of degree programmes (three to five years) and the lag time in the availability of objective indicators of degree outcomes (at least one year post‐graduation) mean that findings may be obsolete before an evaluation can be completed. Few would argue that evaluation is important and methods and approaches for conducting curriculum evaluation are proposed in the literature, although few published reports of the outcomes of comprehensive evaluations are evident. This paper discusses potential for evaluation to establish responsive communication between students, teaching staff and programme administrators, ensuring a match between the intended, implemented and attained curriculum.     

Can we meet their expectations? Experiences and perceptions of feedback in first year undergraduate students

Student ratings of satisfaction with feedback are consistently lower than other teaching and learning elements within the UK higher education sector. However, reasons for this dissatisfaction are often unclear to teaching staff, who believe their students are receiving timely, extensive and informative feedback. This study explores possible explanations for this mismatch between staff and students’ perceptions of feedback quality. One hundred and sixty-six first year undergraduate students completed a questionnaire detailing their experiences of feedback on coursework before and throughout their first year at university. Results indicate that whilst procedural elements of feedback (timeliness and legibility) are considered satisfactory, past experiences (pre-university) may influence student expectations of feedback. Some students had a severe, negative emotional response to the feedback provided and few students engaged in self-help (independent learning) behaviours to improve their performance following feedback. We consider how changes in feedback practices could improve students’ use of, and satisfaction with, their feedback.     

It's All Very Well,in Theory: Theoretical Perspectives and Their Applications in Contemporary Pedagogical Research

Current debates about educational theory are concerned with the relationship between knowledge and power and thereby issues such as who possesses a “truth” and how have they arrived at it, what questions are important to ask, and how should they best be answered. As such, these debates revolve around questions of preferred, appropriate, and useful theoretical perspectives. This paper overviews the key theoretical perspectives that are currently used in physical education pedagogy research and considers how these inform the questions we ask and shapes the conduct of research. It also addresses what is contested with respect to these perspectives. The paper concludes with some “cautions” about allegiances to and use of theories in line with concerns for the applicability of educational research to pressing social issues.     

Understanding Youth Obesity and Media Use: Implications for Future Intervention Programs

Nearly six years have passed since the Physical Activity and Health: A Report of the Surgeon General (USDHHS, 1996) described the health and fitnesa status of Amrica's yarth. The Sugeon Guxd's Call to Action to prevent and Decrease Overweight and Obesity (USDHHS, 2001) provides a camprehensive review of research on the epidemiology, health risks, and prevalence of obesity in all segments of the poplation. Increasinngly, children and adolescents are turning to sedentary kisure-time activities. Media use has been linked to decread physical activity levels, incearsed BMI, and increased high-enugy food intake. This review of litnature pravides a comprehensive examination of the influence media use has on youth adiposity, dietary habits. and physical activity. Current and future intervention programs to decrease sedentary behavior in children are also highlighted. Reducing media use (including television, videaape viewing, nonacademic computer use, and video game playing) in youth cau address leisure-time sedentary behaviors. Future intervention program, using run interdisciplinary appach, need to decrease leisure-time sedentary behaviors while promoting active lifestyles.     

Determining Intensity Levels of Selected Wii Fit Activities in College Aged Individuals

The purpose of this study was to determine the intensity of Nintendo Wii Fit games using indirect calorimetry. Twenty-five college students completed Wii Fit activity sessions at two difficulty levels within aerobics, strength, and yoga categories. Resting metabolic rate and exercise oxygen uptake were measured, and metabolic equivalents were calculated. Measured metabolic equivalents and calculated metabolic equivalents ranged from 2.30 ± .42 and 2.44 ± .38 for Yoga to 5.73 ± 1.36 and 6.04 ± 1.09 for aerobics, respectively. All selected Wii Fit activity intensities were significantly higher than resting, p < .001; aerobic and strength activities met the moderate intensity threshold (three metabolic equivalents, p < .001), while yoga activities did not (p < .005). Aerobic and yoga activities of medium difficulty were more intense than the corresponding easy-rated activities (p < .005). There were no statistical differences between measured and calculated metabolic equivalents. Wii Fit has potential as an effective tool for helping college-aged individuals increase their physical activity.     

Adults with Learning Disabilities in the Workforce: Lessons for Secondary Transition Programs

Now almost 15 years after the implementation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) data are emerging in the literature related to job entry and employment outcomes of adults with learning disabilities (LD). Although these data are derived from varying methodologies, they converge in three critical areas: Knowledge of the ADA, realities of workplace self‐disclosure, and the importance of self‐determination. This review presents findings in each of these areas. The messages obtained from adults with LD who experience the realities of the workplace can provide significant information for secondary programs that assist students with hidden disabilities preparing to transition to college or to employment.     

Evaluation, Research and Communities of Practice: Program Evaluation in Museums

Museums present different contexts for learning, particularly when compared with places such as schooos, universities and libraries. They have been described as free-choice learning environments visited by a broad range of people. Museums have the opportunity to shape identities—through access to objects, knowledge and information visitors see themselves and their culture reflected in ways that encourage new connections, meaning making and learning. However, across the world museums are finding themselves competing with other leisure and learning experiences in an increasingly global world. The long history of audience research in the cultural sector demonstrates the interest museums have had in their visitors over time. This paper outlines the development of audience research in museums, the context within which it operates, and describes the processes of audience research through a series of case studies drawn from the work of the Australian Museum Audience Research Centre. It is argued that the shift in museums from mission-led program development to balancing content and audience needs through a transaction approach requires a broader research-focused agenda. While traditional ways of conducting evaluations are necessary and useful, to remain viable audience research needs to be more strategic, working across the sector in new ways and utilising new methods. How programs impact on users and facilitate learning about a wide range of key issues that museums are concerned with is a leadership role that audience research can take across both the cultural sector and other free-choice learning contexts. To achieve this, a communities of practice approach is suggested as a potential framework for audience research in the contemporary museum.