Learning for professional life: Student teachers' and graduated teachers' views of learning,responsibility and collaboration

The focus of this study is on how final-semester students and newly-graduated teachers experience the formal objectives of teacher education, with a particular view of the concepts of learning, responsibility and collaboration. The ways of experiencing these concepts varied from conceptions in which only one dimension is discerned from in the student teachers group to conceptions in which several dimensions of the phenomena are discerned in the graduate teachers group.     

The impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic on physical activity in U.S. children

BackgroundDaily moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) is vital to the physical, mental, and social well-being of children. Early restrictions during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic included the closure of schools and physical activity (PA) amenities across the US. This study aimed to examine the impact of the pandemic on the PA and play behavior of U.S. children and to provide evidence-based recommendations to improve their PA.MethodsA cross-sectional, online, parent-reported survey was conducted of children aged 3–18 years between April and June 2020 to assess light PA and MVPA using a modified Godin Leisure-Time Exercise Questionnaire. Additional items included family/child socioeconomic demographics, child adaptability to the pandemic, and community access. The survey was shared through social media and snowball sampling distribution.ResultsAnalysis of 1310 surveys indicated child PA scores declined significantly during the pandemic (from 56.6 to 44.6, max 119, p < 0.001). Specifically, MVPA score decreased (from 46.7 to 34.7, max 98, p < 0.001) while light PA remained the same. Age-based changes were seen in the quantity, variety, and intensity of PA, with the lowest pandemic-related impact seen in preschoolers and the highest in high schoolers (–4.7 vs. –17.2, p < 0.001). Community-based peer PA decreased across all age groups.ConclusionThis study shows decreased PA levels in U.S. children, according to parent reporting, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Recommendations for community leaders, educators, and parents to improve PA in children are provided. With continued spread of COVID-19, these results and recommendations may be imperative to the physical well-being of U.S. children.     

A momentous hour at Panama

The experimental investigation of the laws governing the excitation of x-rays by electron impact appears to be near completion. However, the existence of the proton, with its mass of 1,846 times that of the electron, provides the possibility of introducing anew variable—the mass—into collision experiments. Previous investigations have led to inconclusive results except that it is known that when fast α-particles fall on an element, its characteristic x-ray spectrum is excited.In the writer's experiments, a mass spectrograph is used to bring either protons or electrons, of same energy in the range from 15 kv. to 25 kv., onto a copper target. The arrangement eliminates several known sources of error. X-radiation produced passed into an argon filled Geiger counter.The procedure was to compare two currents: (1) the current composing an electron beam just intense enough to produce detectable x-rays; and (2) that composing the strongest proton beam which certainly produced less radiation.The ratio of these currents is a minimum value for p, the ratio of the efficiencies for excitation of electrons and protons respectively.The results were that (1) no radiation from proton impacts was observed, (2) the minimum value of p from three sets of experiments was 740; 237,000; and 6,400.In view of the directness of the experiment, the order of magnitude of the highest figure is presented as the result, i.e. ? = 10⁵. This may be compared with ($\text{M/m = 1,846, W/m)}\text{3}\text{2}\text{= 79,310, (M/m)}{}^2\text{= 3,408,000}$.Wave mechanical considerations of impact processes indicate that radiation should be produced by proton impacts of energy greater than the critical energy (for copper, 8.86 kv.) but intensity formulas have not been derived.If they can be derived the present results offer the possibility of checking the wave mechanics of impact processes.     

Action learning: cultural differences

The article describes the experience of forming a set in a higher education institution and offers some observations and insights gained from the perspectives of the role of the set adviser, cultural differences and the challenges of attempting to align theory, practice and experience.     

Transforming British higher education: A view from across the Atlantic

This article analyzes the major changes in British Higher Education during the past five years: increasing student numbers, mandated government assessment, linking funding to the assessment exercises, the modularized curriculum and the competency movement, and draws comparisons to the United States. The author then studies the impact of these policy changes on a single campus, the University of Leicester, with attention to the consequences of growth, the impact on decision-making, and challenges for staff development.     

School‐based support for children with conduct disorders; a qualitative longitudinal study of high‐need families

Primary school‐aged children with conduct problems are at risk of future antisocial and criminal behaviour, particularly when there are additional family‐level risk factors. However, little is known about how school‐related factors can reduce that risk. This qualitative longitudinal study investigates school‐related influences on changes in the behaviour of at‐risk children in high‐need families over a period of 5 years. Families of 11 children with serious behaviour problems were followed over the transition to secondary school. In‐depth interviews with mothers, and with practitioners who support the child or family, explored school‐related factors which appeared helpful or unhelpful in improving children's behaviour over time. The analysis found that the disjuncture between the nurture experienced at primary school and a lack of nurture later at secondary school was problematic. Children tended to change primary school until they found one prepared to offer them a high level of nurture and supervision. Consistent relationships with supportive adults were important, but were rare after the transfer to secondary school. Literacy problems remained unrecognised or unaddressed for too long, contributing to children's lack of engagement. Inconsistent disciplinary responses to minor behaviour issues tended to escalate problems and most children were eventually excluded from mainstream education. Communication between parents and school staff was often problematic; parents sometimes experienced school contacts as burdensome, ill‐informed and unsupportive. However, good communication could aid development of successful approaches to supporting children with difficult behaviour.