Unravelling the complexities of distance education student attrition

This paper reports on an investigation into the complexities of student attrition in a distance education course. Deep‐seated factors involved in the attrition process are disclosed as the particular qualitative research process that was employed mapped student responses through the course of interviews. These tabulations reveal interesting patterns of change as students volunteer explanations for their decisions.     

The parent-coach/child-athlete relationship in youth sport: cordial, contentious, or conundrum?

The roles of coach and parent are often synonymous in youth sport, but little data-based research has been conducted on the parent-coach/child-athlete relationship. Six boys in U-12 competitive soccer were interviewed regarding positive and negative aspects about playing for their father-coach. Similar questions were posed to father-coaches and two teammates. Inductive content analysis indicated that, among the benefits, sons identified perks, praise, technical instruction, understanding of ability level, insider information, involvement in decision making, special attention, quality time, and motivation. Costs of being coached by one's father included negative emotional responses, pressure/expectations, conflict, lack of understanding/empathy, criticism for mistakes, and unfair behavior. For father-coaches, positive themes included taking pride in son's achievements, reason for coaching, positive social interactions, opportunity to teach skills and values, enjoying coaching son, and quality time. Negatives included inability to separate parent-child from coach-player role, placing greater expectations and pressure on son, and showing differential attention toward son. While teammates perceived some favoritism by the parent-coach, they cited mostly positive instructional experiences. Results are discussed within motivational theories that highlight the influence of significant adults on children's psychosocial development in the physical domain.     

The Air‐gap Phenomenon in Young Children's Pictures

In Experiment 1, 221 children aged 5;l‐10;2 were asked to crayon or paint an outdoor scene. The shift from leaving an air‐gap to filling in the sky occurred at approximately 8 years of age whether crayons or paint were used. In Experiment 2 four groups of children (mean age, 6;8) who normally left an air‐gap were asked to draw a photographic slide of an outdoor scene projected onto a screen. We manipulated the amount of exposure to the slide and also the information about it given by the experimenter. More children relinquished their air‐gap response when the experimenter had drawn their attention, verbally, to the full sky. When children received this information and were able to view the slide throughout the drawing session, there was also a tendency for more of them to draw the full sky and for those who left an air‐gap to draw the sky significantly deeper.     

Phonological Awareness and Rapid Naming Skills of Children with Reading Disabilities and Children with Reading Disabilities Who Are At Risk for Mathematics Difficulties

Limited research has examined the skills of children with a reading disability (RD) and children with RD and a mathematics disability (MD). Even less research has examined the phonological awareness (PA) and rapid automatized naming (RAN) skills in these two groups of children and how these skills relate to reading and math achievement. Additionally, various classification criteria are frequently implemented to classify children with MD. The purpose of this study, therefore, was to examine the PA and RAN skills in children who met different criteria for RD only and children with RD who are at risk for mathematics difficulties (MDR). Participants were 114 second‐ or third‐grade students with RD from public elementary schools in three large metropolitan areas. Students were classified as at risk for mathematics difficulties utilizing a 25th‐percentile cutoff and a 15th‐percentile cutoff as assessed by the KeyMath‐Revised Test ( Connolly, 1988 ). A series of PA and RAN measures were administered along with a range of reading and mathematics measures. Hierarchical regression analyses indicated that children with RD only evidenced a different pattern of results compared to children with RD + MDR. Additionally, using a more stringent criterion to classify children at risk for mathematics difficulties resulted in a differential pattern of results when compared to a less stringent classification criterion.     

Preparing teachers to remediate reading disabilities in high school: What is needed for effective professional development?

In this paper, we ask what constitutes effective professional development for teachers faced with struggling readers in high school. Metacognitive teacher training, instructional coaching, mentorship, and collaborative learning are considered. We describe a professional development model preparing high school teachers to teach PHAST PACES, a remedial reading program. A metacognitive teaching style and specific skills for teaching comprehension and decoding strategies were emphasized. Teachers provided high positive ratings regarding the usefulness of the training, and attributed to the training an increased sense of efficacy in improving student outcomes and understanding reading problems. A comparison of student outcomes for teachers’ first and subsequent classes suggested that the professional development model promotes better outcomes on more complex skills.     

An Evaluation of an EDY Course in Behavioural Techniques for Classroom Assistants in a School for Children with Severe Learning Difficulties

This study is an evaluation of a behavioural skills training course (known as the Education of the Developmentally Young‐‐EDY) which was run for eight classroom assistants (all trained nursery nurses) at an ESN (S) school in Manchester. It arose out of a previous study (Farrell, 1982) which suggested that while teachers improved their practical skills following EDY training, classroom assistants did not. In this study the classroom assistants were filmed working with an individual child on four occasions; twice prior to their training, once immediately following it and once more ten weeks later. The video tapes were randomly arranged and shown to two independent and trained raters. The raters rated the classroom assistants on four aspects of behavioural teaching, all of which are integral parts of the EDY course. The results showed that taking all the teaching techniques together, the classroom assistants made significant gains following training but that these gains were only evident on two of the behavioural techniques when they were analysed separately. When comparing the findings of this work with other studies, the main conclusion is that, although classroom assistants do benefit from EDY training, their progress may not be so marked as that of classroom teachers.     

The impact of making-weight on cognitive performance in apprentice jockeys

Jockeys regularly engage in rapid weight-loss practices in preparation for competition. These practices are thought to impair cognitive function, although the evidence in support of this theory remains inconclusive. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of making-weight on cognitive function in apprentice jockeys in a simulated and competitive environment. Apprentice jockeys (n = 12) reduced their body mass by 4% in 48 h in a simulated environment using weight-loss methods typically adopted in preparation for racing. Simple and choice reaction time, attention, learning and memory were assessed before and after the weight loss. A further 10 apprentice jockeys performed the cognitive function assessment in a competitive racing environment at both a self-reported “normal” and “light” body mass. Hydration status and body mass were assessed in all trials. In the simulated environment, body mass was reduced by 4.2 ± 0.3%, yet no change in cognitive function was observed. Cognitive function also remained unchanged in the competitive environment after a body mass loss of 5.7 ± 1.9%. Typical reductions in body mass in preparation for racing have no effect on cognitive function in apprentice jockeys in a simulated and competitive environment. Further research is required to investigate the physiological mechanisms preventing the adverse effects of making-weight on cognitive function in jockeys.