Social Media as Primary Source

This article explores and critiques the use of social media as a primary source in the writing of twenty-first-century history. Since the introduction of so-called social media in the early 2000s, social scientists, journalists, and users have hailed this media form as a revolutionary departure from the ‘old media’ that dominated the twentieth century. Part of the narrative of ‘new media’ is it provides greater amounts of user agency, removes structural impediments for social dialog, and promotes an egalitarian exchange within the global sphere. This article suggests that this account is a product of the narrative structure of classical liberalism, through which social media as an object of knowledge and effectivity is produced. It concludes that the use of social media as a primary source for social histories of popular protest will require substantive theoretical scrutiny by scholars writing about these processes of the twenty-first century.     

Sample size and power estimates for a confirmatory factor analytic model in exercise and sport: a Monte Carlo approach

Monte Carlo methods can be used in data analytic situations (e.g., validity studies) to make decisions about sample size and to estimate power. The purpose of using Monte Carlo methods in a validity study is to improve the methodological approach within a study where the primary focus is on construct validity issues and not on advancing statistical theory. The purpose of this study is to demonstrate how Monte Carlo methods can be used to determine sample size and to estimate power for a confirmatory factor analytic model under model-data conditions commonly encountered in exercise and sport. Because the purpose is pursued by way of demonstration with the Coaching Efficacy Scale II-High School Teams, related sample size recommendations are provided: N > or = 200 for the theoretical model; N > or = 300 for the population model. Technical terms (e.g., coverage) are defined when necessary.     

Proposed modifications to the conceptual model of coaching efficacy and additional validity evidence for the Coaching Efficacy Scale II-High School Teams

The purpose of this study was to determine whether theoretically relevant sources of coaching efficacy could predict the measures derived from the Coaching Efficacy Scale II-High School Teams (CES II-HST). Data were collected from head coaches of high school teams in the United States (N=799). The analytic framework was a multiple-group confirmatory factor analysis with ordered-categorical indicators and observed covariates. Applying this framework to the conceptual model of coaching efficacy (CMCE) resulted in a statistical model equivalent to a multiple-group multivariate regression with latent outcomes. Results provided evidence for the ability of measures derived from the CES II-HST to be predicted by theoretically relevant sources of coaching efficacy and suggested modifications to the CMCE.     

Learning in politics: Teachers’ political experiences as a pedagogical resource

The suggestion that teaching is a political act has been a divisive issue among educators. However, there has been little analysis of the ways that teachers draw on their political experiences as pedagogical resources. Using a case study of seven teachers in Porto Alegre, Brazil who were involved in politics, this article explores the relationship between political experiences and teaching citizenship. The data consisted of interviews with the teachers, observations of their teaching, and classroom materials. This research shows that politics played an important role in their efforts to teach democratic citizenship. Through the teachers’ diverse political experiences and ideologies, they developed different understandings of the relationship of politics with citizenship education that promote democratization and social change.     

A case example of one state's efforts to measure and address the critical shortage of school psychologists

Despite persistent calls for school psychologists to provide comprehensive and integrated services, school psychologists may have difficulty providing these services because of critical shortages in the profession. This practical action research study involved surveying district supervisors of school psychologists and training program directors in the state to identify the current and projected shortages in Florida. This multimethod, multi‐informant case example also focused on facilitators of and barriers to addressing the critical shortage. How the data have been used to inform recruitment, retention, and advocacy efforts to identify school psychology as a critical shortage legislatively are provided as well as recommendations for future research.     

Conditioned flavor preferences based on hunger level during original flavor exposure

In five experiments, rats’ preference for a flavor was greater if the flavor had previously been consumed under low rather than high deprivation. This preference was conditioned in as few as three flavor-deprivation pairings (Experiment 1), and persisted through 28 test days, half under each deprivation level (Experiment 2). Rats never preferred the flavor associated with high deprivation even when calories were increased by giving 40 ml of 8% sucrose or when caloric density was increased to the equivalent of 20% sucrose. The preference for the low-deprivation flavor was greater when saccharin solutions were used rather than sucrose solutions, but the preference did emerge when sucrose solutions were used as testing proceeded and when a lower concentration of sucrose was used. We suggest that these preferences may be a result of flavor-taste associations rather than associations between flavors and postingestive consequences, and that the taste of the solutions under low deprivation is preferred to the taste under high deprivation.     

The imperial welfare state? Decolonisation,education and professional interventions on immigrant children in Birmingham, 1948–1971

Abstract

This article approaches debates about how the history of the post-1945 English welfare state might be written. It argues that professionals’ interventions on immigrant children can serve as a prism for understanding the crafting of the modern English welfare state. In this sense the article engages with the narrative concerning the resilience of a post-war British history that sees 1945 as a moment of profound rupture symbolised by the demise of Empire, the development of a universal welfare state, and the coming of mass immigration that brought with it social problems whose management presaged a distinctive British multiculturalism. Due to its influential impact on the development of immigrant education policies in England and because of its extensive education archive the article uses the Birmingham Local Education Authority (LEA) as an empirical and historical case. The significant British Nationality Act of 1948 and the Immigration Act of 1971 serve as demarcations of the period treated. The article concludes that the immigrant child and the child’s background were consistently presented as educational problems and as the cause of both poor academic attainment and a more intangible unwillingness to assimilate. In this lens the crafting of the post-war English welfare state was a continuation of an imperial project shoring up imperial boundaries within as the former colonised appeared on English soil.     

“It’s Like I’m Really There”: Using VR Experiences for STEM Career Development

Research suggests that the likelihood of students entering into science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) careers can be increased by promoting and maintaining students’ interest in STEM during middle school years, a critical developmental stage when students’ interests begin to solidify. One way to attract students to STEM is through technology-enhanced learning environments and experiences, which can spark and cultivate the long-term interest needed to pursue STEM careers. Virtual reality (VR) can potentially increase access to such STEM-related experiences for all students due to its educational and technological affordances. Currently, there has been little exploration of the intersection between VR and career development for K-12 students. This study, therefore, aims to address this gap by exploring the use of VR 360 videos for STEM career exploration. Data were collected using focus group interviews with 39 primarily Latinx middle school students who participated in the summer enrichment program. These interviews were conducted immediately after a VR 360 video activity that featured female characters and/or characters from racial minorities in order to best support students who are underrepresented in STEM fields. The findings support the potential of VR as a tool for career development as long as content, possible physical side effects, and scaffolding are considered. The implications for research and practice are discussed.

     

Wellness of Counseling Students: Practicing What We Preach

A study of wellness among 263 graduate students in counseling revealed that counseling students experienced greater wellness than the general population; however, significant within‐group variability existed. Doctoral students reported significantly greater wellness in most areas measured by the Wellness Evaluation of Lifestyle (J. E. Myers, T. J. Sweeney, & J. M. Witmer, 1996) as compared with entry‐level students. Moderate effect resulted for Sense of Control, Intellectual Stimulation, Work, and Total Wellness. Students who were not Caucasian reported greater wellness in Cultural Identity than did Caucasian counseling students.