Introduction: Reflexions on Interdisciplinarity in Adapted Physical Activity

ABSTRACT

The articles included in this special issue of Quest emerged from a research workshop entitled Thinking About Our Thinking in Adapted Physical Activity, held at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada, from June 18–19, 2013. The aim of the workshop was to examine different worldviews that contribute to the adapted physical activity research literature, to identify key disciplinary assumptions, and to outline their consequences for multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary research in the field. A lack of understanding of the basic assumptions held by researchers often impedes communication between the disciplines. Hence, a sub-theme of this special issue is communication across disciplines. These conversations are, of course, essential to interdisciplinary inquiry.     

The new books on our shelves

Introductory Mechanical Drawing. By Albert A. Lacour and Glenn N. Shaeffer. Milwaukee: The Bruce Publishing Company, 1931. pp. 23.

Two Times Two Is Four. Adapted from the Swedish of Zacharias Topelins by Vera C. Himes. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell Company, 1931. Pp. 64.

Jean and Fanchon: Children of Fair France. By Virginia Olcott. New York: Silver, Burdett and Company, 1931. Pp. viii + 168.

Introduction to the Use of Standard Tests (Revised Edition). By Sidney L. Pressey and Luella Cole. New York: World Book Company, 1931. Pp. iii + 266.

Health Horizons. By Jean Broadhurst and Marion Olive Lerrigo. New York: Silver, Burdett and Company, 1931. Pp. i + 44.

Poems for Enjoyment. By Elias Lieberman. New York: Harper Brothers, 1931. Pp. v + 510.

Fabrics and Dress. By Lucy Rathbone and Elizabeth Tarpley. New York: Houghton Mifflin and Company, 1931. Pp. ix + 430.

Factors Influencing the Choice of Courses by Students in Certain Liberal Arts Colleges. By Helen Foss Weeks. New York: Columbia University, 1931. Pp. i + 62.

Manual for Expressing Educational Measures as Percentile Ranks. By Francis C. Buros and Oscar K. Buros. Yonkers: World Book Company, 1930. Pp. 27.

Mental and Interest Tests. By Lea Hamilton King. New York: Columbia University, 1931. Pp. 1 + 124.

The Bearing of Certain Personality Factors Other Than Intelligence on Academic Success. By Henry T. Tyler. New York: Columbia University, 1931. Pp. v + 88.

Psychology of Exceptional Children. By Norma V. Scheidemann. New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1931. Pp. i + 520.

Problems in School Supervision. By George C. Kyte. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1931. Pp. xiv + 214.

The Birch Bark Roll of Woodcraft. By Ernest Thompson Seton. New York: A. S. Barnes and Company, 1931. Pp. xii + 268.

How to be Interesting. By Professor Robert E. Rogers. Boston: L. C. Page & Company, 1931. Pp. xii + 170.

Grammar in Action. By J. C. Tressler. New York: D. C. Heath and Company, 1931. Pp. xii + 404.

Uncle Remus. By Joel Chandler Harris. New York: D. Appleton and Company, 1931. Pp. xxiii + 283.

Making the Most of High School. By Clyde M. Hill and Raymond D. Mosher. New York: Laidlaw Brothers, 1931. Pp. v + 288.

Modern Business Law. By Jay Finley Christ. New York: The Macmillan Company, 1930. Pp. xiv + 612.

Capital Outlay in Relation to a State's Minimum Educational Program. By Foster E. Grossnickle. New York: Columbia University, 1931. Pp. iii + 65.

Students' Marks in College Courses. By John E. Bohan. Minneapolis: University of Minneapolis Press, 1931. Pp. iii + 133.

The Influence of Training on Changes in Variability in Achievement. By Homer B. Reed. Albany: Psychological Review Company, 1931, Pp. 1+ 59.

Education and the Philosophy of Experimentalism, By John L. Childs. New York: The Century Company, 1931. Pp. vii + 264.

Progress in Adjusting Differences of Amount of Educational Opportunity Offered Under the County Unit Systems of Maryland and Utah. By L. John Nuttall, Jr. New York: Bureau of Publications, Teachers College, Columbia University, 1931. Pp. v + 105.

Modern Chemistry. By Charles E. Dull. New York: Henry Holt and Company, 1931. Pp. xii + 776.

An Introduction to Organic Chemistry. By Roger J. Williams. New York: D. Van Nostrand Co., 1931. Pp. iii + 585.

Educational Measurement in the High School. By C. W. Odell. New York: The Century Company, 1930. Pp. 641.

Furniture Boys Like to Build. By Richard Shaver. Milwaukee: The Bruce Publishing Company, 1931. Pp. 216.

General Metal Work. By Alfred B. Grayshon. New York: D. Van Nostrand Company, 1930. Pp. viii + 206.

Coloring, Finishing, and Painting Wood. By A. C. Newell. Peoria: The Manual Arts Press, 1930. Pp. 419.

A Gateway to Music. By Wilton W. Blanche and Jay Speck. Boston: D. C. Heath and Company, 1931. Pp. v + 178.

Plane Geometry Work Book, By Theodore Herberg and Sinclair J. Wilson. Boston: D. C. Heath and Company, 1931.

Standard Service Arithmetics, Grades One and Two. By J. W. Studebaker, F. B. Knight and W. C. Findley. Chicago: Scott, Foresman and Company, 1929. Pp. 154.

Introductory Algebra. By Alan Johnson and Arthur W. Belcher. Chicago: Laurel Book Company, 1930. Pp. 407.

Fabrics and Clothing. By Sara MacBride and Ellen Beers McGowan. New York: The Macmillan Company, 1931. Pp. viii + 225.

Mathematics, Seventh School Year. By Fred Engelhardt and Mary L. Edwards. New York: D. Appleton and Company, 1931. Pp. xvi + 232.     

Balancing Economic and other Discourses in the Internationalization of Higher Education in South Africa

Since the end of the apartheid era in South Africa, “internationalization” of higher education has been a popular theme as the country takes its place as a regional leader in education and research in sub-Saharan Africa. However, competing discourses of internationalization have produced economic and moral dilemmas rather than the realization of philanthropic academic aims. The process of internationalizing higher education in South Africa has been greatly compromised by under-funding and over-crowding of post-secondary education institutions in the country.     

Stereotyped Identification: How Identifying with Fictional Latina Characters Increases Acceptance and Stereotyping

This article applies the concept of stereotyped identification—the idea that cognitively and emotionally identifying with fictional minority characters can simultaneously increase acceptance of minorities while reinforcing stereotypes about how they look, act, and talk—to the context of Latina television characters. Specifically, we employed a national survey measuring participants’ exposure to Latina TV characters; levels of identification with TV characters; and attitudes toward, and stereotypes about, Latinas. Results are consistent with the prediction that through identification, exposure to Latina TV characters is related to more favorable feelings toward Latinas, as well as higher levels of stereotyped views of Latinas as sexualized and melodramatic.     

Developing young readers through the linguistic phonics approach

This paper reports findings from a large‐scale evaluation undertaken to explore the impact of the ‘linguistic phonics approach’ (LPA) on young children’s reading. The LPA is a systematic and applied programme that differs from traditional phonics programmes. For example, rather than ask children to look at letters and speculate on the sounds they make, the LPA begins with the sounds and oral language skills children bring with them to school and progresses to a stage where they marry sounds with the written word. Implicit in the approach is the notion that children can learn to make associations between their spoken language (native speech sounds which are embedded from around the age of one) and the written language. Findings from this three‐stage test/retest matched‐samples evaluation (n = 745, Yr 2 and Yr 3 pupils) indicate that the LPA does significantly raise standards and that the gains made by pupils taught through this approach sustain over time. Particularly worthy of note is the finding that, in contrast to non‐systematic phonics approaches, the LPA positively affects the attainment levels of high‐, middle‐ and low‐ability readers.     

Talk with Your Mother or Your Sibling? Developmental Changes in Early Family Conversations about Feelings

Developmental changes in the pattern of family conversations and talk about feelings were examined in a longitudinal study of 50 families observed at home when the second-born children were 33 and 47 months old. Significant increases were noted in the total amount of talk and the frequency of talk about feelings between sibling pairs as well as decreases in the amount of mother-child conversation and references to feelings. Differences in whose feelings were discussed and in the context of references to feelings were found for mother-child and sibling-child dyads. Developmental changes in the children's use of feeling state language co-occurred with the increase in interaction between children and their siblings. The findings contrast the "complementary" nature of mother-child interaction and the "reciprocal" nature of child-sibling interaction and support the argument that the quality of particular relationships influences the use children make of their communicative competence.     

Insiders’ perspectives: a children's rights approach to involving children in advising on adult-initiated research

Consulting with children is widely recognised as an essential element in building understanding about children's lives. From a children's rights perspective, it is also a legal requirement on professionals working with children. However, translating the rhetoric into research and practice is still evolving. Previous studies report on working with children as co-researchers where children are involved in different phases of the research process in a bid to provide their unique perspectives. This small-scale study takes the view that children not only have the right to be involved in the research process but they also have the right to be informed and have their understanding developed about the issues being researched. This allows for a more apprised view which can enhance children's participation in advising on the research and interpreting data. Therefore, this small-scale study reports on working with a children's research advisory group in developing their understanding about popular culture and writing in the primary classroom before involving these children as advisors in the research process.