Teacher capacity for and beliefs about data-driven decision making: A literature review of international research

Data-driven decision making continues to be a growing educational reform initiative across the globe. The effective use of data requires that teachers develop the knowledge and skills to analyze and use data to improve instruction. The purpose of this article is to examine teachers’ capacity for and beliefs about data use. These issues are examined through a review of research in the past decade. We find that teachers’ beliefs about and capacity for data use are often not connected within the literature or in practice, but we argue they are the heart of the connection between data and instructional change. Teachers’ capacity to use data and their beliefs about data use are shaped within their professional communities, in training sessions, and in their interactions with coaches, consultants, and principals. However, efforts to develop teachers’ capacity for data use often fall short of their goals. Correspondingly, teachers have varied beliefs about data use, and some feel they lack the ability to use data to inform instruction. In order to be more successful, capacity building should directly address teachers’ beliefs, and data use must be decoupled from external accountability demands and involve a variety of information on student learning.     

Career paths of Swedish top-level women soccer players

This study explores seven Swedish top-level women’s soccer players’ career development experiences. Data were produced through semi-structured interviews and a biographical mapping grid. The theoretical framework of ‘careership’ was employed to understand the data. The results showed homogenous career paths. Moreover, the data show that the players decided at a young age to pursue a career in soccer; experienced the transition from junior to senior level soccer as difficult because of a lack of physical preparedness; soccer over school commitments. We recommend that soccer stakeholders (e.g. federations, clubs, coaches) give the transition from junior to senior level soccer special attention to prevent intense demands that may cause dropout. We further propose that if athletes should give sport and education equal priority, the Swedish dual career concept of high school education and sport needs further reflection and adjustment.     

Glamour of Dunhuang Fascinates French Viewers

Dunhuang Grotto Temple is the world＇s largest extant treasure house of grotto art. Exquisite mural paintings and painted sculptures from ancient China are well preserved in hundreds of temple caves. In 1900 a local young Taoist monk named Wang Yuantu accidentally discovered, from grotto walls, sutra collection caves that had bean sealed for years. In those caves are kept numerous volumes of writings, silk paintings and painted banners. This accidental discavery unveiled the mysterious history of Dunhuang that dates back to more than one thousand years.     

Influence of Session Context on Physical Activity Levels Among Russian Girls During a Summer Camp

Purpose: This study investigated the effect of summer camp session context on Russian girls’ physical activity (PA). Method: Girls (n = 32, M_age = 10.7 years, SD = 0.6 years) from a resident summer camp taking place in the Vologda Region of Russia were exposed to 1 session context/day (i.e., free play, organized with no choice, organized with choice) on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday for 3 weeks, with the context order counterbalanced across the 3 weeks. The organized session sport/game changed weekly. The primary outcome was accelerometer-assessed PA. Repeated-measures mixed models were used to analyze all outcome data. Results: Findings showed that girls spent a greater percentage of session time (%time) in moderate-to-vigorous PA (p < .001; effect sizes between free play and organized with no choice and organized with choice, respectively = .60, .42) and moderate PA (p < .001; effect size = .57, .39) and a lower %time in light PA (p < .001; effect size = .55, .52) in organized PA contexts compared with free play. Conclusions: This study provides novel findings in a Russian setting, suggesting that a well-planned, organized camp session can elicit higher PA levels in girls, relative to a free-play session.     

Selling the Male Consumer the Playboy Way

Under the direction of Hugh Hefner, Playboy magazine’s early success was predicated upon the unique marketing strategies of forging the persona of an idealized, imaginary reader called the playboy, with particular lifestyles and taste preferences. At the same time, it sold the value of men’s participation in the hedonistic pleasures of accessible connoisseurship of the postwar marketplace by aligning consumer desires with sexual desires as innate components of modern masculinity. The purpose of this article is to illustrate how this persona is visually and discursively articulated throughout the entire Playboy empire, from the content of the magazines including the dewy centerfolds and the What Sort of Man Reads Playboy? campaigns to the brand’s clubs and television shows. The persona undertook the dual tasks of attracting a lucrative male readership and its corresponding advertisers, while simultaneously redefining male consumer culture.     

The Effects of Childhood Trauma on College Completion

Research in Higher Education - This study uses the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health to examine the effect of childhood trauma experiences on college graduation rates. A...