What Does it Mean to Question?

The purpose of this paper is two fold: first, to tease out the meaning inherent in the correlativity of the question and answer process and second, to suggest a philosophical answer to the question “What does it mean to question?” in the context of teacher education. To that end, we want to claim that R.G. Collingwood’s “Logic of Question and Answer” is a valuable tool in filling the gap in scholarship concerning the art of questioning. While research into the activity of teaching often emphasizes the role and effectiveness of questioning, these studies have largely focussed on the strategies and results of the practice of questioning. We argue that they place too little emphasis on making sense of the process itself and that more time should be spent on the Logic of Question and Answer. To accomplish our goal, in Collingwoodian form, we will contextualize an example of how the understanding of the question and answer complex informs the practice of teacher education in the specific area of the Social Studies Methods Course.     

Parental Conceptions of School Readiness: Relation to Ethnicity,Socioeconomic Status,and Children's Skills

Research Findings: This study analyzed the school readiness beliefs of parents of 452 children from public pre-kindergarten and the relations of these beliefs to socioeconomic status and children's readiness skills. Parents conceived readiness largely in terms of the ability to name objects, letters, or numbers, but few included inferential skills. Readiness beliefs were related not to socioeconomic status but to ethnicity. Readiness beliefs about the importance of independence, social competence, nominal knowledge, and inferential skills were related in expected ways to children's skills. Practice or Policy: Infrequent inclusion of inferential skills among parents' readiness beliefs may not bode well for children. Informational programs for parents about the critical role of higher order cognitive skills and ways to promote them are needed.     

TECH PREP AT THE CROSSROADS

A decade has passed since the publication of Parnell's (1985) book The Neglected Majority, which stressed the need to provide a linkage system to better articulate secondary and postsecondary technical education. Initial strides in generating the “tech prep system” have begun to slow down. The slackened pace has resulted from, among other factors, a failure to adequately define the system that constitutes tech prep. This article discusses 11 problems that have proved to be obstacles in moving tech prep forward. The article also offers a model that can be construed as a tech prep product that can be marketed much as a college transfer program is marketed. The product, however, is actually an array of products constituting a system, the contents of which vary from place to place. The model is divided into both secondary and postsecondary components, and each set of components is explained. The secondary component is further explained in terms of a core component and a suggested component. The article also includes a discussion of how the model addresses the problems set out previously. The article concludes with sections on the model components of a tech prep system and the implications for practice that result from the discussion.     

Prediction of habitual physical activity level and weight status from fundamental movement skill level

Abstract

Fundamental movement skills (FMS) have been assessed in children in order to investigate the issues of the low proportion of children who meet physical activity (PA) guidelines and rising levels of obesity. The aim of this research was to identify whether previous or current FMS level is a better predictor of PA levels and weight status in children. In January 2012 (year 1), 281 children were recruited from one primary school in the West Midlands, UK. Children performed eight FMS three times, which were videoed and assessed using a subjective checklist. Sprint speed and jump height were measured objectively. Height and mass were measured to calculate the body mass index to determine the weight status. Skinfold calliper readings were used to calculate body fat percentage. One year later, in January 2013, all these tests were repeated on the same children, with the additional collection of PA data via the use of pedometers. Following multiple linear regression, it was identified that prior mastery in FMS was a better predictor of current PA, whereas current FMS was a better predictor of current weight status. Overall, FMS mastery is needed in childhood to be able to participate in PA and maintain a healthy weight status.     

Exercise Recovery,Lactate Removal,and Subsequent High Intensity Exercise Performance

Abstract

In order to examine the effects of different recoveries from high intensity short duration exercise on lactate removal and subsequent performance, 11 subjects completed 8 experimental sessions. Each subject completed an initial all-out pedaling task against 5.5 kg resistance (Monark bicycle ergometer) for 1 min followed by a randomly assigned recovery pattern and a repeat of the all-out exercise task. The main effects examined were active (1.0 kg, 60 rpm) vs passive recovery, inhalation of inhalation of oxygen vs room air during recovery, and 10- vs-20-min duration of recovery. Pedal revolutions were analyzed on a 6- by 6-sec and on a cumulative basis. Blood lactate concentrations were determined during rest, the 3rd–4th, 9th–10th, and 19th–20th min of recovery. Results revealed significant main effects for active vs passive recovery and for 10- vs 20-min recovery, with active and 20-min recovery resulting in significantly higher postrecovery pedal revolutions (p < .001) and enhanced rates of lactate removal during recovery (p < .001). Oxygen inhalation during recovery had no effect on postrecovery performance or lactate removal (p > .05). The correlation between blood lactate levels at the end of recovery and pedal revolutions on the postrecovery exercise task was only r = -.19, suggesting that factors other than lactate removal are critical for subsequent performance.     

Predictors of quality and child outcomes in family child care settings

Few studies have examined correlates of quality ratings in family child care arrangements. This study analyzes data from a multi-state sample of family child care providers actively seeking professional development for two purposes. First, we examine predictors of observed quality ratings focusing on characteristics of child care providers, the most proximal influences of quality in family child care. Second, we explore associations between three targets of professional development (providers’ attitudes, beliefs, and practices) and the pre-academic and social–emotional skills of preschool-aged children. Provider characteristics indicative of personal and professional resources and stress, as well as providers’ professional attitudes and beliefs, are predictive of observed quality measures. Observed quality and providers’ child-centered beliefs and perceptions of job demands are related to children's developmental outcomes. Implications for future research, policies, and practices are discussed.     

What Leadership Practices Are Associated with International Baccalaureate (IB) Student Achievement? An Exploratory Study of IB Schools in Southeast Asia

This article explores what leadership practices are associated with International Baccalaureate (IB) student achievement. Using a combined data set of Diploma Program (DP) exam scores and teachers’ survey responses about school leadership from 29 schools in Southeast Asia, the article reports certain leadership practices (i.e., strategic resourcing, monitoring classroom teaching and curriculum, encouraging teacher learning and development) exercised in the sampled IB schools that are significantly associated with student academic outcomes. This article contributes to empirical literature on school leadership effects on student learning in international school settings, which is an underresearched inquiry in the field.     

How the Collegiate Religious and Spiritual Climate Shapes Students’ Ecumenical Orientation

Using data from the collegiate religious and spiritual climate survey, this study examined the relationship between campus climate and ecumenical orientation. Space for spiritual support and expression, provocative encounters with worldview diversity, and challenging curricular experiences are associated with ecumenical orientations, but some effects are conditional on students’ worldview.     

Agenda Control in the 2008 CNN/YouTube Debates

This article examines the evolving dynamic between citizens, journalists, and politicians—what we call agenda control—using the CNN/YouTube presidential primary debates as a case. A systematic content analysis of questions asked and candidates’ answers as compared with standard journalist-as-questioner debates hosted by MSNBC reveals that the dynamic between politicians, journalists, and citizens suggests that journalists do a better job of getting candidates to answer questions than do citizens in the YouTube video format, not by virtue of being journalists, but by virtue of asking the right form of question. Results also indicate that the CNN/YouTube debate questions from citizens failed to reflect the broad set of issues of interest to those who submitted questions, and instead included a disproportionate number of culture–war issues and campaign strategy questions. Findings suggest that journalists maintain the upper hand in agenda control.