The Royal Statistical Society Centre For Statistical Education

We present our vision for the Centre’s role in raising statistical standards in the new millennium, particularly in relation to schools.     

How context shapes practitioner research and professional learning in schools in Singapore and NSW

The New South Wales (NSW) Government Department of Education and Communities and the Singapore Ministry of Education have encouraged teachers to engage in practitioner research as part of their professional learning agenda because it is perceived as a powerful means of investigating and improving educational practice. Drawing on a Schatzkian perspective, where social life is understood as being tied to a context, or ‘the site of the social’, we examine teachers’ experiences as practitioner researchers in NSW and Singapore. We also argue that practitioner research has been remodelled and re-interpreted differently in different contexts and that cultural context is a potent constituent of the practice architecture that prefigures practitioner research. Using data collected from interviews with 42 participants comprising academics, policy makers and teachers, we specifically illuminated those contextual/cultural characteristics respondents identified as factors that actively shape teachers’ experiences as practitioner researchers.     

America's Cup yacht racing: Race analysis and physical characteristics of the athletes

Abstract

The America's Cup is the oldest competing trophy in sport, yet little is known of the nature and intensity of racing or the physical characteristics of the athletes. In this study, aspects of the physical demands of America's Cup yacht racing were analysed, including the intensity of exercise and activity pattern of “grinding”. Anthropometric data were collected from 92 professional male America's Cup sailors, and fitness data from a top-4 and a lower-7 ranking team during the 32nd America's Cup. Over the 135 races, mean race duration was 82 min (s = 9), with 20 tacks (s = 10) and 8 gybes (s = 3) per race. Grinding bouts were 5.5 s (s = 5.4; range: 2.2–66.3) long, with 143 exercise bouts per race and an exercise-to-rest ratio of 1:6. Mean and peak heart rate was 64% and 92% of maximum for all positions, with bowmen highest (71% and 96%). Grinders were taller, heavier, and stronger than all other positions. Body fat was similar between positions (13%, s = 4). The higher-standard team was stronger and had greater strength endurance, which probably contributed to their quicker manoeuvres. Intensity of exercise was dependent on the similarity of competing boats and the role of the athlete. The short duration and intermittent nature of grinding is indicative of predominantly anaerobic energy provision.     

Linkages between delayed children's social interactions with mothers and peers

The social dimensions of family-peer linkages of 4- to 6-year-old children (N=63) with developmental delays (IQ range, 50-80) were examined in this study. Hierarchical regressions revealed consistent and meaningful patterns of association relating children's influence attempts directed toward their mothers and their interactions with peers. A similar association with peer interactions was found for children's ability to obtain compliance from their mothers. Evidence suggested the existence of a core behavioral pattern that children exhibit with different partners and in different contexts. The role of horizontal forms of parent-child interactions in promoting the peer relationships of children with delays was suggested, particularly in terms of an intervention approach for this group of children.     

The Bioinformatics Program at Washington University's Bernard Becker Medical Library: making it happen

The need for a Bioinformatics Program became apparent after repeated requests from researchers for bioinformatics resources and the University's announcement of BioMed 21, a 300 million dollars biomedical science initiative to bring "new knowledge of the human genetic blueprint to the patient's bedside and change how illnesses are understood, diagnosed, and successfully treated." A Bioinformatics Specialist with a strong background in the fields of Molecular Biology and Biostatistics was hired. Program development started in 2003. Initially, three core courses were developed: Sequence Similarity Search, Genetic Variation, and Human Genome Resources. Each of these courses was offered twice per semester. Additionally, partnerships were established within the University Medical School Community (e.g., the Genome Sequencing Center) to license and teach Spotfire's DecisionSite for Functional Genomics, a software package used to analyze microarray data. From March to May 2005, seven Spotfire classes were taught. Each Spotfire class consisted of seven hours of classroom work. Also, in-depth consultations were scheduled with faculty and researchers to address their specific needs. These consultations led to requests for other software packages to purchase and manage, including Lasergene and CSD (Cambridge Crystal Structure Database). Efforts to reach outside of the University Community were made through the development of a Bioinformatics Web site.     

Progression and Continuity in Early Childhood Education: Tensions and contradictions

This article focuses on the current policy context in early childhood education in England and Wales. The provision of high quality preschool education is regarded internationally as a significant factor in raising educational standards. Such aspirations are dependent on achieving effective patterns of continuity and progression from preschool to school. Despite the centrality of these terms in policy rhetoric progression and continuity are disputed and under‐conceptualized concepts. Furthermore, there is a dearth of empirical studies that explore the relationships between progression in learning and progression in the curriculum. The central aim of this article is to clarify some of the tensions and contradictions inherent in current conceptions of progression and continuity, drawing on perspectives from theory, policy and practice. These perspectives suggest that achieving progression and continuity through curricula which secure high quality outcomes is a difficult and, potentially, elusive aspiration. In theoretical terms, assumptions about progression in learning vary according to different orientations. In policy terms, the current subject‐oriented curriculum framework assumes that progression is an issue of content, and is based on the structures of the subjects. Research evidence indicates that educators in different settings are experiencing problems in providing the conditions which might achieve effective patterns of progression and continuity. The authors identify three key areas for further research in order to advance the development of theories of progression and continuity which might usefully inform policy, practice and curriculum development.     

Teachers' Images of their Schools and Perceptions of their Work Environments

The Images of Schools through Metaphor (ISM) was developed as a simple, economical questionnaire to allow school leaders and researchers to survey teachers' images of their school. The article describes briefly aspects of the development and validation of this questionnaire and its application in an investigation of relationships between teachers' images of their schools and their perceptions of its work environment as assessed by the School Level Environment Questionnaire (SLEQ). The sample used consisted of 162 teachers in 48 schools in Tasmania, Australia, each of whom completed both the ISM and the SLEQ. The various results revealed were generally of considerable statistical significance indicating a strong relationship between the images teachers have of their school and the perceptions they have of its work environment.     

An Australian Version of the Neighborhood Environment Walkability Scale: Validity Evidence

This study examined validity evidence for the Australian version of the Neighborhood Environment Walkability Scale (NEWS-AU). A stratified two-stage cluster sampling design was used to recruit 2,650 adults from Adelaide (Australia). The sample was drawn from residential addresses within eight high-walkable and eight low-walkable suburbs matched for socio-economic status (SES). Neighborhood walkability was measured using Geographic Information Systems data on dwelling density, intersection density, net retail area, and land-use mix. Participants completed the NEWS-AU and reported weekly minutes of walking for transport and recreation (International Physical Activity Questionnaire [IPAQ]). Multilevel confirmatory factor analysis (MCFA) was used to define the individual- and Census Collection District (CCD)-level measurement model of the NEWS-AU. Seven individual-level and five CCD-level factors were identified. These measurement models were somewhat similar to those of the original Neighborhood Environment Walkability Scale (NEWS). Patterns of associations between the NEWS-AU factors/scales and the walking measures provided some validity evidence for the instrument.     

Relationship between a 14-Day Recall Measure of Leisure-Time Physical Activity and a Submaximal Test of Physical Work Capacity in a Population Sample of Australian Adults

Abstract

This paper reports on the validity of a 14-day recall measure of leisure time physical activity (LTPA) in a sample of Australian adults (N = 986). Submaximal cycle ergometry was used to assess physical work capacity per kilogram of body mass (pwc75/kg). The self-report energy expenditure estimates were used to categorize respondents as vigorously active, moderately active, and low active/sedentary. Multiple regression analyses showed that pwc75/kg increased significantly across energy expenditure categories for adults aged less than 40 years; that the vigorous and moderate activity categories had greater mean pwc75/kg values than the low/sedentary category for 40 to 59-year-olds; and, that there were no differences in pwc75/kg between activity categories for those aged 60 years or older.