The Educational Forces Inventory

The Educational Forces Inventory (EFI) is a technique for assessing the constellation of forces in the teacher’s social-psychological field. Thereby, important stress points for teachers are identified and their work in the classroom is facilitated. The EFI charts the relative influence of each of 13 forces that are important factors in the educational settting. Teachers are asked to characterize each force along two dimensions: the amount of influence it exerts upon the classroom process, and the degree to which this influence is positive or negative. Several hundred teachers and teaching assistants in Follow Through classrooms throughout the country participated in a field test of the instrument, with concurrent administration of the Purdue Teacher Opinionaire (PTO), an established measure of teacher morale. The high rate of return and correct completion on the EFI indicated that it is a practical technique. In addition, the data indicated validity for the instrument in three important respects: (1) the pattern-of-importance ratings correspond to independently assessed patterns of physical and social distance; (2) the positive/negative ratings for particular forces correlated substantially with corresponding subscores of the PTO; and (3) the pattern of responses reflected aspects of internal consistency. Some ways of utilizing EFI data are discussed: how to plot and interpret two-dimensional force fields, and how to use them in program implementation, especially to facilitate the work of the teacher in the classroom.     

A confirmatory study of rating scale category effectiveness for the Coaching Efficacy Scale

This study extended validity evidence for measures of coaching efficacy derived from the Coaching Efficacy Scale (CES) by testing the rating scale categorizations suggested in previous research. Previous research provided evidence for the effectiveness of a four-category (4-CAT) structure for high school and collegiate sports coaches; it also suggested that a five-category (5-CAT) structure may be effective for youth sports coaches, because they may be more likely to endorse categories on the lower end of the scale. Coaches of youth sports (N = 492) responded to the CES items with a 5-CAT structure. Across rating scale category effectiveness guidelines, 32 of 34 evidences (94%) provided support for this structure. Data were condensed to a 4-CAT structure by collapsing responses in Category 1 (CAT-1) and Category 2 (CAT-2). Across rating scale category effectiveness guidelines, 25 of 26 evidences (96%) provided support for this structure. Findings provided confirmatory, cross-validation evidence for both the 5-CAT and 4-CAT structures. For empirical, theoretical, and practical reasons, the authors concluded that the 4-CAT structure was preferable to the 5-CAT when CES items are used to measure coaching efficacy. This conclusion is based on the findings of this confirmatory study and the more exploratory findings of Myers, Wolfe, and Feltz (2005).     

Tales of the unexpected: coping among female collegiate volleyball players

The purpose of this study was to examine patterns of appraisal, coping, and coping effectiveness in sport. Ten players from a collegiate female volleyball team were interviewed on two occasions, first in the week before a provincial final playoff tournament and in the week following the tournament. Data were transcribed verbatim and subjected to content and idiographic analyses. Athletes generally did not predict or anticipate the stressors they actually experienced during the tournament. Subjective appraisals of effective coping were associated with consistency between proactive and actual coping attempts. Reported effective coping was associated with the attainment of personal performance goals and use of cognitive, behavioral, and emotional coping strategies in the absence of behavioral avoidance. Reported ineffective and partially effective coping was associated with not attaining personal performance goals, and the use of cognitive coping strategies with behavioral avoidance. Finally, older, more experienced athletes reported they coped better than younger, less experienced athletes during the tournament.     

A mathematical model of the oar blade - water interaction in rowing

Our aim was to present a mathematical model of rowing and sculling that allowed for a comparison of oar blade designs. The relative movement between the oar blades and water during the drive phase of the stroke was modelled, and the lift and drag forces generated by this complex interaction were determined. The model was driven by the oar shaft angular velocity about the oarlock in the horizontal plane, and was shown to be valid against measured on-water mean steady-state shell velocity for both a heavyweight men's eight and a lightweight men's single scull. Measured lift and drag force coefficients previously presented by the authors were used as inputs to the model, whichs allowed for the influence of oar blade design on rowing performance to be determined. The commonly used Big Blade, which is curved, and it's flat equivalent were compared, and blade curvature was shown to generate a 1.14% improvement in mean boat velocity, or a 17.1-m lead over 1500 m. With races being won and lost by much smaller margins than this, blade curvature would appear to play a significant role in propulsion.     

Athletes' evaluations of their head coach's coaching competency

This study provided initial validity evidence for multidimensional measures of coaching competency derived from the Coaching Competency Scale (CCS). Data were collected from intercollegiate men's (n = 8) and women's (n = 13) soccer and women's ice hockey teams (n = 11). The total number of athletes was 585. Within teams, a multidimensional internal model was retained in which motivation, game strategy, technique, and character building comprised the dimensions of coaching competency. Some redundancy among the dimensions was observed. Internal reliabilities ranged from very good to excellent. Practical recommendations for the CCS are given in the Discussion section.