The 3 × 2 Achievement Goal Questionnaire for Teachers

Within the past decade, the achievement goal approach has begun to be used to study teacher achievement motivation. In recent research with students, a 3 × 2 model of achievement goals has been proffered that separates mastery-based goals in terms of a task/self distinction. The purpose of the present study was to extend this 3 × 2 model to teachers in order to provide important insights into teachers’ individual differences. We devised items for the questionnaire and showed that data obtained with the 3 × 2 Achievement Goal Questionnaire for Teachers fit the 3 × 2 model (in absolute terms and relative to 10 alternative models) and that each goal of the model exhibited good internal consistency. In addition, we linked the 3 × 2 goals to other key constructs relevant to achievement goals, namely, implicit theories of ability, instructional practices and intrinsic interest.     

Fathers’ and mothers’ performances in father-mother-baby games

Until now studies comparing fathers and mothers have mostly been realized in dyadic situations, father-infant versus mother-infant. The aim of the present paper was to bring to the core similarities and differences, between fathers and mothers, in terms of performance (N=42 families) in a triadic context. Father, mother and baby, seated in a triangular formation were invited to play as usual: first, one parent played with the infant and the other was participant-observer, and then they reversed their roles. Globally, no differences were observed between fathers and mothers in terms of being available, keeping their assigned roles, sharing a common focus of interest and co-creating games with their three month old infant. However a difference emerged when the order in which parents began as active parent versus third party parent was taken into account. Mothers who played first were better active partners than fathers, for keeping roles, sharing focus and co-creating games; and fathers who were first third party parent were better than third party mothers for sharing a common focus.     

The logic of success: the relation between complex problem-solving skills and university achievement

This article deals with the demands that plagiarism places on academic communities, and with the resources staff possess in dealing with these demands. It is suggested that plagiarism ought to be placed in the context of network of intertwining communities (scholarly, pedagogical and administrative), to which participants are engaged to a different extent. The relationship to the ethical issue of plagiarism is related to the subject’s engagement in these communities. The article examines the way teachers deal with plagiarism from the point of view of work engagement and work-related wellbeing. In particular, we analyse job demands created by episodes of dealing with plagiarism as well as job resources teachers possess that aid them in coping with these demands. We used thematic analysis of semi-structured interviews of teachers in two universities. Our results show that the demands fall on five thematic categories: 1. rupture in the personal pedagogical relationship, 2. challenge on the supervisory “gatekeeping” responsibility; 3. a breach of the “everyday normality”; 4. ambivalence in explaining plagiarism and 5. the strain of performing the act of accusation. A key job demand in dealing with plagiarism is that teachers must balance both rule-ethical and care-ethical orientations in their reactions and actions. The resources teachers draw upon when dealing with these demands are: 1) dialogue and reflection in collegial dialogue 2) support from superiors and administration 3) shared protocols, procedures and plagiarism detection software. Our analysis shows that there are various demands that make dealing with plagiarism a strenuous task, but university environments also provide teachers with resources to cope with them.     

Helping students build competences in physical education: theoretical proposals and illustrations

In the French education system, the current curriculum for students from the primary to the end of secondary school is structured around the notion of key competence. A competence can be defined as an integrated and stable network of knowledge and know-how, with normative behaviors, procedures and types of reasoning. However, without a theoretical conceptualization of building and mobilization processes, the components of a competence are considered as isolated and not interconnected. In the health and physical education (HPE) setting, too few empirical studies have analyzed how teachers would contribute to the development of student’s competence. The aim of this forward-looking article grounded on an experiential and cultural framework consists in clarifying and illustrating a conceptualization of the dynamics of development of competences among students considering the teacher activity. This theoretical framework seems to offer heuristic possibilities for the examination of teaching and learning practices which contribute to the development of the key competences, particularly when a competence is read as an experience that integrates multiple dimensions. Based on audio-video recording of PE lessons and self-confrontation interviews with the teacher and a student, the results of the present study strengthen the criticism of the definition of competence emphasizing the relevance to adopt a holistic approach corresponding to the articulation of intertwined resources (i.e. motor, methodological and social) students allocate to act in PE groups. Furthermore, the results show that the competence building depends on various roles students have the opportunity to play in PE (i.e. observer, tutor). Finally, our results underline the importance of identifying the specific characteristics of the teacher activity designed to structure the learning environment to train students to acquire new competences transferable in society.     

Sport expertise in perception–action coupling revealed in a visuomotor tracking task

We compared the visuomotor coordination of tennis players with different levels of expertise (Super-Experts, Experts and Non-Experts) in a visuomotor tracking (VMT) task. Participants were asked to track a moving target which could rebound on the sides of a 2D screen. Results indicated that the VMT task allowed the discrimination of expertise. Multiple regression analysis revealed that performance could be explained by the temporal adaptation of participants to rebounds and the number of movement adaptations. Compared to Non-Experts, the Experts had a shorter perturbation time with higher adaptation and regulation. This corresponds to a better perception–action coupling and the predominant use of a prospective control process. Results also indicate that perception–action coupling capacities are transferable to virtual tasks, and allow us to reveal processes of visuomotor coordination that differentiate experts and novices.