Exploring the theory-practice gap in initial teacher education: moving beyond questions of relevance to issues of power and authority

The ‘theory-practice divide’ in teacher education can be viewed not simply as an acceptance of a body of knowledge but instead an acceptance of the teacher educator’s authority to determine what is relevant educational theory. This research aimed to explore student teachers’ views of ‘educational theory’ and how it was discursively positioned relative to their practice in an attempt to examine whether their acceptance or rejection of it was also related to accepting the authority of the teacher educator. Using one-to-one interviews with 23 student teachers and employing a discourse analysis, four categories of students emerged. The paper describes these four categories and discusses the implications of these findings for initial teacher education and our understanding of the ‘theory-practice’ gap.     

Book reviews

Interactive Television. TV of the future or the Future of TV Eds. Jens F. Jensen & Cathy Toscan, Media & Cultural Studies 1, Aalborg University Press, Aalborg, Denmark, 1999, ISBN 87–7307–625–2 / ISSN 1399–1752 http://www.forlag.auc.dk/en/

Killer Content: Strategies for Web Content and E‐Commerce written by Mai‐Ian Tomsen. Addison‐Wesley, 2000, 224 pages, ISBN: 0201657864. http://www.aw.com

The Business of Digital Television written by Chris Forrester. Focal Press, Oxford, Auckland, Boston, Johannesburg, Melbourne, New Delphi, 2000. ISBN 0 240 51606 0. http://www.focalpress.com     

Comparative studies of authoritarian-personality characteristics across culture, language and methods

This research was to determine whether the large differences in scores on the F scale found in previous studies (Bradburn, 1963; Kagitcibasi, 1970; Kinnis, 1977) were due to cultural differences in personality characteristics or due to differences in language and/or structure of measuring instruments.The subjects were three groups of university students from the United States and Turkey. The Turkish/English (T/E) sample attended a Turkish University where all classes were in English. The Turkish/Turkish (T/T) sample attended a Turkish University where all classes were in Turkish. The American/English (A/E) sample attended a Midwestern University.Each of the samples were administered three Scales measuring authoritarian personality characteristics. They were: Rokeach's (1960) Dogmatism scale (D scale) the standard F scale (Adorno et al., 1950) and a multiple choice format of the F scale called A scale (Neel, 1977). For the T/E and A/E subjects these scales were in English and for the T/T subjects in Turkish.For each cultural group the composite scores on each scale were obtained and used for inter-group comparisons through one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA). Within-group correlations across the three measures, the means and standard deviations of individual items and T tests were also computed. Interculture and language comparisons resulted in two significant differences on both the Dogmatism and F scales. Analysis of group, composite scales shows that these differences are due to disparities between the A/E and T/T culture/language groups. Differences across language and culture groups for the A scale were not significant. The A measure behaves differently from D and F for the two Turkish culture groups. For the A/E group, D, F, and A measures are almost undifferentiable. The results suggest the effect of measurement instruments on inter-cultural differences in inter-measure comparisons. This indicates a response format effect (agreer bias or acquiescence set).     

ATriple Iron triathlon leads to a decrease in total body mass but not to dehydration

A loss in total body mass during an ultraendurance performance is usually attributed to dehydration. We identified the changes in total body mass, fat mass, skeletal muscle mass, and selected markers of hydration status in 31 male nonprofessional ultratriathletes participating in a Triple Iron triathlon involving 11.4 km swimming, 540 km cycling and 126.6 km running. Measurements were taken prior to starting the race and after arrival at the finish line. Total body mass decreased by 1.66 kg (SD = 1.92; -5.3 kg to +1.2 kg; p < .001), skeletal muscle mass by 1.00 kg (SD = 0.90; -2.54 kg to +2.07 kg; p < .001), and fat mass by 0.58 kg (SD = 0.78; -1.74 kg to +0.87 kg; p < .001). The decrease in total body mass was associated with the decrease in skeletal muscle mass (r = .44; p < .05) and fat mass (r = .51; p < .05). Total body water and urinary specific gravity did not significantly change. Plasma urea increased significantly (p < .001); the decrease in skeletal muscle mass and the increase in plasma urea were associated (r = .39; p < .05). We conclude that completing a Triple Iron triathlon leads to decreased total body mass due to reduced fat mass and skeletal muscle mass but not to dehydration. The association of decrease in skeletal muscle mass and increased plasma urea suggests a loss in skeletal muscle mass.     

Anonymous body or first patient? A status report and needs assessment regarding the personalization of donors in dissection courses in German,Austrian, and Swiss Medical Schools

Many Anglo‐American universities have undertaken a paradigm shift in how the dissection of human material is approached, such that students are encouraged to learn about the lives of body donors, and to respectfully “personalize” them as human beings, rather than treating the specimens as anonymous cadavers. For the purposes of this study, this provision of limited personal information regarding the life of a body donor will be referred to as “personalization” of body donors. At this time, it is unknown whether this paradigm shift in the personalization of body donors can be translated into the German‐speaking world. A shift from donor anonymity to donor personalization could strengthen students' perception of the donor as a “first patient,” and thereby reinforce their ability to empathize with their future patients. Therefore, this study aimed to collect data about the current status of donation practices at German‐speaking anatomy departments (n = 44) and to describe the opinions of anatomy departments, students (n = 366), and donors (n = 227) about possible donor personalization in medical education. Anatomy departments in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland were invited to participate in an online questionnaire. One‐tenth of registered donors at Ulm University were randomly selected and received a questionnaire (20 items, yes‐no questions) by mail. Students at the University of Ulm were also surveyed at the end of the dissection course (31 items, six‐point Likert‐scale). The majority of students were interested in receiving additional information about their donors (78.1%). A majority of donors also supported the anonymous disclosure of information about their medical history (92.5%). However, this information is only available in about 28% of the departments surveyed and is communicated to the students only irregularly. Overall, 78% of anatomy departments were not in favor of undertaking donor personalization. The results appear to reflect traditional attitudes among anatomy departments. However, since students clearly preferred receiving additional donor information, and most donors expressed a willingness to provide this information, one could argue that a change in attitudes is necessary. To do so, official recommendations for a limited, anonymous personalization of donated cadaveric specimens might be necessary. Anat Sci Educ 11: 282–293. © 2017 American Association of Anatomists.     

Injury prevention in male youth soccer: Current practices and perceptions of practitioners working at elite English academies

Forty-one practitioners inclusive of physiotherapists, sports scientists and strength and conditioning coaches from the academies of elite soccer clubs in the United Kingdom completed an on-line questionnaire which examined their: (1) background information; (2) perceptions of injury occurrence and risk factors; (3) screening and return to play; and (4) approach to designing and delivering injury prevention programmes with a response rate of 55% (41/75). Contact injuries were the most common mechanism reported and players between 13–16 years of age were perceived to be at the greatest risk. Pertinent risk factors included: reduced lower limb and eccentric hamstring strength, proprioception, muscle imbalances, and under developed foundational movement skills. Joint range of motion, jump tests, the functional movement screen, overhead and single leg squats were the most utilised screening methods. Training modalities rated in order of importance included: resistance training, flexibility development, agility, plyometrics and balance training. Training frequency was most commonly once or twice per week, during warm-ups, independent sessions or a combination of both. Injury prevention strategies in this cohort appear to be logical; however, the classification of injury occurrence and application of screening tools to identify “at risk” players do not align with existing research. The frequency and type of training used may also be insufficient to elicit an appropriate stimulus to address pertinent risk factors based on current recommendations.     

Exploring the Effects of Television Viewing on Perceived Life Quality: A Combined Perspective of Material Value and Upward Social Comparison

American television programs have been criticized for being filled with images endorsing capitalist consumerism and for being weighted toward the upper middle classes. This study proposed that heavy viewing of these distorted representations may culminate in decreases in viewers' life satisfaction. A path model investigated this supposition, based on material value and social comparison perspectives. Surveys were administered to 225 adults in a northeastern town in the United States, and the data were subjected to path analysis. The findings of this study suggest that heavy television viewing may be associated with material value, estimates of other people's affluence, and perceived gaps between the self and others in material affluence. Of importance, the findings also suggest that the perceived gaps between the self and others may be associated both with dissatisfaction with personal life and dissatisfaction with current social equality, whereas material value may be associated only with dissatisfaction with personal life.     

Effects of self-talk: a systematic review

This article presents a systematic review of the literature examining the relationship between self-talk and performance. "Second-generation questions" regarding potential mediators and moderators of the self-talk-performance relationship were also examined. A total of 47 studies were analyzed. Results indicated beneficial effects of positive, instructional, and motivational self-talk for performance. Somewhat surprisingly, two evidence-based challenges to popular current viewpoints on self-talk emerged. First, negative self-talk did not impede performance. Second, there was inconsistent evidence for the differential effects of instructional and motivational self-talk based on task characteristics. Results from the mediation-based analysis indicate that cognitive and behavioral factors had the most consistent relationships with self-talk. The findings are discussed in the context of recent theoretical advances, and the article includes recommendations for future research (e.g., the use of designs allowing the testing of meditational hypotheses) and for current applied practice (e.g., avoiding the use of thought-stopping techniques).