The association of socio-economic factors with physical fitness and activity behaviours,spinal posture and retinal vessel parameters in first graders in urban Switzerland

Socio-economic status during childhood has been shown to be a strong predictor of adult health outcome. Therefore, we examined associations of parental educational level, household income and migrant background with physical fitness, spinal flexibility, spinal posture as well as retinal vessel diameters in children of an urban Swiss region. A total of 358 first graders of the Swiss canton Basel-Stadt (age: 7.3, SD: 0.4) were examined. Physical fitness (20 m shuttle run test, 20 m sprint, jumping sidewards and balancing backwards), spinal flexibility and spinal posture (MediMouse^®, Idiag, Fehraltdorf, Switzerland) and retinal microcirculation (Static Retinal Vessel Analyzer, Imedos Systems UG, Jena, Germany) were assessed. Parental education, household income, migrant background and activity behaviour were evaluated with a questionnaire. Parental education was associated with child aerobic fitness (P = 0.03) and screen time (P < 0.001). Household income was associated with jumping sidewards (P = 0.009), balancing backwards (P = 0.03) and sports club participation (P = 0.02). Migrant background was associated with BMI (P = 0.001), body fat (P = 0.03), aerobic fitness (P = 0.007), time spent playing outdoors (P < 0.001) and screen time (P < 0.001). For spinal flexibility and retinal vessel diameter, no associations were found (0.06 < P < 0.8). Low parental education, low household income and a migrant background are associated with poor physical fitness, higher BMI and body fat percentage and low-activity behaviour.     

Teachers as writers: learning together with others

In the context of renewed interest in teachers' identities as writers and the writers as artist‐educators, this paper reports upon the findings of “Teachers as Writers” (2015–2017). A collaborative partnership between two universities and a creative writing foundation, the study sought to determine the impact of writers' engagement with teachers on changing teachers' classroom practices in the teaching of writing and, as a consequence, in improving outcomes for students. The project afforded opportunities for writers and teachers to work together as learners in order to improve student outcomes. The study involved two complementary datasets: a qualitative dataset of observations, interviews, audio‐capture (of workshops, tutorials and co‐mentoring reflections) and audio‐diaries from 16 teachers; and a randomised controlled trial (RCT) involving 32 primary and secondary classes. The findings reveal that the teachers' identities and assurance as writers shifted significantly. The Arvon experience also led to pedagogic shifts which the students reported impacted positively upon their motivation, confidence and sense of ownership and skills as writers. However, these salient dispositional shifts did not impact upon the young people's attainment. The professional writers gained new understandings which substantially altered their conceptions of writers' potential contribution in schools.     

Student suspension: A critical reappraisal

This paper analyzes national level data, gathered for the Safe School Study, to directly address the question, “Why are students suspended from school?” Data are available on students in both junior and senior high schools from a representative sample of the nation's schools. Using a range of analytical techniques, the paper attempts to tease out the relationships between (1) student misbehavior at varying types of schools and suspension rates, (2) the effects of teacher judgments and attitudes, (3) the effect of administrative structures, (4) the effect of perceived academic potential, and (5) the effect of racial bias. It is concluded that suspension rates cannot be regarded as a simple reflection of student misbehavior in school, but rather as the result of a complex of factors grounded in the ways schools operate. Suspension rates are best predicted by (1) knowing the kind of school a student went to, and (2) knowing how that school was run.     

Critical incident-based computer supported collaborative learning

Practitioners are regularly confronted with significant events which present them with learning opportunities, and yet many are unable to recognise the learning opportunity these significant events present. The ability to recognise a learning opportunity in the workplace and learn from it, is a higher-order cognitive skill which instructors should be seeking to develop in learners. The study reported in this paper developed, implemented and evaluated the efficacy of a model of teaching and learning which embodied the essence of this focus, which is entitled Critical Incident-Based Computer Supported Collaborative Learning (CI-CSCL) and it is driven by the premise that much greater benefit can be derived from the experiences of practitioners in authentic environments by enabling them to share their individual learning experiences among the student cohort. The study was carried out within a course in the Post-Registration Nursing (RN) degree program at the University of Southern Queensland in AUSTRALIA.Data reported in this paper was drawn from two sources; (a) students' reflections on critical incidents; and (b) a semi-structured evaluation. The reflections were examined for attributes we were attempting to engender in learners with our model of learning. The semi-structured evaluation sought open-ended responses. The analyses of data collected showed evidence of participants: seeking and offering comments; reflecting on critical incidents; describing what happened and assessing their own actions; making the connection between theory and practice; identifying and defining problems; and adopting a more structured and systematic approach to problem solving.     

Professional education as co-inquiry: an evaluation of the learning approach to developing the role of connexions personal adviser

This paper presents an example of using evaluation as a tool for encouraging democratic participation in the development of professional learning and course delivery. The new professional role of Connexions Personal Adviser (CPA) is being clarified and developed through participation of CPAs on a new national training programme, the Diploma for Connexions Personal Advisers, and the approach to evaluating the programme builds on the espoused values and principles of the Connexions Service. Whilst using findings from an evaluation of a specific training programme, the paper advocates a method that could be used on other professional programmes. A theme to emerge from the evaluation has been the identification of a gap between the rhetoric of the national policy and the reality of awareness at local delivery level. These findings have been instrumental in informing future developments and research in particular into the effectiveness of approaches to action learning, and an exploration of strategies to enable the effective transfer and integration of learning from education to workplace.     

Developing and Using a Case Study on the World Wide Web

Case studies have long been used as a method of reinforcing teaching. The development of the World Wide Web presents new opportunities for developing and disseminating more detailed and effective case studies to a far wider audience. This paper examines the development of one web‐based case study developed by the author since 1996. It also examines its advantages over a paper‐based study in terms of ease of use and maintenance as well as the current and possible uses for it for educational users at all levels     

Mehrsprachigkeit als Argument?

In the discourse on primary school choice in Germany, the topic of internationality is often explained with reference to multilingualism. This article shows how multilingualism is used as an argument in various ways to justify parental decisions to choose or to avoid certain primary schools. The combination of the results from two different projects dealing with parental school choice allows a closer look at the school choice situation in Berlin. The article provides a critical perspective on the fact that the topics of internationality and multilingualism are used to negotiate a wider range of topics and problems.     

The "Little Five": Exploring the Nomological Network of the Five-Factor Model of Personality in Adolescent Boys

The California Child Q-set (CCQ) was used to explore the structure of personality in early adolescence and to develop scales to measure the "Big Five" dimensions: Extraversion, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Neuroticism, and Openness to Experience. Mothers provided Q-sorts of 350 ethnically diverse boys between 12 and 13 years old. Analyses of the construct validity of the scales provided a nomological network relating the Big Five to theoretically and socially important criterion variables, such as juvenile delinquency, Externalizing and Internalizing disorders of childhood psychopathology, school performance, IQ, SES, and race. These effects were obtained using diverse methods, including self-reports from the boys, ratings by their mothers and their teachers, and objective-test data. In addition to the Big Five, analyses also suggested 2 possibly age-specific dimensions of personality in early adolescence. Discussion is focused on the changing manifestations of personality traits throughout development.     

Pedagogy,Partnership, and Collaboration: A Longitudinal,Empirical Study of Serious Educational Gameplay in Secondary Biology Classrooms

Journal of Science Education and Technology - The use of serious educational games has the potential to increase student learning outcomes in science education by providing students with...