Gender and Management in HEIs: Changing organisational and management structures

This paper reports on the second phase of a multi-country study examining cross cultural perspectives of gender and management in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). It examines the broader labour market context and legislative frameworks for higher education in each country and then analyses the literature on women in university management. The paper presents the findings of research with male and female senior managers about their perceptions of women as HEI managers within changing organisational and management structures. It concludes that although HEI’s are now largely aware of barriers to women getting into and on in senior management, they have not addressed the organisational structures and cultures that perpetuate this inequity.

     

Should ‘ought’ be taught?

The argument in this paper is that teachers and other education professionals could benefit from the opportunity to develop ethical understanding, in addition to other aspects of professional knowledge. Having first discussed the nature of ethics, the first main section of the paper establishes the case in favour of including ethical education in the initial or ongoing professional learning of teachers. The case focuses particularly on showing the negative effects of the fashionable claim that ‘values are relative or subjective’ which I argue is a key source of confusion for teachers. In the final part of the paper I discuss some of the kinds of consideration about values and ethics that teachers might find useful.     

Writing and Reading Subjects: Fixing and Unfixing Identity through Close Literary Practices

For a number of years, Rebecca Luce‐Kapler and Dennis Sumara have been investigating the ways in which literary practices of close reading can help change how we think and how we remember. They have also considered how such practices might help make us more critical of normative representations of remembered experience. More recently, they have been joined by Claire Robson, who works with and investigates memoir writing. In 2009, Robson and Sumara were joined by their six older lesbian research participants at a conference held at the University of British Columbia entitled ‘Queerly Canadian: Changing Narratives’. The six women performed extracts from memoirs they had written as part of the research data and joined the researchers in offering theories and insights about the writing processes in which the group had engaged. That presentation and this paper represent the evolution of a two‐year collaboration between these researchers and the six women, who are listed as co‐authors on both the presentation and this paper.     

The association between fundamental athletic movements and physical fitness in elite junior Australian footballers

This study investigated the associations between fundamental athletic movement and physical fitness in junior Australian football (AF). Forty-four under 18 players performed a fundamental athletic movement assessment consisting of an overhead squat, double lunge, single leg Romanian deadlift and a push up. Movements were scored on three assessment criterions using a three-point scale. Additionally, participants performed five physical fitness tests commonly used for talent identification in AF. A Spearman’s nonparametric correlation matrix was built, with correlation coefficients being visualised using a circularly rendered correlogram. Score on the overhead squat was moderately positively associated with dynamic vertical jump height on left (r_s = 0.40; P ≤ 0.05) and right (r_s = 0.30; P ≤ 0.05) leg take-off, stationary vertical jump (r_s = 0.32; P ≤ 0.05) and negatively associated with 20-m sprint time (r_s = ?0.35; P ≤ 0.05). Score on the double lunge (left/right side) was moderately positively associated with the same physical fitness tests as well as score on the multistage fitness test. Results suggest that improvements in physical fitness qualities may occur through concurrent increases in fundamental athletic movement skill, namely the overhead squat and double lunge movements. These findings may assist with the identification and development of talent.     

Influence of vitamin D mushroom powder supplementation on exercise-induced muscle damage in vitamin D insufficient high school athletes

Abstract

Incidence of vitamin D deficiency is increasing worldwide. The purpose of this study was to determine if supplementation with vitamin D₂ from Portobello mushroom powder would enhance skeletal muscle function and attenuate exercise-induced muscle damage in low vitamin D status high school athletes. Participants were randomised to Portobello mushroom powder (600 IU/d vitamin D₂) or placebo for 6 weeks. Participants then completed a 1.5-h exercise session designed to induce skeletal muscle damage. Blood samples and measures of skeletal muscle function were taken pre-supplementation, post-supplementation/pre-exercise and post-exercise. Six weeks supplementation with vitamin D₂ increased serum 25(OH)D₂ by 9.9-fold and decreased serum 25(OH)D₃ by 28%. Changes in skeletal muscle function and circulating markers of skeletal muscle damage did not differ between groups. In conclusion, 600 IU/d vitamin D₂ increased 25(OH)D₂ with a concomitant decrease in 25(OD)D₃, with no effect on muscular function or exercise-induced muscle damage in high school athletes.     

Effects of ICT group work on interactions and social acceptance of a primary pupil with Asperger's Syndrome

The aim of this study was to ascertain whether collaborative group work on a computer, facilitated by an adult, could provide a means for a primary schoolboy with Asperger's Syndrome (AS)—moderately‐highly affected in all areas of the “triad of impairments”—to develop appropriate task‐related interactions with his peers. Data were gathered before, during, and after group work sessions. A combination of interviews and questionnaires established background data and concerns of parent and teachers. Sociometric testing of classmates was used to determine social acceptance and friendship grouping among the child's immediate peer group. During the adult‐facilitated ICT sessions an interaction process schedule (IPS) was used to record interactions of the three children involved. The results indicate moderate improvements in the child's ability to interact with his peers, both in social and task‐related contexts, as well as a raised social profile among his classmates in general. Although this was a discrete setting, the findings are encouraging and this strategy may be replicated in schools to support mainstream inclusion for children with AS.     

What does research tell high school teachers about student motivation for test performance?

‘Motivation’ is a significant concept for teachers and students during programmes of learning which lead explicitly to high stakes assessments and examinations. This systematic literature review surveys current research evidence to find out how secondary school teachers use motivational strategies specifically in respect of student academic assessment and performance. Six research studies were identified describing the behaviours secondary school teachers engaged in to improve student performance in assessment. Taken together, the studies presented show the importance of teacher behaviours to students’ academic performance, with both positive and negative impacts. The review highlights a need for further research on teacher knowledge of the effects of teacher behaviour upon the motivation of students. The review recommends collaboration between teachers and students specific to the context of learning programmes that lead to high-stakes assessments, in order to provide a locally sensitive knowledge base for teachers’ practice.     

Uncertain pathways: foundation skills tutors and marginalised students in neoliberal times

This article deals with the work of polytechnic tutors on adult foundation programmes and describes how their work has been affected by the current neoliberal climate in the education sector. Inclusive neoliberalism is characterised by heightened regulation, reduced support for the public sector and a greater requirement for individual responsibility. The push to improve skills to meet labour demand is promoted as addressing social needs. Policies devised to promote these neoliberal values have led to numerous and far-reaching changes in adult education. In this study 73 foundation skills educators drawn from 8 institutions were interviewed to gain their insights into the effects of these policies. The article discusses three types of detrimental effects: the growing distrust between teaching staff and management; unsettling changes to institutional policy and its effects on staffing issues; and threats to the professionalism of teaching staff, the delivery of foundation studies, and the students themselves. Finally, the article suggests alternative possibilities for addressing these issues.