The Olimpiada Popular: Barcelona 1936, Sport and Politics in an Age of War,Dictatorship and Revolution

In an attempt to undermine the IOC Games of 1936, organisations linked to the international worker sport movement responded to an invitation from the Comité Organizador de la Olimpiada Popular (COOP) to take part in an alternative Olympics, the Olimpiada Popular, in Barcelona in July 1936. It is estimated that some 10,000 athletes and 25,000 visitors were in Barcelona to celebrate the Olimpiada. Following the Fascist rising, which began in Spanish Morocco on 17 July, and reached mainland Spain the following day, the games had to be abandoned, despite attempts by the organisers to go ahead with a truncated programme. This article will assess the importance of the Olimpiada Popular in the context of the worker sport movement during the inter-war years and its significance with regard to the international campaign to boycott the Berlin Olympics.     

The Knowledge Arena as an Extension to the Concept Map: Reflection in Action

The concept map is becoming a ubiquitous tool in education. In recent years there has been a growing interest in “diagramming” or “mapping” ideas to be learned (e.g., Jonassen et al., 1998). The approach has been championed by study skills proponents such as Buzan (1993). Maps of concepts and relationships have been used by many researchers and practitioners to help diagnose misunderstanding, improve study methods and glimpse how learners come to know. In other areas, the representation of knowledge in formalisms such as the Net greatly assisted the development of intelligent tutoring systems (e.g., Sowa, 1983). In order to better understand the claims made for its efficacy, reference to how concept maps have been used and defined will lead to a plausible explanation of the process of “off–loading” of concepts during learning or study (McAleese, 1994, 1998). In order to demonstrate the widespread application of supporting learn ers with external “learning spaces” (c.f. ISLEs/ and REALs—Grabinger et al., 1998; Grabinger & Dunlap, 1995; MacFarlane, 1993), consideration will be given in this paper to techniques that formally represent knowledge in Concept–Relationship–Concept “instances” (Fisher et al., 1990). Other techniques such as reflection journals draw on the same process but are not considered in detail here. The importance of self regulation (Zimmerman, 1990) and self-confrontation (McAleese, 1985) is highlighted in this framework. The map as a mirror or an assistant to learners is well documented (e.g., Vizcarro & Leon, 1998); the question of an external representation of thinking, in the form of a map determining what can be learned as well as what might be learned, is not yet fully known.     

The Kindergarten Child: What Teachers and Administrators Need to Know to Promote Academic Success in all Children

This article describes kindergarten from the perspective of the whole child. Specifically, it reviews current research on best practices to improve children’s math and language arts competencies, memory skills, and the role of kindergarten in beginning science. It also describes the social experiences children have in kindergarten with respect to their academic success. Similarly, it reviews the impact of emotional competence on school success. This article then reviews research describing three major influences on children’s kindergarten adaptation and success (i.e., transition, parental involvement, retention). The article concludes with a discussion of full-day kindergarten programs and their potential for improving the chances of all kindergarten children, especially low-income and ethnic minority children, for success in school.