Short-term heat acclimation prior to a multi-day desert ultra-marathon improves physiological and psychological responses without compromising immune status

Multistage, ultra-endurance events in hot, humid conditions necessitate thermal adaptation, often achieved through short term heat acclimation (STHA), to improve performance by reducing thermoregulatory strain and perceptions of heat stress. This study investigated the physiological, perceptual and immunological responses to STHA prior to the Marathon des Sables. Eight athletes (age 42 ± 4 years and body mass 81.9 ± 15.0 kg) completed 4 days of controlled hyperthermia STHA (60 min·day^?1, 45°C and 30% relative humidity). Pre, during and post sessions, physiological and perceptual measures were recorded. Immunological measures were recorded pre-post sessions 1 and 4. STHA improved thermal comfort (P = 0.02), sensation (P = 0.03) and perceived exertion (P = 0.04). A dissociated relationship between perceptual fatigue and T_re was evident after STHA, with reductions in perceived Physical (P = 0.04) and General (P = 0.04) fatigue. Exercising T_re and HR did not change (P > 0.05) however, sweat rate increased 14% (P = 0.02). No changes were found in white blood cell counts or content (P > 0.05). Four days of STHA facilitates effective perceptual adaptations, without compromising immune status prior to an ultra-endurance race in heat stress. A greater physiological strain is required to confer optimal physiological adaptations.     

Selling education through “culture”: responses to the market by new, non-government schools

The move to a market model of schooling has seen a radical restructuring of the ways schooling is “done” in recent times in Western countries. Although there has been a great deal of work to examine the effects of a market model on local school management (LSM), teachers’ work and university systems, relatively little has been done to examine its effect on parents’ choice of school in the non-government sector in Australia. This study examines the reasons parents give for choosing a nongovernment school in the outer suburbs of one large city in Australia. Drawing on the work of Bourdieu specifically his ideas on “cultural capital” (1977), this study revealed that parents were choosing the non-government school over the government school to ensure that their children would be provided, through the school’s emphasis on cultural capital, access to a perceived “better life” thus enhancing the potential to facilitate “extraordinary children”, one of the school’s marketing claims.     

The Way They See It: An Evaluation of the Arts Across the Curriculum Project

This article reports on an evaluation to interrogate the efficacy of a Scottish Government sponsored initiative to introduce an arts‐infused education model to primary (elementary) and secondary (high) schools called Arts Across the Curriculum. Between April 2005 and December 2007 the evaluation team gathered data about this three‐year pilot project, using a variety of instruments including surveys, structured observations, interviews and video diaries. This article presents some of the findings from the evaluation and in particular it focuses on the artists' views of the efficacy of the project; in short we wanted to know how they ‘saw it’. It should be noted that the research team that evaluated the initiative had no say in the design of the project.     

Teacher and school characteristics and their influence on curriculum implementation

Reform‐based curriculum materials have been suggested as a mechanism to make inquiry‐based instruction more prevalent in secondary science classrooms, specifically when accompanied by comprehensive professional development (Loucks‐Horsley, Hewson, Love, & Stiles, 1998 ; Powell & Anderson, 2002 ). This research examines the implementation of a reform‐based high school chemistry curriculum in a large, urban school district. We explicitly consider the role of the teachers' knowledge and beliefs in their implementation of the reform‐based chemistry curriculum, as well as school level factors. Qualitative and quantitative data were collected in the form of beliefs interviews and classroom observations from 27 high school chemistry teachers. Analysis of the data revealed that implementation of the curriculum was strongly influenced by the teachers' beliefs about teaching and learning, and the presence of a supportive network at their school sites. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 44: 883–907, 2007     

Scholars committed to opportunities in psychological education: a training and mentoring program for future psychologists of color

ABSTRACT

Although strides towards inclusivity and racial equality have been made in graduate education, many barriers to graduate education remain for racial/ethnic minorities. In response, we created Scholars Committed to Opportunities in Psychological Education (SCOPE), a mentor-based program for racial/ethnic minority undergraduates. 63 racial/ethnic minority undergraduates completed the SCOPE curricula and pre- and post-program questionnaires regarding graduate school application knowledge, application confidence, stress, self-efficacy, and SCOPE program satisfaction. Mentors completed a training and questionnaires in one SCOPE cohort. Knowledge about the GRE, the application process, and application confidence increased, and stress decreased, following SCOPE. The result of this work is a portable mentoring program that can be used across disciplines and demographics to increase inclusivity and equality.     

‘Is it because I’m a woman?’ Gender-based attributional ambiguity in higher education administration

This study examines gender-based attributional ambiguity among higher education administrators in the US, specifically academic deans. Attributional ambiguity involves situations in which members of underrepresented groups cannot determine whether interactions both negative and positive have occurred because of their minority status or for some unrelated yet plausible reason. A conceptual model of attributional ambiguity in higher education administration is presented highlighting the types of situations that produce this ambiguity, two variants of attributional ambiguity (i.e. cognitive and social), and the psychological and organizational consequences of such ambiguity. Reasons that attributional ambiguity is inherent to higher education administration are examined including the fluidity of gender roles, the culture of academia, and leaders’ minimization of discriminatory experiences. Implications for professional practice are also presented such as the need for curricula, trainings, mentoring, and coaching that addresses attributional ambiguity and greater publicity related to women’s underrepresentation in leadership roles in higher education.     

Balance in Positive Emotional Expressivity Across School Contexts Relates to Kindergartners’ Adjustment

Positive emotional expressivity has been associated with increased social competence and decreased maladjustment in childhood. However, a few researchers have found null or even positive associations between positive emotional expressivity and maladjustment, which suggests that there may be nuanced associations of positive expressivity, perhaps as a function of the social context in which it is expressed. We examined whether observed positive emotional expressivity balance across peer-oriented/recreational and learning contexts predicted kindergarten children’s adjustment (N = 301). Research Findings: Higher positive expressivity during lunch/recess compared to positive expressivity in the classroom was associated with lower teacher–student conflict, externalizing behaviors, and depressive symptoms. In addition, overall positive emotional expressivity predicted lower externalizing behaviors as well as lower depressive and anxiety symptoms. Practice or Policy: The results suggest the importance of assessing observed positive emotional expressivity in context as a potential indicator of children’s maladjustment risk and the need for children to adapt their emotions to different contexts. Implications for assessing and supporting positive emotional expression balance and training emotional regulation in school are discussed.     

Test Takers and the Validity of Score Interpretations

This article argues that test takers are as integral to determining validity of test scores as defining target content and conditioning inferences on test use. A principled sustained attention to how students interact with assessment opportunities is essential, as is a principled sustained evaluation of evidence confirming the validity or calling into question the inferences for individual students. Three innovative assessment systems are highlighted to illustrate where and how the developers might handle diverse test taker needs and learning characteristics. ONPAR measures challenging content using multisemiotic methods and novel item types, designing items to handle multiple profiles so they are accessible for most students. Dynamic Learning Maps has built an innovative network of learning maps, and multiple pathways designed to model how diverse students acquire knowledge. To support their assessments, the National Center and State Collaborative has built an exemplary web of educator resources such as content modules and guides in order to support differentiated learning.     

Immigrant Acculturation in Suburban Schools Serving the New Latino Diaspora

Recent immigration patterns have led to widespread growth in school enrollments of Spanish-speakers in nontraditional immigrant destinations in many parts of the United States. This paper explores the ways in which suburban school districts respond to this demographic shift, with a focus on how schooling impacts the acculturation experiences of immigrants to this particular context. Drawing on a statewide survey of administrators and teachers in schools serving Wisconsin's New Latino Diaspora, results from suburban schools are analyzed in comparison to urban and rural contexts. In this paper, I explore the ways in which suburban schools in the study were more likely to structure integration than schools in rural or urban locales. At the same time, these contexts were less likely to provide asset-based supports for Spanish-speakers, particularly those no longer designated as “beginner” English learners. These findings suggest that the opportunity to foster additive acculturation was limited, as many schools espoused a “sink or swim” approach in the context of scarce resources. Given the ongoing growth of immigrant communities in new suburban destinations, the paper ends with implications for future research and practice.     

Family Engagement Practices as Sites of Possibility: Supporting Immigrant Families through a District-University Partnership

In this article, we consider the ways in which family engagement practices foster sites of possibility for immigrant families in the public schools. As demographic change leads to a growing number of new immigrant destinations and amidst increasing hostility toward immigrant communities, educational institutions play an increasingly important role in supporting these students and their families. Drawing on a study of one school district’s partnership with a local university to identify and resolve engagement gaps between immigrant and nonimmigrant families, our article discusses asset-based approaches to family engagement practices. In addition to discussing district initiatives to engage immigrant families in 2-way communication and minimize barriers to participation, we also consider the role of university partners in building sites of possibility for immigrant youth and their families. We conclude with implications for expanded efforts to develop equitable family engagement practices in districts serving immigrant communities.