Student-centred and teacher-centred learning environment in pre-vocational secondary education: Psychological needs,and motivation

In this study the perception of psychological needs and motivation in a student-centred and a teacher-centred learning environment are compared, using Self Determination Theory as a framework. The self-report Intrinsic Motivation Inventory was completed by 230 students (mean age 16.1 years) in pre-vocational secondary education. School records on absenteeism and achievement were also analysed. As predicted, multi-level analyses showed that students in the student-centred learning environment reported higher levels of perceived autonomy, competence, relatedness and motivation, measured by pleasure and effort. Furthermore, boys were less absent. Achievement shows no differences. These results suggest that a student-centred form of learning can be more beneficial for students' motivation if granted autonomy is embedded in a supportive environment.     

Free schools in the Big Society: the motivations,aims and demography of free school proposers

Free school policy claims to partly decentralise to local proposers decisions over who provides a free school, where and for what reasons, within the constraints of a government approval process. This article analyses empirically the people and organisations doing the proposing and their interactions with the approval process. The article begins by locating free schools within Big Society and quasi-market policies. The emerging free school landscape is then mapped and the motivations, aims and demography of a sample of 50 proposers are explored. A key distinction emerges between two analytical clusters. First, proposers able to negotiate the approval process are shown to draw on a range of professional networks, to have strongly academic educational aims and to on average not seek to specifically serve disadvantaged communities. Second, and conversely, the majority of proposers located in highly disadvantaged areas have aims and expertise that do not fit well with what the government is willing to accept. This is not conceived as a simple dualism but highlights the significance of both a lack of critical engagement with inclusion among accepted proposers and the effects of an approval process that has prioritised an unequal distribution of particular forms of professional expertise and experience.     

Linked to innovation: Shaping an innovative climate through network intentionality and educators’ social network position

This study investigates whether educators’ cognitive and structural social capital is associated with perceptions of innovative climate in charter schools. We explore a new concept to assess educators’ cognitive social capital, namely network intentionality, meaning the extent to which an educator is intentional in connecting and interacting with others. We hypothesize that network intentionality (cognitive social capital) is related to the extent to which educators perceive their school’s climate to be innovative, but that this relationship is dependent on the educator’s position in their school’s social network (structural social capital). Findings suggest that the relationship between cognitive social capital and perceptions of innovative climate is partly mediated by structural social capital. In other words, those educators with high network intentionality, as evidenced by an orientation towards connecting others, also perceive the school’s climate as being more innovative, partly because this strong network intentionality is associated with more out-going relational activity. This work provides unique insights into the factors that may be associated with teacher collaboration in successful charter schools serving traditionally underserved populations, and suggests ideas for schools wishing to support teacher collaboration and innovation.     

The effects of sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3) ingestion on high intensity cycling capacity

Abstract

Ten healthy, non-cycling trained males (age: 21.2 ± 2.2 years, body mass: 75.9 ± 13.4 kg, height: 178 ± 6 cm, [Vdot]O_2PEAK: 46 ± 10 ml · kg^?1 · min^?1) performed a graded incremental exercise test, two familiarisation trials and six experimental trials. Experimental trials consisted of cycling to volitional exhaustion at 100%, 110% and 120% W_PEAK, 60 min after ingesting either 0.3 g · kg^?1 body mass sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO₃) or 0.1 g · kg^?1 body mass sodium chloride (placebo). NaHCO₃ ingestion increased cycling capacity by 17% at 100% W_PEAK (327 vs. 383 s; P = 0.02) although not at 110% W_PEAK (249 vs. 254 s; P = 0.66) or 120% W_PEAK (170 vs. 175 s; P = 0.60; placebo and NaHCO₃ respectively). Heart rate (P = 0.02), blood lactate (P = 0.001), pH (P < 0.001), [HCO₃ ^?], (P < 0.001), and base excess (P < 0.001) were greater in all NaHCO₃ trials. NaHCO₃ attenuated localised ratings of perceived exertion (RPE_L) to a greater extent than placebo only at 100% W_PEAK (P < 0.02). Ratings of abdominal discomfort and gut fullness were mild but higher for NaHCO₃. NaHCO₃ ingestion significantly improves continuous constant load cycling at 100% W_PEAK due to, in part, attenuation of RPE_L.     

‘Our Lady Specialists at Pikes Lane’: Female Spectators in Early English Professional Football, 1880–1914

There has been very little study of female football spectators, especially in a historical context. This paper aims to demonstrate that despite the restrictions placed on women's leisure time in this period, it is clear from evidence that a small but significant number of women could and did attend professional football matches throughout the period, and participated as consumers in this new leisure industry. Contrary to some modern readings that assume that the female football spectator is a relatively new phenomenon, patterns of leisure consumption were similar for women in this context, albeit with certain important restrictions, such as available leisure time, money, and parental and familial responsibilities.

The study illustrates the potential female market for professional football, using numerous examples of women attending matches gathered from contemporary evidence, especially from the cotton area of South East Lancashire, where there was a concentration of early professional clubs within an economically developed industrialised society. It discusses issues of identity, both regional and local, and with respect to particular football clubs. It also describes female reactions to incidents, players and significant events, indicating the similarities and differences between the sexes, and addresses the issue of how far women were fans as well as spectators. There is also some discussion of the patterns of consumption of female spectators, and an attempt to establish a profile for them.

The study uses local newspapers from Lancashire as its main primary source material. As there is little other direct information on the subject, such local materials are an important source for the history of this aspect of professional football, as they are for other areas of Victorian and Edwardian social history.     

An Exploration of the Relationship between Large-Scale Sporting Events and Education for Sustainable Development: The Case of the Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games

This study explores the relationship between large-scale sporting events (LSSEs) and education for sustainable development (ESD). A case study-based explorative research approach was employed utilising the 2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games (MCG) – one of only two LSSEs that have taken place in Australia (the other being the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games) which have purposely sought to engage with a sustainable development agenda. The enquiry concludes that the MCG acted as a vehicle for ESD and in so doing impacted, to varying degrees, organisations, groups and individuals across its host community (the State of Victoria). Various factors were identified that impacted the ESD process in this context. Facilitating factors included the presence of an environmental strategy inclusive of ESD elements; a pre-existing commitment by government to sustainable development; and the use of partnerships by the event's organisers to progress its environmental agenda. Constraints on the ESD process were also identified. Central amongst these were the failure to embrace environmental considerations in the MCG's enabling legislation and the limited resources given over to, and lack of emphasis placed upon, the event's overall environmental programme.     

Purpose and preference in educational podcasting

The application of podcasting for educational purposes is growing fast in universities. There are several benefits of this asynchronous, direct communication and interaction between teacher and student. Nonetheless, the benefits, the pedagogical value of podcasting the traditional lecture format, have come into question. Furthermore, issues have been raised regarding lengthy and costly download times, and the fact that students need to make time to listen to them. For these reasons, using short 3–5‐minute podcasts that summarise the lecture have been suggested. This paper explores how students interact with different types of podcasts. The study compares download and course evaluation data of a series of short‐summary podcasts with full‐lecture podcasts produced for the same university course. The findings show that students value full‐lecture podcasts as highly as the short‐summary podcasts, despite the fact that full‐lecture podcasts are downloaded to a markedly lesser degree. The cause of this anomaly appears to lie in the different purposes that dictate podcast use. The paper concludes by noting that both full‐lecture and short‐summary podcasts serve as useful tools for student learning in university contexts.     

An intervention promoting understanding of achievement emotions with middle school students

European Journal of Psychology of Education - This study investigated the efficacy of an evidence-based intervention aimed at enhancing middle school students’ understanding of achievement...     

Rubric formats for the formative assessment of oral presentation skills acquisition in secondary education

Educational technology research and development - Acquiring complex oral presentation skills is cognitively demanding for students and demands intensive teacher guidance. The aim of this study was...