Public education and student movements: the Chilean rebellion under a neoliberal experiment

Abstract

Chile is recognized in the educational policy field as one of the first laboratories of neoliberal initiatives. These policies, initiated under the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet, did not change with the new democratic governments after 1990. This characteristic led international organizations to promote the Chilean policies in different contexts in Latin America and beyond. In 2006, a high school student movement occupied public and private schools, demystifying the outcomes of these policies. A new wave of demonstrations took place in 2011, with a college student leadership that paralyzed a significant amount of universities and schools throughout the country. After both waves of mobilizations, the political system opened the process of policy-making that considered the demands of social movements. In this article, we explore the dynamics between educational policies and social student movements in Chile, and the possibilities of change in favor of public education.     

El concepto de infancia en nuestra sociedad: una investigación sobre teorías implícitas de los padres

Resumen

Las teorías implícitas que mantienen los padres respecto a sus hijos recibieron un análisis empírico sistemático. Se seleccionaron varias teorías cuyo origen histórico es bien conocido: homúnculo, innatista, ambientalista, voluntarista, constructivista, médica y roussoniana. A partir de diversos estudios normativos se establecieron: a) el dominio de proposiciones de cada teoría; b) su tipicidady polaridad, y c) el grado de estabilidad de tales índices. De modo convergente, se utilizó una técnica cronométrica que halló una relación sistemática entre latencia de verificación, consistencia de juicios de verdad y tipicidad de las proposiciones. Por último, se comprobó la presencia y consistencia de las teorías implícitas en el sistema conceptual de los padres, observándose acusadas preferencias por las teorías constructivista, ambientalista y voluntarista.     

Las teorías implícitas en el conocimiento social

Resumen

Las teorías del hombre de la calle se analizan utilizando una doble perspectiva, la de la psicología social europea y la del procesamiento de información. La primera se centra en el origen social del conocimiento y analiza el carácter explícito o implícito de las teorías. Por su parte, la perspectiva cognitiva puede aportar conocimientos sobre las propiedades estructurales y funcionales de las teorías implícitas, asimilándolas a esquemas.     

Persisters and nonpersisters: Identifying the characteristics of who stays and who leaves from adult literacy interventions

Adult literacy programs are characterized by high attrition rates. Rigorous exploration of student persistence in adult reading classes is lacking. This study was an attempt to understand the profiles of adults who completed reading classes compared to a group of adults who made it to the midpoint and a group of adults who did not make it to the midpoint. Students were offered 100 h of instruction. Of the 395 students who attended the first day of class, only 198 completed the program. Results indicated that English language status, age, some reading related skills, class assignment, avoidance of reading, previous adult education experience, and Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) benefit receipt variables significantly predicted persistence. The significance of some of these predictors varied based on analyzing midpoint completion or full completion. To further explore the characteristics of the sample, the most representative participants were selected from the group that did not make it to midpoint and from the group that completed the program. Results indicated that the most representative members of these two groups differed in English language status, gender, age, some reading related skills, and information access.     

Argumentation in Science Teacher Education: The simulated jury as a resource for teaching and learning

In this article, we focus on the contributions that a simulated jury-based activity might have for pre-service teachers, especially for their active participation and learning in teacher education. We observed a teacher educator using a series of simulated juries as teaching resources to help pre-service teachers develop their pedagogical knowledge and their argumentation abilities in a physics teacher methods course. For the purposes of this article, we have selected one simulated jury-based activity, comprising two opposed groups of pre-service teachers that presented aspects that hinder the teachers' development of professional knowledge (against group) and aspects that allow this development (favor group). After the groups’ presentations, a group of judges was formed to evaluate the discussion. We applied a multi-level method for discourse analysis and the results showed that (1) the simulated jury afforded the pre-service teachers to position themselves as active knowledge producers; (2) the teacher acted as ‘animator' of the pre-service teachers' actions, showing responsiveness to the emergence of circumstantial teaching and learning opportunities and (3) the simulated jury culminated in the judges’ identification of the pattern ‘concrete/obstacles–ideological/possibilities' in the groups’ responses, which was elaborated by the teacher for the whole class. Implications from this study include using simulated juries for teaching and learning and for the development of the pre-service teachers’ argumentative abilities. The potential of simulated juries to improve teaching and learning needs to be further explored in order to inform the uses and reflections of this resource in science education.     

Effects of workload and pedalling cadence on knee forces in competitive cyclists

Limited evidence showed that higher workload increases knee forces without effects from changes in pedalling cadence. This study assessed the effects of workload and cadence on patellofemoral and tibiofemoral joint forces using a new model. Right pedal force and lower limb joint kinematics were acquired for 12 competitive cyclists at two levels of workload (maximal and second ventilatory threshold) at 90 and 70 rpm of pedalling cadence. The maximal workload showed 18% larger peak patellofemoral compressive force PFC (large effect size, ES) than the second ventilatory threshold workload (90 rpm). In the meantime, the 90-rpm second ventilatory threshold was followed by a 29% smaller PFC force (large ES) than the 70-rpm condition. Normal and anterior tibiofemoral compressive forces were not largely affected by changes in workload or pedalling cadence. Compared to those of previous studies, knee forces normalized by workload were larger for patellofemoral (mean = 19 N/J; difference to other studies = 20–45%), tibiofemoral compressive (7.4 N/J; 20–572%), and tibiofemoral anterior (0.5 N/J; 60–200%) forces. Differences in model design and testing conditions (such as workload and pedalling cadence) may affect prediction of knee joint forces.     

Muscle force adaptation to changes in upper body position during seated sprint cycling

ABSTRACT

Sprint cycling performance depends upon the balance between muscle and drag forces. This study assessed the influence of upper body position on muscle forces and aerodynamics during seated sprint cycling. Thirteen competitive cyclists attended two sessions. The first session was used to determine handlebar positions to achieve pre-determined hip flexion angles (70–110° in 10° increments) using dynamic bicycle fitting. In the second session, full body kinematics and pedal forces were recorded throughout 2x6-s seated sprints at the pre-determined handlebar positions, and frontal plane images were used to determine the projected frontal area. Leg work, joint work, muscle forces and frontal area were compared at three upper body positions, being optimum (maximum leg work), optimal+10° and optimal-10° of hip flexion. Larger hip (p = 0.01–0.02) and reduced knee (p = 0.02–0.03) contribution to leg work were observed at the optimal+10° position without changes at the ankle joint (p = 0.39). No differences were observed in peak muscle forces across the three body positions (p = 0.06–0.48). Frontal area was reduced at optimum+10° of hip flexion when compared to optimum (p = 0.02) and optimum-10° (p < 0.01). These findings suggest that large changes in upper body position can influence aerodynamics and alter contributions from the knee and hip joints, without influencing peak muscle forces.     

Validity and reliability of a 6-a-side small-sided game as an indicator of match-related physical performance in elite youth Brazilian soccer players

ABSTRACT

The aims of this study were: (i) to compare the external and internal load during a 6-a-side small-sided game (6v6-SSG) according to age-group; (ii) to relate these parameters between the 6v6-SSG and official matches; and (iii) to test the reliability of the 6v6-SSG. A total of 51 Brazilian youth soccer players participated in this study (U11 [n = 16]; U13 [n = 10]; U15 [n = 9]; U17 [n = 8]; U20 [n = 8]). Three experiments were conducted. Experiment A: fifty-one U11 to U20 players were submitted to 6v6-SSGs (n = 10 games; two for each age-group). Experiment B: thirty-two players were randomized to also play official matches (n = 6 matches). Experiment C: thirty-five youth players played the 6v6-SSG twice for test and retest reliability analysis. External load was obtained using Global Positioning Systems and the internal load parameter was calculated through mean heart rate. Statistical approaches showed progressive increases in all parameters according to categories (U11< U13< U15< U17< U20; p < 0.05; ES = 0.42?23.68). Even controlling for chronological age, all parameters showed likely to almost certain correlations between 6v6-SSG and official matches (r = 0.25?0.92). Collectively, the proposed protocol indicates good reliability (CV% = 2.0?12.6; TE% = 2.3?2.7%; ICC = 0.78?0.90). This research suggests that the 6v6-SSG is an alternative tool to indicate match-related physical performance in youth soccer players.