Gender and learning: Comparing two theories

The research domain of gender and learning seems to develop in two different areas. In one area learning is investigated by using general theories on learning and instruction. In the second area, gender plays a central role in the theoretical frameworks. The present article compares two theories from these areas using a general perspective and a gender perspective. By doing this, we intend to combine knowledge resulting from the two distinct areas and possibly take the research domain of gender and learning a step further. The theories in the comparison concern Vermunt's learning conceptions (1996) and Baxter Magolda's ways of knowing and patterns of reasoning (1992). It turns out that a number of relations seems to exist on a conceptual level between these two theories, but the relations could not be confirmed empirically. In the discussion, the results are elaborated upon and possible future research is suggested.     

Helping counts: predicting children's intentions to disclose being bullied to teachers from prior social support experiences

Despite possible negative effects, many children do not tell their teachers when they have been bullied. This study examined junior school pupils' (N = 294) reports of instrumental, emotional and validation social support received after disclosing being bullied to teachers, and associations with intentions to disclose in the future. Overall, participants reported receiving modest to high levels of social support. The three social support variables accounted for a significant proportion (16.3%) of the variance in intentions to disclose. Each of them also emerged as significant non unique predictors (i.e. not controlling for their shared variance), and validation social support did so even after controlling for the influence of the other two types. These effects were stronger for boys than for girls, and some varied by age. Findings are discussed in terms of outcome‐ expectancy theory and practical implications.     

Does cardiopulmonary resuscitation cause rib fractures in children? A systematic review

BACKGROUND: There is a diagnostic dilemma when a child presents with rib fractures after cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) where child abuse is suspected as the cause of collapse. We have performed a systematic review to establish the evidence base for the following questions: (i) Does cardiopulmonary resuscitation cause rib fractures in children? (ii) If so, what are the frequency and characteristics of these fractures that may help to distinguish them from rib fractures caused by physical abuse? METHODS: We performed a literature search of original articles, references, textbooks, and conference abstracts, published in any language from 1950 to 1 October 2005. Articles were identified from ASSIA, Caredata, Medline, Ovid Medline in Process, ChildData, CINAHL, Embase, ISI Proceedings, SIGLE, Science Citation Index, Social Science Citation Index, and TRIP databases. We included all studies that addressed rib fractures and CPR in children less than 18 years, and excluded review articles, expert opinion, consensus guidelines, and studies that were significantly methodologically flawed on critical appraisal. Each study underwent two independent reviews (with a third review if there was disagreement). Each reviewer used standardized criteria for study definition, data extraction, and critical appraisal, to determine the quality of the study and to establish if it met the inclusion criteria of this systematic review. FINDINGS: Of the 427 studies reviewed, 6 were included: 1 case control, 4 cross-sectional, and 1 case series. These represent data on 923 children who underwent CPR. Three children sustained rib fractures as a result of resuscitation; all three of these had fractures that were anterior (two mid-clavicular and one costo-chondral). We did not find any child in the literature who had a posterior rib fracture due to CPR. Resuscitation was performed variably by both medical and non-medical personnel. CONCLUSION: Rib fractures after cardiopulmonary resuscitation are rare. When they do occur, they are anterior and may be multiple. As the studies performed to date did not use the most sensitive techniques for detecting rib fractures, further prospective studies of children would be valuable to provide additional clarification on this question.     

Gender differences in learning styles: A narrative review and quantitative meta-analysis

This article reviews research on gender and learning styles of students, 18 and older, conducted after 1980. Curry's onion model (1983) is used to classify definitions of learning styles and to reconstruct the theoretical frameworks used. The extent to which learning style is considered stable or variable in different learning contexts determines its position in the model. Most studies used theoretical frameworks that belonged in the middle or outer layers of the model. This location indicates the strong influence of learning context on women's and men's learning styles. While there were differences between learning styles, research designs rarely included learning contexts.In addition to the narrative review, we performed a quantitative meta-analysis on two instruments (Kolb's Learning Style Inventory and Entwistle's Approaches to Studying Inventory) to determine the direction and magnitude of gender differences in various samples. A search for these two instruments resulted in 26 studies for which the necessary statistics were available. On Kolb's instrument, the results showed that men were more likely than women to prefer the abstract conceptualisation mode of learning. On Entwistle's ASI a difference was found on the affective components of approaches to studying.     

A 30-Minute Physical Education Program Improves Students' Executive Attention

Physical activity is not only beneficial to physical health but also to cognitive functions. In particular, executive functions that are closely related to learning achievement can be improved by acute and recurring physical activity. We examined the effects of a single 30-min physical education program in contrast to a 5-min movement break on working memory, cognitive flexibility, and inhibition of attention and behavioral tendencies of eighty-one 13- to 14-year-old students in grade 7 in Germany. Results indicate that the maintenance of on-task attention in the face of distraction was improved by an aerobic endurance exercise-based physical education program but not by a short aerobic movement break. This suggests that the duration of a school sports program is decisive for improving students' executive attention.     

Assessing self-regulated learning in higher education: a systematic literature review of self-report instruments

The growing interest in the field of learning strategies has led to an increasing number of studies and, with that, the development of numerous instruments to measure the use of self-regulated learning (SRL) strategies. Due to the complexity of this research field, the types of assessment methods are diverse. For this reason, we conducted a systematic review of self-report instruments that measure SRL in higher education and highlight their main characteristics. In doing so, we applied the general principles of systematic reviewing—we conducted a systematic search of established psychological and educational databases with previously defined inclusion criteria and applied a multistage filtering process. In an additional step, we examined a subsample of nine established instruments in terms of their implementation characteristics, psychometric properties, and additional characteristics. The results illustrate the distribution of self-report instruments used in higher education and point to a growing use of course- or domain-specific questionnaires over the past decades as well as a lack of emotional and motivational regulation scales.