Perceived Local Job Prospects and School Connectedness in a Struggling Rural Economy: A Life-Course Perspective

Late in first decade of the 2000s, the closing of pulp and paper mills in the rural northeastern United States contributed to economic decline in the region and to rising concerns about population decline due to out-migration among local emerging adults in search of occupational or educational opportunities. In this context, and drawing on a life-course framework, the present study used four waves of panel data from the population of 7th- and 11th-grade public school students in a rural northeastern U.S. county to explore whether the county unemployment rate was related to perceived local job prospects; school connectedness was related to subsequent perceived job prospects; and the effects of county unemployment and school connectedness on perceived local job prospects varied by age cohort. Initially, changes in respondents’ perceptions about local job prospects paralleled shifts in local unemployment similarly for both cohorts; yet after the older cohort respondents had completed high school, their perceived local job prospects fell sharply, while perceptions among the younger cohort respondents, who were still in high school, remained stable. Among the older cohort respondents only, school connectedness was associated with subsequent positive perceptions about local job prospects net of relevant controls. Same-age cohort comparisons, evaluated when each cohort was in 12th-grade, showed no differences in the short-term effects of school connectedness on perceived local job prospects, despite variations in the age-linked timing of the most dramatic rise in unemployment during the study. The results highlight the lasting importance of school connectedness for teens raised in struggling rural economies.     

Tactical behaviour of winning athletes in major championship 1500-m and 5000-m track finals

This article analyses the tactics employed by middle-distance (1500-m) and long-distance (5000-m) runners from an observational methodology perspective. The subject of investigation has received little attention from specialists in the field of athletics, with most research focusing on physiological studies of athlete performance. Using an ad hoc observation tool and a database containing systematically recorded data we detected time patterns (T-patterns) within the data recorded using the Theme software program (version 5.0), and analysed the tactics employed by winners of the men's 1500-m and 5000-m finals of the World Championships in Athletics [Edmonton 2001, Paris 2003, Helsinki 2005 (1500-m final only), Osaka 2007 (1500-m final only), Berlin 2009 and Daegu 2011], the European Athletics Championships (Munich 2002, Göteborg 2006, and Barcelona 2010) and the Olympic Games (Sydney 2000, Athens 2004, Beijing 2008 and London 2012). T-pattern detection and investigation of the relationship between category systems corresponding to the criteria comprising the observation tool revealed both similarities (starting lane and lane used during race, runner's position during race and sprint zone and lane) and differences (variations in pace, zones in which changes of pace occur, sprint initiation zone and winner's position at the start of the sprint) between the two disciplines.     

Leading through partnership: enhancing the Teach First Leadership Programme

Teach First works in partnership with government, business organisations, higher education institutions (providers of Initial Teacher Training, ITT) and schools to offer a two-year integrated Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) Leadership Development Programme; the first cohort of students were accepted in 2003. Its delivery of an integrated QTS/leadership programme, recruitment of top graduates who would not otherwise consider teaching, focus on teaching in challenging schools and joint business–Higher Education Institution delivery, set Teach First within a unique position amongst ITT partnerships in England. In 2008, building on its success, Teach First sought to enhance its Leadership Development Programme, relevant to teachers and leaders in all fields, including the development of an optional Masters route. This paper considers the development of the enhanced programme within the Teach First partnership model and explores the merits of the programme in developing teachers. Evidence suggests that the core values, focus on mission and strong ethos have been major contributory factors to its success.     

Building services cabinets as teaching material in a degree in architecture

The aim of this innovative educational project is to encourage students’ interest in one of the most underrated fields of architecture: building services. With this material students interact with real elements and thereby understand the relationship between facilities and the building. A set of three small technical cabinets is planned. They allow for comfortable use and movement inside the building, need minimum maintenance and are easily stored. The result is an alternative concept of a mobile laboratory called a ‘technical cabinet’, made up of three mobile units for fire safety, electricity and the heating/cooling system. The design, content and learning systems of the cabinets confirmed the validity of the initial concept during the first year of use. A protocol has also been developed for each of the technical cabinets so that the teaching experience may be of use in other Schools of Architecture.     

Instructional technologies in developing countries: A contextual analysis approach

Conclusion This paper proposes an expanded context-based analysis approach for implementing instructional technology in developing countries by calling for the front-end analysis phase of the design process to include an analysis of the socio-cultural, environmental and institutional factors surrounding the instructional problem. Given that there is an increased application of instructional technology in developing countries and limited human capacity to appropriately design instructional technology interventions, it is imperative that instructional designers working in developing countries take into account the contextual factors outlined in the adapted Tessmer and Richey (1997) model. This adapted context-based analysis model for instructional design, if appropriately applied, may increase the probability of successful instructional technology initiatives in developing countries. Although this context-based model was expanded to include factors related to developing countries, the factors described in this paper exist in developed country settings as well. The authors would, therefore, encourage the use of this expanded model in settings that can include, but are not limited to, certain rural and urban areas in industrialized countries as well.     

Assessment of aerobic endurance: a comparison between CD-ROM and laboratory-based instruction

Traditional approaches to teaching exercise physiology are costly in terms of staff time and consumable expenses. Ethical considerations, large student numbers and availability of technical expertise magnify the delivery problems. In an attempt to overcome these problems, a CD-ROM version of a basic course in exercise physiology was designed and delivered to a group of undergraduate sport and exercise science students. It simulated five tests of aerobic endurance which are traditionally taught using laboratory methods. A controlled experiment was conducted to compare the two delivery methods, as part of an independent, formative evaluation. Although there were equal knowledge gains and the CD-ROM design and content were well rated by students who used it, this approach has engendered less student interaction, commitment to wider reading and in-depth understanding. Tutorials and other approaches designed to promote more active learning are now being introduced to accompany the use of the CD-ROM.     

Bi-directional dynamics underlie the complexity of talk in teacher–child play-based conversations in classrooms serving at-risk pupils

This study examined the transactional, utterance-by-utterance dependencies in the syntactic complexity of teachers’ and children's talk during small-group conversations in preschool classrooms. The sample included 39 teachers and select children in their classroom, which targeted enrollment to children experiencing documentable risk factors. Patterns of sequential dependencies demonstrated a bi-directional interdependence in teachers’ and children's complex syntactic use, whereby both teachers and children appeared sensitive to each other's use of complex syntactic forms. Teachers’ use of complex syntax increased the likelihood that children's adjacent utterance would contain complex syntax; similarly, children's use of complex or simple syntax increased the likelihood that teachers’ adjacent utterance would mirror their syntactic level. Associations were small to moderately large in strength, but varied across individual classrooms. The findings point to complex, bi-directional relationships underlying the complexity of talk within the classroom language environment.