Educating to Build Bridges

In March 2012, 30 faculty and 49 students from all over the world met in El Calafate, Argentina, during two intense weeks. It was the second Latin American School for Education, Cognitive, and Neural Sciences (LASchool), sponsored by the James S. McDonnell Foundation. The LA School seeks to critically examine research findings potentially relevant to the development, design, and implementation of effective educational practices, and to foster a new generation of researchers able to operate at the interface between education and science. Here we introduce a special issue which brings together theory, experiments, and educational interventions which emerged from ideas presented and discussed during the 2012 LASchool.     

The Principal's Apprentice: Mentoring aspiring school administrators through relevant preparation

This emergent case study explores a special case of mentoring about the value and relevance of graduate administration programmes for professionals aiming to lead schools. It describes a questionnaire that was piloted with a graduate education group and then completed by beginning school administrators who were also interviewed. A graduate professor and student in a leadership programme collaborated on this study in order to more fully represent crucial perspectives. Their analysis of the questionnaire data suggests that some administrative tasks and duties (e.g., mediating school conflicts) are considered of the utmost importance for new school leaders to know. Topics covered by this emergent analysis of administrator preparation and related reform issues include a veteran teacher's story, major climate issues, literature on school administrator preparation that elucidates mentoring themes, insights from new school administrators, and examples of graduate programmes that include relevant education internships. Discussion focuses on concepts and examples of educational internship solutions and initiatives. The authors conclude with a call for programmatic improvement from the perspective of challenges that will need to be addressed to ensure change.     

Libraries and Financial Literacy: Perspectives From Emerging Markets

The article uses conceptual correlations between information literacy and financial literacy as a basis for arguing that financial literacy services have a place in library settings. The article discusses the general requirements, profile of services, and various challenges related to the introduction of financial literacy programmes in public libraries. An intensified interest in financial literacy matters may be assigned to the global financial crisis of 2007 to 2009. The interdependencies between financial crisis, financial literacy, and the potential of public libraries is illustrated by the example of one South-Eastern European country whose economic transformations and developments reflect the importance of financial literacy.     

Approach–Method Interaction: The role of teaching method on the effect of context-based approach in physics instruction

The purpose of this study is to explore not only the effect of context-based physics instruction on students’ achievement and motivation in physics, but also how the use of different teaching methods influences it (interaction effect). Therefore, two two-level-independent variables were defined, teaching approach (contextual and non-contextual approaches) and teaching method (traditional and learning cycle methods). Thus, a 2?×?2 factorial design was performed with four treatment groups, including 131 11th-grade students: (1) a traditional method with the non-contextual approach group, (2) a traditional method with the contextual approach group, (3) a learning cycle with the non-contextual approach group, and (4) a learning cycle with the contextual approach group. Prior to and just after the treatments, which took 5 weeks, pre-tests and post-tests on student achievement and motivation were administered. For the analysis of data, multivariate analysis of covariance, simple regressions and follow-up analysis of covariances were performed. Consequently, it was found that the effect of context-based approach on physics achievement is dependent upon the teaching method implemented. That is, the traditional method was observed to increase the effect of the contextual approach while the learning cycle decreased it. Related to the effects on motivation in physics, no evidence was found to claim a significant difference. Based on the findings of this study, further research is suggested for determining which teaching methods are more effective with the context-based approach on students' achievement and motivation in physics.     

Conditions for collaborative learning and constructive competition in school

Background:?Teacher-organised group work, in which pupils work together in groups or pairs, is one of many learning situations pupils may encounter at school. Research (Williams, P. and Sheridan, S., Collaboration as one aspect of quality: a perspective of collaboration and pedagogical quality in educational settings. Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research 50, no. 1: 89–93, 2006) shows that even though pupils are aware of the benefits that working in groups can generate, they tend to avoid structured group work at school.

Purpose:?The aim of this study is to gain knowledge about necessary conditions for collaborative learning and constructive competition to develop among pupils at school. What conditions are necessary for collaboration and constructive competition to develop in learning situations among pupils at school?

Sample:?The study was carried out in Sweden and involved a total of 66 children, 6–18 years of age, and 25 teachers. Both sexes were equally represented among the pupils. The participating schools and teachers were selected by means of a stratified sample involving different geographical and socioeconomic areas and different educational programmes. Twelve children were selected from each of school grades 1, 5 and 9, whilst a total of 30 students were selected from five different upper secondary school programmes.

Design and methods:?To study the conditions under which constructive competition could develop in school, the methodology used involved individual interviews. The analysis was qualitative and focused on the phenomenon of constructive competition and situations in which pupils and teachers compete. The process of analysis was interplay between empirical data and interactionistic theory, an analytical process of abduction, which consists of interpreting data and devising a theory to explain them. The intentions were to highlight perspectives of constructive competition in a variety of ways. The analyses converge, as well as generating information and knowledge about how pupils and teachers understand constructive competition.

Conclusions:?Several factors emerged as important for collaboration and constructive competition to develop among pupils in school. These were categorised into three conditions: attitudes, organisation and the meaning of learning. Competition between pupils and teachers does occur in school but it is not often explicitly articulated. The ways in which competition develops, either in destructive or constructive directions, becomes more a question of chance or coincidence than as evolving out of a conscious choice. To compete constructively in a conscious manner requires knowledge of how to be able to control the situation in a positive manner, about the characteristics of this kind of competition and of how – that is to say under what kind of conditions – it will develop constructively between people in school contexts. Content and conditions are thus seen as inseparable in the development of constructive competition.     

Environmental literacy of pre‐service teachers in Israel: a comparison between students at the onset and end of their studies

The adequate preparation of teacher education students in environmental education is a prerequisite for their future ability to design and implement effective environmental education. This longitudinal study compared the environmental literacy of 214 students at the onset and towards the end of their studies, in three academic colleges of education in Israel. A questionnaire and a paired pre‐test–post‐test design were used to explore environmental literacy variables and their perceptions regarding the contribution of their college studies to their environmental literacy and worldviews. Students towards the end of their studies reported increased involvement in most of the study’s environmental behaviour categories as compared to the beginning. Despite this, the pattern characterizing their environmental behaviour did not change: a negative relationship was found between the frequency at which they engaged in different behaviour categories and the environmental‐commitment‐level of the corresponding category. Overall, while their environmental attitudes were positive, both as beginning and advanced students, their level of environmental knowledge remained low. Advanced students noted the limited contribution of their studies to the development of their environmental literacy and worldviews. In spite of the improvement in students’ environmental literacy over the course of their studies, the levels of their environmental literacy towards the end of studies are still inadequate for educators. The findings from this study are of relevance to decision makers bringing environmental education into the policy of teacher education institutions, and for program developers, on effective directions for integrating environmental education given the structures and frameworks of current programs.     

Gender justice/gender through the eyes of children: a Photovoice project with elementary school gender expansive and LGBTQ-parented children and their allies

How do children experience gender? What are the roles of schools, adults and allies in supporting gender inclusion in a world of gendered categories? Despite a growing public discourse on gender and shifts toward fluid understandings of gender in US popular culture and educational institutions, the voices of transgender and gender expansive children remain on the margins. In Spring 2017, fourteen elementary school children in a school in Northern California, USA, who are gender expansive, transgender and in LGBTQ parented families and their allies documented their understandings and experiences of gender in their lives and in the school using Photovoice methodology. Visual and narrative findings traced three related themes of gendered meanings, gendered spaces and gendered allies. This paper asks how we can build more inclusive school environments in which children can come into their fully gendered selves. By documenting meanings and experiences of gender, children illustrate the infinite possibilities of gender and create pathways to institutional and social change for inclusive educational environments. The paper addresses the role of gender justice in light of persistent injustices rendered in and through gendered states to support movements for educational and social change.     

Ressourcenorientierung als Paradigma sportwissenschaftlicher Forschung

A variety of causes are responsible for a lack in promoting movement in German nursing homes. In this regard, research on resources holds the promise of a lasting capacity to act and should therefore be understood as a paradigm of gerontology of sports. The purpose of this paper is to make a contribution to theoretically and conceptually based approaches for operationalizing resources that promote motor abilities. Methodologically, different instruments are demonstrated that are able to assess the theoretical constructs “movement acitivity” and “influencing factors” as a basis for the subsequent analysis. Finally, a model that identifies resources is presented. It focuses on different personal and environmental factors as well as their interdependencies influencing the movement activity. The model analyzes resources and barriers to everyday movements. In this way, fundamental theoretical points of reference for research activity are shown.     

Predictors of multiple injuries in individual distance runners: A retrospective study of 75,401 entrants in 4 annual races–SAFER XX

BackgroundThere are limited data on factors that predict an increased risk of multiple injuries among distance runners. The objective of this study was to determine risk factors that are predictive of individual runners with a high annual multiple injury risk (MIR).MethodsA retrospective, cross-sectional study at 4 annual (2012–2015) Two Oceans 21.1 km and 56.0 km races in South Africa with 75,401 consenting race entrants. Running-related injury data were collected retrospectively through an online pre-race medical screening questionnaire. The average number of injuries for each runner every year was calculated by taking a runner''s race entry history and injury history into account and categorizing entrants into 4 MIR categories (high, intermediate, low, and very low (reference)). Multiple logistic regression modeling (odds ratios) was used to determine whether the following factors were predictive of a high MIR (average > 1 injury/year): demographics, training and racing, chronic-disease history (composite chronic disease score (CCDS)), and history of allergies.ResultsOf all entrants, 9.2% reported at least 1 injury, and 0.4% of entrants were in the high MIR category; the incidence rate was 2.5 injuries per 10 runner-years (95% confidence interval (95%CI): 2.4–2.7). Significant factors predictive of runners in the high MIR category were: running for > 20 years: OR = 2.0 (95%CI: 1.3–3.1; p = 0.0010); a higher CCDS: OR = 2.2 (95%CI: 2.0–2.4; p < 0.0001); and a history of allergies: OR = 2.8 (95%CI: 2.0–3.8; p < 0.0001).ConclusionRunners who have been running recreationally for > 20 years and those with multiple chronic diseases or a history of allergies were at higher risk of multiple running-related injuries. This high-risk group can be targeted for further study and possible injury-prevention interventions.