Reciprocal Relations Between Student–Teacher Relationship and Children's Behavioral Problems: Moderation by Child‐Care Group Size

In this Norwegian study, bidirectional relations between children's behavior problems and child–teacher conflict and closeness were examined, and the possibility of moderation of these associations by child‐care group size was tested. Eight hundred and nineteen 4‐year‐old children were followed up in first grade. Results revealed reciprocal effects linking child–teacher conflict and behavior problems. Effects of child–teacher closeness on later behavior problems were moderated by group size: For children in small groups only (i.e., ≤ 15 children), greater closeness predicted reduced behavior problems in first grade. In consequence, stability of behavior problems was greater in larger than in smaller groups. Results are discussed in light of regulatory mechanisms and social learning theory, with possible implications for organization of child care.     

Anthropometric and physical performance characteristics of top-elite,elite and non-elite youth female team handball players

In order to maximise the potential for success, developing nations need to produce superior systems to identify and develop talent, which requires comprehensive and up-to-date values on elite players. This study examined the anthropometric and physical characteristics of youth female team handball players (16.07 ± 1.30 years) in non-elite (n = 47), elite (n = 37) and top-elite players (n = 29). Anthropometric profiling included sum of eight skinfolds, body mass, stature, girths, breadths and somatotype. Performance tests included 20 m sprint, counter-movement jump, throwing velocity, repeated shuttle sprint and jump ability test, and Yo-Yo Intermittent Recovery Test Level 1. Youth top-elite players had greater body mass, lean mass, stature, limb girths and breadths than elite and non-elite players, while only stature and flexed arm were higher in elite compared to non-elite players (all P < 0.05). Sum of skinfolds and waist-to-hip ratio were similar between groups (P > 0.05). Top-elite performed better in most performance tests compared to both elite and non-elite players (P < 0.05), although maximal and repeated 10 m sprints were similar between playing standards (P > 0.05). Elite outperformed non-elite players only in throwing velocity. The findings reveal that non-elite players compare unfavourably to top-elite international European players in many anthropometric and performance characteristics, and differ in a few characteristics compared to elite European club team players. This study is useful for emerging team handball nations in improving talent identification processes.     

Learner preferences and achievement under differing amounts of learner practice

This study examined the effects of program mode (i.e., a lean program version containing a basic amount of learner practice vs. a full mode containing expanded practice) and learner preference (matched or unmatched) for amount of practice on the achievement, time-in-program, and attitudes of university undergraduate students. Subjects completed a 10-item Likert-type prequestionnaire to indicate the amount of practice they preferred, then were randomly assigned to either the type of program they preferred or to the opposite type. Subjects who used the full version of the instructional program scored significantly higher on the posttest than those who used the lean version. Matching subjects to their preferred amount of practice did not yield a significant achievement difference over assigning subjects to their less-preferred amount. Subjects preferred the lean version of the program over the full one, even though the full version produced better test performance.     

Learning to teach sport education: investigating a pre-service teacher’s knowledge development

The pre-service teacher (PST) learning process has been claimed to include multiple and complex forms of learning because various areas of knowledge growth occur at the same time. In the Sport Education (SE) literature, there has been a noticeable dearth of research regarding how PSTs learn, interpret and deliver the model. While several studies report PSTs having experienced SE prior to the formal study being carried out, to our knowledge, only one study has followed PSTs through a series of learning experiences. In this study, we used the three-level model of learning as a framework to investigate a PST’s continuing process of learning to teach SE as part of a PETE program and while teaching during the school placement component of the PETE program. The study was guided by the question, ‘How does a PST’s knowledge of teaching and learning SE develop?’ This study reports on one physical education PST learning to teach SE. The learning experience was composed of four PETE courses (two content courses and two school placements) divided into five phases. Data collection employed five semi-structured interviews, coursework and a focus group. Data were analyzed using a hybrid approach of inductive and deductive theme development. Results revealed that the PST progressively developed conscious awareness and understanding about teaching and learning SE. The comprehensive learning experience made the PST develop understanding of teaching and learning SE that reflected knowledge on an abstract level. Studying the relationships between SE concepts, while connecting them with knowledge from various PETE courses, the theoretical foundation of SE became accessible. We encourage physical education teacher educators to allow for a continuing growth of understanding where PSTs develop knowledge through various SE learning and teaching experiences tailored around their needs and concerns.     

Amerika: The Super Bowl and German Imagination

Abstract

The Super Bowl has played a central role in the diffusion of American football in Germany, as interviews with the ‘founding fathers’ of ‘gridiron’ football clubs and analysis of German media accounts reveal. American football and the Super Bowl have also played an important role in the construction of traditional German Amerikabilder – images, ideas, and symbols associated with America. German media rarely covered American football until the late 1970s. At that time, brief highlight shows of the Super Bowl on German television and broadcasts on the American Forces Network significantly contributed to the diffusion of American football and the emergence of an American football league in Germany in the late 1970s. In the process of covering the Super Bowl, German journalists reproduced Germany’s double-headed Amerikabild: America as a model of modernity on the one hand, and as a violent, cultureless society on the other. The press further invoked historical clashes between German Kultur and the dreaded Zivilisation of the West. This exploration of the social processes surrounding the reception of the Super Bowl in Germany employs the theories of cultural globalization, migration, and electronic mediation developed by the anthropologist Arjun Appadurai to explain the complexities of contemporary global cultural flows.     

Talent development as an ecology of games: a case study of Norwegian handball

Structured talent identification and development, it has been argued, is one of the foundations of international sporting success and many modern elite sport systems have applied normative talent development (TD) models. The success of Norwegian handball, however, is based on an alternative approach to TD. Norwegian handball is characterized by a heterarchical organizational structure in which several key actors function highly autonomously. The aim of this article is three-fold: (a) to describe the organization of TD in Norwegian handball, (b) to identify how the inherent organizational characteristics of Norwegian handball have influenced the TD processes used and (c) to discuss if contemporary TD models provide an adequate conceptualization of the model used in Norwegian handball. This case study includes three units of analysis: (i) the overall organizational structure of Norwegian handball, (ii) the characteristics of the key actors involved and (iii) the inter-communication and collaborations of the key actors. The data sources were (a) documents and (b) interviews with 11 key informants. The informants were selected strategically to represent experienced coaches and professionals from multiple organizational units. The National Handball Federation uses a broad-based model for TD: 23% of male handball players and 15% of female handball players from the age of 13–17 years participate in regional-level initiatives in addition to practising daily in community-based volunteer sport clubs and sport schools. Findings reveal that the broad base of TD initiatives creates multiple access points to the talent pipeline for adolescents. However, because the heterarchical structure involves many actors, the unintended consequences are often related to (im)properly managing training and competition loads. There is a need therefore for well-developed coordination mechanisms and good communication between the key actors involved.     

Assessment quality and practices in secondary PE in the Netherlands

Background: Assessment can have various functions, and is an important impetus for student learning. For assessment to be effective, it should be aligned with curriculum goals and of sufficient quality. Although it has been suggested that assessment quality in physical education (PE) is suboptimal, research into actual assessment practices has been relatively scarce.

Purpose: The goals of the present study were to determine the quality of assessment, teachers’ views on the functions of assessment, the alignment of assessment with learning goals, and the actual assessment practices in secondary PE in the Netherlands.

Participants and setting: A total of 260 PE teachers from different schools in the Netherlands filled out an online Physical Education Assessment Questionnaire (PEAQ) on behalf of their school.

Data collection: The online questionnaire (PEAQ) contained the following sections: quality of assessment, intended functions of assessment, assessment practices, and intended goals of PE.

Data analysis: Percentages of agreement were calculated for all items. In addition, assessment quality items were recoded into a numerical value between 1 and 5 (mean?±?SD). Cronbach’s alpha was calculated for each predefined quality aspect of the PEAQ, and for assessment quality as a whole.

Findings: Mean assessment quality (±SD) was 3.6?±?0.6. With regard to the function of assessment, most PE teachers indicated that they intended using assessment as a means of supporting the students’ learning process (formative function). At the same time, the majority of schools take PE grades into account for determining whether a student may enter the next year (summative function). With regard to assessment practices, a large variety of factors are included when grading, and observation is by far the assessment technique most widely applied. A minority of PE teachers grade students without predetermined assessment criteria, and usually criteria are identical for all students. There is an apparent discrepancy between reported PE goals and assessment practices; although increasing students’ fitness levels is the least important goal of PE lessons according to the PE teachers, 81% reports that fitness is one of the factors being judged. Conversely, while 94% considers gaining knowledge about physical activity and sports as one of the goals of PE, only 34% actually assesses knowledge.

Conclusions: Assessment in Dutch PE is of moderate quality. The findings further suggest that PE teachers consider assessment for learning important but that their assessment practices are not generally in line with this view. Furthermore, there seems to be a lack of alignment between intended learning outcomes and what is actually being valued and assessed. We believe that these results call for a concerted effort from PE departments, school boards, and the education inspectorate to scrutinise existing assessment practices, and work together to optimise PE assessment.     

Morning–evening difference of team-handball-related short-term maximal physical performances in female team handball players

This study investigated the two different time-of-day effect on team-handball-related short-term maximal physical performances. At two different time-of-day, fifteen young female team handball players performed different physical tests: HandGrip (HG) test, Ball-Throwing Velocity (BTV) test, Modified Agility T-test (MAT) and Repeated Shuttle-Sprint and Jump Ability (RSSJA) test. Rating of perceived exertion (RPE) scale was determined following the termination of the last test. Measurements were performed at two separate testing sessions (i.e., in the morning (7:00–8:30 h) and in the early evening (17:00–18:30 h)) in a randomised and counter-balanced setting on non-consecutive days. The results showed that HG (P = 0.0013), BTV (P = 0.0027) and MAT (P < 0.001) performances were better in the evening compared with the morning. During RSSJA, both best and mean sprint times were shorter in the evening compared to the morning (P < 0.001). Moreover, during the latter test, mean jump performance was higher in the evening compared to the morning (P = 0.026). However, there was no morning–evening difference in the best jump performance during RSSJA. Likewise, jump performance decrement was not affected by the time-of-day of testing. On the other hand, RPE fluctuated, with morning nadirs and afternoon/early evening highest values. The findings suggest that in female team handball players, team-handball-related short-term maximal physical performances were better in the afternoon than in the morning.     

Knowing more about things you care less about: Cross-sectional analysis of the opposing trend and interplay between conceptual understanding and interest in secondary school chemistry

The development of students' interest in school science activities, their understanding of central chemical concepts, and the interplay between both constructs across Grades 5–11 were analyzed in a cross-sectional paper-and-pencil study (N = 2,510, mean age 11–17 years). Previous empirical findings indicate that students' knowledge increases over the time of secondary school while students' interest, especially in natural science subjects, tends to decrease. Concomitantly, there is evidence for an increase in the positive coupling between interest and knowledge across time. However, previous studies mainly rely on rather global measures, for example, school grades or general subject-related interest, and focus on science as an integrated subject instead of specific disciplines, for example, chemistry. For this article, more proximal and differentiated measures for students' understanding of three chemical concepts (Chemical Reaction, Energy, Matter) and interest in seven dimensions of school science activities according to the RIASEC + N model (Realistic, Investigative, Artistic, Social, Enterprising, Conventional, and Networking; cf. Dierks, Höffler, & Parchmann, 2014) were applied. The results are in line with previous research indicating a general increase in conceptual understanding and a decline in students' interest for all school science activities. However, the interplay between conceptual understanding and interest differs across the seven dimensions. Interest in activities which are likely to promote cognitive activation (investigative, networking) or involving the communication of knowledge (social, enterprising, and networking) are increasingly connected to conceptual understanding, especially in upper secondary grades. Interest in guided hands-on activities (realistic) which are typical in secondary science teaching, however, shows only small positive correlations to students' conceptual understanding across all grades. Hence, in upper-secondary school, investigative, social, enterprising, and networking activities seem to provide opportunities to benefit most from the interrelation between students' interests and their understanding.     

Swedish Doctoral Students' Experiences on their Journey towards a PhD: Obstacles and opportunities inside and outside the academic building

The overall aim of this article was to provide a picture of how doctoral students experience their working conditions on their journey towards a PhD. It is based mainly on an extensive pilot study and comprised both a qualitative and a quantitative section. The questionnaire was distributed to 278 students of both sexes at Umea § University in Sweden and the interview study comprises six female students. Interest in working at the university after receiving a PhD was about as great for women as it was for men, although, significantly fewer women continued. Different aspects of insecurity (financial insecurity, insecurity concerning one's own capacity, and insecurity concerning unwritten rules), difficulty in combining an academic career and a family, as well as negative experiences, were some of the obstacles mentioned. The opportunities described included intellectual development and a good chance for in-depth study in a special field. Several of the students also felt that their work involved something of importance. Many mentioned freedom, but often as a kind of Janus face (two-faced) freedom. They emphasised the advantages of freedom in doing research, but maintained at the same time that this freedom also meant that there was no clear dividing line between work and leisure time, and the women in particular felt under stress.