Engaged or excluded: LGBTQ youth's participation in school sports and their relationship to psychological well-being

Sports participation has been shown to positively affect youth well-being. However, research has also shown that sports environments can be unsafe for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) youth. Using data from a large study on school-related experiences of LGBTQ secondary students who reported on their extracurricular activities in school, (N = 15,813), this study examined LGBTQ youth's participation in school sports, the effects of participation on well-being and school belonging, and whether any such benefits of participation varied by transgender status and gender binary identity. Over a quarter of LGBTQ respondents in our study had participated in school sports, and being transgender and being nonbinary were related to a lower likelihood of sports participation. Transgender males and transgender nonbinary youth had the lowest likelihood of sports participation. In general, LGBTQ youth who participated in sports had increased well-being and greater school belonging. However, in regard to self-esteem, transgender nonbinary youth appeared to have greater benefit from participating in sports than did their transgender male and transgender female peers. Considering these results, schools have a responsibility to ensure that school sports are safe and welcoming for LGBTQ youth.     

Correction to: Let’s Talk Play! Exploring the Possible Benefits of Play-Based Pedagogy on Language and Literacy Learning in Two Title I Kindergarten Classrooms

Early Childhood Education Journal - The original version of this article unfortunately contained an error in Abstract section, in-text reference citation and reference section.     

Integration of physical health and sensory processing assessment for children with autism spectrum disorder in schools

Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often undergo various assessments and evaluations as part of the diagnostic process, identification and classification for special education eligibility, and continued progress monitoring for skill growth. Such evaluations may include cognitive, social and emotional, behavioral, and speech evaluations, among other skill and ability assessments. One other area for assessment that clinicians may consider examining when working on evaluations for individuals with ASD includes the integration of assessments capturing physical and sensory needs. Physical health identifiers that may be included in such evaluations cover physical exercise, sleep, diet and food sensitivities, and elimination. Additionally, sensory evaluations may consider auditory, olfactory, taste, tactile, vestibular, and proprioceptive sensory abilities and needs. This practitioner-focused chapter includes a brief review of each of the aforementioned physical and sensory abilities and their connection to ASD. Further, implications for practitioners in their assessment of ASD are explored with practical tips and recommendations for providers to use for their future assessments for ASD.     

FROM THE LITERATURE

No abstract available for this article.     

Sustaining Change in Universities: Continuities in Case Studies and Concepts

Tertiary Education and Management - My book, CreatingEntrepreneurial Universities, based onmid-1990s research in five Europeanuniversities, set forth five ``pathways oftransformation'' by...     

The Implementation of e-Learning in Higher Education in the United Kingdom: The Road Ahead

The quality assurance bodies for higher education in the United Kingdom, particularly HEFCE and QAA, have concluded that the information and communication technologies can serve as powerful stimuli for improving the three principal instructional functions in higher education institutions: teaching, learning, and assessment. Thus, quality ratings will increasingly be influenced by staff competence in the use of these technologies and, as a result, institutions must make efforts to generalize their use. HEFCE is setting up a Learning and Teaching Support Network and a Generic Learning and Teaching Centre intended to provide subject-based support for the sharing among higher education institutions of innovation and good practice. The Council is also proposing to set up an e-University that would operate commercially as a clearing-house, outsourcing many of its activities to a core of selected campus universities. Many view this proposal as a threat to traditional universities.     

From the outside in: Lessons in learning beyond the school walls

Major discontinuities exist between the way learning is conceptualized in schools and the way learning happens outside school. The author challenges educators to engage in a serious conversation about methods for mending the mismatch.