Constructive readings of interactive episodes: examining ethics in physical education from a social constructionist perspective

In this paper we illustrate how ways of thinking about ethics are tied up with sport and physical education practice and introduce an alternative approach that can help to develop ethical pedagogies. We begin by locating socio-moral education in physical education within historical and contemporary pedagogical scholarship. Our argument is that the work of today's physical educators is still shaped by claims that were made about school sport in the nineteenth century and that sport scholars have long had difficulties proving these claims empirically. Rather than search for data that can confirm or refute claims of moral learning, we examine how incidents related to moral behaviour occur during physical education lessons. To do this we draw on data from an ethnographic investigation of a school in North Western Switzerland. Specifically, we present three episodes of interaction in three different physical education lessons. To make sense of these episodes, we introduce a social constructionist perspective. The main assumptions of this perspective are: (1) meanings are created through dialogue and consensus and are context-relative; (2) interactions between people are joint accomplishments; and (3) contexts affect how people interact with one another. Equipped with a constructionist framework, we then inspect the interactive episodes more closely. We include brief discussions of how constructionist understandings might inform ethics pedagogies in the future, suggesting that practitioners should be cautious of universal understandings of ethics, consider pupils as members of communities that are held together by shared practices, provide space for pupils to position themselves differently during lessons and, finally, account for contextual factors when evaluating pupils’ actions.     

Bewegungsintervention in Bremen — Erfolg oder Mißerfolg?

German Journal of Exercise and Sport Research -     

2. Heymann, Hans Werner (Hrsg.): Allgemeinbildung und Fachunterricht

Ohne Zusammenfassung     

‘New Public Management’ and the Academic Profession: Reflections on the German Situation

This essay considers recent implications of ‘new public management’ (NPM) strategies for the universities of Germany. It argues that NPM poses a threat to the traditional values of the academic profession, and asks what the universities should do to restore public trust in their methods and management.     

The influence of sitting posture on mechanics and metabolic energy requirements during sit-skiing: a case report

Several different sitting postures are used in Paralympic cross-country sit-skiing. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of sitting posture on physiological and mechanical variables during steady-state double-poling sit-skiing, as well as to determine how seat design can be improved for athletes without sufficient trunk control. Employing a novel, custom-designed seat, three trunk positions were tested while performing double-poling with submaximal oxygen consumption on an ergometer. Cycle kinematics, pole forces, and oxygen consumption were monitored. The athlete performed best, with longer cycle length and less pronounced metabolic responses, when kneeling with the trunk resting on a frontal support. For this case, a forward leaning trunk with knees below the hip joint was interpreted as most optimal, as it showed lower oxygen consumption and related parameters of performance during cross-country sit-skiing. Further investigations should examine whether such improvement is dependent on the level of the athlete’s handicap, as well as whether it is also seen on snow.     

Options for Change: A Flexible Vehicle for Curriculum Evolution and Reform

In this article we examine a flexible curricular approach known as the “Option.” The Option enables students to supplement traditional majors with a coherent set of courses and other educational experiences in a related, often interdisciplinary field. Options can act as curricular bridges between mainstream academic fields and problems of professional practice. They can also give students experience with emerging subject areas (e.g., biomedical engineering). Options serve as laboratories for experimenting with new subject areas before incorporating them fully into the curriculum as majors and minors. Hence, Options promote creativity and risk-taking by providing a proving ground for potential new academic programs.Roger G. Baldwin received his doctorate in higher education from the University of Michigan. He is currently Professor of Higher, Adult, and Lifelong Education at Michigan State University. His research interests include curriculum development and reform, faculty career development, and organizational change. Melissa J. Baumann received her doctorate in Materials Science and Engineering from Case Western Reserve University. She is currently Associate Professor of Engineering at Michigan State University. Her research interests include biomedical materials research, specifically ceramic scaffolds in bone tissue engineering and biomedical engineering education.     

Matching behavior of honeybees in a multiple-choice situation: The differential effect of environmental stimuli on the choice process

The matching behavior of honeybees in a patch of four artificial feeders was studied under two different environmental conditions in order to examine the involvement of different stimuli in the choice process. Matching fails if all nearby landmarks are removed but can, under certain conditions, be restored by subsequently introducing odors, colors, or landmarks showing that there is no unique stimulus modality that provides matching. We propose two fundamentally different memory processes, both of which affect feeding behavior and support matching. We suggest that in one case, the probability of choice is determined by the strength of direct associations between locally perceived odor stimuli and reward rates. In the second case, simultaneously perceived color stimuli predict the relative reward rates indirectly by the spatial representation of the four feeders. Both memory processes are likely to interact and lead to efficient feeding behavior during foraging under natural conditions.     

Systematische Lehrereffekte bei übergangsquoten auf weiterführende Schulen Eine Analyse bildungsstatistischer Daten

Der übergang in eine weiterführende Schule ist eine zentrale bildungsbiografische Entscheidung, die auf der Grundlage fehleranf?lliger selektionsdiagnostischer Urteile getroffen wird. Neben unsystematischen Urteilsfehlern sind unterschiedliche Leistungsanforderungen zwischen den verschiedenen Grundschullehrkr?ften einer ad?quaten übergangsdiagnostik abtr?glich. Mit einer Analyse bildungsstatistischer Daten auf Regionalebene wurde deshalb der Frage nachgegangen, welche Auswirkungen Leistungsstandards von Lehrkr?ften innerhalb einer Grundschule für das Zustandekommen von übergangsquoten haben. Für einzügige Grundschulen in stark l?ndlich gepr?gten Regionen (n=47) konnte ein systematischer Lehrereffekt bei übergangsquoten auf Hauptschulen und Gymnasien nachgewiesen werden. über Vorschl?ge zur Verbesserung der selektionsdiagnostischen Kompetenz von Lehrkr?ften sollte deshalb weiter nachgedacht werden.     

Engaging fans and the community in social media: interaction with institutions of higher education on Facebook

Although many universities use social media to interact with stakeholders, little is known about the underlying mechanisms. Drawing on theories of self-presentation and community engagement, we develop a theoretical model to explain these crucial outcome factors. We then test the model based on secondary data from 159 universities. Our findings reveal the double-edged nature of community size: universities with a strong reputation tend to have more Facebook fans, but having many Facebook fans has detrimental effects on individual fan engagement. Furthermore, the frequency of updates is a crucial factor, as too frequent and too infrequent updates lead to lower levels of fan engagement. We discuss theoretical implications for online communities and derive implications for social media managers.     

Routines and collective orientations in mathematics teachers’ professional development

There is an increasing awareness of the social dimension in mathematics teacher education. Collaboration and co-operation are regarded as key factors in professional development. In this paper I will analyse some tensions that might arise when the professional development of mathematics teachers is considered a collective enterprise. I will present phenomenological group interview as a method that is designed to reveal the collective character of teacher development. Some primary teachers’ collective reflections on an ongoing professional development process will be interpreted by focusing on the concepts of routine and collective orientation. The discussion is centred on the ambivalence of routines, as facilitators of practice, and collective orientations, as socially-agreed-upon knowledge base, for mathematics teachers’ professional development.