Dissolving boundaries: cross-national co-operation through technology in education

This article reports research on cross-national co-operation through Information and Communications Technology (ICT) within the statutory curricula of Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. Using quantitative and qualitative methods, the views and experiences of teachers in partner schools in the north and south of Ireland were sought on the capacity and potential of asynchronous computer conferencing and videoconferencing to generate collaborative work in a cross-border setting, to promote cultural awareness among primary and post-primary pupils, and to improve teacher and pupil competence in ICT. The results showed a significant improvement in ICT competence, and also revealed that technical training, enthusiasm and commitment were the key factors for success, and that not only did the pupils develop an awareness of the cultural identity of distant peers, but their sense of responsibility, self-esteem and motivation grew. This particularly helped less able and quieter pupils. There was unexpected rôle reversal when children helped their teachers within an ICT context, a situation not found elsewhere in the curriculum. Additionally, there were beneficial effects on literacy, group work and independent learning, and the skills acquired were transferable. The commitment of the teachers to continue this cross-national work with limited support is a measure of its potential sustainability.     

Mediating effects of resistance training skill competency on health-related fitness and physical activity: the ATLAS cluster randomised controlled trial

The purpose of this study was to examine the mediating effect of resistance training skill competency on percentage of body fat, muscular fitness and physical activity among a sample of adolescent boys participating in a school-based obesity prevention intervention. Participants were 361 adolescent boys taking part in the Active Teen Leaders Avoiding Screen-time (ATLAS) cluster randomised controlled trial: a school-based program targeting the health behaviours of economically disadvantaged adolescent males considered “at-risk” of obesity. Body fat percentage (bioelectrical impedance), muscular fitness (hand grip dynamometry and push-ups), physical activity (accelerometry) and resistance training skill competency were assessed at baseline and post-intervention (i.e., 8 months). Three separate multi-level mediation models were analysed to investigate the potential mediating effects of resistance training skill competency on each of the study outcomes using a product-of-coefficients test. Analyses followed the intention-to-treat principle. The intervention had a significant impact on the resistance training skill competency of the boys, and improvements in skill competency significantly mediated the effect of the intervention on percentage of body fat and the combined muscular fitness score. No significant mediated effects were found for physical activity. Improving resistance training skill competency may be an effective strategy for achieving improvements in body composition and muscular fitness in adolescent boys.     

Multivariate analyses of individual variation in soccer skill as a tool for talent identification and development: utilising evolutionary theory in sports science

The development of a comprehensive protocol for quantifying soccer-specific skill could markedly improve both talent identification and development. Surprisingly, most protocols for talent identification in soccer still focus on the more generic athletic attributes of team sports, such as speed, strength, agility and endurance, rather than on a player’s technical skills. We used a multivariate methodology borrowed from evolutionary analyses of adaptation to develop our quantitative assessment of individual soccer-specific skill. We tested the performance of 40 individual academy-level players in eight different soccer-specific tasks across an age range of 13–18 years old. We first quantified the repeatability of each skill performance then explored the effects of age on soccer-specific skill, correlations between each of the pairs of skill tasks independent of age, and finally developed an individual metric of overall skill performance that could be easily used by coaches. All of our measured traits were highly repeatable when assessed over a short period and we found that an individual’s overall skill – as well as their performance in their best task – was strongly positively correlated with age. Most importantly, our study established a simple but comprehensive methodology for assessing skill performance in soccer players, thus allowing coaches to rapidly assess the relative abilities of their players, identify promising youths and work on eliminating skill deficits in players.     

Evaluating the Instructional Sensitivity of Four States' Student Achievement Tests

As state tests of student achievement are used for an increasingly wide array of high- and low-stakes purposes, evaluating their instructional sensitivity is essential. This article uses data from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation's Measures of Effective Project to examine the instructional sensitivity of 4 states' mathematics and English language arts assessments to 5 measures of pedagogical quality. The results indicate modest overall levels of sensitivity, with some state assessments insensitive to most or all measures of pedagogical quality. Furthermore, there are sometimes substantial differences across states in the sensitivity of their assessments. The article calls for more research on what makes state tests instructionally sensitive and cautions against the use of insensitive assessments for consequential decisions.     

Conceptualizing Service-Learning in Christian Higher Education

Christian higher education is charged with the distinct mission of integrating faith and learning, and course-based service-learning has been identified as a supportive platform for this undertaking. Christian service-learning represents "a teaching and learning strategy that integrates academic instruction, community service, and guided reflection from a Christ-centered, faith-based perspective in order to enhance student learning, to foster civic responsibility, and to develop servant leaders” (Mullen, 2010 Mullen, S. (2010). Integrating a service and learning paradigm in a Christian education environment. Christian Education Journal, 7(1), 162–171.[Crossref] , [Google Scholar], p. 164). A large volume of literature pertaining to the theoretical and practical aspects of service-learning courses exists; however, the current literature and corresponding perceptions of best practice may not fully support the distinct nature of service-learning in Christian higher education. Therefore, the purpose of this article is to examine a predominant service-learning typology that dichotomizes traditional and critical service-learning (Mitchell, 2008 Mitchell, T. D. (2008). Traditional vs. critical service-learning: Engaging the literature to differentiate two models. Michigan Journal of Community Service Learning, 14(2), 50–65. [Google Scholar]) through the contextualization of faith-based higher education. Then, in an attempt to further elaborate upon Mullen’s (2010 Mullen, S. (2010). Integrating a service and learning paradigm in a Christian education environment. Christian Education Journal, 7(1), 162–171.[Crossref] , [Google Scholar]) definition, Morton’s (1995 Morton, K. (1995). The irony of service: Charity, project, and social change in service learning. Michigan Journal of Community Service Learning, 2(1), 19–32. [Google Scholar]) typology is recommended to frame Christian service-learning as it acknowledges the validity of multiple paradigms of service-learning (charity, project, and social change) and emphasizes the manner of their implementation (thick versus thin). Micro- and macro-level strategies, based on Morton’s (1995 Morton, K. (1995). The irony of service: Charity, project, and social change in service learning. Michigan Journal of Community Service Learning, 2(1), 19–32. [Google Scholar]) typology and subsequent recommendations, are provided to support faculty members and administrators attempting to implement and sustain service-learning at faith-based institutions. Specifically, Christian institutions should prioritize faith-based organizations as core partners, and faculty members should intentionally utilize reflection to integrate faith and learning.     

Genetic and environmental influences on rapid naming and reading ability: A twin study

The present study assesses the genetic and environmental etiologies of reading, rapid naming (RN), and their covariation by fitting multivariate structural equation models to data from 587 twin pairs in which at least one member of the pair exhibited reading difficulties (low-range) and from 360 control (normal-range) twin pairs who were tested in the Colorado Learning Disabilities Research Center. Results from a bivariate phenotypic analysis with two hypothesized latent factors, READ and RN, indicated that the correlation between reading and rapid naming performance for the low-range sample was significantly higher than that of the normal-range sample. When this model was partitioned to include estimates of genetic, shared environmental, and nonshared environmental influences, resulting heritability estimates did not differ significantly for the low-range and normal-range samples for either READ or RN. However, similar to the phenotypic correlation, the genetic correlation between the READ and RN latent factors could not be equated for the two groups. Thus, the etiology of the relationship between reading performance and rapid naming may differ for children with reading difficulties and normally-achieving readers. Moreover, these results support previous findings that the best predictors of reading skills may differ for samples of children with normal reading levels and those with reading difficulties.     

Count us in: the role of schools and colleges in meeting the mental health needs of young people with learning disabilities

In December 2002, the Foundation for People with Learning Disabilities' Committee of Inquiry into the mental health needs of young people with learning disabilities produced its report.
Barry Carpenter, Chief Executive at Sunfield and Chair of the committee, and Hazel Morgan, head of the Foundation for People with Learning Disabilities, take this opportunity to share some insights into the workings of the committee and summarise the key findings. The committee drew evidence from a range of sources, but placed the voices and experiences of young people with learning disabilities at the centre of their proceedings. The committee's findings and recommendations were wide ranging and will have far-reaching implications, but there are immediate messages that schools and colleges should hear. It is upon these messages, taking account of pastoral provision, the curriculum, transition and inter-agency work, that Barry Carpenter and Hazel Morgan focus in this article.     

Parent question use during shared reading time: How does training affect question type and frequency?

This study was designed to examine whether participation in a shared reading workshop alters the frequency with which parents ask their children questions during book reading sessions, particularly questions designed to strengthen component reading skills that they may not have known about before training. Participants in the reading workshop series (N = 57) were taught strategies for asking questions about story content and word structure to build children's language and literacy skills. Findings suggest that parents may be somewhat familiar with traditional dialogic reading strategies focused on story content and utilize them without instruction, whereas parents may be less knowledgeable about sound or print‐focused skills and do not employ strategies focused on word structure until instructed to do so. It is also notable that parents do not use all story content prompts equally. This information can be used by school psychologists to refine the messages educators share with parents about how to best support their children's reading development.