The Revised Programme of Instruction, 1900–1922

The focus of this article is the Revised Programme of Instruction (1900), which was devised in the final years of the nineteenth century and implemented in Irish national schools between 1900 and 1922. It begins by analysing the societal and educational context for the Revised Programme. Second, the work of the Commission on Manual and Practical Instruction, which provided the research evidence base for the introduction of the Revised Programme, is documented. This is followed by a delineation of the content of the programme, focusing in particular on the subject areas and methodologies. The impact of wider educational developments on the programme in this period is then reviewed, such as the reform of the inspectorate and teacher training. The implementation of the programme between 1900 and 1922 is then examined, highlighting successes and shortcomings in this regard. The article concludes by drawing implications for the contemporary context regarding curriculum planning and implementation.     

Reliability and Preliminary Use of a Rubric to Assess Pre-Kindergarten Teachers’ Video Uses

The presence and use of new technologies in early childhood settings are rapidly increasing. One technology tool used in early childhood settings is monthly DVD classroom newsletters, yet there is a lack of assessments to support pre-kindergarten teachers’ uses of such DVD newsletter technology—in general and in specific. The present study helps to fill this gap by developing and testing a revised rubric to evaluate the quality of monthly DVD classroom newsletters. Results indicate that the revised Monthly DVD Classroom Newsletter-Rubric exhibited good overall reliability. We suggest that the use of a rubric to assess pre-kindergarten teacher-created monthly DVD classroom newsletters supports teachers’ decision making about technology uses and professional development.     

The digital reading path: researching modes and multidirectionality with iPads

This paper reports a study that examines the integration of tablet technologies such as iPads into literacy lessons to investigate how reading and meaning‐making occur within this digital medium. Specifically in this paper, we discuss the concept of reading paths as applied to physical and cognitive planes of meaning‐making. The paper reports on data collected as part of a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) funded project involving researchers from Canada, the United States and Australia. The study is currently under way in schools in the three different countries where the researchers are observing students in classrooms in primary and secondary schools. The research is designed with a mixed methods approach coding video footage of dyads to enable close study of their interaction during literacy tasks incorporating iPads. Our findings show that the affordances of touch technology allow for multimodal, multidirectional reading paths. By tracking students' interactions with the digital platform through touch, it is possible to see navigation as evidence of the relationship between material and cognitive processes, which fosters metatextual awareness. These aspects of modes and new literacies construct a dynamic materiality for students' reading and writing. As a result, we propose that current awareness of the mode of gesture needs to be expanded to take into account haptic ways of learning.     

Effective conditioning of female soccer players

We compared the efficacy of three physical conditioning programmes provided over a 12 week period (24?h in total) on selected anthropometric and physical fitness parameters in female soccer players. Two of the groups received physical conditioning training in accordance with speed, agility and quickness (SAQ); one group used specialized resistance and speed development SAQ equipment (equipment group; n?=?12), while the other group used traditional soccer coaching equipment (non-equipment group; n?=?12). A third group received their regular fitness sessions (active control group; n?=?12). All three interventions decreased (P?<0.001) the participants' body mass index (?3.7%) and fat percentage (?1.7%), and increased their flexibility (+14.7%) and maximal aerobic capacity ([Vdot]O_2max) (+18.4%). The participants in the equipment and non-equipment conditioning groups showed significantly (P?<0.005) greater benefits from their training programme than those in the active control group by performing significantly better on the sprint to fatigue (?11.6% for both the equipment and non-equipment groups versus ?6.2% for the active control group), 25?m sprint (?4.4% vs ?0.7%), left (?4.5% vs ?1.0%) and right (?4.0% vs ?1.4%) side agility, and vertical (+18.5% vs +4.8%) and horizontal (+7.7% vs +1.6%) power tests. Some of these differences in improvements in physical fitness between the equipment and non-equipment conditioning groups on the one hand and the active control group on the other hand were probably due to the specificity of the training programmes. It was concluded that SAQ training principles appear to be effective in the physical conditioning of female soccer players. Moreover, these principles can be implemented during whole team training sessions without the need for specialized SAQ equipment. Finally, more research is required to establish the relationship between physical fitness and soccer performance as well as the principles underlying the improvements seen through the implementation of SAQ training programmes.     

The effects of carbohydrate supplementation on immune responses to a soccer-specific exercise protocol

The aim of this study was to determine the effect of carbohydrate (CHO) versus placebo (PLA) beverage consumption on the immune and plasma cortisol responses to a soccer-specific exercise protocol in 8 university team soccer players. In a randomized, counterbalanced design, the players received carbohydrate or placebo beverages before, during and after two 90min soccer-specific exercise bouts (3 days apart) designed to mimic the activities performed and the distance covered in a typical soccer match. Blood and saliva samples were collected before, during and after the exercise protocol. Plasma lactate concentration increased to ~4 mmol.l-1 at 45 and 90 min of exercise in both treatments (P? 0.01). Plasma glucose concentration was significantly lower after 90 min of exercise with ingestion of the placebo than the carbohydrate (PLA: 4.57 +/- 0.12 mmol.l-1; CHO: 5.49 +/- 0.11 mmol.l-1; P? 0.01). The pattern of change in plasma cortisol, circulating lymphocyte count and saliva immunoglobulin A secretion did not differ between the carbohydrate and placebo trials. Blood neutrophil counts were 14% higher 1 h after the placebo trial than the carbohydrate trial (PLA: 4.8 =/- 0.5 x 10 9 cells.l-1; CHO:4.2 +/- 0.5 x 10 9 cells.l-1; P=0.06),but the treatment had no effect on the degranulation response of blood neutrophils stimulated by bacterial lipopolysaccharide. We conclude that, although previous studies have shown that carbohydrate feeding is effective in attenuating immune responses to prolonged continuous strenuous exercise, the same cannot be said for a soccer-specific intermittent exercise protocol. When overall exercise intensity is moderate,and changes in plasma glucose, cortisol and immune variables are relatively small, it would appear that carbohydrate ingestion has only a minimal influence on the immune response to exercise.     

This Sporting Mammon: A Normative Critique of the Commodification of Sport

The advent of communications technology has enabled large and world-wide audiences to have visual access to sports whose spatially limited field of action prevents such numbers of interested spectators attending the event in person to witness them. Simultaneously a number of new issues for sport have arisen. Recognising that spectators’ location and distance from sporting events at times permit audiences viewing at home to enjoy a better view of the action, organisers sometimes erect huge screens relaying the action at sporting arenas to redress this disadvantage. But the facility to focus in close-up, slow-motion, repeat display and from several angles provides not only a detailed inspection of sporting episodes, but also a mechanism for quality control of refereeing decisions. This article examines one recent attempt to make recommendations concerning the relative role of technology and humans in officiating, given an analysis of the problems technology can cause officials.