Multiple languages in one society: categorisations of language and social cohesion in policy and practice

This article examines the way in which socially constructed notions of ‘language’, ‘social cohesion’ and ‘diversity’ create tensions within different educational arenas, particularly concerning educational policies developed at administrative levels and the subsequent interpretation of these policies in the classroom. Specifically, the article looks at the different production and reproduction processes of an official policy concerning ‘language and integration’, aimed at the immigrant population in Catalonian schools (Spain). The method used combines conversation analysis with text analysis of official documents in order to find traces of interdiscursivity between texts and practices. While the focus of the article is based on a case study of conceptualisations of languages, social cohesion and cultural diversity in two classrooms in Barcelona, it is generally relevant to the world of education, especially as the rate of population movements worldwide has increased significantly in recent years.     

The Future of Instructional Teacher Leader Roles

In response to increased performance expectations, schools and districts are turning to nonsupervisory, school-based, instructional teacher leader roles to help improve teachers’ instruction and enhance student learning. Increased opportunities to learn about teacher leadership may facilitate the implementation and institutionalization of instructional teacher leader roles. We discuss how institutions of higher education could develop programs for instructional teacher leaders, provide related coursework to school administrators and preservice teachers, and educate school communities about the potential usefulness of these roles.     

Contributors and Contributions

In this study, we collected and analyzed data to examine the extent to which the achievement gap between urban and suburban children extended to their knowledge of digital literacies. Findings indicated that the suburban children outperformed the urban students in each of the performance areas, and that suburban children reported greater opportunity to learn new literacies in school than the urban children. This study provides further evidence regarding the achievement gap between children in urban and suburban schools and suggests that our schools suffer from a lack of social justice in providing the education that all children need to become 21st-century learners.     

The effect of rowing to exhaustion on frontal plane angular changes in the lumbar spine of elite rowers

Abstract

Lumbar spine injury is common in rowers and examination of spinal kinematics may improve the understanding of this injury's prevalence. This study aimed to examine the range of frontal plane angular displacement (AD) in the lumbar spine at L3 during ergometer rowing and to investigate the effect of exhaustion on lumbar kinematics. Twelve elite male rowers completed an incremental test on a Concept 2 ergometer. Lumbar AD at L3 was measured continually throughout the rowing trial using a Spectrotilt Inclinometer and blood lactate was sampled at 3-minute intervals. AD of between 4.7° and 8.8° was recorded at L3. There was a significant increase in AD between the first and last stage of the test (mean increase = 4.1 ± 1.94°, 95% Confidence Interval [CI], 2.9 to 5.3°, t = 7.36, P = 0.000014). Incremental rise in AD was associated with an incremental rise in blood lactate but regression confirmed that only stroke rate was a significant predictor for increasing angle. Thus there is a statistically significant increase in frontal plane AD at L3 over the course of an incremental exercise test although it cannot be confirmed if this is as a result of exhaustion. The values of AD confirm that there is motion in the frontal plane in ergometer rowing.     

Mapping the margins and searching for higher ground: examining the marginalisation of black female graduate students at PWIs

The number of Black females enrolled in colleges and universities has grown in recent years, particularly at predominately white institutions (PWIs). Currently, research on the rise of Black females at PWIs is limited and fails to adequately address the emotional, social, and mental well-being of these students. Recent studies also largely ignore the critical roles that natural and formal Black female faculty play in serving as a buffer between Black female graduate students (BFGS) and PWIs more broadly. From a critical perspective using counter-narrative, we address the limitations of the scholarly literature on BFGS and other challenges faced by BFGS. We come to the disappointing – albeit unsurprising – conclusion that PWIs should do more to make the academy a welcoming place for BFGS, however, the ways in which PWIs function make support for BFGS unlikely. We conclude with a discussion about the implications of continued marginalisation of BFGS at PWIs for individuals, families, communities, disciplines, and for PWIs across the nation.     

Exploring Social Norms as a Framework to Understand Decisions to be Physically Active

In light of public health concerns surrounding the consequences of sedentary behavior and physical inactivity, exploring ways to encourage physically active lifestyles has become a critical concern for researchers. Social norms, conceptualized as how individuals perceive the beliefs and behaviors of significant others, have the potential to be a powerful influence on individuals. The investigation of social norms, initially grounded in theory of planned behavior, evolved to be the focal point of the focus theory of normative construct and the theory of normative social behavior. This more complex conceptualization of social norms provided insight into how perceptions of social norms influence decisions about health-related behaviors. The purpose of this review is to present social norm theories as a viable framework to investigate how environments can be structured to promote physical activity.     

A family affair: Library opportunities to connect with parents and families

Parents are important aspects of our students' academic lives, and as such, should be acknowledged and considered as allies and potential partners with libraries. This article presents ideas for many ways in which libraries can engage with parents and families, while also exploring the benefits of such efforts. The broad areas in which these efforts fall include 1) overall student success, 2) connecting with other student-supporting and student-reaching entities on campus, and 3) supporting the critical efforts of student recruitment and retention. In this article, examples of different parent engagement opportunities are also discussed, including involvement in campus events, engaging with parent associations, considerations of legacy engagement, and collaboration with other campus units. The results of these parent-library initiatives and connections can help accomplish a variety of things including supporting student academic success, ensuring that the library is involved in other university student outreach efforts, contributing to development and fundraising activities and finally, supporting the recruitment and retention of students.     

PERSUASION FROM BELOW?

Guided by the belief that anonymity inevitably breeds the kind of uncivil discourse that hurts their readers, many news organizations have chosen to ban anonymous comments sections on their websites in recent years. Unfortunately, little empirical research has been conducted to assess whether exposure to anonymous comments actually does influence people's attitudes. In this paper, we address this oversight by asking: do anonymous comments posted on a newspaper website shape how internet users feel about the media? Using an online experiment to systematically manipulate exposure to anonymous comments attached to a “hard news” report, we find strong evidence that exposure to non-attributed posts—regardless of their tone—leads internet users to feel more negatively towards specific news organizations and the media in general.     

Preservice Secondary Education Majors and Visual-Spatial Perception: An Important Cognitive Aptitude in the Teaching of Science and Mathematics

Journal of Science Teacher Education -     

From Silence to #WhyIStayed: Locating Our Stories and Finding Our Voices

Domestic violence is a serious public health issue in the United States. In the digital age, social media platforms like Twitter provide users with the opportunity to anonymously share short, 140-character narratives. Following the Ray Rice domestic violence scandal, thousands of women took to Twitter to share their abuse stories using the hashtag #WhyIStayed. Building on existing domestic violence research, we conduct what is, to our knowledge, the first assessment of women utilizing Twitter to share their lived experiences with abusive relationships and reasons for staying. Findings revealed four themes: (lack of) resources, responsibility for abuse, fear, and gender-linked power. The results suggest that Twitter functions as a space where women can share lived experiences about domestic violence, which then fosters discussion about a stigmatized topic. Thus, Twitter functions as a connective mechanism where women can understand the lived experiences of domestic violence and access a large community where information and support can be exchanged.