A challenge for vocational guidance in Peru

Previously University Director of Student Welfare and Students' Concerns at that university. Has also worked as Vocational Counsellor and teacher at several universities in Peru. Is interested in psychological research and in vocational and psychological guidance.     

Renewed commitments in a time of vigilance: sexuality education in the USA*

Over the past 20 years, the USA has seen more than its fair share of controversy with respect to education about sexuality, sex and intimate relationships. Attention has focused on content (abstinence-only vs. comprehensive instruction), delivery (by teachers, parents, health professionals or community educators) and context (within school and beyond). In recognition of this fact, Sex Education invited the development of a virtual special issue comprising a sample of its most impactful papers on these and related topics. The 2016 Presidential election results and recent legislative action in the USA point to the importance of thinking broadly about teaching and learning about sexuality inside and outside of schools and of considering sexuality as it intersects with categories of difference, privilege and penalty, including ability, age, immigration, race, gender and class. This paper, developed as an introduction to the virtual special issue, opens with a discussion of the journal’s contributions to the ongoing discussion of pleasure and desire in sexuality education. From there, we turn to the question of what is possible given the material and ideological conditions of schooling and then to opportunities for teachers and learners outside the conventional classroom. We follow with a discussion of the place of intersectional analyses in sexuality education research, and conclude with some thoughts on sexuality education research at this political moment.     

Perceptions of quantitative methods in higher education: mapping student profiles

A number of studies have concluded that when students have greater confidence about their math skills and are aware of its usefulness, they have a more positive perception of the subject. This article aims to examine whether this pseudo linear trend in the relationship between affective and instrumental dimensions is also true of the university context. Special attention is devoted to the articulation of these dimensions in structuring student perceptions of quantitative methods so as to identify the various forms that this interaction can assume. Our second aim is to understand how the perceptions of these subjects are constructed by students from degree courses in distinct scientific areas. Can we speak of group dynamics whereby socialization within each degree course triggers the sharing of similar perceptions? We concluded that a certain linear trend can also be identified in the university context in the relationship between the affective dimension and usefulness of quantitative methods i.e., that the highest levels in the perception of the usefulness of these subjects corresponded to the highest levels of self confidence and enjoyment of the subjects. However, in addition to this scenario there is another configuration in which negative feelings coexist with the recognition of the usefulness of quantitative methods subjects. Namely, lower levels of self confidence and enjoyment of these subjects can also be associated with high levels of perceived usefulness. We also concluded that there is evidence of what we designated a certain course culture in the perceptions about quantitative methods. Nevertheless, when our observation is extended to the scientific area the heterogeneity of the perceptions becomes evident. Another important finding is the rejection of the thesis, at least in the university context, that defends the lack of self-confidence in quantitative methods among females student.     

Evaluation of soccer players under the Moneyball concept

ABSTRACT

The recruitment of athletes with limited resources is a global problem in professional sports. In US Major League Baseball, the experience of the Oakland Athletics’ general manager in the last decade turned his “Moneyball” model into a synonym of quantitative analysis in the transfer market of baseball players. His strategy focused on hiring players with outstanding technical skills but relatively low market value. This study adapted this model to the framework of a multiple criteria decision aid (MCDA), by selecting undervalued players who have complementary abilities. The novelty here refers to the joint use of four algorithms explored by the composition of probabilistic preferences (CPP) (i.e., ranking, classification, dynamic evaluation and regularity analysis) and their application to soccer player performance evaluation. The new model analysed the recent transfer of a left-back soccer player to Europe. The results indicated 12 opportunities for better investment, among 32 left and right-back players considered. Two years later, the value of the same player was considerably lower. He played only five matches in the 2018–2019 season, without scoring or providing any assists. On the other hand, the players better classified by the CPP-MB model presented higher performances and market values.     

“Hispanic” children: Theoretical,empirical, and related policy issues

Not only are school-age ethnic and racial minority children one of the fastest growing segments of the U.S. population, they are also one of the most vulnerable. Hispanic children in particular are representative of the at-risk status of minority populations, displaying a portrait of unrealized social, educational, and employment success. This paper addresses the background and history of U.S. social and educational policies as they relate to the Hispanic student. Recent empirical findings are presented which support the following: (a) the bilingual character of Hispanic children is not a linguistic, cognitive, or educational liability and, in fact, should be employed to promote academic achievement; (b) the culture of the Hispanic family and child are better understood with regard to socialization variables and the potential differences they produce when directly compared to Anglo culture; and (c) educational strategies for Hispanic students that respect and integrate students' social, psychological, and linguistic attributes serve students effectively.     

Equity and Inclusion in Practice: Administrative Responsibility for Fostering Undocumented Students' Learning

Cassie Barnhardt, Marisol Ramos, and Kimberly Reyes share a case study of an undocumented student's academic success to demonstrate the importance of administrative commitment, clarity, and consistency in supporting such students in the unique challenges they face.     

Application of velocity loss thresholds during free-weight resistance training: Responses and reproducibility of perceptual,metabolic, and neuromuscular outcomes

ABSTRACT

The aim of this study was to investigate the differences and long-term reliability in perceptual, metabolic, and neuromuscular responses to velocity loss resistance training protocols. Using a repeated, counterbalanced, crossover design, twelve team-sport athletes completed 5-sets of barbell back-squats at a load corresponding to a mean concentric velocity of ~0.70 m·s^?1. On different days, repetitions were performed until a 10%, 20% or 30% velocity loss was attained, with outcome measures collected after each set. Sessions were repeated after four-weeks. There were substantial between-protocol differences in post-set differential ratings of perceived exertion (dRPE, i.e., breathlessness and leg muscles, AU) and blood lactate concentration (B[La], mmol·L^?1), such that 30%>20%>10% by small to large magnitudes. Differences in post-set countermovement jump (CMJ) variables were small for most variables, such that 30%<20%<10%. Standard deviations representing four-week variability of post-set responses to each protocol were: dRPE, 8–11; B[La], 0.8–1.0; CMJ height, 1.6–2.0; CMJ PPO, 1.0–1.8; CMJ PCV, 0.04–0.06; CMJ 100ms-Impulse, 5.7–11.9. Velocity loss thresholds control the magnitude of perceptual, metabolic, and neuromuscular responses to resistance training. For practitioners wanting to reliably prescribe training that can induce a given perceptual, metabolic, or neuromuscular response, it is strongly advised that velocity-based thresholds are implemented.     

Environmental education in television narratives: a Brazilian case study

Abstract

This article discusses recent Brazilian research on the relationship between environmental education and cultural studies. Television narratives about the environment and/or sustainability in our everyday lives are used to pose some initial questions about this relation. First, culture is discussed briefly showing how it potentially relates to teaching and informs our role as environmental educators. We argue that culturalist perspectives on research in environmental education politicise teaching practices, even though they are in a context that strays from prerogatives that envisage a future world marked by sustainable development and a green economy. We investigate the impacts of television narratives and images on our everyday lives wherein we are consistently taught particular written and visual messages about how to plan for our future. Examples are draw from the teaching effects of a Brazilian television programme called Repórter Eco, broadcast on a public television network, including the sustainable management of the baru (a typical tree from the Brazilia Cerrado). We argue the educational aspects of television programmes should receive critique, as the relationships established between people and various media artifacts produce particular meanings and ways of seeing the world. This presents a challenge for teachers as examining these subjective ways carefully requires critical examination, not only in terms of education for sustainability or environmental preservation, but also teaching using media.     

Factors Associated with Behavioral Competence at School Among Young Boys from Multi-Problem Low-Income Families

Factors associated with school behavioral competence at 72 months were investigated in a sample of at-risk boys followed longitudinally from 18 months. Boys were at risk for developing behavior problems due to early exposure to sociodemographic and family-environmental stressors associated with low-income urban living. Research findings: Of child protective factors investigated, main effects were found for intelligence, mother-reported emotionality and sociability, and observed likability in relation to teacher-reported behavior problems, and results were generally consistent across type of risk. In only one instance did the effect of a protective factor depend on the level of risk. Furthermore, a cumulative measure of protective factors was strongly predictive of child behavior problems and was a better predictor than cumulative risk measures. Observed infant emotionality, child physical attractiveness, and children's self-perceptions of being pro-social or aggressive and fearless were essentially unrelated to behavioral outcome. Mother-reported child emotionality mediated both the relation between mother-reported infant emotionality and teacher-reported internalizing problems, and the relation between observed likability and teacher-reported externalizing problems. Practice/Policy: Clinical implications concern improved identification accuracy of at-risk children who should be targeted for intervention, and forms that intervention should take.