Season-long increases in perceived muscle soreness in professional rugby league players: role of player position,match characteristics and playing surface

Rugby League (RL) is a high-impact collision sport characterised by repeated sprints and numerous high-speed impacts and consequently players often report immediate and prolonged muscle soreness in the days after a match. We examined muscle soreness after matches during a full season to understand the extent to which match characteristics influence soreness. Thirty-one elite Super League players provided daily measures of muscle soreness after each of the 26 competitive fixtures of the 2012 season. Playing position, phase of the season, playing surface and match characteristics were recorded from each match. Muscle soreness peaked at day 1 and was still apparent at day 4 post-game with no attenuation in the magnitude of muscle soreness over the course of the season. Neither playing position, phase of season or playing surface had any effects on the extent of muscle soreness. Playing time and total number of collisions were significantly correlated with higher ratings of muscle soreness, especially in the forwards. These data indicate the absence “contact adaptations” in elite rugby players with soreness present throughout the entire season. Strategies must now be implemented to deal with the physical and psychological consequences of prolonged feeling of pain.     

Constructivism as a framework for literacy teacher education courses: the cases of six literacy teacher educators

This paper presents findings from the large-scale study Literacy Teacher Educators: Their Backgrounds, Visions, and Practices that includes 28 literacy/English teacher educators (LTEs) from four countries. The participants were interviewed three times and shared their course outlines. Six pre-service LTEs who use a constructivist approach are presented. The six LTEs speak English as their mother tongue. Three aspects of constructivism are discussed: knowledge is constructed by learners; knowledge is experience based; and a strong class community is essential. They have adopted a constructivist approach because they conceptualised the teaching/learning process as a partnership. Constructivism is a flexible and fluid framework so individual LTEs can shape their work for their context and draw on their strengths; however, it is demanding because courses have to be somewhat organic in order to create space for discussion of issues as they arise.     

Nostalgia for a beating: discipline,generational authority and corporal punishment at a Soweto High School,c.1960–2000

This paper focuses on the now-discarded practice of corporal punishment at Morris Isaacson High School, an important public school in Soweto. Corporal punishment, widely accepted by both students and parents, was central to the disciplinary regime of the school during the 1960s and 1970s. ‘Morris’ was one of the very few high schools in Soweto to remain open and functional during the turbulent 1980s; some argue that it was the rigid discipline that allowed the school to survive in a context of generational upheaval. During the late 1980s and early 1990s pressure mounted on the educational authorities to abolish corporal punishment until it was eventually outlawed under the new constitution in 1996. Though many saw this an important victory for human dignity, there remains a very popular nostalgic narrative that blames the abolition of corporal punishment for the collapse of school discipline in the democratic era.     

Ethical Considerations of Quality in Higher Education

In a paper presented at last year's conference, the author argued that there were at least six definitions implied in contemporary discussions of quality in higher education. The paper suggested that, by accepting quality as a measure of expectation, it was possible to place quality issues at the heart of the formulation of corporate strategy for institutions of higher education. It also argued that the linking of quality with funding mechanisms would be a procedure fraught with both conceptual and practical difficulties. In this paper, it is argued that the current position in the UK, with regard to quality issues, is demonstrating the predicted conceptual confusion and is generating practical consequences which can be catastrophic for the future of the higher education sector. It is proposed that this situation has its roots in a disregard of the ethical considerations involved in the determination of the appropriate concept of quality and its implementation in both national strategy and corporate policy. There are many approaches to the problems of ethics, but for these purposes the simple distinction between the ‘Guardian’ and ‘Trader’ syndromes is sufficient. The former identifies those ethical standards which are appropriate to protective, governmental behaviour whilst the latter concerns standards of behaviour in commerce. Whilst there are common elements, there are also codes of behaviour within each syndrome which are irreconcilable. The paper argues that the proper understanding of quality issues in higher education must be related to the choice of ethical standard, whilst the confusion which currently exists is caused by a reluctance to face up to that choice. It is clear that quality issues can never be ‘value free’: what is less evident is that quality can never be ‘amoral’.     

Principals and student outcomes: Evidence from U.S. high schools

This paper presents an empirical analysis of the effects of principals on public high school students' academic achievement, using High School and Beyond. Despite policy relevance, previous qualitative and quantitative research provides little systematic evidence on principal effects, at least for high schools. Principal characteristics and variables designed to capture less tangible aspects of the principal's role are included in educational production functions. The results suggest principals do have a measurable impact on student achievement, through the selection of teachers and setting of academically oriented school goals.