Associations between prolonged sedentary time and breaks in sedentary time with cardiometabolic risk in 10–14-year-old children: The HAPPY study

This study examines the association between prolonged sedentary time and breaks in sedentary time with cardiometabolic risk in 10–14-year-old children. This cross-sectional design study analysed accelerometry-determined sedentary behaviour and physical activity collected over 7 days from 111 (66 girls) UK schoolchildren. Objective outcome measures included waist circumference, fasting lipids, fasting glucose, blood pressure, and cardiorespiratory fitness. Logistic regression was used for the main data analysis. After adjustment for confounders, the odds of having hypertriglyceridaemia (P = 0.03) and an increased clustered cardiometabolic risk score (P = 0.05) were significantly higher in children who engaged in more prolonged sedentary bouts per day. The number of breaks in sedentary time per day was not associated with any cardiometabolic risk factor, but longer mean duration of daily breaks in sedentary time were associated with a lower odds of having abdominal adiposity (P = 0.04) and elevated diastolic blood pressure (P = 0.01). These associations may be mediated by engagement in light activity. This study provides evidence that avoiding periods of prolonged uninterrupted sedentary time may be important for reducing cardiometabolic disease risk in children.     

Football,sport and the development of young people’s life skills

The development of life skills has been associated with participation in sport, football and other physical activities. A factor in enabling this ambition to be realized is the actions and behaviours of sports coaches. Drawing on the concept of positive youth development through sport, the first part of this paper considers the types of environments coaches need to create in order for players to develop life skills. The second part of this paper discusses formal coach education and its role in developing coaches’ knowledge of life skills development. The third and final section of this paper offers an alternative explanation of how people’s exposure to certain social contexts results in the development of life skills. A review of literature in these areas reveals that the role sport and football has played in players’ development of life skills is unclear and in need of future research attention.     

An integrative review of in-class activities that enable active learning in college science classroom settings

ABSTRACT

Engaging students in active learning is linked to positive learning outcomes. This study aims to synthesise the peer-reviewed literature about ‘active learning’ in college science classroom settings. Using the methodology of an integrative literature review, 337 articles archived in the Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC) are examined. Four categories of in-class activities emerge: (i) individual non-polling activities, (ii) in-class polling activities, (iii) whole-class discussion or activities, and (iv) in-class group activities. Examining the collection of identified in-class activities through the lens of a theoretical framework informed by constructivism and social interdependence theory, we synthesise the reviewed literature to propose the active learning strategies (ALSs) model and the instructional decisions to enable active learning (IDEAL) theory. The ALS model characterises in-class activities in terms of the degrees to which they are designed to promote (i) peer interaction and (ii) social interdependence. The IDEAL theory includes the ALS model and provides a framework for conceptualising different levels of the general concept ‘active learning’ and how these levels connect to instructional decision-making about using in-class activities. The proposed ALS model and IDEAL theory can be utilised to inform instructional decision-making and future research about active learning in college science courses.     

A Review of the Research: Common Core State Standards for Improving Rural Children’s School Readiness

Although a plethora of research focuses on economically at-risk preschool children in general across the United States, little can be found that investigates methods for improving rural children’s academic outcomes. This review of research is intended to provide a contextual understanding of the background and current conditions that exist for rural preschool children and their families in America, and to recommend strategies for improving adverse cognition and learning conditions, including a lack of early literacy skills, and low high school completion rates that frequently are found in this population, utilizing the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) as a framework. Attention will be given to demographics, academic performance and scientifically-based practices proven to impact both teaching and learning for rural preschool children, particularly those from minority households, incorporating the newly developed CCSS. A comparison will be made between rural white and African American children’s learning and cognition, highlighting significant disparities for African American students, despite the fact that they make up less than 10 % of all rural preschool children. For the scope of this study, rural communities will be defined as those with varying qualities situated outside of metropolitan areas. Results from this study reveal the conditions for rural preschool children, especially those from African American families with low-income levels. Findings indicate that providing training for teachers, administrators and families linked to rural schools; and infusing CCSS into the rural preschool curricula significantly improves school readiness, and decreases dropout rates.     

Cross-cultural perceptions of assessment of selected international science teachers in American high schools

International high school science teachers are crossing international and cultural borders to teach, raising important issues in education. In this article, we describe the cross-cultural assessment challenges that four international science teachers encountered when they migrated to teach in the United States. These included differences in grade expectations for a given quality of work, the weight given to final examinations, the assessment process, and cut-off scores for letter grades. To become proficient in their new teaching contexts, the participating teachers had to modify (or hybridize) their assessment philosophies and practices in order to conform to the expectations of their new schools. This hybridization process ushered them into what is proposed as the pedagogical imaginary; a transitional space between the “purity” of their native educational conventions and that of their American schools. The implications of these findings are discussed in hopes of improving high school science teaching experiences for international science teachers.     

Ethics and paediatric exercise science: issues and making a submission to a local ethics and research committee.

Research with children presents issues beyond those normally encountered in adult exercise science research. This paper explores the specific ethical issues that are encountered when conducting paediatric research in the exercise sciences. We identify the historical, moral and philosophical underpinnings of ethical conduct. The issue of consent and children's ability to provide informed consent is discussed, as is the nature of therapeutic and non-therapeutic research. Finally, we examine the information that is required by a local ethics and research committee and provide guidance material to help in the formulation of an application to such a committee.