Activity-related typologies and longitudinal change in physical activity and sedentary time in children and adolescents: The UP&DOWN Study

Background: Children and adolescents can be distinguished by different typologies (clusters) of physical activity and sedentary behavior. How physical activity ...     

Social engagement and regional theatre: patterns of theatre attendance

This paper assesses the degree to which a typical regional theatre engages with society. It uses postcodes from theatre booking data and compares the socioecenomic profiles of these postcodes with postcodes from which no theatregoers are drawn. A re-working of recent theories of class provides a conceptual context, whilst discriminant analysis is used to identify the socioecenomic factors of postcodes associated with theatre and non-theatre attendance. Education factors were the principal determinants of attendance, with occupational categories being important, but lower socioecenomic groups were less likely to engage with theatre. However, social engagement and factors determining attendance varied by type of show: comedy, drama, family and Shakespearian productions.     

New concepts in reassessing mining heritage: A study and its implications from the Ancient Iron Mine of Llumeres (North Spain)

The possibility of giving a continuing value to an abandoned historic mine is not only of academic interest but can be a crucial economic and heritage issue for regions with long mining traditions but which are now severely affected by mine closures. This article suggests a different perspective on the rationale for studying, preserving and developing our mining heritage as an educational facility. To illustrate the case, the ancient iron mine of Llumeres, in the Asturias region, in North Spain, is presented as an example. A key point of our thesis is that a closed mine is not a ‘dead entity’ but simply in transition to another useful state and that after the closure, another organism arises, with very different appearance and vital signs. We suggest that this new organism be recognised for its high patrimonial value and that this heritage value be preserved. Accepting this point of view would mean an increase in efforts to identify and appropriately manage these vital signs. We propose that the particular mining-related aspects (which are usually viewed as negative, such as subsidence or groundwater modification), be considered as part of the heritage of the mining activity, considered in the widest sense. To facilitate understanding, these are discussed in comparison to those for a prehistoric cave, for which there is a broader experience and solid knowledge and recognition of heritage value. We have also analyzed the importance of recognising the geometric and functional relationships between the underground workings and the superficial signatures, in defining an extended patrimonial entity, which has been recently presented to the cultural and political authorities. For the case of the iron mine of Llumeres, we explain the methodology required to analyze and classify the documents in order to investigate and reconstruct the 3D geometric structure of the mine and how this can be integrated into a Geographical Information System (GIS) to improve management and editing of the information. Additionally, the historic mining technological methods employed in the underground workings of Llumeres have been studied and all the information integrated into a 3D visualization package and made available as a free 3D video sample of the subsurface information. In summary, this work represents a major step forward in improving our knowledge of the ancient iron mine of Llumeres and, as a consequence, it has been possible, for the first time, to consider the underground mining heritage in the framework of the better known (but as yet unrecognised) overground heritage. This new patrimonial entity offers enhanced possibilities for acceptance and recognition in a societal context and to aid that acceptance, we propose a radical conceptual change of perspective, pointing out new elements requiring research.     

Adequate Policies and Unintended Effects in Spanish Higher Education

Recent developments in Spanish higher education have been very positive.Universities have become autonomous and are more in tune to regionalneeds, their internal structure has become flexible, the whole systemhas become open and accessible, funds have been poured into the system as never before and market forces have started to play a relevant role.Nevertheless, some perverse effects have begun to emerge. We will focus on some of these negative aspects that deserve deeper consideration: the inadequate adaptation to a mass higher education system, and the negativeconsequences of the collegial model for governing universities and ofregionalization.     

Learning Environment Perceptions of European University Students

This article describes a study of the experiences of 610 Dutch students and 241 European students who studied at least three months abroad within the framework of an international exchange program. The Dutch students went to a university in another European country and the foreign students went to a Dutch university. Using a new questionnaire called the Inventory of Perceived Study Environment (IPSE), students, perceptions of eight characteristics of the university learning environment were measured concerning the home university, the host university and the ideal learning environment. With this instrument, the learning environment can be described in terms analogous to the learning strategies performed. Large differences were found between the different countries in university learning environments, but students from different countries had strikingly similar opinions concerning their desired learning environment. There was a strong preference for activating instruction with a low threshold in teacher-student interaction and more room for student alternatives.     

Group work in schools with close friends and acquaintances: Linking self-processes with group processes

The present study investigated the relationships between key self-processes, namely independent vs. interdependent self-construal and self-efficacy, with students' attitudes toward working in groups comprised friends and groups comprised acquaintances. The sample consisted of 563 students (280 of Year 10 and 283 of Year 11). Data were collected using questionnaires and analysed using confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling. Interdependent self-construal was found to be both directly and indirectly predictive of students' attitudes toward cooperating with their friends and acquaintances. There was evidence to suggest a “flow on” effect from being self-efficacious for working with friends to being self-efficacious for working with acquaintances.     

Should we abolish the schooling of children?

In this same sectionProspects published in its previous issue (Autumn 1972) an extract of a working document presented at a conference held in Bellagio last May on education and development under the sponsorship of the Ford and Rockefeller Foundations.It is obvious that the article in question does not reflect, either in its spirit or its contents, the position of Unesco.Our purpose in publishing it was to stimulate a dialogue about such problems among our readers.The following constitutes a contribution to this dialogue, which we hope will be established in this section among educators and other people interested in educational problems.