Ecological rationality in teachers' conceptions of assessment across samples from Cyprus and New Zealand

Teacher conceptions of assessment are influential mediators of how assessment policy initiatives are implemented in schools. Four hierarchical, intercorrelated factors (i.e., assessment for improvement, school accountability, and student accountability, and assessment as irrelevant) of how teachers' conceive of assessment have been reported. However, most studies have been conducted only in English in jurisdictions with policies of low-stakes testing. This paper extends the research by surveying 249 Greek-Cypriot teachers with a Greek translation of the Teachers' Conceptions of Assessment inventory. Cyprus has a relatively low-stakes assessment policy during the compulsory school years, suggesting, under the assumption of ecological rationality, that conceptions would be similar to previous English-language studies. Exploratory factor analysis of the Cyprus data led to a five-factor solution with 24 items within two inversely correlated second-order factors (i.e., assessment is positive and negative; r = −0.49). A multigroup nested invariance confirmatory factor analysis found statistical invariance between the Cyprus and the New Zealand data. Mean score differences were small for two improvement-oriented conceptions, moderate for assessment that is bad, and large for school accountability and ignoring assessment factors. Similarities and differences in conceptions appear to reflect commonalities and discrepancies in educational system policies and practices.     

Effect of body composition on redox homeostasis at rest and in response to exercise: The case of underfat women

Underfat individuals have been neglected as a malnourished population in terms of redox homeostasis. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect of body composition on redox homeostasis at rest and in response to exercise. Underfat, lean and overfat women, classified according to their BMI and body fat percentage, participated in the study and were subjected to an acute session of eccentric exercise. With regard to muscle function and damage, a significant group × time interaction was found for range of motion (P < .01), isometric peak torque at 90° (P < .01), delayed onset muscle soreness (P < .01) and creatine kinase (P < .05), with the lean group generally exhibiting faster recovery compared to the underfat and overfat groups. With regard to redox homeostasis, a significant group × time interaction was found for F₂-isoprostanes, protein carbonyls and glutathione (P < .01 for all biomarkers), with the underfat and overfat groups exhibiting increased resting oxidative stress levels and lower exercise-induced reactive species production . In conclusively, our data underline the importance of normal body composition for redox homeostasis, since underfat and overfat women demonstrate a similar pattern of redox disturbances both at rest and in response to exercise.     

Validity considerations ensuing from examinees’ perceptions about high-stakes national examinations in Cyprus

Student examinees are key stakeholders in large-scale, high-stakes, public examination systems. How they perceive the purpose, comprehend the technical characteristics of testing and how they interpret scores influence their response to the system demands and their preparation for the examinations; this information relates to intended and unintended consequences of testing and is a component of an expanded notion of test validity. The research reported in this paper investigates examinees’ perceptions about the secondary school graduation and university-entrance national exams in Cyprus. Interviews with recent examinees reveal the versatility and complexity of their perceptions about the fairness and appropriateness of the system, which are influenced by design features of the exams and by the local context. There are important, mostly unintended, consequences on their in- and out-of-school experience, on school curricula and on instructional practices. Empirical evidence about consequential aspects of examinations contributes to the validity argument needed to support such programmes.     

Rationality, Information Search and Choice in Higher Education: Evidence from Greece

The paper presents the findings of a study of the decision-making process which precedes the choice of a university in Greece. Specifically, the degree of rationality exhibited by prospective students is assessed in an attempt to provide a test for the economic approach to the explanation of human behaviour. Information search is used as an indication of rationality and measured through a survey conducted among 220 university students in the academic year 2003/2004. The findings provide weak support for the rationality postulate in that they indicate that more than 40% of respondents could not be classified as information seekers. Logistic regression analysis was used in order to identify characteristics associated with the propensity to engage in information search: high socioeconomic status students, students who perceived the decision as important, and students who had acquired information prior to the choice of a university were found to be more likely to engage in information search. The paper draws attention to the limitations of the economic rational man model of human behaviour and discusses the implications of the findings for the promotional strategy of universities.     

Influences on the intention to enter higher education: the importance of expected returns

Research points to several determinants of the private demand for higher education, which include individual, social, economic, and institutional variables. Of these variables, economic factors are considered to be highly relevant, especially in the current financial crisis. The paper investigates the link between expected rates of return to higher education and the intention of secondary education graduates to pursue university studies. The effect of additional variables influencing the choice of higher education (ability, gender, socioeconomic status [SES], type of secondary school, area of residence) is also examined. The findings show a significant link between the perceived rates of return and the intention of secondary school graduates to enter tertiary education. With the exception of residence, all independent variables are strong determinants of the intention to enter higher education. The paper also points to the considerable effect of the financial crisis on students’ expectations in that respondents reported lower perceived rates of return compared to previous estimates in the same country. The implications of the findings for higher education policy are discussed.     

School-based sports development and the role of NSOs as ‘boundary spanners’: benefits,disbenefits and unintended consequences of the Sporting Schools policy initiative

The focus of this paper is on Sporting Schools, a $100 million policy initiative intended to increase children’s sport participation in Australia. Our account seeks to proffer a critical analysis of this federal policy, and the way it functions as part of the new heterarchical or networked form of sports governance in Australia. Using a network ethnography methodology, we analyse Sporting Schools from the perspective of National Sporting Organisations (NSOs), who have the key responsibility for enacting this policy. Using their perceptions, we reflect on their role as policy ‘boundary spanners’ and outline the complexities they face in creating ‘win-win’ scenarios so that schools, students, government and NSOs themselves all benefit from the Sporting Schools initiative. We argue that NSOs have to balance benefits and disbenefits and face tension between their desire for tight quality control of their school-based sports programmes and the need to have a cost-effective funding model for maximum exposure to schools and students. In conclusion, we reflect on the unintended consequences of enacting the policy in its current form, including issues of teaching and coaching expertise, the potential displacement of the educative value of PE in favour of school sport, and the opening of this public policy space to commercial providers on a for-profit basis.     

Youth sport policy: the enactment and possibilities of ‘soft policy’ in schools

Youth sport policies are increasingly driven by health concerns and social issues, and focus on broad participation outcomes. Given the significant financial investment in, and critique of, such policies internationally, this study aimed to examine the implementation of Sporting Schools (SS), a $100 million programme intended to increase children’s sport participation in Australia. In addressing the limited research in this area in the Australian context, we draw on the notion of policy as process [Penney & Evans, 2005 Policy, power and politics in physical education. In K. Green, & K. Hardman (Eds.), Physical education: Essential issues (pp. 21–38). London: SAGE] and Fullan's [Fullan (2015) The new meaning of educational change (5th ed.). New York, NY: Teachers College Press] work on educational change. This analysis employed a qualitative methodology. Data collection included interviews with 32 sporting organisation (SO) representatives, coaches, and teachers involved in the implementation of SS. Data were analysed using a combination of inductive and deductive approaches, and the trustworthiness of the findings was supported using several strategies. Findings indicated divergent understandings of the need for the SS programme by stakeholders, as well as a lack of clarity of the policy aims and the means for realising them. There was little indication that SOs, coaches and teachers were engaged in a meaningful, working relationship to accomplish the reform objectives of SS; however, each saw benefit in the programme. Youth sport policy implementation in schools is a complex process. The dynamic interplay among the various factors influencing such policies makes realising their stated intentions nigh on impossible. While working to enhance the enactment of SS as intended is important, we propose that youth sport policies written for enactment in schools need to be viewed as ‘soft policies’. The simplicity and limited accountability associated with ‘soft policies’ can be viewed as an opportunity to recognise the expertise of those who work, learn and move in schools, and trust them to use resources effectively and reconcile tensions based on their unique knowledge of their local school contexts.     

Learning to be researchers in physical education and sport pedagogy: the perspectives of doctoral students and early career researchers

Numerous academics have argued that if a field is to progress, attention needs to be paid to how future generations of researchers are being prepared. To date, data generated on research training in physical education and sport pedagogy (PESP) have primarily focused on students undertaking doctoral programmes with a formal coursework component, which is the model predominantly used in the USA. The traditional master-apprentice model is still, however, the dominant model in many countries, including Australia, and there is a dearth of research on this model of research preparation. Hence, this study was an effort to capture the perspectives and experiences of doctoral students (DSs) and early career researchers (ECRs) who are/were engaged in programmes employing the apprentice model of training. The question we sought to examine was ‘what do PESP doctoral students and early career researchers perceive as the facilitators and challenges associated with learning to be researchers?’. The participants in this study included eight DSs and seven ECRs who were based in Australian and New Zealand institutions. Data were generated through a questionnaire that sought to identify participants’ various research training experiences, a workshop that brought participants together to discuss their research training, and follow-up individual semi-structured interviews. While much of the data generated through this study related to the importance of developing such generic research skills as writing, grant writing and presenting at conferences, participants also discussed PESP-specific skills and dispositions, including particular orientations towards research impact, and the development of research culture. Findings are discussed in reference to the neoliberalisation of education and questions are raised about the forms of research training developing researchers in PESP might need if they are to thrive as researchers within and beyond the field.