Effects of Proximity on the Choice to Be Physically Active or Sedentary

The link between physical activity and weight loss has precipitated interest in interventions to foster adherence to exercise. It has been suggested that treatment effects, when significant, should be analyzed to determine theory-based mediators. This research assessed possible mediation of changes in Physical Self-Concept, Exercise Self-Efficacy, Total Mood Disturbance, and Body Areas Satisfaction scores on the relationship between exercise session attendance and participation by obese women in a 6-month treatment based on tenets of social cognitive theory (n = 73) or a control condition (n = 64). Participation in the treatment was associated with significantly greater exercise session attendance and significantly greater improvements in Physical Self-Concept, Exercise Barriers Self-Efficacy, and Body Areas Satisfaction. Overall, changes in the assessed psychological factors demonstrated significant mediation of the association between group membership and exercise session attendance, R² = .23, with only change in Physical Self-Concept scores providing a significant unique contribution. Extensions of this research across different sample types, and with longer durations, were suggested to refine theory and, ultimately, improve exercise adherence treatments.     

Task of the teaching life: Self through bakhtinian dialogue and ideological engagement

This article describes Mikhail Bakhtin’s 20^th century work on dialogue as it may serve one engaged in the teaching as a vocation and existential pursuit rather than as a job or profession. Dialogue, as theorized by Bakhtin, within the pedagogical real, potentially becomes a mod of being through which the individual engages in the project of selfhood, a task basic to the human enterprise. For Bakhtin, dialogue was in part a structure within and through which we come to consciousness and give flesh and meaning to our existence. According to Bakhtin, the structure of self is dialogical and unfinalizable, meaning that each individual comes to consciousness through dialogue with some other. From a Bakhtinian perspective, the, selfhood as a dialogical formation constitutes a fundamental relation by which we much participate without end, making dialogue an unavoidable social activity immersed in language.     

Analytic Frameworks for Assessing Dialogic Argumentation in Online Learning Environments

Over the last decade, researchers have developed sophisticated online learning environments to support students engaging in dialogic argumentation. This review examines five categories of analytic frameworks for measuring participant interactions within these environments focusing on (1) formal argumentation structure, (2) conceptual quality, (3) nature and function of contributions within the dialogue, (4) epistemic nature of reasoning, and (5) argumentation sequences and interaction patterns. Ultimately, the review underscores the diversity of theoretical perspectives represented within this research, the nature of dialogic interaction within these environments, the importance of clearly specifying theoretical and environmental commitments throughout the process of developing or adopting an analytic framework, and the role of analytic frameworks in the future development of online learning environments for argumentation.

School Effects in Scottish Secondary Schools

The present paper examines whether there is significant variation in schooling outcomes between Scottish secondary schools, and if so, how much is associated with pupil intake, and how much is associated with the schools they attend. It also examines whether schools vary in their effectiveness for different types of pupils, and whether schools tend to be superior, or inferior, across three different outcome measures. The study employed a subsample of data from the 1977 Scottish School Leavers Survey on over 700 pupils from 15 schools in one administrative division. These data were linked to data on the verbal reasoning quotients of the pupils, derived from a test administered to them before they entered secondary school. For each of the 15 schools we estimated the expected scores on measures of English, arithmetic and overall attainment for pupils with below average, average, and above average ability, controlling for pupils’ verbal ability, gender, prestige of father's occupation, mother's education, and number of siblings. The study shows there was wide variation in schooling outcomes between secondary schools in the division, even after controlling for family background characteristics and pupil ability prior to entering secondary school. There were few schools that were particularly effective for low ability pupils, but not high ability pupils and vice versa. Schools tended to be effective, or ineffective, across all three outcome measures.     

The Development of Chemical Language Usage by “Non-traditional” Students: the Interlanguage Analogy

Research in Science Education - Students commonly find specialist scientific language problematic. This study investigated developments in chemical language usage by six non-traditional students...     

Becoming Fathers: Initial Exploration of a Support Program for New Fathers

Emerging fathers experience a variety of stressors, including identity and role transitions, changes in their relationships, and challenges in developing caregiving skills. Increasing expectations for father involvement in childcare are emphasizing the importance of the father role, but social supports for new fathers remain scarce. Nineteen expectant and new fathers participated in a pilot 5-week group intervention aimed at improving stress coping and involvement attitudes using a combination of mindfulness practices and skill-building for parenting and partner communication. We administered surveys pre- and postintervention to assess efficacy in the areas of stress, depressive symptoms, father involvement attitudes, and mindfulness. Within-participant differences were compared across participants as well as examining individual reliable change. Results indicated initial reductions in stress and depressive symptoms and increases in the mindfulness constructs of nonjudgment and nonreactivity. No significant changes were found in father involvement attitudes. Perinatal intervention specific to fathers holds promise as an underexplored avenue for supporting families across the transition to parenthood.     

From Science Studies to Scientific Literacy: A View from the Classroom

The prospective virtues of using history and philosophy of science in science teaching have been pronounced for decades. Recently, a role for nature of science in supporting scientific literacy has become widely institutionalized in curriculum standards internationally. This short review addresses these current needs, highlighting the concrete views of teachers in the classroom, eschewing ideological ideals and abstract theory. A practical perspective highlights further the roles of history and philosophy—and of sociology, too—and even broadens their importance. It also indicates the relevance of a wide range of topics and work in Science Studies now generally absent from science educational discourse. An extensive reference list is provided.     

Stress Reactivity and Self-Recognition

This study examined longitudinally whether early differences in reactivity to stress are related to self-recognition at 18 months of age. Adrenocortical and behavioral to Stress responses to routine inoculation at 2, and 4 months and at 6 and 18 months were obtained. Previous finding indicated a development shift in adrenocortical functioning by 6 months of age that included the emergence of stable individual differences in cortisol response from this point in development. Self-recognition was related to greater cortisol response and less rapid quieting at 6 to 18 months, whereas 2- to 4-month cortisol and quieting response did not differentiate self-recognizers and non-self-recognizators. These findings indicate a role for temperament differences in facilitating the emergence of self-recognition.