Types of aggressive victims in bullying situations at secondary school / Tipos de víctimas agresivas en situaciones de bullying en Educación Secundaria

Abstract

The distinction between subtypes of passive and aggressive victims in studies of bullying has been a cornerstone of research in recent decades. However, some aspects of victimization still need further elaboration, such as the differentiation of subtypes of aggressive victims of bullying, the dynamics of the process of victimization, and the perceptions that participants have of their victimized classmates. The objective of this qualitative research is to distinguish between different types of aggressive victims, taking account of the testimonies of secondary school students. Focus groups and in-depth interviews have been conducted with 72 adolescents from the second, third and fourth years of Compulsory Secondary Education and the information has been analysed following the steps proposed by Grounded Theory; a systematic methodology involving the discovery of theory through the analysis of data. The results identify six types of aggressive victims: due to the accumulation of stress, provocative victims, victims through contagion, passive telltale victims, academically gifted victims protected by teachers, and finally, displaced aggression victims.     

Variables involved in personal, social and school adjustment in a sample of preschool-aged children from different cultural backgrounds

The continuing incorporation of immigrant populations into the Spanish educational system poses an important challenge in that all participants must cooperate toward creating the best possible adaptation process at the academic level as well as on the personal and social levels. A number of different factors appear to influence children’s adjustment during the preschool stage, and these factors are especially relevant since many studies have shown that this is a key period for the prevention of future difficulties. The present study examines the variables involved in the adaptation of a group of preschool-aged children from different cultural backgrounds in Spain. The results indicate that preschoolers, regardless of their background, have similar performance and learning potential, with language proficiency being the factor that most clearly affects the other variables investigated. It was also found that children’s attitudes toward learning were related to the presence of behavioral difficulties and with the quality and type of parental child-rearing practices. These practices appear to be related to a number of difficulties immigrant children may experience on personal and social levels.     

Do cross-sectional student assessment data make a reasonable proxy for longitudinal data?

Student performance data from a post-92 university in the United Kingdom showed that, for a substantial minority of programmes, there was a general dip in marks between Years 1 and 2. Longitudinal and cross-sectional data were analysed in order to ascertain whether the latter (with its advantage of a more rapid production of results) would make an adequate proxy for the former: the analyses suggest that it can do. The article discusses a number of factors that have to be borne in mind, particularly if cross-sectional analyses are undertaken.     

Attitudes towards Physics

Unlike in many other countries, physics in secondary education in Scotland is highly popular, with large numbers opting for study at the Higher Grade from which entry to higher education is possible. This paper reports a project which explored attitudes towards physics in Scotland, looking at students aged from about 10 to 20 years old. Overall, over 850 school pupils were surveyed along with 208 level 1 and 2 university physics students. The work was carried out mainly by use of questionnaires and interviewing. The approach allowed the development of 'snap shots' of attitudes held by pupils simultaneously at various stages of education. These attitudes can be compared at the different stages, although care must be taken in such comparison to allow for varying degrees of self-selection. The main factors attracting school pupils into a study of physics are described, together with the pattern of attitude changes which take place with age. From the picture obtained, it is possible to determine areas of the curriculum where there are difficulties. The enormous success of the applications-led course for Standard Grade is apparent in attracting and retaining pupils within physics, including girls. The outcomes suggest some ways by which physics curriculum planners can develop courses in physics which will prove attractive and robust.     

Looking back into trans persons’ experiences in heteronormative secondary physical education contexts

Background: School is one of the primary settings where non-gender conformer children and adolescents emerge as vulnerable groups at high risk of suffering violence and harassment. Within schooling contexts, embodied experiences in physical education (PE) may become particularly problematic for trans students. However, there is little research focusing on trans persons’s experiences in PE. The purpose of this paper is to gather memories and impressions of a group of adult trans persons on their experiences in secondary PE.

Theoretical framework: The concept of heteronormativity is used as a theoretical framework to provide insights and understanding to trans persons’s experiences in PE. It is used to characterize inequalities and hierarchies derived from the intersection of the dualistic logic of gender binarism with other social categories and ideologies. Heteronormative discourses also act regulating the way of looking at and over trans persons’ bodies, categorizing some of them as queer or abject.

Participants and methodology: Study is based on semi-structured interviews to nine participants (five trans women and four trans men) from 23 to 62 years of age. A thematic analysis was carried out in order to flexibly and directly identify interpretative patterns of meaning within data, as well as to open them to interpretative frameworks. The categories were grouped into four themes best gathering the experiences of participants in PE.

Results and discussion: (1) Hindering desired gender: In daily practices, participants felt in ‘the middle’ of activities, spaces and gender groups, experiencing aloofness, isolation and loneliness. Participants complained about the fact that they could not perform gender segregated activities with their desired gender group. PE teachers played an important role in supporting heteronormative system. (2) Preferences, aversions and opportunities: All participants experienced hegemonic forms of gender and sexuality linked to PE programme activities in different ways. For most trans boys, sport-based PE was their favourite subject, while trans girls found it particularly negative and demotivating. Exceptionally, some aesthetic and dance activities were recalled as nearly non-heterosexual practices. (3) Confronting transgression. Situations of stigmatization and bullying in PE were frequent as a result from situations in which gender norms were eventually transgressed. Teachers impeded any attempt of trans persons to overcome heteronormativity in PE lessons. (4) Intimacy struggles: Body intimacy was crucial for participants. Different strategies were used for the search of intimacy. Changing rooms were the most problematic spaces for trans students in educative contexts. The worse trans participants felt about their bodies, the more uneasy they felt in these facilities.

Conclusions and final comments: Heteronormative contexts strongly determined trans persons’ experiences in PE. Trans participants, especially those not performing gender conforming practices, were abjectified in PE lessons. This situation generated multiple forms of exclusion and rejection, as well as episodes of harassment. However, some practices counteracted the dominance of the heteronormative system, showing their potential to destabilize this ideology in PE.     

ENGINEERING IN CHILDREN’S FICTION - NOT A GOOD STORY?

Responding to concerns that engineering is a poorly understood occupation and that young people are exposed to stereotyped images of scientists and engineers at an early age, this investigation sought to identify how science and engineering is portrayed in contemporary junior fiction (ages 8–12) and to what extent. An examination of 4,800 junior fiction titles in one region in New South Wales, Australia, identified as few as 71 titles that addressed themes related to engineering and the sciences. While the crazy, nerdy, scientific stereotype exists in these stories, mostly in humorous vein, we found that fictional characters were split between the nerdy, eccentric, and the more serious and professional types who were depicted as more popular. The emphasis was on male characters, but not exclusively so. There were limited details that could be associated with engineering. Where building, making, and working with machines featured, they were depicted as male activity and primarily connected to vehicles, mostly cars. We concluded that while young people, particularly girls, were unlikely to gain accurate or compelling images about engineering as an occupation from this source at present, as a medium for informing the young and their parents, the potential of fiction was considerable.     

CAVEman: Standardized anatomical context for biomedical data mapping

The authors have created a software system called the CAVEman, for the visual integration and exploration of heterogeneous anatomical and biomedical data. The CAVEman can be applied for both education and research tasks. The main component of the system is a three‐dimensional digital atlas of the adult male human anatomy, structured according to the nomenclature of Terminologia Anatomica. The underlying data‐indexing mechanism uses standard ontologies to map a range of biomedical data types onto the atlas. The CAVEman system is now used to visualize genetic processes in the context of the human anatomy and to facilitate visual exploration of the data. Through the use of Java? software, the atlas‐based system is portable to virtually any computer environment, including personal computers and workstations. Existing Java tools for biomedical data analysis have been incorporated into the system. The affordability of virtual‐reality installations has increased dramatically over the last several years. This creates new opportunities for educational scenarios that model important processes in a patient's body, including gene expression patterns, metabolic activity, the effects of interventions such as drug treatments, and eventually surgical simulations. Anat Sci Ed 1:10–18, 2008. © 2007 American Association of Anatomists.     

How has Mexican faculty been trained? A national perspective and a case study

This article depicts how faculty members at Mexican higher education institutions have been prepared in order to assume their professional responsibilities. It relies on three elements: First, a secondary analysis of a national faculty survey composed of 3,861 faculty members from 65 institutions; second, 34 interviews conducted in eight higher education institutions; third, a primary analysis of an institution faculty survey in a public autonomous university. Results are presented regarding the following issues: first, the central traits of anticipatory or formative in-site faculty socialization; second, the changes in the highest degree faculty obtained at entry into academic life as compared to the obtained degree at the time of the survey; third, the formative time patterns during faculty’s higher education training, fourth, the conditions of study under which faculty members obtained their graduate degrees; and fifth, the academic inbreeding phenomenon.     

Emerging Trends in Mathematics Education for People with Down Syndrome: Current Research and Future Directions

ABSTRACT

In September 2017, a group of researchers met for the first conference devoted to the singular purpose of exploring a neglected field – the learning of mathematics by individuals with Down syndrome. This special issue is a result of that first meeting and identifies three emerging trends in the mathematics education of learners with Down syndrome: the goals, content, and pedagogy. Education is central to the goal of improving an individual’s quality of life and only recently has the impact of mathematics been fully comprehended. Many researchers continue to explore the development of the concept of number and there is still much to learn. As a new development, we see that interest is now expanding to explore other areas of mathematics. We still have a long way to go to understand how best to open the doors of mathematics to all learners with Down syndrome. We conclude by offering six areas requiring immediate future research in the field of mathematics and Down syndrome.