A (Really Useful) Companion to the History of Science

Science & Education -     

Teaching Deductive Reasoning to Pre-service Teachers: Promises and Constraints

This paper broadly addresses the question of whether university students whose major does not require expertise in logic can improve their ability in deductive reasoning by taking an introductory course in logic. In particular, our study aims to evaluate a course in deductive logic offered by one of the authors in a department of elementary education. Two experiments were conducted by using a pretest-posttest design with an experimental and a control group as well as a follow-up test after 6 months on the experimental group. The results of the analyses showed that the course mainly succeeded in strengthening students’ general logical ability in the experimental group and these gains were retained 6 months later in the follow-up test. Promises and constraints of the study are discussed in the educational context. The names of the authors are listed alphabetically.     

Sport management student as producer: embedding critical management studies in sport through contemporary pedagogy

In recent years there has been growing interest over the role of major sport events and the sports industry. The aftermath of 2008 global crisis exposed the myth of ‘end of history’ and raised several questions over the role of management and organisational practices and theories in all aspects of human activity, including sport. This article reviews the emergence of critical management studies (CMS) as a field within management and organisational studies. We focus on critical performativity theory (CPT) as a key concept of re-configuring managerial practices. We add our voices to those asking for more critical output in sport management and point out the potential contribution of CMS in sport and especially of CPT. Finally, we propose ‘student as producer’ as a pedagogical framework to act as a possible basis for incorporating critical theories into higher education teaching. We argue that this framework can contribute significantly towards providing future graduates with the skills and knowledge to enable them to deal with the contemporary challenges of modern sport’s industry and wider society.     

Acute and chronic effects of foam rolling vs eccentric exercise on ROM and force output of the plantar flexors

Foam rolling and eccentric exercise interventions have been demonstrated to improve range of motion (ROM). However, these two modalities have not been directly compared. Twenty-three academy soccer players (age: 18 ± 1; height: 1.74 ± 0.08 m; body mass: 69.3 ± 7.5 kg) were randomly allocated to either a foam rolling (FR) or eccentric exercise intervention designed to improve dorsiflexion ROM. Participants performed the intervention daily for a duration of four weeks. Measurements of dorsiflexion ROM, isometric plantar flexion torque and drop jump reactive strength index were taken at baseline (pre-intervention) and at three subsequent time-points (30-min post, 24-hours post and 4-weeks post). A significant time x group interaction effect was observed for dorsiflexion (P = 0.036), but not for torque or reactive strength index. For dorsiflexion, there was a significant increase in both acute (30-min; P < 0.001) and chronic (4-week; P < 0.001) ROM for the eccentric group, whilst FR exhibited only an acute improvement (P < 0.001). Eccentric training would appear a more efficacious modality than foam rolling for improving dorsiflexion ROM in elite academy soccer players.     

Adaptation and Motivation of Greek Gifted Pupils: Exploring some influences of primary schooling

The main purpose of this study, on the theoretical framework proposed by Renzulli (1986) and by Van Boxtel and Monks (1992) and Monks, Van Boxtel, Roelefs and Saunders (1986), was to explore pupils' motivation and adaptation to school life in relation to the identification of giftedness. A pool of 1765 primary school pupils were initially tested for Visual-Motor Integration and Creative Thinking. Their teachers nominated 90 of them as gifted, who in turn were assessed in regard to their level of school adaptation and motivation by questionnaires based on Power and Cotterell (1979) and on Entwistle (1968). The comparison groups were five nominated pupils, verified as gifted, seven more nonnominated, but gifted (all 12 identified through psychometric and statistical criteria), and ten non-gifted but nominated pupils. The results indicated that the gifted pupils, depending on whether or not they are identified by their teachers, feel partially motivated and exhibit lower than the expected adaptation at school. The findings are discussed in the light of the current Greek school system.     

Science and Uncertainty

Science & Education -     

Overskilling dynamics and education pathways

This paper uses panel data and econometric methods to estimate the incidence and the dynamic properties of overskilling among employed individuals. The paper begins by asking whether there is extensive overskilling in the labour market, and whether overskilling differs by education pathway. The answer to both questions is yes. The paper continues by asking whether overskilling is a self-perpetuating labour market state (state dependence), and whether state dependence differs by education pathway. Overskilled workers with a higher degree show the highest state dependence, while workers with vocational education show none. Workers with no post-school qualifications are somewhere between these two groups. The finding that higher degree graduates suffer the greatest overskilling state dependence, combined with the well-established finding that they also suffer the highest overskilling wage penalty, suggests that the cost of mismatch among this grouping are greater relative to vocationally qualified workers.