Science literacy and academic identity formulation

The purpose of this article is to report findings from an ethnographic study that focused on the co‐development of science literacy and academic identity formulation within a third‐grade classroom. Our theoretical framework draws from sociocultural theory and studies of scientific literacy. Through analysis of classroom discourse, we identified opportunities afforded students to learn specific scientific knowledge and practices during a series of science investigations. The results of this study suggest that the collective practice of the scientific conversations and activities that took place within this classroom enabled students to engage in the construction of communal science knowledge through multiple textual forms. By examining the ways in which students contributed to the construction of scientific understanding, and then by examining their performances within and across events, we present evidence of the co‐development of students' academic identities and scientific literacy. Students' communication and participation in science during the investigations enabled them to learn the structure of the discipline by identifying and engaging in scientific activities. The intersection of academic identities with the development of scientific literacy provides a basis for considering specific ways to achieve scientific literacy for all students. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 41: 1111–1144, 2004     

An Autonomist Biopolitics of Education: Reproduction,Resistance, and the Specter of Constituent Bíos

In considering the enigmatic relationships between philosophy, politics, and pedagogy, this essay attempts to map some of the currents in educational scholarship, particularly those running between reproduction theories and resistance theories. While these two theoretical frameworks have been at odds with one another, Gregory Bourassa suggests that both share orthodox commitments that prevent them from appreciating the constituent dimensions of revolutionary subjectivity. In seeking an alternative orientation, Bourassa proposes an autonomist biopolitics of education. This framework inverts the traditional circuits of resistance and suggests that schools follow behind and resist the constituent life forms (constituent bíos) of students. If resistance theory only attempts to identify the ways in which students resist school practices, it risks obscuring the potentiality of constituent bíos as a social ontology that is primary, always already present, and subject to the resistant practices of the school. Therefore, a key contribution of this essay is its development of an autonomist biopolitics of education. Within this framework, constituent bíos is recognized as the foundational and constitutive motor to which schools are constantly reacting. The adoption of this perspective, alongside more conventional understandings of resistance, offers a more nuanced conception of the relation between forms of life and schools.     

A person-centered approach to achievement goal orientations in competitive tennis players: Associations with motivation and mental toughness

Background:Research on achievement goal orientations in sport has typically relied on the use of variable-centered approaches that tend to overlook population heterogeneity.In this study,we used a person-centered approach to identify subgroups of competitive tennis players according to unique combinations of achievement goal orientations and tested for subgroup differences in motivation and mental toughness.Methods:A sample of 323 competitive tennis athletes(69.35%male)between 15 and 25 years of age(17.60±2.40 years,mean±SD)completed the 3×2 Achievement Goal Questionnaire for Sport,Sport Motivation Scale Ⅱ,and Mental Toughness Index.Latent profile analysis was used to identify unique combinations of achievement goal orientations.Comparisons between latent subgroups on autonomous motivation,controlled motivation,and mental toughness were performed using analysis of variance.Results:Latent profile analysis supported 3 distinct patterns of achievement goal profiles that were primarily distinguishable based on valence of competence(i.e.,approach vs.avoidance).Analyses of variance indicated that athletes who were classified into subgroups that endorsed approach types of goals(regardless of the types of avoidance goals they endorsed)reported higher levels of autonomous motivation and mental toughness.Conclusion:Results indicated that athletes tend to pursue a number of achievement goals collectively rather than in isolation.Although approach goals are more commonly linked to adaptive psychological functioning and positive outcomes,avoidance goals may also be associated with desirable psychological characteristics if they are pursued in conjunction with approach types of achievement goals.     

Social skills interventions across school settings: Case study reviews of students with mild disabilities

This study investigates the efficacy of a social skills training program with seven mildly handicapped students across three school settings: regular classroom, special education resource room, and recess. It was found that social skills training generated improvement on both pre-post measures and behavior ratings. Improvements were maintained 2 weeks after treatment was discontinued for seven students. All students' performance generalized from resource room to regular classroom settings; only four students' performance generalized to the recess setting.     

The effect of beetroot juice supplementation on repeat-sprint performance in hypoxia

This investigation assessed the effect of dietary nitrate (NO₃^?) supplementation, in the form of beetroot juice (BR), on repeat-sprint performance in normoxia and normobaric hypoxia. 12 male team-sport athletes (age 22.3 ± 2.6 y, VO_2peak 53.1 ± 8.7 mL.kg^?1.min^?1) completed three exercise trials involving a 10 min submaximal warm-up and 4 sets of cycling repeat-sprint efforts (RSE; 9 × 4 s) at sea level (CON), or at 3000 m simulated altitude following acute supplementation (140 mL) with BR (HYP_BR; 13 mmol NO₃^?) or NO₃^–depleted BR placebo (HYP_PLA). Peak (PPO) and mean (MPO) power output, plus work decrement were recorded during the RSE task, while oxygen consumption (VO₂) was measured during the warm-up. There were no significant differences observed between HYP_BR and HYP_PLA for PPO or MPO; however, work decrement was reduced in the first RSE set in HYP_BR compared with HYP_PLA. There was a moderate effect for VO₂ to be lower following BR at the end of the 10 min warm-up (ES = 0.50 ± 0.51). Dietary NO₃^? may not improve repeat-sprint performance in hypoxia but may reduce VO₂ during submaximal exercise. Therefore, BR supplementation may be more effective for performance improvement during predominantly aerobic exercise.     

The load-velocity profile differs more between men and women than between individuals with different strength levels

This study aimed to determine the suitability of the load-velocity relationship to prescribe the relative load (%1RM) in women, as well as to compare the load-velocity profile between sexes and participants with different strength levels. The load-velocity relationship of 14 men (1RM: 1.17 ± 0.19) and 14 women (1RM: 0.66 ± 0.13) were evaluated in the bench press exercise. The main findings revealed that: (I) the load-velocity relationship was always strong and linear (R² range: 0.987–0.993), (II) a steeper load-velocity profile was observed in men compared to women (Effect size [ES]: 1.09), with men showing higher velocities for light loads (ES: ? 0.81 and ? 0.40 for the y-intercept and 30%1RM, respectively), but women reporting higher velocities for the heavy loads (ES: 1.14 and 1.50 at 90%1RM and 100%1RM, respectively); and (III) while the slope of the load-velocity profile was moderately steeper for weak men compared to their strong counterpart (ES: 1.02), small differences were observed between strong and weak women (ES: ? 0.39). While these results support the use of the individual load-velocity relationship to prescribe the %1RM in the bench press exercise for women, they also highlight the large disparities in their load-velocity profile compared to men.