Can we Speak of Alternative Frameworks and Conceptual Change in Mechanics?

This paper discusses the various conflicting trends in mechanics education that have appeared over the past two decades, and proposes the theory of schemata as a means to resolve the conflict that exists within the literature. The conflict has two causes: the prevailing relativism that exists within science education, and the mistaken view that student alternative ideas are concepts that are well defined. We argue that student alternative ideas can be best understood in terms of schema theory, and that schema theory can offer support to the Vygotskian idea of the teacher facilitating the construction of the Newtonian system within the students zone of proximal development. Within the context of schema theory we propose the category of idealised abstraction that has as its starting point the logical structure of Newtonian mechanics rather than the cognitive state of uninstructed students.     

Variables influencing teachers' decisions to refer children for school psychological assessment services

The present study examined the variables influencing a teacher's decision to refer children suspected of having developmental or behavioral problems. Results indicated that younger children were not referred at a disproportionate rate for school psychological services as compared to their older classmates as suggested by earlier research, height and weight acted as moderator variables with respect to teacher referral patterns, African American children were referred at a disproportionate rate for developmental handicap services than were Caucasian children, and males were referred more than females for behavioral problems. These findings are discussed in terms of attribution and expectancy theories. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Patterns of institutional self-recruitment of young Ph.D.s: Effects of academic markets on career mobility

In social science research on academic careers and mobility, a persistent finding is the substantial effect of doctoral origin on the prestige of the first institution at which one works. There also seems to be a substantial tendency among academic institutions to follow institutional self-recruitment. That is, an academic is more likely to be recruited by an institution in the same prestige category as that which produced him or her. From the period of large expansion to the slowdown of growth in higher education, how have patterns of institutional self-recruitment changed? While elite institutions tend to recruit Ph.D.s from a similar group of institutions, as we go down the line of institutional prestige hierarchy there is a diminishing trend of self-recruitment among similar institutions. This study suggests that there is a general downward mobility in prestige for newly recruited Ph.D.s in a period of a tighter market. While Ph.D.s from elite research universities have continued to increase their chances for being employed at lesser institutions, Ph.D.s from less prestigious graduate institutions have trickled down in the prestige hierarchy. The data used for our analysis are from the National Research Council's Doctorate Records File covering the period from 1969 to 1981, which is marked by significant changes in higher education. The techniques applied are developed by Leo Goodman's loglinear models.     

Reading Recovery in Context: implementation and outcome

Reading Recovery is a school‐based preventive strategy designed to reduce the number of children with reading and writing difficulties. This study evaluated the implementation of Reading Recovery in 12 New Zealand schools. Target (Reading Recovery) and Comparison pairs of children were identified through the Reading Recovery procedures operated by each school. Results indicated that very few schools adhered closely to all recommended entry and discontinuation criteria. Results for Target and Comparison children's reading progress up to the time of discontinuation are highly consistent with results reported by Clay (1985), with clear gains in favour of Target children. However, these gains had reduced considerably by the time of follow‐up. Data suggest that programme gains were greatest for children entering the programme at the lowest reading levels. Outcomes are discussed in terms of the need for better articulation between Reading Recovery teachers and regular classroom teachers.     

Using the interaction of speed and acceleration to detect repeated-sprint activity in team sports

ABSTRACT

Purpose

To compare the occurrence and characteristics of repeated-sprint (RS) activity in elite team sport competition when classified according to speed and/or acceleration, and their interaction via metabolic power (P_met). Methods: Elite male hockey players (N = 16) wore player-tracking devices in six international matches. Sprint efforts were defined using four separate classifications: speed >5.5 m?s^?1, acceleration >1.5 m?s^?2, speed-or-acceleration, and P_met >25.5 W?kg^?1. RS bouts were defined as ≥3 efforts with mean recovery ≤21 s. For P_met, RS bouts were also classified using a maximal recovery period ≤21 s. The number of sprint efforts and RS bouts, and the number of efforts, effort durations and recovery periods within RS bouts, were compared across each classification method, and between mean and maximal recovery criteria. Results: More RS bouts were identified via P_met (8.5 ± 2.8) than either speed and/or acceleration, and comprised more efforts (4.0 ± 0.4) with shorter recovery periods (11.5 ± 1.8 s). Fewer RS bouts (7.3 ± 2.8 vs. 8.5 ± 2.8) were identified with a maximum rather than mean recovery criterion. Conclusions: Definitions of sprint efforts and recovery periods which reflect ATP depletion and replenishment via P_met suggest that RS activity occurs frequently in team sport competition, and is more demanding than when speed and/or acceleration are used to define RS activity in variable-speed locomotion.     

Compliance, resistance and seduction: reflections on 20?years of the funding council model of governance

Formally the new public management model of governance was introduced into British higher education with the passage of the 1988 Education Reform Act, which abolished the existing University Grants Committee (UGC) and instigated the funding councils. This article explores the relationship between the state, the funding councils and the universities with respect to the contemporary development of the English system of higher education. The analysis is based on an exploration of four key policy issues: the quality assurance regime, the research assessment exercises, the widening participation agenda and the introduction of student fees. The goal is to explore how the quasi-state organisations—in particular the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE)—have mediated the relationship between the state and the universities. The evidence suggests that the coupling of the state to the universities follows one of three tracks: compliance, resistance and seduction. The article explores what factors determine why one relationship (or combination of relationships) prevails, and explains patterns of change over time. The overall conclusion is that institutional interaction is very complex, and it is inaccurate—as is sometimes claimed—to view the funding council as little more than a compliant channel of government policy.     

Patterns of Provision for Pupils with Behavioural Difficulties in England: A study of government statistics and behaviour support plan data

This paper gives as full an overview of the patterns of provision made in England for disaffected and excluded pupils and those said to have emotional and behavioural difficulties (EBD) in England as the available data allow. It draws upon government statistics, local education authorities' (LEAs') first 'Behaviour Support Plans' and related literature. The BSPs were intended by the English government, but sometimes failed to give, comprehensive accounts of current local provision and future inter-agency plans. However, when analysed alongside government figures, certain features become clear. While in 1998 local education authorities were attempting to move towards prevention and on-mainstream-school site interventions, the need for off-site special units ('Pupil Referral Units') continued to increase and the numbers of pupils in EBD special schools remained roughly constant. Despite national pressure to move towards the inclusion of all pupils, LEAs continued to find it impossible to educate a small percentage of pupils with behavioural difficulties on mainstream sites.