Integration and Physical Education: A Review of Research

The Common Core State Standards Initiative has placed an increased focus on mathematics and English language arts. A relationship between physical activity and academic achievement is evident, but research on integration of academic subjects with physical education is still unclear. This literature review examined databases for the years 2004–2013, focusing on physical education or physical activity and core academic subjects for school-aged youth. 23 studies were found that focused on integration and physical education that met the inclusion criteria. These were from 16 different publication outlets, ranging in research methods, country, and population. This review provides information on the status of integration and physical education. Since classroom teachers are increasingly being encouraged to incorporate core subjects with physical activity into their classes, it would be appropriate for physical educators to understand the desired outcomes of integration of core subjects before attempting its implementation.     

What contemporary work are student ratings actually doing in higher education?

It is conventionally assumed that student ratings perform a significant function in driving improvement in pedagogical practices in higher education. As a result, this form of evaluation has gradually become institutionalised in recent decades as an essential proxy for understanding teaching and course quality in universities across the world. However, with the rise of market-based models in higher education and heightened expectations for accountability mechanisms, the role and functional purpose of ratings-based student evaluation have become increasingly confused. This rising ambiguity has created strong tensions between the seminal drive of student ratings as a tool of quality improvement, and the emerging demands for its use as a transparent accountability measure for the comparative assessment of academic performativity. So are student ratings now largely a tool of quality assurance or performance measurement, or do they remain a legitimate tool for pedagogical improvement? This paper reports on a study that responded to this critical question by considering the contemporary work of student ratings in a major Australian university. The outcomes of this research demonstrate that tension between improvement and accountability motives is causing considerable confusion and discord around the role and value of the student voice. It also reveals that academics are tending to discount the often critical insights of students on the implications of their pedagogical practices as a result of the elevating institutional role of student ratings as a proxy for teaching quality. In considering these outcomes, rising levels of academic dissonance around student ratings would suggest a necessity to consider broadened evaluative strategies that are able to more effectively capture the improvement potential offered by the student voice.     

Government research evaluations and academic freedom: a UK and Australian comparison

Performance management systems have been an inevitable consequence of the development of government research evaluations (GREs) of university research, and have also inevitably affected the working life of academics. The aim of this paper is to track the development of GREs over the past 25 years, by critically evaluating their adoption in the UK and Australian higher education sector and their contribution to the commodification of academic labour, and to highlight the resultant tensions between GREs and academic freedom. The paper employs a literature-based analysis, relying on publicly available policy documents and academic studies over the period 1985–2010. GREs are a global phenomenon emanating from new public management reforms and while assessments of university research have been welcomed, they have attracted critique based on their design, the manner in which they have been applied, and the unintended consequences of their implementation on academic freedom in particular. Consistent with international research on the impact of GREs, Australian research assessments appear to be undoing the academic freedom that is central to successful research. Further empirical research on the impact of GREs on academics is urgently needed.     

The proletarianisation of academic labour in Australia

Australian universities over the last 25 years have been unified, internationalised, corporatised and become mass educational providers. This process is replicated globally as a response to rapid mass enrolments and marketisation. In the light of these changes, a corporate and managerial model has been identified, which has been the subject of growing discontent within the academic workforce. However, from a political economy perspective there is a lack of understanding on how and by what means academic labour has been commodified in this process. This paper, using Australia as its case study, argues that the managerial culture has alienated academics from their labour. This has resulted in them losing control over their skills and thus becoming disassociated from the educational purposes of their work. Higher education has been subjected to systemic regulatory governance that has fundamentally transformed the nature of academic labour. We contend that the regulatory state has reached so deep down into the university that academics have effectively become a de-professionalised and proletarianised labour force.     

Evaluating academic development in the higher education sector: academic developers’ reflections on using a toolkit resource

The professionalisation of teaching is of increasing importance in UK higher education due to converging processes including the proliferation of managerialism, increasing quality agendas and changes to student fee structures. These have brought into sharp relief the need for greater understanding of how quality teaching evolves in university settings. One key element of this involves academic development and its impacts on teaching and learning. Current literature suggests that a plethora of ideas, frameworks and instruments claiming best practice exist but that take-up of these is inconsistent. This prompted a UK national research project which produced an evidence-based toolkit for evaluating academic development. As part of the toolkit augmentation, academic development representatives from across the sector were asked to create, review and test uniquely tailored evaluation instruments. These instruments were then piloted on university teachers who had participated in teaching-related continuing professional development activities. This paper reports on these individuals’ reflections of using the toolkit. It suggests that academic developers are interested in evaluating the impact of their work on teachers, students and on the wider institutional culture but that confidence and expertise varies. Using the toolkit generated ‘traditional’ evaluation data including satisfaction with the development activity and changes to lecturers’ conceptions and behaviours. However, it also prompted critical discussions around current evaluation practice. This included the need for transformational reform of institutional culture to support links between evaluation and good standing; and making explicit the thorny issue of evidencing student learning. This paper will be of interest to those with an interest or responsibility for evaluating teaching in higher education. The paper offers an important contribution to the international literature at a time when global higher education is faced with questions about teaching, learning and quality. Evaluation, and how to do it well, is timely and important business.     

Analysis of academic administrators’ attitudes: annual evaluations and factors that improve teaching

This article examines academic administrators’ attitudes towards the academic evaluation process in the US and those factors that are utilised to improve teaching. We use path regressions to examine satisfaction with evaluation procedures, as well as the direct and indirect effects of these factors on perceptions of whether the evaluation process facilitates quality instruction. With increased pressure for accountability being placed on higher education, it is important to ensure that we are meeting both public and academic expectations. The evaluation process is an important tool to ensure the university’s goals and values are articulated and that academics can be successful in their individual career paths. The problem is most research finds flaws with the current method of evaluation, and academics and academic administrators are sceptical about the process and results. We find there are environmental factors that influence academic administrators’ perceptions of academic evaluations and the ability to improve classroom instruction.     

The influence of academic culture on quality management system ISO 9001 maintenance within Malaysian universities

This study investigates the influence of the elements of academic culture on quality management system ISO 9001 maintenance within Malaysian universities. There is a dearth of empirical studies on maintaining ISO 9001, particularly in the higher education context. From the literature review, academic culture was classified according to four elements – academic freedom, individualism, professionalism and collegiality. Two case studies were conducted within Malaysian universities that had been ISO 9001-certified for 5 years. At the time of this research, these two were the only universities that had certification for their entire organisation. (Most organisations gain certification for specific departments). The findings showed that academic freedom, individualism and collegiality had worked against ISO 9001 maintenance, while professionalism had influenced ISO 9001 maintenance both positively and negatively. The opposites of individualism (teamwork) and collegiality (managerialism) had supported ISO 9001 maintenance in one of the cases.     

学术不端文章的特征与成因分析——以《岩土力学》文章为例

【目的】了解学术不端文章与其作者所在机构、作者的职称、学历等因素与之间的相关性,为编辑部初审提供参考。【方法】 以《岩土力学》在线网站2014年收到的3032篇文章为统计样本,按照第一作者所在机构、职称、学历为统计指标对包括被发现的34篇有学术不端行为在内的文章进行了分类统计。【结果】来自985高校、211高校及中科院作者的稿件,出现学术不端的比例最低,来自勘测设计施工单位作者的稿件发生学术不端的比例最高,来自一般高校和专业研究院作者的稿件出现学术不端的比例介于前两者之间。副高职称和中级职称作者的文章发生学术不端的比例远高于正高级职称作者和中级以下职称作者。作者的学历高低与其文章出现学术不端的比例的高低没有相关关系。【结论】 在审稿过程中,对来自勘测设计施工单位或专业研究院的稿件,特别是中级或副高职称作者的稿件,应该仔细审稿。靠作者自身的学术道德修养来抑制学术不端文章的出现是不现实的,制定约束学术不端的行为的准则或立法是铲除这一顽疾的根本措施。     

我国青年科技将帅人才团队建设及学术交流现状研究

本研究通过对我国1272名青年科技将帅人才的问卷调查研究，得到青年科技将帅人才在团队建设及学术交流上的有关数据和心理反应，比如，在课题组人员构成中博士后不足1名，且将帅人才感到获得好的博士后后最难，再如，与80年代中期相比，我国研究人员学术交流次数有不同程度的增加，特别是与国外的学术交流次数增加明显，但是，仍然有25．1％的人作为优秀科研人员几乎从不与国外交流，这些结果对科研管理与决策具有一定的参考价值。     

中文科技期刊专刊的策划与出版实践——以《生物工程学报》为例

【目的】通过梳理《生物工程学报》近7年来专刊的策划和出版实践,一方面总结出版专刊的成功经验,同时也为国内期刊同行提供借鉴与参考。【方法】详述《生物工程学报》在专刊选题策划及组织形式方面的做法,并通过中国知网(CNKI)的统计数据,追踪比较了该刊2009—2011年间出版的专刊与普通发文的被引频次。【结果】结果表明,组织专刊既可以扩大稿源,又可以提升论文质量、增强期刊学术影响力。【结论】专刊的策划与出版是现阶段提升科技期刊学术质量行之有效的方式之一。