'England Expects Every Man to do his Duty': The gendering of the citizenship textbook 1940-1966

This article is based on a pilot study investigating the representation of women in a sample of texts for citizenship education in the immediate post-Second World War era in England. The authors argue that existing research into the field of education for citizenship does not engage adequately with how the subject is taught in schools, and how citizenship education constructs the polity in line with normative and traditionalist assumptions about the role of women and men in society. By studying the texts of citizenship for the period 1940-66, the authors argue that researchers can, if they deploy a more critically engaged approach to the way in which notions of 'citizenship' and 'polity' are gendered, generate new questions and new understandings of how education for citizenship functions in schools.     

If ego identity is the envelope then adaptive change is the note to self: scaffolding the career choices of adolescents

The first aim of the current article is to primarily propose a model to assist career counsellors in understanding and guiding adolescents towards career commitment. The second aim is to focus on the relationship between career identity and career certainty, and how these positively influence the achievement of ego identity and maturity. Finally, it is proposed that systematically applying a model of adaptive change will prompt adolescents to explore and understand their career options with greater certainty. Applying such a model provides career counsellors with a practical framework to guide adolescents with their career choices.     

The hip control test is a valid and reliable measure of hip neuromuscular control

Abstract

Insufficient hip neuromuscular control may contribute to non-contact sport injuries. However, the current evaluative test of hip neuromuscular control, the single-leg squat, requires hip abductor muscle strength to complete. The purpose of this study was to develop the hip control test (HCT) and determine the test’s reliability and construct validity. Nineteen healthy adults visited the laboratory twice. The HCT is a 10-s test of reciprocal toe-tapping accuracy. Both automated and manual HCT ratings were recorded simultaneously during each visit. Additionally, eccentric hip abductor torque was measured. HCT reliability was assessed with intra-class correlation coefficients (ICC). Agreement between automated and manual ratings was determined with Bland–Altman plots. Construct validity was established if HCT performance significantly decreased with a secondary cognitive task (p < 0.05). Bivariate regression determined the relationship between HCT performance and eccentric hip abductor torque. Automated and manual HCT ratings both had moderate reliability (ICC = 0.72) and yielded similar results (limits of agreement = ?1 to 2 taps). The HCT had construct validity (p = 0.001), and no correlation with hip abductor muscle strength (r = 0.213). Thus, the HCT is a reliable and valid test. The HCT is simple to administer and measures hip neuromuscular control separately from strength.     

Identifying facilitating factors and barriers to improving student retention rates in tertiary teaching courses: a systematic review

Factors which impact student retention in tertiary level teaching courses are complex. This study examined facilitating factors and barriers to student retention for students studying education. Due to a limited number of studies, the search was extended to factors impacting students undertaking tertiary education. A systematic review was undertaken using databases such as, ‘Ebscohost’, ‘PsycARTICLES’, ‘Academic One File’, in addition to the University of Melbourne’s ‘Discovery Search’, which resulted in 34 studies meeting the eligibility criteria. The identified factors were first allocated to one of three categories that was identified in previous research as influential on student retention: situational, dispositional, and institutional factors. These three factors were then extended to include sub-factors to more fully define the model of facilitating factors and barriers identified through the systematic review.     

Illuminating growth and struggles using mixed methods: Practice-based professional development and coaching for differentiating SRSD instruction in writing

In this mixed methods study, qualitative, quantitative, and single-case methods were combined to provide a comprehensive investigation of teacher and student outcomes following practice-based professional development (PBPD) for self-regulated strategy development (SRSD) in writing. Qualitative observations were used to determine outcomes among the three-fourth grade teachers involved, a nested quantitative model was used to analyze classwide student writing outcomes across 53 students in the three classes, and single case design was used to determine differential outcomes among randomly selected struggling and average writers in each class. PBPD was followed by coaching for differentiation based on student performance and fidelity as teachers taught their students strategies for writing timed imaginary stories (with self as main character), as required by the state writing test. Qualitative results indicated two teachers did not differentiate writing instruction without coaching; one teacher was unresponsive to coaching and did not differentiate instruction. Classwide analysis demonstrated significant growth in writing at the class level for students from baseline to posttesting. Single case design results indicated mixed outcomes among struggling and average writers and instances where instruction was not effective. Teachers indicated high social validity for PBPD and for SRSD; students indicated high social validity for SRSD. Results across the multiple methods illuminate growth and struggles often disguised in group data and are addressed to aid in understanding and enhancing PBPD as well as instruction in SRSD and other evidence-based practices. Limitations and future research directions are discussed.     

Urban teachers’ implementation of SRSD for persuasive writing following practice-based professional development: positive effects mediated by compromised fidelity

Reading and Writing - Writing allows access to venues often limited by poverty, disabilities, and geography. Promoting writing skills can create bridges to overcome the isolation that often keeps...     

Third and fourth grade teacher’s classroom practices in writing: a national survey

A random sample of teachers in grades 3 and 4 (N = 157) from across the United States were surveyed about their use of evidence-based writing practices, preparation to teach writing, and beliefs about writing. Teachers’ beliefs included their efficacy to teach writing, their orientations to teach writing, their attitude about teaching writing, and their attitudes about their own writing. The teachers’ responses raised some concerns about the quality of writing instruction third- and fourth-grade students receive, as teachers reported spending only 15 min a day teaching writing and students spend only 25 min a day at school writing. While teachers indicated they used a variety of evidence based writing practices in their classroom, a majority of these were applied infrequently. Further, three out of every four teachers reported that their college teacher preparation programs provided no or minimal instruction on how to teach writing. They further rated their preparation to teach writing lower than their preparation to teach reading, math, science, or social studies. On a more positive note, a majority of teachers asked students to write multiple paragraph texts relatively frequently (4 times a month or more often) and complete at least one narrative, informative, and persuasive writing assignment monthly. Teachers were also generally positive about teaching writing, their efficacy to teach writing, and their beliefs about their own writing. Finally, efficacy to teach writing and philosophical orientations to teaching writing each made a unique contribution to predicting teachers’ use of evidence based practices, whereas teacher preparation did the same for reported time spent teaching writing and reported time students wrote at school and home.     

Relationships of hip abductor strength,neuromuscular control,and hip width to femoral length ratio with peak hip adduction angle in healthy female runners

ABSTRACT

A large peak hip adduction angle during running is a risk factor for several overuse injuries in women. The purpose of this study was to determine if female runners with a large peak hip adduction angle have differences in eccentric hip abductor muscle strength, hip neuromuscular control, and/or hip width to femoral length ratio (HW:FL) compared to those with a small angle. Hip adduction during running, hip strength, hip control, and HW:FL were measured in sixty healthy female runners (1.66 ± 0.06 m; 63.2 ± 8.3 kg; 27 ± 6 years). Data from twenty runners with the largest and twenty with the smallest peak hip adduction angles were analysed. Between-group differences in hip strength, control, and HW:FL were determined using independent t-tests (p < 0.05). Variables that were significantly different between groups were entered into a regression model. Runners in both groups had similar hip strength (p = 0.90) and control (p = 0.65). HW:FL was greater in the large peak angle group (p = 0.04), but only explained a small amount of peak hip adduction angle variance for all sixty runners (R² = 0.05). Alarge peak hip adduction angle in some healthy female runners may simply be instinctive as there were no deficiencies in the strength or neuromuscular control constructs assessed.