Jordanian national football Muslimat players: Interrupting Islamophobia in FIFA's hijab ban

Background: Though musli m females exclusion from physical activities and sports has concerned scholars for years, they are still being theorized out of context and out of history and not as agents in their own lives. Within the prevailing context of the ‘War on Terror,’ muslim females are becoming more racialized in sports and are unnecessarily constructed as needing protection and void of any agency. In 2010, a crisis emerged out of the International Federation of Association Football's (FIFA) erratic interpretation of Law 4 which excluded muslim females players with a head/cover gear deemed unsafe on the field. This crisis highlighted the importance of understanding not only the targeted exclusion of muslim female players but also the importance of working with muslim female national football players and the possibilities of them resisting the racializing and gendering logics of a mega-sport institution such as FIFA.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to understand how five women football players on the Jordanian national team negotiated FIFA's ‘hijab ban’ of 2011. Particularly, it seeks the perspectives of the players themselves – whether they are wearing the head and/or neck cover or not and whether their muslimness is visible or not – and their stories of how they negotiated FIFA's ‘hijab ban’ (2011–2012).

Methodology: This paper is part of a larger critical qualitative study based on (1) dialogical interviews with five football players on the Jordanian national team, (2) material the players crafted and used to campaign against FIFA's ‘hijab ban,’ (3) players’ journals, (4) email correspondence and (5) web-based campaigning material. I deploy arab-muslim feminist scholars’ more complicated understanding of the hijab and theorize of how muslim women's bodies are regulated by two interconnected hijabophobias, the Islamist and Western-Islamophobic.

Findings: The findings are organized in the following themes: (1) experiencing humiliation and injustice, (2) exposing FIFA's Islamophobic standpoint and (3) resisting through solidarity and activism. The results suggest that the muslim female football players on the Jordanian national team exposed the FIFA's Islamophobic hijabophobia in its interpretation of Law 4. They acted with resilience and political savviness to regain the right to play while being muslim female under FIFA's laws. This suggests that muslim females are active agents in their own lives and on a global level. They are able to counter the racializing injustices produced by very powerful sport institutions. Non-muslim/Western policy-makers, researchers, teachers and trainers working among muslim women and youth need to consider this example as a frame to their participatory research, critical pedagogies, and physical education (PE) and sport curricula. They need to recognize that we are living a moment in history in which muslim women's bodies are sites of both the Islamist and the colonialist anxieties in their struggles for power. Thus, they need to urgently be engaged in the theories and pedagogical approaches that challenge both the Islamist and the Islamophobic hijabophobias in sport and PE.     

The Relationship Between Item Parameters and Item Fit

The effect of item parameters (discrimination, difficulty, and level of guessing) on the item-fit statistic was investigated using simulated dichotomous data. Nine tests were simulated using 1,000 persons, 50 items, three levels of item discrimination, three levels of item difficulty, and three levels of guessing. The item fit was estimated using two fit statistics: the likelihood ratio statistic (X²_B), and the standardized residuals (SRs). All the item parameters were simulated to be normally distributed. Results showed that the levels of item discrimination and guessing affected the item-fit values. As the level of item discrimination or guessing increased, item-fit values increased and more items misfit the model. The level of item difficulty did not affect the item-fit statistic.     

Validity,Reliability, and Potential Bias of Short Forms of Students' Evaluation of Teaching: The Case of UAE University

Students' opinions continue to be a significant factor in the evaluation of teaching in higher education institutions. The purpose of this study was to psychometrically assess short students evaluation of teaching (SET) forms using the UAE University form as a model. The study evaluated the form validity, reliability, the overall question, and potential bias with respect to gender, college, grade point average, expected grade, and class size. A total of 3,661 students participated in this study in different random samples. Results indicated that the short SET form lacked content validity and could not identify key dimensions of evaluating teaching effectiveness. The form showed stability over time and acceptable internal reliability. Results indicated also that there was a potential bias due to college, expected grade, and class size, but there was no relationship between grade point average and students' ratings. It was concluded that short SET forms do not cover all domain content and unable to provide teachers with enough information for the improvement of teaching.     

Assessing test‐taking strategies of university students: developing a scale and estimating its psychometric indices

Test‐taking strategies are important cognitive skills that strongly affect students’ performance in tests. Using appropriate test‐taking strategies improves students’ achievement and grades, improves students’ attitudes toward tests and reduces test anxiety. This results in improving test accuracy and validity. This study aimed at developing a scale to assess students’ test‐taking strategies at university level. The scale developed was passed through several validation procedures that included content, construct and criterion‐related validity. Similarly, scale reliability (internal reliability and stability over time) was assessed through several procedures. Four samples of students (50, 828, 553 and 235) participated by responding to different versions of the scale. The scale developed consists of 31 items distributed into four sub‐scales: Before‐test, Time management, During‐test and After‐test. To the researcher’s knowledge, this is the first comprehensive scale developed to assess test‐taking strategies used by university students.     

"Because I am Muslim, I cannot wear a swimsuit": Muslim girls negotiate participation opportunities for physical activity

Drawing on the works of postcolonial critical feminist and Arab Muslim feminist scholars, we discuss in this paper how 4 muslim girls (ages 14- 17 years) negotiated their participation in opportunities for physical activity. Data collection methods included self mapping questionnaires, digital photos, private journal entries, and recordings of informal conversations. We discuss (a) how three discursive challenges emerged in veiling-off opportunities for physical activity, and (b) how the girls uncovered alternative ways of being physically active. To promote active life practices with muslim girls, we need to (a) navigate the diversity of young muslims within the intersecting discourses in their lives that potentially challenge their participation in physical activities, and (b) honor young muslims' choices while negotiating their chances of maintaining physical activities.     

“Because I Am Muslim,I Cannot Wear a Swimsuit”

Drawing on the works of postcolonial critical feminist and Arab Muslim feminist scholars, we discuss in this paper how 4 muslim girls (ages 14–17 years) negotiated their participation in opportunities for physical activity. Data collection methods included self-mapping questionnaires, digital photos, private journal entries, and recordings of informal conversations. We discuss (a) how three discursive challenges emerged in veiling-off opportunities for physical activity, and (b) how the girls uncovered alternative ways of being physically active. To promote active life practices with muslim girls, we need to (a) navigate the diversity of young muslims within the intersecting discourses in their lives that potentially challenge their participation in physical activities, and (b) honor young muslims' choices while negotiating their chances of maintaining physical activities.     

Application of hands-on simulation games to improve classroom experience

While many construction companies claim substantial productivity and profit gains when applying lean construction principles, it remains a challenge to teach these principles in a classroom. Lean construction emphasises collaborative processes and integrated delivery practices. Consequently, new teaching methods that nurture such values should form the basis of lean construction education. One of the proposed methods is ‘hands-on team simulation games’ which can be employed to replicate various real-life processes, projects, or systems for the purpose of teaching, analysing, and understanding. This study aims at assessing this simulation games and understanding their impact on students’ learning and satisfaction. Surveys and tests are administered to assess changes in student’s perception of their learning styles and their understanding of key lean construction concepts. Results show a positive student reaction to hands-on simulation games, provide pedagogical insights, and highlight suggestions for improvement.