‘Extended Schools’: an exploration of the feelings,beliefs and intentions of parents and teachers

This research is designed to provide information for participants, facilitators and policy makers in the area of Extended Schools. Its salient purpose is to investigate and examine the feelings, beliefs and attitudes of teachers and parents involved in the development of the Extended Schools project in Northern Ireland. The Extended Schools project was formally launched by the Northern Ireland Secretary of State on 7 March 2006, and aims to provide a wide range of services and activities in school with the intention of helping to meet the needs of children, their families and the wider community. The qualitative approach was deemed the most appropriate methodology for gathering data.     

SIGNPOSTS

This study report deals with the transition of the young adult through the pre‐leaving years, early work experience (or the lack of it), and social adjustment. It goes on to examine the potential role of network and regional broadcasting.

Initially, it reflects widespread concern about the academic/vocational balance in secondary education, the realism of careers preparation, the unemployed casualty figures, and the quality of school/home and education/industry exchanges. It notes the lack of communication between the agencies involved in their parallel fieldwork, and with the families facing individual dilemmas in education, work opportunity and adolescent disillusion.

In this context, broadcasting's prime role is access to the individual in the family setting where informed home debate and decision‐making are critical. Although specialised programme output has increased, how much relevant help is provided at regional and local level? How available is the essential follow‐up in referral centres, advisory services, print material, etc.? What about parents, teachers, employers, training supervisors and the like who might share their experience and initiative in local self‐help projects? Can general public awareness be stimulated to community action?

But if regional and local stations are to do more, there are many policy and logistic questions to be answered ‐ in partnership with official and voluntary agencies and within a network/regional plan. Although there may be a consensus that the broadcast media could play a valuable part, the question remains ‐ “From whom will the initiative come towards linkage and partnership?”.     

Foot strike patterns of recreational and sub-elite runners in a long-distance road race

Abstract

Although the biomechanical properties of the various types of running foot strike (rearfoot, midfoot, and forefoot) have been studied extensively in the laboratory, only a few studies have attempted to quantify the frequency of running foot strike variants among runners in competitive road races. We classified the left and right foot strike patterns of 936 distance runners, most of whom would be considered of recreational or sub-elite ability, at the 10 km point of a half-marathon/marathon road race. We classified 88.9% of runners at the 10 km point as rearfoot strikers, 3.4% as midfoot strikers, 1.8% as forefoot strikers, and 5.9% of runners exhibited discrete foot strike asymmetry. Rearfoot striking was more common among our sample of mostly recreational distance runners than has been previously reported for samples of faster runners. We also compared foot strike patterns of 286 individual marathon runners between the 10 km and 32 km race locations and observed increased frequency of rearfoot striking at 32 km. A large percentage of runners switched from midfoot and forefoot foot strikes at 10 km to rearfoot strikes at 32 km. The frequency of discrete foot strike asymmetry declined from the 10 km to the 32 km location. Among marathon runners, we found no significant relationship between foot strike patterns and race times.     

Using the Copenhagen Process to Facilitate National Qualification Framework Strategies in South Eastern Europe

This article presents and discusses a perspective on the implications of the Lisbon Process for education and training in a selected group of partner countries of the European Union — the Western Balkans (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Serbia and Montenegro). It presents the reflections of a member of staff of the European Training Foundation responsible for managing the six country regional project underway since 2003 on developing strategies for national qualification frameworks. The reflection aims to assess the potential contributions of a major strategy of the European Union on the reform processes underway in the social and economic transitions in the Western Balkans. It draws on the broader experience of the Foundation in supporting reforms in vocational education and training systems. Qualification reform is taken as an illustrative example of the use, relevance and constraints of EU ‘processes’ in accompanying education and training reform. Although the Copenhagen process partially provides a broad structure and there is a shared history between the countries of the region, each country is sufficiently different in its local contexts to suggest that the manner and pace of adoption will diverge. The emphasis on further development to suit local circumstances essentially gives partner countries an approach or set of tools with which they can shape and form their own initiatives with some confidence that the result will be in line with general European trends.     

Foot strike patterns of recreational and sub-elite runners in a long-distance road race

Although the biomechanical properties of the various types of running foot strike (rearfoot, midfoot, and forefoot) have been studied extensively in the laboratory, only a few studies have attempted to quantify the frequency of running foot strike variants among runners in competitive road races. We classified the left and right foot strike patterns of 936 distance runners, most of whom would be considered of recreational or sub-elite ability, at the 10 km point of a half-marathon/marathon road race. We classified 88.9% of runners at the 10 km point as rearfoot strikers, 3.4% as midfoot strikers, 1.8% as forefoot strikers, and 5.9% of runners exhibited discrete foot strike asymmetry. Rearfoot striking was more common among our sample of mostly recreational distance runners than has been previously reported for samples of faster runners. We also compared foot strike patterns of 286 individual marathon runners between the 10 km and 32 km race locations and observed increased frequency of rearfoot striking at 32 km. A large percentage of runners switched from midfoot and forefoot foot strikes at 10 km to rearfoot strikes at 32 km. The frequency of discrete foot strike asymmetry declined from the 10 km to the 32 km location. Among marathon runners, we found no significant relationship between foot strike patterns and race times.