Mixing methods in assessing coaches' decision making

Mixing methods has recently achieved respectability as an appropriate approach to research design, offering a variety of advantages (Tashakkori & Teddlie, 2003). The purpose of this paper is to outline and evaluate a mixed methods approach within the domain of coaches' decision making. Illustrated with data from a policy-capturing study on coaches' decisions about an injured gymnast's participation in competition, the approach involves the concurrent collection of quantitative and qualitative data and a three-phase process of data analysis. It is argued that (a) the method described can provide additional insights into the factors involved in coaches' decision making, beyond those provided via quantitative or qualitative methods alone, and (b) mixing methods holds promise for coaching research more generally.     

Innovative learning and developments in motivation and achievement in upper primary school

Although previous research has shown the potential of innovative learning for enhancing motivation and learning outcomes, further understanding is needed on which aspects of IL are most effective and whether these are equally motivating for different types of students. The present study investigated how developments in students’ motivation and achievement related to different aspects of innovative learning (i.e. authentic learning, collaborative learning and focusing on self-regulation), and whether these relations varied by students’ background characteristics. A sample of 722 grade five students from the Netherlands (average age 11?years old) and their teachers completed questionnaires during four measurements from grade five to grade six. Autoregression analyses were performed. Results showed both positive and negative relations between IL and developments in students’ motivation and achievement, indicating that IL is not a unidimensional construct. Furthermore, the effectiveness of different aspects of IL depended on students’ gender, and social and ethnic background characteristics.     

Social competence as an educational goal: The role of the ethnic composition and the urban environment of the school

This article concerns the relationship between social–educational goals and the school context. We used a questionnaire to map the educational goals of teachers in pre-vocational education in the field of social competence, and investigated whether these goals were related to the percentage of students from ethnic-minority groups and to the urban environment of the school. The results show that all teachers, regardless of the school context, value promoting the social development of their students as an educational goal. We did not find a relationship between the context the teachers work in and the social-competence goals they aspire to in their subject. However, teachers working in a more complex school environment, in terms of both the ethnic heterogeneity of the student population and the urban environment of the school, did consider a number of social-competence goals to be less attainable for their students. The results are discussed in the light of research on the competences young people need to participate in a multi-cultural society and the implications for teachers and teaching.     

Zwischen Schule und Universität: Argumentation in der Mathematik

Several studies show that university students in Germany still have problems in reasoning mathematically although this already should be fostered at high school since the implementation of standards for school mathematics. Mathematical argumentation is a core competence and highly important, especially in academic mathematics. To foster mathematical argumentation at the beginning of university studies, competence models are needed which give more detailed insights in the skills that are necessary for reasoning. As mathematical argumentation is a complex process, especially at the higher secondary level or at university, many little steps are needed to complete a competence model for argumentation at the secondary–tertiary transition gradually. A possible step can be to initially identify several aspects of mathematical argumentation competence that influence the reasoning quality. The empirical basis for identifying those aspects is a cross-sectional study with 439 engineering students who participate in a transition course in mathematics. We address the following questions: (1) how is the quality of student’s reasoning? (2) Which kind of arguments do students use? (3) What resources do students who reasoned correctly use for solving the problems? (4) Does the content of the tasks play an important role? The results show a great influence of the content on the reasoning quality, especially if the content is abstract or concrete. Argumentation quality of students decreases with an increasing level of abstraction of the content. Furthermore, the results reveal that students often use routines for solving the problems. That indicates that procedural approaches still play an important role in school mathematics. If procedures could be used for solving the tasks, students are more successful. Competence models for mathematical argumentation at the beginning of the tertiary level should, therefore, include these factors.     

Feasibility for the Use of a Standardized Fitness Testing Protocol Among Australian Fitness Industry Professionals

Purpose: There is currently no standardized testing protocol for assessing clients’ fitness/health within the Australian fitness industry. This study examined the perceptions of the feasibility of using a standardized testing protocol among Australian fitness industry professionals. Method: In 2014, 1,206 registered fitness industry professionals (aged 17–69 years) completed an online survey. Perceived feasibility for using a standardized testing protocol was assessed based on responses to 6 items. Respondents were classified as having a high level of perceived feasibility if they reported all 6 items to be “definitely feasible.” A multivariate logistic regression analysis, adjusting for demographic and fitness industry-related factors (e.g., qualification/years of experience), assessed the likelihood of having a high level of perceived feasibility. Results: Overall, 25.5% (95% CI [23.1%, 28.0%]) of the sample perceived the use of a standardized testing protocol as highly feasible. Items ranked most often as “definitely feasible” were “undertaking training to use the protocol” (55%) and “conducting follow-up testing every 6 to 12 weeks” (52%). After adjustment for the effect of confounding factors, casually employed professionals (OR = 0.63; 95% CI [0.45, 0.90]) and group instructors (OR = 0.58; 95% CI [0.41, 0.82]) were less likely to perceive standardized testing protocols as highly feasible. Conclusions: Among a large sample of Australian fitness industry professionals, slightly more than a quarter perceived using a standardized testing protocol to be highly feasible. Group instructors and casual employees perceived lower feasibility. Further research should determine the barriers to implementing a standardized testing protocol across the fitness industry.     

Movement and stretching imagery during flexibility training

Abstract

The aim of this study was to examine the effect of movement and stretching imagery on increases in flexibility. Thirty volunteers took part in a 4 week flexibility training programme. They were randomly assigned to one of three groups: (1) movement imagery, where participants imagined moving the limb they were stretching; (2) stretching imagery, where participants imagined the physiological processes involved in stretching the muscle; and (3) control, where participants did not engage in mental imagery. Active and passive range of motion around the hip was assessed before and after the programme. Participants provided specific ratings of vividness and comfort throughout the programme. Results showed significant increases in flexibility over time, but no differences between the three groups. A significant relationship was found, however, between improved flexibility and vividness ratings in the movement imagery group. Furthermore, both imagery groups scored significantly higher than the control group on levels of comfort, with the movement imagery group also scoring significantly higher than the stretching imagery group. We conclude that the imagery had stronger psychological than physiological effects, but that there is potential for enhancing physiological effects by maximizing imagery vividness, particularly for movement imagery.