Sport,Girls, Trouble and Humour: Black and Indian Boys Negotiating Gender,Race and Class in a Formerly White Single Sex School in South Africa

This article reports on an interview study conducted by Deevia Bhana and Rob Pattman of Grade 11 (16–17 year old) boys attending different kinds of public schools in the Durban, South Africa. It investigated their accounts personal lives and identities as young men and women in and outside their schools. We conducted semi-structured interviews with the participants to determine how they experienced school and how they presented themselves in the interviews, their interests, aspirations, relations with other boys and girls in and out of school, and the kinds of identifications they made. The data for this are from two interviews conducted with black and Indian boys at Elmsdale, a formerly white boys' high school near Durban with an excellent academic and sporting reputation. We analyzed the data using narrative and discourse analysis. Concerns about being marginalised in school were expressed by both the black and the Indian boys. Issues of gender, race, class, sexuality and power were prominent in the interviews, notably when the boys were discussing sport, trouble, being funny and girls.     

Contextual analysis of home environment factors influencing the acquisition of early reading skills in Zambian families

This study examined the effect of home environment factors in the acquisition of early reading skills (orthographic awareness and decoding competence). To assess these factors, a sample of seventy-two (72) first grade learners (females?=?55%; age range?=?7–8 years) and their maternal parents (age range 26–61 years old) from low SES in Zambia's capital city, Lusaka were recruited. Parents, in response to a home literacy questionnaire, reported on their attitudes towards reading, literacy teaching in the home, the home literacy environment, presence of reading materials for adults and children, parental education, occupation, family size and family possessions. Two measures of reading skill were administered at school. Correlations revealed that parental education, occupation and the size of the family were not significantly associated with the reading measures. Family possessions, parental reading attitudes, literacy activities, and reading materials significantly predicted orthographic awareness. In predicting decoding competence, only family possessions, parental reading attitudes and literacy activities were predictive. Regardless of the context, children experience literacy in varied forms and quantities.     

The earth is the Lord's: the biblical view of the environment

The Church needs a characteristically Christian voice in environment discourse. The Bible offers this in the form of symbols and stories. Familiar terms such as righteousness, covenant and atonement originated in the biblical teaching about creation, and the liturgy of the Temple was to maintain the creation. Angels and their music described the powers of creation and cosmic harmony, and Adam lost all this when he chose secular knowledge rather than Wisdom from the Tree of Life.     

Catechists' conceptions of their catechetical learning environments

In ‘A Typology of Catechetical Learning Environments’ (2014), De Kock presented a typology for describing different types of catechetical practices. The typology serves as a theoretical framework for empirically investigating the effects of catechetical practices in church communities. This current article investigates, on the basis of interviews with catechists, whether the types of catechetical learning environments drawn from the typology are reflected in catechists' conceptions of their catechetical practices. It concludes that the stipulated categories are only partially reflected in the conceptions of learning goals at which respondents aim, as well as in the role divisions between catechumens and the catechist. Moreover, the types of learning environments drawn from the typology are not clearly reflected in catechists' own reflections on their catechetical practices. Implications for both the professional practice of catechesis and for further research are suggested.     

A Review of Eating Disorders in Athletes

SUMMARY

The current review aims to evaluate the literature on eating disorders and athletes with the purpose of making recommendations for sport psychologists and other relevant personnel on how to proceed in identifying, managing, and preventing eating disorders in school settings. Whereas the intention of this review is to make recommendations for secondary educational settings, research on other populations such as collegiate and young adult athletes was also reviewed where helpful or where information on adolescent athletes was not available. Recommendations for prevention and intervention include ongoing education of athletes and coaches regarding nutrition, body composition, and performance, using appropriate screening to detect eating disorders, and use of a sport management team to aid in athlete recovery.     

Inclusion

Summary

In a growing number of schools in the United States, it now is possible to walk into elementary, middle, and secondary classrooms and observe students who could be identified as having moderate and severe cognitive, physical, and emotional disabilities successfully receiving their education together with similar-aged classmates who have no identified special education needs (Falvey, 1995; Lipsky & Gartner, 1997; Schrag, 1998; Villa & Thousand, 1995). This practice of welcoming, valuing, and supporting the diverse learning needs of all students in shared general education environments is referred to as inclusive education, inclusive schooling, or inclusion. This article examines inclusive education along a number of dimensions. First, the evolution of the inclusion moment is briefly examined. After the construct of “severe disability” is considered in the context of inclusive education, various rationale for inclusion are examined along with outcome data, legislation, and legal and U.S. Department of Education decisions which forward inclusive policy. Next, eight factors most frequently associated with successful inclusive education are described and discussed. In describing the factors, examples are provided of specific assessment, planning, and communication processes that support the inclusion of students with intensive cognitive, physical, and emotional disabilities. The article ends with a discussion of the implications of inclusive education for a 21st Century democracy.     

Arousal interventions for athletic performance: Influence of mental preparation and competitive experience

Abstract

Mental preparation, or “psych-up” strategies have been assumed to promote physical arousal which subsequently improves certain athletic performances. The present experiment examined the role of arousal changes in the use of psych-up strategies on a physical strength task and a reaction time-decision task for subjects varying in competitive experience. Eighty-four subjects were reliably divided into high, moderate, or low competitive experience groups and randomly assigned to one of three mental preparation strategies. These strageies, which the subjects employed during a mental preparation period for both tasks, were either: (a) a self-generated arousal strategy, (b) a prescribed arousal strategy, or (c) a placebo-control strategy. While heart rate was being monitored, each subject completed a baseline trial, then one trial following a 45 sec mental preparation period and one trial following a 45 sec distraction interval. Order of presentation of tasks and order of presentation of distraction and mental preparation trials were counterbalanced and statistically analyzed. The results support the utility of different mental preparation strategies for increasing strength performance, but not reaction time-decision performance, for subjects with moderate and high levels of previous competitive experience. Self-generated arousal strategies enhanced performance of moderate experienced subjects. Analyses of the heart rate data failed to support the assumption that physiological arousal mediates the influence of psych-up strategies. Mental preparation strategies improved athletes' performance on certain tasks, however these strategies do not necessarily achieve their effects through increased autonomic arousal.     

The effect of perceived stress on the relationship between perfectionism and burnout in coaches

Abstract

The effects of perceived stress (PS) on the relationship between adaptive and maladaptive forms of perfectionism and burnout were examined. Smith's (1986) stress appraisal model and Kelley, Eklund, and Ritter-Taylor's (1999) model of coach burnout were used to test two models of burnout in a sample of college coaches (N=177). The results indicated that there is an indirect effect of self-evaluative perfectionism (i.e., maladaptive form of perfectionism) on burnout through PS as well as a significant direct link to burnout, accounting for 56% of its variance. In contrast, conscientious perfectionism (CP) (i.e., adaptive perfectionism) did not directly impact burnout, nor was there an indirect effect through PS. Based on Lazarus's (1999) ideas about stress appraisal, the results suggested that maladaptive forms of perfectionism resulted in more threatening perceptions of stress, thus, potentially leading to the experience of burnout. However, adaptive forms of perfectionism did not seem to result in increased appraisals of stress or result in burnout. The results did indicate a significant correlation between the two forms of perfectionism, which may explain why CP did not significantly impact PS or burnout.     

Perfectionism and athlete burnout in junior elite athletes: the mediating role of coping tendencies

Abstract

Recent research indicates that some dimensions of perfectionism are positively related to athlete burnout, whereas others are negatively related to athlete burnout. The divergent relationship between these dimensions of perfectionism and athlete burnout may be explained by different coping tendencies. The present investigation examined whether different coping tendencies mediate the relationship between self-oriented and socially prescribed perfectionism and burnout. Two-hundred and six junior elite athletes (M age=15.15 years, SD=1.88 years, range=11–22 years) completed measures of self-oriented and socially prescribed perfectionism, coping tendencies, and athlete burnout. Structural equation modeling indicated that the relationship between dimensions of perfectionism and athlete burnout was mediated by different coping tendencies. Higher levels of socially prescribed perfectionism was related to higher levels of avoidant coping which, in turn, was related to higher levels of athlete burnout. In contrast, higher levels of self-oriented perfectionism was related to higher levels of problem-focused coping and lower levels of avoidant coping which, in turn, was related to lower levels of athlete burnout. The findings suggest that different coping tendencies may underpin the divergent relationship between self-oriented and socially prescribed dimensions of perfectionism and athlete burnout.