The pathways to higher education: lexical availability in adult candidate students and in young first-year students     

Luís Filipe Barbeiro  Cláudia João  Susana Santos 《International Journal of Lifelong Education》2013,32(3):309-329

In the past few years there has been an increase in the number of adult students in higher education courses, many of whom have returned to school after a break. Most of these students do not intend to continue their studies from the point where they stopped; rather, they want to prepare for specific tests in order to have direct access to higher education courses, which in Portugal is a legal option for students over the age of 23. In response to this new cohort, higher education institutions need to find out what kind of students these are, determining their characteristics, capabilities and major problems, if they are to provide them with successful learning opportunities alongside younger students. This article presents a comparative study of lexical competence, focusing on lexical availability, contrasting those adult applicants to higher education who are attending a course preparatory to higher education with first-year students who have just entered higher education. The results show significant differences between the two groups, the adult group in general showing poorer results. Their withdrawal from schooling is clearly reflected in their vocabulary activation with regard to transversal themes. The most salient contrasts are related to the number of words mentioned and the frequency of words in the group, as well as the greater or lesser proximity to the topic of the terms mentioned.  相似文献   

Challenging neo-liberalism,building democracy: creating the Citizen School in Porto Alegre,Brazil     

Luís Armando Gandin  Michael W. Apple 《教育政策杂志》2013,28(2):259-279

In this article, we situate the processes of educational policy and reform into their larger socio-political context. We describe the ways in which a set of policies has had what seem to be extensive and long lasting effects because the policies are coherently linked to larger dynamics of social transformation and to a coherent strategy that aims to change the mechanisms of the state and the rules of participation in the formation of state policies. We describe and analyse the policies of the ‘Popular Administration’ in Porto Alegre, Brazil. We specifically focus on the ‘Citizen School’ and on proposals that are explicitly designed to radically change both the municipal schools and the relationship between communities, the state and education. This set of policies and the accompanying processes of implementation are constitutive parts of a clear and explicit project aimed at constructing not only a better school for the excluded, but also a larger project of radical democracy. The reforms being built in Porto Alegre are still in formation, but we argue that they have crucial implications for how we might think about the politics of education policy and its dialectical role in social transformation.  相似文献   

Toward Latin@ revisionings of decolonizing Western science and math     

Alejandro José Gallard Martínez  René Antrop-González 《Cultural Studies of Science Education》2013,8(4):755-758

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Morningness/eveningness and school performance among Spanish adolescents: Further evidence     

Cristina Escribano  Juan Francisco Díaz-Morales  Pedro Delgado  Ma. José Collado 《Learning and individual differences》2012,22(3):409-413

Adolescents shift their time of day preferences from morning to evening during puberty when school schedule becomes earlier. Given that a better performance is obtained when individuals are tested at times that are in synchrony with their chronotype, and optimal sleep duration is positively associated with academic performance, evening-types may obtain worse school performance because of both morning school schedule and a decrease of total sleep time. A group of 1133 adolescents (aged 12–16) participated in this study. School performance was evaluated using subjective level of achievement and self-reported grades measures. Controlling for total sleep time, more evening oriented young adolescents (12–14 years) performed significantly worse in school achievement. Girls among 15–16 years performed significantly better than boys. These results have important implications for intervention and prevention programs during school years.  相似文献   

A test of Rescorla and Wagner’s (1972) prediction of nonlinear effects in contingency learning     

Joaquín Morís  Susana Carnero  Ignacio Loy 《Learning & behavior》2012,40(4):507-519

According to most theories, in a simple contingency learning situation, excitatory learning occurs when the probability of the unconditioned stimulus in the presence of the conditioned stimulus (p₁) is higher than the probability of the unconditioned stimulus in the absence of the conditioned stimulus (p₂). In Rescorla and Wagner??s (1972) model, this prediction varies, depending on the parameters used. In the following experiments, we evaluated whether the difference between p₁ and p₂ that is required to produce excitatory conditioning is the same, independent of the specific value of p₁, or whether this difference varies proportionally to p₁??s value. To do so, an appetitive procedure of Pavlovian conditioning with rats was used. In four experiments, we compared different levels of contingency (low, medium and high) and found that the difference between p₁ and p₂ that is required to produce excitatory conditioning increases when the value of p₁ is higher. The possibility of analyzing contingency learning as a discrimination between p₁ and p₂ is also discussed.  相似文献   

Modelling Mathematical Reasoning in Physics Education     

Olaf Uhden  Ricardo Karam  Maurício Pietrocola  Gesche Pospiech 《Science & Education》2012,21(4):485-506

Many findings from research as well as reports from teachers describe students’ problem solving strategies as manipulation of formulas by rote. The resulting dissatisfaction with quantitative physical textbook problems seems to influence the attitude towards the role of mathematics in physics education in general. Mathematics is often seen as a tool for calculation which hinders a conceptual understanding of physical principles. However, the role of mathematics cannot be reduced to this technical aspect. Hence, instead of putting mathematics away we delve into the nature of physical science to reveal the strong conceptual relationship between mathematics and physics. Moreover, we suggest that, for both prospective teaching and further research, a focus on deeply exploring such interdependency can significantly improve the understanding of physics. To provide a suitable basis, we develop a new model which can be used for analysing different levels of mathematical reasoning within physics. It is also a guideline for shifting the attention from technical to structural mathematical skills while teaching physics. We demonstrate its applicability for analysing physical-mathematical reasoning processes with an example.  相似文献   

Centre of pressure correlates with pyramid performance in acrobatic gymnastics     

Pablo Floría  Luis Arturo Gómez-Landero  Andrew J. Harrison 《Sports biomechanics / International Society of Biomechanics in Sports》2013,12(4):424-434

Acrobatic gymnasts need excellent balance control to execute pyramids where one gymnast is supported by another. The objectives of this study were: (1) to describe balance performance by assessing the centre of pressure displacement in a group of acrobatic gymnasts executing pyramids; (2) to determine the relationship between the parameters describing the centre of pressure oscillations and pyramid score; and (3) to examine the role of each foot in providing a solid base of support to maintain the balance of the pyramid. Sixteen acrobatic gymnasts grouped in pairs performed a Half pyramid and a Straddle pyramid held for 7 s on two force platforms. Path length, variance, range trajectory, and surface area of the centre of pressure of each foot were examined to analyse the balance of the pyramid. The path length was correlated with the pyramid score (Straddle: p = 0.692 [large]; Half: p = 0.407 [moderate]). There were differences in the functions of each leg to maintain balance, with the non-preferred leg supporting a higher weight of the pyramid while the preferred leg performed control movements to maintain balance. The results suggested that quantitative analysis of balance can provide important information on pyramid performance.  相似文献   

The Relationship Between Running Economy and Biomechanical Variables in Distance Runners     

Marcus Peikriszwili Tartaruga  Jeanick Brisswalter  Leonardo Alexandre Peyré-Tartaruga  Aluísio Otávio Vargas Ávila  Cristine Lima Alberton  Marcelo Coertjens 《Research quarterly for exercise and sport》2013,84(3):367-375

In this study, we analyzed the relationship between running economy (RE) and biomechanical parameters in a group running at the same relative intensity and same absolute velocity. Sixteen homogeneous male long-distance runners performed a test to determine RE at 4.4 m.s^-1, corresponding to 11.1% below velocity at the ventilatory threshold. We found significant correlations between RE and biomechanical variables (vertical oscillation of the center of mass, stride frequency, stride length, balance time, relative stride length, range of elbow motion, internal knee, ankle angles at foot strike, and electromyographic activity of the semitendinosus and rectus femoris muscles). In conclusion, changes in running technique can influence RE and lead to improved running performance.  相似文献   

The Validity of Academic Learning Time–Physical Education (ALT–PE) as a Process Measure of Achievement     

Stephen Silverman  Rachel Devillier  Teresita Ramírez 《Research quarterly for exercise and sport》2013,84(3):319-325

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine whether the ALT–PE system (Version 2) is valid as a process approach to estimate student achievement. Students (N = 60) were randomly selected from a data base that includes pretest and posttest scores for two volleyball skills and seven sessions of videotaped instruction. Videotapes were collected using two cameras with a split-screen generator so most instruction and practice could be seen. ALT–PE data were coded from the videotapes. In addition to normal ALT–PE coding conventions, coders recorded the skill that was the focus of instruction. Combinations of context and learner involvement categories were summed for each skill across the seven class sessions and to form other logical categories (e.g., total motor appropriate intervals). Achievement scores were calculated by posttest on pretest regression for each skill with the residual score used for subsequent analysis. Residual achievement scores were correlated with summed ALT–PE categories. The results indicate for the serve both total motor appropriate and practice–motor appropriate intervals were related to student achievement. For the pass, practice–motor appropriate intervals were related to achievement and the total motor appropriate–achievement correlation failed significance. These results demonstrate the validity of the ALT–PE system as a process measure of achievement can be partially substantiated.  相似文献   

Women Archetype and Female Physical Education during Franco's Dictatorship     

Gonzalo Ramírez-Macías 《国际体育史杂志》2013,30(11):1513-1528

The subject of this paper consists on the ideal of women in Spain during Franco's dictatorship (1939–1975) and how it was transmitted through women Physical Education and female sports, directed by the Women Section. The research focuses on the concepts and values from different fields (political, professional, cultural, religious, etc.) which described women and determined their life during this period, and which showed through physical and sport activities specific to this gender. The research is justified and put into context in the first part of the paper. In the second part of the paper, the female model as proposed by the ideology of the dictatorship is described, and how this model was reflected in female Physical Education – both in the initial training of female teachers and in the proposed practices for Spanish women. In the third part of the paper, some of the contradictions of the Women Section regarding the woman archetype are exposed, as well as the final conclusions of this investigation.  相似文献