Temporal trends in 6-minute walking distance for older Japanese adults between 1998 and 2017     

Grant R. Tomkinson  Tetsuhiro Kidokoro  Trevor J. Dufner  Shingo Noi  John S. Fitzgerald  Holly M. Brown-Borg 《运动与健康科学(英文)》2021,10(4):462-469

BackgroundThe 6-minute walking distance (6MWD) is an excellent measure of both functional endurance and health. The primary aim of this study was to estimate temporal trends in 6MWD for older Japanese adults between 1998 and 2017; the secondary aim was to estimate concurrent trends in body size (i.e., height and mass) and self-reported participation in exercise/sport.MethodsAdults aged 65–79 years were included. Annual nationally representative 6MWD data (n = 103,505) for the entire period were obtained from the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. Temporal trends in means (and relative frequencies) were estimated at the gender–age level by best-fitting sample-weighted linear/polynomial regression models, with national trends estimated by a post-stratified population-weighting procedure. Temporal trends in distributional variability were estimated as the ratio of coefficients of variation.ResultsBetween 1998 and 2017 there was a steady, moderate improvement in mean 6MWD (absolute = 45 m (95% confidence interval (95%CI): 43–47); percent = 8.0% (95%CI: 7.6%–8.4%); effect size = 0.51 (95%CI: 0.48–0.54)). Gender- and age-related temporal differences in means were negligible. Variability in 6MWD declined substantially (ratio of coefficients of variation = 0.89, 95%CI: 0.87–0.92), with declines larger for women compared to men, and for 75–79-year-olds compared to 65–74-year-olds. Correspondingly, there were moderate and negligible increases in mean height and mass, respectively, and negligible increases in the percentage who participated in exercise/sport at least 3 days per week and at least 30 min per session.ConclusionThere has been a steady, moderate improvement in mean 6MWD for older Japanese adults since 1998, which is suggestive of corresponding improvements in both functional endurance and health. The substantial decline in variability indicates that the temporal improvement in mean 6MWD was not uniform across the distribution. Trends in 6MWD are probably influenced by corresponding trends in body size and/or participation in exercise/sport.  相似文献   

A contested profession: employability,performativity and professionalism in Irish further education     

Bernie Grummell  Michael J. Murray 《Journal of educational administration and history》2015,47(4):432-450

Further education typically represents the vocational, technical and practice-based forms of education, but this is now being repositioned in a neo-liberal era that is driving a performance-based and market-orientated vision of education in the Republic of Ireland and elsewhere. The implacable drive of neo-liberal economics in everyday practice is evident in the current economic and training discourses of further education, which aim to upgrade the employability of low-skilled and marginalised sectors of the population. The article provides an overview of shifts in educational policy and practices that align Irish further education with what has occurred in the UK and elsewhere through processes of professionalisation and performativity. Analysis of the potential impact on notions of professional identity in the sector helps to articulate the principles, pedagogies and philosophies that will be vital when contesting the performance cultures of New Managerialism that seem likely to ensue. We explore the implications in terms of the policy discourses, organisational structure and professional practices of further education. We contend that changes in these areas have profound impacts on the learning and knowledge base of further education, constraining its social justice and transformative capacity for the learners at the heart of further education.  相似文献   

Re-positioning university governance and academic work     

Tanya Fitzgerald 《Journal of educational administration and history》2011,43(3):275-277

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Interrogating orthodox voices: gender,ethnicity and educational leadership     

Tanya Fitzgerald 《School Leadership & Management》2013,33(4):431-444

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Bureaucratic Control or Professional Autonomy?: Performance management in New Zealand schools     

Tanya Fitzgerald  Howard Youngs  Peter Grootenboer 《School Leadership & Management》2013,33(1)

Since 1997 appraisal has been a mandated requirement of New Zealand schools. While the management of teacher performance is not new, schools are increasingly being faced with difficult and complex decisions regarding accountability mechanisms for teacher performance. Moreover, in a climate of school self-management the potential exists for tensions between bureaucratic systems and the professional autonomy of teachers to surface. This article reports on research conducted in 2001 that investigated teachers' perceptions of the bureaucratic and professional approaches to performance management in their schools. In a climate of increasing control of teachers' work and professional activities by the State, results from recent research indicate that school managers have adopted a professional approach to the appraisal of staff. Moreover the involvement of teachers in developing school-level appraisal systems is pinpointed as fundamental to the long-term success of appraisal in New Zealand schools.  相似文献   

Moving Toward Teamwork Through Professional Development Activities     

Meghan M. Fitzgerald  Rachel Theilheimer 《Early Childhood Education Journal》2013,41(2):103-113

This qualitative study of three Head Start Centers analyzed surveys, interviews, and focus group data to determine how education coordinators, teachers, and teacher assistants believed professional development activities could support teamwork at their centers. The researchers sorted data related to teamwork into four categories: knowledge and understanding of teachers’ trajectories, how teachers referred to one another, frequency and quality of communication, and evidence of shared philosophy. A climate of trust, respect, open communication and clear organization emerged as important for the risk taking necessary for teachers to learn together. This climate depended on leadership that was willing to take on challenges, innovate, and make room for teacher autonomy. Teamwork thrived in a program that purposely built relationships among staff through opportunities for communication, the development of a shared philosophy, and the possibility of being known and feeling known by colleagues and supervisors. When administrators solicited and used teachers’ feedback about professional development, the teachers felt themselves a valued part of the teaching community.  相似文献   

Computer-assisted instruction for students with attentional difficulties   总被引：1，自引：0，他引：1  

G Fitzgerald  L Fick  R Milich 《Journal of learning disabilities》1986,19(6):376-379

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Experiencing and evidencing learning through self-study: New ways of working with mentors and trainees in a training school partnership   总被引：1，自引：0，他引：1  

Joan Whitehead  Bernie Fitzgerald 《Teaching and Teacher Education》2007

This paper uses self-study to analyse the development of a generative, research-based approach to mentoring initial teacher training students in a Training School/university partnership and its contribution to redefining teacher education practice. It focuses on the ontological values and co-learning of the authors as they work collaboratively with mentors to develop a democratic form of social practice and relations. The use of video to record the teaching and situated learning of mentors and trainees is explored as are the qualities and conditions which helped foster the shift in power relations between participants as they engaged in reflective dialogue and inquiry. Issues of sustainability and embedding such practices are addressed as is the contribution of practitioner-research accounts to the professional knowledge of other teacher educators, teachers and trainees.  相似文献   

Rituals of Returning: A Dialogic Interpretation     

Fitzgerald  Jill  Noblit  George 《The Urban Review》1997,29(4):297-303

Rituals are about time and participation, and usually we study them in other people. In this article, we examine a study of ourselves in which time returns rather than progresses and in which participation is dialogic. The article represents a departure from realist ethnography and is rendered as a conversation.  相似文献   

Staff Self‐Appraisal at the Departmental Level: A Case Study     

H.R. Thompson  C.E. Deer  J.A. Fitzgerald  H.G. Kensell  B.C. Low  R.A. Porter 《高等教育研究与发展》1990,9(1):39-48

The introduction of academic staff appraisal in higher education institutions in Australia will require a considerable expansion in staff development facilities. An important issue will be the relative emphasis to be placed upon central staff development units as against structures at the faculty or departmental level. This case study, conducted at Macquarie University and aimed at improving teaching in higher education, explores the Self‐Appraisal Workshop as one such structure and suggests that it provides a very useful format at the faculty or departmental level because it brings together people teaching similar course units. As a result it is easier to integrate aspects such as curriculum design, assessment policies, academic content and teaching methods, than it is at the central level where staff development workshops usually have a cross‐faculty mix. An evaluation, based upon student ratings of teaching, interviews and staff reflection on the process, suggests that the Self‐Appraisal Workshop is a valuable technique for staff appraisal and development.  相似文献