Education Commons^™

The Value Of Movement Content Knowledge In The Training Of Australian Pe Teachers: Perceptions Of Teacher Educators, Erik R. Backman, Philip J. Pearson, Gregory J. Forrest

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

The purpose of this paper is to describe, analyse and discuss the statements made by Australian physical education teacher educators (PETE) in terms of how they perceive and value movement content knowledge (CK) in their assessment of movement courses. Drawing on Shulman's perspective of CK, this paper builds on qualitative analysis of in-depth interviews with nine teacher educators from a total of seven PETE universities in New South Wales as well as written unit outlines including assignments from these PETE universities. The main results from the study show that among the participants, movement CK is conceptualised as physical movement performance. …

Parental Perceptions Of Barriers To Mental Health Services For Young People, Wendy Iskra, Frank P. Deane, Tim Wahlin, Esther Davis

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Aim: This study explores a range of barriers that parents encountered in accessing mental health services. The study also explored whether parents experienced similar barriers to accessing services in 2003 and 2013. Methods: One hundred and thirty-four parents of young people attending an initial assessment at a Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) or headspace centre completed a questionnaire assessing 10 general barriers to care. These data were compared to those collected from 129 participants at CAMHS in 2003. Results: The ranking of barriers to mental health care for their children was similar for both survey years, with 'wait …

Pharmacology Students' Perceptions Of Creating Multimodal Digital Explanations, Wendy S. Nielsen, Garry F. Hoban, Christopher J. T Hyland

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Students can now digitally construct their own representations of scientific concepts using a variety of modes including writing, diagrams, 2-D and 3-D models, images or speech, all of which communicate meaning. In this study, final-year chemistry students studying a pharmacology subject created a ''blended media'' digital product as an assignment to summarize an independently prepared technical literature review on a current research topic in pharmacology for a non-expert audience. A blended media is a simplified way for students to combine a variety of modes to complement a narration to explain a concept to others. In this study, the students learned …

Assessing The Efficacy Of Communication Interventions For Shifting Public Perceptions Of Park Benefits, Betty Weiler, Brent Moyle, Isabelle D. Wolf, Kelly De Bie, Monica Torland

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

One way national parks can sustain their societal relevance and ensure ongoing political and community support is through conscious and deliberate repositioning. This study investigates the potential for psychologically repositioning national parks using persuasive communication designed to shift public perceptions of the benefits of visitor experiences in parks. The experimental communication interventions were selected to target benefits where gaps were identified between the perceptions of park managers and the parks' constituent publics. Using a pre-post design on 1,055 respondents split evenly across two Australian states, the experiment revealed that the website and the video used as interventions were highly effective …

A Secondary Mathematics Teacher's Perceptions Of Her Initial Attempts At Utilising Whiteboarding In Her Classes, Patricia A. Forrester, Carolyn Mcphail, Suellen L. Denny

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Excellent mathematics teachers establish learning environments that encourage students to actively engage with mathematics and foster co-operative and collaborative learning. Whiteboarding, using an erasable surface on which to work and share ideas, has been shown to increase student engagement, collaboration, and higher-order thinking. We report on one teacher's experiences as she introduces whiteboarding into her secondary mathematics classroom. The teacher reports increased student confidence and collaboration and we see a shift in her focus from concerns about classroom management, to a passionate recommendation to use whiteboarding in mathematics instruction.

Childcare Educators' Perceptions Of And Solutions To Reducing Sitting Time In Young Children: A Qualitative Study, Yvonne Ellis, Dylan P. Cliff, Anthony D. Okely

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Young children spend a high proportion of their time at childcare sitting. Reducing sitting time or breaking up prolonged periods of sitting may be positively associated with health outcomes among children. The purpose of this study was to identify childcare educators¿ perceptions of what environmental and policy modifications could be made within early childhood education and care (ECEC) settings to reduce sitting time among children during childcare. Eighty-seven educators from 11 ECEC centres participated in 11 focus groups between September 2013 and November 2013. Each focus group was audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. A semi-structured schedule was developed to investigate the …

Humans, Insects And Their Interaction: A Multi-Faceted Analysis, Raynald H. Lemelin, Rick W. Harper, Jason Dampier, Robert Bowles, Debbie Balika

Animal Studies Journal

By administering Personal Meaning of Insects Maps (PMIM) to participants from eastern Canada and northeastern United States, we examine how people’s perceptions of insects are often determined by childhood encounters, corporeal cues, and influenced by environmental preference during recreational activities, often resulting in inconsistencies, inaccuracies, and bias. While the purpose of this study was to acquire a greater understanding of these entanglements through visual maps, the goal of this paper is to disentangle these morasses by highlighting the various positive, negative, dialectic, and ambivalent aspects of how insects are perceived.

Perceptions Of Task Interdependence And Functional Leadership In Schools, Kerry Barnett, John Mccormick

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

The context of the research was senior leadership teams in schools in Australia. The study investigated relationships between task interdependence, psychological collectivism, self-efficacy for teamwork, and team member perceptions of leadership functions. A cross-sectional and correlational research design was employed. Fifty-seven senior leadership teams composed of principals and senior teachers within two Catholic education systems in New South Wales, Australia, participated in the study. Data were collected from an online survey completed by senior leadership team members and analyzed using multilevel data analysis strategies. The findings suggest the extent of functional leadership was positively related to perceived task interdependence.

Perceptions Of Consent In Adult Male Rape: Evidence-Based And Inclusive Policy Making, Natalia K. Hanley, Philip Rumney

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Interest in evidence-based policy making in the UK and elsewhere has been documented over many years. There has also been much attention given to the issue of sexual violence from policy makers. Virtually all of this attention has been gendered in the sense that it has focused on female victims and male perpetrators. Given the gendered nature of rape, this is hardly surprising; however, to say that sexual violence and victimisation is a gendered phenomenon is not to suggest that males are invulnerable to sexual violation. Indeed, the empirical data makes clear that 'each and every body is permeable and …

The Perceptions And Experiences Of Adolescent Boys With Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Personal Construct Psychology Perspective, Elizabeth Kate Cridland, Peter Caputi, Sandra C. Jones, Christopher A. Magee

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Background This study applies personal construct psychology for understanding the experiences of adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Method Semistructured interviews were conducted with 26 participants from 8 families, including adolescent males with ASD, mothers, fathers, and adolescent neurotypically developing siblings. Analysis of interview data was structured according to the themes presented in a previous theoretical application of personal construct theory (PCT) for understanding adolescents with ASD. Results Themes included complexity of the adolescent social realm, sense-making in multifaceted situations, identity development, development of flexible processing styles, and understanding and managing physical and emotional changes associated with puberty. Conclusion The …

Understanding The Active Ingredients Of Smart Recovery: Perceptions Of Group Members And Group Facilitators, Peter James Kelly, Amanda Baker, Frank P. Deane

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Abstract of a presentation at the ADDICTION 2015: the Australian & New Zealand Addiction Conference, Gold Coast, Australia, 20-22 May.

Are Your Ducks In A Row? External And Internal Stakeholder Perceptions Of The Benefits Of Parks In New South Wales, Australia, Monica Torland, Betty Weiler, Brent Moyle, Isabelle D. Wolf

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

This research examines the strategic alignment between external and internal stakeholders' perceptions of the benefits of parks. To achieve this objective, surveys were distributed to park agency staff, as well as a sample of residents in New South Wales, Australia. Findings revealed alignment between external and internal stakeholders, with executive managers' perceptions being generally more favourable than staff and community. The paper pays particular attention to the alignment of internal stakeholders' (staff) perceptions, which is important for establishing and defending the market position of parks. A high degree of strategic alignment was found between executive and staff for personal benefits. …

A Cross-National Comparison Of School Students' Perceptions Regarding High Performing Peers, Hyerim Oh, Margaret Sutherland, Niamh Stack, Maria Del Mar Badia Martín, Sheyla Blumen, Anh-Thu Nguyen Quoc, Catherine M. Wormald, Julie Maakrun, Barbara Baier, Martha Schmidt, Albert Ziegler

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

This cross-national scenario based study examined fourth-grade students' perceptions of high-performing classmates in terms of their expected intellectual abilities, positive social qualities and popularity among their peers across seven countries. The overall results show that high academic achievements predominantly lead to positive expectations within the peer group. However, pronounced differences were found between the countries. The results indicated that students from Spanish-speaking countries viewed their potential high-performing peers most favorably, followed by students from Australia, the United Kingdom and Germany. The least favorable expectations, but by no means negative attitude, were exhibited by students from the two East-Asian countries Korea …

A Phenomenological Exploration Of Exercise Mental Toughness: Perceptions Of Exercise Leaders And Regular Exercisers, Lee Crust, Christian F. Swann, Jacquelyn Allen-Collinson, Jeff Breckon, Robert Weinberg

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Although elite sport has provided an ideal context for exploring mental toughness (MT), currently, there is scant research examining how this construct might be equally applicable in exercise settings, where high rates of attrition have been reported. The present research, therefore, aimed to address this gap, and to understand and conceptualise exercise mental toughness (EMT) through in-depth phenomenological interviews with a range of exercise leaders and exercise participants. Seven qualified and experienced exercise leaders and seven regular and frequent exercisers from formal exercise environments (i.e. gym and fitness classes) were interviewed. Interviews were digitally recorded, transcribed verbatim and analysed independently …

Stakeholder Perceptions Of Ielts As A Gateway To The Professional Workplace: The Case Of Employers Of Overseas Trained Teachers, Jill Murray, Judie Cross, Kenneth E. Cruickshank

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

This paper reports on a qualitative study which explored stakeholder perceptions of the IELTS test as a gateway to the professional workplace for teachers in Australia and New Zealand. The goal of this study was to research perceptions of school principals as regards teachers who have entered the profession through IELTS or other English language proficiency test pathways and how the changing language demands of teaching may have impacted on these perceptions. Three research questions were addressed, with data for the study collected from 21 principals through their participation in one-to-one interviews and/or face-to-face focus groups. Five IELTS sample Speaking …

Exploring The Participation Of First In Family Students In University With Particular Reference To How This Impacts Upon Intergenerational Choices Around, And Perceptions Of, Higher Education, Sarah Elizabeth O'Shea

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Abstract of a paper presented at The Forum for Access and Continuing Education's (FACE) 21st Annual Conference, 2-4 July 2014, Salford, United Kingdom

Measuring Students' Perceptions Of Plagiarism: Modification And Rasch Validation Of A Plagiarism Attitude Scale, Steven J. Howard, John F. Ehrich, Russell Walton

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Plagiarism is a significant area of concern in higher education, given university students' high self-reported rates of plagiarism. However, research remains inconsistent in prevalence estimates and suggested precursors of plagiarism. This may be a function of the unclear psychometric properties of the measurement tools adopted. To investigate this, we modified an existing plagiarism scale (to broaden its scope), established its psychometric properties using traditional (EFA, Cronbach's alpha) and modern (Rasch analysis) survey evaluation approaches, and examined results of well-functioning items. Results indicated that traditional and modern psychometric approaches differed in their recommendations. Further, responses indicated that although most respondents acknowledged …

The Learning Life Course Of At 'Risk' Children Aged 3-16: Perceptions Of Students And Parents About 'Succeeding Against The Odds', Iram Siraj-Blatchford, Aziza Mayo, Edward Melhuish, Brenda Taggart, Pam Sammons, Kathy Sylva

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Understanding how we can support children through their learning life course has become a policy imperative, particularly those children from poor homes who would normally be facing a low achiever trajectory. The paper reports on 50 in-depth Child and Family Case Studies (CFCS) that were conducted as part of the Effective Provision of Pre-School, Primary and Secondary Education (EPPSE 3-16) research project. The CFCS was designed as a mixedmethods study in order to look at why and when certain children manage to succeed 'against the odds' while others do not. Using in-depth interviews with students, parents and teachers, quantitative data …

The Asthma Knowledge And Perceptions Of Older Australian Adults: Implications For Social Marketing Campaigns, Uwana Evers, Sandra C. Jones, Peter Caputi, Donald C. Iverson

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Objective: The purpose of this research is to gain an understanding of the asthma perceptions of older adults and identify gaps in their asthma knowledge. Methods: In regional New South Wales, Australia, a stratified, random sample of 4066 adults, aged 55 years and over, both with and without an asthma diagnosis, completed a survey based on the Health Belief Model about asthma knowledge and perceptions. Results: Almost half of the sample had experienced symptoms of breathlessness in the past four weeks. Breathlessness was a predictor of lower health ratings and poorer mood. Older adults reported low susceptibility to developing asthma. …

Perceptions Of Family Physician Trainees And Trainers Regarding The Usefulness Of A Virtual Community Of Practice, Stephen Barnett, Sandra C. Jones, Sue Bennett, Donald C. Iverson, Andrew Bonney

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Background: Training for Australian general practice, or family medicine, can be isolating, with registrars (residents or trainees) moving between rural and urban environments, and between hospital and community clinic posts. Virtual communities of practice (VCoPs), groups of people sharing knowledge about their domain of practice online and face-to-face, may have a role in overcoming the isolation associated with general practice training. Objective: This study explored whether Australian general practice registrars and their supervisors (trainers) would be able to use, and would be interested in using, a VCoP in the form of a private online network for work and training purposes. …

Student Perceptions Of High-Achieving Classmates, Marion Händel, Wilma Vialle, Albert Ziegler

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

The reported study investigated students' perceptions of their high-performing classmates in terms of intelligence, social skills, and conscientiousness in different school subjects. The school subjects for study were examined with regard to cognitive, physical, and gender-specific issues. The results show that high academic achievements in particular school subjects lead to negative reactions in the peer group whereas high achievements in other school subjects result in positive peer reactions. In contrast, the respondents' gender and the gender of the successful classmates had little influence on student perceptions of high achievers. The results are discussed in regard to their implications for gifted …

Community Perceptions Of And Suggested Fundraising Strategies For Local Charities, Danika Hall, Sandra C. Jones, Kelly Lee Andrews, Elizabeth Kate Cridland

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Increasing competition for charity dollars has led many charities to reconsider their approach to fundraising. While donors are more likely to support charities they have a personal connection with, low psychological involvement with a charity influences the desire to switch. Local charities are commonly smaller and less resourced than state, national or international charities, but have the opportunity to increase and maintain donors by utilising strategies that increase community engagement. The current study, undertaken with people aged over 15 years in a regional area, found that most donors disliked guilt inducing techniques and telemarketing. Participants suggested more effective strategies including …

'It's Good To Have Wheels!': Perceptions Of Cycling Among Homeless Young People In Sydney, Australia, Belinda Crawford, Christopher Rissel, Rowena Yamazaki, Elise Franke, Sue Amanatidis, Jioji Ravulo, Jeni Bindon, Siranda Torvaldsen

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Participation in sporting or recreational programs can be unattainable for many disadvantaged young people. Encouraging regular cycling is an important public health strategy to increase participation in physical activity and expand personal transport options for marginalised youth. Perceptions and attitudes toward cycling were explored in eight focus groups, involving 47 young people who were experiencing or at risk of homelessness in central and south-western Sydney, Australia. The benefits of cycling for physical activity, personal transport, independence and social inclusion were recognised. Barriers to regular cycling included compliance with mandatory helmet legislation; a lack of cycling skills and experience; a paucity …

Relationships Between Pupils' Self-Perceptions, Views Of Primary School And Their Development In Year 5, Pam Sammons, Kathy Sylva, Edward Melhuish, Iram Siraj-Blatchford, Brenda Taggart, Helena Jelicic, Sofka Barreau, Yvonne Grabbe, Rebecca Smees

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

This research builds on earlier reports (Sammons et al., 2007) by investigating relationships between children's outcomes in Year 5 and aspects of pupils' self perceptions and their views of primary school measured in Year 5 (age 10) and in Year 2 (age 7) of primary school while controlling for background characteristics. These measures have been derived from a self-report instrument completed by the EPPE 3-11 children. The analyses explored associations between children's progress and development over time and their self-perceptions and views of primary school.

Influences On Pupils' Self-Perceptions In Primary School: Enjoyment Of School, Anxiety And Isolation, And Self-Image In Year 5, Pam Sammons, Kathy Sylva, Iram Siraj-Blatchford, Brenda Taggart, Rebecca Smees, Edward Melhuish

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

This report presents the results of analyses of pupils' self-perceptions in primary school. It is part of the longitudinal Effective Pre-school and Primary Education 3-11 (EPPE 3-11) research project funded by the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF). The focus of this report is pupils' self-perceptions in Year 5 (age 10) in four key areas: 'Enjoyment of school'; 'Academic self-image'; 'Behavioural self-image' and 'Anxiety and Isolation'. Reports on pupils' cognitive and social/behavioural development at this age have been published separately (Sammons et al., 2007). Questionnaires were administered to children asking their views about school and classroom life. These provided …

Pupils' Self-Perceptions And Views Of Primary School In Year 5, Pam Sammons, Kathy Sylva, Edward Melhuish, Iram Siraj-Blatchford, Brenda Taggart, Helena Jelicic, Rebecca Smees, Sofka Barreau, Yvonne Grabbe

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

The Effective Pre-School and Primary Education 3-11 (EPPE 3-11) project investigates the impact of pre- school, primary school and family on a range of outcomes for a national sample of approximately 2,800 children in England between the ages of 3 and 11 years. This Research Brief presents findings on pupils' Self-perceptions (' Enjoyment of school', 'Anxiety and Isolation', 'Academic self-image' and 'Behavioural self-image' ) and their views of different features of primary school (' Teachers' support for pupils' learning', 'Headteacher qualities' and 'Positive social environment' ) in Year 5. The analyses involved two steps: first, differences in pupils' Self-perceptions and …

Consumers' Sensory And Nutritional Perceptions Of Three Types Of Milk, A E M Bus, Anthony Worsley

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Objective: To identify consumer perceptions of whole milk, reduced-fat milk and soy milk, and to investigate demographic influences on perceptions and types of milk consumption.

Design and setting: Questionnaires covering nutritional and sensory perceptions of three types of milk.

Subjects: Three hundred and sixty-one randomly selected shoppers in Melbourne, Australia.

Results: Generally, respondents held positive perceptions about milk. Milk was considered as having good sensory properties, providing a good source of nutrients, and being a convenient and safe product. However, despite these findings, misperceptions and unawareness about the nutrient content of milk were prevalent. Negative perceptions were most common for …