Am I able? Is it worth it? Adolescent girls' motivational predispositions to school physical education : Associations with health-enhancing physical activity

The study purpose was to investigate predictive associations between adolescent girls’ motivational predispositions to physical education (PE) and habitual physical activity. Two hundred girls (age 13.1 ± 0.6 years) completed the Physical Education Predisposition Scale and the Physical Activity Questionnaire for Older Children. ANCOVAs revealed that girls with the highest Perceived PE Worth and Perceived PE Ability scores were the most habitually active groups (p < .0001). Significant predictors of physical activity identified by hierarchical regression were Perceived PE Ability and body mass index, which accounted for 17% and 3% of variance, respectively. As Perceived PE Ability was strongly associated with physical activity, the correlates of this construct should be further established to inform future school and PE-based interventions.

Navigating student transition in higher education: induction, development, becoming

Student transition into higher education (HE) has increased in importance in recent times, with the growing trend in OECD nations towards universal HE provision and the concomitant widening of participation to include previously under-represented groups. However, 'transition' as a concept has remained largely uncontested and taken for granted, particularly by practitioners but also by many researchers. Based on an analysis of recent research in the field, the chapter suggests three broad ways in which transition can be conceived and, hence, three approaches to managing and supporting student transition in HE: as (1) induction; (2) development; and (3) becoming. The third — transition as 'becoming' — offers the most theoretically sophisticated and student sympathetic account, and has the greatest potential for transforming understandings of, and practices that support, transitions in HE. It is also the least prevalent and least well-understood. Apart from being explicit about how transition is defined, this chapter argues that future research in the field needs to foreground students' lived realities and to broaden its theoretical and empirical base if students' capacities to navigate change are to be fully understood and resourced.

Sexuality education matters : preparing pre-service teachers to teach sexuality education

Given the challenges to successful teacher-led, whole-school sexuality education there is an overall awareness that teacher education is crucial to the success of any sexuality education program undertaken within the school context. There is evidence that such teacher education, when provided, can address two of the most commonly identified barriers to successful teacher-led implementation of these programs; familiarity with the subject and curriculum content and increased levels of personal comfort and confidence regarding the topic of students’ sexual health. Sexuality Education Matters is designed to support pre-service teacher education programs to prepare students to teach sexuality education in primary and secondary schools. It builds on the research and teaching experience of Debbie Ollis and Lyn Harrison at Deakin University. It assumes that sexuality education in Australian schools is part of a comprehensive health and physical education curriculum. Even so, many of the readings and teaching and learning experiences could be adapted or used in other contexts that focus on school-based sexuality education. Sexuality Education Matters aims to equip teachers with the knowledge, skills and confidence to teach sexuality education. In light of the lack of resources for primary school based programs there is a deliberate focus on preparing both primary and secondary school pre-service teachers to teach sexuality education.
The resource is designed to:
– provide a theoretical understanding of the area
– explore the current debates
– increase knowledge
– give pre-service teachers access to a range of pedagogical approaches relevant to sexuality education
– increase students’ confidence and comfort level
– explore personal values, attitudes and ethical considerations.