Deliberation as a core part of teacher education and civics classrooms

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A especificidade da escolha da profissão de professor de educação física nos estudantes da Faculdade de Educação Física e Desporto da Universidade Lusófona de Humanidades e Tecnologias

RESUMO: O presente estudo pretende distinguir a especificidade das referências dos estudantes dos três ramos da licenciatura de Educação Física da Universidade Lusófona de Humanidades e Tecnologias (ULHT), para a escolha do curso e da profissão de professor de educação física, bem como comparar a especificidade das referências dos estudantes dentro dos cinco anos constituintes da formação inicial. Pretende-se ainda caracterizar as representações dos estudantes de Educação Física e Desporto Escolar (EFDE), a frequentar o 3º ano da Licenciatura e o 1º e 2º ano do Mestrado, sobre as orientações da formação recebida. Juntos dos estudantes do 5º ano, pretende-se caracterizar as representações que estes tiveram sobre o apoio e supervisão dos Orientadores de Estágio, bem como caracterizar a auto-avaliação que realizam sobre os seus resultados profissionais no relacionamento com os alunos, durante o ano de estágio pedagógico. Participaram neste estudo 450 estudantes da Faculdade de Educação Física e Desporto, da Universidade Lusófona de Humanidades e Tecnologias. Tendo por base o estudo “Motivação para a Profissão Docente”, de 1996, do Professor Doutor Saul Neves de Jesus e a metodologia por ele realizada, foi aplicado o mesmo tipo de estudo a outra amostra tentando perceber de que forma é que esta se manifestava, tendo em conta os objectivos delineados. O instrumento utilizado, originalmente construído e aplicado por Jesus (1996), é um inquérito por questionário, composto por 44 itens com resposta em escala tipo likert. De forma a avaliar as problemáticas em estudo, estes itens encontravam-se divididos em quatro dimensões: motivação inicial para a profissão docente, modelo de formação educacional, apoio no estágio pedagógico e resultados profissionais obtidos no ano de estágio pedagógico. Os estudantes do ramo de EDFE mostram estar mais focados nos aspectos nucleares a ter em conta aquando da escolha da profissão de professor de educação física do que os estudantes dos ramos de Exercício e Bem-Estar (EBE) e Treino Desportivo (TD). Dos três ramos em análise, os estudantes de TD são os que mais vincadamente marcam a posição de não quererem ser professores de educação física. Os estudantes de EFDE, a frequentar o 3º e último ano da Licenciatura e o 1º e 2º ano da Mestrado (descritos como 4º e 5º ano), avaliam positivamente o modelo de formação educacional recebido. Dos três anos em análise, são os alunos do 3º ano que obtiveram a média mais alta na pontuação de sete dos onze itens que compunham esta dimensão. Os estudantes do 5º ano têm uma representação bastante positiva acerca do apoio prestado pelos seus orientadores de estágio, bem como realizam uma auto-avaliação bastante positiva no que diz respeito ao relacionamento com os seus alunos e aos objectivos profissionais daí inerentes durante o ano de estágio pedagógico. ABSTRACT: The present study aims to distinguish the specificity of the references of the students in the three branches, of the Physical Education degree on Universidade Lusófona de Humanidades e Tecnologias (ULHT), for choosing the course and the profession of physical education teacher, and to compare the specificity of the references of students within five years of initial constituents. Another objective is to characterize the representations of the students of Physical Education and School Sport (EFDE), to attend the 3rd year of Bachelor and 1st and 2nd year of the Masters on the guidelines of the education received. Have participated in this study 450 students from the Faculty of Physical Education and Sport, of Universidade Lusófona de Humanidades e Tecnologias. Based on the study "Motivation for the Teaching Profession", 1996, by Professor Saul Neves de Jesus and the methodology he performs, we applied the same type of study to another sample trying to understand how this is manifested, taking into account the objectives outlined. The instrument used, originally built and used by Jesus (1996), is a questionnaire composed of 44 items with Likert scale response. In order to assess the problem under study, these items were divided into four dimensions: initial motivation for the teaching profession, type of educational background, support in teaching practice and professional results obtained in the year of teaching practice. Students of the branch EDFE shown to be more focused on core aspects to consider when choosing the profession of physical education teacher compared to students from branches of Exercise and Wellness (SBS) and Sports Training (DT). Of the three branches in analysis, students of TD are the most that distinctly mark the position of not wanting to be physical education teachers. EFDE students, to attend the 3rd and final year of the Bachelor and the 1st and 2nd year of Master (described as 4th and 5th year), positively evaluate the educational model received. Of the three years under review the third grade students are the ones who achieved the highest average score in seven of the eleven items that made up this dimension. Students in fifth grade have a very positive representation about the support provided by their advisors stage and perform a self-assessment very positive with regard to the relationship with their students and professional goals there inherent during stage pedagogical.

Built environment education and research in West Africa

Built environment programmes in West African universities; and research contributions from West Africa in six leading international journals and proceedings of the WABER conference are explored. At least 20 universities in the region offer degree programmes in Architecture (86% out of 23 universities); Building (57%); Civil Engineering (67%); Estate Management (52%); Quantity Surveying (52%); Surveying and Geoinformatics (55%); Urban and Regional Planning (67%). The lecturer-student ratio on programmes is around 1:25 compared to the 1:10 benchmark for excellence. Academics who teach on the programmes are clearly research active with some having published papers in leading international journals. There is, however, plenty of scope for improvement particularly at the highest international level. Out of more than 5000 papers published in six leading international peer-reviewed journals since each of them was established, only 23 of the papers have come from West Africa. The 23 papers are published by 28 academics based in 13 universities. Although some academics may publish their work in the plethora of journals that have proliferated in recent years, new generation researchers are encouraged to publish in more established journals. The analyses of 187 publications in the WABER conference proceedings revealed 18 research-active universities. Factors like quality of teaching, research and lecturer-student ratio, etc count in the ranking of universities. The findings lay bare some of the areas that should be addressed to improve the landscape of higher education in West Africa.

Exploring identities and cultures in inter-professional education and collaborative professional practice

Although the concept of multi-agency working has been pursued and adopted as the most appropriate way to improve child care provision and health workforces in recent years, both in the UK and more globally, research suggests that participation in such work can be problematic. This article examines current developments in inter-professional education and collaborative professional practice. Drawing on desk research across the fields of Education, Health and Social Care, it applies a critical lens to re-examine inter-professional working using well-established concepts of profession, identity, culture, career, and training/work transitions. The article uses theoretical hooks to look for similarities and differences in the promotion of inter-professionality across the Education, Health and Social Care sectors, alongside those which occur within each. It looks towards a re-invigoration of knowledge creation and application through research. This is viewed as especially urgent in times of fragmentation, transformation, and arguably, disintegration, in the services its professional and academic educators and workers seek to serve.

Sustainable urban metabolism as a link between bio-physical sciences and urban planning: the BRIDGE project

Urban metabolism considers a city as a system with flows of energy and material between it and the environment. Recent advances in bio-physical sciences provide methods and models to estimate local scale energy, water, carbon and pollutant fluxes. However, good communication is required to provide this new knowledge and its implications to endusers (such as urban planners, architects and engineers). The FP7 project BRIDGE (sustainaBle uRban plannIng Decision support accountinG for urban mEtabolism) aimed to address this gap by illustrating the advantages of considering these issues in urban planning. The BRIDGE Decision Support System (DSS) aids the evaluation of the sustainability of urban planning interventions. The Multi Criteria Analysis approach adopted provides a method to cope with the complexity of urban metabolism. In consultation with targeted end-users, objectives were defined in relation to the interactions between the environmental elements (fluxes of energy, water, carbon and pollutants) and socioeconomic components (investment costs, housing, employment, etc.) of urban sustainability. The tool was tested in five case study cities: Helsinki, Athens, London, Florence and Gliwice; and sub-models were evaluated using flux data selected. This overview of the BRIDGE project covers the methods and tools used to measure and model the physical flows, the selected set of sustainability indicators, the methodological framework for evaluating urban planning alternatives and the resulting DSS prototype.

Investigating Environmental Determinants of Diet, Physical Activity, and Overweight among Adults in Sao Paulo, Brazil

There is worldwide recognition that the burden of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) and obesity-related health problems is rapidly increasing in low- and middle-income countries. Environmental determinants of obesity are likely to differ between countries, particularly in those undergoing rapid socioeconomic and nutrition transitions such as Brazil. This study aims to describe some built environment and local food environment variables and to explore their association with the overweight rate and diet and physical activity area-level aggregated indicators of adults living in the city of Sao Paulo, the largest city in Brazil. This formative study includes an ecological analysis of environmental factors associated with overweight across 31 submunicipalities of the city of Sao Paulo using statistical and spatial analyses. Average prevalence of overweight was 41.69% (95% confidence interval 38.74, 44.64), ranging from 27.14% to 60.75% across the submunicipalities. There was a wide geographical variation of both individual diet and physical activity, and indicators of food and built environments, favoring wealthier areas. After controlling for area socioeconomic status, there was a positive correlation between regular fruits and vegetables (FV) intake and density of FV specialized food markets (r = 0.497; p < 0.001), but no relationship between fast-food restaurant density and overweight prevalence was found. A negative association between overweight prevalence and density of parks and public sport facilities was seen (r = -0.527; p < 0.05). Understanding the relationship between local neighborhood environments and increasing rates of poor diet, physical activity, and obesity is essential in countries undergoing rapid economic and urban development, such as Brazil, in order to provide insights for policies to reduce increasing rates of NCDs and food access and health inequalities.

Influence of education and depressive symptoms on cognitive function in the elderly

Objective: The purpose of the present study was to investigate the influence that education and depression have on the performance of elderly people in neuropsychological tests. Methods: The study was conducted at the Institute of Psychiatry, University of Sao Paulo School of Medicine, Hospital das Clinicas. All of the individuals evaluated were aged 60 or older. The study sample consisted of 59 outpatients with depressive disorders and 51 healthy controls. We stratified the sample by level of education: low = 1-4 years of schooling; high = 5 or more years of schooling. Evaluations consisted of psychiatric assessment, cognitive assessment, laboratory tests and cerebral magnetic resonance imaging. Results: We found that level of education influenced all the measures of cognitive domains investigated (intellectual efficiency, processing speed, attention, executive function and memory) except the Digit Span Forward and Fuld Object Memory Evaluation (immediate and delayed recall), whereas depressive symptoms influenced some measures of memory, attention, executive function and processing speed. Although the combination of a low level of education and depression had a significant negative influence on Stroop Test part B, Trail Making Test part B and Logical Memory (immediate recall), we found no other significant effects of the interaction between level of education and depression. Conclusion: The results of this study underscore the importance of considering the level of education in the analysis of cognitive performance in depressed elderly patients, as well as the relevance of developing new cognitive function tests in which level of education has a reduced impact on the results.

Education and Earnings for Poverty Reduction : Short-Term Evidence of Pro-Poor Growth from the Mexican Oportunidades Program

Education, as an indispensable component of human capital, has been acknowledged to play a critical role in economic growth, which is theoretically elaborated by human capital theory and empirically confirmed by evidence from different parts of the world. The educational impact on growth is especially valuable and meaningful when it is for the sake of poverty reduction and pro-poorness of growth. The paper re-explores the precious link between human capital development and poverty reduction by investigating the causal effect of education accumulation on earnings enhancement for anti-poverty and pro-poor growth. The analysis takes the evidence from a well-known conditional cash transfer (CCT) program — Oportunidades in Mexico. Aiming at alleviating poverty and promoting a better future by investing in human capital for children and youth in poverty, this CCT program has been recognized producing significant outcomes. The study investigates a short-term impact of education on earnings of the economically disadvantaged youth, taking the data of both the program’s treated and untreated youth from urban areas in Mexico from 2002 to 2004. Two econometric techniques, i.e. difference-in-differences and difference-in-differences propensity score matching approach are applied for estimation. The empirical analysis first identifies that youth who under the program’s schooling intervention possess an advantage in educational attainment over their non-intervention peers; with this identification of education discrepancy as a prerequisite, further results then present that earnings of the education advantaged youth increase at a higher rate about 20 percent than earnings of their education disadvantaged peers over the two years. This result indicates a confirmation that education accumulation for the economically disadvantaged young has a positive impact on their earnings enhancement and thus inferring a contribution to poverty reduction and pro-poorness of growth.

Ways of knowing in ways of moving : A study of the meaning of capability to move

The overall aim of this thesis has been to investigate the meaning of the capability to move in order to identify and describe this capability from the perspective of the one who moves in relation to specific movements. It has been my ambition to develop ways to explicate, and thereby open up for discussion, what might form an educational goal in the context of movements and movement activities in the school subject of physical education and health (PEH). In this study I have used a practical epistemological perspective on capability to move, a perspective that challenges the traditional distinction between mental and physical skills as well as between theoretical and practical knowledge. Movement actions, or ways of moving, are seen as expressions of knowing. In order to explore an understanding of the knowing involved in specific ways of moving, observations of  actors’ ways of moving and their own experiences of moving were brought together. Informants from three different arenas took part: from PEH in upper secondary school, from athletics and from free-skiing. The results of the analyses suggest it is possible to describe practitioners’ developed knowing as a number of specific ways of knowing that are in turn related to specific ways of moving. Examples of such specific ways of moving may be discerning and modifying one’s own rotational velocity and navigating one’s (bodily) awareness. Additionally, exploring learners’ pre-knowing of a movement ‘as something’ may be fruitful when planning the teaching and learning of capability to move. I have suggested that these specific ways of knowing might be regarded as educational goals in PEH. In conducting this study, I have also had the ambition to contribute to the ongoing discussion of what ‘ability’ in the PEH context might mean. In considering specific ways of knowing in moving, the implicit and taken-for-granted meaning of ‘standards of excellence’ and ‘sports ability’can be discussed, and challenged.

The effects of longevity and distortions on education and retirement

This article studies the impact of longevity and taxation on life-cycle decisions and long-run income. Individuals allocate optimally their total lifetime between education, working and retirement. They also decide at each moment how much to save or consume out of their income, and after entering the labor market how to divide their time between labor and leisure. The model incorporates experience-earnings profiles and the return-to-education function that follows evidence from the labor literature. In this setup, increases in longevity raises the investment in education - time in school - and retirement. The model is calibrated to the U.S. and is able to reproduce observed schooling levels and the increase in retirement, as the evidence shows. Simulations show that a country equal to the U.S. but with 20% smaller longevity will be 25% poorer. In this economy, labor taxes have a strong impact on the per capita income, as it decreases labor effort, time at school and retirement age, in addition to the general equilibrium impact on physical capital. We conclude that life-cycle effects are relevant in analyzing the aggregate outcome of taxation.

Para uma andragogia do esporte:discutindo as diretrizes e a formação profissional para a Educação Física de Jovens e Adultos

For the development of this research the following general objective has been formulated, indicator of the process of inquiry: To discuss the relation between the attitudinal and the sportive contents presented in the proposal of Curricular Lines for the Physical Education of Young and Adults in Brazil. According to the corporeity and the ludicity, questioning the formation of the professional of Physical Education and delineating the perspective for a sport andragogy that values the Being and the Life. From this general objective, the following objectives, which had given greater specificity to the investigative process, were defined: 1. To create the theoretical context from the corporeity/ludicity axis, articulating transversally sportive knowledge, aiming to contribute for a sport Andragogy; 2. To analyze the objectives proposed for the Physical Education of Young and Adults according to an elaborated theoretical reference and to the testimonies of the egresses of 2005 of the Physical Education course of the UFRN. 3. To interpret the relation between attitudinal and educative content from the academic reality lived by the egresses of the Physical Education course of the UFRN. 4. To understand the most urgent necessities of sustained formation of the egresses of 2005 for satisfactory performance with the Physical Education of Young and Adults. 5. To propose perspectives for the construction of a sport Andragogy from the corporeity/ludicity axis. In attendance to the nature of this research and as form of guiding ourselves in this epistemological adventure, the following ones had been basically and theoretically estimated. 1. Corporeity is a radiant focus, prime and main of educational criteria; 2. The task of the education must be carried through with men and not for men; 3. Man must only play with the beauty and with the beauty he only must play. ; 4. The sportive education must be based on esthetic and fair play. The adopted research approach is of a qualitative nature, using the interview procedure with a group consisting of twelve egresses of the Physical Education Course of the UFRN of the year of 2005.2 After the discussion of the results on the attitudinal objectives and content for the Physical Education for Adults and Young, the study shows nine themes presented by the investigated group as priorities for their sustained formation, aiming at the performance of the professional of Physical Education with the EJA: inclusive experiences; leisure and quality of life; relationships; body and personal care; social values; self esteem; sportive phenomenon; EJA training; attitudinal contents. As a contribution to the construction of knowledge for a Andragogy of Sports, the study presents a metaphorical structure called Galaxy of Knowledge righteous Glamor of integrating nine elements inspired by the Ode to the Sport of Pierre de Coubertin: life, beauty, justice, daring, honesty, joy; Fertility; progress; peace. At the heart of the structure of knowledge is righteous install a system that articulates five principles ludopoiético epistemological function of connecting with the righteous knowledge of the sport that must integrate the content attitudinal proposed for Fitness for Youth and Adults in order to facilitate the realization of their objectives proposed for this method of teaching

Trajetória profissional e rupturas epistemológicas na educação física e na atuação do professor

This dissertation is the result of concerns with the theoretical-methodological and pedagogical learning processes occurred in the practice of physical education in school, which accompany me since the initial training, when I experienced learning in a piecemeal fashion, focused on technicality and sportivization. In order to better qualify the pedagogical interventions of physical education in school, I have always been worried on applying what I received at the University, but the routine of classes was always demanding others doings. In this sense, there were many moments of epistemological ruptures occurred in my training, in which I always sought new investment in training to account for the provision of a more humanistic and grounded in real educational precepts physical education. To that end I had to reflect on the pedagogical interventions throughout my training, in order not to carry out the activities as heavy doings, but as metamorphoses of knowledge and thus generating learning for students. Thus, this dissertation fits into this context with the overall goal of discussing my professional career, considering the epistemological ruptures of Physical Education, occurred in my training and expertise. The objective is also to identify the contributions of these formations in professional activities, centered on storytelling and reflection of significant experiences in the teaching of sports and Physical Education. We highlight the paradigm shifts, leaving the gymnastic methods, through dance-physical education method, psychomotor, reaching the contemporary critical theories experienced from the culture of movement as well as its implications for professional practice. We chose a qualitative research, using the autobiographical method, using as sources or techniques, narratives, photographic recording and video samples. In the studies within the area of education, for the most part, qualitative research came to oppose the positivist view of the quantification on analysis of social phenomena. New ideas were appearing in order to present innovative perspectives to understand the real. The survey data will be presented in narrated form (descriptive), analyzed based on the theoretical framework that guides the study, especially authors who discuss school physical education, vocational training and body conception. We believe our study may be of relevance for training in Physical Education that as from pedagogical reflections in certain historical realities, envisions being able to open new perspectives for the performance of other physical education teachers

The Effects of Physical Fitness and Body Composition on Oxygen Consumption and Heart Rate Recovery After High-Intensity Exercise

The aim of this study was to investigate the potential relationship between excess post-exercise oxygen consumption (EPOC), heart rate recovery (HRR) and their respective time constants (tvo(2) and t(HR)) and body composition and aerobic fitness (VO(2)max) variables after an anaerobic effort. 14 professional cyclists (age = 28.4 +/- 4.8 years, height = 176.0 +/- 6.7 cm, body mass = 74.4 +/- 8.1 kg, VO(2)max = 66.8 +/- 7.6 mL. kg(-1) . min(-1)) were recruited. Each athlete made 3 visits to the laboratory with 24h between each visit. During the first visit, a total and segmental body composition assessment was carried out. During the second, the athletes undertook an incremental test to determine VO(2)max. In the final visit, EPOC (15-min) and HRR were measured after an all-out 30s Wingate test. The results showed that EPOC is positively associated with % body fat (r = 0.64), total body fat (r = 0.73), fat-free mass (r = 0.61) and lower limb fat-free mass (r = 0.55) and negatively associated with HRR (r = - 0.53, p < 0.05 for all). HRR had a significant negative correlation with total body fat and % body fat (r = - 0.62, r = - 0.56 respectively, p < 0.05 for all). These findings indicate that VO(2)max does not influence HRR or EPOC after high-intensity exercise. Even in short-term exercise, the major metabolic disturbance due to higher muscle mass and total muscle mass may increase EPOC. However, body fat impedes HRR and delays recovery of oxygen consumption after effort in highly trained athletes.

Physical fitness and associations with anthropometric measurements in 7 to 15-year-old school children

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Vascular adaptive responses to physical exercise and to stress are affected differently by nandrolone administration

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)