Exploring domination and subordination in high school physical education /

This is a critical qualitative inquiry into secondary school students' experiences of power relations within physical activity and physical education settings. More specifically the study examines the reproduction ofpower relations through the use of domination and subordination in physical activity and physical education. This study will attempt to understand power relations that take place between and among students and between teachers and students and how certain sports or activities reinforce power relationships within the gymnasium. Thirty eight first and second year university students completed a questionnaire which asked them to reflect upon their high school physical education experiences. Feedback fi*om the questionnaires described that highly skilled male students benefit the most fi-om high school physical education and receive more power and privilege when compared to lesser skilled students.

The practice of reading aloud in the high school: a preliminary investigation

The paper considers students’ views of why reading aloud takes place and what are its effects.The results of two small focus-group discussions are presented, in which high school students were given the opportunity to express their responses to the practice of reading aloud in the classroom. Their responses are considered in the context of theoretical perspectives: pedagogical, reader-response and social/vocational. Analysis of responses reveals acknowledgement that reading aloud is not only a useful skill but also that it is a site of anxiety and even conflict.

Adolescent alcohol-use trajectories in the transition from high school

A cohort of 3300 students from high schools across Victoria, Australia, were surveyed regarding their patterns of alcohol consumption from mid-1993 to 1995. The first wave of data was collected halfway through the students' final year of school (year 12). Students were then resurveyed 3 months following school completion and on two subsequent occasions, each separated by 6-month intervals. Analysis of the four waves of data indicated that five longitudinal patterns (trajectories) characterized temporal trends in male and female alcohol use through the transition from high school. Stable non-use trajectories were evident for 17% of males and 16% of females. Trajectories of less than weekly use characterized 45% of females and 46% of males, and showed little tendency to escalate toward harmful use. Among those using alcohol on a weekly or more frequent basis in high school, with few exceptions, use continued with at least the same frequency, but the quantity of alcohol consumed tended to escalate over time toward harmful levels. Overall, findings indicate that patterns of alcohol use tend to be stable over time, and more frequent alcohol use during the final year of high school tends to precede potentially harmful alcohol use following high school. Encouraging those high school students who consume alcohol once per week or more often to use alcohol on a less than weekly basis may be a valuable yet neglected harm minimization strategy.

Interactive simulations to physics teaching: a case study in brazilian high school

This paper presents the results of a study that investigated the use of simulators to improve physics teaching. The study population consisted of eight classes totaling 205 second year high school students from Brazilian public school. The research methodology adopted compares the average performance of students on tests conducted in the classroom to performance on tests conducted in the laboratory using computer simulators. The results obtained showed that students’ performance on tests improved after the use of simulators. It was found that the students had more homogeneous test results when using the simulator.

Alternative Tasks for the Teaching and the Learning of functions: analysis of an intervention in the High School

In this paper we focus on the application of two mathematical alternative tasks to the teaching and learning of functions with high school students. The tasks were elaborated according to the following methodological approach: (i) Problem Solving and/or mathematics investigation and (ii) a pedagogical proposal, which defends that mathematical knowledge is developed by means of a balance between logic and intuition. We employed a qualitative research approach (characterized as a case study) aimed at analyzing the didactic pedagogical potential of this type of methodology in high school. We found that tasks such as those presented and discussed in this paper provide a more significant learning for the students, allowing a better conceptual understanding, becoming still more powerful when one considers the social-cultural context of the students.

Assessment of a high school geological field course

Fieldwork is supportive of students’ natural inquiry abilities. Educational research findings suggest that instructors can foster the growth of thinking skills and promote science literacy by incorporating active learning strategies (McConnel et al, 2003). Huntoon (2001) states that there is a need to determine optimal learning strategies and to document the procedure of assessing those optimal geoscience curricula. This study seeks to determine if Earth Space II, a high school geological field course, can increase students’ knowledge of selected educational objectives. This research also seeks to measure any impact Earth Space II has on students’ attitude towards science. Assessment of the Earth Space II course objectives provided data on the impact of field courses on high school students’ scientific literacy, scientific inquiry skills, and understanding of selected course objectives. Knowledge assessment was done using a multiple choice format test, the Geoscience Concept Inventory, and an open-ended format essay test. Attitude assessment occurred by utilizing a preexisting science attitude survey. Both knowledge assessments items showed a positive effect size from the pretest to the posttest. The essay exam effect size was 17 and the Geoscience Concept Inventory effect size was 0.18. A positive impact on students’ attitude toward science was observed by an increase in the overall mean Likert value from the pre-survey to the post-survey.

Comprehensive Validation Of A Measure Of Student School Engagement: A Pilot Study Of Middle School Students

Although it may sound reasonable that American education continues to be more effective at sending high school students to college, in a study conducted in 2009, The Council of the Great City Schools states that "slightly more than half of entering ninth grade students arrive performing below grade level in reading and math, while one in five entering ninth grade students is more than two years behind grade level...[and] 25% received support in the form of remedial literacy instruction or interventions" (Council of the Great City Schools, 2009). Students are distracted with technology (Lei & Zhao, 2005), family (Xu & Corno, 2003), medical illnesses (Nielson, 2009), learning disabilities and perhaps the most detrimental to academic success, the very lack of interest in school (Ruch, 1963). In a Johns Hopkins research study, Building a Graduation Nation - Colorado (Balfanz, 2008), warning signs were apparent years before the student dropped out of high school. The ninth grade was often referenced as a critical point that indicated success or failure to graduate high school. The research conducted by Johns Hopkins illustrates the problem: students who become disengaged from school have a much greater chance of dropping out of high school and not graduating. The first purpose of this study was to compare different measurement models of the Student School Engagement (SSE) using Factor Analysis to verify model fit with student engagement. The second purpose was to determine the extent to which the SSE instrument measures student school engagement by investigating convergent validity (via the SSE and Appleton, Christenson, Kim and Reschly's instrument and Fredricks, Blumenfeld, Friedel and Paris's instrument), discriminant validity (via Huebner's Student Life Satisfaction Survey) and criterion-related validity (via the sub-latent variables of Aspirations, Belonging and Productivity and student outcome measures such as achievement, attendance and discipline). Discriminant validity was established between the SSE and the Appleton, Christenson, Kim and Reschly's model and Fredricks, Blumenfeld, Friedel and Paris's (2005) Student Engagement Instruments (SEI). When confirming discriminant validity, the SSE's correlations were weak and statistically not significant, thus establishing discriminant validity with the SLSS. Criterion-related validity was established through structural equation modeling when the SSE was found to be a significant predictor of student outcome measures when both risk score and CSAP scores were used. The third purpose of this study was to assess the factorial invariance of the SSE instrument across gender to ensure the instrument is measuring the intended construct across different groups. Conclusively, configural, weak and metric invariances were established for the SSE as a non-significant change in chi-square indicating that all parameters including the error variances were invariant across groups of gender. Engagement is not a clearly defined psychological construct; it requires more research in order to fully comprehend its complexity. Hopefully, with parental and teacher involvement and a sense of community, student engagement can be nurtured to result in a meaningful attachment to school and academic success.

Prospective associations between meth/amphetamine (speed) and MDMA (ecstasy) use and depressive symptoms in secondary school students

Background Research has raised significant concern regarding the affective consequences of synthetic drug use. However, little evidence from well-controlled longitudinal studies exists on these consequences. The aim of this study was to determine whether use of meth/amphetamine (speed) and 63,4- methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA, ecstasy) is independently predictive of subsequent depressive symptoms in adolescents. Methods A sample of 3880 adolescents from secondary schools in disadvantaged areas of Quebec, Canada, were followed over time (2003e2008). Logistic regression was used to test the association between meth/ amphetamine and MDMA use in grade 10 (ages 15e16 years) and elevated depressive symptoms on an abridged Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression scale in grade 11, controlling for pre-existing individual and contextual characteristics. Results After adjustment, both MDMA use (OR 1.7, 95% CI 1.1 to 2.6) and meth/amphetamine use (OR 1.6, 95% CI 1.1 to 2.3) in grade 10 significantly increased the odds of elevated depressive symptoms in grade 11. These relationships did not vary by gender or pre-existing depressive symptoms. Increased risk was particularly observed in concurrent usage (OR 1.9, 95% CI 1.2 to 2.9). Conclusions Adolescent use of meth/amphetamine and MDMA (particularly concurrent use) is independently associated with subsequent depressive symptoms. Further enquiry must determine whether these associations reflect drug-induced neurotoxicity and whether adolescence is a period of increased vulnerability to the hazards of synthetic drug exposure.

Prospective associations between meth/amphetamine (speed) and MDMA (ecstasy) use and depressive symptoms in secondary school students

Background Research has raised significant concern regarding the affective consequences of synthetic drug use. However, little evidence from well-controlled longitudinal studies exists on these consequences. The aim of this study was to determine whether use of meth/amphetamine (speed) and 63,4- methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA, ecstasy) is independently predictive of subsequent depressive symptoms in adolescents. Methods A sample of 3880 adolescents from secondary schools in disadvantaged areas of Quebec, Canada, were followed over time (2003e2008). Logistic regression was used to test the association between meth/ amphetamine and MDMA use in grade 10 (ages 15e16 years) and elevated depressive symptoms on an abridged Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression scale in grade 11, controlling for pre-existing individual and contextual characteristics. Results After adjustment, both MDMA use (OR 1.7, 95% CI 1.1 to 2.6) and meth/amphetamine use (OR 1.6, 95% CI 1.1 to 2.3) in grade 10 significantly increased the odds of elevated depressive symptoms in grade 11. These relationships did not vary by gender or pre-existing depressive symptoms. Increased risk was particularly observed in concurrent usage (OR 1.9, 95% CI 1.2 to 2.9). Conclusions Adolescent use of meth/amphetamine and MDMA (particularly concurrent use) is independently associated with subsequent depressive symptoms. Further enquiry must determine whether these associations reflect drug-induced neurotoxicity and whether adolescence is a period of increased vulnerability to the hazards of synthetic drug exposure.

Procedures for the identification of potential high school dropouts; a report of the Illinois Dropout Study, including selected findings of the Quincy study and suggested models for experimental programs in elementary schools, junior high schools, and high schools.

Bibliography: p. 42.

Method of Linear Programming as an Idea for High School Curriculum

2010 Mathematics Subject Classification: 97D40, 97M10, 97M40, 97N60, 97N80, 97R80

Self-determination theory and student motivation in social studies in an urban Broward County public high school

This study investigated how students perceived their motivation in high school social studies classes in school and to determine if a correlation exists between students’ grade level, race, gender, and their motivation. The sample included 337 high school students in Broward County, Florida. To assess students’ perceptions on their motivation the academic self-regulation questionnaire was utilized. Results indicate that social studies students show high levels of external regulation, with a mean score at 22.31 on a scale of 36 points. The results show a mean score of 24 on a scale of 28 points for identified regulation among social studies students. Findings revealed that student motivation could be gauged. No statistical significance was found between high school students’ grade level, race, gender, and their motivation in social studies classes. The findings of this study have shown that students at Boyd H. Anderson High School want to learn social studies.

A systemist approach to the analysis of gender gender bias in Iranian high school English textbooks

This chapter aims to see if English textbooks written for high school students in Iran are in favor of a particular gender. To this end, four English textbooks currently taught in the Iranian high schools were analysed on the basis of Systemic Functional Linguistics. Five categories were identified and two types of analyses were conducted- content analysis and linguistic. The result of the content analysis demonstrated a significant difference between the frequencies in male-female distribution. The linguistic analysis revealed that there are more males in theme and rheme positions as well as participants role, expecting for the Sensor role, The differences could be attributed to the writers' attitudes, culture, and patriarchal structure of the Iranian families.

Ten years after : a qualitative study of students' experiences in a high school theatre company

This qualitative study explored 4 former students' perceptions of the learning associated with their involvement in a high school theatre program and the contextual factors they linked to their perceived development. The study involved 4 adult participants, 2 male and 2 female, who had participated extensively in a high school theatre company from 1996 to 2001 when they were students in a large Ontario school board. Data were collected from January to August, 2007, when the 4 former students took part in two in-depth, open-ended interviews. The focus of investigation was participant perspectives. Data analysis revealed that the 4 participants' involvement in high school theatre produced both wide-ranging and enduring developmental benefits across personal, social, and cognitive domains. Participants achieved these benefits through interactions among 3 related contexts: (a) rehearsal and performance practices, (b) the world of the play, and (c) characteristics of the high school theatre company.

Discriminating between primary school students with high and low self-esteem.

From an initial sample of 747 primary school students, the top 16 percent (n =116) with high self-esteem (HSE) and the bottom 15 percent (n = I1 I) with low selfesteem (LSE) were se/eeted. These two groups were then compared on personal and classroom variables. Significant differences were found for all personal (self-talk, selfconcepts) and classroom (teacher feedback, praise, teacher-student relationship, and classroom environment) variables. Students with HSE scored more highly on all variables. Discriminant Function Analysis (DFA) was then used to determine which variables discriminated between these two groups of students. Learner self-concept, positive and negative self-talk, classroom environment, and effort feedback were the best discriminators of students with high and low self-esteem. Implications for educational psychologists and teachers are discussed.