Feet, footwork, footwear, and “being alive” in the modern school

This article considers the theoretical argument of anthropologist Tim Ingold, that the denial and subsequent encasement of bare feet in footwear was a critical characteristic of the development of modern societies, in exploring three aspects of feet, footwork, and footwear in the history of the modern school. First, the material conditions of feet and footwear are considered towards a sensory, social, cultural, and symbolic understanding of the significance of these body parts and the technological and relational forces at play in the development of modern school systems. Second, the act, experience, and pedagogical intention of walking to and from school is examined through the memories of ex-pupils recounting informal incidental learning experiences as well as through a progressive ideology of urban anarchist pedagogy. Third, the promotion of modern dance and movement in postwar primary education in England is examined with regard to the significance attached to bare feet and the sense of touch in modern school environments. Finally, the article concludes with some observations regarding the historical significance of a shift of focus to the feet of school children in twentieth-century progressive educational agendas

Classroom Furniture Design – Correlation of Pupil and Chair Dimensions

The present study aimed at determining the relationship of anthropometric dimensions of pupils from grades 1 to 8 in primary school with the dimensions of school chairs. Two dimensions of the chairs in daily use were evaluated to ascertain whether the fit is sufficient and the effect on pupils’ sitting posture. The work included a sample of 556 pupils from three primary schools in Zagreb, Croatia and two types of furniture. Dimensions of school chairs were compared with three anthropometric variables of the pupils. Descriptive statistics were analysed for all variables. These study results have shown that furniture of appropriate dimensions is not available to a large number of students in Croatia. Currently supplied classroom equipment is provided in only two sizes and does not fit the users. It is recommended that task chairs may be acceptable if they are issued in four heights or individually adjustable chairs be introduced in Croatian schools. Furthermore it is strongly recommended that schools actively promote appropriate active sitting behaviou

Association between Body Composition, Physical Activity Profile, and Occurrence of Knee and Foot Postural Alterations among Young Healthy Adults

Knee and foot deformities refer to structural abnormalities in the knee and foot bones, joints, ligaments, or muscles. Various factors, including genetics, injury, disease, or excessive use, can cause these deformities. These musculoskeletal conditions can significantly impact individuals’ quality of life. This study examined foot and knee deformities in 231 young healthy adults (165 men, 66 women) aged 22.6 ± 4.9 years and their association with physical activity and body composition. The postural assessment was performed by two Physiotherapists, with the subject standing in three views: side, anterior, and posterior. Physical activity (Baecke’s Habitual Physical Activity Questionnaire) and body composition (InBody 770) were assessed. Results showed that the most common foot deformity was pes planus, while the genu recurvatum was the most common knee deformity among the individuals. Physical activity level was negatively associated with knee and foot deformities. Conversely, body composition differed with the presence of genu recurvatum. These findings present a starting point to understand the occurrence of knee and foot postural alterations according to the individuals’ body composition and physical activity profiles, which could support the deployment of tailored interventions among healthy adults. In addition, early detection of postural changes is crucial in mitigating their negative long-term impact on physical well-being.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Acta kinesiologiae Universitatis Tartuensis. 7(Supplement)

http://www.ester.ee/record=b1227224*es

Socializing Physical Education

The ideas of our day lead us to plan for the education of our children. We seem to have passed through three stages in our national life. The first is that of the pioneer whom we glorified. He opened the West and built towns and cities; he smoothed the path of commerce and industry from coast to coast. The second stage marks the captain of industry, whose industrial enterprises have yielded tremendous wealth and power, focusing the attention of people with privilege, patronage, and pecuniary values. The third stage seems new with us, in which more and more people are asking, Of what value wealth, national* power, and great enterprises, unless there is more health, more joy and happiness, finer and better living everywhere? The glamour of the pioneer is nearly gone, the captain of industry seems less commanding in a world that is asking that wealth shall be translated into health, power into human happiness and understanding. If these values express the mood of our modern world, then physical education must be viewed as a way of living

Moving And Learning: A Curriculum Designed To Reduce Stress In High School Physical Education Students

The Moving and Learning curriculum was designed to help physical education students learn skills that will help them reduce stress by using yoga, mindfulness, and breathing techniques. Methods from all three areas were used to create a three week curriculum that would allow teachers in physical education, and other content areas, to get kids moving while they are learning. The three week curriculum is accompanied by a full appendix to the all of the yoga, breathing, and mindfulness tools and is presented in a scope and sequence that lets the students build on new and prior knowledge. The results are students that can identify the signs of stress in their bodies, take the steps necessary to relieve that stress, then return to or continue learning. Challenges in implementing this curriculum include space available, money for enrichment equipment, and the willingness of the teacher to learn something new

Self directed learning : An investigation of Taijiquan as a system for integrating the physical and mental aspects of personal development.

Taijiquan is an ancient Chinese martial art and health system which grew out of the large body of psychosomatic techniques and practices which are part of Daoist physiological alchemy. Through the ages Taijiquan has been used as a system of personal development. In recent years there has been a growing interest in Taijiquan by an increasing number of individuals in the West. Disciplines such as dance and movement studies, humanistic psychology, postural integration and bodymind systems have shown interest in certain aspects of Taijiquan. This study aims at examining the usefulness of Taijiquan as a system for integrating the physical and mental aspects of personal development in the context of self-directed learning in the West. It also deals with the problems the Western student will face in taking up Taijiquan as a system of personal development. The study is done in two parts: Part I deals with Taijiquan as a system and looks at its historic and philosophical development. Part II examines traditional teaching and learning methods, and strategies and principles of Taijiquan in the context of integrating the physical and mental aspects of personal development

Perceived emotional competence and emotion appraisal skills in middle childhood in typically developing and behaviourally challenged children.

This thesis addresses whether children with severe behavioural problems lack emotional competence in key areas and, if so, whether this is reflected in their ability to appraise emotions in others. Self-rated and objectively rated emotional competence of children in mainstream schooling was compared with 20 children aged seven to 11 excluded for severe social, emotional and behavioural difficulties. In Study 1 self-report questionnaires measured affect perception, empathy and expressivity in typically developing (N=203), special educational needs (N=36) and socially, emotionally and behaviourally disordered (N=30) children in mainstream schooling. Younger children were less perceptive of affect than older children and scored lower for cognitive empathy. Boys scored lower in cognitive and affective empathy than girls and were less intimate, and more covert, in their expression of emotion. Special educational needs children appeared less emotionally perceptive than their peers. In Studies 2a and 2b, affect appraisal and the ability to describe emotional change were examined using a new measure employing pictorial representations of children in ambiguous postures and facial representations of emotion. Typical patterns of appraisal of possibly threatening, depressive and innocuous postures were established (N=242). A developmental progression in reasons given for emotional change was seen with older children providing more socially based and mentalising answers than younger children. Study 3 developed an interactive computerised measure to examine the point at which children recognise the emergence of emotion from an interpolation of photographic facial expressions. Eighty-five typically developing children manipulated 26 emotional changes, including emotion/emotion and emotion/neutral transitions and chose a point of uncertainty in the transformation. A significant effect was found for facial representations of fear and anger, indicating a threat detection mechanism in response to emergent emotion. In Study 4 children with severe behavioural problems were compared across all measures with typically developing children from the first three studies. Behaviourally challenged children were deficient in cognitive and affective empathy and exhibited a hostile appraisal bias when assessing ambiguous postures of other children. No deficit was found in the ability to evaluate emotional change and provide age-appropriate reasons. However, anger was dominant in the perception even over fear stimuli when assessing emotional transition. Overall, children excluded from mainstream schooling with severe behavioural problems showed a very different profile to mainstream children with behavioural problems, suggesting a qualitative difference in cognitive functioning that could have a predictive function. This thesis not only supports the premise that severe SEBD children exhibit altered emotional functioning but has developed a series of tests that will have ongoing value in applied research

Constructing an Early Modern Queen: Posturing, Mimicry, and the Rhetoric of Authority

As the illegitimate daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, a woman executed for treason, Elizabeth Tudor stood at the center of discourses that often sought to contain or even destroy her. Early on, Elizabeth understood that constant re-invention, performance, and mimicry were key strategies for survival. When she finally ascended the throne in 1558, Elizabeth continued to use these rhetorical methods to retain her autonomy, as far as possible, garnering public support and the loyalty of her court. Although Elizabeth has long been acknowledged as a historical icon and has received considerable scholarly attention, particularly from feminist and feminist-leaning scholars, her status as a skilled rhetor and use of strategic imitation has only been briefly considered. This project will examine Elizabeth as an iconic rhetor, one with the semblance of power and agency within the confines of gendered discourses. Analyzing her performance through the lens of mimicry and historical inaccessibility, as outlined in the theories of Homi Bhabha and Gayatri Spivak, this project considers the following lines of inquiry: Tudor era debates regarding pedagogical strategies and their intersection with rhetorical theories; the influence of early instructors, both women and men, on Elizabeth’s rhetorical strategy; and Elizabeth\u27s emulative self-fashioning as it appears in her speeches, behavior, letters, and portraits. This project suggests that as a seminal figure at the start of the modern moment, Elizabeth’s deft use of mimicry to establish and maintain her royal authority is significant within the rhetorical tradition

An Introduction to Serbian Performing Arts Education: Critical Insights

During her tenure as Chair of the Department of Solfege, at the Faculty of Music, University of Arts in Belgrade (Serbia), Vera Milankovic founded the Pedagogical Forum of Performing Arts, in 1998. The initial idea was to form a platform for educators, who had no previous opportunities to showcase and exchange their rich pedagogical experiences in research and teaching. The Pedagogical Forum gradually advanced towards facilitating discourse in performing, musicology and music theory, including drama pedagogy and special education and rehabilitation. At present, the Pedagogical Forum celebrates the running of an international symposium dedicated to teaching and learning in all performing arts