Perceptions of recess and the effects of a morning recess break on the oral reading fluency of second grade students

A recent trend in schools has been to reduce or eliminate recess. The assumption behind this elimination is that less recess time provides more opportunities for learning and hence, better learning outcomes. However, little research has examined the effects of this assumption, and little is known about the relationship between recess and learning. The purpose of this mixed method quasi-experimental study was to test the massed versus distributed practice theory and the cognitive immaturity theory, and to gain a better understanding of recess and its implications for learning. The quantitative question was designed to determine whether segmenting instructional time with a recess break had an influence on second grade students\u27 oral reading fluency (ORF). Based on an independent-measures t test and a chi-square test of significance, no significant difference was found in ORF gain scores between the second graders who did and did not have a morning recess break, suggesting that segmenting instructional time did not have a significant impact on the student ORF. The qualitative question was designed to examine the connection between recess and learning. After data were coded and an interpretive analysis was conducted, a positive connection was found indicating that recess enhances learning. It was also noted that factors other than the timing of recess may influence children\u27s learning. Results provide support for the inclusion of recess for every child for the development of their psychomotor, affective and cognitive needs. Results also indicate that the long-term effects of providing recess may outweigh the short-term effects of reducing or eliminating recess

Tarmac cowboys : an ethnographic study of the cultural world of boy racers

EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

Exploring young children’s participation and motive orientation in the classroom and at forest school

This doctoral study uses an interpretive ethnographic approach to explore children’s motive-oriented activity in the reception year classroom and at Forest School. The research considers the experiences of a group of linguistically and culturally diverse 4- and 5-year-olds, in order to conceptualise the child’s situation of development through their participation in socio-material activity settings from the child’s perspective. The study’s objective was to use a ‘wholeness approach’ (Fleer, Hedegaard and Tudge, 2009; Hedegaard, 2018) to consider the child’s developing motive orientations and competencies in dialectical reciprocity with the values, expectations and demands of institutional practice. In doing so, it provides a means of considering how these may contribute to the child’s perception of self as a competent learner and valued participant in relation to the demands of early childhood settings. The study is situated within Welsh Government (WG) strategies for early childhood education, which aim to ensure ‘successful futures’ for all (WG, 2015b). The methodology draws upon Hedegaard and Fleer’s (2008) dialectical-interactive methodology for studying children, in order to make visible the perspectives of the researcher, adults/staff and the child. Fieldwork to collect data took place in the classroom at an urban primary school and a Forest School site over an eight-month period. Participants included children, their parents, teaching staff and Forest School staff. Data were gathered using observation, audio-visual recording, still photography, interviews, informal conversations during drawing and playing, and video-stimulated interviews. The data collection process was based upon ethical principles (BERA, 2011) to encourage informed involvement of participants. Using an environmental affordance perspective framework for analysis (Bang 2008, 2009), events chosen on the basis of conflict are explored to consider how the child negotiates, appropriates and challenges available affordances of things/artefacts, social others and self-experience as an individual within collective practices. The findings demonstrate how diverse children, including those whose behaviour is considered ‘challenging’, are negotiating often conflicting demands. The findings establish the importance of Forest School as an alternative, yet complementary, institution that provides pedagogical and physical space to support teachers in their observations and playful engagement with children. The thesis presents a contribution to theoretical considerations of how young children participate in and shape their interactive experiences in dialectical relationship with the socio-material affordances of institutional practices. The findings provide empirical material to consider how children are viewed in terms of competencies, how conflicts between policy and practice shape children’s participation, and how the concept of motive orientation is critical in order to support children’s sustained engagement in transition between and within educational practice

Designing Location-based Games : How to support players’ social interaction, physical activity and learning about their local environment

The earliest academic studies on location-based games (LBGs) were conducted in the early 2000’s, but the recent upsurge in the popularity and success of commercial LBGs has created a need to re-examine the genre in light of new empirical evidence. In 2016, Pokemon GO brought the LBG genre into a spotlight by being downloaded hundreds of millions of times and generating over 4 billion USD in lifetime revenue to date. Since then, new games such as Jurassic World: Alive, The Walking Dead: Our World and The Witcher: Monster Slayer have emerged. Understanding phenomena related to LBGs is important for various stakeholders from game designers to urban designers and educators. In this dissertation we take an inductive approach to LBG design by gathering evidence from popular commercial LBGs with six original research articles (Studies I-VI). The studies focus on game mechanics that are unique to the LBG genre, and how reported positive outcomes of playing LBGs can be tied to these mechanics. Through the six studies we derive a game mechanics -focused design framework for LBGs, which we name the Triune PoI System, where PoI stands for point of interest. The system consists of three central components: exploration, discovery and navigation, and at the heart of these lies moving to trigger gameplay. The Triune PoI System highlights the importance of LBGs to provide multimodal motivation for players to move and play, and the crucial importance of the playing locations, the PoIs for scaffolding positive outcomes. We demonstrate how the following benefits of playing LBGs (1) physical activity; (2) social interaction; and (3) learning and discovery; are ultimately tied to the Triune PoI System (Studies I-IV). We also investigate the effects of aggressive marketing and LBG game mechanics on players’ well-being (Study V). Here we identify that aggressive marketing can exhaust players, but that the overall LBG playing intensity had a strong significant association with psychological well-being in our sample. We also demonstrate that nostalgia and imagination play crucial roles in scaffolding perceived meaningfulness of playing LBGs (Study VI). Finally, we propose that the popularity of LBGs may be explained by them embodying aspects of the hunter-gatherer lifestyle that are missing in the urban way of living. TIIVISTELMÄ Varhaisimmat akateemiset tutkimukset paikkatietoon pohjautuvista peleistä julkaistiin jo vuosituhannen alussa, mutta pelien viimeaikainen suosio ja kaupallinen menestys antavat aihetta tarkastella paikkatietoon pohjautuvien pelien suunnittelua uuden empiirisen todistusaineiston valossa. Vuonna 2016 julkaistua Pokémon GO:ta on ladattu satoja miljoonia kertoja ja sen suosion inspiroimana on julkaistu sellaisia paikkatietoon pohjautuvia pelejä kuin Jurassic World: Alive, The Walking Dead: Our World sekä The Witcher: Monster Slayer. Näiden pelien ja niihin liittyvien ilmiöiden ymmärtäminen voi olla hyödyllistä monille eri tahoille, kuten pelisuunnittelijoille, kaupunkisuunnittelijoille ja koulutuksesta vastaaville. Tässä väitöskirjatutkimuksessa lähestytään paikkatietoon pohjautuvien pelien suunnittelua induktiivisesti kuuden alkuperäisartikkelin avulla. Tutkimuksessa selvitetään mitkä ovat paikkatietoon pohjautuvien pelien keskeisimmät pelimekaniikat ja miten raportoidut positiiviset vaikutukset nivoutuvat niihin. Tulokset osoittavat, että suosittujen paikkatietoon pohjautuvien pelien keskiössä on ns. "Triune PoI System", joka koostuu 3+1 komponentista: tutkiminen, löytäminen ja navigointi; sekä liikkuminen. Toisin sanoen pelaajat lähtevät tutkimaan ympäristöään, löytävät sieltä mielenkiintoisia kohteita ja navigoivat niiden luokse. Lisäksi pelien keskeisenä elementtinä on pelkästä liikkumisesta palkitseminen. Tutkimuksessa osoitetaan, että liikunta, sosiaalinen vuorovaikutus ja oppiminen on suosituissa peleissä, kuten Pokémon GO:ssa, keskeisesti sidottu Triune PoI Systemiin. Lisäksi selvitetään mitä vaikutuksia kaupallisten paikkatietoon pohjautuvien pelien markkinoinnilla ja mikrotransaktiomekanismeilla on pelaajien hyvinvointiin. Tutkimuksessa havaitaan, että markkinointi saattaa väsyttää pelaajia, mutta kokonaisuutena paikkatietoon pohjautuvien pelien pelaamisella ja hyvinvoinnilla on tilastollisesti merkitsevä vahva yhteys. Lisäksi osoitetaan, että nostalgia ja mielikuvitus tukevat tunnetta pelaamisen merkityksellistä. Lopuksi ehdotetaan, että paikkatietoon pohjautuvien pelien suosiota saattaa selittää niiden tarjoamat metsästäjä-keräilijä-elämän aspektit, joista urbaanissa miljöössä elävät ihmiset jäävät arkielämässään paitsi

Stress Begins in Kindergarten: A Look at Behavior During Standardized Testing.

Children\u27s behavior during standardized achievement testing was explored through a qualitative study of two kindergarten classrooms. The subjects were 36 kindergarten children (10 Black, 26 white; 17 males, 19 females). Data were collected through observations in the classrooms; interviews with children, teachers, and principals; and video taping of the children before, during, and after standardized achievement testing. Findings indicated an increase in behaviors reported to be stress related during the testing situation and a decrease in those behaviors following the testing period. Other frequently observed behaviors included copying and calling out answers during the administration of the test. In addition, the children frequently marked incorrect answers, although they could provide the correct answers orally. The attitude of the principals toward testing seemed to affect the testing situation. The principal who felt test scores were extremely important placed more emphasis on test performance. Children at this school engaged in more stress related behaviors than children in the school where the principal placed less emphasis on the importance of test scores

Stress begins in kindergarten: A look at behavior during standardized testing

Kindergarten children’s behavior before, during, and after standardized achievement testing was explored through a qualitative study in two classrooms (n = 36). Simultaneously quantitative data were collected in one of the classrooms (n = 21) before and during the testing. Data were collected through observations in the classrooms, interviews with children and teachers, and audio and video taping of the children. For the quantitative component of the study, frequencies of stress behaviors were observed using a scan sampling method. Qualitative findings indicated an increase in behaviors reported to be stress related during the testing and a decrease in those behaviors following the testing. Copying and calling out answers during the testing were also observed frequently. Children also marked incorrect answers, but when interviewed after the test, could respond correctly. Quantitative results supported the qualitative with a statistically significant increase in the proportion of stress behaviors observed during testing (M = .77; n = 21) when compared with the proportion during normal classroom activities (M = .25; t[20] = -13.37, p \u3c.001). © 1992 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC

Rage in the city of angels: The historical development of the skinhead subculture in Los Angeles

This study examines the historical development of the racist skinhead subculture in Los Angeles. The skinhead subculture is a highly diverse network of gangs that has experienced significant changes over the last twenty-five years. I use an in-depth case study approach that relies upon extensive observation of and interviews with current and former skinheads to explain how and why L.A. skinhead gangs have changed over time. I argue that the Los Angeles skinhead subculture has moved through three phases of organizational emphasis which I characterize respectively as social, political, and economic oriented gangs. My aim is to analyze how skinheads have absorbed differing and almost contradictory elements since emerging in Los Angeles. In doing so, I show the plasticity and flexibility of skinhead gangs as they adapt and respond to wider social changes and thus challenge previous scholarship that view gang subcultures as relatively static, unchanging phenomena

Authority and Trust in US Culture and Society: Interdisciplinary Approaches and Perspectives

In the past two decades, a discourse of crisis has emerged about the democratic institutions and political culture of the US: many structures of authority which people had more or less taken for granted are facing a massive public loss of trust. This volume takes an interdisciplinary and historical look at the transformations of authority and trust in the United States. The contributors examine government institutions, political parties, urban neighborhoods, scientific experts, international leadership, religious communities, and literary production. Exploring the nexus between authority and trust is crucial to understand the loss of legitimacy experienced by political, social, and cultural institutions not only in the United States but in Western democracies at large

Authority and Trust in US Culture and Society

In the past two decades, a discourse of crisis has emerged about the democratic institutions and political culture of the US: many structures of authority which people had more or less taken for granted are facing a massive public loss of trust. This volume takes an interdisciplinary and historical look at the transformations of authority and trust in the United States. The contributors examine government institutions, political parties, urban neighborhoods, scientific experts, international leadership, religious communities, and literary production. Exploring the nexus between authority and trust is crucial to understand the loss of legitimacy experienced by political, social, and cultural institutions not only in the United States but in Western democracies at large

Authority and Trust in US Culture and Society

In the past two decades, a discourse of crisis has emerged about the democratic institutions and political culture of the US: many structures of authority which people had more or less taken for granted are facing a massive public loss of trust. This volume takes an interdisciplinary and historical look at the transformations of authority and trust in the United States. The contributors examine government institutions, political parties, urban neighborhoods, scientific experts, international leadership, religious communities, and literary production. Exploring the nexus between authority and trust is crucial to understand the loss of legitimacy experienced by political, social, and cultural institutions not only in the United States but in Western democracies at large