Impact of Coaching Feedback on Cultural Competency of Undergraduate Students at MSU, Mankato

Our research question was how does the timing of coaching feedback have an impact on cultural competency of undergraduates? Cultural competency (the capability to understand and adapt behavior to cultural differences and commonalities, Hammer & Bennett, 2010) is beyond knowledge and understanding (cognitive activities). It involves reflection, critical thinking, and adaptation of behavior. Other investigators have noted that support and encouragement of critical thinking played an integral role in participant growth. Pederson (2009) promoted the importance of guided activities, reflection, recognizing and using teachable moments, and facilitation of conversations and debate about issues of race, culture, society, and values. Their report supported prior research on the need for structured intercultural support. So something more than classroom instruction may be necessary to foster cultural competency.If cultural competency is beyond knowledge and understanding and a result of more than study abroad or classroom diversity, this team of student researchers wondered if experience with diversity combined with structured coaching might make a larger difference in cultural competency. Subjects included 70 students participating in EEC 222w (Human Relations in a Multicultural Society) during Fall 2015. The students were between 18 and 30 years old and included male and female participants. Outcomes of the study will be used for program assessment by the College of Education. The university may use this information in considering the effectiveness of its cultural diversity goal: experience diversity with supervised reflection and recognize and respond to conditions of marginalized populations

Mental skills training in sprinting

The Science of Sport: Sprinting examines the scientific principles that underpin the preparation and performance of athletics at all levels, from grassroots to Olympic competition. Drawing on the expertise of some of the world's leading coaches and sport science professionals, the book presents a detailed analysis of the latest evidence and explores the ways in which science has influenced, and subsequently improved, the sport of sprinting. By providing an overview of the principles of sport science and how these are applied in practice, the book is essential reading for students and academics, coaches and performers, physiotherapists, club doctors and professional support staff

Marxist history and schooling: Beyond economism

Marxist history emphasises the linkage between economic production, social institutions and everyday life. Critics of Marxism claim that its analysis of schooling is simplistic, functional and deterministic The first part of this paper examines whether Marxist historical practice was in fact deterministic. It offers a non-reductionist and non-economistic reading of Marx's historical methodology. The second section moves on to consider some of the ways in which post-structuralist theorising can 'loosen-up' and revitalise mechanistic Marxist interpretations of the history of schooling

Islam Between Inclusion and Exclusion: A (Decolonial) Frame Problem

In this chapter, the 'Frame Problem' in AI is mobilized as a trope in order to engage the 'question' concerning the inclusion and/or exclusion of Islam (and Muslims) from European – and, more broadly, 'Western' – society. Adopting a decolonial perspective, wherein body-political, geo-political and theo-political concerns are centered, the meaning and applicability of categorical dichotomies such as 'religion' and 'politics' and their relationship to the historical entanglement of 'religion' and 'race' in the formation of the modern world are interrogated in the context of understanding the nature of the relationship between Islam and Europe/'the West'. It is argued that the tendency within Western liberal democratic discourses to (1) frame the problem of Islamophobia and 'the Muslim question' in terms of misrepresentation – that is, misinformation, disinformation and 'distortion' of the flow of information – and (2) frame the issue of "Islam and Europe/'the West'" in terms of inclusion and/or exclusion of the members of a 'religious' minority into a post-modern, post- Christian/'secular' polity circumvents disclosure of the violent historically-constituted structural background or 'horizon' against which such 'options' are generated. The essay concludes by sketching some possible decolonial responses to this critical and existentially-problematic state of affairs

How a turn to critical race theory can contribute to our understanding of 'race', racism and anti-racism in sport

As long as racism has been associated with sport there have been consistent, if not coordinated or coherent, struggles to confront its various forms. Critical race theory (CRT) is a framework established to challenge these racialized inequalities and racism in society and has some utility for anti-racism in sport. CRT's focus on social justice and transformation are two areas of convergence between critical race theorists and anti-racists. Of the many nuanced and pernicious forms of racism, one of the most obvious and commonly reported forms of racism in sport, racial abuse, has been described as a kind of dehumanizing process by Gardiner (2003), as those who are its target are simultaneously (re)constructed and objectified according to everyday myth and fantasy. However, this is one of the many forms of everyday racist experiences. Various forms of racism can be experienced in boardrooms, on television, in print, in the stands, on the sidelines and on the pitch. Many times racism is trivialized and put down as part of the game (Long et al., 2000), yet its impact is rarely the source of further exploration. This article will explore the conceptualization of 'race' and racism for a more effective anti-racism. Critical race theory will also be used to explore the ideas that underpin considerations of the severity of racist behaviour and the implications for anti-racism. © The Author(s) 2010

Making Commitments to Racial Justice Actionable

In this article, we articulate a framework for making our commitments to racial justice actionable, a framework that moves from narrating confessional accounts to articulating our commitments and then acting on them through both self-work and work-with-others, a dialectic possibility we identify and explore. We model a method for moving beyond originary confessional narratives and engage in dialogue with “the willingness to be disturbed” (Wheatley, 2002), believing that disturbances are productive places from which we can more clearly articulate and act from our commitments. Drawing on our own experiences, we engage the political, systemic, and enduring nature of racism as we together chart an educational frame that counters the macro-logics of oppression enacted daily through micro-inequities. As we advocate for additional and ongoing considerations of the work of antiracism in educational settings, we invite others to embrace, along with us, both the willingness to be disturbed and the attention to making commitments actionable

Race and Redemption: Racial and Ethnic Evolution in Rudolf Steiner\u27s Anthroposophy

With its origins in modern Theosophy, Rudolf Steiner’s Anthroposophy is built around a racial view of human nature arranged in a hierarchical framework. This article examines the details of the Anthroposophical theory of cosmic and individual redemption and draws out the characteristic assumptions about racial and ethnic difference that underlie it. Particular attention is given to textual sources unavailable in English, which reveal the specific features of Steiner’s account of “race evolution” and “soul evolution.” Placing Steiner’s worldview in its historical and ideological context, the article highlights the contours of racial thinking within a prominent alternative spiritual movement and delineates the central role of a racially configured conception of evolution within Anthroposophy past and present

Legal Classics: After Deconstructing the Legal Canon

The debate over the canon has gripped the University in recent years. Defenders of the canon argue that canonical texts embody timeless and universal themes, but critics argue that the process of canonization subordinates certain people and viewpoints within society in order to assert the existence of a univocal tradition. Originating primarily in the field of literary criticism, the canon debate recently has emerged in legal theory. Professor Francis J. Mootz argues that the issues raised by the canon debate are relevant to legal scholarship, teaching and practice. After reviewing the extensive commentary on the literary canon, Professor Mootz criticizes the polemical structure of the debate and asserts that an appreciation of classical, as opposed to canonical, texts opens the way for a productive inquiry. He defines a classical text as one that both shapes contemporary concerns and also serves as a point of reference for revising these concerns. Classical texts enable critical perspectives rather than submitting to them, he continues, because they provide the arena for debates about issues of public concern. Using Hadley v. Baxendale as an example of a legal classic, Professor Mootz contends that the power of such a classical text is its ability to shape hotly contested legal debates. Our time . . . seems unpropitious for thinking about the question of the classic, for . . . it seems to be a simple either/or that requires merely a choosing of sides: for or against? back to the classics or away from them? Our time calls not for thinking but a vote. And it may well be too late for thinking about the classic in any case, for the vote is already in, and the nays have it