UniSA Open Journal System (Univ. of South Australia)
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Can a policy change practice? An evidence-based approach to developing policy
No full textUniversities agree that there is a need to educate students about academic integrity and that the quality of the awards they confer on their students is compromised if students gain credit for work where breaches of academic integrity have been overlooked or not dealt with in a consistent matter. This paper describes how one university developed a new institutional framework and accompanying policy document in order to simplify the processes, ensure that students receive educational assistance when required and respond to the dissatisfaction of academic staff with the existing
policy and processes. The context for these changes included perceptions in the press that the number of cases of academic misconduct were increasing and that there is an ever-increasing reliance on electronic sources of information. The development of the institutional framework and the related policy are analysed using a policy cycle model and conclusions are drawn about the success of the policy implementation based on practice aligning with policy
Studies of obesity, body image and related health issues among Australian adolescents: how can programs in schools interact with and complement each other?
No full textThis article details recent studies of body weight, obesity, body image and related health issues among Australian adolescents and the ways in which subsequent nutrition and physical activity programs in schools can interact with and complement each other, rather than contradicting or competing with each other. I briefly identify and discuss the commonalities between health promotion, obesity prevention, body image improvement, eating disorder prevention and promotion of physical activity. In this article I present for the first time the findings of a 2009 research study examining the recent barriers to participation in sport, physical education and physical activity from a study of 1000 Australian children and adolescents. These findings illustrate the complex interrelationships between various adolescent health issues and their prevention. Finally, I believe that preventing the co-existing problems of obesity, low physical activity, disordered eating and body image concerns among adolescents is very challenging and requires a thoughtful, careful community involvement strategy. I suggest that it would be a mistake to target any sort of weight loss or weight control message towards adolescent girls, many of whom clearly already have a fear of fatness, an apparent body image problem and low self-esteem. Similarly, I recommend that it would be culturally inappropriate to approach obesity prevention among ethnic groups of overweight or obese adolescents and their families without serious consideration of the potentially harmful, undesirable or culturally inappropriate outcomes. Several facets of prevention need attention when focusing on school based health promotion, nutrition education and body image improvement using a whole-school approach, including school curricula, school ethos, school policies and school–community links
The role of health literacy in parents’ decision making in children’s sporting participation
No full textThe contemporary concept of health literacy has received heightened attention within the academic community over the last decade. Health literacy, which is related to the acquisition, understanding and application of health-related information (Jordan, Buchbinder and Osborne 2010), has been acknowledged as a key public health goal within Australia. Health literacy is particularly important where parents and children are concerned, as parents play a key role in recommending or discouraging activities that may impact on children’s physical health, such as sport. A health literacy approach may reshape parental motivations towards the holistic outcomes of sporting engagement, thereby promoting a healthier approach to sport participation. This is fundamental, given the current orientation towards a competitive sports model of participation within Australia, even for those participating at an amateur level. At present, improving social awareness of the physical health benefits of junior sport participation is a major challenge for communities, as parents are motivated by a combination of factors. Sport sociology literature suggests that social health is the primary beneficiary and motivator of junior sport participation, which encompasses the formation and development of friendships and communication skills. For parents, another key motivational factor for junior sport participation is the importance placed on winning. However, the fundamental benefits of junior sport involvement extend beyond the competitively oriented goals that are often enforced by parents. Consequently, there is a concern that parents who lack a holistic understanding of the physiological, biomechanical and social benefits of junior sport may impact on sport discontinuation. This paper will provide discussion around the importance of taking a health literacy approach towards junior sporting participation rather than the competitive model that currently dominates sport in Australian culture. It will highlight the health and broader social benefits of taking such an approach
Gibbons straddles the Mozambican public education system: Critical literacy challenges and moral dilemmas in Mozambican new curriculum
No full textWhile the concept of literacies has been heavily contested in the last two decades in Africa, the monumental studies on the concept have emphasised micro climate settings of classrooms and insignificant attention has been devoted to examining the connections between classroom practices and national policy imperatives. We therefore attempt to contextualise a particular genre of literacy (critical literacy) within the realm of a national education system policy. We marshal critical literacy and position it against the Mozambican educational landscape to unravel the extent to which the national curriculum captures and informs this genre of literacy. The social pressures on the contemporary education systems, rapid technological advancement and the need for socially relevant knowledge have necessitated educational systems to revisit the genres of literacies they offer, and specifically, to foreground critical literacy. Drawing on Gibbons' mode 2 knowledge production systems that emphasises practical application of knowledge in the contexts of its production, we examine the extent to which the current knowledge production systems and the new curriculum in Mozambique reflects critical literacy practices that foster self-critical, responsible learners who contribute significantly to the society. Drawing on Mozambique's policy statements, education system, and academic literature in the field, we argue that the educational landscape and new curriculum in particular have not only undermined possibilities for Mozambican learners to become self-critical, but have compromised the quality of education against regional and international standards
Using nutrition education and cooking classes in primary schools to encourage healthy eating
No full textSchools are in the unique position of being able to influence students’ eating behaviours in a beneficial manner. Positive peer and teacher modelling can encourage students to try foods they exhibited distaste for previously. Pilot research has shown that when nutrition and cooking sessions are conducted in primary schools, foods refused or untried at home during meal times, such as vegetables, were asked for following the school cooking classes using that same food. In this paper I will discuss how nutrition workshops and cooking classes in primary schools can influence healthy eating habits among schoolaged children. The research indicated that there was a transfer of knowledge around healthy nutrition from a school environment to a home environment through students as agents of change
Editorial, Volume 7(2)
No full textWelcome to the last issue of the IJEI for 2011. This issue includes the best refereed papers from the 5th Asia Pacific Conference on Educational Integrity: Culture and Values, held at the University of Western Australia, 26-28 September 2011.
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Sport literacy: it’s not just about learning to play sport via ‘textbook techniques’
No full textPhysical education (and sport teaching in particular) is often viewed as a marginal subject of less importance than other more ‘academic’ school subjects. While most physical education programs continue to emphasise mastery in sport skill, many students are unable to develop the expected competencies in the time provided by the unit of work. Those students with pre-developed ability prosper at the expense of less experienced, less skilled students (O’Connor 2006) in a teaching environment grounded on textbook techniques. As sport constitutes the substantive content for most middle and secondary years physical education programs this paper will present sport literacy as a conceptual framework for learning through, about and for sport in physical education (Pill 2009). This framing is designed to improve the core learning experiences of all students in physical education through more educationally valid and socially equitable sport teaching in physical education. It contains the ambitious agenda of creating discussion about the place and purpose of sport as a substantive site of and for learning in physical education by challenging the normative paradigm of textbook technique teaching
Playwork: A Profession Challenging Societal Factors Devaluing Children’s Play
No full textOver the duration of my teaching career I have witnessed the intensification of attitudes devaluing play, and now in my role as a university professor I have visited many school sites that offer little time for child-initiated play. These personal experiences painted a bleak picture for the inclusion of play in the daily lives of children. So while attending The Association for the Study of Play’s conference in 2006, I sought out sessions that focused on issues of play advocacy. As it turned out, a session offered by Fraser Brown titled Children Without Play was just what the doctor ordered. At that presentation I was introduced to the field of Playwork and became intrigued by a profession whose underlying principles were well suited to address the societal factors devaluing children’s play in America
Creating the ethical academy: A systems approach to understanding misconduct and empowering change in higher education
No full textTricia Bertram Gallant is a prolific writer and passionate advocate for the importance of academic integrity in higher education. In addition to her numerous journal articles, conference and seminar papers, readers will be familiar with her previous books including: Academic integrity in the twenty-first century (ASHE, 2008) and Cheating in schools: What we know and what we can do (with Stephen Davis and Patrick Drinan, Wiley 2009). For a review of the latter, please see IJEI Volume 5(1), 2009.
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Editorial: Sport, health and physical education special edition
No full textThis special edition of the Journal of Student Wellbeing emerges out of the Sport, Health and Physical Education (SHAPE) conference held at Flinders University in 2010. The conference was organised and run by the SHAPE research group, which is located within the School of Education at Flinders University. It was designed to bring together national and international academics to share their research and knowledge around children’s health and wellbeing within the context of sport, health and physical education settings. Approximately 150 delegates attended. The conference themes were divided into four key areas: (i) physical activity research, (ii) physical activity programs in schools, (iii) nutrition education and (iv) physical education. The papers within this special edition are indicative of the presentations conducted by a number of the presenters at the conference