Books, Publications

New Book

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Kieran McCartney, Staff Tutor for Sport and Fitness has recently published a book titled Mobile Education – Personalised Learning and Assessment in Remote Education: A Guide for Educators and Learners, Digital Learning and the Future. In this post he shares how mobile technology allows educators to explore various forms of assessment submissions.


NATO And Russia Can Be A Lesson On How To Alter Assessments In Education

Themes such as democracy and negotiation are evident in education as much as international affairs. The ongoing crisis between NATO and Russia is an example where two sides may continue to disagree and can still use diplomacy to aim to resolve differences. The key words in the last sentence being, aim to. The relationship between educators and learners is no different.

The presence of mobile technology either in classrooms or in eLearning environments presents an opportunity for educators to explore different forms of assessment. This can be achieved by engaging in a level of diplomacy with learners. For example, educators can share the learning outcomes for the subject area they are teaching and explore with students how learning outcomes can be achieved and demonstrated with the use of apps that are available within mobile technology. This approach involves a strong element of democratisation where learners can actively engage with educators to explore how assessment outcomes can be presented in different formats.

Using different formats in assessments may not be limited to typed documents, but also expanded to incorporate audio, audio and visual, or visual representations. Like international diplomacy, there are boundaries around what can be done, and it may fail.  But, by engaging both sides in communication learners and educators can develop an understanding of each other as well as their concerns and from that they can jointly explorer and negotiate the format of assessments to demonstrate the achievement of learning outcomes.

If you would like to learn more about how mobile technology can be used to help educators on students achieve learning outcomes in and away from the classroom, please explore –

McCartney, K. (2021) Mobile Education – Personalised Learning and Assessment in Remote Education: A Guide for Educators and Learners, Digital Learning and the Future, Bern, Switzerland: Peter Lang UK, from https://www.peterlang.com/view/title/74019

 

Congratulations on the publication, Kieran!

Journal Paper, Publications, Research

New Publication

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Quest for Freedom!

Cultural Studies ↔ Critical Methodologies

Dr Helen Owton has published an article providing an insight into the embodied and sensorial experiences of motorcycling through a series of vignettes. Helen’s research focused on ‘bringing the body back in’ via a phenomenologically inspired approach, exploring how ‘tests of experience’ can cultivate a sensuous self by sharpening awareness of all the senses. Motorcycling requires a sharpening of senses, meticulous preparation, and swift recovery following setbacks. There may be risks attached to pursue ‘tests of experiences’, but new adventures and unique experiences can cultivate joy, fulfilment, enhance confidence and resilience, and provide an opportunity to grow and expand one’s sense of self.

To read the full article, please click here and to read Helen’s OU blog on the ‘Thrill of Motorcycling’. 

Congratulations to Helen!

Conference Presentations, Dissemination, Research

Research conference presentation

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In November 2021, Sport and Fitness AL and Staff Tutor Steph Doehler presented findings from her publication on the media framing of Colin Kaepernick at the European Communication Research and Education Association’s Media, Sport, and Diversity conference. The online event hosted by Aarhus University in Denmark was attended by scholars from across Europe and included several presentations on sports communication and journalism. Steph’s research centred on how the American press responded to Kaepernick’s sustained activism during the 2016 NFL season, and compared this with their response to him in the wake of George Floyd’s murder in 2020.

 

Journal Paper, Publications

New Publication

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Dr Nichola Kentzer and OU colleagues Dr Jo Horne, Dr Jitka Vseteckova and Dr Joe De Lappe, have had another systematic review published examining the prevalence of physical activity among informal carers, this time with an international perspective. This follows Nichola’s previous paper examining the physical activity behaviours of informal carers in the United Kingdom. The team of colleagues from the UK, Italy and Turkey, completed the review along with a separate international review examining the barriers and facilitators to physical activity in informal carers which has just been submitted. Watch this space!

Congratulations to Nichola and her co-authors!

Award, Research

PhD News

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Many congratulations to Sport and Fitness Senior Lecturer, Jessica Pinchbeck for recently passing her PhD viva with just minor modifications.

A summary of Jess’s PhD thesis:

“It’s more than just playing a sport”. A socio-cultural analysis of participation in netball across the lifespan.

This thesis followed the journey of a small sample of women from one netball club located in the East of England to provide an insightful analysis into their childhood experiences of sport, exploring the extent to which this may have shaped their adult participation and the complexities of this connection. The study was conducted from an interpretivist perspective and used an ethnographic approach to examine how the women think and act in different situations, and how this develops over time as a result of previous experiences. These women and their experiences are not viewed in isolation but examined and studied in the wider context and alongside relationships in which their sports experiences have been socially constructed. Bourdieu’s (1984) theory of practice examines the extent to which social processes influence the behaviours, tastes, and judgements of individuals. This approach provides a valuable theoretical lens through which to view the sociocultural context of the women’s historical childhood experiences of sports participation alongside their current sports participation.

Findings show support for the formation of a habitus towards sports participation developed throughout childhood which has endured into adulthood. The women’s habitus persists as a significant influence on their lives, demonstrated in the drive and passion to negotiate their netball participation, which can sometimes cause friction and tension in the women’s relationships. Subtle changes are evident in the behaviour and dispositions of the women as they enter different stages of their lives and also as their skill level in the sport increases. Habitus, developed throughout their childhood, influences the women’s tastes and socialises them into ways of behaving, however, their behaviour is also shaped and influenced by social structures. This study provides a unique connection of past and present to contribute to the knowledge and understanding of female sports participation.

Jess has completed her PhD part time alongside her full-time roll with the OU Sport and Fitness team. She was supervised by Dr Sam Murphy, Dr Martin Toms and Dr Alex Twitchen.

Congratulations to Dr Pinchbeck and all her supervisors!

Honorary Associates

New Honorary Associate

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We are delighted to introduce Dr Kieran Kingston as a new Honorary Associate within the Sport and Fitness research group. As well as being an AL since 2019 on the Sport, Fitness and Coaching degree, Kieran’s has a wealth of experience in Sports Performance Psychology research and applied practice. His research publications will be affiliated to the group. Welcome, Kieran!

Professional biography

Kieran Kingston is an established academic and business consultant who, after serving his time as a full-time academic until 2017, has continued to be involved with teaching, research/writing and PhD supervision. In addition to his AL role with the OU, and temporary contracts, his most recent role was Senior Research Fellow at University of South Wales, where he had responsibility for several PhD students. Kieran gained his PhD in performance psychology in 1999. He is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and has provided consultancy services to team and individual athletes, coaches, and NGBs, and has more recently extended this work to small businesses.

Research Interests

Kieran’s research interests have broadly focused on social-cognitive approaches to understanding motivation. Most recently, he has looked at the influence of coaching/leader behaviour and the psychological environments these create on performance, cognitions, and well-being in sport and other contexts (e.g., injury rehabilitation, education, and business). He also has a keen interest on the psychology of golf, and recently served as the invited editor (psychology) for the first International Handbook of Golf Science (2019).

Selected Publications

  • Kingston, K., Wixey, D., & Cropley, B. (2021). Motivation in coaching: Promoting adaptive psychological outcomes. In Z. Zenko & L. Jones (Eds.) Essentials of exercise and sport psychology: An open access textbook (pp. 999–999). Society for the Transparency, Openness, and Replication in Kinesiology.
  • Kingston, K., Jenkins, D., & Kingston, G. (2021). Promoting adherence to rehabilitation through supporting patient wellbeing: A self-determination perspective. In Z. Zenko & L. Jones (Eds.) Essentials of exercise and sport psychology: An open access textbook (pp. 999–999). Society for the Transparency, Openness, and Replication in Kinesiology.
  • Kingston, K., Wixey, D, & Morgan, K.  (2020). Monitoring the Climate: Exploring the Psychological Environment in an Elite Soccer Academy. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 32, 3, pp. 297-314. https://doi.org/10.1080/10413200.2018.1481466
  • Pates, J. & Kingston, K. (2020). Reflections on a long-term consultancy relationship; Challenging the beliefs of an elite golfer. Case Studies in Sport and Exercise Psychology, 4,1, pp. 117-124. https://doi.org/10.1123/cssep.2020-0008
  • Wixey, D., Ryom, K., & Kingston, K., (2020). “Case Studies From Elite Youth Soccer: Reflections on Talent Development Practices”. International Sport Coaching Journal. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1123/iscj.2019-0005
  • Pates, J. & Kingston, K. (2019) Consultancy Under Pressure: Intervening in the “Here and Now” With an Elite Golfer. Case Studies in Sport and Exercise Psychology, 4, 1 pp. 32-39. doi: https://doi.org/10.1123/cssep.2019-0030
  • Markati, A., Psychountaki, M., Kingston, K., Karteroliotis, K. & Apostolidis, N. (2019). Psychological and situational determinants of burnout in adolescent athletes. International Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology: Vol. 17, 5, pp. 521-536.
Journal Paper, Publications

New Publication

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Sport and Fitness AL and Staff Tutor, Steph Doehler has recently published an article in the open access journal – Sport in Society. The article, titled ‘Taking the star-spangled knee: the media framing of Colin Kaepernick’ analyses the newspaper coverage of Kaepernick’s protest and builds on the understanding of media framing towards an individual’s protest and the consequences they face.

 

To read the full article, please click here.

Congratulations to Steph!

Doehler, S. (2021). “Taking the star-spangled knee: the media framing of Colin Kaepernick”. Sport in Society, DOI: 10.1080/17430437.2021.1970138

Research

New Honorary Associate

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We are delighted to introduce Dr John Bradley as a new Honorary Associate within the Sport and Fitness research group. John’s research and publications will be affiliated to the group and he is already working on collaborative projects with members of the team. Welcome, John!

Professional biography

John is an associate lecturer with the OU, currently working with E236: Applying sport and exercise sciences to coaching, and SK299: Human Biology. He has previously held a number of academic and applied sport science positions including lecturer in Exercise Physiology and Coaching Science at University College Cork in Ireland, and Exercise Physiologist with the Scottish Institute of Sport. John has a PhD in the field of Exercise Physiology from Glasgow University, with a thesis titled: Lactate production and the redox state of muscle.

Research Interests

Part of John’s research looks at factors influencing athlete performance, and then using this to create informed conditioning programmes. He has recently analysed the injury risk factors of athletes participating in swimming and then used this information to develop an informed conditioning programmes based upon these risk factors. He is now looking to continue this research in swimming and extend it to include a range of other sports such as golf and tennis.

Another area of research interest is the role of sport and non-sport extracurricular activities on academic achievement. This can perhaps be partly summarised by the Healthy Mind, Healthy Body concept, but also including non-sport activities as well. This has resulted in the development of a dual step transfer model to explain the enhancement of school academic achievement from participation in a range of extracurricular activities.

Other activities

John volunteers as a coach with a local swimming club and enjoys a range of water sports himself, including swimming, kayaking and canoeing.

Selected Publications

Research

New PhD student

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We are excited to introduce Lorna Mackay, one of our new PhD student within the Sport and Fitness research group. Lorna is studying part time with us alongside her personal training. Lorna’s research into the use of percussive therapy to improve perceptions of chronic non-specific musculoskeletal pain in strength and conditioning settings will be supervised by Dr Ben Langdown, Dr Joan Simons and Dr Jitka Vseteckova.  Welcome, Lorna!

Professional biography

Lorna Mackay runs her own business as a personal trainer and Zumba instructor. Her specialist interest lies in the management of chronic pain through the participation in exercise. She is a strong believer in both the physiological and psychological benefits of exercise.

Research interests

Lorna holds a MSc in Sport an Exercise Science; her research considered the effect of Zumba® and ZumbaGold® on non-specific, pre-existing musculoskeletal pain. Lorna’s PhD research is building on her previous work by investigating the effect of integrating percussive therapy into warm ups of strength and conditioning programmes, to improve perceptions of chronic non-specific musculoskeletal pain in knees, lumbar spine and shoulders.

Other activities

When Lorna isn’t in the gym or studying, she is out walking her dog in the local countryside.

Books, Publications

New Book Chapter

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Back in 2017, the ICSPE Symposium on ‘Physical Activity and Sport: Understanding the First Ten Years’ took place in Germany and was well attended by many international presenters and delegates.

As part of the planned follow-up to the symposium, a Routledge book titled ‘Physical Activity and Sport During the First Ten Years of Life‘ has been published and Dr Ben Langdown was invited to contribute a chapter on ‘Developing a movement culture in the first 10 years’ (Chapter 14).

The chapter focuses on stimulating young people towards physical activity and sport, explores the evidence underpinning fundamental movement skill (FMS) development, their role in physical literacy and how to observe, analyse and develop movement. The chapter provides an applied focus on best practice in primary education settings to support children towards sustained participation within a positive movement culture.

The book will be available from April 2021.

Congratulations to Ben!