Rune Giske

Newly qualified teachers' work engagement and teacher efficacy influences on job satisfaction, burnout, and the intention to quit

Teacher policy is high on national agendas and countries are seeking to improve schools. Demands on schools and teachers are more complex and it is expected that a larger number of teachers will enter the profession. Studies indicate that the period when teachers are newly qualified is a peak time for leaving the profession. The purpose of this study was to investigate work engagement and teacher efficacy and their relationship to job satisfaction, burnout and the intention to quit among newly qualified teachers. 750 questionnaires were distributed to teachers who had less than six years experience as a teacher after they had completed their teacher education from one university in southern Norway. 192 completed surveys were returned, a response rate of 25.6%. In line with the hypothesis, proposed work engagement and teacher efficacy are positively related to job satisfaction but negatively related to job burnout and the intention to quit. Practical implications of these findings are discussed.

EFFECTS OF AEROBIC INTERVAL TRAINING ON MEASURES OF ANXIETY, DEPRESSION AND QUALITY OF LIFE IN PATIENTS WITH ISCHAEMIC HEART FAILURE AND AN IMPLANTABLE CARDIOVERTER DEFIBRILLATOR: A PROSPECTIVE NON-RANDOMIZED TRIAL

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the short- and long-term effects of aerobic interval training on quality of life and on symptoms of anxiety and depression among patients with ischaemic heart failure and an implantable cardioverter defibrillator. DESIGN Prospective, non-randomized controlled study. SUBJECTS Patients with ischaemic heart failure and an implantable cardioverter defibrillator, willing to undergo an aerobic interval training programme. A total of 31 patients were enrolled (19 were assigned to the aerobic interval training group and 12 to the control group). METHODS The aerobic interval training group performed a 12-week exercise training programme. All patients were evaluated with the Short Form-36 (SF-36), the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and the International Physical Activity Questionnaire at baseline, after 12 weeks and at 2 years. RESULTS The aerobic interval training group showed significant improvements in several SF-36 subscores at 12 weeks. There was an unadjusted significant reduction in the HADS depression (HADS-D) score. At follow-up, results in the aero-bic interval training group moved towards baseline or remained stable, whereas in the control group HADS-D scores and some SF-36 subscores deteriorated. CONCLUSION Participation in a 12-week aerobic interval training programme resulted in significant improvements in several measures of quality of life and the unadjusted HADS-D score in patients with ischaemic heart failure with an implantable cardioverter defibrillator. At follow-up there was significantly less sedentary activity in the aerobic interval training group, while psychometric measures were no longer significantly different from baseline.

Shared Mental Task Models in Elite Ice Hockey and Handball Teams: Does It Exist and How Does the Coach Intervene to Make an Impact?

We investigated whether a shared mental model is present in elite ice hockey and handball teams. In total, 231 male players participated in the study. Shared mental models were found to exist. Relationships between shared mental models and coaching efforts to develop a general training shared mental model and an opponent-specific model were explored. The relationship between role clarity and shared mental model, general training shared mental model, and opponent-specific model was positive. The shared mental model is a useful construct for analyzing elite team practice and coaching behavior. Coaches and sport psychologists should be aware that establishing a shared mental model in elite teams is essential in facilitating performance.

Toddlers’ social competence, play, movement skills and well-being: an analysis of their relationship based on authentic assessment in kindergarten

ABSTRACT This article explores the relationship between toddlers’ (age: 30–33 months) well-being (WB), play (PL), social–emotional competence (SC) and movement skills (MS). Two hypotheses were put forward for testing: (1) there is a significant positive correlation between WB, PL, SC and MS, and (2) toddlers’ WB can be predicted from their PL, SC and MS. The participants were 1084 children. The Early Years Movement Skills Checklist, and three categories from the observation material ‘Alle Med’ were used to assess WB, PL and SC. The results confirm the first hypothesis and partly the second. A strong positive correlation between SC, PL and WB may reflect how interweaved these variables are, and that observed play competence becomes important in the judgement of toddlers’ social competence and well-being. Totally, 73% of the variance in WB was explained by the predictor variables PL and SC, while MS did not emerge as a unique predictor indicating that toddlers’ well-being is primarily dependent on observation of children’s play and social–emotional competence.