Research, policy and media discourses highlight negative physical and nonphysical outcomes for overweight/obese children and adolescents compared with their non-overweight/obese peers. The research findings that have positioned this "vulnerable" group are reviewed with particular reference to the desired outcomes of the Every Child Matters agenda. The mediating role of weight bias and stigma is also explored. The relevance of these issues with regard to educational psychology service delivery priorities is also considered. A key question is how educational psychologists position themselves in relation to challenging some of the discourses alongside providing support for children, families, schools, and other service providers for whom the phenomenon of childhood obesity is a concern.
The book achieves its purpose as a useful introductory guide for teachers or studentteachers interested in doing research in the classroom. As someone who engages in working partnerships with teachers, and as a 'user' and 'doer' of evidence informed approaches to develop that work, I found this book was also a helpful refresher on action research approaches that I and other potential collaborators from educational services could be asked to support by teacher researchers.The book was easy to read. The style of the book ensures the reader experiences a doable educational tour rather than an arduous trek in action research methodology. The clear format and style was aided by the good utilization of the visual inserts of figures and tables. This, coupled with the use of real-life practical case study examples, strengthens a well thought out and planned overview for teacher researchers to consider how action research methods can facilitate their professional enquiry.There are seven chapters to the book whose sequence covers the key stages and considerations in the journeys carried out by action researchers: Creating and Translating Knowledge about Teaching and Learning; Deciding on a Research(able) Question and Choosing Complementary Research Tools; Taking Account of Pupil Perspectives in Your Enquiry; Exploring Your Own and Your Colleagues' Professional Knowledge; Engaging with Views of Parents and Other Adults; Making Sense of Your Evidence and Bringing it all Together; and Sharing Your Findings. At one point in my reading, I queried whether a slight change to the sequence could have created a better reading route; more particularly the chapters on 'Research Tools' and 'Professional Knowledge' being more natural chronological companions. However, I agree with the authors that research is not often a linear process. The sequence of the chapters in some ways emulates the interactive and reflective process of enquiry that underpins all the stages of action research. I would encourage readers not to view Chapters 2-5 as stand-alones but interrelated in considering the framework of their research design and the methods and tools researchers bring to the process.The starting point of the book focuses on gaining understanding about how action research models relate to the processes of teacher enquiry. Drawing on their experiences on previous projects with teachers, the authors provide an outline of a model of the dynamics of the action research cycle that highlights the interaction between intention, process and audience. The importance of collaborative partnerships with other teacher researchers and co-learners from academic departments is also accentuated. As indicated above, attention then turns to the contexts and the nature by which research questions are generated and the development of the research design. The
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