AIESEP March Newsletter

Hello AIESEP Friends,

Below are some announcements about what is happening at AIESEP! Remember to renew your membership! Memberships expire Dec 31^st of each year, so if you don’t have an on-going 3-year membership, it is time to renew!

1. The 2024 AIESEP Conference will be held in Jyväskylä, Finland from May 13-17^th with pre-conference sessions being held on the 13^th. The preliminary symposium schedule is out as well as more detailed preliminary schedule. You can find info on the registration link, and hotel discount codes on the conference website https://www.jyu.fi/en/events/aiesep-2024

2. Trains! The schedule for the local train from Helsinki Airport to Tikkurila (where you transfer for the train to Jyväskylä) has been published. So, this means that you can now book your train tickets to the conference. vr.fi

3. The third blog by Risto Marttinen is out, in it he has asked four Jyväskylä University scholars to give tips on what to do in Jyväskylä during the conference. You can read it here. The fourth blog will feature the same questions but to some locals in Helsinki.

4. AIESEP is now accepting donations to support future developing country scholars as well as PhD students who have been selected to attend the PhD Summer School in Finland this May. We have created a page on the website that shares information about how to donate and how your donation makes a difference https://aiesep.org/donation/

5. Each month in this newsletter, leading up to the conference, we have highlighted one of our keynote speakers. This month, we highlight Nadia Cristina Valentini who will give the second keynote. In her presentation, Dr. Valentini will highlight individual and environmental factors that affect children’s motor skill. The keynote will discuss delays and developmental disorders, as well as the risk and protective factors associated with these outcomes, and how they affect children’s participation in physical education in school. The strategies used to ameliorate those restrictions will be presented considering a conceptual and operational model for implementing a cognitive-motor mastery climate intervention — the scientific evidence for those interventions and how they can be meaningful for all children.

Here is her ResearchGate Profile:

Nadia Cristina Valentini is a Full Professor in the Physical Education, Physiotherapy, and Dance departments of the Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (Brazil). B.S. from the Universidade de Blumenau (Brazil), M.S. and Ph.D. from Auburn University (USA), and Post-doctoral degree from the University of Maryland (USA).

Her lines of research include motor development assessment and motor trajectories, the prevalence of motor delays, and interventions in physical education and clinical settings to improve children’s motor skill competence and better understand the risks and protective factors associated with children from vulnerable communities.

The overall intent of her work is to develop evidence-based, appropriate learning opportunities at home, in clinical settings, and in school settings to help children thrive. She has published 2 books, 17 book chapters, and more than 200 articles in scientific journals and numerous invited presentations along with honors. She has organized and implemented professional training seminars/courses for health professionals.

6. Preparing for your Finland trip? Risto Marttinen, Secretary General of AIESEP has written two blogs about Finland and how to get there. The first blog is about “Booking travel to AIESEP 2024”. You can listen to an audio version of the blog here. The second blog dives deeper into the “ins and outs” of Finland in general and provides some background on hotel recommendations. A summary of the second  blog is also available in audio format in this podcast. A third blog will be launched closer to the conference time and will give you some insider notes from locals on things to do, coffee shops to stop in, and restaurants to try in both Helsinki and Jyväskylä.

7. In case you missed it: AIESEP is excited to announce our two 2024 Developing Country Scholars: Ernest Yeboah Acheampong from the University of Education, Winneba, Ghana and Daniel Gaita Njenga from Kenyatta University in Nairobi were both selected for this award and will present their research at the AIESEP conference in Finland in May. Both scholars will receive a one-year membership to AIESEP, a waiver for conference fees, and have their travel covered by generous support from SAFINET.

8. The AIESEP PhD Summer Schoolwill feature students from: South Africa, Ghana, Belgium, Germany, Ireland, UK, Canada, Portugal, Turkey, Zimbabwe, USA, Finland, France, and Spain! We are searching for a sponsor to help support a 2025 PhD Summer School in Florida!

9. The 2025 AIESEP Conference will be held in St. Petersburg, Florida May 18^th to the 22^nd, 2025. Some preliminary information is up on this website https://www.aiesepstpete2025.com/home

10. The next AIESEP Connect will take place on Thursday 28^thof March, from 9AM to 10AM (Mountain Time, USA) / 11am (New York). It will be led by the AIESEP Vice President and board member Tristan Wallhead. Here is a brief intro:

“Taking it out of PE” – A discussion of contemporary evidence of the transfer of student PA behaviors from physical education to extra-curricular contexts. 

The promotion and development of a physically active lifestyle has evolved as a ubiquitous goal for PE across the globe. Despite this value proposition, the empirical evidence for the transfer or generalization of student physical activity behaviors from PE to extra-curricular contexts remains limited. There remains a pressing need to discuss how students’ motivational experiences and behavior competencies developed in PE can contribute to the adoption of a more physically active lifestyle by students choosing to “take it out of PE”. In this AIESEP connect event we will present a summary of contemporary research studies from two theoretical perspectives that have examined the notion of transfer or behavioral generalizability from PE to extra-curricular school-based contexts. The connect event will conclude with a discussion of potential next steps in this line of research and the scope for international collaborations through the AIESEP network.

https://gmu.zoom.us/j/94179292995?pwd=RVB1Q05kWmpVaHVCTWRxRHBsU1RFdz09

Meeting ID: 941 7929 2995

Passcode: 430960

The link to join is above. You will be able to find the recording on the podcast Playing with Research in Health and Physical Education or the AIESEP website. Past video recordings can be found here.

11. As a reminder the AIESEP Blog has moved https://aiesep.org/flash-blog/  You can find member blogs, job openings, and announcements there throughout the year.

Finally, as we build out our new website, emails and newsletters will come from info@aiesep.org so please add this to your “safe sender list” and check your filters for past messages. And, finally, if you’re still reading and enjoyed this newsletter, please consider forwarding it to your colleagues!

Sincerely,

Risto Marttinen

Secretary General AIESEP

Associate Professor

George Mason University

rmarttin@gmu.edu