Dying for a Cause: Meaning, Commitment, and Self-Sacrifice

Some people willingly risk or give up their lives for something they deeply believe in, for instance standing up to a dictator. A good example of this are members of the White Rose student resistance group, who rebelled against the Nazi regime and paid for it with their lives. I argue that when the cause is good, such risky activities (and even deaths themselves) can contribute to meaning in life in its different forms – meaning-as-mattering, meaning-as-purpose, and meaning-as-intelligibility. Such cases highlight the importance of integrity, or living up to one's commitments, in meaningful living, or dying, as it may be, as well as the risk involved in commitment, since if you die for a bad cause, you have only harmed yourself. However, if leading a more rather than less meaningful life benefits rather than harms you, there are possible scenarios in which you yourself are better off dying for a good cause than living a longer moderately happy life. This presents a version of a well-known puzzle: what, then, makes dying for a cause a self-sacrifice, as it usually seems to be? I sketch some possible answers, and critically examine relevant work in empirical psychology.

A resistência estudantil no Território Federal do Amapá durante a ditadura militar no Brasil / Student resistance in the Federal Territory of Amapá during the military dictatorship in Brazil

O Movimento Estudantil do Território Federal do Amapá caracteriza-se por uma história atravessada de contradições e complexidades. Dentre estas, estão as atuações, durante o regime militar, das organizações clandestinas e da principal entidade estudantil do território na época, a União dos Estudantes dos Cursos Secundários do Amapá (UECSA). A partir do recorte temporal da Ditadura Militar, entre os anos de 1964 e 1968, se estabelece como objetivo deste artigo, investigar como se deu o processo de resistência ao regime militar por parte destas organizações, inclusive da UECSA, que apesar de ter deliberado apoio ao golpe, teve resistência a este dentro de suas próprias fileiras. Como base documental, serão utilizados o levantamento publicado em 2017 do Relatório da Comissão Estadual da Verdade do Amapá (CEV-AP), produzido entre os anos de 2013 e 2016, o arquivo não publicado do relatório, que inclui as oitivas e documentos oficiais que foram cedidos pela CEV-AP para a realização desta pesquisa, além de registros pessoais de colaboradores dos grupos clandestinos. Os estudantes do Território Federal do Amapá, por razões estruturais e culturais, acabaram tendo reações diferentes das que o movimento estudantil havia tendo no restante do país. Foram ações de apoio ao golpe militar, com células bastante restritas de resistência.

Challenges faced by preservice and novice teachers in implementing student-centred models: A systematic review

The purpose of this study was to unpack the challenges and constraints encountered by preservice and novice teachers when implementing student-centred models, and to describe the methodological characteristics of research conducted on this topic between 2004 and 2020. The procedure had a three-step approach: (a) searching for publications in electronic databases; (b) selecting studies based on inclusion criteria; and (c) refining this selection to identify research-based papers. 29 articles were selected, most of which were from Europe and North America. The most researched model was Sport Education, and studies considering novice teachers were scarce. The predominant methodology across studies involved multiple qualitative data sources and inductive analysis. Our major finding was the identification of three themes reflecting distinct challenges to the implementation of student-centred models: (a) teacher-related challenges (i.e. pervasive beliefs, occupational socialization, managerial- and instruction-related); (b) student-related challenges (i.e. student resistance to engaged participation in student-centred models); and (c) external challenges (i.e. context- and environment-related). Physical education teacher education should invest in training preservice teachers to: (a) manage the dynamics of students’ cooperative interactions and peer-assisted learning; (b) design developmentally appropriate small-sided games and problem-solving contexts, and (c) scaffold the gradual transfer of responsibility to students for their engagement in persistent learning team activities. Longer studies and the inclusion of student perspectives will be particularly valuable for future investigations.