(An item from ISHN Member information service) Several articles in Issue #3, 2012 of Children & Schools call for and then start to develop a comprehensive model of school-based and school-linked social work. The editorial provides a rationale for the creation of a national school social work model, followed by an initial conceptualization of a model and recent and future steps to refine the model using an iterative process. Anogther of the articles replicates the efforts of a mixed-method investigation designed to identify barriers and facilitators to school social work practice within different geographic locations. Time constraints and caseloads were found to be the most commonly cited barriers to practice, and respondents from urban locations reported the highest number of barriers when compared with those from suburban and rural settings. As a single category, school staff collaboration, communication, cooperation, and attitudes was cited as the most common facilitator and the highest ranked facilitator of practice. A third article provides an argument for and implications of school social workers as uniquely qualified to develop, lead, and facilitate interdisciplinary, community–university collaboration to increase meaningful family involvement and support children's success in schools through school-linked services. Read more.
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(An item from ISHN Member information service) An article in Issue #6, 2012 of Child, Care, Heallth & Development freview the impact of child vision screening and found benefits as well as more questions about which form is most effective for different types of vision problems. The aim of this review was to determine: (1) the effectiveness of children's vision screening programmes; (2) at what age children should attend vision screening; and (3) what form vision screening programmes should take to be most effective. Screening of children 18 months to 5 years, and subsequent early treatment, led to improved visual outcomes. The benefit was primarily through treatment of amblyopia, with improved visual acuity of the amblyopic eye. However, the overall quality of the evidence was low. The authors conclude that " Screening and treating children with uncorrected refractive error can improve educational outcomes. Evidence suggested that screening occur in the preschool years. Orthoptists were favoured as screening personnel; however, nurses could achieve high sensitivity and specificity with appropriate training. Further research is required to assess the effectiveness of neonatal screening. Most studies suggested that children's vision screening was beneficial, although programme components varied widely (e.g. tests used, screening personnel and age at testing). Research is required to clearly define any improvements to quality of life and any related economic benefits resulting from childhood vision screening". Read more.
(An item from ISHN Member information service) The strong evidence showing that a trusted adult figure in the lives of young people is vitally important has been confiremed, even for young homeless youth attending high school. An article in Issue #5, 2012 of Child & Youth Care Forum describes the factors associated with substance abuse among homeless youth who are continuing to attend high school. The researchers note that " Greater substance use was associated with gang membership, partner abuse and truancy. Lower levels of substance use were associated with higher levels of adult support. Additionally, adult support acted as both a mediator and moderator between the hypothesized risk factors and substance use". Read more.
(An item from ISHN Member information service) An article in Issue #5, 2012 of Sex Education recalls the important role played by a little handbook called The Little red Schoolbook, which was published in the 1960's and formed part of the sexual revolution underway at that time. The authors note that "After the book's publication in the UK, opponents were successful in pressing for its publisher's prosecution. The ensuing trial led to its withdrawal and its bowdlerisation. It is argued that the work played some part in changing social and sexual mores and sex education practice in the UK, being, in effect, the Urtext of the ‘harm reduction approach’ in sexual health education. The article caught my eye because in the early 1970's, I used the little book with my class of troubled students in a middle class high school in Montreal. The book included practical advice on sex for teens (my students used to enjoy watching me get embarrassed by its frankness) but also included invaluable survival advice for students who were barely tolerated in mainstream education at that time and who got little support at home. We used the book for class discussions and it was a great resource. Read more.
(An item from ISHN Member information service) An article in Issue #5, 2012 of Sex Education states that "sex education in England (and almost all other countries) has mostly focused on ‘damage limitation’, emphasising only the dangerous inevitability of pregnancy and childbirth after unprotected sex and the hazards of sexually transmitted diseases. This approach is largely based on restrictive notions of teenage sexuality, characterising teenagers as hypersexual beings for whom sexual drives continuously threaten to produce unwanted babies unless preventive action is taken. Thde authors go on to suggest that " Yet, recent demographic evidence shows that educated women in Europe continue to delay first childbirth for a number of reasons. At the same time they are also subject to seductive and deceptive media messages about the possibilities of conception at late reproductive age through reporting on ‘older’ celebrity mothers, and the role that reproductive technologies play in conquering infertility. In the light of these demographic trends, and the misleading hidden curriculum, this paper contends that discourses of damage limitation are no longer appropriate in sex education. Instead, if educated women are to gain full reproductive autonomy then new, more balanced conceptualisations of sex education that also incorporate appropriate messages about the finite nature of the reproductive lifespan are needed". Read more.
(An item from ISHN Member information service) Intervention strategies, such as educational policies, programs, and a supportive environment that improve the social climate for LGBT students in secondary schools and universities are discussed in an article in Issue #4, 2012 of the Jpurnal of LGBT Youth. The authors note that "no studies have compiled and synthesized existing research to show the exclusively positive effect safe school interventions and supportive environments have on LGBT youth. This article presents a summary of the various intervention strategies, examines the strengths and limitations of the existing body of knowledge, and makes recommendations for future research". Read more.
(From the UCLA School Mental Health Program) School reform continues to focus primarily on two arenas: improving curriculum and instruction and rethinking the way our schools are governed and managed. We have new curriculum, new tests, new evaluation schemes, new technology, and new governance for some schools. But little is substantively new about the ways in which schools address factors that interfere with students benefiting from improved instruction. The purpose of this paper is to provide a policy perspective on what needs to be done
about this matter as the US Congress moves forward to reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. Read More An item from ISHN Member information service) Boys are not doing well in schools in many countries these days and part of the reason is the removal of social practices and norms that motivate males. One of these rituals in many societies has been an explicit rite of passage into manhood. An article in Issue #4, 2012 of Pastoral Care in Education reports on the re-introduction of a "rites of passage program" into an all-boys school in New Zealand (all-boy schools may also be part of the solution for some boys). The authors report that "xperiences of staff and students involved in the programme are reported using their own words as far as possible. Of particular note is the impact of the programme on the teacher–student relationship. The study raises some significant points for consideration, applicable beyond the specific programme discussed and relevant to all schools concerned about supporting boys. Read more.
(An item from ISHN Member information service) Most of the attention in bullying prevention has focused on bullying, some of which seeking to explain the relationship between the bully and the school. An article in Issue #17, 2012 of the Journal of Interpersonal Violence examines the subsequent bonds between victims of bullying and their schooling. The authors note that " Using a sample of 10th-grade students from the Educational Longitudinal Study of 2002, HLM models were developed to explore the relationship between school-based victimization and the adolescent’s social bond to school. The results suggest that school-based victimization has a negative association with three elements of the adolescent’s social bond to school: attachment, commitment, and belief." Read more.
(An item from ISHN Member information service) An intriguing article in Issue #6, 2012 of Crime & Delinquency uses a criminology theory to examine if strained relationships with parents or teachers as well as anger can explain the propensity to bully. This South Korea study reports that there is no such correlation and therefore "strain theory" does not explain bullying behaviour. The authors note that "Using longitudinal data on 2,817 South Korean youth, the current study attempts to fill the gaps by examining whether general strain theory can explain school bullying. As the theory suggests, youth who experience victimization by peers and conflict with parents are more likely to engage in bullying. However, there is limited evidence of the expected interaction effects between strains and conditioning factors. Inconsistent with general strain theory, parental attachment and positive relationships with teachers do not condition the effects of strains, and anger is not a mediating variable". Read more.
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