(An item from the ISHN Member information service) One of the topics discussed in the ISHN group on Integration within Education Systems is understanding and working with teachers. Several articles in Issue #2, 2013 of The School-Community Journal discuss how teachers often have difficulty in communicating with and involving parents. The first article on first year teachers in New Zealand uses social exchange theory to note that lack of reciprocity, difficulties in building relationships, power-dependence and the social identity of teachers all create barriers. A US study comparing student teacher placements in urban and suburban environments affected teacher perceptions significantly. A third article describes the potential of use of inter-disciplinary teams in middle schools to engage parents. A fourth article examines how individual teacher attitudes and school-related factors will affect the parent-teacher/school relationship.A fifth article explores how adult education programs can teach parents about being ionvolved in schools and their child's education. A sixth article reports on a parent program offered by a housing agency. Read more>>
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(An item from the ISHN Member information service) An article in Issue #6, 2013 of the H=Journal of Extension reports on a partnership program involving Extension programs (rural community development organizations) and local schools to encourage rural students to attend college. The article reports that "Rural high school graduates are less likely to graduate from college than their urban counterparts, mostly because they are less likely to attend college. Creating a climate of success for rural youth in Northwest Ohio is the goal of the College Readiness for Rural Youth initiative. Due to the large geographic area targeted, Extension has engaged collaborating partners to develop and facilitate "bridging" programs to support academic success and transitions to college for rural youth in the region". The program has linked the College Readiness for Rural Youth program with the OSU Extension program entitled Real Money—Real World (RMRW). RMRW is a successful financial literacy program 4-H professionals use in Ohio in partnership with local schools. The article concludes that "This program serves as an "on the ground" approach to developing the skills and abilities necessary for youth planning to enter post-secondary education to succeed at a higher level. The support and guidance through this bridge program has built the foundation needed to allow for students to envision college opportunity as an attainable goal. The approach is adaptable to fit the needs and demographics of diverse youth groups." Read more>>
(An item from the ISHN Member information service) An article in Issue #3, 2013 of Rural & remote Health reports on the effective use of a national school health assessment tool in Niger. "Award schemes and self-evaluation systems have been developed the HPS concept in European and Asian countries. However, the implementation of HPS in African countries has been minimal. This study evaluated the impact of a self-evaluation system on school health in Niger. A school health assessment guide was distributed to 1999 primary schools in the NigerTahoua region to raise awareness and solve problems related to school health and hygiene. The number of schools that planned or implemented health-related activities, and the budget and implementation status of their activities was compared over 3 years (before, soon after, and 1 year after distribution). Focus group discussions (FGDs) were also conducted targeting Conseillers Pédagogiques (CPs), who supervise primary schools and teachers, primary school principals and members of Comité de Gestion des Etablissement Scolaire (COGES), which is a type of school steering committee. The number of schools planning at least one activity increased from 47% to 79% soon after distribution of the guide.The number of schools implementing activities increased from 44% to 65% one year after distribution. Health-related budget per school also increased and increases were maintained 1 year after the intervention. Most FGD participants expressed a positive impression of the program and noted the usefulness of the guide. However, some respondents reported difficulties, especially in relation to budget. Conclusion: The introduction of a health activity guide for self-assessment was effective in increasing health-related activities in primary schools in Niger, where a simple monitoring system should be introduced to establish the HPS concept. Read more>>
(An item from the ISHN Member information service) A book review in Issue #2, 2013 of the Journal of Children and Poverty alerts us to an -in-depth analysis of development statistics in sub-Saharan Africa. The book chronicles how pressure from donor countries and international agencies has caused government officials in those countries to cobble together and mis-use several sources of data to draw inaccurate pictures of progress in these countries. Read more>>
(An item from the ISHN Member information service) Three articles in Issue #5, 2013 of Environmental Education Research provide a parallel discussion currently underway in the healthy schools sector about integrating health, social and environmental programs within education systems in order that they become sustainable and seen as a core part of schooling. The first article examines the constraints that exist within a school district and how a long-term plan/model (Eco-schools) can be combined with the literature on school improvement to make progress despite the constraints. The second article discusses how "environmental education" and "education for sustainable development" are different, with one (EE) seeking specific innovations and the other (ESD) seeking transformative change or system reform. The third article suggests the use of a systems-based approach to secure a long-term commitment to ESD from universities or other educational institutions. All three of these concepts are echied in the parakllel discussions withiun the school health movement. Read more>>
(From the Canadian Institute for Child Health) This report raises awareness of adolescent injury issues and supports evidence-based and necessary actions to prevent injuries in this population. Selected key findings:
Read more>> The Capacity Challenge:What It Takes for State Education Agencies to Support School Improvement12/27/2013 (From the Education Commission of the US) Do state education agencies (SEAs) have the capacity to deepen their work improving outcomes for students? The answer from a long list of policy advocates and observers is “no”—or at least not without significant changes to the way they currently function. This project sought to more systematically examine SEAs’ existing capacities to understand the seriousness of the problem and the strategies state chiefs are using to confront it. The 10 states we analyzed represent a variety of approaches and political contexts for the work of reform, as well as varied records on student achievement. For each of these states, we asked: • What are the primary obstacles that inhibit SEAs from supporting school and district improvement? and • What levers can chiefs utilize to transform their agencies into more effective drivers of reform? Read More>>
(From the Inter-Agency Network on Emergencies in Education) Building on the INEE Minimum Standards, the Guidance Notes on Teaching and Learning articulate good practice on critical issues related to curricula adaptation and development; teacher training, professional development and support; instruction and learning processes; and the assessment of learning outcomes. Accompanying the Guidance Notes is a vetted Resource Pack that includes sample tools, teaching materials and case studies, which can be used to adapt the good practices within the Guidance Notes to one’s specific context. These tools were developed in a widely consultative manner led by an Advisory Group with representatives from the INEE Secretariat, Save the Children, UNICEF, UNESCO, CARE, World Vision, CERG and education consultants as well as input from over 300 technical experts and consultative workshop participants around the world. Read more>>
(An item from the ISHN Member information service) A systematic review reported in Issue #4, 2013 of Journal of Children's Services has found that participation in such sports programs is associated with higher educational achievement. The study used "a combination of manual and automated screening was used to select studies for inclusion in this review based on pre-specified criteria. Included studies had to use a “high”-quality experimental research design, focus on children and young people and have quantitative educational outcome measures. Results from the individual studies were transformed into a standardised effect size and meta-analysis was used to combine the results from individual studies where appropriate." The authors report that "Young people's participation in organised sports activities, when compared to non-participation, improves their numeracy skills. Young people's participation in organised sport linked with extra-curricular activities, when compared to non-participation, improves a range of learning outcomes for underachieving pupils. These findings are based on six “high”-quality studies conducted in the UK and North America." Read more>>
(An item from the ISHN Member information service) An article in Issue #8, 2013 of the Journal of Sex Research reports on a small study of the perceptions of college students of hooking up. "A random sample (N = 1,468) of undergraduates (56.4% female) completed a Web-based survey composed of measures of drinking and sexual behavior. Open-ended definitions of hooking up were content-coded and analyzed using a mixture model to explore discrete definitions of hooking up among college students. Findings indicated three clusters of student definitions of hooking up: Cluster 1 had the broadest definition, referring to sex in general, not specific sexual acts, and to making out. Cluster 2 placed an emphasis on interpersonal and social aspects. Cluster 3 defined hooking up as sex with notable references to specific sexual acts. Results further indicated that hooking up behavior and normative perceptions differentiated these three groups of definitions. Clinical implications regarding the inconsistency of student definitions of hooking up and how they may impact negative consequences associated with hooking up are discussed. Read more>>
(An item from the ISHN Member information service) A systematic review of over 700 studies of programs to reduce adolescent child bearing in low and middle income countries, published in issue #4, 2013 of Studies in Family Planning, reports that "A total of 737 studies published between 2000 and 2011 were reviewed; 19 were identified as meeting eligibility criteria. Studies were included that: evaluated program effects on adolescents and young people, either as the primary target population or as a subset of a broader target group; evaluated an intervention intended to reduce adolescent fertility or generate improvements on a related outcome; and reported childbearing-related outcomes. Evidence indicates that a variety of interventions may be successful at reducing fertility, including school-based programs, health counseling, and cash transfers. An overview of evaluation efforts to date is provided, and potential best practices are highlighted." Read more>>
(An item from the ISHN Member information service) An article in issue #4, 2013 of Pastoral Care in Education offers some insights on how teachers can collectively develop a negative view or perception of individual students when discussing them in teacher conferences/meetings. The researchers report that "Using positioning analysis, the transcriptions of 15 interviews with staff were analysed. The school staff’s reflections on the individual students covered three areas: health, social well-being and education. The results show the ways in which positions were shaped and illustrate a reflexive process that developed continually throughout the staff’s relationships with the students. The staff positioned the students and indicated attributions of the students; however, the attributions were predominately negative. With each position, the staff’s view of students as subjects or objects and their relationships to the students are described in terms of mutual or one-way dialogue. Read more>>
(An item from the ISHN Member information service) An article in Issue #6, 2013 of the American Journal of Tropical Diseases & Hygiene describes the contributions of non-governmental organizations to WHO targets for control of soil-transmitted helminthiases. The authors note that Soil-transmitted helminthiases (STH) may affect up to 1 billion children globally. They estimate that "In 2010, NGOs delivered 65.4 million STH treatments, which is an estimated 25.1% of the total delivered. Of these treatments, 23.3 million (35.6%) were not reported to the WHO; 22.3 million (95.7%) were from countries that had not submitted STH treatment reports to the WHO. Read more>>
(An item from the ISHN Member information service) Three articles in Issue #4, 2013 of Research Quarterly for Exercise & Sport discuss the effectiveness of physical education teachers. Collectively, they provide an analysis bridging the past, present and future. The first article describes the past in measuring PE teacher effectiveness and then goes onto to examine the issue using student performance and teacher observation models. The second article suggests that current trends in measuring PS teacher will result in teachers being accountable in "providing students with ample health-enhancing physical activity to help them become physically fit and to learn generalizable movement and behavioral skills designed to promote physical activity and fitness outside of class time". The third article postulates that the future policy environment that has teachers being held responsible for academic and economic outcomes rather than adjusting for social and economic realities. In this context, the PE teacher may end being judged on student learning and therefore, the content of PE curricula will become far more important. Read more>>
(An item from the ISHN Member information service) A systematic review published in the December 2013 issue of the International Journal of Physical Activity & Health concludes that being friends with others who are active will influence levels of activity but not necessarily with sedentary behaviours. The "findings confirm evidence from a previous review [30] which showed that peer networks have a greater influence on physical activity and sedentary behavior for boys compared with girls. This observation is strengthened by more longitudinal evidence, lending weight to the peer contagion models of physical activity (i.e., after becoming friends, behavior become similar) as opposed to the peer selection model (i.e., adolescents choosing friends who have similar behavior to themselves at the outset). This review identified a lack of explicit use of theoretical frameworks in studies to date." The article (full-text available) also offers an -in-depth discussion of friendships, friendship networks, types and duration of friendships and more.. Read more>>
(An item from the ISHN Member information service) Two articles in December 2013 Issue of Public Health Nutrition report on small scale studies of actual student choices about healthier food when thery are offered in school cafeterias. The first study of two large secondary schools found that "Despite the availability of nutritionally valuable dishes of the day, the most popular food items were sandwiches, pizza and desserts. FSM )free school meals) students were slightly more likely to choose the more nutritionally valuable dish of the day" The suthors suggest that ". School food standards should be reassessed in light of students’ preferences". The second artticle reported on a study in elementary schools where fruit was placed on student trays automatically to encourage their consumption. The authors report that "Requiring that fruits and vegetables be placed on each child's tray increased the fraction of children who ate a serving of fruits or vegetables by 8 percentage points (P < 0·01) but led to an extra 0·7 servings being thrown away per lunch served (P < 0·01). The default option approach cost $US 1·72 to get one additional child to eat one serving of fruits and vegetables for 1 d." They suggest the "default option, as a stand-alone programme, had only a limited impact on fruit and vegetable consumption but was much less cost-effective than other approaches". Read more>>
(An item from the ISHN Member information service) An article in Issue #2, 2013 of Nutrition Research Reviews presents the case that social norms can likely influence eating habits and may have an impact on the effectiveness of various interventions. Although it is possible unfair to comment on this conclusion without reading the full article, our immediate reaction is dismay. Surely this analysis is not new. There is a wide and deep body of knowledge on social influences that affect our behaviours...peers, close friends, the media, parents, social norms and so on. We also know that modifying normative beliefs is an important part of educational programs, including efforts to change the beliefs of students and the teachers. Surely we can move beyond this simple, endless analysis and produce research studying which interventions are more effective in counter-acting or strengthening which influences. Read more>>
(An item from the ISHN Member information service) An article in Issue #2, 2013 of Nutrition Research Reviews offers a unique macro-analysis of how food intake and physical activity have both declined in the UK. The attiocle suggests that both have declined, but the levels of food intake have not declined as much as activity levels, thereby creating the obesity/overweight trend. However, the provocative wording of the article also caught our attention in as much it shows how easily we can revert to stigmatizing attitudes and terminology. Read more>>
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