Knowledge of Concussions by High School Coaches in a Rural Environment

Science.gov (United States)

Shroyer, Josh; Stewart, Craig

2016-01-01

The purpose of this study was to determine the knowledge and opinions on concussions of high school coaches from a geographically large yet rural state in the northern Rocky Mountains of the United States. Few medical issues in sport are more important, or have had as much publicity recently, as concussions. The exposure gleaned from tragic health…

The Rural School Leadership Dilemma

Science.gov (United States)

Surface, Jeanne L.; Theobald, Paul

2014-01-01

The idea that rural schools and communities, indeed, even rural people, are somehow substandard or second-class has deep historical roots. The goal of this essay is to reveal that history so as to render stereotypical conceptions all things rural less powerful and more easily dismissed by rural school professionals. Consequently the focus is on…

Engaging Rural Appalachian High School Girls in College Science Laboratories to Foster STEM-Related Career Interest

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Karen Louise Kelly

2015-11-01

Full Text Available Setting students on a path to success in careers in science is a challenge in poor rural Appalachian public schools. Students face many socioeconomic obstacles. Their teachers are also limited by many factors including inadequate facilities, under-funding, geographical isolation of the schools, and state-testing constraints. Additionally, students and teachers lack the availability of outside science educational opportunities. In an effort to address this situation, 24 academically strong high school junior girls and their teachers from the Carter County School System in rural east Tennessee were invited for a laboratory day at Milligan College, a small liberal arts college in the heart of the county. Science faculty, female science majors, and admissions staff volunteered in service to the project. The event included three laboratory sessions, lunch in the college cafeteria, and campus tours. This successful example, as evidenced by positive evaluations by the invited girls and their teachers, of educational outreach by a local, small liberal arts college to a rural county school system provides a model for establishing a relationship between higher education institutions and these underprivileged schools, with the intention of drawing more of these poor, rural Appalachian students, particularly girls, into a science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM career path.

Exploring Rural High School Learners' Experience of Mathematics Anxiety in Academic Settings

Science.gov (United States)

Hlalele, Dipane

2012-01-01

The purpose of the study was to explore rural high school learners' experience of mathematics anxiety in academic settings. Mathematics anxiety has been found to have an adverse effect on confidence, motivation and achievement. This quantitative study is exploratory and descriptive in nature. The participants were 403 learners doing mathematics in…

Recruiting and retaining high-quality teachers in rural areas.

Science.gov (United States)

Monk, David H

2007-01-01

In examining recruitment and retention of teachers in rural areas, David Monk begins by noting the numerous possible characteristics of rural communities--small size, sparse settlement, distance from population concentrations, and an economic reliance on agricultural industries that are increasingly using seasonal and immigrant workers to minimize labor costs. Many, though not all, rural areas, he says, are seriously impoverished. Classes in rural schools are relatively small, and teachers tend to report satisfaction with their work environments and relatively few problems with discipline. But teacher turnover is often high, and hiring can be difficult. Monk observes that rural schools have a below-average share of highly trained teachers. Compensation in rural schools tends to be low, perhaps because of a lower fiscal capacity in rural areas, thus complicating efforts to attract and retain teachers. Several student characteristics, including relatively large shares of students with special needs and with limited English skills and lower shares of students attending college, can also make it difficult to recruit and retain high-quality teachers. Other challenges include meeting the needs of highly mobile children of low-income migrant farm workers. With respect to public policy, Monk asserts a need to focus on a subcategory of what might be called hard-to-staff rural schools rather than to develop a blanket set of policies for all rural schools. In particular, he recommends a focus on such indicators as low teacher qualifications, teaching in fields far removed from the area of training, difficulty in hiring, high turnover, a lack of diversity among teachers in the school, and the presence of migrant farm workers' children. Successful efforts to stimulate economic growth in these areas would be highly beneficial. He also calls attention to the potential for modern telecommunication and computing technologies to offset some of the drawbacks associated with teaching

School Segregation and Disparities in Urban, Suburban, and Rural Areas

Science.gov (United States)

Logan, John R.; Burdick-Will, Julia

2018-01-01

Much of the literature on racial and ethnic educational inequality focuses on the contrast between Black and Hispanic students in urban areas and white suburban students. This study extends past research on school segregation and racial/ethnic disparities by highlighting the importance of rural areas and regional variation. Although schools in rural America are disproportionately white, they nevertheless are like urban schools, and disadvantaged relative to suburban schools, in terms of poverty and test performance. The group most affected by rural school disadvantage is Native Americans, who are a small share of students nationally but much more prominent and highly disadvantaged in rural areas, particularly in some parts of the country. These figures suggest a strong case for including rural schools in the continuing conversation about how to deal with unfairness in public education. PMID:29430018

Memory and Cognitive Strategies of High Ability Students in a Rural Secondary School

Science.gov (United States)

Ali, Fuziana; Yunus, Melor Md

2013-01-01

This study was conducted to examine language learning strategies employed by the high ability students in a rural secondary school. Memory and cognitive strategies employed by the high ability students were the main focus in this study. A survey design was used and data was collected using Oxford's questionnaires. Findings reveal that the high…

Schools at the Rural-Urban Boundary - Blurring the Divide?

Science.gov (United States)

Burdick-Will, Julia; Logan, John R

2017-07-01

Schools mirror the communities in which they are located. Research on school inequality across the rural-urban spectrum tends to focus on the contrast between urban, suburban, and rural schools and glosses over the variation within these areas as well as the similarities between them. To address this gap and provide a richer description of the spatial distribution of educational inequality, we examine the school composition, achievement, and resources of all U.S. elementary schools in 2010-2011. We apply standard census definitions of what areas fall within central cities, the remainder of metropolitan regions, and in rural America. We then apply spatially explicit methods to reveal blurred boundaries and gradual gradients rather than sharp breaks at the edges of these zones. The results show high levels of variation within the suburbs and substantial commonality between rural and urban areas.

Rural Dilemmas in School-to-Work Transition: Low Skill Jobs, High Social Demands.

Science.gov (United States)

Danzig, Arnold

1996-01-01

Thirty-three employers in rural Arizona were interviewed concerning employer expectations, workplace opportunities, authority patterns, rewards, and social interaction at work regarding entry level workers directly out of high school. Available work was low skill with few rewards, yet demanded strong social skills and work ethic. Discusses…

Gender Factors Associated with Sexual Abstinent Behaviour of Rural South African High School Going Youth in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

Science.gov (United States)

Dlamini, Siyabonga; Taylor, Myra; Mkhize, Nosipho; Huver, Rosemarie; Sathiparsad, Reshma; de Vries, Hein; Naidoo, Kala; Jinabhai, Champak

2009-01-01

The cross-sectional study investigated South African rural high school learners' choice of sexual abstinence in order to be able to develop tailored health education messages. All Grade 9 learners from one class at each of 10 randomly selected rural high schools participated. The Integrated Model for Motivational and Behavioural Change was used to…

Exploring rural high school learners' experience of mathematics ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

times, often, or always experience mathematics anxiety in academic settings. It is therefore ... South African Journal of Education, Volume 32(3), August 2012 in education and ... This study was conducted in rural school settings owing to the reality that I face as ..... European Journal of Social Sciences, 16:75-86. Leppavirta J ...

Indiana Wesleyan University SPS Physics Outreach to Rural Middle School and High School Students

Science.gov (United States)

Ostrander, Joshua; Rose, Heath; Burchell, Robert; Ramos, Roberto

2013-03-01

The Society of Physics Students chapter at Indiana Wesleyan University is unusual in that it has no physics major, only physics minors. Yet while just over a year old, IWU-SPS has been active in performing physics outreach to middle school and high school students, and the rural community of Grant County. Our year-old SPS chapter consists of majors from Chemistry, Nursing, Biology, Exercise Science, Computer Science, Psychology, Pastoral Studies, and Science Education, who share a common interest in physics and service to the community. IWU currently has a physics minor and is currently working to build a physics major program. Despite the intrinsic challenges, our multi-disciplinary group has been successful at using physics demonstration equipment and hands-on activities and their universal appeal to raise the interest in physics in Grant County. We report our experience, challenges, and successes with physics outreach. We describe in detail our two-pronged approach: raising the level of physics appreciation among the IWU student community and among pre-college students in a rural community of Indiana. Acknowledgements: We acknowledge the support of the Society of Physics Students through a Marsh White Outreach Award and a Blake Lilly Prize.

An Investigation of Factors Related to Teachers' Organizational Commitment in Rural High Schools

Science.gov (United States)

Walker, Victoria LaShawn

2013-01-01

Relevant literature indicates that teachers who are not committed to their organization do not perform, do not provide a quality education for their students, and do not remain members of the organization; thus, making staffing, retaining, and maintaining highly qualified teachers problematic for rural schools. Limited research has been conducted…

Variation in access to sugar-sweetened beverages in vending machines across rural, town and urban high schools.

Science.gov (United States)

Adachi-Mejia, A M; Longacre, M R; Skatrud-Mickelson, M; Li, Z; Purvis, L A; Titus, L J; Beach, M L; Dalton, M A

2013-05-01

The 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans include reducing consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages. Among the many possible routes of access for youth, school vending machines provide ready availability of sugar-sweetened beverages. The purpose of this study was to determine variation in high school student access to sugar-sweetened beverages through vending machines by geographic location - urban, town or rural - and to offer an approach for analysing school vending machine content. Cross-sectional observational study. Between October 2007 and May 2008, trained coders recorded beverage vending machine content and machine-front advertising in 113 machines across 26 schools in New Hampshire and Vermont, USA. Compared with town schools, urban schools were significantly less likely to offer sugar-sweetened beverages (P = 0.002). Rural schools also offered more sugar-sweetened beverages than urban schools, but this difference was not significant. Advertisements for sugar-sweetened beverages were highly prevalent in town schools. High school students have ready access to sugar-sweetened beverages through their school vending machines. Town schools offer the highest risk of exposure; school vending machines located in towns offer up to twice as much access to sugar-sweetened beverages in both content and advertising compared with urban locations. Variation by geographic region suggests that healthier environments are possible and some schools can lead as inspirational role models. Copyright © 2013 The Royal Society for Public Health. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Demographic and financial characteristics of school districts with low and high à la Carte sales in rural Kansas Public Schools.

Science.gov (United States)

Nollen, Nicole L; Kimminau, Kim S; Nazir, Niaman

2011-06-01

Reducing à la carte items in schools-foods and beverages sold outside the reimbursable meals program-can have important implications for childhood obesity. However, schools are reluctant to reduce à la carte offerings because of the impact these changes could have on revenue. Some foodservice programs operate with limited à la carte sales, but little is known about these programs. This secondary data analysis compared rural and urban/suburban school districts with low and high à la carte sales. Foodservice financial records (2007-2008) were obtained from the Kansas State Department of Education for all public K-12 school districts (n=302). χ² and t tests were used to examine the independent association of variables to à la carte sales. A multivariate model was then constructed of the factors most strongly associated with low à la carte sales. In rural districts with low à la carte sales, lunch prices and participation were higher, lunch costs and à la carte quality were lower, and fewer free/reduced price lunches were served compared to rural districts with high à la carte sales. Lunch price (odds ratio=1.2; 95% confidence interval, 1.1 to 1.4) and free/reduced price lunch participation (odds ratio=3.0; 95% confidence interval, 1.0 to 9.8) remained in the multivariate model predicting low à la carte sales. No differences were found between urban/suburban districts with low and high à la carte sales. Findings highlight important factors to maintaining low à la carte sales. Schools should consider raising lunch prices and increasing meal participation rates as two potential strategies for reducing the sale of à la carte items without compromising foodservice revenue. Copyright © 2011 American Dietetic Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Schools at the Rural-Urban Boundary – Blurring the Divide?

Science.gov (United States)

Burdick-Will, Julia; Logan, John R.

2018-01-01

Schools mirror the communities in which they are located. Research on school inequality across the rural-urban spectrum tends to focus on the contrast between urban, suburban, and rural schools and glosses over the variation within these areas as well as the similarities between them. To address this gap and provide a richer description of the spatial distribution of educational inequality, we examine the school composition, achievement, and resources of all U.S. elementary schools in 2010–2011. We apply standard census definitions of what areas fall within central cities, the remainder of metropolitan regions, and in rural America. We then apply spatially explicit methods to reveal blurred boundaries and gradual gradients rather than sharp breaks at the edges of these zones. The results show high levels of variation within the suburbs and substantial commonality between rural and urban areas. PMID:29430017

Availability of healthy snack foods and beverages in stores near high-income urban, low-income urban, and rural elementary and middle schools in Oregon.

Science.gov (United States)

Findholt, Nancy E; Izumi, Betty T; Nguyen, Thuan; Pickus, Hayley; Chen, Zunqiu

2014-08-01

Food stores near schools are an important source of snacks for children. However, few studies have assessed availability of healthy snacks in these settings. The aim of this study was to assess availability of healthy snack foods and beverages in stores near schools and examine how availability of healthy items varied by poverty level of the school and rural-urban location. Food stores were selected based on their proximity to elementary/middle schools in three categories: high-income urban, low-income urban, and rural. Audits were conducted within the stores to assess the presence or absence of 48 items in single-serving sizes, including healthy beverages, healthy snacks, fresh fruits, and fresh vegetables. Overall, availability of healthy snack foods and beverages was low in all stores. However, there was significant cross-site variability in availability of several snack and fruit items, with stores near high-income urban schools having higher availability, compared to stores near low-income urban and/or rural schools. Stores near rural schools generally had the lowest availability, although several fruits were found more often in rural stores than in urban stores. There were no significant differences in availability of healthy beverages and fresh vegetables across sites. Availability of healthy snack foods and beverages was limited in stores near schools, but these limitations were more severe in stores proximal to rural and low-income schools. Given that children frequent these stores to purchase snacks, efforts to increase the availability of healthy products, especially in stores near rural and low-income schools, should be a priority.

Exploring rural high school learners' experience of mathematics anxiety in academic settings

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dipane Hlalele

2012-01-01

Full Text Available The purpose of the study was to explore rural high school learners' experience of mathematics anxiety in academic settings. Mathematics anxiety has been found to have an adverse effect on confidence, motivation and achievement. This quantitative study is exploratory and descriptive in nature. The participants were 403 learners doing mathematics in 18 rural schools in the Free State province of South Africa. Participants completed a 20-item questionnaire and 373 (92.5% questionnaires were found to contain valid responses and were analysed by a professional statistician at the University of the Free State using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS, Version 17.0. The questionnaire was testedfor reliability using the Cronbach alpha coefficient and was found to have a reliability score of .841, indicating an acceptable reliability coefficient. Findings reveal that all learners sometimes, often, or always experience mathematics anxiety in academic settings. It is therefore important for teachers and authorities in education to observe its prevalence and to implement strategies toward the alleviation of the effects ofmathematics anxiety.

Portrait of Rural Virtual Schooling

Science.gov (United States)

Barbour, Michael K.

2007-01-01

Over the past two decades, distance education has become a reality of rural schooling in Newfoundland and Labrador. In this article, I provide historical background into the challenges facing rural schools in the province and how distance education was introduced to address that challenge. I also describe how that system of distance education…

In-school Snacking, Breakfast Consumption, and Sleeping Patterns of Normal and Overweight Iranian High School Girls: A Study in Urban and Rural Areas in Guilan, Iran

Science.gov (United States)

Maddah, Mohsen; Rashidi, Arash; Mohammadpour, Behnoush; Vafa, Reza; Karandish, Majid

2009-01-01

Objective: To investigate the relationship of snacking during school hours, sleep time, and breakfast consumption by weight status of Iranian high school girls in urban and rural areas in Guilan Province, Iran. Design: Data were collected by self-administered questionnaire and measure of body weight and height. Setting: High schools in urban and…

My Future, My Family, My Freedom: Meanings of Schooling for Poor, Rural Chinese Youth

Science.gov (United States)

Xiang, Xin

2018-01-01

In this article, Xin Xiang investigates what dushu, or "schooling," means for rural senior secondary school students in a high-poverty county in southwestern China. With the persistence of China's rural-urban education inequality and alarming reports about secondary school dropout rates, rural students' and their families' attitudes…

DIMENSIONS OF BASIC SCHOOL DROPOUTS IN RURAL GHANA ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

MR PRINCE

of teaching and learning in the rural environment was directly linked to the high rate of drop- out. Although some ... tion that leaving school after the completion of basic school ...... There are several ways by which the informal apprenticeship ...

Computerizing primary schools in rural kenya

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ogembo, J.G.; Ngugi, B.; Pelowski, Matthew John

2012-01-01

questions surrounding this endeavour. Specifically: 1.) what problems do rural schools actually want to solve with computerization; 2.) is computerization the most important priority for rural schools; 3.) are schools ready, in terms of infrastructure, for a computer in the classroom; or 4.) might...... and protective roofing -posing severe challenges to the outstanding conception of computerization. We consider these results and make recommendations for better adapting programs for computer introduction, and also suggest the use of new innovative devices, such as cell phones, which might already have overcome......This paper investigates the outstanding challenges facing primary schools' computerization in rural Kenya. Computerization of schools is often envisaged as a 'magic', or at least a particularly efficient, solution to many of the problems that developing countries face in improving primary school...

The Retention of Hispanic/Latino Teachers in Southeastern Rural Elementary Schools

Science.gov (United States)

Rodriguez, Oscar

2017-01-01

This qualitative study reviewed reasons so few Hispanic/Latino teachers remain employed with rural county public elementary schools. The study evaluated issues that present high retention and attrition concerns for Hispanic/Latino teachers in rural schools. In addition, the dissertation offered suggestions on ways to increase the representation of…

Why Rural Schools Are Important for Pre-Service Teacher Preparation

Science.gov (United States)

Blanks, Brooke; Robbins, Holly; Rose, Dana; Beasley, Loren; Greene, Michelle; Kile, Melissa; Broadus, Allison

2013-01-01

Rural schools are often overlooked in educational research. At least one in five children in the United States attends a rural school and one-third of all public schools are located in rural areas. Research on the effects of teacher education in rural schools on teacher candidates and the rural schools themselves is almost nonexistent. This…

Urban and Rural High School Students' Perspectives of Productive Peer Culture for Mathematics Learning

Science.gov (United States)

Grant, Melva R.

2014-01-01

The purpose of this study was to determine students' perspectives about productive peer culture (PPC) in general and for mathematics learning. The urban and rural high school students in this study have participated for at least one year in either an Algebra Project Cohort Model (APCM) for daily mathematics instruction and/or worked as mathematics…

Problems Facing Rural Schools.

Science.gov (United States)

Stewart, C. E.; And Others

Problems facing rural Scottish schools range from short term consideration of daily operation to long term consideration of organizational alternatives. Addressed specifically, such problems include consideration of: (1) liaison between a secondary school and its feeder primary schools; (2) preservice teacher training for work in small, isolated…

Confronting Challenges at the Intersection of Rurality, Place, and Teacher Preparation: Improving Efforts in Teacher Education to Staff Rural Schools

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Amy Price Azano

2016-02-01

Full Text Available Recruiting and retaining highly qualified teachers in rural schools is a persistent struggle in many countries, including the U.S. Salient challenges related to poverty, geographic isolation, low teacher salaries, and a lack of community amenities seem to trump perks of living in rural communities. Recognizing this issue as a complex and hard to solve fixture in the composition of rural communities, we sought to understand how teacher preparation programs might better prepare preservice teachers for successful student teaching placements and, ideally, eventual careers in rural schools. In this study, we explore teacher candidates’ perceptions of rurality while examining how specific theory, pedagogy, and practice influence their feelings of preparedness for working in a rural school. Using pre- and post- questionnaire data, classroom observations, and reflections, we assess the effectiveness of deliberate efforts in our teacher preparation program to increase readiness for rural teaching. In our analysis and discussion, we draw on critical and sociocultural theories to understand the experiences of a cohort of teacher candidates as they explore personal histories, the importance of place, expectations, and teaching strategies for rural contexts. While rural education researchers have long lamented the struggle to recruit and retain teachers, there is relatively little known about intentional efforts to prepare teachers specifically for rural classrooms. We conclude our article with recommendations for enhancing teacher preparation programs in ways that might result in significant progress toward the goal of staffing rural schools with the highly skilled teachers all students deserve.

Principals as Assessment Leaders in Rural Schools

Science.gov (United States)

Renihan, Patrick; Noonan, Brian

2012-01-01

This article reports a study of rural school principals' assessment leadership roles and the impact of rural context on their work. The study involved three focus groups of principals serving small rural schools of varied size and grade configuration in three systems. Principals viewed assessment as a matter of teacher accountability and as a…

Classroom Goal Structures and HIV and Pregnancy Prevention Education in Rural High School Health Classrooms

Science.gov (United States)

Anderman, Eric M.; Cupp, Pamela K.; Lane, Derek R.; Zimmerman, Rick; Gray, DeLeon L.; O'Connell, Ann

2011-01-01

Over 5,000 adolescents enrolled in required rural high school health courses reported their perceptions of mastery and extrinsic goal structures in their health classrooms. Data were collected from all students at three time points (prior to HIV and pregnancy instruction, 3 months after instruction, and 1 year after instruction). Results indicated…

Rural Elementary School Teachers' Technology Integration

Science.gov (United States)

Howley, Aimee; Wood, Lawrence; Hough, Brian

2011-01-01

Based on survey responses from more than 500 third-grade teachers, this study addressed three research questions relating to technology integration and its impact in rural elementary schools. The first analyses compared rural with non-rural teachers, revealing that the rural teachers had more positive attitudes toward technology integration. Then…

Do Rural and Regional Students in Queensland Experience an ICT "Turn-Off" in the Early High School Years?

Science.gov (United States)

Courtney, Lyn; Anderson, Neil

2010-01-01

Students learning in regional, rural and remote locations in Queensland are currently experiencing a "turn-off" in relation to school-based ICT in the first three years of high school. At the same time, students are experiencing increasing levels of interest and motivation from their use of ICT at home. Given the importance of ICT as an…

Gaseous pollutants on rural and urban nursery schools in Northern Portugal

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nunes, R.A.O.; Branco, P.T.B.S.; Alvim-Ferraz, M.C.M.; Martins, F.G.; Sousa, S.I.V.

2016-01-01

Indoor air quality in nursery schools is different from other schools and this has been largely ignored, particularly in rural areas. Urban and rural nursery schools have different environmental characteristics whose knowledge needs improvement. Thus, this study aimed to evaluate continuously the concentrations of CO_2, CO, NO_2, O_3, CH_2O and total VOC in three rural nursery schools and one urban, being the only one comparing urban and rural nurseries with continuous measurements, thus considering occupation and non-occupation periods. Regarding CO_2, urban nursery recorded higher concentrations (739–2328 mg m"−"3) than rural nurseries (653–1078 mg m"−"3). The influence of outdoor air was the main source of CO, NO_2 and O_3 indoor concentrations. CO and NO_2 concentrations were higher in the urban nursery and O_3 concentrations were higher in rural ones. CH_2O and TVOC concentrations seemed to be related to internal sources, such as furniture and flooring finishing and cleaning products. - Highlights: • This is the only study comparing gaseous pollutants continuously measured in urban and rural nurseries. • Children's risk of exposure occurs mainly in the urban nursery school. • Outdoor air was the main determinant of CO, NO_2 and O_3 indoor concentrations. • There is a need to implement measures to reduce critical situations regarding IAQ. - Gaseous pollutant levels were higher in the urban nursery than in rural ones, except for O_3. High concentrations were due to lack of ventilation, outdoor air and internal sources.

Current Use of E-Cigarettes and Conventional Cigarettes Among US High School Students in Urban and Rural Locations: 2014 National Youth Tobacco Survey.

Science.gov (United States)

Noland, Melody; Rayens, Mary Kay; Wiggins, Amanda T; Huntington-Moskos, Luz; Rayens, Emily A; Howard, Tiffany; Hahn, Ellen J

2017-01-01

Adolescent tobacco use is higher in rural than in urban areas. While e-cigarette use is increasing rapidly among this age group, differences in prevalence between rural versus urban populations for this relatively novel product have not been explored. The purpose is to investigate whether location of school (rural-urban) is associated with e-cigarette use and dual use (defined as the use of both e-cigarettes and conventional cigarettes) among high school students. Cross-sectional survey obtained using a stratified, 3-stage cluster sample design. United States. A nationally representative sample of US high school students (N = 11 053) who completed the 2014 National Youth Tobacco Survey (NYTS); slightly more than half were urban (54%). The NYTS measures tobacco-related knowledge, attitudes, and use behavior and demographics of students in the United States. Weighted logistic regression assessed the relationships of urban-rural location with current e-cigarette use and dual use, adjusting for demographic factors, perceived risk, and social norms. There were clear differences in patterns of adolescent e-cigarette and cigarette use in rural versus urban areas. Social norms and perceptions may play a role in understanding these differences. Urban youth current cigarette smokers were nearly twice as likely as rural cigarette smokers to also use e-cigarettes. Reasons for urban-rural differences need to be taken into account when designing prevention programs and policy changes.

Patterns of Sexual Behavior in Lowland Thai Youth and Ethnic Minorities Attending High School in Rural Chiang Mai, Thailand

OpenAIRE

Aurpibul, Linda; Tangmunkongvorakul, Arunrat; Musumari, Patou Masika; Srithanaviboonchai, Kriengkrai; Tarnkehard, Surapee

2016-01-01

Introduction: The rural areas of Northern Thailand are home to a large cultural diversity of ethnic minority groups. Previous studies have shown that young people in rural Thailand have low levels of knowledge on HIV/AIDS and high sexual risks. We compared sexual behaviors between the lowland Thai youth and the youth from ethnic minority groups. Methods and findings: This is a cross-sectional quantitative study conducted among high-school Thai and ethnic students in Chiang Mai. From a total 1...

Comparison of asthma prevalence among African American teenage youth attending public high schools in rural Georgia and urban Detroit.

Science.gov (United States)

Ownby, Dennis R; Tingen, Martha S; Havstad, Suzanne; Waller, Jennifer L; Johnson, Christine C; Joseph, Christine L M

2015-09-01

The high prevalence of asthma among urban African American (AA) populations has attracted research attention, whereas the prevalence among rural AA populations is poorly documented. We sought to compare the prevalence of asthma among AA youth in rural Georgia and urban Detroit, Michigan. The prevalence of asthma was compared in population-based samples of 7297 youth attending Detroit public high schools and in 2523 youth attending public high schools in rural Georgia. Current asthma was defined as a physician diagnosis and symptoms in the previous 12 months. Undiagnosed asthma was defined as multiple respiratory symptoms in the previous 12 months without a physician diagnosis. In Detroit, 6994 (95.8%) youth were AA compared with 1514 (60.0%) in Georgia. Average population density in high school postal codes was 5628 people/mile(2) in Detroit and 45.1 people/mile(2) in Georgia. The percentages of poverty and of students qualifying for free or reduced lunches were similar in both areas. The prevalence of current diagnosed asthma among AA youth in Detroit and Georgia was similar: 15.0% (95% CI, 14.1-15.8) and 13.7% (95% CI, 12.0-17.1) (P = .22), respectively. The prevalence of undiagnosed asthma in AA youth was 8.0% in Detroit and 7.5% in Georgia (P = .56). Asthma symptoms were reported more frequently among those with diagnosed asthma in Detroit, whereas those with undiagnosed asthma in Georgia reported more symptoms. Among AA youth living in similar socioeconomic circumstances, asthma prevalence is as high in rural Georgia as it is in urban Detroit, suggesting that urban residence is not an asthma risk factor. Copyright © 2015 American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The Joan Wint Story: Biography of a Principal Whose Leadership for Social Justice Transformed a Rural Jamaican High School

Science.gov (United States)

Oram-Sterling, Jacqueline

2009-01-01

This dissertation is a biographical study of the life of a retired high school principal in Jamaica. Joan Miller Wint was born on May 10, 1946, in the small rural district of Success in Westmoreland, Jamaica. This study of Wint's life centers on school transformation and organizational change, exploring her leadership as a principal through the…

Early Career Leadership Opportunities in Australian Rural Schools

Science.gov (United States)

Graham, Lorraine; Miller, Judith; Paterson, David

2009-01-01

Due to the difficulties inherent in staffing rural schools in Australia, it is increasingly common for beginning teachers to fill school leadership roles early in their careers. The purpose of this paper is to explore the accelerated progression of some early career teachers who have been offered leadership opportunities in rural schools. Results…

Otitis media in indonesian urban and rural school children.

Science.gov (United States)

Anggraeni, Ratna; Hartanto, Widya W; Djelantik, Bulantrisna; Ghanie, Abla; Utama, Denny S; Setiawan, Eka P; Lukman, Erica; Hardiningsih, Chintriany; Asmuni, Suprihati; Budiarti, Rery; Rahardjo, Sutji Pratiwi; Djamin, Riskiana; Mulyani, Tri; Mutyara, Kuswandewi; Carosone-Link, Phyllis; Kartasasmita, Cissy B; Simões, Eric A F

2014-10-01

Although the epidemiology of otitis media is well-known in industrialized countries, the extent of otitis media in developing Asian countries, especially in south East Asia is not well studied. To define the burden of otitis media and its sequelae in children 6-15 years of age, we enrolled elementary and junior high school children in 6 areas in rural and urban Indonesia. Randomly selected schools and classrooms were selected. All children were administered a questionnaire and had ear examinations, pneumatic otoscopy and screening audiometry. Children with any abnormality on examination or with a relevant history underwent diagnostic audiometry and tympanometry, if indicated. Of the 7005 children studied, 116 had chronic suppurative otitis media (CSOM), 30 had acute otitis media and 26 had otitis media with effusion. 2.7% of rural children had CSOM compared with 0.7% of urban children (P < 0.0001). The rates per 1000 of CSOM in rural Bali and Bandung were significantly higher (75 and 25, respectively) than in the rest of Indonesia (P < 0.05). In rural Bali, the rate per 1000 children of inactive CSOM was 63 in 6- to 9-year-old children, compared with 37 in children aged 13-15 years. Concomitantly, the rates of tympanosclerosis were 7 and 26/1000, respectively, in these age groups. In Indonesia, the prevalence of CSOM is relatively high with most disease occurring in rural areas. The high rates in rural Bali with early progression to tympanosclerosis suggest a significant burden of potentially vaccine preventable illness.

Rural Education as Rural Development: Understanding the Rural School-Community Well-Being Linkage in a 21st-Century Policy Context

Science.gov (United States)

Schafft, Kai A.

2016-01-01

Despite the significant proportions of rural Americans, schools, and public school students situated in the geographic peripheries of an increasingly urbanizing country, rural education in the United States has consistently occupied both scholarly and policy peripheries. This is to the detriment of rural America, especially to the extent that…

Barriers to Distance Education in Rural Schools

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Irvin, Matthew J.; Hannum, Wallace H.; Varre, Claire de la; Farmer, Thomas W.

2010-01-01

The primary purpose of the current study was to examine barriers to the use of distance education and explore related factors in small and low-income rural schools. Data were collected via a telephone survey with administrators or other qualified personnel. The sample involved 417 randomly selected small and low-income rural school districts…

Rural School Math and Science Teachers' Technology Integration Familiarization

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Kalonde, Gilbert

2017-01-01

This study explored the significance of technology integration familiarization and the subsequent PD provided to rural middle school teachers with several opportunities to gain technological skills for technology use in rural middle school math and science classrooms. In order to explore the use of technology in rural schools, this study surveyed…

A Vanishing Rural School Advantage? Changing Urban/Rural Student Achievement Differences in Latin America and the Caribbean

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Luschei, Thomas F.; Fagioli, Loris P.

2016-01-01

In 1997, a cross-national assessment of educational achievement in Latin America and the Caribbean found that rural schools in Colombia outperformed urban schools in tests of reading and mathematics, except in very large cities. Given a long history of urban/rural inequality in the region, Colombia's rural school advantage attracted substantial…

Teachers' Perspectives of the Principals' Invitational Leadership Behaviors, Teacher Job Satisfaction and Principal Effectiveness in High-Poverty Rural Elementary Schools

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Younis, Matthew Christopher Zadin

2017-01-01

The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of Invitational Leadership behaviors on school teacher satisfaction, teacher perceptions of the school principal's performance, and to identify if there was a difference between the levels of inviting behaviors of principals at high-achieving and low-achieving rural schools in North Carolina. The…

Mental Health Condition of the Only-Child: A Study of Urban and Rural High School Students in China

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Liu, Chenying; Munakata, Tsunetsugu; Onuoha, Francis N.

2005-01-01

The mental health of the only-child continues to generate interest in research literature. The present study examines the issue in China, where the one-child phenomenon is highest due to deliberate government policy. Subjects are 299 and 333 students in two high-rank high schools in urban Harebin and rural Qing an Xian, respectively (mean age =…

Do Rural Schools Need Character Education?

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Reynolds, Janice Carner

Studies suggest that the challenge of violence in public schools can be met through character education, whether by providing a school culture in which core values are practiced or some form of moral training (indoctrination). To assess the need for character education in rural schools, small-school superintendents and board members in central…

A comparison of the vending environment among three rural subtypes of secondary schools.

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Kehm, Rebecca; Davey, Cynthia S; Kubik, Martha Y; Nanney, Marilyn S

2018-01-01

The purpose of this study was to further explore the rural school food environment. This study assessed trends in prevalence of vending machines and vending items within and between Minnesota schools located in 3 rural subtypes: town/rural fringe, town/rural distant, and remote rural. Generalized estimating equation models were employed to analyze data from the 2006 through 2012 School Health Profiles Principal's Surveys (Profiles). All 3 rural subtypes had a statistically significant decrease in the prevalence of low nutrient energy dense (LNED) vending items between 2006 and 2012, with the exception of sports drinks. However, different vending practices were observed between rural subtypes, with town/rural fringe schools providing more LNED vending options and experiencing less positive change over time compared to town/rural distant and remote rural schools. Differences in vending machine practices emerge when rural schools are subtyped.

[Hygienic assessment of intraschool environment in rural and urban secondary school institutions].

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Mylnikova, I V

The purpose of the research is to assess the intra-environment indices in urban and rural secondary schools. In the course of special studies there was given the hygienic assessment of the climate, illumination and air quality of classrooms. In classrooms in rural schools microclimate indices were established to fail to meet hygienic requirements mainly on the temperature and humidity parameters. In rural schools, the temperature was decreased to 16-17 °C in 19.0 ± 8.6% of classrooms, humidity was elevated to 63.1% in 25.7 ± 7.4% of classrooms. Among urban schools the humidity in 49.6 ± 4.4% of classrooms reduced to 23.3 ± 0.3%, in 20.8 ± 5.4% of offices it was increased to 71.9 ± 0.9%. The coefficient of the natural illumination in rural schools has been reduced to 0.86-1.4% in 33.9 ± 14.2% of classrooms. In 25.1 ± 2.3% of classrooms in urban schools the level of natural light ratio was below the normative values and varied in the range of 0.32-1.3%. It is noted that in the offices of informatics natural light indices are significantly lower than in the classrooms for core subjects. The artificial lighting in urban schools was found to be lower than hygienic standards on the desks by 1.9 times, 2.2 times - at the board. There were obtained statistically significant handshaking health problems of urban schoolchildren due to intraenvironmental factors. The c dimate in surveyed gyms in rural schools is different in the low temperature and high humidity. The hygienic assessment of the air pollution classrooms’ medium was executed for a range of chemicals: formaldehyde, carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide, particulate matter. Concentrations of formaldehyde; nitrogen dioxide, suspended solids in the air in classrooms in urban schools appeared to be higher than in rural schools. Carbon monoxide concentrations in classrooms in rural schools was found to exceed their values in urban schools. The air in classrooms of the one of the cities was found

TRANSFORMING RURAL SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN ZIMBABWE THROUGH TECHNOLOGY: LIVED EXPERIENCES OF STUDENT COMPUTER USERS

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Gomba Clifford

2016-04-01

Full Text Available A technological divide exists in Zimbabwe between urban and rural schools that puts rural based students at a disadvantage. In Zimbabwe, the government, through the president donated computers to most rural schools in a bid to bridge the digital divide between rural and urban schools. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to understand the experiences of Advanced Level students using computers at two rural boarding Catholic High Schools in Zimbabwe. The study was guided by two research questions: (1 How do Advanced level students in the rural areas use computers at their school? and (2 What is the experience of using computers for Advanced Level students in the rural areas of Zimbabwe? By performing this study, it was possible to understand from the students’ experiences whether computer usage was for educational learning or not. The results of the phenomenological study showed that students’ experiences can be broadly classified into five themes, namely worthwhile (interesting experience, accessibility issues, teachers’ monopoly, research and social use, and Internet availability. The participants proposed teachers use computers, but not monopolize computer usage. The solution to the computer shortage may be solved by having donors and government help in the acquisitioning of more computers.

Counselors and Special Educators in Rural Schools Working Together to Create a Positive School Community

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Thornton, Frank

2018-01-01

School counselors and special educators in rural areas working together can be a powerful team to help schools create a positive school community. In one rural school community, they partnered with faculty and staff to implement a School Wide Positive Behavior support program to improve student outcomes. The counselor and special educator, through…

Biscuits, Sausage, Gravy, Milk, and Orange Juice: School Breakfast Environment in 4 Rural Appalachian Schools

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Graves, Andrea; Haughton, Betsy; Jahns, Lisa; Fitzhugh, Eugene; Jones, Sonya J.

2008-01-01

Background: The purpose of this study was to assess the school breakfast environment in rural Appalachian schools to inform school environment intervention and policy change. Methods: A total of 4 rural schools with fourth- and fifth-grade students in East Tennessee were assessed. A cross-sectional descriptive examination of the school food…

Sexual risk behaviours of high school female learners in Mbonge subdivision of rural Cameroon.

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Tarkang, Elvis Enowbeyang

2015-01-01

Since female learners in high schools in Cameroon fall within the age group hardest hit by HIV/AIDS, it is assumed that these learners might be exposed to sexual risk behaviours. However, little has been explored on the sexual risk behaviours of high school female learners in Cameroon. This study aimed at examining the sexual risk behaviours of high school female learners in Mbonge subdivision of rural Cameroon. A cross sectional design was adopted, using a self-administered questionnaire for data collection. Respondents were selected through disproportional stratified simple random sampling resulting in 210 female grade 10 to grade 12 learners from three participating high schools in Mbonge subdivision, Cameroon. Descriptive and inferential statistics were calculated using SPSS version 20 software program. Majority of the respondents, 54.0% reported being sexually active, of whom only 39.8% used condoms during first sex; 49.5% used condoms during last sex and 29.6% used condoms consistently. Up to 32% of the sexually active respondents had multiple sexual partners in the past one year before the study, while 9.3% had multiple sexual partners during the study period. The mean age of first sex was 15.6 years. Lack of parental control, religion, academic profile, poverty, place of residence and perception of risk of HIV infection were the main factors significantly associated with sexual risk behaviours. The findings indicate that sexual risk behaviours exist among high school female learners in Mbonge, Cameroon. There is need for campaigns and interventions to bring about sexual behaviour change.

Leadership in Australian Rural Schools: Bush Track, Fast Track

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Graham, Lorraine; Paterson, David; Miller, Judith

2008-01-01

Due to the difficulties inherent in staffing rural schools it is increasingly common for beginning teachers to fill school leadership roles early in their careers. The accelerated progression of some teachers impacts on the overall nature of leadership in rural schools and creates unique pathways, generally different from those available to…

THE EVALUATION OF DIVERSITY OF EDUCATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL MODELS OF LATVIAN RURAL SCHOOLS

OpenAIRE

Katane, Irēna; Laizāne, Anna

2015-01-01

Under conditions of changes and instability in any state rural schools are faced to look for different directions of development in order to manage in the rural areas. Thus the inner structure of rural schools becomes complex and causes formation of new educational environmental models of Latvian rural schools. The aims of the article: 1) to give substantiation of the concept model; 2) to give classification of educational environmental models of rural schools; 3) to emphasize the advantages ...

Factors affecting school completion by the girl child in Binga Rural ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Despite the plausible increase in the enrolment rate of girls, progress in education among rural girls at global, regional and local level has been impeded by high influx of school dropouts. The objectives of the study were to assess factors that prohibit girls from completing their formal education in Binga rural district in ...

Church Schools, Educational Markets and the Rural Idyll

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Hemming, Peter J.; Roberts, Christopher

2018-01-01

Researchers have begun to explore the role that faith schools play in contemporary educational markets but the emphasis to date has been on urban rather than rural contexts. This article approaches the issue of marketisation through a qualitative case-study comparison of two Anglican primary schools in contrasting rural localities in England and…

Knowledge of communicable and noncommunicable diseases among Karen ethnic high school students in rural Thasongyang, the far northwest of Thailand.

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Lorga, Thaworn; Aung, Myo Nyein; Naunboonruang, Prissana; Junlapeeya, Piyatida; Payaprom, Apiradee

2013-01-01

The double burden of communicable and noncommunicable diseases (NCD) is an increasing trend in low- and-middle income developing countries. Rural and minority populations are underserved and likely to be affected severely by these burdens. Knowledge among young people could provide immunity to such diseases within a community in the long term. In this study we aimed to assess the knowledge of several highly prevalent NCDs (diabetes, hypertension, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease [COPD]) and several highly incident communicable diseases (malaria and diarrheal diseases) among Karen high school students in a rural district in far northwest of Thailand. The aim of the study is to explore information for devising life-course health education that will be strategically based in schools. A cross-sectional survey approved by the ethics committee of Boromarajonani College of Nursing Nakhon Lampang (BCNLP), Lampang, Thailand was conducted in Thasongyang, Tak province, from September 2011 to January 2012. Questionnaires for assessing knowledge regarding diabetes, hypertension, COPD, malaria, and diarrheal diseases were delivered to all 457 Karen high school students attending Thasongyang high school. A total of 371 students returned the questionnaires. Experts' validation and split-half reliability assessment was applied to the instrument. Students' main sources of health information were their teachers (62%), health care workers (60%), television (59%), and parents (54%). Familial risk factors of diabetes and hypertension were not known to more than two thirds of the students. Except obesity and physical inactivity, lifestyle-related risk factors were also not known to the students. Though living in a malaria-endemic area, many of the Karen students had poor knowledge about preventive behaviors. Half of the students could not give a correct answer about the malaria and hygienic practice, which might normally be traditionally relayed messages. Health education and

Rural Revitalization in New Mexico: A Grass Roots Initiative Involving School and Community

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Pitzel, Gerald R.; Benavidez, Alicia C.; Bianchi, Barbara C.; Croom, Linda L.; de la Riva, Brandy R.; Grein, Donna L.; Holloway, James E.; Rendon, Andrew T.

2007-01-01

The Rural Education Bureau of the New Mexico Public Education Department has established a program to address the special needs of schools and communities in the extensive rural areas of the state. High poverty rates, depopulation and a general lack of viable economic opportunity have marked rural New Mexico for decades. The program underway aims…

GeoFORCE Alaska: Four-Year Field Program Brings Rural Alaskan High School Students into the STEM Pipeline

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Fowell, S. J.; Rittgers, A.; Stephens, L.; Hutchinson, S.; Peters, H.; Snow, E.; Wartes, D.

2016-12-01

GeoFORCE Alaska is a four-year, field-based, summer geoscience program designed to raise graduation rates in rural Alaskan high schools, encourage participants to pursue college degrees, and increase the diversity of Alaska's technical workforce. Residents of predominantly Alaska Native villages holding degrees in science, technology, engineering, or math (STEM) bring valuable perspectives to decisions regarding management of cultural and natural resources. However, between 2010 and 2015 the average dropout rate for students in grades 7-12 was 8.5% per year in the North Slope School District and 7% per year in the Northwest Arctic School District. 2015 graduation rates were 70% and 75%, respectively. Statewide statistics highlight the challenge for Alaska Native students. During the 2014-2015 school year alone 37.6% of Alaska Native students dropped out of Alaskan public schools. At the college level, Alaska Native students are underrepresented in University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) science departments. Launched in 2012 by UAF in partnership with the longstanding University of Texas at Austin program, GeoFORCE applies the cohort model, leading the same group of high school students on geological field academies during four consecutive summers. Through a combination of active learning, teamwork, and hands-on projects at spectacular geological locations, students gain academic skills and confidence that facilitate high school and college success. To date, GeoFORCE Alaska has recruited two cohorts. 78% of these students identify as Alaska Native, reflecting community demographics. The inaugural cohort of 18 students from the North Slope Borough completed the Fourth-Year Academy in summer 2015. 94% of these students graduated from high school, at least 72% plan to attend college, and 33% will major in geoscience. A second cohort of 34 rising 9th and 10th graders entered the program in 2016. At the request of corporate sponsors, this cohort was recruited from both the

Equity for Rural School Districts: The Final Report of the Countryside Council's School Finance Task Force.

Science.gov (United States)

Wiener, Steve

Soaring values of agricultural land have created inequities in funding between urban and rural school districts in Minnesota. The state's Foundation Aid to school districts is formulated so that districts of high property valuation receive less Foundation Aid than those districts with low property valuation. In recent years inflation has had…

Exploration and analysis of rural primary school teacher’s language violence

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Deng Honglian

2016-01-01

Full Text Available As the problem of rural education becomes more and more obvious while the supervision on stay-at-home children’s education becomes more and more difficult, rural primary school teacher’s language violence has become a new big problem today. This paper collected and investigated the improper language used by rural primary school teachers so as to analyze the features, harm, causes and solutions of language violence, trying to explore and analyze rural primary school teacher’s language violence from perspective of sociology and remind primary school teachers of rethinking. In subjective aspect, this paper hopes to improve rural primary school teacher’s comprehensive quality, establish specification for teacher’s language, lower rural teacher’s vocational burnout and alleviate the psychological pressure that exam-oriented education and rural stay-at-home children impose on teachers. In objective aspect, this paper hopes to enhance the supervision from society and administrative departments for education. All the above measures can be taken to effectively eliminate teacher’s language violence and resolve the crisis.

Food Insecurity and Its Association With School Absenteeism Among Rural School Adolescents in Jimma Zone, Ethiopia.

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Tamiru, Dessalegn; Melaku, Yabsira; Belachew, Tefera

2017-03-01

Studies showed that poor health and nutrition among school adolescents are major barriers to educational access and achievements in low-income countries. This school-based study was aimed to assess the association of school absenteeism and food insecurity among rural school adolescents from grades 5 to 8 in Jimma zone, Ethiopia. Regression analyses were used to see the strength of association between dependent and independent variables using odds ratio and 95% confidence intervals. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was used to identify the predictor of school absenteeism. Validated tools are used to collect household food insecurity data. Results showed that school absenteeism is significantly high among adolescents from food insecure households when compared to adolescents from food secure households ( P absenteeism was negatively associated with male sex (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = -0.91, 95% CI -1.85 to -0.03), household food security (adjusted odds ratio = -1.85, 95% CI -3.11 to -0.59), being an elder sibling (AOR = -0.37, 95% CI, -0.62 to -0.12), and mother involvement in decision making (AOR = -0.68, 95% CI, -1.33 to -0.03) while male-headed household was positively associated (AOR = 2.46, 95% CI, 1.37 to 4.56). Generally, this study showed that household food insecurity has significant contribution to school absenteeism among rural adolescents. Therefore, efforts should be made to improve household income earning capacity to reduce the prevalence of school absenteeism among rural school adolescents.

Tensions between the local and the global: contemporary rural and teaching in rural schools

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Elizeu Clementino de Souza

2012-05-01

Full Text Available The paper aims to investigate potential tensions between local and global context of contemporary ruralities, emphasizing the times, rhythms and spaces constructed from the experiences of teachers and students in the organization of the routines of rural schools. The paper presents theoretical considerations resulting from two studies in the Graduate Program in Education and Contemporary - PPGEduC / UNEB. The clipping and analysis undertaken focus on education developed in rural areas and tensions present in this context in view, discuss issues concerning the new ruralities contemporary. This discussion has as its central theme the issues of timing and the rhythm in schools with multigrade classes Island Tide that articulates with dilemmas and tensions surrounding the experience lived by teachers of geography of the city engaged in teaching in rural areas in semi-arid region of Bahia. Research has pointed to difficulties faced by rural school to consider the different temporalities that exist in rural areas in their educational processes, as well as difficulties of articulation in these contexts of learning, between the local-global dimensions through which passes the contemporary space. This movement creates stress for teachers’ work, since it complicates the relationship between the times established, standardized and rigid, with times of personal students and teachers, covering aspects such as age, life histories, movements and experiences socio-historical and geographical subjects involved in the processes of teaching and learning in rural settings in contemporary times.

Built environment predictors of active travel to school among rural adolescents.

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Dalton, Madeline A; Longacre, Meghan R; Drake, Keith M; Gibson, Lucinda; Adachi-Mejia, Anna M; Swain, Karin; Xie, Haiyi; Owens, Peter M

2011-03-01

Most studies of active travel to school (ATS) have been conducted in urban or suburban areas and focused on young children. Little is known about ATS among rural adolescents. To describe adolescent ATS in two predominantly rural states and determine if school neighborhood built environment characteristics (BECs) predict ATS after adjusting for school and individual characteristics. Sixteen BECs were assessed through census data and onsite observations of 45 school neighborhoods in 2007. ATS and individual characteristics were assessed through telephone surveys with 1552 adolescents and their parents between 2007 and 2008. Active travelers were defined as those who walked/cycled to/from school ≥1 day/week. Hierarchic linear modeling was used for analysis, conducted in 2009. Slightly less than half (n=735) of the sample lived within 3 miles of school, of whom 388 (52.8%) were active travelers. ATS frequency varied by season, ranging from a mean of 1.7 (SD=2.0) days/week in the winter to 3.7 (SD=1.6) in the spring. Adolescents who attended schools in highly dense residential neighborhoods with sidewalks were most likely to be active travelers. ATS frequency was greater in school neighborhoods with high residential and intersection densities, on-street parking, food outlets, and taller and continuous buildings with small setbacks. The BECs that support safe travel may be necessary to allow for ATS, whereas ATS frequency among adolescents may be influenced by a wider variety of design characteristics. Additional strategies to promote ATS and physical activity are needed in rural areas because of long commuting distances for many students. Copyright © 2011 American Journal of Preventive Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

SCHOOL AND OUT-OF-SCHOOL PHYSICAL ACTIVITY OF CHILDREN IN RURAL AREAS

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Robert Podstawski

2014-08-01

Full Text Available Purpose : The aim of the study was to assess the level of school and out-of-school physical activity of children living in rural area at the early stage of their education. Material : The research was conducted in 2009 at primary school in Świętajno (a village. The study group consisted of 42 girls and 44 boys from the 1 st, 2 nd and 3 rd grade of primary school, aged 7-10. The children were chosen by means of a purposeful selection and surveyed by a questionnaire consisting of five open-ended and five closed-ended questions. Results : The research showed that the children living in the rural area at the early stage of their education eagerly participated in the classes of physical education held at school. The most popular physical activities among the children included: games and plays with the ball and other equipment, running, gymnastics (among girls and matches and competitions (among boys. The outdoor physical activities in which the children were involved outside of school were spontaneous and unorganized including mainly cycling, roller-skating, skating or skiing. Conclusions : A marginal percentage of children participated in out-of-school sports trainings or other physical education-oriented classes (e.g. swimming lessons. A relatively high percentage of children devoted a great deal of their free time to watching television, DVDs or playing on the computer.

Establishing a Rural School Counseling Agenda: A Multiagency Needs-Assessment Model.

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Braucht, Stephanie; Weime, Barbara

1990-01-01

Developed creative approach to conduct needs assessment in rural schools that involved sending questionnaires to 49 key informants and 145 high school students. Key informants and students agreed that the 2 most serious issues were alcohol-related problems and family dysfunction (violence, divorce). Both groups indicated need for a teen center;…

Landmark survey tracks decade of changes in India's rural schools ...

International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

2011-12-21

Dec 21, 2011 ... These are just a few comments from parents of school-aged children in rural ... Landmark survey tracks decade of changes in India's rural schools ... funded by Canada's International Development Research Centre (IDRC).

Beyond the City Lights: A Multiple-Case Study of Successful, Experienced Secondary Science Teachers in Rural Schools

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DeVore-Wedding, Beverly R.

Recruitment and retention concerns for teachers, particularly in rural school districts and in science, fill the daily news and research literature. The shortage of STEM workers is also another concern as well. Then why do nationally recognized secondary science teachers remain in rural schools with lower salaries, increased responsibilities beyond teaching content, and multi-preparations, stay in those schools? How do they overcome challenges in their schools? This multiple case study focuses on Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching (PAEMST) awardees who have taught secondary science in rural school districts 10 years or more. Eight rural PAEMST high school science teachers were identified in Nebraska and the six contiguous states; four consented to participate in this study. Interviews of these teachers and a colleague, principal, and or students were conducted to answer the research questions. Using a lens of resiliency, similarities were identified that show how these teachers overcome adversity and thrived in their rural school and communities. Resilient themes that emerged from this study are adaptability, autonomy, collaborative, competency, connectedness, problem-solvers, and resourcefulness. Common themes of success for teaching in rural schools for the four teachers were autonomy and relationships. Common themes of challenges for teaching in rural schools were diversity, funding, professional isolation, and teaching assignments. These characteristics and strategies may help schools with their recruitment and retention of teachers as well as teachers themselves benefiting from hearing other teachers' stories of success and longevity.

Confronting Challenges at the Intersection of Rurality, Place, and Teacher Preparation: Improving Efforts in Teacher Education to Staff Rural Schools

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Azano, Amy Price; Stewart, Trevor Thomas

2016-01-01

Recruiting and retaining highly qualified teachers in rural schools is a persistent struggle in many countries, including the U.S. Salient challenges related to poverty, geographic isolation, low teacher salaries, and a lack of community amenities seem to trump perks of living in rural communities. Recognizing this issue as a complex and hard to…

The Causes of Dropout in Rural Primary Schools in Malawi

OpenAIRE

谷口, 京子

2017-01-01

High dropout rates is a critical issue in most of developing countries. Malawi follows this trend of student nonpersistence; in 2013, the primary school dropout rate was approximately 12.2%.This study aims to find the causes of dropout in rural Malawian primary schools. There are two features: data were collected through survival analysis, which has been used to study dropout in developed countries; a multilevel logistic regression was used to classify individual, family, teacher and school f...

School Absenteeism during Menstruation among Rural Adolescent Girls in Pune

OpenAIRE

Suman Bodat, Mrunalini M Ghate, Jyoti R Majumdar

2013-01-01

Background: Menstrual related problems and inadequate school sanitation facilities have an adverse effect on adolescent girl?s academic performance and school attendance especially in rural setting. The following study was undertaken to determine school absenteeism during menstruation period. Objective: To assess the impact of menstruation on school attendance and factors affecting menstruation management. Methods: This cross sectional study was conducted in rural field practice area o...

Evolutionary Approach of Virtual Communities of Practice: A Reflection within a Network of Spanish Rural Schools

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Frossard, Frédérique; Trifonova, Anna; Barajas Frutos, Mario

The isolation of rural communities creates special necessities for teachers and students in rural schools. The present article describes "Rural Virtual School", a Virtual Community of Practice (VCoP) in which Spanish teachers of rural schools share learning resources and teaching methodologies through social software applications. The article arrives to an evolutionary model, in which the use of the social software tools evolves together with the needs and the activities of the VCoP through the different stages of its lifetime. Currently, the community has reached a high level of maturity and, in order to keep its momentum, the members intentionally use appropriate technologies specially designed to enhance rich innovative educational approaches, through which they collaboratively generate creative practices.

Particulate matter in rural and urban nursery schools in Portugal

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nunes, R.A.O.; Branco, P.T.B.S.; Alvim-Ferraz, M.C.M.; Martins, F.G.; Sousa, S.I.V.

2015-01-01

Studies have been showing strong associations between exposures to indoor particulate matter (PM) and health effects on children. Urban and rural nursery schools have different known environmental and social differences which make their study relevant. Thus, this study aimed to evaluate indoor PM concentrations on different microenvironments of three rural nursery schools and one urban nursery school, being the only study comparing urban and rural nursery schools considering the PM 1 , PM 2.5 and PM 10 fractions (measured continuously and in terms of mass). Outdoor PM 2.5 and PM 10 were also obtained and I/O ratios have been determined. Indoor PM mean concentrations were higher in the urban nursery than in rural ones, which might have been related to traffic emissions. However, I/O ratios allowed concluding that the recorded concentrations depended more significantly of indoor sources. WHO guidelines and Portuguese legislation exceedances for PM 2.5 and PM 10 were observed mainly in the urban nursery school. - Highlights: • This is the only study comparing urban and rural nurseries considering PM fractions. • A low number of children in classrooms is enough to increase PM concentrations. • Children in urban nurseries are exposed to higher PM concentrations than in rural. • Children were mainly exposed to the finer fractions, which are worse to health. - PM levels were higher in the urban nursery than in the rural ones, which might have been related to traffic emissions. Still concentrations depended more significantly of indoor sources

"Hey, I Saw Your Grandparents at Walmart": Teacher Education for Rural Schools and Communities

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Eppley, Karen

2015-01-01

This is a case study about how teacher education might better prepare rural teacher candidates for rural schools. Parents, teachers, community members, and students associated with a rural school described what is important in the preparation of teachers for today's rural schools. Their goals and wishes for their children's school and community…

Differences in students' mathematics engagement between gender and between rural and urban schools

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Ayub, Ahmad Fauzi Mohd; Yunus, Aida Suraya Md.; Mahmud, Rosnaini; Salim, Nur Raidah; Sulaiman, Tajularipin

2017-01-01

The purpose of this study was to explore secondary school students' mathematics engagement focusing on the cognitive, affective and behavioural engagement domains. A total of 387 students (186 male and 201 female) from the urban and rural secondary schools in Pahang, Malaysia, were randomly selected. There were 158 students from the urban schools and 229 students from the rural schools. Descriptive analyses for mathematics engagement domains revealed behavioural engagement had the highest mean (M = 3.74, SD = .63), followed by cognitive engagement (M = 3.56, SD = .43) and affective engagement (M = 3.48, SD = .47). The mean for students' overall mathematics engagement was 3.56 (SD = .46). Further analyses showed there were significant differences in each of the engagement domains in mathematics learning (affective, cognitive and behavioural), where students in the urban schools showed significantly better in the mean scores for affective, cognitive, behavioural domains and the overall mathematics engagement as compared to the students in the rural schools. Similar findings also showed there were significant differences in the overall mathematics engagement mean between the genders. The findings indicated girls were significantly better than boys in all (affective, cognitive and behavioural) of the engagement domains in mathematics learning. It was also shown girls had higher overall mathematics engagement mean as compared to boys. However, the study also indicated the overall students' mathematics engagement was at a moderate level. Besides, the rural school students did not show high mathematics engagement as compared to the urban school students. Further analyses showed girls significantly had better mathematics engagement as compared to boys. Hence, it is recommended that in order to optimize students' mathematics engagement, they should be actively engaged in more participative learning activities in mathematics classrooms. Focus should be given to rural schools

Comparison of breast-feeding knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs before and after educational intervention for rural Appalachian high school students.

Science.gov (United States)

Seidel, Allison K; Schetzina, Karen E; Freeman, Sherry C; Coulter, Meredith M; Colgrove, Nicole J

2013-03-01

Breast-feeding rates in rural and southeastern regions of the United States are lower than national rates and Healthy People 2020 targets. The objectives of this study were to understand current breast-feeding knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs among rural southern Appalachian adolescents and to explore whether a high school educational intervention designed to address the five tenets (knowledge, attitudes, intentions, perceived behavioral control, and subjective norms) of the theory of planned behavior may be effective in increasing future rates of breast-feeding in this population. An educational session including an interactive game was developed and administered to occupational health science students during a single class period in two county high schools. A presurvey and a postsurvey administered 2 weeks after the intervention were completed by students. Pre- and postsurveys were analyzed using paired t tests and Cohen d and potential differences based on sex and grade were explored. Both pre- and postsurveys were completed by 107 students (78%). Knowledge, attitudes about breast-feeding benefits, subjective norms, and intentions significantly improved following the intervention. Baseline knowledge and attitudes about breast-feeding benefits for mothers were low and demonstrated the greatest improvement. Offering breast-feeding education based on the theory of planned behavior in a single high school class session was effective in improving student knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs about breast-feeding and intention to breast-feed.

Factors shaping the HIV-competence of two primary schools in rural Zimbabwe

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Campbell, Catherine; Andersen, Louise; Mutsikiwa, Alice

2015-01-01

We present multi-method case studies of two Zimbabwean primary schools - one rural and one small-town. The rural school scored higher than the small-town school on measures of child well-being and school attendance by HIV-affected children. The small-town school had superior facilities, more...... teachers with higher morale, more specialist HIV/AIDS activities, and an explicit religious ethos. The relatively impoverished rural school was located in a more cohesive community with a more critically conscious, dynamic and networking headmaster. The current emphasis on HIV/AIDS-related teacher training...

Dialogue and Inclusive Education: The Experience of a Rural School in Brazil

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De Oliveira Aquino Maria Gerlandia

2016-12-01

Full Text Available This work examines the teaching method of Paulo Freire implemented in Jaguaquara Rural School, Escola Estadual Rural Taylor-Egídio (ERTE, Brazil. The school was the space where dialogical pedagogy has been analyzed and the dialogue between schools and rural households has been a positive and winning response in the children’s literacy process. This research has shown that, before Freire, rural families had not had an education system able to meet their need; then the study has taken into account some factors responsible for this lack; finally, it has singled out the possibility for an effective implementation in the rural school, according to Freire’s model of dialogic pedagogy. The results of this school experience are relevant from the point of view of socialization, for it fosters literacy in rural areas. We verified that the method proposed by Freire is of great social and cultural value and benefits from great appreciation.

Knowledge of communicable and noncommunicable diseases among Karen ethnic high school students in rural Thasongyang, the far northwest of Thailand

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Lorga T

2013-07-01

Full Text Available Thaworn Lorga,1 Myo Nyein Aung,1,2 Prissana Naunboonruang,1 Piyatida Junlapeeya,1 Apiradee Payaprom31Boromarajonani College of Nursing Nakhon Lampang (BCNLP, Lampang, Thailand; 2Department of Public Health, Graduate School of Medicine, Juntendo University, Tokyo, Japan; 3Thasongyang Hospital, Thasongyang, Tak, ThailandBackground: The double burden of communicable and noncommunicable diseases (NCD is an increasing trend in low- and-middle income developing countries. Rural and minority populations are underserved and likely to be affected severely by these burdens. Knowledge among young people could provide immunity to such diseases within a community in the long term. In this study we aimed to assess the knowledge of several highly prevalent NCDs (diabetes, hypertension, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease [COPD] and several highly incident communicable diseases (malaria and diarrheal diseases among Karen high school students in a rural district in far northwest of Thailand. The aim of the study is to explore information for devising life-course health education that will be strategically based in schools.Method: A cross-sectional survey approved by the ethics committee of Boromarajonani College of Nursing Nakhon Lampang (BCNLP, Lampang, Thailand was conducted in Thasongyang, Tak province, from September 2011 to January 2012. Questionnaires for assessing knowledge regarding diabetes, hypertension, COPD, malaria, and diarrheal diseases were delivered to all 457 Karen high school students attending Thasongyang high school. A total of 371 students returned the questionnaires. Experts' validation and split-half reliability assessment was applied to the instrument.Results: Students' main sources of health information were their teachers (62%, health care workers (60%, television (59%, and parents (54%. Familial risk factors of diabetes and hypertension were not known to more than two thirds of the students. Except obesity and physical

Freedom of Expression for High School Journalists: A Case Study of Selected North Carolina Public Schools.

Science.gov (United States)

Phillips, Kay D.

A study examined the freedom of the high school press in North Carolina to determine whether publication guidelines should be in place, and if so, what those guidelines should contain. High school newspaper advisors, high school principals, and high school newspaper editors from large and small, urban and rural, eastern and western high schools…

Gaseous pollutants on rural and urban nursery schools in Northern Portugal.

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Nunes, R A O; Branco, P T B S; Alvim-Ferraz, M C M; Martins, F G; Sousa, S I V

2016-01-01

Indoor air quality in nursery schools is different from other schools and this has been largely ignored, particularly in rural areas. Urban and rural nursery schools have different environmental characteristics whose knowledge needs improvement. Thus, this study aimed to evaluate continuously the concentrations of CO2, CO, NO2, O3, CH2O and total VOC in three rural nursery schools and one urban, being the only one comparing urban and rural nurseries with continuous measurements, thus considering occupation and non-occupation periods. Regarding CO2, urban nursery recorded higher concentrations (739-2328 mg m(-3)) than rural nurseries (653-1078 mg m(-3)). The influence of outdoor air was the main source of CO, NO2 and O3 indoor concentrations. CO and NO2 concentrations were higher in the urban nursery and O3 concentrations were higher in rural ones. CH2O and TVOC concentrations seemed to be related to internal sources, such as furniture and flooring finishing and cleaning products. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Violence in Rural, Suburban, and Urban Schools in Pennsylvania.

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Flynn, Kalen; McDonald, Catherine C; D'Alonzo, Bernadette A; Tam, Vicky; Wiebe, Douglas J

2018-01-01

School violence is a public health issue with direct and collateral consequences that has academic and social impacts for youth. School violence is often considered a uniquely urban problem, yet more research is needed to understand how violence in rural and suburban schools may be similar or different from urban counterparts. Using school violence data from a state with urban, suburban, and rural counties, we explored the landscape of school violence in Pennsylvania (PA) through mapping, descriptive statistics, and factor analysis. Results show school violence is not solely an urban problem. Schools in all county types and across grade levels deal with violence to varying degrees, and the majority of schools across county types experience low levels of violence. Types of violence experienced by PA schools loaded onto three factors, suggesting that targeted interventions may be better suited to addressing school violence.

Rural School In The Context Of Community-Led Local Development*

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Hudečková H.

2015-03-01

Full Text Available The paper is based on the general concept of knowledge society and deals with regional development theories which emphasize local environment as an important part of rural development. The following two questions were studied: (1 What is the early experience of municipalities when establishing a Community School? (2 In which other municipalities would it be possible and appropriate to build such a school? For this purpose, both secondary and primary research methods were combined with data collection techniques – document study, observation, and questioning. Because the examined problem is set in the context of community-led local development (CLLD, violation of the ‘bottom-up’ approach principle is also highlighted. The paper presents the first experiences in the establishment of seven Community Schools within the Pilsen region and based on them also recommendations for the feasibility and suitability of establishing this type of school in other rural municipalities. The results show that the educational sector is not assisting in the modernization of rural schools with regard to community education and that the possibility of the contemporary and meaningful existence of schools in small rural municipalities remains ignored.

School nurse experiences with prescription opioids in urban and rural schools: A cross-sectional survey.

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Pattison-Sharp, Ella; Estrada, Robin Dawson; Elio, Alice; Prendergast, Melissa; Carpenter, Delesha M

2017-01-01

Few studies have examined the use of prescription opioids in schools. The current study aimed to: (1) describe the context within which school nurses encounter student opioid prescriptions; (2) assess school nurses' preferences for training and student education; and (3) explore urban-rural differences in school nurses' experiences and training preferences. A convenience sample of school nurses (n = 633) from North Carolina and South Carolina participated in a brief, anonymous, online survey. Qualitative data were analyzed thematically and statistical tests (t-tests and Chi-square tests) were performed to investigate urban-rural differences. Many school nurses (40.3%) had encountered a student with an opioid prescription, but only 3.6% had naloxone available in case of an overdose. Most school nurses (69.9%), especially rural school nurses, believed students would benefit from opioid education (74.9 versus 66.6%, p = 0.03). The majority of school nurses (83.9%) were interested in opioid-related training. Many school nurses encounter students with prescription opioids and would like additional opioid-related training. The potential benefits of providing naloxone access to prevent opioid-related deaths at schools should be explored.

Food-related practices and beliefs of rural US elementary and middle school teachers.

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Findholt, Nancy E; Izumi, Betty T; Shannon, Jackilen; Nguyen, Thuan

2016-01-01

Childhood obesity disproportionately affects rural populations; therefore, promoting healthy eating among rural children is essential. Teachers are important role models for children and can influence children's eating behaviors through their own behaviors and beliefs about food. This study examined the food-related practices and beliefs of rural elementary and middle school teachers. Data were used from the SNACZ study, a school- and community-based trial conducted in rural Oregon. Kindergarten through eighth-grade teachers (n=87), teaching students usually aged 5-14 years, from eight rural school districts completed a baseline survey in November 2012 concerning their classroom food practices, eating behaviors at school, beliefs about the school food environment, and nutrition knowledge. Frequencies of responses to each item were calculated. Nearly all teachers (97.6%) agreed that a healthy school food environment is important, but fewer agreed that teachers' behaviors and the foods available at school influence students' eating behaviors (71.0% and 67.0%, respectively). Nearly 86% of teachers used candy as a reward for students, while 78.2% consumed unhealthy snacks and 42.5% consumed sweetened beverages in the classroom. The results suggest that most rural teachers recognize that having a healthy school food environment is important, but are less aware of factors within the school that influence students' eating behaviors - including their own eating behaviors and classroom food practices - and, perhaps for this reason, many rural teachers engage in classroom practices and behaviors that do not promote healthy eating. Teacher training and expanded school policies that focus on teacher behavior may be needed to ensure a healthier rural school food environment.

Motivation for Math in Rural Schools: Student and Teacher Perspectives

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Hardre, Patricia L.

2011-01-01

Rural schools, students, teachers, administrators, families and community leaders face unique challenges from those of their urban and suburban counterparts. This paper investigates motivation in rural secondary schools, with a particular focus on mathematics, from teacher and student perspectives. It integrates recent research on math learning…

Adolescents' Perceptions of Safety at School and Their Solutions for Enhancing Safety and Reducing School Violence: A Rural Case Study.

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deLara, Ellen

An exploratory study of a small rural high school in upstate New York investigated students' perceptions of safety at school and empowered students to develop solutions to school violence. A mixed-methods approach drew on action research, youth-based phenomenology, and a general systems frame of reference. Data collection included two surveys of…

Sociotechnical Narratives in Rural, High-Poverty Elementary Schools: Comparative Findings from East Texas and South India

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Byker, Erik J.

2014-01-01

The article's purpose is to compare case studies of computer technology use at two rural elementary schools across two international settings. This study uses the Social Construction of Technology (SCOT) theory to guide this comparative investigation of how elementary school teachers and students in East Texas and South India construct meaning for…

Top-Down, Routinized Reform in Low-Income, Rural Schools

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Robert Bickel

2000-02-01

Full Text Available Since 1991, the National Science Foundation has funded fifty-nine state, urban, and rural systemic initiatives. The purpose of the initiatives is to promote achievement in math, science, and technology among all students, and to encourage schools and communities to secure the resources needed to maintain such outcomes. The Appalachian Rural Systemic Initiative (ARSI is a six-state consortium which focuses these efforts on low-income, rural schools. The primary means of accomplishing ARSI's aims is a one-day-one-school site visit, called a Program Improvement Review, done by an ARSI math or science expert. The centrally important Program Improvement Reviews, however, seem to be premised on unsubstantiated assumptions as to the static, easy-to-understand, easy-to-evaluate nature of educational achievement in rural Appalachian schools. As a result, the Reviews resemble exercises in early-twentieth century scientific management, and are unlikely to enhance achievement in science or math. Consequently, even if there is merit to the commonsense human capital approach to economic growth and development on which systemic initiatives are tacitly premised, this first- person account makes a case that desired payoffs are unlikely to follow from the work of ARSI.

"Rural" schools and universities: The use of partnerships as a ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

"Rural" schools and universities: The use of partnerships as a teaching strategy in enhancing a positive response to rurality. ... These approaches have been initiated within a broad understanding of what is meant by rurality, acknowledging that there is no agreement on what constitutes urban and rural contexts.

Managing Smallness: Promising Fiscal Practices for Rural School District Administrators.

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Freitas, Deborah Inman

Based on a mail survey of over 100 rural school administrators in 34 states, this handbook outlines common problems and successful strategies in the financial management of rural, small school districts. Major problems are related to revenue and cash flow, increasing expenditures, providing quality education programs, and staffing to handle the…

School Psychology in Rural Contexts: Ethical, Professional, and Legal Issues

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Edwards, Lynn M.; Sullivan, Amanda L.

2014-01-01

Delivering psychological services in rural communities presents a number of unique challenges for practitioners relative to their peers in urban and suburban communities. In this article, the authors describe the current context of rural schools and examine the ethical and legal issues school psychologists may face when practicing in rural…

Prevalence of and Differences in Salad Bar Implementation in Rural Versus Urban Arizona Schools.

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Blumenschine, Michelle; Adams, Marc; Bruening, Meg

2018-03-01

Rural children consume more calories per day on average than urban children, and they are less likely to consume fruit. Self-service salad bars have been proposed as an effective approach to better meet the National School Lunch Program's fruit and vegetable recommendations. No studies have examined how rural and urban schools differ in the implementation of school salad bars. To compare the prevalence of school-lunch salad bars and differences in implementation between urban and rural Arizona schools. Secondary analysis of a cross-sectional web-based survey. School nutrition managers (N=596) in the state of Arizona. National Center for Education Statistics locale codes defined rural and urban classifications. Barriers to salad bar implementation were examined among schools that have never had, once had, and currently have a school salad bar. Promotional practices were examined among schools that once had and currently have a school salad bar. Generalized estimating equation models were used to compare urban and rural differences in presence and implementation of salad bars, adjusting for school-level demographics and the clustering of schools within districts. After adjustment, the prevalence of salad bars did not differ between urban and rural schools (46.9%±4.3% vs 46.8%±8.5%, respectively). Rural schools without salad bars more often reported perceived food waste and cost of produce as barriers to implementing salad bars, and funding was a necessary resource for offering a salad bar in the future, as compared with urban schools (Pbar promotion, challenges, or resources among schools that currently have or once had a salad bar. After adjustment, salad bar prevalence, implementation practices, and concerns are similar across geographic settings. Future research is needed to investigate methods to address cost and food waste concerns in rural areas. Copyright © 2018 Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

"We Are Never Invited": School Children Using Collage to Envision Care and Support in Rural Schools

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Khanare, Fumane P.; de Lange, Naydene

2017-01-01

The voices of school children who are orphaned and vulnerable are more often than not missing from conversations about their care and support at school. In a rural ecology this is even more so the case. This article draws on a study with school children in rural KwaZulu-Natal and explores their constructions of care and support in the age of HIV…

Vaccination perceptions of school employees in a rural school district.

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Macintosh, Janelle; Luthy, Karlen E; Beckstrand, Renea L; Eden, Lacey M; Orton, Jennifer

2014-08-20

There continues to be a need for increases in adult vaccination rates, especially among those working in environments which may easily become communicable disease outbreak centers, such as school employees in the school environment. The purpose of this study was to evaluate why rural Utah school employees were non-compliant with the influenza and measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccines, as well as to identify their views on mandatory vaccination policies. A questionnaire was distributed to all school employees in a rural Utah school district. Data analysis included frequencies and measures of central tendency and dispersion for quantitative items and theme identification for qualitative items. Only 51% of school employees were adequately vaccinated for influenza. Reasons for noncompliance with the influenza vaccine included inconvenience, lack of perceived need, and questionable vaccine efficacy. There were 39.3% school employees who had not received an MMR during adulthood, which was commonly attributed to lack of knowledge regarding the need for this vaccine. Almost half (45.7%) of school employees believed a mandatory vaccination policy should be instituted, although 24.2% of school employees were opposed to mandatory adult vaccination policies. Reasons for opposing vaccination mandates included violation of personal choice, lack of perceived vaccination safety and efficacy, lack of perceived need for adult vaccines, and vaccine cost. Suboptimal vaccination rates of school employees may negatively affect the health and well-being of individuals in the school environment. School employees report a variety of beliefs regarding the influenza and MMR vaccines. While over half of school employees support mandatory vaccination policies for adults working in the school environment, those opposing such a policy report concerns regarding violation of personal choice. Public health officials and school administrators should coordinate efforts to increase vaccination

Rural schools and democratic education. The opportunity for community participation

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Antonio Bustos Jiménez

2011-08-01

Full Text Available In the paper the notions of participation and community empowerment in rural schools are analysed through reflection on experiences conducted in different countries. Reference is made to ducational models of participatory development which, from the viewpoint of excellence, result in increasing educational outcomes and higher rates of satisfaction among the targeted rural populations. Taking as point of departure agents which are considered potential generators of knowledge in rural areas, we examine the process of incorporating the wealth of the rural context. The difficulties that the community group usually faces for its legitimacy as a source of input in rural areas are also shown. Finally, we discuss how the teaching staff can positively contribute to their process of joining the school life.

School environment and sanitation in rural India

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J P Majra

2010-01-01

Full Text Available Context : A school child educated about the benefits of sanitation and good hygiene behavior is a conduit for carrying those messages far beyond the school walls, bringing lasting improvement to community hygienic practices. Aims : To study the status of school environment and sanitation in rural India. Settings and Design: Government schools in rural Karnataka, cross sectional study. Materials and Methods: Twenty schools were randomly selected for the study. Informed consent was taken from the Heads of the schools. A pre tested close ended questionnaire was used to get the information. The minimum standards for sanitation of the school and its environment in India were used as the guiding principles to evaluate the appropriateness/ adequacy of the various attributes. Statistical analysis used: Percentages and proportions. Results : Out of 20 schools selected, one fourth of the schools were located/ sited at inappropriate places. Only half of the schools had appropriate/ adequate structure. Eighteen (90% of the schools were overcrowded. Ventilation and day light was adequate for 12(60% and 14(70% of the schools respectively. Cleanliness of school compound/classrooms was adequate in 80% of the schools. There were no separate rooms for serving the midday meals in any of the schools under study. Eighteen (90% of the schools were having drinking water points. Liquid and solid waste disposal was insanitary in six (30% and eight (40% of the schools respectively. Only half of the schools had adequate latrines for boys and 60% for girls. Only two (10% of the schools had adequate hand washing points with soap. Conclusions : Environment and sanitation facilities at many of the schools are not fully satisfactory.

Schools as Potential Risk Sites for Vector-Borne Disease Transmission: Mosquito Vectors in Rural Schools in Two Municipalities in Colombia.

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Olano, Víctor Alberto; Matiz, María Inés; Lenhart, Audrey; Cabezas, Laura; Vargas, Sandra Lucía; Jaramillo, Juan Felipe; Sarmiento, Diana; Alexander, Neal; Stenström, Thor Axel; Overgaard, Hans J

2015-09-01

Dengue and other vector-borne diseases are of great public health importance in Colombia. Vector surveillance and control activities are often focused at the household level. Little is known about the importance of nonhousehold sites, including schools, in maintaining vector-borne disease transmission. The objectives of this paper were to determine the mosquito species composition in rural schools in 2 municipalities in Colombia and to assess the potential risk of vector-borne disease transmission in school settings. Entomological surveys were carried out in rural schools during the dry and rainy seasons of 2011. A total of 12 mosquito species were found: Aedes aegypti, Anopheles pseudopunctipennis, Culex coronator, Cx. quinquefasciatus, and Limatus durhamii in both immature and adult forms; Ae. fluviatilis, Cx. nigripalpus, Cx. corniger, and Psorophora ferox in immature forms only; and Ae. angustivittatus, Haemagogus equinus, and Trichoprosopon lampropus in adult forms only. The most common mosquito species was Cx. quinquefasciatus. Classrooms contained the greatest abundance of adult female Ae. aegypti and Cx. quinquefasciatus. The most common Ae. aegypti breeding sites were containers classified as "others" (e.g., cans), followed by containers used for water storage. A high level of Ae. aegypti infestation was found during the wet season. Our results suggest that rural schools are potentially important foci for the transmission of dengue and other mosquito-borne diseases. We propose that public health programs should be implemented in rural schools to prevent vector-borne diseases.

School Quality Signals and Attendance in Rural Guatemala

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Marshall, Jeffery H.

2011-01-01

This study analyzes school dropout in rural Guatemala using event history data and unusually detailed data on schools and teachers. Significant results for language of instruction, teacher education and fighting between students demonstrate the importance of accounting for school context influences on an outcome that has, historically, been…

Creating Highly Qualified Teachers: Maximizing University Resources to Provide Professional Development in Rural Areas

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Mollenkopf, Dawn L.

2009-01-01

The "highly qualified teacher" requirement of No Child Left Behind has put pressure on rural school districts to recruit and retain highly qualified regular and special education teachers. If necessary, they may utilize uncertified, rural teachers with provisional certification; however, these teachers may find completing the necessary…

Corporal Punishment and Student Outcomes in Rural Schools

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Han, Seunghee

2014-01-01

This study examined the effects of corporal punishment on student outcomes in rural schools by analyzing 1,067 samples from the School Survey on Crime and Safety 2007-2008. Results of descriptive statistics and multivariate regression analyses indicated that schools with corporal punishment may decrease students' violent behaviors and…

How Rural and Nonrural Principals Differ in High Plains U.S. States

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Beesley, Andrea D.; Clark, Tedra F.

2015-01-01

This article discusses the characteristics of rural versus nonrural principals in the High Plains states. It is based on data from the Schools and Staffing Survey, examining the differences in preparation and experience and the extent to which characteristics of the rural principalship (perceptions of autonomy, workload, etc.) predicted retention.…

Examining the relationship between school district size and science achievement in Texas including rural school administrator perceptions of challenges and solutions

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Mann, Matthew James

Rural and small schools have almost one-third of all public school enrollment in America, yet typically have the fewest financial and research based resources. Educational models have been developed with either the urban or suburban school in mind, and the rural school is often left with no other alternative except this paradigm. Rural based educational resources are rare and the ability to access these resources for rural school districts almost non-existent. Federal and state based education agencies provide some rural educational based programs, but have had virtually no success in answering rural school issues. With federal and state interest in science initiatives, the challenge that rural schools face weigh in. To align with that focus, this study examined Texas middle school student achievement in science and its relationship with school district enrollment size. This study involved a sequential transformative mixed methodology with the quantitative phase driving the second qualitative portion. The quantitative research was a non-experimental causal-comparative study conducted to determine whether there is a significant difference between student achievement on the 2010 Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills 8 th grade science results and school district enrollment size. The school districts were distributed into four categories by size including: a) small districts (32-550); b) medium districts (551-1500); c) large districts (1501-6000); and d) mega-sized districts (6001-202,773). A one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was conducted to compare the district averages from the 2010 TAKS 8th grade science assessment results and the four district enrollment groups. The second phase of the study was qualitative utilizing constructivism and critical theory to identify the issues facing rural and small school administrators concerning science based curriculum and development. These themes and issues were sought through a case study method and through use of semi

Revisiting Primary School Dropout in Rural Cambodia

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No, Fata; Sam, Chanphirun; Hirakawa, Yukiko

2012-01-01

Previous studies on school dropout in Cambodia often used data from subjects after they already dropped out or statistics from education-related institutions. Using data from children in two rural provinces before they dropped out, this study examines four main factors in order to identify their influence on primary school dropout in Cambodia.…

Inclusive education in schools in rural areas

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J. Antonio Callado Moreno

2015-07-01

Full Text Available Since Spain decided to embark on the development of inclusive schooling, studies have taken place to see if the inclusive principle is being developed satisfactorily. Inclusive schooling implies that all students, regardless of their particular characteristics, may be taught in ordinary schools, and in the majority of cases receive help in the classroom in which they have been integrated in order to cover any special educational needs. Our research aims to find out if schools situated in rural areas follow this principle and, once it has been put into practice, what strategies are being used. To this end, we designed a questionnaire addressed to Infant and Primary school teachers in the Sierra Sur area in the province of Jaén, in an agricultural context where most of the population live on olive picking and the cultivation of olive groves. Given the extension of the area, our research concentrated on schools situated in urban nuclei with a population of less than one thousand five hundred inhabitants. The results obtained demonstrate that rural areas do not take full advantage of the context they are in to favour inclusion processes and continue to develop proposals that are merely integrative.

Childhood psychological problems in school settings in rural Southern Africa.

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Melissa A Cortina

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Many children can be exposed to multiple adversities in low and middle-income countries (LMICs placing them at potential risk of psychological problems. However, there is a paucity of research using large representative cohorts examining the psychological adjustment of children in school settings in these countries. Children's psychological adjustment has been shown to affect educational progress which is critical for their future. This study, based in a rural, socio-economically disadvantaged area of South Africa, aimed to examine the prevalence of children's psychological problems as well as possible risk and protective factors. METHODS: Rates of psychological problems in 10-12 year olds were examined using teacher- and child-report questionnaires. Data on children from 10 rural primary schools, selected by stratified random sampling, were linked to individual and household data from the Agincourt health and socio-demographic surveillance system collected from households over 15 years. RESULTS: A total of 1,025 children were assessed. Teachers identified high levels of behavioural and emotional problems (41%. Children reported lower, but substantial rates of anxiety/depression (14%, and significant post-traumatic stress symptoms (24%; almost a quarter felt unsafe in school. Risk factors included being a second-generation former refugee and being from a large household. Protective factors highlight the importance of maternal factors, such as being more educated and in a stable partnership. CONCLUSION: The high levels of psychological problems identified by teachers are a serious public health concern, as they are likely to impact negatively on children's education, particularly given the large class sizes and limited resources in rural LMIC settings. Despite the high levels of risk, a proportion of children were managing well and research to understand resilience could inform interventions.

Programa único o diferenciado: especificidad curricular de la escuela rural uruguaya - Common or differentiated school programs: uruguayan rural school curriculum specificity

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Limber Elbio Santos, Uruguay

2014-05-01

Full Text Available O artigo se refere ao fenômeno da especificidade curricular que as escolas rurais uruguaias têm tido durante mais de um século e à ruptura histórica registrada em 2009 quando se começou a aplicar uma estrutura curricular comum a escolas urbanas e rurais. Analisam-se as circunstâncias históricas da pedagogia rural e, em particular, uma de suas materialidades simbolicamente mais potentes constituída pelo Programa para Escolas Rurais de 1949. Assim mesmo, refere-se ao peso que essa pedagogia continua tendo atualmente e da maneira como influi na gestão curricular do programa único. As especificidades social e didática da escola rural têm efeitos evidentes sobre o programa curricular no seu sentido mais amplo, com alcances muito mais extensos que os relativos ao currículo prescrito. No entanto, o desafio da escola rural atual de abordar a nova estrutura curricular de caráter único não é tão diferente do que se registrou historicamente: dialogar com o meio de igual para igual e maximizar o potencial de aprendizagem proporcionado pela instituição educacional, pela comunidade e estrutura multidisciplinar do grupo.Palavras-chave: escola rural, currículo, programa, pedagogia rural. COMMON OR DIFFERENTIATED SCHOOL PROGRAMS: URUGUAYAN RURAL SCHOOL CURRICULUM SPECIFICITY AbstractThe paper refers to the phenomenon of the Curriculum specificity to which the Rural Schools had for more than a century inUruguayand to the historic rupture registered in 2009 when a common Curriculum for Rural and Urban schools was introduced. The paper analyses the historic circumstances of the Rural Pedagogy and, in particular, one of its most potent symbolic materiality constituted of the 1949 program for Rural Education. The analysis show that the challenge to current Rural Education is not that different to that registered historically: to dialogue with the environment and take maximum advantage of the potential to learn which is provided by the

Instructional Leadership Challenges and Practices of Novice Principals in Rural Schools

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Wiezorek, Douglas; Manard, Carolyn

2018-01-01

We report on a phenomenological study of the leadership experiences of six novice, rural public school principals in a midwestern U.S. state. We situated our analysis within existing research on leadership for learning, particularly how novice principals interpreted instructional leadership challenges in the context of rural school leadership. Our…

Preferred practice location at medical school commencement strongly determines graduates' rural preferences and work locations.

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Herd, Marie S; Bulsara, Max K; Jones, Michael P; Mak, Donna B

2017-02-01

To identify factors influencing whether Australian medical graduates prefer to, or actually, work rurally. Secondary analysis of longitudinal data from Medical Schools Outcomes Database (MSOD) using univariate and multivariate logistic regression. Twenty Australian medical schools. Australian or New Zealand citizens and Australian permanent residents who completed MSOD questionnaires between 2006 and 2013. Preferred and actual work locations 1 (PGY1) and 3 (PGY3) years postgraduation. Of 20 784 participants, 4028 completed a PGY1 or PGY3 questionnaire. Self-reported preference for rural practice location at medical school commencement was the most consistent independent predictor of whether a graduate would have a rural location preference at PGY1 (odds ratio (OR) 6.07, 95% confidence interval (CI) 4.91-7.51) and PGY3 (OR 7.95, 95% CI 4.93-12.84), and work rurally during PGY1 (OR 1.38, 95% CI 1.01-1.88) and PGY3 (OR 1.86, 95% CI 1.30-2.64). The effect of preferred practice location at medical school commencement is independent of, and enhances the effect of, rural background. Graduates of graduate-entry programs or with dependent children were less likely to have worked rurally during PGY1 and PGY3 respectively. The most consistent factor associated with rural preferences and work location was students' preferred location of practice at medical school commencement; this association is independent of, and enhances the effect of, rural background. Better understanding of what determines rural preference at medical school commencement and its influence on rural workplace outcomes beyond PGY3 is required to inform Australian medical school selection policies and rural health curricula. © 2016 National Rural Health Alliance Inc.

Oral Competency of ESL/EFL Learners in Sri Lankan Rural School Context

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Sarath Withanarachchi Samaranayake

2016-06-01

Full Text Available This study investigates the current teaching trends and practices in teaching oral English in rural Sinhala-medium schools in Sri Lanka and their relevance to the current theoretical, empirical, and pedagogical perspectives of second-language acquisition (SLA. The present study, which was conducted in two Sri Lankan Sinhala-medium rural schools, is a case study in which the classroom observation, interviewing of the participants, and videotaping of students’ interaction were included as data collection tools. The spoken data were analyzed using the Communicative Orientation of Language Teaching (COLT scheme designed by Fröhlich, Spada, and Allen, while the numerical data obtained from the structured speaking test (Cambridge Key English for Schools Test were analyzed using independent samples t test. The findings of the study indicate that the instructional method used by English teachers does not provide the learners with adequate input of the target language to improve their oral communication skills in rural school contexts. As a result, a majority of students from rural schools in Sri Lanka demonstrate a limited or a low proficiency level in oral communication in English. Therefore, possible reasons for the lack of greater awareness towards more communicative teaching are discussed, and suggestions for promoting changes in teaching English as a Foreign Language (EFL in rural school contexts are offered.

Driving change in rural workforce planning: the medical schools outcomes database.

Science.gov (United States)

Gerber, Jonathan P; Landau, Louis I

2010-01-01

The Medical Schools Outcomes Database (MSOD) is an ongoing longitudinal tracking project ofmedical students from all medical schools in Australia and New Zealand. It was established in 2005 to track the career trajectories of medical students and will directly help develop models of workforce flow, particularly with respect to rural and remote shortages. This paper briefly outlines the MSOD project and reports on key methodological factors in tracking medical students. Finally, the potential impact of the MSOD on understanding changes in rural practice intentions is illustrated using data from the 2005 pilot cohort (n = 112). Rural placements were associated with a shift towards rural practice intentions, while those who intended to practice rurally at both the start and end of medical school tended to be older and interested in a generalist career. Continuing work will track these and future students as they progress through the workforce, as well as exploring issues such as the career trajectories of international fee-paying students, workforce succession planning, and the evaluation of medical education initiatives.

The Rural-Urban Divide, Intergroup Relations, and Social Identity Formation of Rural Migrant Children in a Chinese Urban School

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Zhang, Donghui

2018-01-01

Through ethnographic fieldwork conducted at a Beijing public school, this study aims to investigate how rural migrant children in China negotiate and construct their identity vis-à-vis the school's local children. Building on social identity theory, this study reveals that rural migrant children develop a strong non-local group identity as a…

School meals and educational outcomes in rural Ethiopia

OpenAIRE

Poppe, Robert; Frölich, Markus; Haile, Getinet

2017-01-01

We investigate the relationship between providing school meals programme and educational outcomes in Ethiopia. Using data from school catchment areas across rural Ethiopia, the paper examines the role played by programme modalities and their implementation. The results indicate that supplementing on-site school meals with take-home rations can be beneficial for concentration, reading, writing and arithmetic skills. The timing of the distribution of school meals is also found to play an import...

Schooling girls in a rural community: An examination of female science identity and science career choices

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Fowler, Melisa Diane Creasy

There is a gap in existence between the number of males and females entering science careers. Research has begun to focus largely on how identity impacts the selection of such careers. While much research has been done to examine the factors that impact student identity, little work has been done to examine what happens to female students who have been successful in science in a rural K-12 school once they leave high school and enter the world of academia. Thus, this study examined the following questions: (1) How do three recent female high school graduates from rural K-12 high schools narrate their identity? (2) How do the females narrate their experiences in a rural community and high school in relation to their science identity? (3) What do the participants describe as influencing their academic and career choices as they transition into the life of a college student? This study involved three female participants from a small rural community in a southeastern state. Each female has lived their entire life in the community and has attended only one K-12 school. All three females ranked in the top ten of their senior class and excelled in their science coursework. Additionally, each female elected to attend college locally and to live at home. The study utilized the qualitative methodology of interpretive biography. The researcher used a guided interview protocol with participants which served as the basis for the creation of their narrative biographies. The biographies were then analyzed for emergent themes. Sociocultural theory, identity theory, and critical feminism provided the theoretical frameworks utilized in data analysis. Findings from this study suggested that there were many differing factors influencing the science identity and career choices of the females under study. However, the most salient factor impacting their choices was their desire to remain in their hometown. Directions for future research suggestions involve exploring female students who

Household Schooling and Child Labor Decisions in Rural Bangladesh

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Shafiq, M. Najeeb

2007-01-01

Using empirical methods, this paper examines household schooling and child labor decisions in rural Bangladesh. The results suggest the following: poverty and low parental education are associated with lower schooling and greater child labor; asset-owning households are more likely to have children combine child labor with schooling; households…

Amblyopia in Rural Nigerian School Children

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Conclusion: The prevalence of amblyopia among these rural school children was ... Amblyopia is defined as suboptimal vision in one eye despite best spectacle ..... Data obtained were entered into the computer and analyzed using the Statistical ..... the National Postgraduate Medical College in Ophthalmology;. 1999. 21.

THE DEVELOPMENT OF TEACHER’S SOCIAL COMPETENCE IN RURAL MOUNTAIN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

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Olena Varetska

2015-04-01

Full Text Available This paper attempted to illuminate the importance of social competence for elementary school teacher in rural mountain environment. The author analyzes the essential features, social and pedagogical challenges in rural schools, sensible changes characteristic of the modern village. Special attention is paid to the rural mountain school as a center of educational and social activities, its peculiarities and factors causing them, including the effect of mountain environment, climatic conditions, administration method, traditions, etc. It’s pointed out that teachers are also exposed to the effect of mountain environment. They work under tough weather conditions, often in a closed team, in the atmosphere of professional, social, economic and political information scarcity, which leads to a rapid “aging”, gradual professional, social decline and social competence development recession. The author proves the need to consider the environmental impact in the design of modern school, the need for innovative processes while maintaining the national spirit and the environment; the development of social competence of elementary school teacher in constantly changing social rural mountain environment is in the focus of attention.

Community participation in rural Ecuador’s school feeding programme

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Torres, Irene; Simovska, Venka

2017-01-01

participation can include the possibility of the community challenging the social order at school, and the educational policies and practices. When addressing community participation, counter-participating and non-participating can be also considered as legitimate forms of participating. Originality/value......Purpose - The aim of this paper is to contribute to the debate concerning health education and health promotion at schools, particularly with regard to food and nutrition. Design/methodology/approach - Based on empirical data generated over the course of one year of fieldwork in three rural...... – The study contributes to an understanding of policy implementation and the implications of a HPS approach to health education and health promotion in small rural schools....

Rendimento escolar de alunos da área rural em escola urbana School performance of rural area students in urban school

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Stella Maris Cortez Bacha

2006-12-01

Full Text Available OBJETIVO: analisar e comparar as notas dos boletins de alunos residentes na área rural e na área urbana, estando ambos estudando nas mesmas escolas urbanas. MÉTODOS: analisaram-se as notas do primeiro semestre de 2005 de 641 alunos do Ensino Fundamental das escolas públicas urbanas de Terenos, Mato Grosso do Sul (MS, sendo 81,1% residentes na área urbana e 18,9% na rural. Os alunos foram comparados segundo a sua performance nas disciplinas de Língua Portuguesa, Matemática, Ciências, Educação Física, Geografia, História e Educação Artística, considerando-se o local de residência (urbana e rural, turno de estudo (diurno ou noturno, tipo de escola (municipal ou estadual e gênero. RESULTADOS: não foram encontradas diferenças significativas nas performances dos alunos da primeira a quarta séries, em nenhuma disciplina. Da quinta a oitava séries encontraram-se performances ligeiramente melhores nos alunos que residem na área urbana, medido por meio do Teste t-Student. Contudo, ao se analisar conjuntamente todas as variáveis citadas acima, nenhuma delas foi preponderante na explicação da performance do aluno nas diversas disciplinas analisadas pela Regressão Linear Múltipla. CONCLUSÃO: no estudo realizado não foram encontradas diferenças significativas no rendimento escolar entre alunos da escola urbana e da rural, estando ambos estudando nas mesmas escolas urbanas.PURPOSE: to analyze and compare grades in bulletins of students who lived in rural area and in urban area, with both kinds studying in the same urban schools. METHODS: we analyzed the grades in the first semester of 2005 of 641 student in the basic education of the urban public schools of Terenos / MS, being 81.1% residents in urban area and 18.9% in rural area. The students were compared according to their performances in the discipline of Portuguese, Mathematics, Sciences, Physical Education, Geography, History and Artistic Education, considering the place of

School Quality and Learning Gains in Rural Guatemala

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Marshall, Jeffery H.

2009-01-01

I use unusually detailed data on schools, teachers and classrooms to explain student achievement growth in rural Guatemala. Several variables that have received little attention in previous studies--including the number of school days, teacher content knowledge and pedagogical methods--are robust predictors of achievement. A series of…

Rural origin plus a rural clinical school placement is a significant predictor of medical students' intentions to practice rurally: a multi-university study.

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Walker, Judith H; Dewitt, Dawn E; Pallant, Julie F; Cunningham, Christine E

2012-01-01

Health workforce shortages are a major problem in rural areas. Australian medical schools have implemented a number of rural education and training interventions aimed at increasing medical graduates' willingness to work in rural areas. These initiatives include recruiting students from rural backgrounds, delivering training in rural areas, and providing all students with some rural exposure during their medical training. However there is little evidence regarding the impact of rural exposure versus rural origin on workforce outcomes. The aim of this study is to identify and assess factors affecting preference for future rural practice among medical students participating in the Australian Rural Clinical Schools (RCS) Program. Questionnaires were distributed to 166 medical students who had completed their RCS term in 2006; 125 (75%) responded. Medical students were asked about their preferred location and specialty for future practice, their beliefs about rural work and life, and the impact of the RCS experience on their future rural training and practice preferences. Almost half the students (47%; n=58) self-reported a 'rural background'. Significantly, students from rural backgrounds were 10 times more likely to prefer to work in rural areas when compared with other students (ppreferring general practice, 80% (n=24) wished to do so rurally. Eighty-five per cent (n=105) of students agreed that their RCS experience increased their interest in rural training and practice with 62% (n=75) of students indicating a preference for rural internship/basic training after their RCS experience. A substantial percentage (86%; n=108) agreed they would consider rural practice after their RCS experience. This baseline study provides significant evidence to support rural medical recruitment and retention through education and training, with important insights into the factors affecting preference for future rural practice. By far the most significant predictor of rural practice

Oral health status and oral health behaviors of 12-year-old urban and rural school children in Udupi, Karnataka, India: A cross-sectional study

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Arun Singh Thakur

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Objectives: The objective of this study is to assess the oral health status and oral health behavior among 12-year-old urban and rural school children and to evaluate the relative effect of sociobehavioral risk factors on caries experience. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted which included urban and rural subgroups of 12-year-old school children. The final study population covered two groups: 12 years rural (n = 261 and urban school children (n = 264. Data were collected and compared using Chi-square test. Logistic regression analysis was done to assess the importance of variables associated with dental caries. Results: Highly significant differences (P < 0.001 were observed between rural and urban school children for the use of oral hygiene aids, frequency of tooth brushing, and dental services utilization. Dental caries level was significantly higher (P < 0.03 for rural children. Decayed teeth (DT component constituted majority of decayed, missing, and filled teeth (FT in both population. 55.6% of the rural school children required treatment compared to 42.4% of urban school children. Mean Oral Hygiene Index-Simplified values, mean DT, and FT were statistically significant for urban and rural school children. Logistic regression analysis showed that government or private school, dental care utilization, socioeconomic status, and malocclusion status were significantly associated with dental caries. Conclusion: Poor oral health and high treatment needs of children belonging to low socioeconomic background is an alarming situation. Strengthening of oral health care in the rural and underprivileged section should be priority of the policymakers.

USING A DEA MANAGEMENT TOOLTHROUGH A NONPARAMETRIC APPROACH: AN EXAMINATION OF URBAN-RURAL EFFECTS ON THAI SCHOOL EFFICIENCY

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SANGCHAN KANTABUTRA

2009-04-01

Full Text Available This paper examines urban-rural effects on public upper-secondary school efficiency in northern Thailand. In the study, efficiency was measured by a nonparametric technique, data envelopment analysis (DEA. Urban-rural effects were examined through a Mann-Whitney nonparametric statistical test. Results indicate that urban schools appear to have access to and practice different production technologies than rural schools, and rural institutions appear to operate less efficiently than their urban counterparts. In addition, a sensitivity analysis, conducted to ascertain the robustness of the analytical framework, revealed the stability of urban-rural effects on school efficiency. Policy to improve school eff iciency should thus take varying geographical area differences into account, viewing rural and urban schools as different from one another. Moreover, policymakers might consider shifting existing resources from urban schools to rural schools, provided that the increase in overall rural efficiency would be greater than the decrease, if any, in the city. Future research directions are discussed.

Interest in rural clinical school is not enough: Participation is necessary to predict an ultimate rural practice location.

Science.gov (United States)

Playford, Denese; Puddey, Ian B

2017-08-01

Rural exposure during medical school is associated with increased rural work after graduation. How much of the increase in rural workforce by these graduates is due to pre-existing interest and plans to work rurally and how much is related to the extended clinical placement is not known. This cohort study compared the employment location of medical graduates who professed no rural interest as undergraduates (negative control), with those who applied but did not participate in Rural Clinical School of Western Australia (RCSWA) (positive control), and those who applied and participated in RCSWA (participants). All 1026 University of Western Australia students who had an opportunity to apply for a year-long rotation in RCSWA from 2004 to 2010, and who had subsequently graduated by the end of 2011, were included. Graduates' principal workplace location (AHPRA, Feb 2014). The three groups differed significantly in their graduate work locations (χ 2 = 39.2, P rural background (OR 2.99 (95% CI 1.85, 4.85), P Rural Bonded Scholarship (OR 3.36 (95% CI 1.68, 6.73, P = 0.001) and actually participating in the RCSWA remained significantly related to rural work (OR 3.10 (95% CI 1.95, 4.93), P rural work, RCSWA graduates were three times more likely to work rurally than either control group. These data suggest that RCSWA has a significant independent effect on rural workforce. © 2016 National Rural Health Alliance Inc.

Instructional Technology for Rural Schools: Access and Acquisition

Science.gov (United States)

Sundeen, Todd H.; Sundeen, Darrelanne M.

2013-01-01

Integrating instructional technology into all classrooms has the potential to transform modern education and student learning. However, access to technology is not equally available to all districts or schools. Decreased funding and budgetary restraints have had a direct impact on technology acquisition in many rural school districts. One of the…

國民中學適足教育經費：臺灣偏遠與非偏遠地區學校的比較 Estimating Adequate Funding to Meet Performance Standards for Junior High School Students: Adequate Funding Comparisons Between Rural and Non-Rural Schools in Taiwan

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張良丞 Liang-Cheng Zhang

2016-09-01

Full Text Available 臺灣學生近年來在國際大型測驗表現亮眼，但如進一步檢視學校所處地區，即可明顯看出臺灣存在巨大的城鄉差距問題：偏遠地區與大城市相比，不僅數學表現較差，且出現各校數學差距相對較大的情況。不足的教育經費可能是導致此差距的原因之一，本研究因此以成本函數法來估算偏遠與非偏遠地區學校達成預期學生學業成就所需的適足經費，並以國中基測數學基礎級、平均數、精熟級來作為適足分數，以估算不同程度所需的適足經費，結果發現，無論何種適足分數，偏遠地區所需的每生適足經費皆比非偏遠地區為高，且超過半數以上的偏遠學校未達適足經費水準。本研究亦根據研究結果，提出改進建議。 Although the mathematical ability of Taiwanese students is ranked high according to the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA, Taiwan faces the problem of a gap in test scores between rural students and their non-rural counterparts, with the latter group scoring higher on average. Inadequate funding is a possible reason for this discrepancy. Therefore, this paper uses the cost function approach to compare adequate funding requirements between rural and non-rural schools. The adequate funding estimates are calculated based on the different levels of mathematics scores in the Basic Competence Test (basic, average, and proficient. The results showed that rural schools require more per student funding than do non-rural schools, irrespective of the use of score levels as references. A greater portion of rural schools were shown to operate under inadequate per student funding compared with non-rural schools. This paper provides further evidence of the urgency of increased investment in rural schools.

Adaptability of the In-Use Textbooks to Students in Rural Junior Middle School in Henan, China

Science.gov (United States)

Duan, Daohuan

2013-01-01

In Henan province, and through out China, both students in cities and countrysides are using the same textbooks for junior high schools. This phenomenon unavoidably resulted in the fact that it is difficult for students in rural junior high school to understand the contents in textbooks. In order to investigate whether the learning difficulty…

Vulnerable children speak out: voices from one rural school in ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The study recommends some strategies by which the Swaziland Ministry of Education and Training, the community, and the school can make collaborative and coordinated efforts aimed at enhancing vulnerable children's quality of schooling experiences. Keywords: Children; Schooling; Rural; Vulnerability; Education; ...

Comal County, Texas: Preparing for Life after High School

Science.gov (United States)

Walter, Frank

2018-01-01

Comal County, Texas, may be rural but its students face many of the same challenges as students in urban districts. Communities In Schools of South Central Texas works with the local school district to identify student needs and provide critical supports to help young people prepare for life after high school.

Teachers' knowledge and attitudes towards seizure disorder: a comparative study of urban and rural school teachers in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria.

Science.gov (United States)

Akpan, M U; Ikpeme, E E; Utuk, E-Oe

2013-01-01

Knowledge and attitude of school teachers with regard to seizure disorder has an important impact on continuation of schooling of children with seizure disorder. Though school teachers in both rural and urban settings are exposed to the same training, their perception of seizure disorder could be influenced by the environment in which they reside. To determine the knowledge and attitudes of school teachers towards children with seizure disorder, and the influence of urban residence on perception of seizure disorder by the teachers. A self-administered questionnaire on knowledge and attitudes to seizure disorder were filled by school teachers drawn from both urban and rural settings in Akwa-Ibom State, Nigeria. One-hundred and thirty-two urban school teachers and an equal number of their rural counterparts completed the questionnaire. There were significantly more female teachers in the urban schools whereas the rural schools were dominated by male teachers with male to female ratio of 1:5.6 and 1.2:1, respectively. Majority of the urban (60.6%) and rural (57.6%) school teachers were National Certificate of Education holders. Thirty-eight (28.8%) of urban respondents versus eight (6.1%) of rural respondents thought seizure disorder was caused by evil spirits whereas 60 (45.5%) urban respondents compared to 80 (60.6%) of rural respondents felt seizure disorder was infectious. Majority of the respondents from both urban and rural schools (68.2% and 63.6% respectively) believed that the foam from the mouth of a convulsing child with seizure disorder is the infecting agent. However, 62.1% of urban respondents as well as 45.5% of rural respondents would advise that children with seizure disorder be admitted into special schools. There was no significant difference in the mean overall knowledge and attitudes of school teachers to seizure disorder in the two settings ( P = 0.33 for knowledge and 0.28 for attitudes). Teachers' high level of education however, had a positive

Characteristics of National Merit Scholars from Small Rural Schools.

Science.gov (United States)

Peltier, Gary; And Others

This study compares 1988 National Merit Scholars enrolled in rural public schools with a senior class smaller than 99 students to other merit scholars and the national sample of SAT takers. Rural scholars were more likely to be female (45.5%) and Caucasian (98%) than other scholars. Involvement in extracurricular activities was significantly…

A program to enhance k-12 science education in ten rural New York school districts.

Science.gov (United States)

Goodell, E; Visco, R; Pollock, P

1999-04-01

The Rural Partnership for Science Education, designed by educators and scientists in 1991 with funding from the National Institutes of Health, works in two rural New York State counties with students and their teachers from kindergarten through grade 12 to improve pre-college science education. The Partnership is an alliance among ten rural New York school districts and several New York State institutions (e.g., a regional academic medical center; the New York Academy of Sciences; and others), and has activities that involve around 4,800 students and 240 teachers each year. The authors describe the program's activities (e.g., summer workshops for teachers; science exploration camps for elementary and middle-school students; enrichment activities for high school students). A certified science education specialist directs classroom demonstrations throughout the academic year to support teachers' efforts to integrate hands-on activities into the science curriculum. A variety of evaluations over the years provides strong evidence of the program's effectiveness in promoting students' and teachers' interest in science. The long-term goal of the Partnership is to inspire more rural students to work hard, learn science, and enter the medical professions.

Rural schools: In the middle of nowhere.The invisible cities in the world of education

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Rosa Vázquez Recio

2008-04-01

Full Text Available This article includes some reflections about rural schools, coming from the personal and professional experience of the author. The article claims that rural schools should cease to be forgotten or underestimated and that they should be recognized as real schools. This issue is linked to the field of initial teacher training, making some considerations to be taken into account in order to promote a change in the appraisal and recognition of schools in the rural world.

Effects of a proposed rural dental school on regional dental workforce and access to care.

Science.gov (United States)

Wanchek, Tanya N; Rephann, Terance J

2013-01-01

Southwest Virginia is a rural, low-income region with a relatively small dentist workforce and poor oral health outcomes. The opening of a dental school in the region has been proposed by policy-makers as one approach to improving the size of the dentist workforce and oral health outcomes. A policy simulation was conducted to assess how a hypothetical dental school in rural Southwest Virginia would affect the availability of dentists and utilization levels of dental services. The simulation focuses on two channels through which the dental school would most likely affect the region. First, the number of graduates who are expected to remain in the region was varied, based on the extensiveness of the education pipeline used to attract local students. Second, the number of patients treated in the dental school clinic under different dental school clinical models, including the traditional model, a patient-centered clinic model and a community-based clinic model, was varied in the simulation to obtain a range of additional dentists and utilization rates under differing dental school models. Under a set of plausible assumptions, the low yield scenario (ie private school with a traditional clinic) would result in three additional dentists residing in the region and a total of 8090 additional underserved patients receiving care. Under the high yield scenario (ie dental pipeline program with community based clinics) nine new dentists would reside in the region and as many as 18 054 underserved patients would receive care. Even with the high yield scenario and the strong assumption that these patients would not otherwise access care, the utilization rate increases to 68.9% from its current 60.1%. While the new dental school in Southwest Virginia would increase the dentist workforce and utilization rates, the high cost combined with the continued low rate of dental utilization suggests that there may be more effective alternatives to improving oral health in rural areas

Decentralization and Educational Performance: Evidence from the PROHECO Community School Program in Rural Honduras

Science.gov (United States)

Di Gropello, Emanuela; Marshall, Jeffery H.

2011-01-01

We analyze the effectiveness of the Programa Hondureno de Educacion Comunitaria (PROHECO) community school program in rural Honduras. The data include standardized tests and extensive information on school, teacher, classroom and community features for 120 rural schools drawn from 15 states. Using academic achievement decompositions we find that…

High-Tech School Bus Teaches Students on the Road

Science.gov (United States)

Katims, Lauren

2011-01-01

Last year, kindergarten through high school students in the rural Hector, Arkansas, School District barely had the technology resources that keep kids interested in math and science. This year, they potentially have the most advanced resources in the country--before they even step into the classroom. One school bus in Arkansas' Pope County has…

Educational Impact of a School Breakfast Programme in Rural Peru

Science.gov (United States)

Cueto, Santiago; Chinen, Marjorie

2008-01-01

In this paper, we present data from an evaluation of the educational impact of a school breakfast program implemented in rural schools in Peru. The results showed positive effects on school attendance and dropout rates, and a differential effect of the breakfast program on multiple-grade and full-grade schools. Particularly in multiple-grade…

Staff Development for Rural Middle Schools through Regional Conferences.

Science.gov (United States)

Johnston, William F.

1994-01-01

Isolation, limited access to colleges and universities, and financial constraints restrict staff development opportunities for rural school systems. Recognizing these problems, the Virginia Middle School Association has adopted a regional conference structure that shifts meeting locations throughout seven major areas. The "hot topics"…

Schoolchildren affected by HIV in rural South Africa: Schools as ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

This article explores how schoolchildren made vulnerable due to HIV and AIDS might cope and even thrive in a rural school environment in South Africa. I argue that ... Keywords: appreciative inquiry, assets, coping, PhotoVoice, psychosocial aspects, research methods, rural settings, visual participatory methods

[Survey and analysis of the intakes of energy and macronutrients in rural boarding school students].

Science.gov (United States)

Piao, Wei; Wang, Lijuan; Li, Jin; Sun, Jing; Wang, Chen; Li, Ying; Wei, Yanli; Huo, Junsheng; Yang, Xiaoguang

2016-05-01

To preliminarily survey the intakes of energy and macronutrients in rural boarding school students and analyse the affect factors of discrepancies between different sex and age groups. A total of 1834 rural boarding junior high school first grade students were selected from 16 provinces, and stratified cluster sampling method was used. The method of weight recording and three days dietary recall were used to investigate the diet of boarding school students. The ratios which reached the EER of energy intakes in boy and girl groups were 37.0% and 46.7% (P 0.05) respectively, and the proportion of the intakes level of EAR among the age groups of 11y ~ and 14y ~ for both boys and girls were 124.8%, 107.3% (P > 0.05) and 134.8%, 112.1% (P 0.05) respectively, and among the age groups of 11y ~ and 14y ~ for both boys and girls were 21.8% and 30.5% (P 0.05) respectively. Double burden of nutrient might exist in the rural boarding schools. The status of nutrition could be improved evidently, by fulfilling the relative national policies, promoting the balance of the nutrition supplying in schools, and enriching the boarding students' knowledge of nutrition.

Associations of television viewing time with excess body weight among urban and rural high-school students in regional mainland China.

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, Fei; Li, JieQuan; Ware, Robert S; Owen, Neville

2008-09-01

To examine the relationship between television (TV) viewing and body mass index (BMI) among adolescents in a region of mainland China. Population-based cross-sectional study, conducted between September and November of 2004, on a sample of enrolled high-school students aged 12-18 years. One hundred and sixty-eight classes randomly selected from both urban and rural areas and belonging to 15 senior and 41 junior high schools in Nanjing, China, with a regional population of 6.0 million. In total 6848 students participated; 47.7 % from urban and 52.3 % from rural areas; 49.0 % male and 51.0 % female. The response rate among eligible participants was 89.3 %. The proportion of overweight was 6.6 % according to the criteria of overweight recommended for Chinese adolescents. Boys than girls (8.9 % vs. 4.4 %) had higher odds of being overweight (odds ratio (OR) 2.12, 95 % confidence interval (CI) 1.74, 2.60), while the proportion of overweight was significantly lower among rural students than urban students (4.5 % vs. 8.9 %; OR 0.49, 95 % CI 0.40, 0.60). Those students who watched TV for more than 7 h/week had a 1.5 times greater odds of being overweight relative to their counterparts who watched TV for 7 h/week or less (adjusted OR 1.51, 95 % CI 1.24, 1.82). Furthermore, there was a positive linear relationship between TV viewing time and BMI, even after adjusting for age, gender, residence area, time spent in study, in sleeping and in physical activity, and monthly pocket money. Viewing TV might increase the likelihood of being overweight for Chinese adolescents in China.

The Dissonance between Schooling and Learning: Evidence from Rural Bangladesh

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Asadullah, M. Niaz; Chaudhury, Nazmul

2015-01-01

Using a basic mathematics competence test based on the primary school curricular standard, we examine the extent to which years spent in school actually increases numeracy achievement in rural Bangladesh. Our sample includes 10-18-year-old children currently enrolled in school as well as those out of school. About half of the children failed to…

Paediatric case mix in a rural clinical school is relevant to future practice.

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Wright, Helen M; Maley, Moira A L; Playford, Denese E; Nicol, Pam; Evans, Sharon F

2017-11-29

Exposure to a representative case mix is essential for clinical learning, with logbooks established as a way of demonstrating patient contacts. Few studies have reported the paediatric case mix available to geographically distributed students within the same medical school. Given international interest in expanding medical teaching locations to rural contexts, equitable case exposure in rural relative to urban settings is topical. The Rural Clinical School of Western Australia locates students up to 3500 km from the urban university for an academic year. There is particular need to examine paediatric case mix as a study reported Australian graduates felt unprepared for paediatric rotations. We asked: Does a rural clinical school provide a paediatric case mix relevant to future practice? How does the paediatric case mix as logged by rural students compare with that by urban students? The 3745 logs of 76 urban and 76 rural consenting medical students were categorised by presenting symptoms and compared to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) database Major Diagnostic Categories (MDCs). Rural and urban students logged core paediatric cases, in similar order, despite the striking difference in geographic locations. The pattern of overall presenting problems closely corresponded to Australian paediatric hospital admissions. Rural students logged 91% of cases in secondary healthcare settings; urban students logged 90% of cases in tertiary settings. The top four presenting problems were ENT/respiratory, gastrointestinal/urogenital, neurodevelopmental and musculoskeletal; these made up 60% of all cases. Rural and urban students logged similar proportions of infants, children and adolescents, with a variety of case morbidity. Rural clinical school students logged a mix of core paediatric cases relevant to illnesses of Australian children admitted to public hospitals, with similar order and pattern by age group to urban students, despite major differences

Psychosocial and Physical Benefits of Exercise Among Rural Secondary School Students

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Ntwanano Alliance Kubayi

2015-12-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this study was to examine the benefits of physical exercise among secondary school students. Participants in the study were 251 students (120 boys and 131 girls attending three public secondary schools in the Hlanganani rural area of South Africa. A validated questionnaire was used to collect data. Results of this study indicated that students exercised to be with their friends, to be physically attractive and compete with others. The findings of this study have practical implications for promoting participation in physical activity among students in rural schools. In an effort to promote physical activity participation, schools should be provided with quality sports infrastructure and funding so that they can implement school sport programmes. Finally, the teaching of physical education should be emphasised in schools as it is the cornerstone for children’s involvement in physical activity.

Rural School as a Resource for the Intellectual and Labour Potential Formation of the Rural Society

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Nasibullov, Ramis R.; Korshunova, Olga V.; Arshabekov, Nurgali R.

2016-01-01

The relevance of the research problem is reasoned by the need to create conceptual grounds of life organization variants in the rural school as a resource of intellectual and labor potential formation of rural society taking into account the socio-economic realities of Russia's development in the beginning of the twenty-first century, as well as…

Strategies to address learner aggression in rural South African secondary schools

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Gunam D. Singh

2013-11-01

Full Text Available Managing learner aggression in the school system is central to learners’ academic performance and holistic development. In order to manage learner aggression, it is important to understand the contributory factors and the forms of learner aggression. This article reports on an investigation of factors contributing to learner aggression in rural secondary schools in the Empangeni district of KwaZulu-Natal in order to identify the forms of learner aggression and to establish strategies to manage such aggression in these secondary schools. A qualitative research design was adopted to investigate the phenomenon through an interview process with participants from five rural secondary schools. The findings showed that the factors contributing to learner aggression include family factors, environmental factors and school-related factors whilst the most common forms of learner aggression in schools are verbal aggression, physical aggression and bullying. The article concludes with the role that the school, parents and the Department of Education can play in addressing learner aggression in schools.

Leadership Strategies for Maintaining Success in a Rural School District

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Freeman, Greta G.; Randolph, Ivan

2013-01-01

Success in a PK-12 educational environment begins at the top with school leadership. Due to economic problems, poverty and added responsibilities, leaders in rural communities throughout the United States face sensitive and distinctive challenges. Based on research and years of administrative experience as school and school system leaders, the…

Rural. The Other Neglected "R": Making Space for Place in School Libraries

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Azano, Amy Price

2014-01-01

Rurality is rarely considered or oftentimes completely neglected in conversations about culturally relevant pedagogy. Yet, without a relevant curriculum, students both in and out of rural communities are left with dominant and deficiently positioned narratives about rural people. School librarians must provide counter and critical narratives for…

PREVALENCE OF ANAEMIA AMONG RURAL PRE-SCHOOL CHILDREN OF MAHARASHTRA, INDIA

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N Arlappa

2012-03-01

Full Text Available Background: Anaemia continues to be a severe public health nutritional problem in India affecting all physiological groups, even after the National Nutritional Anaemia Prophylaxis Programme has been in operation for more than three decades. Objective: To assess the prevalence of anaemia among rural pre-school (1-5-years children of Maharashtra. Methods: A community based cross-sectional study was carried by National Nutrition Monitoring Bureau (NNMB covering a total of 404 (Boys-243; Girls-161 pre-school children. Information of socio-demographic particulars was obtained and the finger prick blood samples were collected for the estimation of haemoglobin levels by cyanmethmoglobin method. Results: The result shows that 59.2 % (CI: 54.4-64.0 of the rural pre-school children of Maharashtra were anaemic, and the prevalence was significantly (p40% among rural pre-school children of Maharashtra. Therefore, appropriate intervention measures such as supplementary iron & folic acid, periodic deworming and health & nutrition education should be strengthened. The community needs to be encouraged to diversify their diets by consuming iron rich foods.

Consumption of junk foods by school-aged children in rural Himachal Pradesh, India.

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Gupta, Aakriti; Kapil, Umesh; Singh, Gajendra

2018-01-01

There has been an increase in the consumption of junk food (JF) among school-aged children (SAC) possibly leading to obesity and diet-related diseases among them. We do not have evidence on consumption of JF in rural areas; hence, we conducted a study to assess the consumption of JF by SAC in rural, Himachal Pradesh. A total of 425 children in the age group of 12-18 years studying in 30 government schools (clusters) were included. The clusters were selected using population proportionate to size sampling methodology. We found high prevalence (36%) of consumption of JF among SAC during the last 24 h. Efforts should be taken to reduce the consumption of JF by promotion of healthy dietary habits and educating children about the ill effects of JF.

The Life Plans of Rural School Students in Russia, China, and Kazakhstan

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Abankina, T. V.

2014-01-01

Data from a comparative study of the educational, career, and migration strategies of rural school students in Russia, China, and Kazakhstan show high levels of educational aspiration. This is likely to increase the flow of population to urban areas, to increase the rate of urbanization, and to have demographic and economic consequences that will…

Teacher Identity in a Multicultural Rural School: Lessons Learned at Vista Charter

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Wenger, Kerri J.; Dinsmore, Jan; Villagomez, Amanda

2012-01-01

In this paper, we describe a 30-month qualitative exploration of diverse teachers' identities in a high-poverty, bilingual, K-8 public charter school in rural eastern Oregon. First, we use the perspectives of saberes docentes and a situated view of teacher development to document the life histories of monolingual and bilingual teachers at Vista…

School Proximity and Child Labor: Evidence from Rural Tanzania

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Kondylis, Florence; Manacorda, Marco

2012-01-01

Is improved school accessibility an effective policy tool for reducing child labor in developing countries? We address this question using microdata from rural Tanzania and a regression strategy that attempts to control for nonrandom location of households around schools as well as classical and nonclassical measurement error in self-reported…

Information Needs Assessment for K-12 School Nurses in Rural Eastern Washington State.

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Vela, Kathryn

2017-01-01

School nurses are an often-overlooked population of health care professionals who have great importance in rural communities where access to health care is limited. In order to better serve school nurses in rural eastern Washington, an assessment was conducted to determine their information needs, behaviors, and perceptions. Results indicated this population of school nurses searches for multiple types of health information on a daily basis and navigates obstacles to information access using a variety of resources. While largely confident in their searching ability, they are open to learning more about how to find reliable health information to support their daily responsibilities. These results will guide the development of a workshop for school nurses about using reliable health information resources to improve health care in their rural communities.

A STUDY ON PREVALENCE OF OBESITY IN SCHOOL CHILDREN IN A RURAL POPULATION IN SOUTH KERALA

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Nesamony Maneksh Kumar

2017-05-01

Full Text Available BACKGROUND Obesity is defined as having excess body fat due to ‘calorie imbalance’ -too few calories expended for the amount of calories consumed. Childhood obesity has both immediate and long-term effects on health and well-being. This study is aimed to highlight the burden of obesity among school children. The objectives of this study are to find the prevalence of obesity among school children aged 11-15 years and to compare prevalence of obesity among school children of government and private schools. MATERIALS AND METHODS School-based cross-sectional study conducted in 2 private and 2 government schools of a rural area in Trivandrum district. Total 800 students (200 from each school aged 11-15 years in 6 th to 10 th standards were selected by systematic random sampling and consent were obtained. Height (cm and weight (kg were measured using stadiometer and standardised weighing machine, respectively. Body Mass Index (BMI was calculated and categorised as underweight, normal, overweight and obese. The prevalence is expressed in percentages. RESULTS In this study, the total prevalence of overweight and obesity among the total 800 school children is found to be 4% and 1%, respectively. An alarming incidental finding is that the underweight prevalence is 61%, which is significantly high and should be addressed. The overall prevalence of overweight and obesity is 4.25% and 1.75%, respectively in private schools, whereas it is 3.5% and 1%, respectively, in government schools. There is not a significant difference between private and government school children. This may be due to the awareness about problems of obesity and its effects among school children and also timely health checkups in the schools. CONCLUSION This study done in a rural area found that there is a significant prevalence of obesity and overweight as well as a very high prevalence of underweight. It indicates that childhood obesity is an emerging health problem in rural areas

Urban-Rural Differences in School Nurses' Asthma Training Needs and Access to Asthma Resources.

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Carpenter, Delesha M; Estrada, Robin Dawson; Roberts, Courtney A; Elio, Alice; Prendergast, Melissa; Durbin, Kathy; Jones, Graceann Clyburn; North, Steve

Few studies have examined school nurses preferences' for asthma training. Our purpose was to: 1) assess school nurses' perceived asthma training needs, 2) describe nurses' access to asthma educational resources, and 3) identify urban-rural differences in training needs and access to resources in southern states. A convenience sample of school nurses (n=162) from seven counties (two urban and five rural) in North Carolina and South Carolina completed an online, anonymous survey. Chi-square tests were used to examine urban-rural differences. Although most nurses (64%) had received asthma training within the last five years, urban nurses were more likely to have had asthma training than rural nurses (χ 2 =10.84, p=0.001). A majority of nurses (87%) indicated they would like to receive additional asthma training. Approximately half (45%) of nurses reported access to age-appropriate asthma education materials, but only 16% reported that their schools implemented asthma education programs. Urban nurses were more likely than rural nurses to have access to asthma education programs (χ 2 =4.10, p=0.04) and age-appropriate asthma education materials (χ 2 =8.86, p=0.003). Few schools are implementing asthma education programs. Rural nurses may be disadvantaged in terms of receiving asthma training and having access to asthma education programs and materials. Schools are an ideal setting for delivering age-appropriate asthma education. By providing school nurses with access to age-appropriate asthma education resources and additional asthma training, we can help them overcome several of the barriers that impede their ability to deliver asthma care to their students. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The One Laptop School: Equipping Rural Elementary Schools in South India Through Public Private Partnerships

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Erik Jon Byker

2015-11-01

Full Text Available This article reports on a Public Private Partnership (PPP program in South India that provided information and communication technology (ICT to rural elementary schools. The article examined the current status of rural, government-run elementary schools in India by reviewing reports like the Annual Status of Education Report (ASER in India. Challenges like teacher absences, student drop-outs, lack of electricity, lack of separate toilets for genders, and a lack of teaching resources is discussed. To meet these challenges, the article describes the rise in popularity of India’s PPPs. Then the article reports on a case study of a PPP, called the SSA Foundation, which implemented a “one laptop per school” program in rural areas in the Indian States of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. Using ethnographic data from field research, the case study includes a description of how the students in a rural Karnataka elementary school use their school’s laptop. The school was situated in a small village where most travel was non-motorized. Walking, usually without shoes, was the main form of transportation. A bicycle was considered a luxury. Most villagers worked in the surrounding ragi and millet fields; laboring, often with only simple tool blades. Wood fires were the main source of fuel for cooking. In this village, the school’s laptop became a prized possession. The case study offers a “thick description” (Geertz, 1973 of how the village school’s students used the laptop for learning basic computing skills and for learning English.

Parents' Attitudes to the Closure of Small Rural Primary Schools

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Archbold, A.; Nisbet, J.

1977-01-01

Attitudes of 134 parents of children from 10 rural schools threatened with closure, and 56 parents of children from seven schools recently closed, were assessed by interview. Most parents opposed closure, and most gave educational reasons for their attitudes. (Author)

Educational Quality Differences in a Middle-Income Country: The Urban-Rural Gap in Malaysian Primary Schools

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Othman, Mariam; Muijs, Daniel

2013-01-01

Shortcomings of educational quality in rural schools remain a key focus in the literature related to developing countries. This paper studies whether rural primary schools in Malaysia, an upper middle-income developing country, are still experiencing lower levels of educational resources, school climate, school leadership, and parental involvement…

Peruvian Rural School Construction System. SERP 71: Sierra Type.

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Cangiano, Miguel

Based on cooperative action of the government and local communities, the Peruvian Rural School System (SERP 71) evolved from the necessity to reconstruct Peruvian schools of the Sierra region after the earthquake of 1970, and from Peru's new educational reform law (1970) which called for an active-dynamic pupil attitude, continuous updating of…

PROFESSIONAL MOBILITY AND COMPETENCE CORRELATION OF RURAL SCHOOLS TEACHERS IN THE CONDITIONS OF EDUCATION MODERNIZATION

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Olga Vladimirovna Gavrilova

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Purpose. The article deals with the problem of teacher's professional activity in conditions of education modernization. The subject of analysis is professional mobility and competence correlation of rural schools teachers and the conditions of its formation. The authors’ aim to reveal the concepts of teacher’s "professional mobility", "professional competence" in rural schools and to determine its nature and structure in the changing paradigm of education. Results. The results of this work are that the authors give the definition of teacher’s "professional competence" and "professional mobility" in rural schools; concern teacher’s professional competence as a part of professional mobility in rural schools and suggest the conditions of studying to improve teacher’s professional competence and mobility. Practical implications. The results of the study can be applied in the field of teachers retraining and advanced training in primary and secondary school.

Anemia and intestinal parasite infection in school children in rural Vietnam

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Thi, Le H.; Brouwer, I.D.; Verhoef, H.; Khan, N.C.; Kok, F.J.

2007-01-01

Objectives: This study hypothesized that besides iron deficiency, intestinal parasites infection is also a determinant of anemia in schoolchildren in rural Vietnam. Methods: 400 primary schoolchildren from 20 primary schools in Tam Nong district, a poor rural area in Vietnam, were randomly selected

76 FR 54196 - Public Meeting, Cherokee National Forest Secure Rural Schools Resource Advisory Committee

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2011-08-31

... DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Forest Service Public Meeting, Cherokee National Forest Secure Rural Schools Resource Advisory Committee AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA. ACTION: Notice of meeting. SUMMARY: In accordance with the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self Determination Act of 2000 (Pub. L. 106-393), [as...

Estimating the Efficiency of Michigan's Rural and Urban Public School Districts

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Maranowski, Rita

2012-01-01

This study examined student achievement in Michigan public school districts to determine if rural school districts are demonstrating greater financial efficiency by producing higher levels of student achievement than school districts in other geographic locations with similar socioeconomics. Three models were developed using multiple regression…

[Relationship between nutritional status and school absenteeism among students in rural schools].

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Rodríguez-Escobar, Gilma; Vargas-Cruz, Sandra L; Ibáñez-Pinilla, Edgar; Matiz-Salazar, María I; Jörgen-Overgaard, Hans

2015-12-01

Objective To determine the nutritional status and prevalence of malnutrition and overweight in students in rural schools and their relationship with school absence rates. Methods Descriptive study carried out in 34 rural schools in Anapoima and La Mesa in 2013. A sample of 785 (82.4 %) students was selected by convenience sampling. The inclusion criteria were students registered for the period 2013 in grades 0-5 (ages 5-16) with parental consent and student assent. Weight and height of all subjects were taken. Overall absence rates and illness-related absence rates were recorded. Results 422 pupils were male (53.8 %) and 524 (66.8 %) had between 5-9 years old. A lower than average height for age occurred in 10.1 %(n=79) of the students. The thinness was recorded at 1.75 %(n=13), the overweight at 14.3 %(n=112) and the obesity at 4.5 %(n=45) of the students. The number of absence episodes per child per year due to any reason and due to disease was 5.7 and 1.4, respectively. Stunted growth and overweight students had a significantly higher number of absence days compared to students with adequate nutritional status (p school absence days (both general and illness-related) and stunting and overweight in students.

A Study on Nutritional Status of Rural School going Children in Kavre District.

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Mansur, D I; Haque, M K; Sharma, K; Mehta, D K; Shakya, R

2015-01-01

Background Childhood is a time of active growth in terms of physical size, mental, emotional and psychological development. Normal growth is dependent on adequate nutrition and encompasses major transformations from birth to adulthood. Nutrition is a focal point for health and well being; and has special significance in countries with disadvantages in socioeconomic and hygienic standards. Objective The objective of the present study was to assess the nutritional status in terms of prevalence of underweight, stunting and thinness among rural school going children. Method The present study was cross-sectional study, conducted on 438 rural school going children (169 male and 259 female) with the age group 4-16 years, during the period from April 2014 to July 2014. Age was recorded in year; height and weight were measured in centimeter and kilogram respectively. BMI was calculated by using standard equation. Result The present study concluded that the nutritional status in terms of prevalence of underweight, stunting and thinness were found to be 30.85%, 24.54% and 10.05% respectively among rural school going children of Kavre district. It was revealed that 37.87% was underweight, 29.59% was stunted and 11.25% was thinness among male children whereas in female children, 26.27% was underweight, 21.24% was stunted and 9.27% was thinness. Hence, high prevalence of underweight, stunting and thinness were observed in male than in female children. Conclusion The present study has successfully documented the nutritional status in terms of prevalence of underweight, stunting and thinness among the rural school going children of Kavre district. The results of the present study will be useful for policy makers in their endeavor to formulate various developmental and health care programs.

Prevalence of Refractive errors in Primary school children in a rural ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Prevalence of Refractive errors in Primary school children in a rural community in Ebonyi state of Nigeria. ... PROMOTING ACCESS TO AFRICAN RESEARCH ... However, no previous vision screening study among primary schools children ...

Preparing Special Educators Highly Qualified in Content: Alternative Route Certification for Unlicensed Teachers in Rural Georgia

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Childre, Amy L.

2014-01-01

The shortage of highly qualified special educators is most pronounced in rural schools serving populations characterized by poverty, low achievement, disability, and cultural diversity. The result is often untrained teachers serving students with the greatest education needs. This article describes efforts by a university in rural middle Georgia…

Malnutrition in China's Rural Boarding Schools: The Case of Primary Schools in Shaanxi Province

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Luo, Renfu; Shi, Yaojiang; Zhang, Linxiu; Liu, Chengfang; Rozelle, Scott; Sharbono, Brian

2009-01-01

The main goal of this paper is to document the nature of boarding schools and empirically analyse the difference in nutrition intake and malnutrition status between boarding and non-boarding students in western rural China. By using two data sets on boarding schools and boarding students in Shaanxi Province, a representative province in western…

A Case Study of a Rural Iowa School Preparing to Meet New State Guidelines for School Libraries

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Krueger, Karla Steege

2009-01-01

A qualitative case study highlighting one rural Iowa elementary school provided insight into the issue of small schools without library programs as they are preparing to meet the Iowa reinstatement of the requirement for school library programs. The site was purposefully chosen because it has been operating without a school library program or…

An Analysis of the Academic Achievement of Urban and Rural Low-Socioeconomic Status Tennessee Public Schools

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Crow, Johnny

2010-01-01

Comparing a small, rural school with sometimes less than 100 students to a massive inner-city school with greater than 2,500 students is crude and untenable. There are simply too many variables. Nonetheless, the No Child Left Behind Act treats these two very different schools the same. When urban and rural schools cannot meet AYP or highly…

Prevalence of intestinal parasites among school children in a rural ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Prevalence of intestinal parasites among school children in a rural area close to the southeast of Lake Langano, Ethiopia. ... Ethiopian Journal of Health Development ... Methods: In April 2003, fresh stool samples were collected from 259 students enrolled in two primary schools located in southeast of Lake Langano.

Management of School Infrastructure in the Context of a No-Fee Schools Policy in Rural South African Schools: Lessons from the Field

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Marishane, Ramodikoe Nylon

2013-01-01

This study examines the management of school infrastructure in the context of the "no-fee schools" policy introduced in the South African education delivery system. Focusing on four rural schools, the study applied a qualitative method, which involved observation of infrastructure conditions prevailing at four selected schools and…

A Matter of Money? Policy Analysis of Rural Boarding Schools in China

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Zhao, Zhenzhou

2011-01-01

The Chinese government has shifted the pattern of rural schooling over the past decade, replacing village schools with urban boarding schools. The stated goal is to improve school quality, while deploying resources more effectively. However, the new boarding schools fail to provide a safe, healthy environment or protect and enable students' human…

The Sensitivity of Primary School Enrollment to the Cost of Post-Primary Schooling in Rural Pakistan: A Gender Perspective.

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Hazarika, Gautam

2001-01-01

Examines gender differences in the sensitivity of primary-school enrollment to the costs of postprimary schooling in rural Pakistan. Finds that distance from primary school is a significant determinant of female primary-school enrollment and distance from middle school is a significant determinant of male primary-school enrollment. Suggests…

Improving Immunization Coverage in a Rural School District in Pierce County, Washington

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Peterson, Robin M.; Cook, Carolyn; Yerxa, Mary E.; Marshall, James H.; Pulos, Elizabeth; Rollosson, Matthew P.

2012-01-01

Washington State has some of the highest percentages of school immunization exemptions in the country. We compared school immunization records in a rural school district in Pierce County, Washington, to immunization records in the state immunization information system (IIS) and parent-held records. Correcting school immunization records resulted…

A study on acceptance of mobileschool at secondary schools in Malaysia: Urban vs rural

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Hashim, Ahmad Sobri; Ahmad, Wan Fatimah Wan; Sarlan, Aliza

2017-10-01

Developing countries are in dilemma where sophisticated technologies are more advance as compared to the way their people think. In education, there have been many novel approaches and technologies were introduced. However, very minimal efforts were put to apply in our education. MobileSchool is a mobile learning (m-learning) management system, developed for administrative, teaching and learning processes at secondary schools in Malaysia. The paper presents the acceptance of MobileSchool between urban and rural secondary schools in Malaysia. Research framework was designed based on Technology Acceptance Model (TAM). The constructs of the framework include computer anxiety, self-efficacy, facilitating condition, technological complexity, perceived behavioral control, perceive ease of use, perceive usefulness, attitude and behavioral intention. Questionnaire was applied as research instrument which involved 373 students from four secondary schools (two schools in urban category and another two in rural category) in Perak. Inferential analyses using hypothesis and t-test, and descriptive analyses using mean and percentage were used to analyze the data. Results showed that there were no big difference (acceptance constructs between urban and rural secondary schools except computer anxiety.

"Somebodies, They Broke My Castle for Notheen": Lessons from Rural Schools.

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Smith, Penny

1998-01-01

Using memoirs from early- and mid-20th century rural teachers, the paper challenges assumptions that public education needs a new, more sophisticated foundation, describing the positive qualities of early rural schools and teachers and recommending the introduction of place-consciousness into teacher education so teachers can realize the power of…

An evaluation of the role of rural primary school teachers in community development tasks in southern Sudan

OpenAIRE

Ngalam, Jabi Jack

1987-01-01

This thesis investigates the role of rural primary school teachers in community development activities within an integrated rural education centres project (IRECs) in southern Sudan. The study explores five areas of importance for an extended teacher's role in rural areas: (i) the school or community environment, (ii) community perception of the teacher's role and its expectations of the school, (iii) teachers' perception of their own role in the community, (iv) teachers' ...

Leading Change for the Implementation of Common Core State Standards in Rural School Districts

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Lopez, Paul; Wise, Donald

2015-01-01

Rural school districts across the nation, with their limited resources, face daunting challenges posed by the implementation of the Common Core State Standards. This article presents a recent study of 13 rural school districts in the Central Valley of California and how these districts are responding to those challenges. A total of 352 teachers…

Risk Factors of Anaemia Among Rural School Children in Kenitra ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Objective: To determine the prevalence of anaemia and factors associated with iron deficiency among school children in rural Kenitra, Morocco. Methods: 295 students between 6 and 16 years old composed the study group. The level of haemoglobin was measured in a group of 295 school children. The iron status was ...

Dating Violence in High School: A Profile of the Victims.

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Reuterman, Nicholas A.; Burcky, William D.

1989-01-01

Attempted to develop profile of victims of dating violence based on individual characteristics of female high school students (N=123). Found significant differences between subjects who had and had not experienced dating violence on urban/rural residency, suspension or expulsion from schools; type of academic program; family discipline techniques;…

Female Sport Participation In South African Rural Schools: Analysis Of Socio-Cultural Constraints

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Kubayi Ntwanano Alliance

2015-06-01

Full Text Available This study was carried out to examine constraints to sport participation among female secondary school students in Hlanganani rural area, Limpopo Province, South Africa. A total of 101 female students aged 17–24 years from four secondary schools were recruited to participate in the study. A self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data. Results indicated that the dress code, lack of energy, lack of family support and family commitment were identified as major constraints to sport participation among female students. The results of this study provide practical implications for promoting and developing female sports programmes in rural schools. This study suggests that stakeholders such as parents, peers, and teachers should motivate and encourage female students to participate in school sport. Additionally, the study recommended that in order to promote sport participation in rural areas, the values, norms, beliefs, attitudes and customs that restrict females from participating in sport and physical activity should be dissented.

Academic performance: A case study of mathematics and science educators from rural Washington high schools

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Hancock, Tira K.

A qualitative descriptive case study explored courses of action for educators and leaders of math and science educators to implement to help students achieve state assessment standard and postsecondary success. The problem focused on two demographically similar rural high schools in Southwest Washington that demonstrated inadequate rates of student achievement in mathematics and science. The research question investigated courses of action that may assist educators and leaders of secondary math and science educators to help students achieve WASL standards and postsecondary success in compliance with the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001. Senge's learning organization theory (1990, 2006) and Fullan's (2001) contributions to leading and learning in times of change provided the theoretical framework for the study. Twenty study participant responses analyzed with qualitative analysis software QSR NVivo 7 revealed six themes. Triangulation of responses with secondary data from WASL assessment scores and case study school assessment data identified 14 courses of action and three recommendations for educators and leaders of math and science educators to help students meet state standards and postsecondary success. Critical factors identified in the study as needed to assist educators to help students succeed included professional development, collaboration, teaching practices, funding, student accountability, and parental involvement.

Australia's rural medical workforce: Supply from its medical schools against career stage, gender and rural-origin.

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McGrail, Matthew R; Russell, Deborah J

2017-10-01

The aim of this study was to explore the association between career stage and rural medical workforce supply among Australian-trained medical graduates. Descriptive analysis using the national Medicine in Australia: Balancing Employment and Life (MABEL) longitudinal study. Australian-trained GPs and other specialists who participated in the MABEL study, 2008-2013. Proportions of GPs and specialists working in rural locations, according to career stage (establishing, early, mid and late), gender and childhood-origin type (rural versus metropolitan). Logistic regression models revealed that establishing- and early-career GPs had significantly higher likelihood (OR 1.67 and 1.38, respectively) of working rurally, but establishing and early-career doctors were significantly less likely (OR 0.34 and 0.43, respectively) to choose general practice, contributing proportionally fewer rural GPs overall (OR 0.77 and 0.75, respectively) compared to late-career doctors. For specialists, there were no significant associations between career cohorts and rural practice. Overall, there was a significantly lower likelihood (OR 0.83) of establishing-career doctors practising rurally. Women were similarly likely to be rural GPs but less likely to be rural specialists, while rural-origin was consistently associated with higher odds of rural practice. The supply of Australia's rural medical workforce from its medical schools continues to be challenging, with these data highlighting both their source and associations with doctors at different career stages. Despite large investments through rural medical training and rural workforce recruitment and retention policies, these data confirm continued reliance on internationally trained medical graduates for large proportions of rural supply is likely. © 2016 National Rural Health Alliance Inc.

Supervision of Special Education Instruction in Rural Public School Districts: A Grounded Theory

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Bays, Debora Ann

2001-01-01

The grounded theory presented in this study describes how the supervision of special education instruction occurs in public elementary schools in rural settings. Grounded theory methodology (Strauss & Corbin, 1998) was employed in this study. Nine elementary schools in three rural districts in the state of Virginia participated in the study. Interview data were collected from 34 participants, including special and general education teachers, principals, and directors of special education. Obs...

Impact of the "Planning to be Active" leisure time physical exercise program on rural high school students.

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Hortz, Brian; Petosa, Rick

2006-10-01

The purpose of the study was to evaluate the effects of a Social Cognitive Theory-based intervention designed to increase the frequency of leisure time planned moderate and vigorous physical exercise among rural high school students attending physical education class. Students in treatment and comparison groups were exposed to an activity-based physical education curricula. The treatment group received eight behavioral skill-building lessons integrated into the existing curriculum. The Social Cognitive Theory-based educational treatment increased levels of moderate physical exercise occurring outside the classroom. This study demonstrated an impact on adolescent leisure time moderate physical exercise using classroom instruction. The intervention was most effective with students who were previously sedentary. The curricular approaches used to promote regular moderate exercise may be useful for sedentary adolescents.

Investigating the Impact of the Cisco 21st Century Schools Initiative on Forrest County Agricultural High School. Summative Report

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Ba, Harouna; Meade, Terri; Pierson, Elizabeth; Ferguson, Camille; Roy, Amanda; Williams, Hakim

2009-01-01

Forrest County Agricultural High School (FCAHS) is located in Brooklyn, a small rural town in southern Mississippi and part of the Hattiesburg Metropolitan Statistical Area. Unlike the other schools that participated in the Cisco 21S initiative, FCAHS is not part of a larger school district. Therefore, the unit of analysis throughout this summary…

How rural and urban parents describe convenience in the context of school-based influenza vaccination: a qualitative study.

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Lind, Candace; Russell, Margaret L; Collins, Ramona; MacDonald, Judy; Frank, Christine J; Davis, Amy E

2015-01-22

Seasonal influenza vaccine uptake among school-age children has been low, particularly among rural children, even in jurisdictions in Canada where this immunization is publicly funded. Providing this vaccination at school may be convenient for parents and might contribute to increased vaccine uptake, particularly among rural children. We explore the construct of convenience as an advantage of school based influenza vaccination. We also explore for rural urban differences in this construct. Participants were parents of school-aged children from Alberta, Canada. We qualitatively analyzed focus group data from rural parents using a thematic template that emerged from prior work with urban parents. Both groups of parents had participated in focus groups to explore their perspectives on the acceptability of adding an annual influenza immunization to the immunization program that is currently delivered in Alberta schools. Data from within the theme of 'convenience' from both rural and urban parents were then further explored for sub-themes within convenience. Data were obtained from nine rural and nine urban focus groups. The template of themes that had arisen from prior analysis of the urban data applied to the rural data. Convenience was a third level theme under Advantages. Five fourth level themes emerged from within convenience. Four of the five sub-themes were common to both rural and urban participants: reduction of parental burden to schedule, reduction in parental lost time, decrease in parental stress and increase in physical access points for influenza immunization. The fifth subtheme, increases temporal access to influenza immunization, emerged uniquely from the rural data. Both rural and urban parents perceived that convenience would be an advantage of adding an annual influenza immunization to the vaccinations currently given to Alberta children at school. Improving temporal access to such immunization may be a more relevant aspect of convenience to rural

A Narrative Inquiry into Rural School Leadership in South Africa

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Smit, Brigitte

2017-01-01

This article attends to rural school leadership in two South African schools through the lens of the concepts of relational leadership and emotional labour. The inquiry draws on five years of guided conversations and observations that speak to leadership experiences of hope and anticipation as well as despair and disillusionment. I worked with one…

The interactive impacts of high school gay-straight alliances (GSAs) on college student attitudes toward LGBT individuals: an investigation of high school characteristics.

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Worthen, Meredith G F

2014-01-01

Although gay-straight alliances (GSAs) are becoming more popular in high schools across the U.S., empirical studies investigating GSAs and their impact are sparse. Utilizing a sample of college students drawn from a large Southern university (N = 805; 78% White; 61% female; average age 22), the current study investigates the ways that the presence of high school GSAs affect college student attitudes toward LGBT individuals and how these relationships may vary by high school GSA location (South vs. non-South), town type (rural/small town, suburban, large city), and high school student population size. Overall, results from the current study show that the presence of a GSA in high school is a robust positive predictor of supportive attitudes toward LGBT individuals, even when considering many control variables. Such results suggest that the presence of GSAs in high schools may have significant positive and potentially long-lasting effects on college students' attitudes toward LGBT individuals.

Putting Foucault to Work: Understanding Power in a Rural School

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Freie, Carrie; Eppley, Karen

2014-01-01

This case study uses the work of Michel Foucault to challenge the normalization of the principal's role and to examine the complex power relations of a rural school and community in the midst of a closure/consolidation and subsequent reopening as a charter school. In so doing, we move beyond analysis of best practices and toward a more theoretical…

Cultural Congruence and Unbalanced Power between Home and School in Rural Ghana and the Impact on School Children

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Masko, Amy L.; Bosiwah, Lawrence

2016-01-01

This ethnographic inquiry examines the cultural congruence between home and school in rural Ghana, exploring the cultural norms of child-rearing practices within families and the institution of schooling. The data illustrate both the agreement between home and school in regard to discipline practices and instruction in morality, while…

Enhancing the Motivation for Rural Career: The Collaboration between the Local Government and Medical School.

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Seguchi, Masaru; Furuta, Noriko; Kobayashi, Seiji; Kato, Kazuhiro; Sasaki, Kouji; Hori, Hiroki; Okuno, Masataka

2015-07-01

The shortage of medical workforce in rural areas is a global long-standing problem. Due to the severity of shortages in the medical workforce, Mie prefectural government has collaborated with a medical school and the municipal governments to increase the rural medical workforce. Since 2010, this collaboration has led to an annual lecture series on rural practice for medical students. We distributed questionnaires at the beginning and end of the lecture series to examine the effect of this program. The questionnaire consisted of two parts that included an understanding of rural practice and the motivation to work in rural areas. The lecture series significantly improved the responses to the following questions "Rural practice is interesting" (p motivation of medical students and their interest in a rural career. While collaboration between the local government and medical school rarely occurs in planning medical education programs, this approach may offer a promising way to foster local health professionals.

The prevalence of uncorrected refractive error in urban, suburban, exurban and rural primary school children in Indonesian population

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Indra Tri Mahayana

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Uncorrected refractive error (URE is a major health problem among school children. This study was aimed to determine the frequency and patterns of URE across 4 gradients of residential densities (urban, exurban, suburban and rural. This was a cross-sectional study of school children from 3 districts in Yogyakarta and 1 district near Yogyakarta, Indonesia. The information regarding age, sex, school and school grader were recorded. The Snellen’s chart was used to measure the visual acuity and to perform the subjective refraction. The district was then divided into urban, suburban, exurban and rural area based on their location and population. In total, 410 school children were included in the analyses (urban=79, exurban=73, suburban=160 and rural=98 school children. Urban school children revealed the worst visual acuity (P<0.001 and it was significant when compared with exurban and rural. The proportion of URE among urban, suburban, exurban and rural area were 10.1%, 12.3%, 3.8%, and 1%, respectively, and it was significant when compared to the proportion of ametropia and corrected refractive error across residential densities (P=0.003. The risk of URE development in urban, suburban, exurban, and rural were 2.218 (95%CI: 0.914-5.385, 3.019 (95%CI: 1.266-7.197, 0.502 (95%CI: 0.195-1.293, and 0.130 (95%CI:0.017-0.972, respectively. Urban school children showed the worst visual acuity. The school children in urban and suburban residential area had 2 and 3 times higher risk of developing the URE.

A View of Rural Schooling through the Eyes of Former Students

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Pazos, Mercedes Suarez; DePalma, Renee; Membiela, Pedro

2012-01-01

Teachers who attended unitary rural schools in northwestern Spain were asked to relate their early school experiences in the form of a personal reflective and analytical narrative. Our analysis of these narratives revealed some strikingly difficult conditions; nevertheless, students tended to relate these hardships with a strong sense of…

Universal Prevention Program Outcomes: Safe Schools Healthy Students in a Rural, Multicultural Setting

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Harris, Elizabeth; McFarland, Joyce; Siebold, Wendi; Aguilar, Rafael; Sarmiento, Ana

2007-01-01

The Idaho Consortium for Safe Schools Healthy Students consists of three school districts in rural North Central Idaho and the Nez Perce Tribe's Students for Success Program. Universal prevention programs implemented in the elementary schools include Second Step and the middle schools implemented the Life Skills program. Each of the three…

TEACHERS’ PERCEPTIONS AND EXPERIENCES OF THEIR ROLE IN TRANSFORMING RURAL AND TONSHIP SCHOOLS: A DISTRIBUTED LEADERSHIP ANALYSIS

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Patrick Mafora

2014-07-01

Full Text Available Recent studies in South Africa suggest that the social, material and curriculartransformation espoused in post-apartheid legislation and education policies donot always translate into implementation in schools. This article reports on aqualitative multi case study on transformative leadership in township schools anda follow up study in rural schools. The article isrestricted to three rural and threetownship secondary schools regarding the question:how do teachers perceive andexperience their role in school transformation. Semi-structured focus groupinterviews and phenomenological steps were the basis for data collection andanalysis, respectively. Findings suggests that while teachers query their limitedinvolvement in school transformation initiatives, and question the concentration ofdecision-making power regarding transformation issues on school management,they are equally reluctant to take additional non-teaching responsibilities.Perceived contextual barriers to teacher involvement in rural and township schooltransformation are outlined.

Child Marriage, Agency, and Schooling in Rural Honduras

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Murphy-Graham, Erin; Leal, Graciela

2015-01-01

This article examines the relationships between child marriage, agency, and schooling in rural Honduras. Through an in-depth qualitative case study, we address the following questions: (1) In what ways, if any, do girls exercise agency in their decision to marry? (2) How might education enhance girls' agency, expanding their choice sets and…

Jane Austen in the High School Classroom (Open to Suggestion).

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Fritzer, Penelope

1996-01-01

Argues that Jane Austen's novels lend themselves to the high school curriculum, and that students will discover a leisurely, rural world in which the concerns of the young people are often similar to theirs. (SR)

The influence of rural clinical school experiences on medical students' levels of interest in rural careers.

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Isaac, Vivian; Watts, Lisa; Forster, Lesley; McLachlan, Craig S

2014-08-28

Australian Rural Clinical School (RCS) programmes have been designed to create experiences that positively influence graduates to choose rural medical careers. Rural career intent is a categorical evaluation measure and has been used to assess the Australian RCS model. Predictors for rural medical career intent have been associated with extrinsic values such as students with a rural background. Intrinsic values such as personal interest have not been assessed with respect to rural career intent. In psychology, a predictor of the motivation or emotion for a specific career or career location is the level of interest. Our primary aims are to model over one year of Australian RCS training, change in self-reported interest for future rural career intent. Secondary aims are to model student factors associated with rural career intent while attending an RCS. The study participants were medical students enrolled in a RCS in the year 2013 at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) and who completed the newly developed self-administered UNSW Undergraduate Destinations Study (UDS) questionnaire. Data were collected at baseline and after one year of RCS training on preferred location for internship, work and intended specialty. Interest for graduate practice location (career intent) was assessed on a five-variable Likert scale at both baseline and at follow-up. A total of 165 students completed the UDS at baseline and 150 students after 1 year of follow-up. Factors associated with intent to practise in a rural location were rural background (χ2 = 28.4, P influence practice intent (toward rural practice) and interest levels (toward greater interest in rural practice).

Using a Strategic Plan to Promote Technology in Rural School Districts.

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VanSciver, James H.

1994-01-01

About six years ago, a rural Delaware school district formed a community/staff long-range planning committee to craft a strategic plan that would identify school system values and reallocate resources. As vision and mission statements emerged, technology evolved as a major value, with three goals related to funding and accessibility. Collaborative…

Dimensions Of Basic School Dropouts In Rural Ghana: The Case Of ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The objective of this paper was to investigate the various dimensions of basic school dropouts in rural Ghana using the Asutifi district as a case study. The analysis of data (both quantitative and qualitative) gathered from several stakeholders of basic education in the district, revealed that the causes of school dropout were ...

School effects on non-verbal intelligence and nutritional status in rural Zambia.

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Hein, Sascha; Tan, Mei; Reich, Jodi; Thuma, Philip E; Grigorenko, Elena L

2016-02-01

This study uses hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) to examine the school factors (i.e., related to school organization and teacher and student body) associated with non-verbal intelligence (NI) and nutritional status (i.e., body mass index; BMI) of 4204 3 rd to 7 th graders in rural areas of Southern Province, Zambia. Results showed that 23.5% and 7.7% of the NI and BMI variance, respectively, were conditioned by differences between schools. The set of 14 school factors accounted for 58.8% and 75.9% of the between-school differences in NI and BMI, respectively. Grade-specific HLM yielded higher between-school variation of NI (41%) and BMI (14.6%) for students in grade 3 compared to grades 4 to 7. School factors showed a differential pattern of associations with NI and BMI across grades. The distance to a health post and teacher's teaching experience were the strongest predictors of NI (particularly in grades 4, 6 and 7); the presence of a preschool was linked to lower BMI in grades 4 to 6. Implications for improving access and quality of education in rural Zambia are discussed.

Mathematics Achievement with Digital Game-Based Learning in High School Algebra 1 Classes

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Ferguson, Terri Lynn Kurley

2014-01-01

This study examined the impact of digital game-based learning (DGBL) on mathematics achievement in a rural high school setting in North Carolina. A causal comparative research design was used in this study to collect data to determine the effectiveness of DGBL in high school Algebra 1 classes. Data were collected from the North Carolina…

Transformational Leadership: A Qualitative Study of Rural Elementary Schools in Fresno County

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Pina, Xavier

2013-01-01

Principal leadership is crucial to improving school effectiveness and positively affecting organizational culture in the midst of expectations from education reform mandates. Principals who provide direction and exercise influence can inspire commitment from organizational members to attain shared goals. Rural school principals face unique…

A study on health risk behavior of mid-adolescent school students in a rural and an urban area of West Bengal, India

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Nivedita Das

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Background and Objective: High-risk behaviors can have adverse effects on health of adolescents. It is essential to identify risks so that modification can be initiated before any damage. The present study was conducted among adolescents to study their risk behaviors. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional descriptive study based on the concept of Global School-based Student Health Survey was conducted by interviewing adolescents of one urban and one rural randomly selected school. For quick overall assessment of their risk behaviors, a predesigned three-point scoring system was followed. Data were analyzed using Epi Info version 3.5.1. Results: The study of six domains of important risk behaviors among 788 school-going adolescents (rural: 436 [55.3%], urban: 352 [44.7%], (male: 406 [51.5%], female: 382 [48.5%] revealed that occurrence of dietary high-risk behavior was more in urban students (11.4% than rural students (1.8%. Regarding violence, occurrence of high-risk behavior was also higher among urban students (18.8% vs. 6%. The number of mentally disturbed girls is more than boys. Conclusion: The mean risk scores in all domains, except personal hygiene, are either in ′Moderate′ or ′high′ risk grade. It is of great concern that rural and urban, male and female adolescents are at risk though their vulnerability varies.

Does rural generalist focused medical school and family medicine training make a difference? Memorial University of Newfoundland outcomes.

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Rourke, James; Asghari, Shabnam; Hurley, Oliver; Ravalia, Mohamed; Jong, Michael; Graham, Wendy; Parsons, Wanda; Duggan, Norah; O'Keefe, Danielle; Moffatt, Scott; Stringer, Katherine; Sturge Sparkes, Carolyn; Hippe, Janelle; Harris Walsh, Kristin; McKay, Donald; Samarasena, Asoka

2018-03-01

Rural recruitment and retention of physicians is a global issue. The Faculty of Medicine at Memorial University of Newfoundland, Canada, was established as a rural-focused medical school with a social accountability mandate that aimed to meet the healthcare needs of a sparse population distributed over a large landmass as well as the needs of other rural and remote areas of Canada. This study aimed to assess whether Memorial medical degree (MD) and postgraduate (PG) programs were effective at producing physicians for their province and rural physicians for Canada compared with other Canadian medical schools. This retrospective cohort study included medical school graduates who completed their PG training between 2004 and 2013 in Canada. Practice locations of study subjects were georeferenced and assigned to three geographic classes: Large Urban; Small City/Town; and Rural. Analyses were performed at two levels. (1) Provincial level analysis compared Memorial PG graduates practicing where they received their MD and/or PG training with other medical schools who are the only medical school in their province (n=4). (2) National-level analysis compared Memorial PG graduates practicing in rural Canada with all other Canadian medical schools (n=16). Descriptive and bivariate analyses were performed. Overall, 18 766 physicians practicing in Canada completed Canadian PG training (2004-2013), and of those, 8091 (43%) completed Family Medicine (FM) training. Of all physicians completing Canadian PG training, 1254 (7%) physicians were practicing rurally and of those, 1076 were family physicians. There were 379 Memorial PG graduates and of those, 208 (55%) completed FM training and 72 (19%) were practicing rurally, and of those practicing rurally, 56 were family physicians. At the national level, the percentage of all Memorial PG graduates (19.0%) and FM PG graduates (26.9%) practicing rurally was significantly better than the national average for PG (6.4%, p<0.000) and FM (12

Rural Principal Leadership Skill Proficiency and Student Achievement

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Winn, Pam; Erwin, Sue; Gentry, Jim; Cauble, Mary

2009-01-01

Because of the importance of developing highly skilled rural school leaders, statewide assessments of 259 rural Texas public school administrators were analyzed to determine principal confidence levels in leadership skill domains identified by the National Policy Board of Educational Administration (NPBEA). Important findings indicate differences…

Women's decision-making autonomy and children's schooling in rural Mozambique.

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Luz, Luciana; Agadjanian, Victor

2015-03-24

Women's decision-making autonomy in developing settings has been shown to improve child survival and health outcomes. However, little research has addressed possible connections between women's autonomy and children's schooling. To examine the relationship between rural women's decision-making autonomy and enrollment status of primary school-age children living in their households and how this relationship differs by child's gender. The analysis uses data from a 2009 survey of rural households in four districts of Gaza province in southern Mozambique. Multilevel logistic models predict the probability of being in school for children between 6 and 14 years old. The results show a positive association of women's decision-making autonomy with the probability of being enrolled in primary school for daughters, but not for sons. The effect of women's autonomy is net of other women's characteristics typically associated with enrollment and does not mediate the effects of those characteristics. Based on the results, we argue that women with higher levels of decision-making autonomy may have a stronger preference for daughters' schooling and may have a greater say in making and implementing decisions regarding daughters' education, compared to women with lower autonomy levels. Results also illustrate a need for considering a broader set of autonomy-related characteristics when examining the effects of women's status on children's educational outcomes.

Why Rural Community Day Secondary Schools Students' Performance in Physical Science Examinations Is Poor in Lilongwe Rural West Education District in Malawi

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Mlangeni, Angstone Noel J. Thembachako; Chiotha, Sosten Staphael

2015-01-01

A study was conducted to investigate factors that affect students' poor performance in physical science examinations at Malawi School Certificate of Education and Junior Certificate of Education levels in Community day secondary schools (CDSS) in Lilongwe Rural West Education District in Malawi. Students' performance was collected from schools'…

Prevalence of Malnutrition in a Rural Residential Sanskrit School in Baglung, Nepal.

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Amatya, B; Shrestha, N

2017-01-01

Under-nutrition is a condition in which there is inadequate consumption, poor absorption or excessive loss of nutrients. Nepal still faces high chronic as well as acute under-nutrition in children. The following study was conducted a Sanskrit school in rural Baglung to find the prevalence of malnutrition among the children which could reflect the nutritional status of the community. Out of 60 students admitted to the school, only 43 were present at the time when we collected our data. Weight was measured with a standard weighing scale and standing height with a measuring tape attached to the wall. Data were filled up in proforma, entered in Microsoft Excel 2013 and were analyzed and indicators calculated with SPSS version 20 using WHO Child Growth Reference data for 5-19 years and macros. Stunting (Z score Sanskrit school where the study was conducted.

Intestinal Parasitic Infections in Primary School Children in Rural ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Background: Intestinal parasitic infections are a major public health problem in developing countries where majority of the affected persons are children. This study is aimed at determining the prevalence of intestinal parasitic infections and the effect of socio-demography in some rural primary schools in Ovia Northeast ...

Crafting Dialogue in High School Theatre: Approaches and ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

On the other hand, in rural, mission and high density schools the dominant approach is collective, in which students and teachers devise original plays as a team. The implications of these approaches and the processes involved in the construction of dialogue are a central concern in this study. In the first instance, the study ...

James Cook University's rurally orientated medical school selection process: quality graduates and positive workforce outcomes.

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Ray, Robin A; Woolley, Torres; Sen Gupta, Tarun

2015-01-01

The regionally based James Cook University (JCU) College of Medicine and Dentistry aims to meet its mission to address the health needs of the region by using a selection policy favouring rural origin applicants and providing students with early and repeated exposure to rural experiences during training. This study seeks to determine if the JCU medical school's policy of preferentially selecting rural and remote background students is associated with differing patterns of undergraduate performance or graduate practice location. Data at application to medical school and during the undergraduate years was retrieved from administrative databases held by the university and the medical school. Postgraduate location data were obtained either from personal contact via email, telephone or Facebook or electronically from the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Authority website. Practice location was described across Australian Standard Geographical Classification Remoteness Area (ASGC-RA) categories, with 1 being a major city and 5 being a very remote location. The 856 Australian-based students accepted into the JCU medical program between 2000 and 2008 came from all geographical regions across Australia: 20% metropolitan (ASGC-RA 1), 20% inner regional (ASGC-RA 2), 56% outer regional (ASGC-RA 3), and 5% from remote or very remote locations (ASGC-RA 4 and 5). Having a rural or remote hometown at application (ASGC-RA 3-5) was significantly associated with a lower tertiary entrance score (pacademic achievement across years 1 to 3 (p=0.002, p=0.005 and p=0.025, respectively). Graduates having either a rural or a remote home town at application were more likely to practise in rural (RA 3-5) towns than graduates from metropolitan/inner regional centre across all postgraduate years. For example, the prevalence odds ratios (POR) for graduates practising in a rural town at postgraduate year 1 (PGY 1) having either a rural or remote hometown were 2.6 and 1.8, respectively

Cultural context of school communities in rural Hawaii to inform youth violence prevention.

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Affonso, Dyanne D; Mayberry, Linda; Shibuya, June Y; Archambeau, Olga G; Correa, Mary; Deliramich, Aimee N; Frueh, B Christopher

2010-03-01

Escalation of youth violence within a large geographic school-complex area in southeastern rural Hawaii became a major problem in 2006. How cultural forces impact the problem was an impetus to examine youth violence from perspectives of adults and children in rural communities. Gathering these data was an essential first step toward school-based youth violence prevention program development. Eight focus groups involving 86 community stakeholders included 51 adults (parent, teachers, school staff, community leaders) and 35 children aged 8-15 years old (3rd- to 10-th grade). Qualitative narrative analysis elicited major themes. Five themes emerged: (1) School-community violence takes on many forms that become entrenched in local culture. (2) Disintegration of community resources and a sense of learned helplessness underlie the escalation of youth violence. (3) Inadequate role modeling coupled with behavioral ambivalence among adults has sustained a climate of local cultural acceptance with youth violence. (4) Connection to cultural values has diminished, leading to a sense of loss in cultural identity among students. (5) Cultural values and practices are potential strategies for youth violence prevention. Cultural and community contextual factors contributed to youth violence in rural Hawaiian communities. Study implications include the need to further investigate the impact of vigilant, community involvement of stakeholders in school-based youth violence prevention program development. Cultural revitalization at family, school, and community levels may be critical success factors of such programs.

Enhancing Asthma Self-Management in Rural School-Aged Children: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

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Horner, Sharon D; Brown, Adama; Brown, Sharon A; Rew, D Lynn

2016-06-01

To test the effects of 2 modes of delivering an asthma educational intervention on health outcomes and asthma self-management in school-aged children who live in rural areas. Longitudinal design with data collected 4 times over 12 months. The target sample was composed of children in grades 2-5 who had a provider diagnosis of asthma. Elementary schools were stratified into high or low socioeconomic status based on student enrollment in the free or reduced-cost lunch program. Schools were then randomly assigned to 1 of 3 treatment arms: in-school asthma class, asthma day camp, or the attention-control group. Sample retention was good (87.7%) and equally distributed by study arm. Improvements in emergency department visits and office visits were related to attending either the asthma class or asthma day camp. Asthma severity significantly decreased in both asthma treatment groups. Other factors such as hospitalizations, parent asthma management, and child asthma management improved for all groups. Both asthma class and asthma day camp yielded significant reductions in asthma severity. There were reductions in the emergency department and office visits for the 2 asthma arms, and hospitalizations declined significantly for all groups. Asthma self-management also improved in all groups, while it was somewhat higher in the asthma arms. This may be due to the attention being drawn to asthma management by study participation and the action of completing questionnaires about asthma management, asthma symptoms, and health outcomes. © 2015 National Rural Health Association.

Problematizing the Relationship between Rural Small Schools and Communities: Implications for Youth Lives

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Cuervo, Hernán

2014-01-01

Small schools are often the hub of many rural communities. In the school space, a multiplicity of social, economic and political relationships are sustained, which enhance the vitality of the community. As such, the relationship between small schools and communities is often presented as a powerful one; however, too often as a harmonious, natural…

Community perceptions of a rural medical school: a pilot qualitative study

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Nestel D

2014-11-01

Full Text Available Debra Nestel,1 Katherine Gray,1 Margaret Simmons,1 Shane A Pritchard,1 Rumana Islam,1 Wan Q Eng,1 Adrian Ng,1 Tim Dornan2 1Gippsland Medical School/School of Rural Health, Monash University, Clayton, Australia; 2School of Health Professions Education, Maastricht University, Maastricht, the Netherlands Background: This paper explores local community perceptions of a relatively new rural medical school. For the purposes of this paper, community engagement is conceptualized as involvement in planning, delivering, and evaluating the medical program. Although there are several reviews of patient involvement in medical curricula development, this study was designed to pilot an approach to exploring the perspectives of well members of the community in the transition of institutional policy on community engagement to one medical school. Methods: An advertisement in the local newspaper invited volunteers to participate in a telephone interview about the new medical school. An independent researcher external to the medical school conducted the interviews using a topic guide. Audio recordings were not made, but detailed notes including verbatim statements were recorded. At least two research team members analyzed interview records for emergent themes. Human research ethics approval was obtained. Results: Twelve interviews were conducted. Participants offered rich imaginings on the role of the school and expectations and opportunities for students. Most participants expressed strong and positive views, especially in addressing long-term health workforce issues. It was considered important that students live, mix, and study in the community. Some participants had very clear ideas about the need of the school to address specified needs, such as indigenous health, obesity, aging, drug and alcohol problems, teenage pregnancy, ethnic diversity, and working with people of low socioeconomic status. Conclusion: This study has initiated a dialogue with potential

College Enrollment Patterns for Rural Indiana High School Graduates

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Burke, Mathew R.; Davis, Elizabeth; Stephan, Jennifer L.

2016-01-01

Postsecondary education is a fundamental tool for achieving upward mobility and economic growth. Students with an associate's or bachelor's degree earn substantially more in a lifetime and experience better working conditions and job benefits than students with only a high school diploma. This study examines differences in public college…

Cultural Context of School Communities in Rural Hawaii to Inform Youth Violence Prevention

Science.gov (United States)

Affonso, Dyanne D.; Mayberry, Linda; Shibuya, June Y.; Archambeau, Olga G.; Correa, Mary; Deliramich, Aimee N.; Frueh, B. Christopher

2010-01-01

Background: Escalation of youth violence within a large geographic school-complex area in southeastern rural Hawaii became a major problem in 2006. How cultural forces impact the problem was an impetus to examine youth violence from perspectives of adults and children in rural communities. Gathering these data was an essential first step toward…

Narratives of Resilience among Learners in a Rural Primary School in Swaziland

Science.gov (United States)

Motsa, Ncamsile Daphne; Morojele, Pholoho Justice

2017-01-01

Drawing from the concepts of social constructionism, the article provides insights on how six purposively sampled Grade 6 vulnerable children, aged between 11-15, from poverty-stricken families, child-headed households and those allegedly orphaned by AIDS, resiliently navigated their schooling spaces and places in one rural, primary school in…

Child Labour and Child Schooling in Rural Ethiopia: Nature and Trade-Off

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Haile, Getinet; Haile, Beliyou

2012-01-01

We examine work participation and schooling for children aged 7-15 using survey data from rural Ethiopia. Bivariate probit and age-adjusted educational attainment equations have been estimated. Male children are found to be more likely to attend school than their female counterparts. "Specialization" in child labour is also found, with…

Soil-transmitted helminthiasis: a critical but neglected factor influencing school participation of Aboriginal children in rural Malaysia.

Science.gov (United States)

Ahmed, Abdulhamid; Al-Mekhlafi, Hesham M; Azam, Mohammad Nurul; Ithoi, Init; Al-Adhroey, Abdulelah H; Abdulsalam, Awatif M; Surin, Johari

2012-05-01

Soil-transmitted helminthiasis (STH), among the most common neglected tropical diseases, is a major public health problem in Malaysia with a possible impact on the nutritional status and school participation of rural children. This study was carried out among Aboriginal schoolchildren, living in an endemic area for STH in Malaysia, to determine the possible relationship between intestinal helminthiasis and school absenteeism. We also evaluated whether successful treatment of the infection will affect school attendance among the subjects. Stool analysis revealed that more than 90% of the subjects were infected with at least 1 helminth species, with Ascaris lumbricoides and Trichuris trichiura infections being most prevalent. Infection of moderate-to-heavy worm burdens, low level of fathers' education and anaemia were identified as the significant predictors of high absenteeism among the subjects (P<0·05). Following treatment of the infected children, it was found that school absenteeism was reduced significantly (P<0·01). In conclusion, STH continues to have significant impacts on public health, particularly in rural communities with a negatively significant effect on the school participation of Aboriginal children. A school-based de-worming programme should be introduced and incorporated in the current educational assistance targeted towards the Aboriginal communities, under the auspices of the government.

Can Peru's Rural Schools Be Agents for Quechua Language Maintenance?

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Hornberger, Nancy H.

1989-01-01

Draws on sociolinguistic literature and on an ethnographic study of language use and bilingual education in Quechua-speaking rural communities of Puno. Consider the roles of both language planning and the schools in achieving language maintenance for Quechua. (35 references) (Author/CB)

Administrative Task Performance by Heads of Senior High Schools ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

This study aimed at examining the administrative task performance of heads of senior high schools (SHS) in Ghana from the organising perspective. The study hypothesized that there is no statistically significant difference in the compliance level of organising as an administrative task performance by heads in the rural and ...

PROFESSIONAL MOBILITY AND COMPETENCE CORRELATION OF RURAL SCHOOLS TEACHERS IN THE CONDITIONS OF EDUCATION MODERNIZATION

OpenAIRE

Olga Vladimirovna Gavrilova; Elena Aleksandrovna Zakharova

2017-01-01

Purpose. The article deals with the problem of teacher's professional activity in conditions of education modernization. The subject of analysis is professional mobility and competence correlation of rural schools teachers and the conditions of its formation. The authors’ aim to reveal the concepts of teacher’s "professional mobility", "professional competence" in rural schools and to determine its nature and structure in the changing paradigm of education. Results. The results of this wo...

Prevalence and correlates of high body mass index in rural Appalachian children aged 6-11 years.

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Montgomery-Reagan, Karen; Bianco, Joseph A; Heh, Victor; Rettos, Jean; Huston, Rebecca S

2009-01-01

In rural regions of the United States of America, estimates of pediatric obesity often exceed national averages. This problem may be particularly pronounced in Appalachian regions, where significant health and economic disparities abound. This study presents the findings of a body mass index (BMI) screening program for 6-11 year old children living in a rural Appalachian community. County-wide estimates of high BMI (>or=85th percentile) were obtained to understand the health status and needs of our pediatric community and to compare obesity prevalence rates with national averages. An additional aim was to identify subpopulations of children who may warrant clinical intervention due to demographic and behavioral risks factors of high BMI. A school-based BMI screening was conducted of 6-11 year old children in southeastern Ohio. Investigators collected 3 sets of height and weight measurements from approximately 2000 elementary school students between 2006 and 2007. Caregivers for a subset of this population also completed a health behaviors questionnaire. Thirty-eight percent of children had high BMI, with 17% at risk for overweight and 20.9% overweight. Boys were 23% more likely than girls to be overweight (chi(2)(1) = 95% CI = 1.08, 1.40) and 11% more likely to become overweight with each year of age (OR = 1.11, 95% CI = 1.07, 1.15). Overweight children were more likely to view television, eat meals at school, and live with a caregiver who smokes. Consistent with expectations, prevalence of high BMI in this sample of rural Appalachian children exceeds national averages. Prevalence of overweight varied by age and sex; boys are particularly vulnerable to developing obesity, especially as they age. Preliminary survey data suggest that eating breakfast at home and at school and increased hours of television viewing may be associated with higher BMI, especially in younger boys.

Sexuality Education in Rural Lesotho Schools: Challenges and Possibilities

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Khau, Mathabo

2012-01-01

The aim of this paper is to present and discuss some of the obstacles to effective sexuality education in rural Lesotho schools and offer some suggestions that could facilitate positive change in the current status of sexuality education. The call for education as a "vaccine" against new HIV infections places teachers at the forefront of…

Psychometric Properties of the Sutter-Eyberg Student Behavior Inventory with Rural Middle School and High School Children

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Floyd, Erin M.; Rayfield, Arista; Eyberg, Sheila M.; Riley III, Joseph L.

2004-01-01

This study examined the psychometric properties of the Sutter-Eyberg Student Behavior Inventory (SESBI) in a rural sample of children and adolescents. Thirty-eight 5th- through 12th-grade teachers completed the SESBI on 726 children in their classrooms. High Cronbach's alphas supported the reliability of the SESBI scales in this population. Higher…

Study Of Diet And Nutritional Status Of School Going Rural Adolescent Boys In Allahabad

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Surya Bali

2003-12-01

Full Text Available Research question: What is the prevalence of malnutrition among school going rural adolescent boys?Objective: To assess the diet and nutritional status of school going rural adolescent boys.Study design: Cross sectional study.Setting: Rural Intermediate Colleges.Participants: 660 study subjects (adolescents boys. 10-19 years, of classes 6th to 12th from 8 rural intermediate colleges in two blocks of Allahabad.Study period: One year (From April 2002 to May 2003.Statistical Analysis: Chi square lestResults: Overall mean height. BM1 and Haemoglobin level of adolescents were 1 56.97+9.84cm. 18.59+2.20 kg/m2 and 12.12+1.31 gm/dl respectively. Prevalence of malnutrition in terms of Stunting (24.1 % Thinness (10.5% and Overweight (1.4% was observ ed. Maximum calorie deficit was seen in thirteen-year-old boys, it was 42.5% below the RDA and minimum deficit (25.7% was observed among nineteen-year-old boys. Overall mean caloric deficit among 10 to 19 years’ adolescents was 839.57 Kcal/day. Prevalence of anaemia was observed in 371(56.3% adolescent boys. Prevalence of Vit. A deficiency. Vitamin B - complex and Vitamin C deficiency were found to be 3.5%. 25.3% and 6.8% respectively.Conclusion: Nutritional status of school going adolescent boys in rural areas of Allahabad is not satisfactory and there is a strong need for a programme especially for adolescent boys to fulfill their nutritional needs.

An Exploration and Analysis of the Modes of Rural School Consolidation in China

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Hongyong, Jia; Fenfen, Zhou

2013-01-01

Based on research involving 177 primary and secondary schools spread over thirty-eight counties in six provinces (including one autonomous region), this article explores and analyzes four modes used in rural school consolidation in China. These four modes are: complete amalgamation, annexation, crossover, and centralization-decentralization.

School effects on non-verbal intelligence and nutritional status in rural Zambia

OpenAIRE

Hein, Sascha; Tan, Mei; Reich, Jodi; Thuma, Philip E.; Grigorenko, Elena L.

2015-01-01

This study uses hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) to examine the school factors (i.e., related to school organization and teacher and student body) associated with non-verbal intelligence (NI) and nutritional status (i.e., body mass index; BMI) of 4204 3rd to 7th graders in rural areas of Southern Province, Zambia. Results showed that 23.5% and 7.7% of the NI and BMI variance, respectively, were conditioned by differences between schools. The set of 14 school factors accounted for 58.8% and ...

Views of adolescents on addressing violence in semi-rural secondary schools in Mafikeng, North West province

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Connie Mosome

2011-11-01

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to explore and describe adolescents’ views on addressing violence in semi-rural secondary schools in Mafikeng. Research design and method: A qualitative, explorative, descriptive and contextual research design was utilised. Purposive sampling was used to select adolescents from semi-rural secondary schools in Mafikeng who fell between the ages of 13 and 20 years and who were involved in community youth groups or associations. In-depth focus group discussion using audiotape, reflexive notes and naïve sketches were used for data collection. The central question which was asked was ‘What are the adolescents’ views on addressing violence in semi-rural secondary schools?’ Data were analysed by means of open coding. Results: The results showed that adolescents understood the complexities associated with violence in this country, and they suggested multiple approaches and interventions. The adolescents were of the opinion that responsible communication patterns in the school environment could build healthy relationships between learners and educators and lead to a decrease in violence in the school setting. They also felt that enforcement of a secure teaching environment through encouragement of behavioural and attitudinal change guided by school codes of conduct and provision of firm security will help reduce violence in schools.

Similarities of School Shootings in Rural and Small Town Communities.

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Kidd, Scott T.; Meyer, Cheryl L.

2002-01-01

A study examined characteristics common among young offenders from rural communities who were involved in multiple-fatality school shootings. Data on six cases involving eight offenders revealed six common offender characteristics: verbal threats, peer rejection, interest in violent media, previous violent behavior, suicidal ideation, and violent…

Managing Decline in Rural School Systems: Program Organization and Delivery.

Science.gov (United States)

Sackney, L. E.

Organizational theory offers rural school administrators several ways of thinking about retrenchment made necessary by declining enrollment. Obstacles to innovative responses to retrenchment include a shift in how organizations are perceived: from closed systems in which rational decisions are made about changes, to open systems in which…

Leading the Small Rural School in Iceland and Australia: Building Leadership Capacity

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Wildy, Helen; Siguräardóttir, Sigríäur Margrét; Faulkner, Robert

2014-01-01

This study builds on a set of Australian case studies exploring the impact of Place on the work of principals and of the importance of Place in the preparation and development of principals. The project compares the ways that principals in Iceland and Australia build leadership capacity in small rural schools. Leaders of small schools in both…

Patterns of Sexual Behavior in Lowland Thai Youth and Ethnic Minorities Attending High School in Rural Chiang Mai, Thailand.

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Aurpibul, Linda; Tangmunkongvorakul, Arunrat; Musumari, Patou Masika; Srithanaviboonchai, Kriengkrai; Tarnkehard, Surapee

2016-01-01

The rural areas of Northern Thailand are home to a large cultural diversity of ethnic minority groups. Previous studies have shown that young people in rural Thailand have low levels of knowledge on HIV/AIDS and high sexual risks. We compared sexual behaviors between the lowland Thai youth and the youth from ethnic minority groups. This is a cross-sectional quantitative study conducted among high-school Thai and ethnic students in Chiang Mai. From a total 1215 participants, 487 (40.1%) were lowland Thai and 728 (59.9%) were from ethnic minorities. Overall, 17.9% of respondents reported "ever had sex." Lowland Thai adolescents were more likely to have ever had sex compared with ethnic minority adolescents (AOR, 1.61; CI, 1.06-2.45; P< 0.01). A higher proportion of lowland Thai respondents reported having ≥ 2 lifetime sexual partners (51.9% vs. 33.3%, P = 0.003), or currently having a boy/girlfriend (59.9% vs. 45.3%, P< 0.001) compared to ethnic minority adolescents. Consistent condom use was low in both groups (22.6%). The common significant factors associated with "ever had sex" in both groups were "ever drunk alcohol in the past year" and "currently having a boy/girlfriend." Specifically, for lowland Thai youth, being around the age of 17 or 18 years and "ever used methamphetamine in the past year" were associated with increased odds of "ever had sex". For ethnic minority adolescents, being female and belonging to religions other than Buddhism were associated with decreased odds of "ever had sex". A substantially higher proportion of lowland Thai engage in risky sexual behaviors when compared to ethnic minorities. However, both groups remained vulnerable to HIV and other sexually transmitted infections. To minimize sexual risks, education program and school-based interventions are warranted to increase awareness of young people about risky behaviors and to promote essential life skills.

Patterns of Sexual Behavior in Lowland Thai Youth and Ethnic Minorities Attending High School in Rural Chiang Mai, Thailand.

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Linda Aurpibul

Full Text Available The rural areas of Northern Thailand are home to a large cultural diversity of ethnic minority groups. Previous studies have shown that young people in rural Thailand have low levels of knowledge on HIV/AIDS and high sexual risks. We compared sexual behaviors between the lowland Thai youth and the youth from ethnic minority groups.This is a cross-sectional quantitative study conducted among high-school Thai and ethnic students in Chiang Mai. From a total 1215 participants, 487 (40.1% were lowland Thai and 728 (59.9% were from ethnic minorities. Overall, 17.9% of respondents reported "ever had sex." Lowland Thai adolescents were more likely to have ever had sex compared with ethnic minority adolescents (AOR, 1.61; CI, 1.06-2.45; P< 0.01. A higher proportion of lowland Thai respondents reported having ≥ 2 lifetime sexual partners (51.9% vs. 33.3%, P = 0.003, or currently having a boy/girlfriend (59.9% vs. 45.3%, P< 0.001 compared to ethnic minority adolescents. Consistent condom use was low in both groups (22.6%. The common significant factors associated with "ever had sex" in both groups were "ever drunk alcohol in the past year" and "currently having a boy/girlfriend." Specifically, for lowland Thai youth, being around the age of 17 or 18 years and "ever used methamphetamine in the past year" were associated with increased odds of "ever had sex". For ethnic minority adolescents, being female and belonging to religions other than Buddhism were associated with decreased odds of "ever had sex".A substantially higher proportion of lowland Thai engage in risky sexual behaviors when compared to ethnic minorities. However, both groups remained vulnerable to HIV and other sexually transmitted infections. To minimize sexual risks, education program and school-based interventions are warranted to increase awareness of young people about risky behaviors and to promote essential life skills.

Delivering Online Professional Development in Mathematics to Rural Educators

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Cady, Jo; Rearden, Kristin

2009-01-01

Rural school districts struggle to attract, retain, and support highly qualified mathematics teachers. A series of four online professional development courses in the form of integrated mathematics content and pedagogy courses was designed to meet the professional development needs of rural middle school mathematics teachers. Changes in teachers'…

Bush Tracks: Journeys in the Development of Rural Pedagogies

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McConaghy, Cathryn; Lloyd, Linley; Hardy, Joy; Jenkins, Kathy

2006-01-01

The academic and social achievements of students in rural schools are very uneven and often absenteeism and suspension rates are high. Factors such as globalisation, economic restructuring, unemployment, youth suicide and family trauma, drought and environmental change (see Bourke & Lockie 2001) also impact on rural schooling and add further…

Prevalence and consequences of substance use among high school ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Alcohol, khat and cigarettes were commonly used by both high school and college students in urban as well as rural areas. While the use patterns of the substances were related to the gender, education/age and religion of the users, no clear-cut patterns were observed in relation to several other factors including ...

[Evaluation of nutritional status of school-age children after implementation of "Nutrition Improvement Program" in rural area in Hunan, China].

Science.gov (United States)

Deng, Zhu-Juan; Mao, Guang-Xu; Wang, Yu-Jun; Liu, Li; Chen, Yan

2016-09-01

To investigate the nutritional status of school-age children in rural area in Hunan, China from 2012 to 2015 and to evaluate the effectiveness of the "Nutrition Improvement Program for Compulsory Education Students in Rural Area" (hereinafter referred to as "Nutrition Improvement Program"). The nutritional status of school-age children aged 6-14 years was evaluated after the implementation of the "Nutrition Improvement Program" and the changing trend of the children's nutritional status was analyzed. The statistical analysis was performed on the monitoring data of the school-age children aged 6-14 years in rural area in Hunan, China from 2012 to 2015, which came from "The Nutrition and Health Status Monitoring and Evaluation System of Nutrition Improvement Program for Compulsory Education Students in Rural Area". In 2015, female students aged 6-7 years in rural area in Hunan, China had a significantly greater body length than the rural average in China (PNutrition Improvement Program", the prevalence rate of growth retardation decreased (PNutrition Improvement Program" has achieved some success, but the nutritional status of school-age children has not improved significantly. Overweight/obesity and malnutrition are still present. Therefore, to promote the nutritional status of school-age children it is recommended to improve the measures for the "Nutrition Improvement Program".

The Development of the Institution of School Counselors in Rural Russia

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Gurianova, M. P.

2014-01-01

Two decades of experience with the use of school counselors in rural areas of Russia has demonstrated their necessity in supporting students, but their further development and increasing effectiveness requires a significant increase in resources provided to them.

Educational Access Is Educational Quality: Indigenous Parents' Perceptions of Schooling in Rural Guatemala

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Ishihara-Brito, Reiko

2013-01-01

This paper presents the findings and implications of a qualitative study conducted in Guatemala, which focused on rural, indigenous parents' perceptions of their children's schooling and educational quality. For these parents, the simple fact that their children had improved access to school signifies a satisfactory educational accomplishment;…

Creation of a mobile rural workforce following undergraduate longitudinal rural immersion.

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Playford, Denese E; Ng, Wen Qi; Burkitt, Tessa

2016-05-01

This study followed the workforce choices of 10-years of graduates from a longitudinal rural immersion programme, which involved living for one academic year in a rural location as a medical student. The Rural Clinical School of Western Australia is a whole-of-state Rural Clinical School partnership involving two medical schools and fourteen rural/remote towns. For this longitudinal cohort study, all consenting graduates were contacted annually after graduation, with the outcome measure being rural work location (defined by the Australian Standard Geographical Classification -Remoteness Area) of any duration. There were 417 consenting graduates. Between 16 and 50% of contacted alumni worked rurally for a period of each post-graduate year. Aggregated over time, the majority took up to 30% of their postgraduate training rurally. There was considerable movement in and out of rural work. About 17% of contacted and practicing graduates were working full time rurally at the 2013 contact point. The majority remained in their state of training. The majority identified with GP and other rural-related colleges, and College-affiliation predicted amount of rural training time. Entry into rural work was equivalent for urban-origin and rural origin alumni, suggesting one year of RCS is sufficient to convert commitment to rural work. Undergraduate rural immersion is sufficient to create a graduate rural workforce that is far more mobile that was previously appreciated.

Views of adolescents on addressing violence in semi-rural secondary schools in Mafikeng, North West province.

Science.gov (United States)

Mosome, Connie; Poggenpoel, Marie; Myburgh, Chris

2011-11-17

Violence is a public health problem and often an issue of criminal justice.Violence in schools is a worldwide phenomenon and exposes adolescents to premature death. The purpose of this study was to explore and describe adolescents' views on addressing violence in semi-rural secondary schools in Mafikeng. A qualitative, explorative, descriptive and contextual research design was utilised. Purposive sampling was used to select adolescents from semi-rural secondary schools in Mafikeng who fell between the ages of 13 and 20 years and who were involved in community youth groups or associations. In-depth focus group discussion using audiotape, reflexive notes and naïve sketches were used for data collection. The central question which was asked was 'What are the adolescents' views on addressing violence in semi-rural secondary schools?' Data were analysed by means of open coding. The results showed that adolescents understood the complexities associated with violence in this country, and they suggested multiple approaches and interventions. The adolescents were of the opinion that responsible communication patterns in the school environment could build healthy relationships between learners and educators and lead to a decrease in violence in the school setting. They also felt that enforcement of a secure teaching environment through encouragement of behavioural and attitudinal change guided by school codes of conduct and provision of firm security will help reduce violence in schools.

Community perceptions of a rural medical school : a pilot qualitative study

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Nestel, Debra; Gray, Katherine; Simmons, Margaret; Pritchard, Shane A; Islam, Rumana; Eng, Wan Q; Ng, Adrian; Dornan, Tim

2014-01-01

BACKGROUND: This paper explores local community perceptions of a relatively new rural medical school. For the purposes of this paper, community engagement is conceptualized as involvement in planning, delivering, and evaluating the medical program. Although there are several reviews of patient

A Food Service Intervention Improves Whole Grain Access at Lunch in Rural Elementary Schools

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Cohen, Juliana F. W.; Rimm, Eric B.; Austin, S. Bryn; Hyatt, Raymond R.; Kraak, Vivica I.; Economos, Christina D.

2014-01-01

Background: Whole grain (WG) options are often limited in schools, which may impact rural, low-income students who rely on school meals for a substantial portion of their food intake. This study examined the changes in the availability and quantity of WG and refined grain foods offered in schools participating in the Creating Healthy, Active and…

Growing health partnerships in rural and remote communities: what drives the joint efforts of primary schools and universities in maintaining service learning partnerships?

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Kirby, Sue; Held, Fabian P; Jones, Debra; Lyle, David

2018-01-10

Aim This study explored the partnership between universities and local primary schools to deliver a classroom-based paediatric communication impairment service provided by undergraduate speech pathology students. It aimed to understand how partnerships work to facilitate programme replication. The partners included universities sending students on rural clinical placement, local host academic units and primary schools who worked together to provide paediatric speech and language services in primary schools in three sites in Australia. Rural and remote communities experience poorer health outcomes because of chronic workforce shortages, social disadvantage and high Aboriginality, poor access to services and underfunding. The study was in twofold: qualitative analysis of data from interviews/focus group with the partners in the university and education sectors, and quantitative social network analysis of data from an electronic survey of the partners. Findings Factors supporting partnerships were long-term, work and social relationships, commitment to community, trust and an appetite for risk-taking. We postulate that these characteristics are more likely to exist in rural communities.

Rural Alaska Mentoring Project (RAMP)

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Cash, Terry

2011-01-01

For over two years the National Dropout Prevention Center (NDPC) at Clemson University has been supporting the Lower Kuskokwim School District (LKSD) in NW Alaska with their efforts to reduce high school dropout in 23 remote Yup'ik Eskimo villages. The Rural Alaska Mentoring Project (RAMP) provides school-based E-mentoring services to 164…

Investigation of Current Situation of Learning Motivation, Social Anxiety and Loneliness of the Left-behind Children in Rural Primary School

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Zhang Biyun

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Objective: To understand the situation of learning motivation, social anxiety and loneliness of the left-behind children. Method: Selecting three rural primary schools in Xian’an District of Xianning City to investigate left-behind situation, learning motivation, social anxiety and loneliness of pupils in Grades 4 to 6 in rural primary school in Xian’an District by the use of the MAAT-I-A which is revised by Zhou Bucheng, the Social Anxiety Scale for Children (SASC and the Children’s Loneliness Scale (CLS. Results: (1 The learning motivation of the left-behind children in rural primary school is in a slightly higher medium level. Social anxiety is significantly higher than normal level in Chinese city, and the level of loneliness of about 1/5 of the left-behind children is relatively high. (2 The score of learning motivation, social anxiety and loneliness of the left-behind children in the level of knowledge learning has significant grade differences, without significant gender differences. (3 The level of learning motivation, social anxiety and loneliness of the left-behind children is slightly higher than that of non-left-behind children, but both differences are not significant.

Should I Say Something? Dating and Sexual Aggression Bystander Intervention among High School Youth. National Issue Brief Number 92

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Edwards, Katie M.; Eckstein, Robert P.; Rodenhizer-Stämpfli , Kara Anne

2015-01-01

Using data from a sample of 218 high school youth from three high schools in New England (one rural, two urban), this brief discusses dating and sexual aggression bystander intervention among high school youth. Authors Katie Edwards, Robert Eckstein, and Kara Anne Rodenhizer-Stämpfli report that an overwhelming majority (93.6 percent) of high…

Perceived ease of access to alcohol, tobacco and other substances in rural and urban US students.

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Warren, Jacob C; Smalley, K Bryant; Barefoot, K Nikki

2015-01-01

Ease of access to substances has been shown to have a direct and significant relationship with substance use for school-aged children. Previous research involving rural samples of middle and high school students reveals that perceived ease of access to substances is a significant predictor of recent use among rural adolescents; however, it is unclear if perceived access to substances varies between rural and urban areas. The purpose of the present study was to examine rural-urban differences in perceived ease of access to alcohol, smoking and chewing tobacco, marijuana, and seven other substances in the US state of Georgia in order to better inform and promote future substance use prevention and programming efforts in rural areas. Data were analyzed from the 2013 Georgia Student Health Survey II, administered in all public and interested private/charter schools in the state of Georgia. A total of 513 909 students (18.2% rural) indicated their perceived ease of access to 11 substances on a four-point Likert-type scale. Rural-urban differences were investigated using χ2 analysis. In general, it appeared the rural-urban differences fell along legal/illicit lines. For middle school students, a significant difference in perceived ease of access was found for each substance, with rural students reporting greater access to smoking tobacco, chewing tobacco, and steroids, and urban students reporting greater access to alcohol, marijuana, cocaine, inhalants, ecstasy, methamphetamine, hallucinogens, and prescription drugs. Rural high school students reported higher access to alcohol, smoking tobacco, chewing tobacco, and steroids, with urban students reporting higher access to marijuana, cocaine, inhalants, ecstasy, and hallucinogens. Perceptions of ease of access more than doubled for each substance in both geographies between middle and high school. The present study found multiple and fairly consistent differences between rural and urban students' perceived ease of access

The rural school meal as a site for learning about food.

Science.gov (United States)

Torres, Irene; Benn, Jette

2017-10-01

The aim of the article is to contribute to the understanding of the school meal as a site for learning about food, nutrition and the wider determinants of health in three small rural schools of Ecuador. Based on a year-long qualitative fieldwork, the multiple case study associates Vygotsky's sociocultural theory of learning with Noddings' theory of care to analyze the findings. In the study, elements of care in the relationships between children and adults seemed to promote dialogue and, in this way, adults were able to model what is required to care for others and oneself. This entails that a focus solely on food or limitations on social interaction during the school meal may reduce its learning opportunities. The study concurs with the research that the food is better received when it is more aligned with the students' expectations. In addition, the findings support the view that rural school meal programs should address the views of parents and teachers because of their influence on how the meal is prepared and provided. The article proposes that schools work within a flexible framework emphasizing attention to the caring aspects of the meal, as a means to develop this dimension of the school meal. The study also contends that a collaborative reshaping of conditions formally set by school food policy is consistent with a critical approach to food and nutrition. In connection with this, the study concludes by highlighting the value of revisiting Noddings' perspective of care as deriving from the practice of opening up and meeting the other. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

-And twelve months later, we are still waiting-: Insights into teaching and use of ICT in rural and remote Australian schools

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Neil Anderson

2007-12-01

Full Text Available This paper presents an analysis of the combined data sets from a large ARC (Australian Research Council funded study on the declining enrolments of female students in high school information technology subjects, and a SiMERR (Science, ICT and Mathematics Education for Rural and Regional Australia study of 9 rural or remote schools in the state of Queensland. The aim of examining the combined data set was to investigate any apparent differences between girls’ perceptions of studying higher level ICT subjects in rural areas compared to metropolitan areas. The findings of the study highlighted some problems experienced by female students studying outside of metropolitan areas. They perceived the subject offerings to be ‘more boring’ than their city counterparts and reported a lower level of home ownership. The paper offers possible explanations for the findings and strongly recommends that strategies need to be implemented to overcome these problems.

Views of adolescents on addressing violence in semi-rural secondary schools in Mafikeng, North West province

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Connie Mosome

2011-09-01

Full Text Available Background: Violence is a public health problem and often an issue of criminal justice.Violence in schools is a worldwide phenomenon and exposes adolescents to premature death.Purpose: The purpose of this study was to explore and describe adolescents’ views on addressing violence in semi-rural secondary schools in Mafikeng.Research design and method: A qualitative, explorative, descriptive and contextual research design was utilised. Purposive sampling was used to select adolescents from semi-rural secondary schools in Mafikeng who fell between the ages of 13 and 20 years and who were involved in community youth groups or associations. In-depth focus group discussion using audiotape, reflexive notes and naïve sketches were used for data collection. The central question which was asked was ‘What are the adolescents’ views on addressing violence in semi-rural secondary schools?’ Data were analysed by means of open coding.Results: The results showed that adolescents understood the complexities associated with violence in this country, and they suggested multiple approaches and interventions. The adolescents were of the opinion that responsible communication patterns in the school environment could build healthy relationships between learners and educators and lead to a decrease in violence in the school setting. They also felt that enforcement of a secure teaching environment through encouragement of behavioural and attitudinal change guided by school codes of conduct and provision of firm security will help reduce violence in schools.

Women’s decision-making autonomy and children’s schooling in rural Mozambique

OpenAIRE

Luciana Luz; Victor Agadjanian

2015-01-01

Background: Women's decision-making autonomy in developing settings has been shown to improve child survival and health outcomes. However, little research has addressed possible connections between women's autonomy and children's schooling. Objective: To examine the relationship between rural women's decision-making autonomy and enrollment status of primary school-age children living in their households and how this relationship differs by child's gender. Methods: The analysis uses data...

Dynamics of Community Participation, Student Achievement and School Management: The Case of Primary Schools in a Rural Area of Malawi

Science.gov (United States)

Taniguchi, Kyoko; Hirakawa, Yukiko

2016-01-01

School management in many sub-Saharan African countries has been enhanced through community participation in an attempt to improve education quality. This study uses field research in a rural district of Malawi to assess how community and parent participation differs between schools, the intentions of communities and parents when carrying out…

The contribution of farmer field schools to rural development in Nepal

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Westendorp, A.M.B.

2012-01-01

 This thesis argues that Farmer Field Schools in Nepal contributed to agriculture and rural development and to gendered empowerment. The Nepalese government, but also NGOs involved in FFS applied a rather technocratic approach towards development (Li, 1999) and assumed that will well-defined

The rural pipeline to longer-term rural practice: General practitioners and specialists.

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Marcella M S Kwan

Full Text Available Rural medical workforce shortage contributes to health disadvantage experienced by rural communities worldwide. This study aimed to determine the regional results of an Australian Government sponsored national program to enhance the Australian rural medical workforce by recruiting rural background students and establishing rural clinical schools (RCS. In particular, we wished to determine predictors of graduates' longer-term rural practice and whether the predictors differ between general practitioners (GPs and specialists.A cross-sectional cohort study, conducted in 2012, of 729 medical graduates of The University of Queensland 2002-2011. The outcome of interest was primary place of graduates' practice categorised as rural for at least 50% of time since graduation ('Longer-term Rural Practice', LTRP among GPs and medical specialists. The main exposures were rural background (RB or metropolitan background (MB, and attendance at a metropolitan clinical school (MCS or the Rural Clinical School for one year (RCS-1 or two years (RCS-2.Independent predictors of LTRP (odds ratio [95% confidence interval] were RB (2.10 [1.37-3.20], RCS-1 (2.85 [1.77-4.58], RCS-2 (5.38 [3.15-9.20], GP (3.40 [2.13-5.43], and bonded scholarship (2.11 [1.19-3.76]. Compared to being single, having a metropolitan background partner was a negative predictor (0.34 [0.21-0.57]. The effects of RB and RCS were additive-compared to MB and MCS (Reference group: RB and RCS-1 (6.58[3.32-13.04], RB and RCS-2 (10.36[4.89-21.93]. Although specialists were less likely than GPs to be in LTRP, the pattern of the effects of rural exposures was similar, although some significant differences in the effects of the duration of RCS attendance, bonded scholarships and partner's background were apparent.Among both specialists and GPs, rural background and rural clinical school attendance are independent, duration-dependent, and additive, predictors of longer-term rural practice. Metropolitan

Preferred Writing Topics of Urban and Rural Middle School Students

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Shippen, Margaret E.; Houchins, David E.; Puckett, DaShaunda; Ramsey, Michelle

2007-01-01

This study compared the preferred writing topics of urban and rural middle school students. Eighth graders (n = 205) responded to a brief survey of preferred writing topics in the descriptive writing genres of real or imagined stories, reports, and opinions. While some preferred writing topics were divergent such as society, crime, and violence,…

Edentulism in high poverty rural counties.

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Mitchell, Jordan; Bennett, Kevin; Brock-Martin, Amy

2013-01-01

To examine the differences in oral health status among residents of high-poverty counties, as compared to residents of other rural or urban counties, specifically on the prevalence of edentulism. We used the 2005 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) and the 2006 Area Resource File (ARF). All analyses were conducted with SAS and SAS-callable SUDAAN, in order to account for weighting and the complex sample design. Characteristics significantly related to edentulism include: geographic location, gender, race, age, health status, employment, insurance, not having a usual source of care, education, marital status, presence of chronic disease, having an English interview, not deferring care due to cost, income, and dentist saturation within the county. Significant associations between high-poverty rural and other rural counties and edentulism were found, and other socioeconomic and health status indicators remain strong predictors of edentulism. © 2012 National Rural Health Association.

School-to-Work Transition in Arizona: Does Public Policy Ignore Social Equality for Rural Populations?

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Danzig, Arnold; Vandegrift, Judith A.

1995-01-01

Public policy implications for Arizona of the School-to-Work Opportunities Act are explored, specifically with regard to rural areas. It is argued that should additional resources become available to the state, population-based allocations to rural areas are likely to be insufficient for meaningful educational and economic-development reform. (SLD)

Rural and urban children with asthma: are school health services meeting their needs?

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Hillemeier, Marianne M; Gusic, Maryellen E; Bai, Yu

2006-09-01

Children with asthma spend a large portion of their day in school, and the extent to which public schools are prepared to meet their health needs is an important issue. The objective of this study was to identify asthma policies and practices in rural and urban school settings and to compare them with current National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute recommendations. A stratified random sample of school nurses who represented each of the 500 active Pennsylvania school districts were surveyed in 2004 concerning nurse staffing patterns, availability of asthma monitoring and treatment-related equipment, emergency preparedness, availability of asthma-related support and case management services, school-specific procedures including identification of children with asthma and accessibility of inhaler medication during school hours, presence and content of written asthma management plans, and perceived obstacles to asthma management in the school setting. Sampling weights were incorporated into the analyses to take the survey design into account. The overall response rate was 76%, with a total of 757 surveys analyzed. In more than half of secondary schools and three quarters of elementary schools, nurses were present asthma attack were not always available. In 72% of rural schools, children were allowed to self-carry rescue inhalers, as compared with 47% of urban schools. Asthma management plans were on file for only 1 quarter of children with asthma, and important information often was omitted. Approximately half of the schools were equipped with peak flow meters and nebulizers, and spacers were available in 1 third of schools. Improvements are needed to bring schools into compliance with current recommendations, including more consistent availability of knowledgeable staff, improved access to asthma monitoring and treatment-related equipment, more universal use of asthma management plans, and greater access to inhalers while at school, including increasing the

Do benefits accrue from longer rotations for students in Rural Clinical Schools?

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Denz-Penhey, Harriet; Shannon, Susan; Murdoch, Campbell J; Newbury, Jonathon W

2005-01-01

The Australian Government has provided funding for Rural Clinical Schools (RCS) to provide substantial rural clinical experience to medical students. The strategy aims to acculturate students into rural living with the intended long-term outcome of increasing the availability and viability of rural health services. When evaluators from two of the Rural Clinical Schools discussed findings and insights relating to rural rotations from their in-depth evaluation studies of their respective schools they found a range of similarities. This article is a collaboration that articulates parallel findings from evaluations over 2 years, using three different approaches to students' placements across the two RCS: (1) students based long term in one centre (with only a few days away at a time); (2) students based long term in one centre with short-term rotations of 3-6 weeks away from home base; and (3) week rotations without a home base. The two RCS, as part of their initial establishment, put comprehensive internal evaluation processes in place, including the employment of dedicated evaluators extant from the teaching and assessment of the rural medical curriculum. Data were collected and analysed according to standard education evaluation procedures. Home-base preference: most students preferred having a home base in one centre and having as little time as possible away from that centre, while recognising that sometimes the requirement to go and learn elsewhere was useful. The reasons for this were three-fold: academic, clinical and social. Academic benefits: students enjoyed the excellence of teaching and learning opportunities in their rural sites and did not want their discipline of learning interrupted by what they perceived as unnecessary change. Students with a home base used their learning opportunities qualitatively differently from those students who had 6 week rotations. Their learning became self-directed and students sought opportunities to extend and consolidate

Motivation to Read among Rural Adolescents

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Belken, Gloria

2013-01-01

This study used quantitative methods to investigate motivation to read among high school students in a tenth-grade English course at a rural high school in the Midwestern USA. Data were collected and analyzed to replicate previous studies. In this study, when compared to large-scale surveys, respondents showed more positive attitudes toward…

Rural School Superintendents: A National Study of Perspectives of Board Presidents.

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Kennedy, Robert L.; Barker, Bruce O.

1987-01-01

Results of two surveys of 59 and 47 school board presidents from 26 and 21 different states, respectively, having district enrollments of 300 or smaller, indicated the most valued capabilities considered in hiring rural superintendents were interpersonal relations/communications skills, financial/organizational management skills, and good moral…

Rural Student Entrepreneurs: Linking Commerce and Community. (Benefits)[Squared]: The Exponential Results of Linking School Improvement and Community Development, Issue Number Three.

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Boethel, Martha

In many rural areas, both communities and schools are threatened by decreasing population and changing economic conditions. To boost both the local economy and student achievement, a growing number of rural schools are turning to entrepreneurial education. In school entrepreneurship programs, students create small businesses under the guidance of…

The Consortium for Evidence Based Research in Rural Educational Settings (CEBRRES): Applying Collaborative Action Research as a Means of Enhancing the Development of Rural Middle School Science Teachers

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Wulff, A. H.

2006-05-01

Kentucky ranks third in the U.S. in need of rural education attention. Rural schools in Kentucky serve nearly 40% of the total student population, and graduation rates and NAEP scores are low. A two-year pilot study is being completed addressing psychological, social, and content knowledge based constructs, as they apply to science and mathematics achievement in rural environments. The goals are to identify the key aspects of rural teachers knowledge and skills, use a framework to describe how knowledge and skills develop in the rural classroom, apply a useful model of intervention to promote teacher development and increased student learning. If proven successful the knowledge can be incorporated into the practice of current teaching and preservice pedagogical methods. The problem that was identified and addressed by CEBRRES is the high level of student disengagement and the shortage of rigorous stimulating curriculum models. The action taken was the development and implementation of model eliciting activities. Teachers at the target school were expected to utilize action research methodology to execute model-eliciting activities in the classroom, and then communicate results in forms that are useful for other teachers. Benefits to teachers included stipends, increased science content depth and breadth, support to achieve "highly qualified teacher status", extensive professional development, and technology, equipment, and supplies for their school. Survey instruments were devised to address school perceptions (61% worry that they are not doing well enough in school), future plans (80% expect to attend college vs. the current 47.5%), various self concepts, academic self concepts (23% feel that learning is difficult for them), and family self concepts. Science was identified by the students as the subject that interests them the most, followed by math, yet Kentucky ranks near the bottom of the U.S. in math and science training in the workplace. Geology

Eye Injuries among Primary School Children in Enugu, Nigeria: Rural vs Urban

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Nonso Ejikeme Okpala

2015-01-01

(2.04%, siblings (2.04%, and others (1.02%. The primary agents that caused an eye injury were sticks/wood, 29 (29.60%; stone, 21 (21.43%; pieces of metal, 19 (19.39%; fall, 10 (10.20%; fight/fist blow, 9 (9.918%; plastic, 2 (2.04%; fingernails, 2 (2.04%; farm tools/fruits, 2 (2.04%; and RTA, glass, and headbutt, each 1.02%. Farm implements/fruits as well as fingernails appear to be fairly common primary agents that cause an eye injury in the rural Enugu, Nigeria. In terms of prevalence, there was no significant difference between the urban and rural areas. The findings from this study showed a high prevalence of eye injury among primary school children. In terms of treatment, 58.16% of the children with an eye injury had no form of treatment for it. The children from this study with monocular blindness did not receive adequate medical treatment. Treatment of an eye injury, according to this study, was sought from chemists (19.39%, at hospital/health centers (16.33%, at home (3.06%, and from traditional healers (3.06%. The persons who treated an eye injury, as observed from this study, were doctors (14.29%, nurses (4.08%, chemists (17.35%, and traditional healers and fathers (3.06% each. The frequency of noninjury-related diagnosis made in this study was refractive error, 4.85%; allergic conjunctivitis, 1.94%; oculocutaneous albinism, 0.24%; prepapillary vascular loops, 0.40%; and then ptosis, exotropia, stye, corneal opacity, and retinitis pigmentosa, 0.08% each. The annual incidence of an eye injury according to this study was 3.48%. The majority of the causes of an eye injury, as per this study, were preventable. Appropriate promotion of preventive eye care among children may go a long way in reducing the burden of blindness from eye injuries.

Professional Networks among Rural School Food Service Directors Implementing the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act

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Lubker Cornish, Disa; Askelson, Natoshia M.; Golembiewski, Elizabeth H.

2015-01-01

Purpose/Objectives: This study was designed to explore the professional networks of rural school food service directors (FSD), the resources they use for implementing the Healthy, Hunger-free Kids Act of 2010 (HHFKA), and their needs for information and support to continue to implement successfully. Methods: Rural FSD participated in an in-depth…

The Impact an Integrated Workforce of a Rural Southwestern School District Has in the Making of a Blue Ribbon School

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Goolsby, Annie J.

2013-01-01

This study utilized a contemporary approach to qualitative research, the descriptive survey design, to discover whether a diverse workforce was a major influence in producing a rural Blue Ribbon School. The population represented the school systems of a county located in the West South Central region of the United States. In this study, the terms…

Adolescent health: a rural community's approach.

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Groft, Jean N; Hagen, Brad; Miller, Nancy K; Cooper, Natalie; Brown, Sharon

2005-01-01

Significant health problems encountered in adulthood often have their roots in health behaviours initiated during adolescence. In order to reverse this trend, school and health personnel, as well as parents and other community members working with high school students, need to be aware of the health-related beliefs and choices that guide the behaviours of teenagers. Although a wide variety of research has been conducted on this topic among urban adolescents, less is known about the health beliefs and behaviors of adolescents residing in rural areas, particularly in Canada. In general, rural Canadians are less healthy than their urban counterparts. Building on the knowledge and understanding of their own community, key stakeholders were invited to engage in the design and implementation of a participatory action research project aimed at understanding and improving the health of rural adolescents. A group of parents, teachers, students, school administrators and public health nurses engaged in a participatory action research project to better understand determinants of the health of rural adolescents at a high school in Western Canada. Group members developed and administered a health survey to 288 students from a small rural high school, in an effort to identify areas of concern and interest regarding health practices and beliefs of rural adolescents, and to take action on these identified concerns. Results indicated some interesting but potentially worrying trends in this population. For example, while frequent involvement in a physical activity was noted by 75.9% of participants, close to half of the females (48%) described their body image as 'a little overweight' or 'definitely overweight', and approximately 25.8% of respondents noted that they skipped meals most of the time. Differences between the genders were apparent in several categories. For example, more girls smoked (16.2%) than boys (12.3%), and more males (55.0%) than females (41%) had tried illegal

Assessment of common otolaryngological diseases among children in rural primary schools in south eastern Nigeria.

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Ukaegbe, Onyinyechi C; Umedum, Nnaemeka G; Chime, Ethel N; Orji, Foster T

2016-10-01

Despite a global improvement in health care delivery, rural areas in developing countries still have poor access to specialist care. This study aims to assess the occurrences of ear, nose, and throat (ENT) disorders among rural primary school children in south-eastern Nigeria. Two rural primary schools were selected randomly from one of the rural regions of South Eastern State of Nigeria. All the pupils of the schools who gave consent were recruited. A structured study proforma investigating the pupils' biodata, otolaryngological symptoms, ear, nose and throat examination findings, was used to evaluate each pupil in the presence of the teachers. A total of 246 children participated in the study. 145(58.9%) were males while 101(41.1%) were females with a mean age of 8.5 ± 2.4 years. The commonest symptoms reported were nasal discharge (20%) followed by nasal obstruction (11.1%), itching of the ears (11.1%) and sneezing bouts (10%), while 3.7% had subjective hearing impairment. The commonest ENT finding was cerumen auris (43%) and this was observed in 43.4% of males and 42.4% of females, 11% had abnormal tympanic membranes and 20% had grades 3/4 tonsils(Brodsky grading). ENT disorders are still common in children in the rural areas of developing countries. To avoid the morbidity associated with these preventable and easily manageable disorders, community health workers should be trained to manage common ENT disorders and mobile clinics with scheduled visits made available in areas where ENT services remain inaccessible. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Just-in-Time Online Professional Development Activities for an Innovation in Small Rural Schools

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Hamel, Christine; Allaire, Stephane; Turcotte, Sandrine

2012-01-01

This article describes the just-in-time online professional development offered to teachers in the Remote Networked Schools (RNS), a systemic initiative funded by the Quebec Ministry of Education (Canada), which aims at enriching the learning environment of small rural schools with the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs). The…

Investigation of air pollutants in rural nursery school - a case study

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Mainka, Anna; Zajusz-Zubek, Elwira; Kozielska, Barbara; Brągoszewska, Ewa

2018-01-01

Children's exposure to air pollutants is an important public health challenge. Indoor air quality (IAQ) in nursery school is believed to be different from elementary school. Moreover, younger children are more vulnerable to air pollution than higher grade children because they spend more time indoors, and their immune systems and bodies are less mature. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the indoor air quality (IAQ) at naturally ventilated rural nursery schools located in Upper Silesia, Poland. We investigated the concentrations of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), particulate matter (PM), bacterial and fungal bioaerosols, as well as carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations in younger and older children's classrooms during the winter and spring seasons. The concentration of the investigated pollutants in indoor environments was higher than those in outdoor air. The results indicate the problem of elevated concentrations of PM2.5 and PM10 inside the examined classrooms, as well as that of high levels of CO2 exceeding 1,000 ppm in relation to outdoor air. The characteristics of PM and CO2 levels were significantly different, both in terms of classroom occupation (younger or older children) and of season (winter or spring).

A Case Study of the In-Class Use of a Video Game for Teaching High School History

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Watson, William R.; Mong, Christopher J.; Harris, Constance A.

2011-01-01

This study examines the case of a sophomore high school history class where "Making History", a video game designed with educational purposes in mind, is used in the classroom to teach about World War II. Data was gathered using observation, focus group and individual interviews, and document analysis. The high school was a rural school…

Father's Labour Migration and Children's School Discontinuation in Rural Mozambique.

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Yabiku, Scott T; Agadjanian, Victor

2017-08-01

We examine how the discontinuation of schooling among left-behind children is related to multiple dimensions of male labor migration: the accumulation of migration experience, the timing of these migration experiences in the child's life course, and the economic success of the migration. Our setting is rural southern Mozambique, an impoverished area with massive male labor out-migration. Results show that fathers' economically successful labor migration is more beneficial for children's schooling than unsuccessful migration or non-migration. There are large differences, however, by gender: compared to sons of non-migrants, sons of migrant fathers (regardless of migration success) have lower rates of school discontinuation, while daughters of migrant fathers have rates of school discontinuation no different than daughters of non-migrants. Furthermore, accumulated labor migration across the child's life course is beneficial for boys' schooling, but not girls'. Remittances sent in the past year reduce the rate of discontinuation for sons, but not daughters.

The effects of modeling instruction on high school physics academic achievement

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Wright, Tiffanie L.

The purpose of this study was to explore whether Modeling Instruction, compared to traditional lecturing, is an effective instructional method to promote academic achievement in selected high school physics classes at a rural middle Tennessee high school. This study used an ex post facto , quasi-experimental research methodology. The independent variables in this study were the instructional methods of teaching. The treatment variable was Modeling Instruction and the control variable was traditional lecture instruction. The Treatment Group consisted of participants in Physical World Concepts who received Modeling Instruction. The Control Group consisted of participants in Physical Science who received traditional lecture instruction. The dependent variable was gains scores on the Force Concepts Inventory (FCI). The participants for this study were 133 students each in both the Treatment and Control Groups (n = 266), who attended a public, high school in rural middle Tennessee. The participants were administered the Force Concepts Inventory (FCI) prior to being taught the mechanics of physics. The FCI data were entered into the computer-based Statistical Package for the Social Science (SPSS). Two independent samples t-tests were conducted to answer the research questions. There was a statistically significant difference between the treatment and control groups concerning the instructional method. Modeling Instructional methods were found to be effective in increasing the academic achievement of students in high school physics. There was no statistically significant difference between FCI gains scores for gender. Gender was found to have no effect on the academic achievement of students in high school physics classes. However, even though there was not a statistically significant difference, female students' gains scores were higher than male students' gains scores when Modeling Instructional methods of teaching were used. Based on these findings, it is recommended

The significance of parental involvement in early childhood learner development in Mafikeng rural school / Nicholas Maikanya Lebopa

OpenAIRE

Lebopa, Nicholas Maikanya

2010-01-01

The study aims at investigating the importance of parental involvement in the teaching and learning of learners in their early years of schooling, especially in rural areas. The researcher is of the opinion that many parents in rural areas are illiterate and poor. Their disadvantages are therefore vast to their counterparts who live in urban areas. Parents could become involved in several activities occurring at school which could provide opportunities for them to be familiar w...

Rural school in the Tenza Valley, rural education and agroecology reflections on rural “development”

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Mejia Alfonso Miguel Fernando

2011-08-01

Full Text Available

The municipality of Sutatenza (Boyaca, constitutes an important reference for rural education in Colombia due to “Radio Sutatenza” (Educational Radio and the People’s Cultural Action in the mid-twentieth century. Currently, in the same town, a process called the Campesina Community School del Valle de Tenza has been brewing, under an agroecological approach, guided in its work to the cultural and productive Andean farmers, their families and their young people to cultivate in them a return the field. This article addresses this educational experience for contrasting approaches of “development” with the perceptions and visions that emerge from the rural world, without being radically different, it raises important questions for the call for and controversy of development, from the local.

Perceptions of Childhood Obesity among Rural Parents, Teachers, and School Administrators

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Tripp, Paula J.; Choi, Jin Young

2015-01-01

The purposes of this exploratory qualitative research were to describe perceptions related to childhood obesity of rural parents, teachers, and school administrators and to examine how their perceptions shape their choices and behaviors for children's eating and physical exercise. The results showed that the perceptions of childhood obesity in the…

PRODUCTIVE ACTIVITIES IN RURAL SCHOOLS: A COMMUNITY MISSION OF THE EXECUTIVE

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Lorena del Rosario Piñero

2014-04-01

Full Text Available The intention of the study consisted of valuing the productive activities for rural schools from the community mission that the executive exercises in the educational context of the Parish Ana Maria Campos, municipality Elevated place, condition Zulia. The study was considered to be descriptive, to such effects his basic action consisted of the valuation of elements considered like fundamental to identify the productive activities in rural schools from the community mission of the executive. The design of the investigation is not experimental, of field, transactional with a methodology qualitative and quantitative of dominant quantitative approach carried out in the educational context of the communities El Mecocal, El Crespo, El Rodeo, La Quebrada y el Kilometro 42. The population was constituted by teachers, parents and rural representatives to whom an instrument applied comprising questionnaire of 15 questions type Likert and 5 questions opened of triple version, validated in his content by 10 experts whose results were valued for categories and processed statistically across percentage tests. Between the conclusions there was demonstrated that the pedagogic practices are based basically on the approximation of executives and teachers by prevalence in knowing the expectations of learning of the pupils, the performance of the executives is estimated by good disposition by the teachers and the productive projects are realized across the education of the theoretical contents in the classroom of classes.

Speech-language pathology telehealth in rural and remote schools: the experience of school executive and therapy assistants.

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Fairweather, Glenn C; Lincoln, Michelle A; Ramsden, Robyn

2017-01-01

Difficulties in accessing allied health services, especially in rural and remote areas, appear to be driving the use of telehealth services to children in schools. The objectives of this study were to investigate the experiences and views of school executive staff and therapy assistants regarding the feasibility and acceptability of a speech-language pathology telehealth program for children attending schools in rural and remote New South Wales, Australia. The program, called Come N See, provided therapy interventions remotely via low-bandwidth videoconferencing, with email follow-up. Over a 12-week period, children were offered therapy blocks of six fortnightly sessions, each lasting a maximum of 30 minutes. School executives (n=5) and therapy assistants (n=6) described factors that promoted or threatened the program's feasibility and acceptability, during semistructured interviews. Thematic content analysis with constant comparison was applied to the transcribed interviews to identify relationships in the data. Emergent themes related to (a) unmet speech pathology needs, (b) building relationships, (c) telehealth's advantages, (d) telehealth's disadvantages, (e) anxiety replaced by joy and confidence in growing skills, and (f) supports. School executive staff and therapy assistants verified that the delivery of the school-based telehealth service was feasible and acceptable. However, the participants saw significant opportunities to enhance this acceptability through building into the program stronger working relationships and supports for stakeholders. These findings are important for the future development of allied health telehealth programs that are sustainable as well as effective and fit the needs of all crucial stakeholders. The results have significant implications for speech pathology clinical practice relating to technology, program planning and teamwork within telehealth programs.

Health Needs of Ashram Schools in Rural Wardha

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Amol R Dongre

2011-04-01

Full Text Available Objective: To assess the health needs for health promoting Ashram schools in rural Wardha. Methods: It was a cross sectional study undertaken in 10 Ashram schools, using qualitative (SWOT analysis, Transect walks and Semi-structured interviews of teachers and quantitative (Survey methods. Hemoglobin examination of all children was done by using WHO hemoglobin color scale. Anthropometric measurements such as height and weight of each child were obtained. Physical activity score for each child was calculated. The manual content analysis of qualitative data was done and the quantitative data was entered and analyzed using Epi_info (version 6.04d software package. Results: Out of 1287 children examined, 724 (56.3% were boys and 563 (43.7% were girls. About 576 (44.8%, 213 (16.6%, 760 (59.1% children had untrimmed nails, dirty clothes and unclean teeth respectively. More girls had (31.6% lice infestation than boys (18.2%. Eighty six (6.7%, 75 (5.8% and 110 (8.6% children had scabies, fungal infection and multiple boils on their skin respectively and 158 (12.3%, 136 (10.6% and 66 (18.3% children had dental caries, wax in ears and worm infestation respectively. Notably, 988 (76.8% children had iron deficiency anemia which was significantly more among girls (81.9% than boys (72.8%. About 506 (39.3% children consumed any tobacco product in last one month. About 746 (57.9% children were classified to have sedentary physical activity. Among 774 children (>12 years, 183 (23.6% and 34 (4.4% children felt lonely ‘sometime’ and ‘most of the times’ respectively. About 398 (94.3% boys and 342 (97.2% girls did not know the modes of transmission of HIV/AIDS. Conclusions: In conclusion, there was high prevalence of risk factors for both communicable and non-communicable diseases in Ashram school environment. This dictates the urgent need for teacher driven, needs based and school based intervention that can screen and identify potentially preventable health

Random Assignment of Schools to Groups in the Drug Resistance Strategies Rural Project: Some New Methodological Twists

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Pettigrew, Jonathan; Miller-Day, Michelle; Krieger, Janice L.; Zhou, Jiangxiu; Hecht, Michael L.

2014-01-01

Random assignment to groups is the foundation for scientifically rigorous clinical trials. But assignment is challenging in group randomized trials when only a few units (schools) are assigned to each condition. In the DRSR project, we assigned 39 rural Pennsylvania and Ohio schools to three conditions (rural, classic, control). But even with 13 schools per condition, achieving pretest equivalence on important variables is not guaranteed. We collected data on six important school-level variables: rurality, number of grades in the school, enrollment per grade, percent white, percent receiving free/assisted lunch, and test scores. Key to our procedure was the inclusion of school-level drug use data, available for a subset of the schools. Also, key was that we handled the partial data with modern missing data techniques. We chose to create one composite stratifying variable based on the seven school-level variables available. Principal components analysis with the seven variables yielded two factors, which were averaged to form the composite inflate-suppress (CIS) score which was the basis of stratification. The CIS score was broken into three strata within each state; schools were assigned at random to the three program conditions from within each stratum, within each state. Results showed that program group membership was unrelated to the CIS score, the two factors making up the CIS score, and the seven items making up the factors. Program group membership was not significantly related to pretest measures of drug use (alcohol, cigarettes, marijuana, chewing tobacco; smallest p>.15), thus verifying that pretest equivalence was achieved. PMID:23722619

Local traditions in the development of rural education

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Gulløv, John Matthias

This presentation discuss two issues of rural change: 1) cultural reproduction and transformation in the local contex and 2) the importance and effect of schooling and education in rural society, especially how school can support the rural community in times of change.......This presentation discuss two issues of rural change: 1) cultural reproduction and transformation in the local contex and 2) the importance and effect of schooling and education in rural society, especially how school can support the rural community in times of change....

Changes and Challenges: Key Issues for Scottish Rural Schools and Communities

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Dowling, Jennie

2009-01-01

Education in rural Scottish schools has changed rapidly over the past 15 years. These changes include the implementation of national curriculum and assessment guidelines, increased parental influence and a shift from local authority based management to more locally based schemes. During the 1990s, research in the field focused largely on learning…

Women’s decision-making autonomy and children’s schooling in rural Mozambique

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Luz, Luciana; Agadjanian, Victor

2015-01-01

BACKGROUND Women’s decision-making autonomy in developing settings has been shown to improve child survival and health outcomes. However, little research has addressed possible connections between women’s autonomy and children’s schooling. OBJECTIVE To examine the relationship between rural women’s decision-making autonomy and enrollment status of primary school-age children living in their households and how this relationship differs by child’s gender. METHODS The analysis uses data from a 2009 survey of rural households in four districts of Gaza province in southern Mozambique. Multilevel logistic models predict the probability of being in school for children between 6 and 14 years old. RESULTS The results show a positive association of women’s decision-making autonomy with the probability of being enrolled in primary school for daughters, but not for sons. The effect of women’s autonomy is net of other women’s characteristics typically associated with enrollment and does not mediate the effects of those characteristics. CONCLUSIONS Based on the results, we argue that women with higher levels of decision-making autonomy may have a stronger preference for daughters’ schooling and may have a greater say in making and implementing decisions regarding daughters’ education, compared to women with lower autonomy levels. Results also illustrate a need for considering a broader set of autonomy-related characteristics when examining the effects of women’s status on children’s educational outcomes. PMID:26491400

CHANGING SCHOOL NEEDS IN RURAL AREAS.

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RHODES, ALVIN E.

AS THE RURAL ECONOMY HAS BECOME MORE AFFECTED BY AUTOMATION, RURAL SOCIETY HAS BECOME MORE INDUSTRIAL. FARM POPULATION AND THE NUMBER OF FARMS HAVE DECREASED, WHILE NON-FARM RURAL POPULATION HAS INCREASED. THE CHANGING RURAL SCENE IS REFLECTED IN CHANGES IN RURAL EDUCATION. EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES HAVE GREATLY INCREASED DUE TO SCHOOL…

Thriving Together: Connecting Rural School Improvement and Community Development = Prosperando juntos: La conexion entre el mejoramiento de la escuela rural y el desarrollo comunitario.

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Boethel, Martha

Available in English or Spanish, this resource guide aims to help rural schools and communities learn ways of supporting each other so that both can thrive. Background information and basic tools are provided for starting a joint school-community development effort. Chapters contain: (1) outline of the guide and statement of beliefs about…

Relationship between school dropout and teen pregnancy among rural South African young women.

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Rosenberg, Molly; Pettifor, Audrey; Miller, William C; Thirumurthy, Harsha; Emch, Michael; Afolabi, Sulaimon A; Kahn, Kathleen; Collinson, Mark; Tollman, Stephen

2015-06-01

Sexual activity may be less likely to occur during periods of school enrolment because of the structured and supervised environment provided, the education obtained and the safer peer networks encountered while enrolled. We examined whether school enrolment was associated with teen pregnancy in South Africa. Using longitudinal demographic surveillance data from the rural Agincourt sub-district, we reconstructed the school enrolment status from 2000 through 2011 for 15 457 young women aged 12-18 years and linked them to the estimated conception date for each pregnancy during this time. We examined the effect of time-varying school enrolment on teen pregnancy using a Cox proportional hazard model, adjusting for: age; calendar year; household socioeconomic status; household size; and gender, educational attainment and employment of household head. A secondary analysis compared the incidence of pregnancy among school enrolees by calendar time: school term vs school holiday. School enrolment was associated with lower teen pregnancy rates [adjusted hazard ratio (95% confidence interval): 0.57 (0.50, 0.65)].This association was robust to potential misclassification of school enrolment. For those enrolled in school, pregnancy occurred less commonly during school term than during school holidays [incidence rate ratio (95% confidence interval): 0.90 (0.78, 1.04)]. Young women who drop out of school may be at higher risk for teen pregnancy and could likely benefit from receipt of accessible and high quality sexual health services. Preventive interventions designed to keep young women in school or addressing the underlying causes of dropout may also help reduce the incidence of teen pregnancy. © The Author 2015; all rights reserved. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the International Epidemiological Association.

Effects of a school-based stroke education program on stroke-related knowledge and behaviour modification-school class based intervention study for elementary school students and parental guardians in a Japanese rural area.

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Kato, Suzuka; Okamura, Tomonori; Kuwabara, Kazuyo; Takekawa, Hidehiro; Nagao, Masanori; Umesawa, Mitsumasa; Sugiyama, Daisuke; Miyamatsu, Naomi; Hino, Tenyu; Wada, Shinichi; Arimizu, Takuro; Takebayashi, Toru; Kobashi, Gen; Hirata, Koichi; Yokota, Chiaki; Minematsu, Kazuo

2017-12-21

This study aimed to determine the effect of a stroke education programme on elementary school students and their parental guardians in a rural area in Japan that has high stroke mortality. School class based intervention study. Eleven public elementary schools in Tochigi Prefecture, Japan. 268 students aged 11-12 years and 267 parental guardians. Students received lessons about stroke featuring animated cartoons and were instructed to communicate their knowledge about stroke to their parental guardians using material (comic books) distributed in the lessons. Stroke knowledge (symptoms, risk factors and attitude towards stroke) and behavioural change for risk factors were assessed at baseline, immediately after the programme and at 3 months. We also evaluated behavioural change for risk factors among parental guardians. The percentage of students with all correct answers for stroke symptoms, risk factors and the recommended response to stroke was significantly increased at 3 months Pbehavioural response to improving risk factors was significantly increased at 3 months compared with baseline (P<0.001). In a rural population with high stroke mortality, stroke education can improve knowledge about stroke in elementary school students and their parental guardians. We conducted the intervention as a part of compulsory education; this study was not a clinical trial. This study was approved by the Ethics Committee of the National Cerebral and Cardiovascular Center (M27-026). © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2017. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

Prevalence of HIV, HSV-2 and pregnancy among high school students in rural KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa: a bio-behavioural cross-sectional survey.

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Abdool Karim, Quarraisha; Kharsany, Ayesha B M; Leask, Kerry; Ntombela, Fanelisibonge; Humphries, Hilton; Frohlich, Janet A; Samsunder, Natasha; Grobler, Anneke; Dellar, Rachael; Abdool Karim, Salim S

2014-12-01

Adolescents in southern African high schools are a key population for HIV prevention interventions. We report on the prevalence of HIV, HSV-2 and pregnancy as indicators of high-risk sexual behaviour among high school students in rural KwaZulu-Natal. Bio-behavioural cross-sectional survey. Students completed a self-administered structured, standardised demographic and sexual behavioural questionnaire. Dried blood spot specimens were collected for HIV and HSV-2 testing. Urine specimens were used for pregnancy testing in female students. A total of 2675 (1423 females, 1252 males) consenting students were enrolled from 14 high schools between September and November 2010. The median age of students was 16 years (IQR 15-18). HIV prevalence was 1.4% (95% CI 0.9 to 1.9) in males and 6.4% (95% CI 4.6 to 8.3) in females (pPregnancy prevalence was 3.6% (95% CI 2.6 to 4.5). Risk factors for prevalent HIV infection in female students included being over 18 years of age (adjusted OR (aOR)=2.67, 95% CI 1.67 to 4.27; ppregnancy (aOR=1.66, 95% CI 1.10 to 2.51; p=0.016) and experience of two or more deaths in the household in the previous year (aOR=1.97, 95% CI 1.13 to 3.44; p=0.016). The high prevalence of HIV, HSV-2 and pregnancy underscore the need for school-based sexual and reproductive health services, and provide further impetus for the inclusion of adolescents in behavioural and biomedical trials with HIV incidence endpoints. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

Does Context Matter? An Analysis of Training in Multicultural Assessment, Consultation, and Intervention between School Psychologists in Urban and Rural Contexts

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Newell, Markeda; Looser, Joshua

2018-01-01

The purpose of this study was to analyze the extent of training in multicultural assessment, intervention, and consultation of school psychologists in urban and rural contexts. Although there is greater cultural and sociodemographic diversity in urban settings as compared to rural settings, it is unknown whether school psychologists in urban…

Measuring Spatiality in Infrastructure and Development of High School Education in Hooghly District of West Bengal, India

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Shovan Ghosh

2018-06-01

Full Text Available An increasing access and enrolment do not necessarily ensure school effectiveness or educational progress. They are, of course, other parameters of development of education, rather than being measures of standards of quality education. The present paper opts to scrutinize whether infrastructural development in schools at all ensures good educational development or not. To accomplish this, Education Infrastructural Index has been prepared through Access, Facility and Teacher Index whereas a combination of Enrollment Index and Literacy Index gave rise Educational Development Index. The study reveals that accessibility factor begets a division within rural spaces in the form of backward rural, rural and prosperous rural that manifests through the availability of the teachers and facilities. In the urban areas, wherein accessibility is not a matter of concern, facilities and teachers matter in making difference between the less developed and developed urban areas. The higher Educational Development Index at the non-rural areas indicates town- centric nature of the development of our educational system. Superimposition of the infrastructural and developmental parameters revealed that good infrastructure does not always ensure good educational achievement. In the light of these backdrops, the key purpose of this article is to measuring spatiality in infrastructure and development of high school education in Hooghly District of West Bengal, India.

Therapeutic Responses to "At Risk" Disengaged Early School Leavers in a Rural Alternative Education Programme

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Fish, Tim

2017-01-01

The identification of disengaged early school leavers as young people "at risk" can lead to a deficit-based framing of how educational institutions respond to them. A rural secondary school in Victoria, Australia established an alternative education programme to cater for local disengaged young people. A critical ethnographic study was…

Epidemiology of Hymenolepis nana infections in primary school children in urban and rural communities in Zimbabwe.

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Mason, P R; Patterson, B A

1994-04-01

Fecal specimens were obtained on 3 occasions at 10-12 wk intervals from 315 children in 3 rural villages in Zimbabwe and from 351 children in the high-density suburbs of an adjacent small town. Specimens were examined qualitatively and quantitatively for eggs of Hymenolepis nana, and these were found in 142 (21%) children. Infections occurred more frequently in younger children in the urban area but in older children in rural areas. The prevalence in urban areas (24%) was higher than in rural areas (18%), and in urban areas infection correlated with low "hygiene scores" (determined by observation) and with the presence in the household of an infected sibling. The prevalence of infection in the 3 rural communities did not correlate with availability of water, number of households per toilet, with low "hygiene scores," or with the presence of an infected sibling. Treatment with a single oral dose of 15 mg/kg praziquantel cured 84% of the infected children. New or reinfections occurred more frequently in households that had an infected sibling in an urban but not rural setting. The study demonstrates distinct differences in the transmission of H. nana infection in rural and urban communities. The data suggest intrafamily transmission in urban areas, particularly in households with poor hygiene behavior, leading to primary infection early in life. In rural areas, the prevalence of infection and the incidence of reinfection were highest in children of school age, and there was little evidence for intrafamily transmission of the parasite.

Direct Effects of the Home, School, and Consumer Food Environments on the Association between Food Purchasing Patterns and Dietary Intake among Rural Adolescents in Kentucky and North Carolina, 2017

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Alison Gustafson

2017-10-01

Full Text Available Background: Obesity rates are higher among rural versus urban adolescents. To examine possible mechanisms for the rural-urban adolescent obesity disparity, we examined the direct and indirect effects of food purchasing patterns, and the home, school, and consumer food environments on dietary intake among rural adolescents. Methods: A baseline survey was conducted among adolescents in eight rural high schools (four in Eastern Kentucky, and four in Eastern North Carolina. Participants answered questions about food purchasing patterns, dietary intake, home food availability, and demographics. The school and consumer food environments were assessed using validated measures from the School Meals Cost Study (United States Department of Agriculture-Mathematica and the Nutrition Environment Measurement Survey for Stores, Restaurants, and Corner Stores. Results: Of 432 adolescents, 55% were normal weight, 24% were overweight, and 21% were obese. There was a direct association between unhealthy food purchasing patterns (shopping frequently at gas stations, fast food, and dollar stores and consuming more added sugars, when compared to those with a healthy shopping pattern (shopping less frequently at gas stations, fast food, and dollar stores [Odds Ratio = 2.41 (95% CI (confidence interval 0.99, 3.82]. Those who reported always having fruits and vegetables in the home consumed more servings of fruits and vegetables [OR = 0.31 cups (95% CI 0.22, 0.44] compared to those who reported never having fruits and vegetables in the home. Adolescents attending a school with a low healthy food availability score consumed fewer servings of fruits and vegetables [−0.001 (95% CI −0.001, 0.0001] compared to those attending a school with a high healthy food availability score. Conclusions: There are direct associations between food purchasing patterns, the home and school food environments, and dietary intake among rural adolescents. These cross-sectional results

Direct Effects of the Home, School, and Consumer Food Environments on the Association between Food Purchasing Patterns and Dietary Intake among Rural Adolescents in Kentucky and North Carolina, 2017.

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Gustafson, Alison; Jilcott Pitts, Stephanie; McDonald, Jordan; Ford, Hannah; Connelly, Paige; Gillespie, Rachel; Liu, Emily; Bush, Heather; Brancato, Candace; Babatande, Toyin; Mullins, Janet

2017-10-21

Background : Obesity rates are higher among rural versus urban adolescents. To examine possible mechanisms for the rural-urban adolescent obesity disparity, we examined the direct and indirect effects of food purchasing patterns, and the home, school, and consumer food environments on dietary intake among rural adolescents. Methods : A baseline survey was conducted among adolescents in eight rural high schools (four in Eastern Kentucky, and four in Eastern North Carolina). Participants answered questions about food purchasing patterns, dietary intake, home food availability, and demographics. The school and consumer food environments were assessed using validated measures from the School Meals Cost Study (United States Department of Agriculture-Mathematica) and the Nutrition Environment Measurement Survey for Stores, Restaurants, and Corner Stores. Results : Of 432 adolescents, 55% were normal weight, 24% were overweight, and 21% were obese. There was a direct association between unhealthy food purchasing patterns (shopping frequently at gas stations, fast food, and dollar stores) and consuming more added sugars, when compared to those with a healthy shopping pattern (shopping less frequently at gas stations, fast food, and dollar stores) [Odds Ratio = 2.41 (95% CI (confidence interval) 0.99, 3.82)]. Those who reported always having fruits and vegetables in the home consumed more servings of fruits and vegetables [OR = 0.31 cups (95% CI 0.22, 0.44)] compared to those who reported never having fruits and vegetables in the home. Adolescents attending a school with a low healthy food availability score consumed fewer servings of fruits and vegetables [-0.001 (95% CI -0.001, 0.0001)] compared to those attending a school with a high healthy food availability score. Conclusions : There are direct associations between food purchasing patterns, the home and school food environments, and dietary intake among rural adolescents. These cross-sectional results informed the

Integrated Literacies in a Rural Kenyan Girls' Secondary School Journalism Club

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Kendrick, Maureen; Early, Margaret; Chemjor, Walter

2013-01-01

Our purpose in this paper is to foreground contextual issues in studies of situated writing practices. During a year-long case study in a rural Kenyan secondary school, we applied a number of ethnographic techniques to document how 32 girls (aged 14-18 years) used local cultural and digital resources (i.e., donated digital cameras, voice…

Creating a new rural pharmacy workforce: Development and implementation of the Rural Pharmacy Health Initiative.

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Scott, Mollie Ashe; Kiser, Stephanie; Park, Irene; Grandy, Rebecca; Joyner, Pamela U

2017-12-01

An innovative certificate program aimed at expanding the rural pharmacy workforce, increasing the number of pharmacists with expertise in rural practice, and improving healthcare outcomes in rural North Carolina is described. Predicted shortages of primary care physicians and closures of critical access hospitals are expected to worsen existing health disparities. Experiential education in schools and colleges of pharmacy primarily takes place in academic medical centers and, unlike experiential education in medical schools, rarely emphasizes the provision of patient care in rural U.S. communities, where chronic diseases are prevalent and many residents struggle with poverty and poor access to healthcare. To help address these issues, UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy developed the 3-year Rural Pharmacy Health Certificate program. The program curriculum includes 4 seminar courses, interprofessional education and interaction with medical students, embedding of each pharmacy student into a specific rural community for the duration of training, longitudinal ambulatory care practice experiences, community engagement initiatives, leadership training, development and implementation of a population health project, and 5 pharmacy practice experiences in rural settings. The Rural Pharmacy Health Certificate program at UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy seeks to transform rural pharmacy practice by creating a pipeline of rural pharmacy leaders and teaching a unique skillset that will be beneficial to healthcare systems, communities, and patients. Copyright © 2017 by the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists, Inc. All rights reserved.

Prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders among school teachers from urban and rural areas in Chuquisaca, Bolivia: a cross-sectional study.

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Solis-Soto, María Teresa; Schön, Anabel; Solis-Soto, Angel; Parra, Manuel; Radon, Katja

2017-10-27

Musculoskeletal disorders (MSD) are important health problems in working populations. The study aimed to determine the prevalence of MSD among school teachers from urban and rural areas in Chuquisaca, Bolivia. A cross-sectional study was conducted in 60 randomly selected schools. In total, 1062 teachers were invited to participate (response 58%). The Spanish version of the Standardized Nordic questionnaire was used assessing the 12-months and 7-days prevalence of MSD as well as the 12-months prevalence of work limiting pain. Prevalence were calculated for the different parts of the body; as summary measures, MSD in any part of the body and in ≥3 parts of the body were assessed. Crude and adjusted odds ratios with 95% confidence intervals were calculated using logistic regression models adjusting for age, sex, teaching level and school type. Prevalence of MSD in any part of the body was 86% during the last 12 months, 63% during the last 7 days and 15% for work limiting pain. MSD was most common in the neck (12-months prevalence 47%) and least common in the wrist/hands (26%). In the adjusted model, teachers working in rural areas presented significantly higher odds than teachers from urban schools for work-limiting pain during the last 12-months considering any part of the body (aOR 2.2; 95% CI 1.1-4.1), and for ≥3 parts of the body (aOR 3.7; 95% CI 1.3-10.6). The prevalence of MSD is high in School teachers, even more in teachers working in rural areas. It is needed to identify risk factors for MSD in teachers in order to propose appropriate strategies to control and reduce it.

A Personal Narrative: The Synergistic Leadership Theory as It Applies to the Leadership of a Principal of a Rural Intermediate School

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Manuel, Karlis R.

2010-01-01

The purpose of this narrative study was two-fold. First, the researcher, an African American male principal in a rural, high minority, intermediate school, used to reflect on strategies implemented to enhance the learning environment that subsequently increased student achievement. Second, determined through the study was how personal leadership…

A Year in the Life: Academic Coaching and the Role of Collaboration in a Rural Ohio School

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Hartman, Sara Lohrman

2012-01-01

This year-long qualitative case study provides an analysis of the work of a math coach as she built collaborative partnerships in a rural Appalachian school. Academic coaches provide embedded professional development and the theoretical hope of improving teachers' instructional abilities and thereby raising student achievement. As rural schools…

Including Migrant Worker Children in the Learning and Social Context of the Rural Primary School

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Hamilton, Paula

2013-01-01

Many of the larger towns and cities within the UK have long experienced a cosmopolitan mix of cultures, resulting in ethnically and linguistically diverse schools. However, the wider expansion of the European Union in 2004 has brought about significant changes and challenges for many schools, particularly for those in more rural areas. This…

Outdoor Education in Rural Primary Schools in New Zealand: A Narrative Inquiry

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Remington, Tara; Legge, Maureen

2017-01-01

This research examines teaching outdoor education in two rural primary schools in Aotearoa New Zealand. The aim was to give "voice" to how outdoor education is taught, programmed and understood. Underpinning the research was the question: what factors enable/constrain teachers' ability to implement outdoor education? The findings…

Rural Schools and Traditional Knowledge: Representing Alternatives to a Consumer-Dependent Existence

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Barter, Barbara

2014-01-01

Given the present pace of educational globalization, educators--especially in rural schools--will benefit from an awareness of traditional knowledge as a significant contributor to sustainability. Many countries operate through a system whereby major decision making, especially in such areas as education and health, emanate from state levels of…

at advanced level in rural secondary schoolş in Makonde District in ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Variations in the Geography 'A' level results for both the Physical and Human Geography components have been noticed in both ... It cantherefore be concluded that the variations in the results for Advanced level Geography in rural secondary schools ..... not problem-solving approaches yet diversification of teaching and ...

Perceptions of Teen Pregnancy among High School Students in Sweet Home, Oregon

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Little, Tim; Henderson, Jessica; Pedersen, Peggy; Stonecipher, Linda

2010-01-01

Background: The purpose of this study was to gain insights into the perceptions and attitudes about teen pregnancy among high school students in a rural area with high teen pregnancy rates. Methods: Five focus groups were conducted with: (1) females in 9th-10th grades; (2) females in 11th-12th grades; (3) males in 9th-10th grades; (4) males in…

High School Principals and the High School Journalism Program.

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Peterson, Jane W.

A study asked selected high school principals to respond to statements about the value of high school journalism to the high school student and about the rights and responsibilities of the high school journalist. These responses were then checked against such information as whether or not the high school principal had worked on a high school…

Comparison of nutritional status of rural and urban school students receiving midday meals in schools of Bengaluru, India: a cross sectional study.

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Shalini, C N; Murthy, N S; Shalini, S; Dinesh, R; Shivaraj, N S; Suryanarayana, S P

2014-01-01

The objective of the study was to assess the impact of the mid day meal program by assessing the nutritional status of school students aged 5-15 years receiving midday meals in rural schools and compare them with those in urban schools in Bengaluru, India. This cross sectional study involved a sample of 4378 students from government and aided schools. Weight and height were measured and compared with ''means'' and ''percentiles'' of expected standards as endorsed by the Indian Association of Pediatrics. Regression coefficients were also estimated to assess the rate of growth. In all age groups and in both sexes, the observed mean weight and height were below the expected standards. The study findings showed that 13.8% and 13.1% of the studied students were underweight and stunted, respectively (below the third percentile for weight and height for age). A higher proportion of rural students were below the third percentile for both weight and height compared with urban students (weight: 16.3% and 11.5%; height: 17.0% and 10.0%; P nutrition in children and indirectly impact school performance, attendance and literacy.

Stunting and soil-transmitted-helminth infections among school-age pupils in rural areas of southern China

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Chen Ying-Dan

2010-10-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Stunting and soil-transmitted helminth (STH infections including ascariasis, trichuriasis and hookworm remain major public health problems in school-age pupils in developing countries. The objectives of this study were to determine the prevalence of stunting for children and its association with three major soil-transmitted helminths (STH in rural areas of southern China. The study also aims to determine risk factors for stunting and to provide guidance on the prevention and control of stunting and STH infections for future studies in this field. Results A cross-sectional survey was carried out in the poor rural areas in Guangxi Autonomous Regional and Hainan Province where STH prevalence was higher between September and November 2009. Pupils were from 15 primary schools. All the school-age pupils aged between 9 and 12 years old (mean age 11.2 ± 3.2 years, from grades three to six took part in this study. Study contents include questionnaire surveys, physical examination and laboratory methods (stool checking for eggs of three major STH infections and haemoglobin determination was performed for the anaemia test. Finally 1031 school-age pupils took part in survey. The results showed that the overall prevalence of stunting (HAZ Conclusion The present study showed that stunting was highly prevalent among the study population and STH infection is one of the important risk factors for stunting, with moderate-to-heavy intensity infections being the main predictor of stunting. Hence, additional interventions measures such as to promote de-worming treatment, to enhance health education and to improve hygiene and sanitation in order to reduce stunting in this population, are needed throughout the primary school age group.

The impact of a museum travelling exhibition on middle school teachers and students from rural, low-income homes

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Badger, James; Harker, Richard J. W.

2016-06-01

Schools may be places of learning, but a great deal of learning occurs outside of school. A growing body of literature investigates how school field trips allow rural students to make real-life connections with their school curriculum. This paper contributes to that area of research by describing how students from five middle schools in the United States responded to a travelling museum exhibition hosted at a non-museum site. The authors explore the impact of the exhibition on students from poor, rural backgrounds, discussing how it helped them to engage with themes such as freedom of expression, democracy, citizenship and Holocaust education. The results show that, by connecting curricular content with real-life situations, field trips such as this have the potential to change not only students' understanding of the curriculum, but also their teachers' estimation of their abilities.

Closing the Excellence Gap: Investigation of an Expanded Talent Search Model for Student Selection into an Extracurricular STEM Program in Rural Middle Schools

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Assouline, Susan G.; Ihrig, Lori M.; Mahatmya, Duhita

2017-01-01

High-potential students from underresourced rural schools face barriers that reduce options for academic advancement, which widens the excellence gap between them and their more affluent, but similar ability peers. The goal of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of an expanded above-level testing model to identify high-potential rural…

Absorptive Capacity in Rural Schools: Bending Not Breaking during Disruptive Innovation Implementation

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Zuckerman, Sarah J.; Wicox, Kristen Campbell; Schiller, Kathryn S.; Durand, Francesca T.

2018-01-01

Rural schools have repeatedly been subjected to standardizing state and federal education policies that seek to minimize variance in instructional systems and increase the number of college- and career-ready graduates. The Race to the Top policy agenda combined standards-based and accountability-based reforms to meet these objectives and once…

Women Managing/Managing Women: The Marginalization of Female Leadership in Rural School Settings.

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Sherman, Ann

2000-01-01

Examines 21 female administrators' accounts of their experience in a rural Nova Scotia school district. Presents preliminary findings of these women's own responses, resistances, and initiatives while attempting to legitimize and implement their preferred leadership styles, which stressed relationships, instructional leadership, communication, and…

A Survey of Professional Training and Certification of Rural Administrators and Rural Teachers in New Mexico.

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Tingley, Wayne

Teachers and administrators in rural New Mexico schools and preservice teachers at New Mexico State University were surveyed to determine components that could be included in teacher education programs to augment prospective rural teachers' skills and to ease problems of recruitment/retention of certified personnel in rural schools. Questionnaires…

Propaganda, Censorship, and Civic Education in Rural Missouri Schools during World War I: The Benton County Experience.

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Mitchell, William I.

This study describes the patriotic public rituals, the propaganda materials, and the censorship activities that were part of the school experience in Missouri during World War I. It also examines the apparent responses of two rural Benton County communities to those rituals, materials and activities. Benton County is a rural area of central…

Food Insecurity and Rural Adolescent Personal Health, Home, and Academic Environments.

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Shanafelt, Amy; Hearst, Mary O; Wang, Qi; Nanney, Marilyn S

2016-06-01

Food-insecure (FIS) adolescents struggle in school and with health and mental health more often than food-secure (FS) adolescents. Rural communities experience important disparities in health, but little is known about rural FIS adolescents. This study aims to describe select characteristics of rural adolescents by food-security status. Baseline analysis using data from a randomized trial to increase school breakfast participation (SBP) in rural Minnesota high schools. Students completed a survey regarding food security, characteristics, and home and school environments. Schools provided academic data and staff measured height and weight. Food security was dichotomized as FS vs FIS. Bivariate analysis, multivariate linear/logistic regression, and testing for interaction of food security and sex were performed. Food-insecure adolescents reported poorer health, less exercise, had lower grades, and higher SBP (p breakfast (p = .05). All associations except reported benefits remained significant after adjustment. Interactions were identified with girls' grade point average and with boys' caloric and added sugar intake. Negative associations among food insecurity and positive youth development are identified in our sample. Policy and environmental strategies should address the complexities of these associations, including exploration of the role of school meals. © 2016, American School Health Association.

Knowledge, Attitudes and Perceptions of Secondary School Teenagers towards HIV Transmission and Prevention in Rural and Urban Areas of Central Uganda.

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Rukundo, Annamaria; Muwonge, Mathias M; Mugisha, Danny; Aturwanaho, Dickens; Kasangaki, Arabat; Bbosa, Godfrey S

2016-01-01

HIV/AIDS has remained a challenge in Uganda among adolescent despite the ABC strategy used globally to prevent HIV infection. The study assessed the knowledge, attitudes and perceptions of secondary school teenagers towards HIV transmission and prevention in rural and urban schools of central Uganda. A cross sectional study using self-administered questionnaires and structured interviews was used to collect data from adolescents in secondary schools in Kampala and Buikwe districts. Eight schools were randomly selected with 4 schools in each district. A total of 245 students from schools were recruited in the study with 120 and 125 students from urban Kampala and rural Buikwe district schools respectively. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 11. The results were expressed as percentages in a 2 × 2 tables. The mean age of the participants was 15.9 ± 2.5 years. Results showed that 95.1% participants had knowledge on HIV/AIDS in both urban and rural schools and 27.4% knew all the modes of HIV transmission. About 83.7% knew the ABC strategy for HIV prevention and 37.6% would talk about HIV/AIDS mainly with friends. For HIV cure, 62.0% of study participants reported non-cure and 24.9% were not sure. The remaining 13.1% of the study participants in both urban and rural schools reported that HIV can be cured. And the modes of curing HIV that were mentioned by participants included spiritual healing, transmitting it to others through sexual intercourse and that antiretroviral (ARVs) drugs can cure it as well as that it can be cured abroad. About 65.7% of participants reported recognition of one with HIV/ AIDS and by having red lips, being sickly; weight loss, skin rash and being very rich were mentioned. About 39.2% of the study participants mentioned that they cannot get infected with HIV and can't contract HIV at all and 18.4% believed that chances of getting HIV infection were high. On perception and attitude on condoms and their use, participants reported that it is

What They Think, What They Know, What They Do: Rural Secondary Teachers' Motivational Beliefs and Strategies

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Hardré, Patricia L.; Hennessey, Maeghan N.

2013-01-01

This research examined how rural high school teachers' beliefs and perceptions of themselves, their students and the challenge of motivation influence their strategic classroom and interpersonal motivating practice. Participants were 13 teachers in three rural, public high schools in two US states. Teachers' beliefs about motivation…

Health risk behavior of rural secondary school students in Zimbabwe.

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Gwede, C K; McDermott, R J; Westhoff, W W; Mushore, M; Mushore, T; Chitsika, E; Majange, C S; Chauke, P

2001-10-01

A socioculturally appropriate health risk behavior instrument, modeled after the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS), was administered to 717 secondary school students in a rural area of Zimbabwe. Comparisons of risk behaviors by gender and school grade were made using univariate procedures and multiple logistic regression. Males were significantly more likely than females to have had sexual intercourse (odds ratio = 5.02, p < .0001) and to report drug use behaviors. Males also were significantly more likely to report early initiation (by age 13 years) of alcohol use, cigarette smoking, and marijuana use. School site violence and drug use behaviors also were prevalent in this sample. An interaction between gender and grade was evident for some behaviors. Additional research may further the understanding of these risk behaviors and facilitate development of effective, culturally relevant risk reduction programs.

Association of School Environment and After-School Physical Activity with Health-Related Physical Fitness among Junior High School Students in Taiwan

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Kai-Yang Lo

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The relationship between students’ school environment and exercise habits is complex, and is affected by numerous factors. However, the few studies that have been conducted on this relationship have reported inconsistent results, especially regarding Taiwanese students. We conducted this cross-sectional study to investigate the association of school environment and after-school physical activity with health-related physical fitness in Taiwanese adolescents. Data were drawn from a national survey conducted by the Ministry of Education in Taiwan in 2008 of health-related physical fitness measurements among junior high school students (649,442 total in grades seven to nine.School environment (level of urbanization, school size, presence of sports field or gymnasium and after-school physical activity were assessed for their association with adolescents’ physical fitness measurements (body mass index (BMI, bent-leg sit-ups, 800-/1600-m run, sit-and-reach, standing long jump. Urban boys and girls perform significantly better in muscle strength and endurance, cardiorespiratory endurance, flexibility, and explosive power; girls from rural areas exhibited significantly worse scores in body composition. Boys from large-size schools performed the worst in cardiorespiratory endurance, flexibility, and explosive power; whereas girls from large-size schools performed the worst in muscle strength, muscle endurance, and explosive power, but had the best score for body composition. However, the differences in body composition of boys from large-, medium-, and small- size schools did not reach a statistically significant level. Adolescents of both genders in schools with a sports field or gymnasium exhibited significantly better in muscle strength and endurance, cardiorespiratory endurance, and explosive power. Boys in schools with a sports field or gymnasium had significantly better body composition; girls in schools with sports field or gymnasium differed

Association of School Environment and After-School Physical Activity with Health-Related Physical Fitness among Junior High School Students in Taiwan

Science.gov (United States)

Lo, Kai-Yang; Wu, Min-Chen; Tung, Shu-Chin; Hsieh, City C.; Yao, Hsueh-Hua; Ho, Chien-Chang

2017-01-01

The relationship between students’ school environment and exercise habits is complex, and is affected by numerous factors. However, the few studies that have been conducted on this relationship have reported inconsistent results, especially regarding Taiwanese students. We conducted this cross-sectional study to investigate the association of school environment and after-school physical activity with health-related physical fitness in Taiwanese adolescents. Data were drawn from a national survey conducted by the Ministry of Education in Taiwan in 2008 of health-related physical fitness measurements among junior high school students (649,442 total) in grades seven to nine. School environment (level of urbanization, school size, presence of sports field or gymnasium) and after-school physical activity were assessed for their association with adolescents’ physical fitness measurements (body mass index (BMI), bent-leg sit-ups, 800-/1600-m run, sit-and-reach, standing long jump). Urban boys and girls perform significantly better in muscle strength and endurance, cardiorespiratory endurance, flexibility, and explosive power; girls from rural areas exhibited significantly worse scores in body composition. Boys from large-size schools performed the worst in cardiorespiratory endurance, flexibility, and explosive power; whereas girls from large-size schools performed the worst in muscle strength, muscle endurance, and explosive power, but had the best score for body composition. However, the differences in body composition of boys from large-, medium-, and small- size schools did not reach a statistically significant level. Adolescents of both genders in schools with a sports field or gymnasium exhibited significantly better in muscle strength and endurance, cardiorespiratory endurance, and explosive power. Boys in schools with a sports field or gymnasium had significantly better body composition; girls in schools with sports field or gymnasium differed significantly in

Under-nutrition among adolescents: a survey in five secondary schools in rural Goa.

Science.gov (United States)

Banerjee, Sohini; Dias, Amit; Shinkre, Rajal; Patel, Vikram

2011-01-01

This study was done in 2008-09 to assess the nutritional status among adolescents (10-19 years of age, Classes V-XII) in 5 schools in rural Goa to inform the content of a health promotion intervention in these schools. Three methods were used. First, nutritional status was measured by assessing body mass index among 1015 students during a health camp in each school. Second, a diet analysis was done to measure energy and protein Intake of 76 randomly selected underweight students. Third, a self-report questionnaire survey measured the prevalence of hunger among 684 students. One-third of students (338; 37.8% boys and 27.5% girls) who attended the health camps were underweight and 59.2% of the 684 students who completed the survey reported experiencing hunger due to inadequate food consumption. More boys were underweight than girls (pissue and ways to address it. There is an immediate need to address the high burden of hunger and under-nutrition in adolescents of both sexes in schools by instituting routine annual monitoring of nutritional status, extending the mid-day meal programme to all school-going adolescents, providing nutritional counselling for underweight adolescents and expanding research on the causes and impact of under-nutrition and evaluation of the impact of the enhanced mid-day meal programme.

Urban-Rural Literacy Gaps in Sub-Saharan Africa: The Roles of Socioeconomic Status and School Quality

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Zhang, Yanhong

2006-01-01

In this article, the author documents the learning disadvantage of rural primary school students in sub-Saharan Africa and attempts to identify the factors underlying such disadvantages. Analyzing data from 14 school systems participating in the second study of the Southern and Western Africa Consortium for Monitoring Educational Quality (SACMEQ…

Eye Injuries Among Primary School Children in Enugu, Nigeria: Rural vs Urban.

Science.gov (United States)

Okpala, Nonso Ejikeme; Umeh, Rich Enujioke; Onwasigwe, Ernest Nnemeka

2015-01-01

A cross-sectional survey of the prevalence of eye injuries among primary school children in two noncontiguous local government areas of Enugu State of Nigeria was undertaken. One of the local government areas was urban, while the other one was rural. Children who were children children had evidence of injury to the eye or its adnexa. Eyelid scar was the commonest (5.34%) followed by eyebrow scar (2.10%). Canthal scar was the next (0.32%). Two girls had monocular blindness from eye trauma (0.16%). One had leucoma, while the other had a dislocated lens. All the monocular blind children of this study were from the urban area. The home was the commonest environment for an eye injury (69.39%) followed by the school (20.41%). The farm was next in frequency (7.14%), especially among boys in the rural area. The church and the road/street constituted the remainder. Regarding persons causing the injury, the child's playmate was the commonest (55.10%) followed by self (27.55%). Parents and guardians were the next (9.18%). These were injuries associated with corporal punishment. Corporal punishment-related eye injury, according to this study, appears to be common in the rural area and affects boys predominantly. Other human intermediary agents that cause an eye injury include passersby (2.04%), RTA (2.04%), siblings (2.04%), and others (1.02%). The primary agents that caused an eye injury were sticks/wood, 29 (29.60%); stone, 21 (21.43%); pieces of metal, 19 (19.39%); fall, 10 (10.20%); fight/fist blow, 9 (9.918%); plastic, 2 (2.04%); fingernails, 2 (2.04%); farm tools/fruits, 2 (2.04%); and RTA, glass, and headbutt, each 1.02%. Farm implements/fruits as well as fingernails appear to be fairly common primary agents that cause an eye injury in the rural Enugu, Nigeria. In terms of prevalence, there was no significant difference between the urban and rural areas. The findings from this study showed a high prevalence of eye injury among primary school children. In terms of

A qualitative study of medical students in a rural track: views on eventual rural practice.

Science.gov (United States)

Roseamelia, Carrie; Greenwald, James L; Bush, Tiffany; Pratte, Morgan; Wilcox, Jessica; Morley, Christopher P

2014-04-01

Rural tracks (RTs) exist within medical schools across the United States. These programs often target those students from rural areas and those with primary care career interests, given that these factors are robust predictors of eventual rural practice. However, only 26% to 64% of graduates from RTs enter eventual rural practice. We conducted a qualitative, exploratory study of medical students enrolled in one school's RT, examining their interests in rural training, specialization, and eventual rural practice, via open coding of transcripts from focus groups and in-depth individual interviews, leading to identification of emerging themes. A total of 16 out of 54 eligible first- and second-year preclinical medical students participated in focus group sessions, and a total of seven out of 17 eligible third- and fourth-year medical students participated in individual interviews. Analyses revealed the recognition of a "Rural Identity," typical characteristics, and the importance of "Program Fit" and "Intentions for Practice" that trended toward family medicine specialization and rural practice. However, nuances within the comments reveal incomplete commitment to rural practice. In many cases, student preference for rural practice was driven largely by a disinterest in urban practice. Students with rural and primary care practice interests are often not perfectly committed to rural practice. However, RTs may provide a haven for such students within medical school.

SATISFACTION OF HUMAN RESOURCES IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS FROM ROMANIAN RURAL AREAS

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Cristian Stefanescu

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Organization’s human resource is often called the "most valuable asset", although it does not appear in the organization’s accounts. Organization's success depends on the way in which its members implement its objectives; therefore the satisfaction of human resources is crucial for achieving good results in the organization. In this work, we conducted an analysis of the particularities of human resource management in secondary education area and an empirical study on the satisfaction of human resources in a typical rural Romanian schools. It is imperative for Romania to adopt a strategy to improve the education system in order to include new approaches of organizational governance and human resources management so that human resources within the education system have a high degree of satisfaction from the work performed.

Racism and Bullying in Rural Primary Schools: Protecting White Identities Post Macpherson

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Myers, Martin; Bhopal, Kalwant

2017-01-01

This article examines how two primary schools in rural England with overwhelmingly White populations (of students and teachers) dealt with incidents of racist bullying in relation to their race equality policies. The data are drawn from in-depth interviews with parents, head teachers and teachers. The article draws on the work of Foucault to argue…

Breakfast, midday meals and academic achievement in rural primary schools in Uganda: implications for education and school health policy.

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Acham, Hedwig; Kikafunda, Joyce K; Malde, Marian K; Oldewage-Theron, Wilna H; Egal, Abdulkadir A

2012-01-01

Underachievement in schools is a global problem and is especially prevalent in developing countries. Indicators of educational performance show that Uganda has done remarkably well on education access-related targets since the introduction of universal primary education in 1997. However, educational outcomes remain disappointing. The absence of school feeding schemes, one of the leading causes of scholastic underachievement, has not been given attention by the Ugandan authorities. Instead, as a national policy, parents are expected to provide meals even though many, especially in the rural areas, cannot afford to provide even the minimal daily bowl of maize porridge. To assess and demonstrate the effect of breakfast and midday meal consumption on academic achievement of schoolchildren. We assessed household characteristics, feeding patterns and academic achievement of 645 schoolchildren (aged 9-15 years) in Kumi district, eastern Uganda, in 2006-2007, using a modified cluster sampling design which involved only grade 1 schools (34 in total) and pupils of grade four. Household questionnaires and school records were used to collect information on socio-demographic factors, feeding patterns and school attendance. Academic achievement was assessed using unstandardized techniques, specifically designed for this study. Underachievement (the proportion below a score of 120.0 points) was high (68.4%); in addition, significantly higher achievement and better feeding patterns were observed among children from the less poor households (pbreakfast and a midday meal, particularly for boys (p1.0). We observed that underachievement was relatively high; inadequate patterns of meal consumption, particularly for the most poor, significantly higher scores among children from 'less poor' households and a significant association between academic achievement and breakfast and midday meal consumption.

Eliciting and utilizing rural students' funds of knowledge in the service of science learning: An action research study

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Lloyd, Ellen M.

Several researchers have pointed out the failures of current schooling to adequately prepare students in science and called for radical reform in science education to address the problem. One dominant critique of science education is that several groups of students are not well served by current school science practices and discourses. Rural students represent one of these underserved populations. Yet, there is little in the literature that speaks specifically to reforming the science education of rural students. Utilizing action research as a methodology, this study was designed to learn more about the unique knowledge and life experiences of rural students, and how these unique knowledge, skills and interests could suggest new ways to improve science education in rural schools. Informed by this ultimate goal, I created an after school science club where the participating high school students engaged in solving a local watershed problem, while explicitly bringing to bear their unique backgrounds, local knowledge and life experiences from living in a rural area of Upstate New York. Using Funds of Knowledge as the theoretical framework, this after-school club served as the context to investigate the following research questions: (1) What science-related funds of knowledge do rural high school students have? (2) How were these funds of knowledge capitalized on to support science learning in an after-school setting?

Educational Barriers of Rural Youth: Relation of Individual and Contextual Difference Variables

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Irvin, Matthew J.; Byun, Soo-yong; Meece, Judith L.; Farmer, Thomas W.

2014-01-01

The purpose of this study was to examine the relation of several individual and contextual difference factors to the perceived educational barriers of rural youth. Data were from a broader national investigation of students’ postsecondary aspirations and preparation in rural high schools across the United States. The sample involved more than 7,000 rural youth in 73 high schools across 34 states. Results indicated that some individual (e.g., African American race/ethnicity) and contextual (e.g., parent education) difference factors were predictive while others were not. Extensions to, similarities, and variations with previous research are discussed. Implications, limitations, and suggestions for future research are also discussed. PMID:24474843

Rural Schooling in Mobile Modernity: Returning to the Places I've Been

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Corbett, Michael

2009-01-01

In my book "Learning to Leave: The Irony of Schooling in a Coastal Community" (Corbett, 2007) I make the claim that there is a deep and established connection between formal education and mobility out of rural areas. The book reports on a study undertaken in a coastal community in Atlantic Canada focusing on the educational and life…

TLE TeachLive™: Using Technology to Provide Quality Professional Development in Rural Schools

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Dieker, Lisa A.; Hynes, Michael C.; Hughes, Charles E.; Hardin, Stacey; Becht, Kathleen

2015-01-01

Rural schools face challenges in training and retaining qualified teachers, especially special education personnel. This article describes how an interdisciplinary team at the University of Central Florida developed TLE TeachLivE™, a virtual reality application designed to serve as a classroom simulation to support teachers and administrators to…

The Headmaster-as-a-mentor: a Mentoring Model for Rural Primary School of Sarawak

OpenAIRE

Tuah, Adi Badiozaman

2015-01-01

: This paper attempts to present an alternative approach to training and improving the quality of teachers serving in rural schools of Sarawak. Based on the understanding that teacher training places are quite limited and that there are limited opportunities for meaningful interaction between school personnel and the central office or the teacher training institutions, it is argued that the overall quality of the teaching learning processes can be achieved through a systematic and properly st...

When Rural Reality Goes Virtual.

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Husain, Dilshad D.

1998-01-01

In rural towns where sparse population and few business are barriers, virtual reality may be the only way to bring work-based learning to students. A partnership between a small-town high school, the Ohio Supercomputer Center, and a high-tech business will enable students to explore the workplace using virtual reality. (JOW)

Work Begins at School.

Science.gov (United States)

Casto, James E.

2001-01-01

Students at Clay County High School (West Virginia) get real-world work experience through the school's comprehensive School-to-Work program, now in its third year. Given the limited job availability in this poor rural area, the school supplements work-site experiences with school-based business enterprises, student construction projects, and…

Context and the Gendered Status of Teachers: Women's Empowerment through Leadership of Non-Formal Schooling in Rural Bangladesh

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Sperandio, Jill

2011-01-01

Empowering women to control and change their lives continues to be an important goal for many nations. This article examines the empowering effects of being selected and trained to lead rural schools in Bangladesh, using survey and interview data from 152 village women working with the Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee education programme.…

Determinants of smoking and chewing habits among rural school children in Bankura district of West Bengal, India

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Naba Kumar Das

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Objectives The present study was undertaken to assess the prevalence of smoking and chewing habits and causes of addiction among the school children of rural areas.Methods This cross-sectional study was conducted in four secondary schools from rural areas of Bankura District, West Bengal during August 2012 to September 2012. Total 1674 students studying in 5th to 10th standard (age group of 10-15 years were enrolled in the present study. A self-administered questionnaire was applied for data collection.Results The study showed that 18.45%, 27.95% and 67.56% of the students were smokers, chewer and non-addicted, respectively. Considerable number of boys were addicted with smoking (boys 32.3% vs. 4.33girls % and chewing habits (boys 43.53% vs 12.15girls %. In case of boys, these habits were increased with advancement of ages. Students were more attracted to bidi and tobacco with pan-masala among different types of smoking and chewing agents. The most familiar reasons for tobacco user were: influenced by friends (22.88%, influenced by family members (16.32% and stress relief (10.88%. Conclusion This study indicated that smoking and chewing habits among school children in rural areas is looming public health issue. Adverse health effect of tobacco use may be incorporated in school secondary curriculum to change the attraction with tobacco among the young generation.

Multifunctional centers in rural areas

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Svendsen, Gunnar Lind Haase

2009-01-01

abandoned. One outcome has been closings of schools in remote rural areas. This evidently contributes to exacerbate depopulation in these areas. To stop this tendency, we need new models for high-quality, cost effective public services in rural areas as those as we find in Denmark. This chapter introduces...... ideological roots in history pointing at 19th c. national civic movements and an early 20th c. transnational Garden City movement within urban planning as crucial. Drawing on contemporary case studies of multifunctional centers in Holland and Denmark, I then suggest that public and private donors should...... invest in multifunctional centers in which the local public school is the dynamo. This in order to increase local levels of social as well as human capital. Ideally, such centers should contain both public services such as school, library and health care, private enterprises as hairdressers and banks...

Changes in Body Mass Index During a 3-Year Elementary School-Based Obesity Prevention Program for American Indian and White Rural Students.

Science.gov (United States)

Vogeltanz-Holm, Nancy; Holm, Jeffrey

2018-04-01

Childhood obesity is a significant but largely modifiable health risk, disproportionately affecting socioeconomically disadvantaged, racial/ethnic minority, and rural children. Elementary school-aged children typically experience the greatest increases in excess weight gain and therefore are important targets for reducing adolescent and adult obesity while improving children's health. Our study evaluated outcomes of a 3-year elementary school-based program for reducing obesity in American Indian and White students attending eight rural schools in the U.S. upper Midwest. Researchers measured body mass indexes (BMI) and other health indicators and behaviors of 308 beginning third-grade students and then again at the end of students' third, fourth, and fifth grades. The primary focus of this study is a mixed multilevel longitudinal model testing changes in age- and gender-adjusted BMI z scores ( zBMI). There was a significant decrease in zBMI across the 3-year study period. Ethnicity analyses showed that White students had overall decreases in zBMI whereas American Indian students' zBMIs remained stable across the program. Comparisons with children from an age- and cohort-matched national sample provided support for the effectiveness of the school program in reducing BMI and obesity during the study period. An elementary school-based health program that addresses a range of students' obesity-related health behaviors, the school health environment, and that involves educators and parents is an effective intervention for reducing or stabilizing BMI in rural White and American Indian students. School health programs for students living in rural communities may be especially effective due to greater school and community cohesiveness, and valuing of the school's primary role in improving community health.

Cyberl@b: a platform for learning english in Costa Rican public high schools

OpenAIRE

Allen Quesada Pacheco

2006-01-01

Abstract: This paper covers the design and development of a noncommercial software for learning and practicing English called CyberL@b. It was developed at the School of Modern Languages at the University of Costa Rica. Its target population focuses on 7th, 8th and 9th graders at six public high schools in diverse urban and rural settings in Costa Rica.CyberL@b uses interactive media resources designed to engage student in learning English within authentic contexts.Cyberlab was designed to cr...

Evaluation of a School-Based Train-the-Trainer Intervention Program to Teach First Aid and Risk Reduction among High School Students

Science.gov (United States)

Carruth, Ann K.; Pryor, Susan; Cormier, Cathy; Bateman, Aaron; Matzke, Brenda; Gilmore, Karen

2010-01-01

Background: Farming is a hazardous occupation posing health risks from agricultural exposures for the farm owner and family members. First Aid for Rural Medical Emergencies (F.A.R.M.E.) was developed to support a train-the-trainer (TTT) program to prepare high school students to teach first aid skills and risk reduction through peer interaction.…

Principal Stability and the Rural Divide

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Pendola, Andrew; Fuller, Edward J.

2018-01-01

This article examines the unique features of the rural school context and how these features are associated with the stability of principals in these schools. Given the small but growing literature on the characteristics of rural principals, this study presents an exploratory analysis of principal stability across schools located in different…

The school food environment and adolescent obesity: qualitative insights from high school principals and food service personnel

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ellerbeck Edward F

2007-05-01

Full Text Available Abstract Objectives To examine high school personnel's perceptions of the school environment, its impact on obesity, and the potential impact of legislation regulating schools' food/beverage offerings. Methods Semi-structured interviews were conducted with the principal (n = 8 and dietitian/food service manager (n = 7 at 8 schools (4 rural, 4 suburban participating in a larger study examining the relationship between the school environment and adolescent health behavior patterns. Results Principal themes included: 1 Obesity is a problem in general, but not at their school, 2 Schools have been unfairly targeted above more salient factors (e.g., community and home environment, 3 Attempts at change should start before high school, 4 Student health is one priority area among multiple competing demands; academic achievement is the top priority, 5 Legislation should be informed by educators and better incorporate the school's perspective. Food service themes included: 1 Obesity is not a problem at their school; school food service is not the cause, 2 Food offerings are based largely on the importance of preparing students for the real world by providing choice and the need to maintain high participation rates; both healthy and unhealthy options are available, 3 A la carte keeps lunch participation high and prices low but should be used as a supplement, not a replacement, to the main meal, 4 Vending provides school's additional revenue; vending is not part of food service and is appropriate if it does not interfere with the lunch program. Conclusion Discrepancies exist between government/public health officials and school personnel that may inhibit collaborative efforts to address obesity through modifications to the school environment. Future policy initiatives may be enhanced by seeking the input of school personnel, providing recommendations firmly grounded in evidence-based practice, framing initiatives in terms of their potential impact on the

[Study on the school-related-factors of attempted suicide among rural middle school students].

Science.gov (United States)

Xing, Xiu-Ya; Tao, Fang-Biao; Hao, Jia-Hu; Xu, Shao-Jun; Su, Pu-Yu; Huang, Zhao-Hui

2009-01-01

This study was undertaken to examine possible relationship between attempted suicide and underachievement, bullying, low life satisfaction and low self-concept at school. An anonymous self-report survey assessing demographic characteristics and the major risk factors of teenage attempted suicide was completed by students from 16 middle schools in grades seven to twelve in 4 counties of Anhui province (age 10 to 21 years). An anonymous questionnaire was used to rate attempted suicide, bullying involvement and learning performance. Attempted suicide was defined as: experiencing specific suicide actions at least one time during the 12 months preceding the survey. Multidimensional Students' Life Satisfaction Scale and Children' s Self-concept Scale were used to evaluate satisfaction and self-conscience on and at respectively. In total, 10 894 respondents substantially completed the survey. Multiple logistic-regression analyses, controlling for socio-demographic variables, was used to analyze if underachievement, bullying, low school life satisfaction and low children' s self-conscience at school had been risk factors. 629 participants (5.8%) reported having made at least one attempted suicide within the last 12 months. Students being underachieved were significantly having more attempted suicide events than those excellent students (chi2 = 11.39, P = 0.023). Students being both bully-victims and practiced bully were significantly more than those being only practiced bully (28.7% vs. 15.8% , P bullying, lower school life satisfaction and low self conscience were risk factors for attempted suicide. Data from this study confirmed that school bullying and children' s self-conscience at school were significantly associated with attempted suicide among rural middle school students in Anhui province. It is of importance to improve the school' s environments to reduce the risk of attempted suicide among this group.

Attachment and Aspiration: What Influences Rural Youths' Educational and Residential Plans? White Paper

Science.gov (United States)

Howley, Caitlin; Hambrick, Kimberly

2011-01-01

Building on recent research, ICF sought to explore how socioeconomic status and attachment to place influence rural youths' educational and residential preferences across a wider geographic region. Our research questions included: What are rural high school students' educational and residential plans? And what factors influence rural youths' plans…

ICT4RED 12 - Component implementation framework: A conceptual framework for integrating mobile technology into resource-constrained rural schools

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Ford, M

2014-05-01

Full Text Available ICT for Rural Education Development (ICT4RED) is a large-scale pilot that is testing the use of tablets in 26 deep rural schools in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. The aim is to develop a replicable framework that will enable evidence...

The Generational Impact of Technology on Formal Writing of Rural Middle School Students

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Land, Martha Ann

2012-01-01

The purpose of this study was to determine the impact text messages, social networks, Instant Messaging, email, and blogging had on rural middle school students' ability to decipher between formal and informal writing. Students completed self-evaluation logs, completed Formal and Informal Writing Assessments, and were scored on their use of…

Faunal knowledge of students in rural schools: a guide for their recognition in science class

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Rubinsten Hernández-Barbosa

2018-02-01

Full Text Available This text aims to describe a methodological proposal to identify, classify, and organize the faunistic knowledge of students of rural schools. The research was conducted with twenty sixth graders from a rural school in the Department of Cundinamarca, Colombia. Through five types of activities, they expressed, in different ways, their knowledge about the animals of the region. The information collected was organized, categorized, and systematized in tables; these tables resulted from the analysis of the information the students provided. It is a possibility of school work that favors the recognition and valuation of the traditional and ancestral knowledge, and its incorporation to the dynamics of the teaching and learning of the Natural Sciences as a way to create “bridges” between that knowledge and the scholarly scientific knowledge. It is a proposal that, among other things, favors the development of more positive attitudes toward science itself, motivates students to ask questions, to recognize the importance of the cultural context, and to recognize themselves as part of a biocultural system.

Investigation of Current Situation of Learning Motivation, Social Anxiety and Loneliness of the Left-behind Children in Rural Primary School

OpenAIRE

Zhang Biyun; Xu Ming

2015-01-01

Objective: To understand the situation of learning motivation, social anxiety and loneliness of the left-behind children. Method: Selecting three rural primary schools in Xian’an District of Xianning City to investigate left-behind situation, learning motivation, social anxiety and loneliness of pupils in Grades 4 to 6 in rural primary school in Xian’an District by the use of the MAAT-I-A which is revised by Zhou Bucheng, the Social Anxiety Scale for Children (SASC) and the Children’s Lonelin...

Breakfast, midday meals and academic achievement in rural primary schools in Uganda: implications for education and school health policy

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Hedwig Acham

2012-02-01

Full Text Available Underachievement in schools is a global problem and is especially prevalent in developing countries. Indicators of educational performance show that Uganda has done remarkably well on education access-related targets since the introduction of universal primary education in 1997. However, educational outcomes remain disappointing. The absence of school feeding schemes, one of the leading causes of scholastic underachievement, has not been given attention by the Ugandan authorities. Instead, as a national policy, parents are expected to provide meals even though many, especially in the rural areas, cannot afford to provide even the minimal daily bowl of maize porridge.To assess and demonstrate the effect of breakfast and midday meal consumption on academic achievement of schoolchildren.We assessed household characteristics, feeding patterns and academic achievement of 645 schoolchildren (aged 9–15 years in Kumi district, eastern Uganda, in 2006–2007, using a modified cluster sampling design which involved only grade 1 schools (34 in total and pupils of grade four. Household questionnaires and school records were used to collect information on socio-demographic factors, feeding patterns and school attendance. Academic achievement was assessed using unstandardized techniques, specifically designed for this study.Underachievement (the proportion below a score of 120.0 points was high (68.4%; in addition, significantly higher achievement and better feeding patterns were observed among children from the less poor households (p<0.05. Achievement was significantly associated with consumption of breakfast and a midday meal, particularly for boys (p<0.05, and a greater likelihood of scoring well was observed for better nourished children (all OR values>1.0.We observed that underachievement was relatively high; inadequate patterns of meal consumption, particularly for the most poor, significantly higher scores among children from ‘less poor�

School District Personnel Selection Practices: Exploring the Effects of Demographic Factors on Rural Values within a Person-Organization Fit Model.

Science.gov (United States)

Little, Paula S.; Miller, Stephen K.

A study examined the extent to which demographic factors predict rural values in Kentucky public school district hiring officials. Among the demographic factors considered were school district metropolitan classification, school district size, community racial composition, decision makers' position in the organizational hierarchy, and decision…

Assessment of difference in physical activities in urban and rural adolescents of Mangalore

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Rashmi Kundapur

2017-03-01

Full Text Available Background: The increasing prevalence of adolescents who are overweight is one of the most pressing public health problems in India. Aims & Objectives: To find the difference in Physical Activities(PA among urban adolescents to that of rural in Mangalore. Materials and Methods: Cross sectional study among high school students using a standard questionnaire (PAQ-A to elicit total hours of PA during the past seven days. Results: Average age of the adolescents was 13.9. We could find 56% boys and 44% girls studying in urban schools and 53.3% boys and 46.6 % girls in rural. Seventy seven percent of the total students do running/jogging as their major PA and 66.6% students do cycling. Only 32.8% students had PA while coming to school every day and it was most common among boys in rural schools (55%. Total PA Score for rural areas was 453.5 with a mean of 3.06(out of 5. For Urban areas, total score was 376.3 with a mean of 2.5 and the difference in proportion was statistically significant. Conclusion: We found that the adolescents studying in the schools of rural areas had better physical activities compared to their urban school counterparts.

Assessment of difference in physical activities in urban and rural adolescents of Mangalore

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rashmi Kundapur

2017-03-01

Full Text Available Background: The increasing prevalence of adolescents who are overweight is one of the most pressing public health problems in India. Aims & Objectives: To find the difference in Physical Activities(PA among urban adolescents to that of rural in Mangalore. Materials and Methods: Cross sectional study among high school students using a standard questionnaire (PAQ-A to elicit total hours of PA during the past seven days. Results: Average age of the adolescents was 13.9. We could find 56% boys and 44% girls studying in urban schools and 53.3% boys and 46.6 % girls in rural. Seventy seven percent of the total students do running/jogging as their major PA and 66.6% students do cycling. Only 32.8% students had PA while coming to school every day and it was most common among boys in rural schools (55%. Total PA Score for rural areas was 453.5 with a mean of 3.06(out of 5. For Urban areas, total score was 376.3 with a mean of 2.5 and the difference in proportion was statistically significant. Conclusion: We found that the adolescents studying in the schools of rural areas had better physical activities compared to their urban school counterparts.

Ecological correlates of depression and self-esteem in rural youth.

Science.gov (United States)

Smokowski, Paul R; Evans, Caroline B R; Cotter, Katie L; Guo, Shenyang

2014-10-01

The current study examines individual-, social-, and school-level characteristics influencing symptoms of depression and self-esteem among a large sample (N = 4,321) of U.S. youth living in two rural counties in the South. Survey data for this sample of middle-school students (Grade 6 to Grade 8) were part of the Rural Adaptation Project. Data were analyzed using ordered logistic regression. Results show that being female, having a low income, and having negative relationships with parents and peers are risk factors that increase the probability of reporting high levels of depressive symptoms and low levels of self-esteem. In contrast, supportive relationships with parents and peers, high religious orientation, ethnic identity, and school satisfaction increased the probability of reporting low levels of depressive symptoms and high levels of self-esteem. There were few school-level characteristics associated with levels of depressive symptoms and self-esteem. Implications are discussed.

Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Conditions in Kenyan Rural Schools: Are Schools Meeting the Needs of Menstruating Girls?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kelly T. Alexander

2014-05-01

Full Text Available Water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH programs in African schools have received increased attention, particularly around the potential impact of poor menstrual hygiene management (MHM on equity for girls’ education. This study was conducted prior to a menstrual feasibility study in rural Kenya, to examine current WASH in primary schools and the resources available for menstruating schoolgirls. Cross-sectional surveys were performed in 62 primary schools during unannounced visits. Of these, 60% had handwashing water, 13% had washing water in latrines for menstruating girls, and 2% had soap. Latrines were structurally sound and 16% were clean. Most schools (84% had separate latrines for girls, but the majority (77% had no lock. Non-governmental organizations (NGOs supported WASH in 76% of schools. Schools receiving WASH interventions were more likely to have: cleaner latrines (Risk Ratio (RR 1.5; 95% Confidence Intervals [CI] 1.0, 2.1, handwashing facilities (RR 1.6, CI 1.1, 2.5, handwashing water (RR 2.7; CI 1.4, 5.2, and water in girls’ latrines (RR 4.0; CI 1.4, 11.6. Schools continue to lack essential WASH facilities for menstruating girls. While external support for school WASH interventions improved MHM quality, the impact of these contributions remains insufficient. Further support is required to meet international recommendations for healthy, gender-equitable schools.

Rural/Nonrural Differences in College Attendance Patterns.

Science.gov (United States)

Byun, Soo-Yong; Irvin, Matthew J; Meece, Judith L

Using data from the National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988, this study documented college attendance patterns of rural youth in terms of the selectivity of first postsecondary institution of attendance, the timing of transition to postsecondary education, and the continuity of enrollment. The study also examined how these college attendance patterns among rural students differed from those among their non-rural counterparts and which factors explained these rural/nonrural differences. Results showed that rural youth were less likely than their nonrural counterparts to attend a selective institution. In addition, rural youth were more likely to delay entry to postsecondary education, compared to their urban counterparts. Finally, rural students were less likely than their urban counterparts to be continuously enrolled in college. Much of these rural/nonrural disparities in college attendance patterns were explained by rural/nonrural differences in socioeconomic status and high school preparation. Policy implications, limitations of the study, and future research directions are also discussed.

Barriers, Benefits, and Behaviors Related to Breakfast Consumption Among Rural Adolescents.

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Hearst, Mary O; Shanafelt, Amy; Wang, Qi; Leduc, Robert; Nanney, Marilyn S

2016-03-01

We sought to determine if perceived barriers, benefits, and modifiable behaviors support or interfere with breakfast consumption in a racially and economically diverse rural high school population. The participants were 832 Minnesota adolescents from 16 rural high schools. We used baseline data from a group randomized trial aimed at increasing school breakfast participation through policy and environmental-level school changes. Students completed an online survey asking about demographics, breakfast eating behaviors, and the barriers and benefits of eating as it relates to school performance. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression, accounting for clustering by school, was performed using SAS. Each scale was modeled independently. Participants were 9th and 10th grade students, 36% free/reduced-price lunch (FRL), 30% non-White, and 55% female. Breakfast skippers compared to nonbreakfast skippers reported fewer school related benefits and beliefs and more barriers to eating breakfast (p breakfast. Future intervention research should focus on alleviating barriers and enhancing education around the school related benefits of eating breakfast. © 2016, American School Health Association.

Views of teenagers on termination of pregnancy at Muyexe high school in Mopani District, Limpopo Province, South Africa.

Science.gov (United States)

Ramakuela, Nditsheni J; Lebese, Tsakani R; Maputle, Sonto M; Mulaudzi, Lindiwe

2016-05-31

Teenage pregnancy is a global social health concern especially because of the HIV and AIDS pandemic, sexually transmitted infections, high rate of termination of pregnancy (TOP), adolescents' parenthood and decreased level of contraceptives. To explore the views of teenagers on the TOP at Muyexe high school in a rural village of Mopani District, Limpopo Province. Muyexe high school in a rural village of Mopani District, Limpopo Province, in South Africa. A qualitative method using explorative and descriptive designs was used to find in-depth description and understanding of teenagers' views on TOP. The target population was girls aged 15-19 years at Muyexe high school in Mopani District. Non-probability, convenient sampling was used to select high school teenage girls who had undergone TOP for the study. Data were collected using individual self-report technique (interview). Tesch's eight steps of qualitative data analysis were used. Measures to ensure trustworthiness and ethical considerations were observed. Two major themes were revealed: (1) Views of teenagers regarding TOP (poverty, relationship problems and single parenthood, negative impact on the teen's life while attending school) and (2) teenager's fears regarding pregnancy (stigma, fear of parents and friends, rape and incest and fear of giving birth). Majority of participants had knowledge about TOP; some had experiences about TOP while others held inadequate knowledge. Recommendations were based on the findings by teaching dangers of TOP and various contraceptive methods to prevent unwanted pregnancies and TOP.

Attracting and retaining doctors in rural Nepal.

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Shankar, P R

2010-01-01

In Nepal, a number of private sector medical schools have opened recently; although sufficient numbers of doctors are graduating there continues to be a doctor shortage in rural areas. This article analysed the rural doctor shortage in Nepal and reviewed the international literature for strategies that may be suitable for use in Nepal. Original research articles, reviews, magazine articles and project reports dealing with Nepal and other developing countries during the period 1995 to 2010 were sourced via Google, Google Scholar and Pubmed. Full text access was obtained via WHO's HINARI database. The health workforce in Nepal is unevenly distributed resulting in doctor shortages in rural areas. The recent introduction of mandatory rural service for scholarship students was aimed to reduce the loss of medical graduates to developed nations. High tuition fees in private medical schools and low Government wages prevent recent graduates from taking up rural positions, and those who do face many challenges. Potential corrective strategies include community-based medical education, selecting rural-background medical students, and providing a partial or complete tuition fee waiver for medical students who commit to rural service. Traditional healers and paramedical staff can also be trained for and authorized to provide rural health care. A range of strategies developed elsewhere could be used in Nepal, especially community-oriented medical education that involves rural doctors in training medical students. The reimbursement of tuition fees, assistance with relocation, and provision of opportunities for academic and professional advancement for rural doctors should also be considered. Government investment in improving working conditions in rural Nepal would assist rural communities to attract and retain doctors.

Exploring rural high school learners' experience of mathematics ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

School of Education Studies, University of the Free State, Qwaqwa Campus, South Africa ... City Press (2012) reports that one in six Grade 12 mathematics learners scored less ...... Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology.

2014 Rural Clinical School Training and Support Program Snapshot survey.

Science.gov (United States)

Mendis, Kumara; Greenhill, Jennene; Walker, Judi; Bailey, Jannine; Croft, Amanda; Doyle, Zelda; McCrossin, Timothy; Stevens, Wendy

2015-01-01

The Rural Clinical Training and Support (RCTS) program is an Australian Government initiative to address the shortage of medical practitioners within rural and remote Australia. There is a large amount of published information about the RCTS program and rural medical student cohorts who have undertaken short- and long-term rotations. However, very little is known about the academic and professional staff involved in the program, a knowledge gap that may impact workforce and succession planning. To address this, the Federation of Rural Australian Medical Educators (FRAME) initiated the pilot 2014 RCTS Snapshot survey to obtain data on the current RCTS workforce. All professional, academic and clinical academic staff (fixed-term and continuing, regardless of fraction) employed through the RCTS program were invited to complete a short, web-based survey. The survey was conducted from March to June 2014. The quantitative variables in the survey included demographics (age and gender), rural background and exposure, employment history in rural/regional areas and at rural clinical schools (RCS), experience and expertise, reasons for working at RCS, and future employment intentions. The last three questions also were of a qualitative open-ended format to allow respondents to provide additional details regarding their reasons for working at RCSs and their future intentions. The estimated total RCTS workforce was 970. A total of 413 responses were received and 316 (40.9%) complete responses analysed. The majority of respondents were female (71%), the 40-60-year age group was predominant (28%), and professional staff constituted the majority (62%). The below 40-year age group had more professionals than academics (21% vs 12%) and more than 62% of academics were aged above 50 years. Notably, there were no academics aged less than 30 years. The percentage of professional staff with a rural background was higher (62%) than that of academics with a rural background (42%). However

Design for sustainability: rural connectivity with village operators

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Roux, K

2011-10-01

Full Text Available South Africa has approximately 26500 primary and secondary schools, of which at least 17000 are in remote rural villages. None of these rural schools have any form of Internet connectivity. The same rural villages may have one health facility...

Training and Updating of Education Boards in Indigenous Schools of Rural Areas: Strengthening Local Education Management

OpenAIRE

Nancy Torres-Victoria; Oscar Castro-Vargas

2012-01-01

Education management in the schools of indigenous rural areas faces a number of difficulties to implement and comply with the guidelines and requirements of the laws related to budgetary management of resources allocated to Education or Administrative Boards. In addition to being located in scattered rural areas, far from the municipal heads and regional offices of the Ministry of Public Education, one of the main obstacles is that all regulations, laws and guidelines are written in Spanish, ...

New School and Applied Anthropology: Rural Education in Peru in the 20s and 30s

OpenAIRE

Giesecke Sara-Lafosse, Mercedes

2016-01-01

The connection between the new school and applied anthropology through classical American pragmatism is examined here, as well as its effects on the reflections  on the Indian problem, the spread of the new school methods, and on proposals for rural education in Peru. New education or new school is a trend proposed to implement popular education and even university education, linking education to the community, its history and geography.The literature reviewed emphasizes the development of ci...

What do beginning students, in a rurally focused medical course, think about rural practice?

Science.gov (United States)

Young, Louise; Lindsay, Daniel B; Ray, Robin A

2016-12-07

Medical schools may select students for their attitudes towards rural medical practice, yet the rural-urban disparity in availability of medical practitioners and services has not diminished in recent times despite government initiatives and increasing numbers being trained for a career in medicine. One medical school, with a focus on rural and remote medicine, aims to select students with positive perceptions for rural medical practice. A research project collected data on the perceptions of these medical students in the first week of their medical studies. Students completed a low stakes essay on the life and work of a rural doctor. Initially, this formed part of a literacy assessment to determine any students requiring remediation. All students were asked if they would consent to their essay being reviewed for a research project. Data was obtained from those students who consented and handed their essays in for review. The 103 student essays underwent thematic analysis and sentences were coded into three main themes of rural lifestyle, doctor role and rural practice. Second level themes were further elicited and results were quantified according to whether they were positive or negative. Positive themes included rural lifestyle, doctor role, views of doctor, impact on community, broader work and skills knowledge, and better relationships with community and patients. Negative themes included doctor's health, pressure on doctor, family problems, greater workload, privacy and confidentiality issues, cultural issues, isolation, limited resources and financial impacts. Quantitisation of this data was used to transform essay sentences into a numerical form which allowed statistical analysis and comparison of perceptions using Z tests. No significant differences on the number of positive and negative responses for rural lifestyle and rural practice were found. The rural doctor role had a significantly more positive than negative views. Significant differences were