Child Labour or School Attendance? Evidence from Zambia

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jensen, Peter; Nielsen, Helena Skyt

1996-01-01

In this paper, we investigate what affects school attendance and child labour in an LDC, using data for Zambia. Since the data come from a household survey with information on all household members, it allows us to take account of unobserved household effects by introducing household specific...... effects in a logit model. The empirical analysis suggests that both economic and sociological variables are important determinants for the choice between school attendance and child labour. In particular, we find some support for the hypothesis that poverty forces households to keep their children away...

Causal effects of single-sex schools on college entrance exams and college attendance: random assignment in Seoul high schools.

Science.gov (United States)

Park, Hyunjoon; Behrman, Jere R; Choi, Jaesung

2013-04-01

Despite the voluminous literature on the potentials of single-sex schools, there is no consensus on the effects of single-sex schools because of student selection of school types. We exploit a unique feature of schooling in Seoul-the random assignment of students into single-sex versus coeducational high schools-to assess causal effects of single-sex schools on college entrance exam scores and college attendance. Our validation of the random assignment shows comparable socioeconomic backgrounds and prior academic achievement of students attending single-sex schools and coeducational schools, which increases the credibility of our causal estimates of single-sex school effects. The three-level hierarchical model shows that attending all-boys schools or all-girls schools, rather than coeducational schools, is significantly associated with higher average scores on Korean and English test scores. Applying the school district fixed-effects models, we find that single-sex schools produce a higher percentage of graduates who attended four-year colleges and a lower percentage of graduates who attended two-year junior colleges than do coeducational schools. The positive effects of single-sex schools remain substantial, even after we take into account various school-level variables, such as teacher quality, the student-teacher ratio, the proportion of students receiving lunch support, and whether the schools are public or private.

[Quality of sleep and academic performance in high school students].

Science.gov (United States)

Bugueño, Maithe; Curihual, Carolina; Olivares, Paulina; Wallace, Josefa; López-AlegrÍa, Fanny; Rivera-López, Gonzalo; Oyanedel, Juan Carlos

2017-09-01

Sleeping and studying are the day-to-day activities of a teenager attending school. To determine the quality of sleep and its relationship to the academic performance among students attending morning and afternoon shifts in a public high school. Students of the first and second year of high school answered an interview about socio-demographic background, academic performance, student activities and subjective sleep quality; they were evaluated using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). The interview was answered by 322 first year students aged 15 ± 5 years attending the morning shift and 364 second year students, aged 16 ± 0.5 years, attending the afternoon shift. The components: sleep latency, habitual sleep efficiency, sleep disturbance, drug use and daytime dysfunction were similar and classified as good in both school shifts. The components subjective sleep quality and duration of sleep had higher scores among students of the morning shift. The mean grades during the first semester of the students attending morning and afternoon shifts were 5.9 and 5.8, respectively (of a scale from 1 to 7). Among students of both shifts, the PSQI scale was associated inversely and significantly with academic performance. A bad sleep quality influences academic performance in these students.

Causal Effects of Single-Sex Schools on College Entrance Exams and College Attendance: Random Assignment in Seoul High Schools

Science.gov (United States)

Park, Hyunjoon; Behrman, Jere R.; Choi, Jaesung

2012-01-01

Despite the voluminous literature on the potentials of single-sex schools, there is no consensus on the effects of single-sex schools because of student selection of school types. We exploit a unique feature of schooling in Seoul—the random assignment of students into single-sex versus coeducational high schools—to assess causal effects of single-sex schools on college entrance exam scores and college attendance. Our validation of the random assignment shows comparable socioeconomic backgrounds and prior academic achievement of students attending single-sex schools and coeducational schools, which increases the credibility of our causal estimates of single-sex school effects. The three-level hierarchical model shows that attending all-boys schools or all-girls schools, rather than coeducational schools, is significantly associated with higher average scores on Korean and English test scores. Applying the school district fixed-effects models, we find that single-sex schools produce a higher percentage of graduates who attended four-year colleges and a lower percentage of graduates who attended two-year junior colleges than do coeducational schools. The positive effects of single-sex schools remain substantial, even after we take into account various school-level variables, such as teacher quality, the student-teacher ratio, the proportion of students receiving lunch support, and whether the schools are public or private. PMID:23073751

Sleep habits of students attending elementary schools, and junior and senior high schools in Akita prefecture.

Science.gov (United States)

Takemura, Takaubu; Funaki, Kensaku; Kanbayashi, Takashi; Kawamoto, Kentaro; Tsutsui, Kou; Saito, Yasushi; Aizawa, Rika; Inomata, Shoko; Shimizu, Tetsuo

2002-06-01

It is widely accepted that students in Japan sleep fewer hours than what they actually need. However, epidemiological data on sleep habits among students are scarce. The sleep habits and related problems among 1650 students in Akita prefecture were studied. The results revealed that schoolchildren attending elementary schools seemed to sleep for a sufficient number of hours, whereas students attending junior or senior high schools were not sleeping enough. In particular, approximately half of the students attending senior high schools answered that they slept 6 h or less on weekdays and nodded off during classes more than twice a week.

Physical Environmental Barriers to School Attendance among ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

environment were the major barriers to school attendance. Conclusion: To ... Key words: Parents/caregivers, children with disabilities, barriers. Introduction .... It is not safe to walk ... feeling, learning, behaviour, and fits or convulsions. [19] The ...

Migrant Preschool Children's School Readiness and Early Elementary School Performance

Science.gov (United States)

Tavassolie, Tanya; López, Claudia; De Feyter, Jessica; Hartman, Suzanne C.; Winsler, Adam

2018-01-01

Little is known about the early educational performance of children in migrant farmworker families. The authors examined the school readiness and early school success of 289 four-year-old preschool children of migrant families attending Redlands Christian Migrant Association centers. Children's school readiness was assessed and public school…

78 FR 55121 - Submission for Review: Self-Certification of Full-Time School Attendance for the School Year, RI...

Science.gov (United States)

2013-09-09

... Attendance for the School Year, RI 25-14 and Information; and Instructions for Completing the Self...-0032, Self-Certification of Full-Time School Attendance For The School Year, RI 25-14; and Information... technological collection techniques or other forms of information technology, e.g., permitting electronic...

76 FR 61148 - Proposed Information Collection (Approval of School Attendance) Activity: Comment Request

Science.gov (United States)

2011-10-03

... marriages, a change in course of instruction and termination of school attendance. Affected Public... (Approval of School Attendance) Activity: Comment Request AGENCY: Veterans Benefits Administration... techniques or the use of other forms of information technology. Titles: a. Request for Approval of School...

TEACHING, COEXISTENCE AND ATTENDANCE AT A TECHNOLOGICAL HIGH SCHOOL

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Leticia Carranza-Peña

2015-01-01

Full Text Available This article, which stems from ethnographic research, shows the importance of faculty intervention in the classroom setting in encouraging student attendance. Our findings indicate that the habitus the educator establishes can either encourage youth to continue their studies, or lead them to drop out, thus placing them at risk of addictions, illegal activities, unemployment or low-paid jobs. The Pedagogy of Hope therefore provides an option for effecting large-scale changes in personal, school, family, community and socio-economic conditions. The paper’s conclusions include providing training to teaching faculties on coexistence issues; ensuring coordination between school and family, and emphasizing an integral approach to education as means of promoting school attendance.

Differences in exam performance between pupils attending selective and non-selective schools mirror the genetic differences between them

Science.gov (United States)

Smith-Woolley, Emily; Pingault, Jean-Baptiste; Selzam, Saskia; Rimfeld, Kaili; Krapohl, Eva; von Stumm, Sophie; Asbury, Kathryn; Dale, Philip S.; Young, Toby; Allen, Rebecca; Kovas, Yulia; Plomin, Robert

2018-03-01

On average, students attending selective schools outperform their non-selective counterparts in national exams. These differences are often attributed to value added by the school, as well as factors schools use to select pupils, including ability, achievement and, in cases where schools charge tuition fees or are located in affluent areas, socioeconomic status. However, the possible role of DNA differences between students of different schools types has not yet been considered. We used a UK-representative sample of 4814 genotyped students to investigate exam performance at age 16 and genetic differences between students in three school types: state-funded, non-selective schools (`non-selective'), state-funded, selective schools (`grammar') and private schools, which are selective (`private'). We created a genome-wide polygenic score (GPS) derived from a genome-wide association study of years of education (EduYears). We found substantial mean genetic differences between students of different school types: students in non-selective schools had lower EduYears GPS compared to those in grammar (d = 0.41) and private schools (d = 0.37). Three times as many students in the top EduYears GPS decile went to a selective school compared to the bottom decile. These results were mirrored in the exam differences between school types. However, once we controlled for factors involved in pupil selection, there were no significant genetic differences between school types, and the variance in exam scores at age 16 explained by school type dropped from 7% to <1%. These results show that genetic and exam differences between school types are primarily due to the heritable characteristics involved in pupil admission.

34 CFR 200.78 - Allocation of funds to school attendance areas and schools.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 34 Education 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Allocation of funds to school attendance areas and schools. 200.78 Section 200.78 Education Regulations of the Offices of the Department of Education OFFICE... for the Within-District Allocation of Lea Program Funds § 200.78 Allocation of funds to school...

Attendance, Employability, Student Performance and Electronic Course Materials

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sund, Kristian J.

2016-01-01

This chapter discusses the possible detrimental effects of low attendance on the achievement of important learning outcomes in terms of "soft" employability-enhancing skills among undergraduate students in business schools, and explores how the use of learning technologies may contribute to high...... or low class attendance levels. The chapter describes the exploratory results of a survey carried out among final year bachelor students attending a strategic management course, the findings of which suggest that a significant number of students view virtual learning environments as a substitute...

Comparison of motor and cognitive performance of children attending public and private day care centers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mariana M. Santos

2013-12-01

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Given that environmental factors, such as the school environment, can influence child development, more attention should be paid to the development of children attending day care centers. OBJECTIVE: Todetermine whether there are differences in the gross motor, fine motor, or cognitive performances of children between 1 and3 years-old of similar socioeconomic status attending public and private day care centers full time. METHOD: Participants were divided into 2 groups, 1 of children attending public day care centers (69 children and another of children attending private day care centers (47 children. All children were healthy and regularly attended day care full time for over 4 months. To assess cognitive, gross and fine motor performance, the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development III was used. The Mann-Whitney test was used for comparative analyses between groups of children between 13 and 24 months, 25 and 41 months, and 13 and 41 months. RESULTS: Children in public day care centers exhibited lower scores on the cognitive development scale beginning at 13 months old. The fine and gross motor performance scores were lower in children over the age of 25 months attending public centers. Maternal education was not related to the performance of children in either group. CONCLUSION: The scores of cognitive performance as well as fine and gross motor performance of children of similar socioeconomic status who attend public day care centers are lower than children attending private daycare centers.

Associations between usual school lunch attendance and eating habits and sedentary behaviour in French children and adolescents.

Science.gov (United States)

Dubuisson, C; Lioret, S; Dufour, A; Volatier, J L; Lafay, L; Turck, D

2012-12-01

Our objective was to investigate whether school lunch attendance was associated with overall eating habits and sedentary behaviour in a French sample of children and adolescents. Data for the study were taken from the second French cross-sectional dietary survey (INCA2-2006-07). In total, 1413 school children aged 3-17 years old were classified according to their school type and their usual school lunch attendance. Eating habits included meal regularity, dietary diversity, purchase in vending machine, snacking habits and frequency of eating in fast-foods. Two composite indices of eating habits were derived from multiple correspondence analyses. Sedentary behaviour was assessed by the average daily screen times for TV and computer. The association between school lunch attendance and each variable was tested. Multivariate association between school lunch attendance and the composite indices of eating habits and sedentary behaviours was studied. In all, 69.0% (CI(95%): 64.2-73.9) of secondary school children and 63.0% (CI(95%): 58.5-67.5) of pre- and elementary school children usually attended school lunch at least once a week. Pre- and elementary school children attending school lunches showed a higher dietary diversity score (P=0.02) and ate morning snacks more frequently (P=0.02). In secondary school children, attending school canteen was related to a lower rate of skipping breakfast (P=0.04) and main meals (P=0.01). In all school children, school lunch attendance was simultaneously associated with healthier overall eating habits and less sedentary behaviour. In France, children attending school canteens seem to have healthier eating habits and display less sedentary behaviour, independently of their socio-economic and demographic background.

Can Provision of Free School Uniforms harm Attendance? Evidence from Ecuador

OpenAIRE

Diana Hidalgo; Mercedes Onofa; Hessel Oosterbeek; Juan Ponce

2010-01-01

This discussion paper resulted in an article in the Journal of Development Economics (2013). Volume 103, pages 43-51. To raise school attendance, many programs in developing countries eliminate orreduce private contributions to education. This paper documents an unintendednegative effect of such programs. Using data from a randomized experiment thatprovides free uniforms to primary school children in Ecuador, we find that the interventionhas a significantly negative impact on attendance. An e...

Characterizing Parents’ and School Staff’s Involvement with Student Attendance from the Perspective of School Staff in Japan

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Norimasa Itakura

2016-07-01

Full Text Available This study investigated the relations between parents and various school staff involvement, and student attendance across time from the viewpoint of school staff in Japan. In addition, student attendance characteristics were classified to investigate potential differences among students related to time and involvement of parents and staff. The research participants were Japanese elementary, junior, and senior high school staff (N = 206 who consented to participate in the survey. All participants were sampled from various areas of Japan and recruited through a web-based survey. Data were collected by the polling organization Internet Research Service MELLINKS (Tokyo, Japan, through their web panel (see www.mellinks.co.jp. The results indicated that during the early period of support, there was no positive correlation between class teachers’ involvement and students’ attendance. However, during the late period of support, it had a positive correlation. Surprisingly, the school nurses’ involvement was critical even in the early periods. Furthermore, in the late period, the results of ANOVAs assessing difference among the student attendance categories showed that maintaining and recovery types had higher scores of parents’ and class teachers’ involvement than non-maintaining and declining types. This study suggests that flexibility of collaboration among parents and various school staff across time is an important component to support student attendance.

A Response to Intervention Model to Promote School Attendance and Decrease School Absenteeism

Science.gov (United States)

Kearney, Christopher A.; Graczyk, Patricia

2014-01-01

Background: Regular school attendance is foundational to children's success but school absenteeism is a common, serious, and highly vexing problem. Researchers from various disciplines have produced a rich yet diverse literature for conceptualizing problematic absenteeism that has led to considerable confusion and lack of consensus about a…

Classroom Carbon Dioxide Concentration, School Attendance, and Educational Attainment

Science.gov (United States)

Gaihre, Santosh; Semple, Sean; Miller, Janice; Fielding, Shona; Turner, Steve

2014-01-01

Background: We tested the hypothesis that classroom carbon dioxide (CO[subscript 2]) concentration is inversely related to child school attendance and educational attainment. Methods: Concentrations of CO[subscript 2] were measured over a 3-5?day period in 60 naturally ventilated classrooms of primary school children in Scotland. Concentrations of…

Attendance and Exam Performance at University

OpenAIRE

David O. Allen; Don J. Webber

2006-01-01

Marburger (2006) explored the link between absenteeism and exam performance by assessing the impact on absenteeism of removing a university wide policy of mandatory attendance for a single class. His results indicate that while an attendance policy has a strong impact on reducing absenteeism the link between absenteeism and exam performance is weak.This paper presents an alternative exploration into the link between absenteeism and exam performance by assessing the impact of implementing a mo...

Is Critical Thinking a Mediator Variable of Student Performance in School?

Science.gov (United States)

Walter, Christel; Walter, Paul

2018-01-01

The study explores the influences of critical thinking and interests on students' performance at school. The tested students attended German grammar schools ("Gymnasien"). Separate regression analyses showed the expected moderate positive influences of critical thinking and interests on school performance. But analyzed simultaneously,…

Relationship Among Dental Students' Class Lecture Attendance, Use of Online Resources, and Performance.

Science.gov (United States)

Azab, Ehab; Saksena, Yun; Alghanem, Tofool; Midle, Jennifer Bassett; Molgaard, Kathleen; Albright, Susan; Karimbux, Nadeem

2016-04-01

This study aimed to evaluate the relationship among dental students' attendance at class lectures, use of online lecture materials, and performance in didactic courses. The study was conducted with second-year predoctoral students at Tufts University School of Dental Medicine during the fall semester of 2014. Three basic science and three preclinical dental courses were selected for evaluation. Online usage for each participant was collected, and a survey with questions about attendance and online behavior was conducted. The final grade for each participant in each selected course was obtained and matched with his or her online usage and attendance. Out of a total 190 students, 146 (77%) participated. The results showed no significant relationship between students' grades and their class attendance or online usage except for a weak negative relationship between class attendance and online usage for the Epidemiology course (pattendance, online usage, and course grades, most of the students reported that having the online resources in addition to the lectures was helpful.

Use of counselling services by school-attending adolescent girls in Nigeria.

Science.gov (United States)

Azfredrick, Ezinwanne Christiana

2015-01-01

The purpose of this study was to examine the predictors and barriers to the use of school counselling services by school attending adolescent girls in south-east Nigeria. The study used a cross-sectional survey of 3065 adolescent girls, using a self-report counselling utilisation scale. Data were analysed using both descriptive and inferential statistics. About 80% of the participants had school counsellors and nearly half of the participants utilised the service. Regression results showed that father's level of education, availability of a counselling laboratory/room, contentment with the counselling services rendered predicted the use of the counselling service. Some of the barriers for non-use of school counselling services were shyness, fear and lack of confidentiality. School authorities will encourage uptake of counselling services by adolescents when adequate counselling consulting rooms are provided. This will increase confidence in adolescent clients and reduce fear attached to use of these services. This will improve their mental health and their academic performance.

Barriers to School Attendance and Gender Inequality: Empirical Evidence from a Sample of Ghanaian Schoolchildren

Science.gov (United States)

Wolf, Sharon; McCoy, Dana C.; Godfrey, Erin B.

2016-01-01

Governments in sub-Saharan Africa have made marked efforts to increase school enrollment. Yet attendance and completion rates remain low, particularly for girls. This study examines the reasons that school children do not attend school in a sample of Ghanaian students. Girls were more likely to miss school because a family member was sick, whereas…

MANAGEMENT TEAM CHARACTERISTICS: EVIDENCE FROM UNIVERSITY GOVERNANCE AND SCHOOL PERFORMANCE

OpenAIRE

Hsiang-Tsai Chiang; Mei-Chih Lin

2013-01-01

The paper examines cognition from the viewpoint of internal management teams of private universities against satisfaction with school performance, applying the SEM model. Empirical results show that the board’s operational effectiveness and attendance rate for internal important meetings held on campus have a significantly positive relationship with implementing effectiveness and satisfaction with school administrative performance. The satisfaction with school administrative performance and...

School Attendance in Nigeria: Understanding the Impact and Intersection of Gender, Urban-Rural Residence, and Socioeconomic Status

Science.gov (United States)

Kazeem, Aramide; Jensen, Leif; Stokes, C. Shannon

2010-01-01

This article presents a research which examines the impact of religion, gender, and parental socioeconomic status on school attendance in Nigeria. Researchers found that both gender and parental socioeconomic status have significant impacts on school attendance. Although gender is an important determinant of school attendance, indicators of…

Attendance and achievement in medicine: investigating the impact of attendance policies on academic performance of medical students.

Science.gov (United States)

Subramaniam, Bs; Hande, S; Komattil, R

2013-04-01

The attendance mandate for the medical course in Melaka Manipal Medical College, Manipal, India was increased from 75% to 90% based on the assumption that the mandatory increase will improve the students' performance. To find out whether there is any correlation between class attendance and academic performance. This was an institution based retrospective analytical study. Students who have completed Phase I (first two and a half years) of the MBBS course were included in the study. Student marks and attendance, from the database were obtained from three random batches, each, from two clusters A and B respectively. Those who had a mandatory attendance requirement of 75% belonged to A (n = 243), and those who had a mandatory attendance percentage of 90% belonged to B (n = 360). Statistical analyses performed included, Pearson 2 tailed correlation to correlate class attendance with student performance; Cluster analysis to classify group average in a similarity matrix; t-test to determine significance of difference in percentage of students who attained 100% when the college changed mandatory attendance from 75% to 90%; Mann-Whitney test to find out if there was a better performance in university exam when attendance policy changed. There was a significant correlation between attendance and the students who passed in the University exam. The number of students in the pass category was maximum (>90%) compared to students in distinction and failed categories. Percentage of students with 100% attendance rose from 4% (n = 10) to 11% (n = 40) when the mandatory attendance was increased from 75% to 90%. Attendance policy correlated with better academic performance. Reducing absenteeism, probably contributed to the improved academic performance of the students. But the link between attendance and best and worst performances could not be predicted because of small numbers in every batch.

Can the provision of breakfast benefit school performance?

Science.gov (United States)

Grantham-McGregor, Sally

2005-06-01

Studies of an association between school performance (enrollment, attendance, achievement, classroom behavior, and school drop-out) and nutritional status are discussed and the evidence of an effect of school meals evaluated. Many studies have shown associations between hunger, poor dietary intakes, stunting, underweight, and poor school performance after controlling for socioeconomic conditions. However, it remains possible that unmeasured socioeconomic variables could explain the relationship. Rigorous short-term studies of missing breakfast have generally found detrimental effects on children's cognition whereas studies of providing breakfast have shown benefits particularly in malnourished children. Classroom conditions may modify the effects of breakfast on behavior. There are extremely few longer term studies of the effects of giving school meals. Nearly all involved breakfast and very few had randomized controlled designs. Studies comparing participants with non-participants or comparing matched schools have found benefits (but bias due to self-selection) of receiving breakfast; inadequate matching of schools also remains possible. One longer term randomized controlled trial found benefits associated with attendance and arithmetic performance. In conclusion, most studies of giving breakfast have found benefits to school performance but many had serious design problems, were short-term, and were not conducted in the poorest countries. In order to advise policy makers correctly, there is an urgent need to run long-term randomized controlled trials of giving school meals in poor countries and to determine the effects of age and nutrition status of the children, the quality of the school, and the timing of the meal. The special needs of orphans should also be considered.

Effectiveness of school dental screening on stimulating dental attendance rates in Vikarabad town: A randomized controlled trial

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Gadde Praveen

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Background: The school dental screening program has been in existence from the beginning of 20 th century. Its value in encouraging attendance among school children is not fully established. Aim: The aim was to determine the effectiveness of school dental screening on stimulating dental attendance rates among school children in Vikarabad town. Objectives: (a To compare the dental attendance rates between 6-9 and 10-13 years old age groups, among male and female school children in Vikarabad town. (b To identify the type of dental treatment received by the school children. Materials and Methods: A randomized controlled trial was conducted among school children aged 6-13 years old from 16 schools that were randomly selected and divided into two groups. Eight schools had a dental screening program (study group = 300 children and had blanket referral cards and 8 schools that did not have the intervention (control group = 300. The dental attendance rates were determined after 3 months of follow-up period by evaluating the blanket referral cards for the study group and by an oral questionnaire for the control group. Results: The dental attendance rate was 27% for the study group and 18% for the control group which is statistically significant. The attendance rate was higher among 10-13 years of children both in test group and control groups. Among the children who visited the dentist, 53% in the control group and 69% from the test group got simple amalgam and glass ionomer cement restorations. Conclusion: The dental attendance rates were improved following school dental screening.

20 CFR 664.310 - When is dropout status determined, particularly for youth attending alternative schools?

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 20 Employees' Benefits 3 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false When is dropout status determined... INVESTMENT ACT Out-of-School Youth § 664.310 When is dropout status determined, particularly for youth attending alternative schools? A school dropout is defined as an individual who is no longer attending any...

The Relationship of School Uniforms to Student Attendance, Achievement, and Discipline

Science.gov (United States)

Sowell, Russell Edward

2012-01-01

This causal-comparative study examined the relationship of school uniforms to attendance, academic achievement, and discipline referral rates, using data collected from two high schools in rural southwest Georgia county school systems, one with a uniforms program and one without a uniforms program. After accounting for race and students with…

A Dynamical View of High School Attendance: An Assessment of Short-term and Long-term Dependencies in Five Urban Schools.

Science.gov (United States)

Koopmans, Matthijs

2015-01-01

While school attendance is a critical mediator to academic achievement, its time dependent characteristics are rarely investigated. To remedy situation, this paper reports on the analysis of daily attendance rates in five urban high schools over a seven-year period. Traditional time series analyses were conducted to estimate short-range and cyclical dependencies in the data. An Autoregressive Fractional Integrated Moving Average (ARFIMA) approach was used to address long-range correlational patterns, and detect signs of self-organized criticality. The analysis reveals a strong cyclical pattern (weekly) in all five schools, and evidence for self-organized criticality in one of the five. These findings illustrate the insufficiency of traditional statistical summary measures to characterize the distribution of daily attendance, and they suggest that daily attendance is not necessarily the stable and predictable feature of school effectiveness it is conventionally assumed to be. While educational practitioners can probably attest to the many of the irregularities in attendance patterns as well as some of their sources, a systematic description of these temporal aspects needs to be included in our assessment of daily attendance behavior to inform policy decisions, if only to better align formal research in this area with existing local knowledge about those patterns.

Family Integrants Obstructing Pupils' School Attendance and Girl ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

This study is hinged on finding out the family integrants obstructing pupils' school attendance, the girl – child education and proffering solution to it via counsellors' strategies. The samples were three hundred (300) parents and twenty (20) counsellors. This brought the total sample to three hundred and twenty (320).

Indicated Truancy Interventions: Effects on School Attendance among Chronic Truant Students. Campbell Systematic Reviews. 2012:10

Science.gov (United States)

Maynard, Brandy R.; McCrea, Katherine Tyson; Pigott, Terri D.; Kelly, Michael S.

2012-01-01

The main objective of this systematic review was to examine the effects of interventions on school attendance to inform policy, practice, and research. The questions guiding this study were: (1) Do truancy programs with a goal of increasing student attendance for truant youth affect school attendance behaviors of elementary and secondary students…

Attendance, Performance and the Acquisition of Early Literacy Skills: A Comparison of Indigenous and Non-Indigenous School Children

Science.gov (United States)

Ehrich, John; Wolgemuth, Jennifer R.; Helmer, Janet; Oteng, Georges; Lea, Tess; Bartlett, Claire; Smith, Heather; Emmett, Sue

2010-01-01

As part of an evaluation of a web-based early literacy intervention, ABRACADABRA, a small exploratory study was conducted over one term in three primary schools in the Northern Territory. Of particular concern was the relationship between attendance and the acquisition of early literacy skills of Indigenous and non-Indigenous children. Using the…

A prospective study of methamphetamine use as a predictor of high school non-attendance in Cape Town, South Africa

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Parry Charles D

2010-10-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background This prospective study investigated the association between life-long methamphetamine and other drug use and high school non-attendance, in a sample of high school students in Cape Town, South Africa. Methods A random sample of 1535 high school students completed a baseline questionnaire in 2006, and were asked to complete a follow-up questionnaire 12 months later. The questionnaire included questions on substance use, including tobacco, alcohol, methamphetamine and cannabis use, demographic factors, and questions relating to school attendance and performance. Results Forty-three percent of the students surveyed at baseline did not complete a follow-up questionnaire after 12 months. Compared with students who were not using selected substances, an adjusted logistic regression model showed that life-time methamphetamine use in addition to other substances was significantly associated with non-attendance (OR = 2.58, 95% CI: 1.24 - 5.36 when other non-substance use factors (repeating a year at school and being older than the norm for current grade were taken into account. Conclusions Early identification of students with methamphetamine and other substance use problems, and a supportive rather than punitive school policy, may be valuable in improving high school completion and student retention rates.

The association between child and adolescent emotional disorder and poor attendance at school: a systematic review protocol.

Science.gov (United States)

Finning, Katie; Moore, Darren; Ukoumunne, Obioha C; Danielsson-Waters, Emilia; Ford, Tamsin

2017-06-28

Anxiety and depression are common in young people and are associated with a range of adverse outcomes. Research has suggested a relationship between emotional disorder and poor school attendance, and thus poor attendance may serve as a red flag for children at risk of emotional disorder. This systematic review aims to investigate the association between child and adolescent emotional disorder and poor attendance at school. We will search electronic databases from a variety of disciplines including medicine, psychology, education and social sciences, as well as sources of grey literature, to identify any quantitative studies that investigate the relationship between emotional disorder and school attendance. Emotional disorder may refer to diagnoses of mood or anxiety disorders using standardised diagnostic measures, or measures of depression, anxiety or "internalising symptoms" using a continuous scale. Definitions for school non-attendance vary, and we aim to include any relevant terminology, including attendance, non-attendance, school refusal, school phobia, absenteeism and truancy. Two independent reviewers will screen identified papers and extract data from included studies. We will assess the risk of bias of included studies using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale. Random effects meta-analysis will be used to pool quantitative findings when studies use the same measure of association, otherwise a narrative synthesis approach will be used. This systematic review will provide a detailed synthesis of evidence regarding the relationship between childhood emotional disorder and poor attendance at school. Understanding this relationship has the potential to assist in the development of strategies to improve the identification of and intervention for this vulnerable group. PROSPERO CRD42016052961.

Does breakfast-club attendance affect schoolchildren's nutrient intake? A study of dietary intake at three schools.

Science.gov (United States)

Belderson, Pippa; Harvey, Ian; Kimbell, Rosemary; O'Neill, Jennifer; Russell, Jean; Barker, Margo E

2003-12-01

Lack of breakfast has been implicated as a factor contributing to children's poor diets and school performance. Breakfast-club schemes, where children are provided with breakfast in school at the start of the school day, have been initiated by the Department of Health in schools throughout England, UK. The aim of the present study was to compare the energy and nutrient intakes of schoolchildren who attended breakfast clubs (attendee subjects) with those who did not (control subjects). Three different schools were studied, involving a total of 111 children aged between 9 and 15 years. There were fifty-nine attendee and fifty-two control subjects. The two groups were matched for eligibility for school meals. All subjects completed a 3 d weighed food diary for estimation of nutrient intake. Height and weight were measured and BMI calculated. Nutrient intake data were analysed using a general linear model with age as a covariate. The demographic and anthropometric characteristics of the attendee and control subjects were similar. Children who attended breakfast clubs had significantly greater intakes of fat (% energy), saturated fat (% energy) and Na than control subjects. Thus, in these schools breakfast-club participation was not associated with superior nutrient intake or improvements in dietary pattern.

Does school breakfast benefit children's educational performance?

Science.gov (United States)

Fernald, L; Ani, C C; Grantham-mcgregor, S

1997-09-01

This article reviews several research studies on the impact of the lack of breakfast among students. Recent data reveal that about 20% of Nigerian children were wasted or had weight-for-height measurements under the 5th percentile of the US National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) standard. In Ghana, 41% of children were underweight or had a weight-for-age under -2 standard deviations of the NCHS standards. In Tanzania, about 34% of children were underweight. Many more students in Africa are attending school, but many are leaving primary school early or failing secondary school examinations. It is argued that poor nutritional status affects children's ability to learn. Research reveals several hypotheses about how breakfast affects children's cognition, behavior, and school performance. Children may not attend school at all due to the inability to purchase food to eat at school, or insufficient food resources at home to provide sufficient energy to walk long distances to school. In four studies, two in the USA and the others in Peru and Jamaica, findings reveal that when undernourished children missed breakfast, they performed worse in tests of cognition. Adequately nourished children's performance was unaffected by missing breakfast. A study in four Jamaican schools found that children had more creative ideas when they received a breakfast for 2 weeks than when they did not receive breakfast. Two Swedish studies found that children with a high-calorie breakfast improved in cognition compared to those receiving a low-calorie breakfast. One study found that children in well-equipped classrooms paid more attention in class after having breakfast. Children in overcrowded classes and poorly equipped schools were less likely to pay attention after breakfast. Long-term effects are less well studied, but findings clearly support the benefits of breakfast.

Does Improved Water Access Increase Child School Attendance? A Quasi-Experimental Approach From Rural Ethiopia

Science.gov (United States)

Masuda, Y.; Cook, J.

2012-12-01

This paper analyzes the impact of improved water access on child school attendance using two years of primary panel data from a quasi-experimental study in Oromiya, Ethiopia. A predominant form of child labor in rural poor households in least developed countries is water collection. Girls are often the primary water collectors for households, and because of the time intensive nature of water collection improved water access may allow for time to be reallocated to schooling (Rosen and Vincent 1999; Nankhuni and Findeis 2004). Understanding how improved water access may increase schooling for girls has important development policy implications. Indeed, abundant research on returns to education suggests increased schooling for girls is tied to improved future child and maternal health, economic opportunities, and lower fertility rates (Handa 1996; Schultz 1998; Michaelowa 2000). The literature to date finds that improved water access leads to increased schooling; however, there still exists a clear gap in the literature for understanding this relationship for two reasons. First, only four studies have directly examined the relationship between improved water access and schooling in sub-Saharan Africa, and analyses have been limited due to the use of cross-sectional data and research designs (Nankhuni and Findeis 2004; Koolwal and Van de Walle 2010; Ndiritu and Nyangan 2011; Nauges and Strand 2011). Indeed, only two studies have attempted to control for the endogenous nature of water access. Second, all studies use a binary school enrollment indicator from household surveys, which may suffer from response bias and may be an imperfect measure for actual schooling. Respondents may feel pressured to report that their children are enrolled in school if, like in Ethiopia, there are compulsory education laws. This may result in an overestimation of school enrollment. In addition, most children from rural poor households combine work and school, and a binary indicator does

Class attendance and academic performance of second year ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

This study investigated the impact of classroom attendance on academic performance of university students in an Organic Chemistry course. It also looked into the moderating effect of gender on attendance and academic performance. Data was collected through expo-facto survey involving real time documentation of ...

School Segregation, Charter Schools, and Access to Quality Education*

Science.gov (United States)

Logan, John R.; Burdick-Will, Julia

2015-01-01

Race, class, neighborhood, and school quality are all highly inter-related in the American educational system. In the last decade a new factor has come into play, the option of attending a charter school. We offer a comprehensive analysis of the disparities among public schools attended by white, black, Hispanic, Asian, and Native American children in 2010–2011, including all districts in which charter schools existed. We compare schools in terms of poverty concentration, racial composition, and standardized test scores, and we also examine how attending a charter or non-charter school affects these differences. Black and Hispanic (and to a lesser extent Native American and Asian) students attend elementary and high schools with higher rates of poverty than white students. Especially for whites and Asians, attending a charter school means lower exposure to poverty. Children’s own race and the poverty and charter status of their schools affect the test scores and racial isolation of schools that children attend in complex combinations. Most intriguing, attending a charter school means attending a better performing school in high-poverty areas but a lower performing school in low-poverty areas. Yet even in the best case the positive effect of attending a charter school only slightly offsets the disadvantages of black and Hispanic students. PMID:27616813

Caring Teacher Qualities that Affect School Participation and Attendance: Student Portraits

Science.gov (United States)

Grimm, Helen M.

2009-01-01

This study explores the perspectives of four high school students focusing on the identification of caring teacher qualities and the influence those characteristics have on school participation and attendance. Data was collected using interviews rather than survey in order to hear the often-unheard voices of students. Portraits of each student…

Functional Assessment of School Attendance Problems : An Adapted Version of the School Refusal Assessment Scale-Revised

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Heyne, D. A.; Vreeke, L. J.; Maric, M.; Boelens, H.; Van Widenfelt, B. M.

2017-01-01

The School Refusal Assessment Scale (SRAS) was developed to identify four factors that might maintain a youth’s school attendance problem (SAP), and thus be targeted for treatment. There is still limited support for the four-factor model inherent to the SRAS and its revision (SRAS-R). Recent studies

Class Attendance and Performance in Principles of Economics

Science.gov (United States)

Cohn, Elchanan; Johnson, Eric

2006-01-01

A sample of 347 students, enrolled in principles of economics classes during the period 1997-2001, is used to examine the relation between class attendance and student performance on examinations. Among the questions examined are: Is attendance related to performance, with and without controls for other factors? Do only substantial levels of…

Nutrition and student performance at school.

Science.gov (United States)

Taras, Howard

2005-08-01

This article reviews research from published studies on the association between nutrition among school-aged children and their performance in school and on tests of cognitive functioning. Each reviewed article is accompanied by a brief description of its research methodology and outcomes. Articles are separated into 4 categories: food insufficiency, iron deficiency and supplementation, deficiency and supplementation of micronutrients, and the importance of breakfast. Research shows that children with iron deficiencies sufficient to cause anemia are at a disadvantage academically. Their cognitive performance seems to improve with iron therapy. A similar association and improvement with therapy is not found with either zinc or iodine deficiency, according to the reviewed articles. There is no evidence that population-wide vitamin and mineral supplementation will lead to improved academic performance. Food insufficiency is a serious problem affecting children's ability to learn, but its relevance to US populations needs to be better understood. Research indicates that school breakfast programs seem to improve attendance rates and decrease tardiness. Among severely undernourished populations, school breakfast programs seem to improve academic performance and cognitive functioning.

The relationship between school lunch attendance and the food intakes of French schoolchildren aged 3-17 years.

Science.gov (United States)

Dubuisson, Carine; Lioret, Sandrine; Dufour, Ariane; Calamassi-Tran, Gloria; Volatier, Jean-Luc; Lafay, Lionel; Turck, Dominique

2015-06-01

Recently, school meal composition regulations have been implemented in France in order to improve the nutritional status of children. The present study investigated the link between school lunch attendance and the food intakes of schoolchildren aged 3-17 years. Second French cross-sectional dietary survey (2006-2007). Eating frequencies were assessed for twenty-four food groups with a 7 d food record. Eating locations were recorded for main meals. Food group intakes at weekday lunches were compared for the school canteen and for other locations. The children's overall dietary intake was compared based on school lunch attendance. Mainland France. Schoolchildren aged 3-17 years (n 1068). Lunchtime food intake differed between the school canteen and other locations. Some intakes at school canteens were more in accordance with the regulations (more fruit and vegetables, fish and dairy products, and less sandwiches, soft drinks, chocolate and confectionery), whereas others highlighted needs for improvement (more sweet biscuits and pastries, ice cream and dairy desserts, pizzas and salty pastries). Many of these differences were also observed in the children's overall diet: children regularly attending school lunches ate more mashed fruit, fish and sweet biscuits or pastries, and less sandwiches and soft drinks. The link between school lunch attendance and overall diet was less pronounced in secondary-school children. School canteen attendance is associated with both potentially beneficial and deleterious differences in the lunchtime and overall diets of French children. These findings are important to consider when setting national regulations for school meal composition.

School environmental conditions and links to academic performance and absenteeism in urban, mid-Atlantic public schools.

Science.gov (United States)

Berman, J D; McCormack, M C; Koehler, K A; Connolly, F; Clemons-Erby, D; Davis, M F; Gummerson, C; Leaf, P J; Jones, T D; Curriero, F C

2018-05-02

School facility conditions, environment, and perceptions of safety and learning have been investigated for their impact on child development. However, it is important to consider how the environment separately influences academic performance and attendance after controlling for school and community factors. Using results from the Maryland School Assessment, we considered outcomes of school-level proficiency in reading and math plus attendance and chronic absences, defined as missing 20 or more days, for grades 3-5 and 6-8 at 158 urban schools. Characteristics of the environment included school facility conditions, density of nearby roads, and an index industrial air pollution. Perceptions of school safety, learning, and institutional environment were acquired from a School Climate Survey. Also considered were neighborhood factors at the community statistical area, including demographics, crime, and poverty based on school location. Poisson regression adjusted for over-dispersion was used to model academic achievement and multiple linear models were used for attendance. Each 10-unit change in facility condition index, denoting worse quality buildings, was associated with a decrease in reading (1.0% (95% CI: 0.1-1.9%) and math scores (0.21% (95% CI: 0.20-0.40), while chronic absences increased by 0.75% (95% CI: 0.30-1.39). Each log increase the EPA's Risk Screening Environmental Indicator (RSEI) value for industrial hazards, resulted in a marginally significant trend of increasing absenteeism (p < 0.06), but no association was observed with academic achievement. All results were robust to school-level measures of racial composition, free and reduced meals eligibility, and community poverty and crime. These findings provide empirical evidence for the importance of the community and school environment, including building conditions and neighborhood toxic substance risk, on academic achievement and attendance. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

Dietary habits and physical activity levels in Jordanian adolescents attending private versus public schools.

Science.gov (United States)

Tayyem, R F; Al-Hazzaa, H M; Abu-Mweis, S S; Bawadi, H A; Hammad, S S; Musaiger, A O

2014-07-08

The present study examined differences in dietary habits and physical activity levels between students attending private and public high schools in Jordan. A total of 386 secondary-school males and 349 females aged 14-18 years were randomly recruited using a multistage, stratified, cluster sampling technique. Dietary habits and physical activity level were self-reported in a validated questionnaire. The prevalence of obesity was significantly higher among adolescents in private (26.0%) than in public schools (16.7%). The frequency of breakfast intake was significantly higher among adolescents in private schools, whereas French fries and sweets intake was significantly higher in public schools. Television viewing showed a significant interaction with school type by sex. A higher rate of inactivity was found among students attending private schools. Despite a slightly better overall dietary profile for students in private schools, they had a higher rate of overweight and obesity compared with those in public schools.

Bullying and School Attendance: A Case Study of Senior High School Students in Ghana. CREATE Pathways to Access. Research Monograph No. 41

Science.gov (United States)

Dunne, Mairead; Bosumtwi-Sam, Cynthia; Sabates, Ricardo; Owusu, Andrew

2010-01-01

This monograph analyses the effects of bullying on school attendance among senior high school students in Ghana. A strong correlation is found between being bullied and having poor attendance. The effects of emotional problems and of peer friendships on this correlation are then examined. For both boys and girls, having emotional problems is…

Do healthy school meals affect illness, allergies and school attendance in 8- to 11-year-old children?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Laursen, Rikke Pilmann; Lauritzen, Lotte; Ritz, Christian

2015-01-01

Background/Objectives:A nutritionally adequate diet in childhood is important for health and resistance of allergies and infections. This study explored the effects of school meals rich in fish, vegetables and fibre on school attendance, asthma, allergies and illness in 797 Danish 8- to 11-year-o...

The association between higher body mass index and poor school performance in high school students.

Science.gov (United States)

Tonetti, L; Fabbri, M; Filardi, M; Martoni, M; Natale, V

2016-12-01

This study aimed to examine the association between body mass index (BMI) and school performance in high school students by controlling for relevant mediators such as sleep quality, sleep duration and socioeconomic status. Thirty-seven high school students (mean age: 18.16 ± 0.44 years) attending the same school type, i.e. 'liceo scientifico' (science-based high school), were enrolled. Students' self-reported weight and height were used to calculate BMI. Participants wore an actigraph to objectively assess the quality and duration of sleep. School performance was assessed through the actual grade obtained at the final school-leaving exam, in which higher grades indicate higher performance. BMI, get-up time, mean motor activity, wake after sleep onset and number of awakenings were negatively correlated with the grade, while sleep efficiency was positively correlated. When performing a multiple regression analysis, BMI proved the only significant (negative) predictor of grade. When controlling for sleep quality, sleep duration and socioeconomic status, a higher BMI is associated with a poorer school performance in high school students. © 2015 World Obesity Federation.

Victimization from bullying among school-attending adolescents in grades 7 to 10 in Zambia

OpenAIRE

Emmanuel Rudatsikira; Seter Siziya; Adamson Sinjani Muula

2012-01-01

Abstract: Background: Among school- attending adolescents, victimization from bullying is associated with anxiety, depression and poor academic performance. There are limited reports on victimization from bullying in Zambia; we therefore conducted this study to determine the prevalence and correlates for victimization from bullying among adolescents in grades 7 to 10 in the country in order to add information on the body of knowledge on victimization from bullying. Methods: The 2004 Zambia Gl...

Idiosyncratic Shocks, Child Labor and School Attendance in Indonesia

Science.gov (United States)

Kharisma, Bayu

2017-01-01

This paper investigates the effect of various idiosyncratic shocks against child labor, child labor hour and school attendance. Also, the role of the assets held by households as one of the coping strategies to mitigate the effects of shocks. The results show that various idiosyncratic shocks that encourage child labor is generally caused by crop…

Time Series in Education: The Analysis of Daily Attendance in Two High Schools

Science.gov (United States)

Koopmans, Matthijs

2011-01-01

This presentation discusses the use of a time series approach to the analysis of daily attendance in two urban high schools over the course of one school year (2009-10). After establishing that the series for both schools were stationary, they were examined for moving average processes, autoregression, seasonal dependencies (weekly cycles),…

The Effect of E-Learning on Learning and Interest in School Attendance among Elementary School Students

OpenAIRE

Seyedehsahar Shafieiosgouei; Nava Nourdad; Robab Hassantofighi; Seyyedreza Shafieioskouei

2018-01-01

The technological advances of the 21st century have impacted all spheres of life, including education. The world of books and pens is being replaced by computers at young ages. The present study aimed at investigating the effect of technology on Iranian elementary school students’ learning and interest in school attendance. The participants were 47 sixth grade students selected from two schools with and without technological support. The results of the study revealed a higher level of interes...

Performance of Low-Income Dual Language Learners Attending English-Only Schools on the Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals-Fourth Edition, Spanish.

Science.gov (United States)

Barragan, Beatriz; Castilla-Earls, Anny; Martinez-Nieto, Lourdes; Restrepo, M Adelaida; Gray, Shelley

2018-04-05

The aim of this study was to examine the performance of a group of Spanish-speaking, dual language learners (DLLs) who were attending English-only schools and came from low-income and low-parental education backgrounds on the Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals-Fourth Edition, Spanish (CELF-4S; Semel, Wiig, & Secord, 2006). Spanish-speaking DLLs (N = 656), ages 5;0 (years;months) to 7;11, were tested for language impairment (LI) using the core language score of the CELF-4S and the English Structured Photographic Expressive Language Test (Dawson, Stout, & Eyer, 2003). A subsample (n = 299) was additionally tested using a Spanish language sample analysis and a newly developed Spanish morphosyntactic measure, for identification of children with LI and to conduct a receiver operating characteristics curve analysis. Over 50% of the sample scored more than 1 SD below the mean on the core language score. In our subsample, the sensitivity of the CELF-4S was 94%, and specificity was 65%, using a cutoff score of 85 as suggested in the manual. Using an empirically derived cutoff score of 78, the sensitivity was 86%, and the specificity was 80%. Results suggest that the CELF-4S overidentifies low-income Spanish-English DLLs attending English-only schools as presenting with LI. For this sample, 1 in every 3 Latino children from low socioeconomic status was incorrectly identified with LI. Clinicians should be cautious when using the CELF-4S to evaluate low-income Spanish-English DLLs and ensure that they have converging evidence before making diagnostic decisions.

School performance in children with type 1 diabetes: a contemporary population-based study.

Science.gov (United States)

Cooper, Matthew N; McNamara, Kaitrin A R; de Klerk, Nicholas H; Davis, Elizabeth A; Jones, Timothy W

2016-03-01

Our aim was to examine the school performance of children with type 1 diabetes in comparison to their peers, exploring changes over time, and the impact of clinical factors on school performance. The study included data on 666 children with type 1 diabetes from the Western Australia Children's Diabetes Database. (WACDD), a population-based registry, and 3260 school and school year matched non-diabetic children. Records from the National Assessment Program - Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) (2008-2011), which examines four educational outcome domains and is administered annually to all years 3, 5, 7, and 9 children in Australia, were sourced for both groups. Clinical data were obtained for the children with diabetes from the WACDD. No significant difference was observed between those with type 1 diabetes and their peers, across any of the tested domains and school years analysed. No decline over time was observed, and no decline following diagnosis was observed. Type 1 diabetes was associated with decreased school attendance, 3% fewer days attended per year. Poorer glycaemic control [higher haemoglobin A1c (HbA1c)] was associated with a lower test score [0.2-0.3 SD per 1% (10.9 mmol/mol) increase in HbA1c], and with poorer attendance [1.8% decrease per 1% (10.9 mmol/mol) increase in HbA1c]. No association was observed with history of severe hypoglycaemia, diabetic ketoacidosis or age of onset and school test scores. These results suggest that type 1 diabetes is not associated with a significant decrement in school performance, as assessed by NAPLAN. The association of poorer glycaemic control with poorer school performance serves as further evidence for clinicians to focus on improving glycaemic control. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Mind the Gap: How Students Differentially Perceive Their School's Attendance Policies in Germany

Science.gov (United States)

Saelzer, Christine; Lenski, Anna Eva

2016-01-01

Truant student behavior can be due to various reasons. Some of these reasons are located in schools. So far, little is known about how student perception of school rules is related to truancy. This study aims to identify types of school attendance policies and how these policies are associated with individual truancy. Self-reports from the German…

AIDS risk among students attending Seventh-day Adventist school, in North America.

Science.gov (United States)

Hopkins, G L; Hopp, J W; Marshak, H P; Neish, C; Rhoads, G

1998-04-01

In 1995, a survey was conducted among students attending 69 Seventh-day Adventist (SDA) high schools within the United States and Canada. The survey assessed the extent that these students practiced sexual and drug-use behaviors which place them at risk for contracting or transmitting the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). A total of 1,748 respondents enrolled in grades 9 through 12 completed questionnaires similar to the instrument used in the 1993 Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS). Data were collected and compared to results from the 1993 YRBS. Students who attended SDA parochial schools reported lower rates of sexual intercourse compared to YRBS school counterparts (16.3% vs. 53.1%) and lower rates of all substances measured. Furthermore, respondents were more likely to engage in substance use and sexual intercourse if they had at least one parent who used tobacco, alcohol, or marijuana, as reported by the students.

School Attendance and Child Labor in Ecuador. Policy Research Working Paper Series.

Science.gov (United States)

Lopez-Acevedo, Gloria

Data from Ecuador's Living Standard and Measurement Surveys were used to analyze the characteristics and determinants of child labor and schooling. Of particular interest was the influence of adult wages on child labor. Survey data on children aged 10-17 included sex, age, rural or urban residence, monthly wages, whether or not attending school,…

The Impact of Location Alteration on School Attendance of Chicano Gang Members.

Science.gov (United States)

Hunsaker, Alan C.

The study examined whether a change in school site affected the school attendance of 13 male Chicano gang members, 13 to 18 years of age, admitted to a community-based delinquency and gang violence prevention project. Since an active Alternative Studies Program, designed for students with special learning problems or for working students, already…

Kindergarten attendance may reduce developmental impairments in children: results from the Bavarian Pre-School Morbidity Survey.

Science.gov (United States)

Caniato, Riccardo N; Alvarenga, Marlies E; Stich, Heribert L; Jansen, Holger; Baune, Berhard T

2010-08-01

The relative risks and benefits of children attending kindergarten or pre-school remain uncertain and controversial. We used data from the Bavarian Pre-School Morbidity Survey (BPMS) to look at the prevalence of developmental impairments in pre-school children entering primary school and to assess if these were correlated with the duration of kindergarten attendance. We collected data from all school beginners in the district of Dingolfing, Bavaria from 2004 to 2007 (n = 4,005) and utilised a retrospective cross-sectional study design to review the information. The children were assessed for motor, cognitive, language and psychosocial impairments using a standardized medical assessment. Point prevalence of impairments of speech, cognition, motor functioning and psychosocial functioning were compared by chi(2)-test for the variable of time spent in kindergarten. We detected a high incidence of impairments, with boys showing higher rates than girls in all the areas assessed. Longer length of time spent in kindergarten was associated with reduced rates of motor, cognitive and psychosocial impairments. There was no clear correlation between length of kindergarten attendance and speech disorders. Kindergarten attendance may have a positive effect on a number of domains of development including motor, cognitive and psychosocial development, but no significant effect on speech impairments. Implications for public health policies are discussed.

School attendance in childhood cancer survivors and their siblings.

Science.gov (United States)

French, Amy E; Tsangaris, Elena; Barrera, Maru; Guger, Sharon; Brown, Robert; Urbach, Stacey; Stephens, Derek; Nathan, Paul C

2013-01-01

To investigate school absenteeism among childhood cancer survivors and their siblings and examine factors related to absenteeism in survivors. A cross-sectional study was conducted among consecutive cancer survivors attending a large pediatric cancer survivor clinic. Absenteeism rates were obtained for survivors and their closest in age sibling from school report cards. Absenteeism was compared with a population control group of 167752 students using 1-sample t tests. The Child Vulnerability Scale, Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory, and Behavior Assessment System for Children were administered to survivors. Univariate and multiple regression analyses assessed variables associated with days absent. One hundred thirty-one survivors (median age at assessment: 13.4 years, range 8.0-19.2; median age at diagnosis: 9.4 years, range 4.3-17.3) and 77 siblings (median age at assessment: 13 years, age range 7-18) participated. Survivors and siblings missed significantly more school days than the population control group (mean ± SD: 9.6 ± 9.2 and 9.9 ± 9.8 vs 5.0 ± 5.6 days, respectively, P sibling pairs (N = 77), there was no difference in absenteeism (9.6 ± 9.2 vs 9.9 ± 9.8 days, P = .85). Absenteeism in survivors was significantly associated with a low Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory Physical Health Summary Score (P = .01). Parents' perception of their child's vulnerability and emotional and social functioning were not associated with absenteeism. Childhood cancer survivors and siblings miss more school than the general population. The only predictor of absenteeism in survivors is poor physical quality of health. More research should be devoted to school attendance and other outcomes in siblings of childhood cancer survivors. Copyright © 2013 Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved.

School performance and school behavior of children affected by AIDS in China

Science.gov (United States)

Tu, Xiaoming; Lv, Yunfei; Li, Xiaoming; Fang, Xiaoyi; Zhao, Guoxiang; Lin, Xiuyun; Hong, Yan; Zhang, Liying; Stanton, Bonita

2009-01-01

It is generally recognized that the AIDS epidemic will have a negative effect on the orphans’ school education. However, few studies have been carried out to examine the school performance and school behavior of AIDS orphans and vulnerable children (children living with HIV-infected parents). Using both self-report and teacher evaluation data of 1625 children from rural central China, we examined the impact of parental HIV/AIDS on children's school performances (academic marks, educational expectation, and student leadership) and school behaviors (e.g., aggression, shy/anxious and assertive social skills). Results indicate that AIDS orphans and vulnerable children had disadvantages in school performances in comparison to their peers from the same community who did not experience AIDS-related death and illness in their family (comparison children). AIDS orphans had the lowest academic marks based on the reports of both children and teachers. Educational expectation was significantly lower among AIDS orphans and vulnerable children than comparison children from teacher's perspective. AIDS orphans were significantly more likely to demonstrate aggressive, impulsive and anxious behaviors than non-orphans. Moreover, orphans have more learning difficulties. Vulnerable children were also at a disadvantage on most measures. The data suggest that a greater attention is needed to the school performance and behavior of children affected by AIDS. The findings also indicate that AIDS relief and assistance program for children should go beyond the school attendance and make efforts to improve their school performance and education aspiration. PMID:20107622

Sleep Pattern of Adolescents in a School in Delhi, India: Impact on their Mood and Academic Performance.

Science.gov (United States)

Singh, Ruchi; Suri, Jagdish C; Sharma, Renuka; Suri, Tejas; Adhikari, Tulsi

2018-03-16

To examine the sleep pattern and observe differences in sleep routines, phase preferences, mood, attendance, and academic performance among different adolescent age students. Secondly, to observe the age at which sleep phase transition and changes in sleep requirement become evident. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 501 students (aged 11-15 y) of a school in Delhi, India. Students were evaluated for their sleep patterns, sleep duration, habits of napping, quality of sleep, sleepiness, depression, phase preferences by self-reported school sleep habits survey questionnaire along with school performance and attendance. Significant differences were found in sleep pattern of students aged 11-12 y and 13-15 y. Bedtime shifted to a later time with increasing age but early morning schools kept the wake time same, leading to a decline in total sleep duration of older adolescents. Older adolescents had higher depression but poor attendance and academic performance. Prevalence of sleep deprivation increased with age, from 83.7% to 87.1% in 11-12 y to 90.5% to 92.5% in 13-15 y. The study clearly identifies 12-13 y as age of transition of sleep pattern among adolescents. Though significant differences were found in the academic performance, mood and attendance among preteens and teens but no direct association was seen between academic performances and sleep pattern. A complex multifactorial association between sleep patterns, attendance, mood and academic performance which may change over days, months, or years should be explored further in a longitudinal follow up study.

Understanding adolescents' sleep patterns and school performance: a critical appraisal.

Science.gov (United States)

Wolfson, Amy R; Carskadon, Mary A

2003-12-01

The present paper reviews and critiques studies assessing the relation between sleep patterns, sleep quality, and school performance of adolescents attending middle school, high school, and/or college. The majority of studies relied on self-report, yet the researchers approached the question with different designs and measures. Specifically, studies looked at (1) sleep/wake patterns and usual grades, (2) school start time and phase preference in relation to sleep habits and quality and academic performance, and (3) sleep patterns and classroom performance (e.g., examination grades). The findings strongly indicate that self-reported shortened total sleep time, erratic sleep/wake schedules, late bed and rise times, and poor sleep quality are negatively associated with academic performance for adolescents from middle school through the college years. Limitations of the current published studies are also discussed in detail in this review.

Risk-associated health disorders occuring in junior schoolchildren who attend schools with higher stress and intensity of educational process

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

N.V. Zaitseva

2017-03-01

Full Text Available We performed comparative sanitary-hygienic assessment of regime, stress and intensity of educational process in different educational establishments, a comprehensive secondary school and an innovative educational establishment - lyceum. We detected that studying regime tended to be tight, classes were longer and more intense than in an ordinary school, and educational process involved considerable intellectual, sensory and emotional loads for children; such loads reached "1st category intense" level. Schoolchildren attending lyceums are also busy with additional educational programs and it significantly increases length of total educational load on them. By the end of a school year 20% of lyceum pupils suffer from sympathoadrenal system overstress and it doesn't only determine emotional tonus level in children but also leads to disorders in concentration and decision-making speed, lower reading speed and articulation, slower motor reactions. 15% of lyceum pupils have higher activity of autonomous nervous system and lower adaptation of cardiovascular system to psycho emotional and physical loads. Lyceum pupils also run 2.5 times higher risk of chronic nervous system diseases evolvement than school children attending ordinary schools. Autonomous nervous system disorders, posture disorders and nutrition disorders are predominant nosologic pathology forms in lyceum pupils as they occur in them 1.6-2.9 times more frequent than in schoolchildren of the same age who attend an ordinary comprehensive school. We detected direct correlation between higher intellectual and emotional components of educational process, and total educational intensity as well, and frequency of autonomous system disorders and musculoskeletal system diseases in pupils.

An Investigation of Emotional Skills of Six-Year-Old Children Attending Nursery School According to Some Variables

Science.gov (United States)

Durmusoglu-Saltali, Neslihan; Arslan, Emel

2011-01-01

The purpose of this study is for the emotional skills of six-year-old children attending nursery school according to some variables. The participants were 306 (135 girls and 171 boys) six-year-old children attending nursery school. Data were collected from Assessment of Children's Emotional Skills and personal information form. In order to analyze…

Comparison of obesity, overweight and elevated blood pressure in children attending public and private primary schools in Benin City, Nigeria.

Science.gov (United States)

Sadoh, W E; Israel-Aina, Y T; Sadoh, A E; Uduebor, J E; Shaibu, M; Ogonor, E; Enugwuna, F C

2017-07-01

Overweight and obesity in children, and adolescents is on the rise globally. Affected children are prone to cardio-metabolic problems later in life, especially hypertension. The prevalence of obesity/overweight may differ depending on school type. Private schools are attended mostly by children of the affluent, while public schools are attended predominantly by those in the low and middle socio-economic classes. To compare the prevalence of overweight, obesity and elevated blood pressure (BP) in pupils attending public and private primary schools in an urban community in Nigeria. In this cross sectional study, the BMI and BP of pupils in public and private primary schools, recruited by multistage sampling method, were measured. Their nutritional status was categorized using their BMI percentiles. Analysis was by SPSS. A total of 1466 pupils were recruited, 814(55.5%) were in public schools and 722(49.2%) were males. The prevalence of overweight and obesity was higher in private schools 11.8% and 11.7% compared to public schools 3.3% and 0.9%. The mean systolic BP of pupils in public schools 96.8 ± 12.5 mmHg was higher than that in private schools 95.5 ± 10.2 mmHg, p = 0.032. Distribution of pupils with prehypertension and hypertension between private and public schools was not significantly different. The prevalence of overweight and obesity is higher in pupils attending private schools compared to those in public school. Urgent measures are needed to stem this tide through education, weight reduction and physical activity programs, especially in pupils attending private schools.

Causal Effects of Single-Sex Schools on College Entrance Exams and College Attendance: Random Assignment in Seoul High Schools

OpenAIRE

Park, Hyunjoon; Behrman, Jere R.; Choi, Jaesung

2013-01-01

Despite the voluminous literature on the potentials of single-sex schools, there is no consensus on the effects of single-sex schools because of student selection of school types. We exploit a unique feature of schooling in Seoul—the random assignment of students into single-sex versus coeducational high schools—to assess causal effects of single-sex schools on college entrance exam scores and college attendance. Our validation of the random assignment shows comparable socioeconomic backgroun...

The mental health of children of migrant workers in Beijing: the protective role of public school attendance.

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Gao, Qin; Li, Hong; Zou, Hong; Cross, Wendi; Bian, Ran; Liu, Yan

2015-08-01

The present study aims to understand the mental health status of an understudied group of migrant children - children of migrant workers in China. A total of 1,466 children from Beijing participated in the study that compared migrant children (n = 1,019) to their local peers (n = 447) in public and private school settings. Results showed that overall, migrant children reported more internalizing and externalizing mental health problems and lower life satisfaction than local peers. However, public school attendance served as a protective factor for migrant children's mental health. The mental health status of migrant children attending public schools, including externalizing problems as well as friend and school satisfaction, was not different from local children. In addition, our data indicates that the protective effect of public school attendance for migrant children may be even more salient among girls than boys, and for younger children than older children. © 2015 Scandinavian Psychological Associations and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

School (Non-)Attendance and "Mobile Cultures": Theoretical and Empirical Insights from Indigenous Australia

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Prout Quicke, Sarah; Biddle, Nicholas

2017-01-01

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (Indigenous) Australians are significantly and substantially less likely to be attending school on a given day than their non-Indigenous counterparts. This has been shown to have long-term consequences for the development of the mainstream literacy and numeracy skills associated with formal schooling, as well…

Comparing the Performance of Faith-Based and Government Schools in the Democratic Republic of Congo

OpenAIRE

Backiny-Yetna, Prospere; Wodon, Quentin

2009-01-01

This paper provides a comparative assessment of the market share, reach to the poor, and performance of faith-based and public schools in the Democratic Republic of Congo using data from the 2004-2005 "123" survey. More than two thirds of primary school students attend faith-based government-assisted schools. Both types of school cater to a similar population that is overwhelmingly poor. Faith-based schools perform slightly better at least in some dimensions than government schools, but the ...

The Effect of High School Shootings on Schools and Student Performance

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Beland, Louis-Philippe; Kim, Dongwoo

2016-01-01

We analyze how fatal shootings in high schools affect schools and students using data from shooting databases, school report cards, and the Common Core of Data. We examine schools' test scores, enrollment, number of teachers, graduation, attendance, and suspension rates at schools that experienced a shooting, employing a difference-in-differences…

Delayed high school start times later than 8:30am and impact on graduation rates and attendance rates.

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McKeever, Pamela Malaspina; Clark, Linda

2017-04-01

The first purpose of this study was to investigate changes in high school graduation rates with a delayed school start time of later than 8:30am. The second aim of the study was to analyze the association between a delayed high school start time later than 8:30am and attendance rates. In the current study, a pre-post design using a repeated-measures analysis of variance was used to examine changes in attendance and graduation rates 2 years after a delayed start was implemented. Public high schools from 8 school districts (n=29 high schools) located throughout 7 different states. Schools were identified using previous research from the Children's National Medical Center's Division of Sleep Medicine Research Team. A total membership of more than 30,000 high school students enrolled in the 29 schools identified by the Children's National Medical Center's Research Team. A pre-post design was used for a within-subject design, controlling for any school-to-school difference in the calculation of the response variable. This is the recommended technique for a study that may include data with potential measurement error. Findings from this study linked a start time of later than 8:30am to improved attendance rates and graduation rates. Attendance rates and graduation rates significantly improved in schools with delayed start times of 8:30am or later. School officials need to take special notice that this investigation also raises questions about whether later start times are a mechanism for closing the achievement gap due to improved graduation rates. Copyright © 2017 National Sleep Foundation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Motivation, learning strategies, participation and medical school performance.

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Stegers-Jager, Karen M; Cohen-Schotanus, Janke; Themmen, Axel P N

2012-07-01

Medical schools wish to better understand why some students excel academically and others have difficulty in passing medical courses. Components of self-regulated learning (SRL), such as motivational beliefs and learning strategies, as well as participation in scheduled learning activities, have been found to relate to student performance. Although participation may be a form of SRL, little is known about the relationships among motivational beliefs, learning strategies, participation and medical school performance. This study aimed to test and cross-validate a hypothesised model of relationships among motivational beliefs (value and self-efficacy), learning strategies (deep learning and resource management), participation (lecture attendance, skills training attendance and completion of optional study assignments) and Year 1 performance at medical school. Year 1 medical students in the cohorts of 2008 (n = 303) and 2009 (n = 369) completed a questionnaire on motivational beliefs and learning strategies (sourced from the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire) and participation. Year 1 performance was operationalised as students' average Year 1 course examination grades. Structural equation modelling was used to analyse the data. Participation and self-efficacy beliefs were positively associated with Year 1 performance (β = 0.78 and β = 0.19, respectively). Deep learning strategies were negatively associated with Year 1 performance (β =- 0.31), but positively related to resource management strategies (β = 0.77), which, in turn, were positively related to participation (β = 0.79). Value beliefs were positively related to deep learning strategies only (β = 0.71). The overall structural model for the 2008 cohort accounted for 47% of the variance in Year 1 grade point average and was cross-validated in the 2009 cohort. This study suggests that participation mediates the relationships between motivation and learning strategies, and medical school

High School Substance Use as a Predictor of College Attendance, Completion, and Dropout: A National Multi-cohort Longitudinal Study.

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Patrick, Megan E; Schulenberg, John E; O'Malley, Patrick M

2016-05-01

National data from Monitoring the Future were used to examine patterns and predictors of college attendance. Samples of American 12 th -grade students from 1977-2003 were followed for seven years (modal ages 18-25; N =10,020). College attendance and graduation patterns varied considerably over historical time and based on family background. Substance use during high school predicted a greater likelihood of never attending (for cigarettes, illegal drugs), of graduating from a 2-year rather than a 4-year school (for cigarettes), and of dropping out versus graduating from a 4-year school (for cigarettes, marijuana, and other illegal drugs). High school binge drinking predicted lower college dropout, but only in models also controlling for cigarette, marijuana, and other illicit drug use. This study provides a needed overview of adolescent predictors of patterns of college attendance among American young adults over the past three decades.

Identification of dietary patterns of adolescents attending public schools

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Lucinéia de Pinho

2014-06-01

Full Text Available OBJECTIVE: to identify the dietary patterns of adolescents attending public municipal schools in Northern Minas Gerais, Brazil, and to test the association between these patterns and socioeconomic variables and nutritional status of the adolescents. METHODS: this was an analytical, cross-sectional study with randomized sample of 474 adolescents of both genders, between 11 and 17 years of age, attending municipal public schools in the urban area of Montes Claros, MG, Brazil. The parents provided demographic and economic data. The nutritional status (body mass index - BMI of the adolescents was determined at school, and their dietary habits were assessed though the administration of the Food Frequency Questionnaire for Adolescents (FFQA. Based on 26 categories extracted from FFQA, dietary patterns were determined using principal component analysis (PCA and associated to anthropometric and socioeconomic factors using multiple regression analysis. RESULTS: the three dietary patterns identified, "junk food," "healthy," and "traditional", explained 23.26%, 6.90%, and 5.24% of data variability, respectively. Adolescents with per capita family income exceeding half a minimum wage were more likely to consume the "junk food" pattern (OR = 1.66; 95% CI = 1.07-2.56, and overweight adolescents had lower chances of eating the "healthy" food pattern (OR = 0.56, 95% CI = 0.35-0.91. CONCLUSIONS: deviations from the "healthy" patterns were not associated to low income, but rather to bad eating habits in the studied population. Overweight adolescents did not adhere to the "healthy" dietary pattern, emphasizing the need for nutritional education among them.

Do healthy school meals affect illness, allergies and school attendance in 8- to 11-year-old children? A cluster-randomised controlled study.

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Laursen, R P; Lauritzen, L; Ritz, C; Dyssegaard, C B; Astrup, A; Michaelsen, K F; Damsgaard, C T

2015-05-01

A nutritionally adequate diet in childhood is important for health and resistance of allergies and infections. This study explored the effects of school meals rich in fish, vegetables and fibre on school attendance, asthma, allergies and illness in 797 Danish 8- to 11-year-old children. No comparable studies conducted in high-income settings have been identified. The OPUS School Meal Study was a cluster-randomised cross-over trial. Children from third and fourth grades at nine Danish schools received school meals or usual packed lunch (control) for two 3-month periods. Occurrence and duration of illnesses, asthma and allergies during the last 14 days were recorded by parental questionnaires at baseline and after each 3-month period. Self-reported well-being was assessed by visual analogue scales. The school meals did not affect school attendance, parent-reported occurrence or duration of asthma and allergies or self-reported well-being. The most common symptoms of illness were stomach pain (24%), headache (28%) and cold (24%). A slightly higher number of children experienced headaches in the school meal (27%) compared with the control period (22%) (P=0.02). However, subgroup analyses showed that this effect was only seen in children eating school meals in the classroom (P=0.007), and not in common dining areas (P=0.2). No effect was found on other symptoms of illness. Provision of nutritionally balanced school meals did not affect school attendance, asthma, allergies, illness or well-being in 8- to 11-year-old children. The slight increase in occurrence of headaches seems to be related to the physical eating environment.

School Achievement and Performance in Chilean High Schools: The Mediating Role of Subjective Wellbeing in School-Related Evaluations

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López, Verónica; Oyanedel, Juan C.; Bilbao, Marian; Torres, Javier; Oyarzún, Denise; Morales, Macarena; Ascorra, Paula; Carrasco, Claudia

2017-01-01

School achievement gaps and school failure are problematic issues in Latin America, and are mainly explained by the socio-economic status (SES) of the students. What schools can do to improve school achievement and reduce school failure is a critical issue, both for school management and teacher training. In this study, we present the association of individual and school-related socio-emotional variables with school achievement and performance, controlling for the effects of SES. A probabilistic sample of 4,964 students, drawn from 191 schools enrolled in year 10 in urban areas of Chile, answered questionnaires assessing subjective wellbeing, social wellbeing in school, school climate, school social wellbeing and students’ perceptions of teachers’ wellbeing. Using structural equation modeling, and controlling for SES, we modeled subjective wellbeing as a mediator of the relationship between school-related variables, such as school climate and perception of teacher’s wellbeing, and (a) school achievement, and (b) school performance. School achievement was computed as a product of (a) the probability of passing the school year, and (b) the percentage of yearly attendance at school. Data on school achievement was drawn from administrative registries from the Chilean Ministry of Education. School performance was computed as the estimated grade point average (GPA) at the end of the school year, based on the students’ previous 5-year GPAs, and was also obtained through administrative data of the last 5 years. Findings reveal the mediating role of subjective wellbeing in the relationship between school-related evaluations (students’ social wellbeing at school, their perception of teachers’ wellbeing and school climate) and school achievement. For school achievement, two variables were mediated (students’ social wellbeing at school and school climate). However, for school performance, no significant mediations were found. We conclude that, on the one hand

School Achievement and Performance in Chilean High Schools: The Mediating Role of Subjective Wellbeing in School-Related Evaluations.

Science.gov (United States)

López, Verónica; Oyanedel, Juan C; Bilbao, Marian; Torres, Javier; Oyarzún, Denise; Morales, Macarena; Ascorra, Paula; Carrasco, Claudia

2017-01-01

School achievement gaps and school failure are problematic issues in Latin America, and are mainly explained by the socio-economic status (SES) of the students. What schools can do to improve school achievement and reduce school failure is a critical issue, both for school management and teacher training. In this study, we present the association of individual and school-related socio-emotional variables with school achievement and performance, controlling for the effects of SES. A probabilistic sample of 4,964 students, drawn from 191 schools enrolled in year 10 in urban areas of Chile, answered questionnaires assessing subjective wellbeing, social wellbeing in school, school climate, school social wellbeing and students' perceptions of teachers' wellbeing. Using structural equation modeling, and controlling for SES, we modeled subjective wellbeing as a mediator of the relationship between school-related variables, such as school climate and perception of teacher's wellbeing, and (a) school achievement, and (b) school performance. School achievement was computed as a product of (a) the probability of passing the school year, and (b) the percentage of yearly attendance at school. Data on school achievement was drawn from administrative registries from the Chilean Ministry of Education. School performance was computed as the estimated grade point average (GPA) at the end of the school year, based on the students' previous 5-year GPAs, and was also obtained through administrative data of the last 5 years. Findings reveal the mediating role of subjective wellbeing in the relationship between school-related evaluations (students' social wellbeing at school, their perception of teachers' wellbeing and school climate) and school achievement. For school achievement, two variables were mediated (students' social wellbeing at school and school climate). However, for school performance, no significant mediations were found. We conclude that, on the one hand, after

Improving Attendance and Retention in Out-of-School Time Programs. Research-to-Results Practitioner Insights. Publication # 2007-17

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Kennedy, Elena; Wilson, Brooke; Valladares, Sherylls; Bronte-Tinkew, Jacinta

2007-01-01

Regular participation in out-of-school time activities is associated with benefits for children. However, children cannot reap the benefits of program participation if they do not attend programs in the first place. This brief focuses on ways in which out-of-school time programs can improve the attendance and retention of children and youth in…

Chronotype, Light Exposure, Sleep, and Daytime Functioning in High School Students Attending Morning or Afternoon School Shifts: An Actigraphic Study.

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Martin, Jeanne Sophie; Gaudreault, Michael M; Perron, Michel; Laberge, Luc

2016-04-01

Adolescent maturation is associated with delays of the endogenous circadian phase. Consequently, early school schedules may lead to a mismatch between internal and external time, which can be detrimental to adolescent sleep and health. In parallel, chronotype is known to play a role in adolescent health; evening chronotype adolescents are at higher risk for sleep problems and lower academic achievement. In the summer of 2008, Kénogami High School (Saguenay, Canada) was destroyed by fire. Kénogami students were subsequently relocated to Arvida High School (situated 5.3 km away) for the 2008-2009 academic year. A dual school schedule was implemented, with Arvida students attending a morning schedule (0740-1305 h) and Kénogami students an afternoon schedule (1325-1845 h). This study aimed to investigate the effects of such school schedules and chronotype on sleep, light exposure, and daytime functioning. Twenty-four morning and 33 afternoon schedule students wore an actigraph during 7 days to measure sleep and light exposure. Academic achievement was obtained from school. Subjects completed validated questionnaires on daytime sleepiness, psychological distress, social rhythms, school satisfaction, alcohol, and chronotype. Overall, afternoon schedule students had longer sleep duration, lower sleepiness, and lower light exposure than morning schedule students. Evening chronotypes (E-types) reported higher levels of sleepiness than morning chronotypes (M-types) in both morning and afternoon schedules. Furthermore, M-types attending the morning schedule reported higher sleepiness than M-types attending the afternoon schedule. No difference was found between morning and afternoon schedule students with regard to academic achievement, psychological distress, social rhythms, school satisfaction, and alcohol consumption. However, in both schedules, M-type had more regular social rhythms and lower alcohol consumption. In summary, this study emphasizes that an early school

Birth Order, Child Labor and School Attendance in Brazil

OpenAIRE

Patrick M. Emerson; Andre Portela Souza

2002-01-01

This paper examines the effects of birth order on the child labor incidence and school attendance of Brazilian children. Evidence from the psychology and sociology literature suggests that earlier-born children tend to have higher innate abilities. The economic implications of these findings are that earlier-born children may have more intra-household resources directed to them when they are young, and better outcomes as adults in areas such as education and earnings. However, in the context ...

DISASTER AND YOUTH VIOLENCE: THE EXPERIENCE OF SCHOOL ATTENDING YOUTH IN NEW ORLEANS

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Madkour, Aubrey S.; Johnson, Carolyn C.; Clum, Gretchen A.; Brown, Lisanne

2013-01-01

Purpose Although disaster exposure is linked with increased child aggression, population-level trends are unknown. Pre- to post-Katrina changes in violence-related behaviors among New Orleans high school youth (ages 12-18) were assessed. Methods Data from the 2003 (pre-Katrina), 2005 (pre-Katrina) and 2007 (post-Katrina) New Orleans Youth Risk Behavior Survey (n=5,267) were utilized. Crude comparisons across years of population characteristics and violence behavior prevalence were made with chi-square analyses. Changes in violence-related behaviors over time were assessed with logistic regression models including indicators for survey years and controls for compositional changes. Results Age, gender and race/ethnicity of school-attending youth were stable across years. In models controlling for demographics, most behaviors were stable over time. Some changes were observed for all groups: dating violence and forced sex increased prior to the storm; weapon carrying and missing school due to feeling unsafe decreased after the storm. Among African American adolescents only, being threatened at school increased before Katrina. Conclusions Results do not support significant population-level increases in violent behavior among New Orleans school-attending youths post-Katrina. Factors that buffered New Orleans students from post-Katrina violence increases, such as population composition changes or increased supportive services, may explain these findings. PMID:21783056

Effect of Religious Attendance on Years of Schooling in the USA

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Mohanty, Madhu S.

2016-01-01

Using data from the USA, the study demonstrates that an individual's completed years of schooling later in life is positively related to his/her frequency of religious attendance during youth. Using the propensity score matching technique, the study shows that this relationship is causal. This conclusion remains valid for youths of different…

School Correlates of Academic Behaviors and Performance among McKinney-Vento Identified Youth

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Stone, Susan; Uretsky, Mathew

2016-01-01

We utilized a pooled sample of elementary, middle, and high school-aged children identified as homeless via definitions set forth by McKinney-Vento legislation in a large urban district in California to estimate the extent to which school factors contributed to student attendance, suspensions, test-taking behaviors, and performance on state…

Fruit and Vegetable Intake and Dietary Patterns of Preadolescents Attending Schools in the Midwest

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Nepper, Martha J.; Chai, Weiwen

2015-01-01

Objectives: The present study examined dietary intake of fruit and vegetables and dietary patterns of preadolescents attending schools in the Midwest. Methods: A total of 506 students (11.2 ± 1.3 years) from four public and private schools in Nebraska completed a validated 41-item Food Frequency Questionnaire to assess their dietary intake.…

Class attendance, peer similarity, and academic performance in a large field study

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kassarnig, Valentin; Bjerre-Nielsen, Andreas; Mones, Enys

2017-01-01

Identifying the factors that determine academic performance is an essential part of educational research. Existing research indicates that class attendance is a useful predictor of subsequent course achievements. The majority of the literature is, however, based on surveys and self-reports, methods....... Based on measured attendance data of nearly 1,000 undergraduate students, we demonstrate that early and consistent class attendance strongly correlates with academic performance. In addition, our novel dataset allows us to determine that attendance among social peers was substantially correlated (>0...

Successful Attendance Policies and Programs. Research Brief

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Education Partnerships, Inc., 2012

2012-01-01

What steps can be taken to assure that High School students have the best attendance possible? It is commonly believed and well supported by research that students who attend school regularly are more successful than those who do not. The challenge for high schools is to design and implement attendance policies and programs that monitor,…

Student Engagement in High-Performing Schools: Relationships to Mental and Physical Health

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Conner, Jerusha O.; Pope, Denise

2014-01-01

This chapter examines how the three most common types of engagement found among adolescents attending high-performing high schools relate to indicators of mental and physical health. [This article originally appeared as NSSE Yearbook Vol. 113, No. 1.

School absenteeism among school-aged children with medically attended acute viral respiratory illness during three influenza seasons, 2012-2013 through 2014-2015.

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McLean, Huong Q; Peterson, Siri H; King, Jennifer P; Meece, Jennifer K; Belongia, Edward A

2017-05-01

Acute respiratory illnesses (ARIs) are common in school-aged children, but few studies have assessed school absenteeism due to specific respiratory viruses. To evaluate school absenteeism among children with medically attended ARI due to common viruses. We analyzed follow-up surveys from children seeking care for acute respiratory illness who were enrolled in the influenza vaccine effectiveness study at Marshfield Clinic during the 2012-2013 through 2014-2015 influenza seasons. Archived influenza-negative respiratory swabs were retested using multiplex RT-PCR to detect 16 respiratory virus targets. Negative binomial and logistic regression models were used to examine the association between school absence and type of respiratory viruses; endpoints included mean days absent from school and prolonged (>2 days) absence. We examined the association between influenza vaccination and school absence among children with RT-PCR-confirmed influenza. Among 1027 children, 2295 days of school were missed due to medically attended ARIs; influenza accounted for 39% of illness episodes and 47% of days missed. Mean days absent were highest for influenza (0.96-1.19) and lowest for coronavirus (0.62). Children with B/Yamagata infection were more likely to report prolonged absence than children with A/H1N1 or A/H3N2 infection [OR (95% CI): 2.1 (1.0, 4.5) and 1.7 (1.0, 2.9), respectively]. Among children with influenza, vaccination status was not associated with prolonged absence. School absenteeism due to medically attended ARIs varies by viral infection. Influenza B infections accounted for the greatest burden of absenteeism. © 2016 The Authors. Influenza and Other Respiratory Viruses Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Comparing resident cataract surgery outcomes under novice versus experienced attending supervision

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Puri S

2015-09-01

Full Text Available Sidharth Puri,1 Amanda E Kiely,2 Jiangxia Wang,3 Alonzo S Woodfield,4 Saras Ramanathan,5 Shameema Sikder21Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, 2Wilmer Eye Institute, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, 3Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, 4Kaiser Permanente South Sacramento Medical Center, Sacramento, 5San Francisco School of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USAPurpose: To determine whether supervision by an attending new to surgical teaching or an experienced attending measurably influences intraoperative complications rates or outcomes in phacoemulsification performed by ophthalmology residents.Setting: Single tertiary hospital.Design: Retrospective cohort study. Methods: Resident-performed phacoemulsification cases supervised by one novice attending (N=189 and experienced attending (N=172 over 1 year were included. Data included: resident year, patient age, sex, preoperative risk factors (4+ dense/white/brunescent cataracts, Flomax, zonular dialysis, pseudoexfoliation, glaucoma risk, post-vitrectomy, intraoperative risk factors (Trypan blue, iris hooks, and intraoperative complications (capsule tears, vitreous loss, zonular dialysis, zonular dehiscence, burns, nuclear fragment loss, Descemet’s tear. Experienced attending data were compared against those of the novice attending.Results: Regarding preoperative risks, experienced attending cases more likely involved 4+ cataract (P=0.005, Flomax (P<0.001, or glaucoma risk (P=0.001. For intraoperative risks, novice attending cases more likely involved Trypan blue (P<0.001. Regarding complications, novice attending cases were associated with vitreous loss (P=0.002 and anterior capsule tears (P<0.001. When comparing total complications, the novice attending was more likely to have both increased number of cases with complications and total complications than the experienced attending. The novice

The presence of asthma, the use of inhaled steroids, and parental education level affect school performance in children.

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Tsakiris, A; Iordanidou, M; Paraskakis, E; Tsalkidis, A; Rigas, A; Zimeras, S; Katsardis, C; Chatzimichael, A

2013-01-01

Childhood asthma is a frequent cause of absenteeism that affects school performance. We aimed to investigate the impact of asthma on absenteeism and school performance level of elementary and high school students. Data about sociodemographics, absenteeism, and academic achievement were obtained from 1539 students attending 98 schools in Greece. School performance was assessed for the last two years of school attendance using parents' and teachers' reports and grade point average promotion. The mean of the days of absence of students with asthma was higher compared to the healthy students (6.2 ± 11.7 versus 0.3 ± 3.1, resp., P absenteeism than those with increased healthcare use for asthma (4.3 ± 8.6 versus 12.4 ± 17.0 days, resp., P Absenteeism was associated with poor school performance for the last two years of school (P = 0.002) and with lower grade point promotion in elementary school students (P = 0.001) but not in high school students (P = 0.316). Higher level of parental education was associated with better school performance (P performance (OR = 0.64, P = 0.049, 95%CI = 0.41-1.00) in elementary students. Students with asthma using inhalers were four times more likely to perform excellently in elementary school (OR = 4.3, P = 0.028, 95%CI = 1.17-15.95) than their asthmatic peers with alternative asthma treatments. Conclusions. Asthma and increased healthcare use enhance school absenteeism. Inhaled steroid use and the higher parental education level were the most important predicting factors for good school performance in elementary school asthmatic children.

School Achievement and Performance in Chilean High Schools: The Mediating Role of Subjective Wellbeing in School-Related Evaluations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Verónica López

2017-07-01

Full Text Available School achievement gaps and school failure are problematic issues in Latin America, and are mainly explained by the socio-economic status (SES of the students. What schools can do to improve school achievement and reduce school failure is a critical issue, both for school management and teacher training. In this study, we present the association of individual and school-related socio-emotional variables with school achievement and performance, controlling for the effects of SES. A probabilistic sample of 4,964 students, drawn from 191 schools enrolled in year 10 in urban areas of Chile, answered questionnaires assessing subjective wellbeing, social wellbeing in school, school climate, school social wellbeing and students’ perceptions of teachers’ wellbeing. Using structural equation modeling, and controlling for SES, we modeled subjective wellbeing as a mediator of the relationship between school-related variables, such as school climate and perception of teacher’s wellbeing, and (a school achievement, and (b school performance. School achievement was computed as a product of (a the probability of passing the school year, and (b the percentage of yearly attendance at school. Data on school achievement was drawn from administrative registries from the Chilean Ministry of Education. School performance was computed as the estimated grade point average (GPA at the end of the school year, based on the students’ previous 5-year GPAs, and was also obtained through administrative data of the last 5 years. Findings reveal the mediating role of subjective wellbeing in the relationship between school-related evaluations (students’ social wellbeing at school, their perception of teachers’ wellbeing and school climate and school achievement. For school achievement, two variables were mediated (students’ social wellbeing at school and school climate. However, for school performance, no significant mediations were found. We conclude that, on the

The Impact of Attending Religious Schools on the Moral Competencies of Accounting Students

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Umaru Mustapha Zubairu

2016-11-01

Full Text Available For over a century, scholars have argued that religious education is crucial for the developed of students' moral competencies. This study sought to empirically test this assertion by comparing the moral competencies of two sets of Muslim accounting students: those who had attended a religious secondary school and those who attended a public (secular secondary school in Malaysia. The focus on accounting students is quite important in an era where the moral competencies of accountants has been in the public eye due to their complicity in the rash of financial scandals that have plagued the business world over the last two decades. The Muslim Accountant Moral Competency Test (MAMOC was developed by a collaboration with Islamic accounting scholars and was used to measure the students' moral competencies. Although the results revealed that there was no difference in the moral competencies of both sets of students, they both displayed satisfactory levels of moral competency which vindicates the Malaysian government's policy of mandating Islamic education in all secondary schools, whether religious or secular. 

Association between nutritional status and subjective health status in chronically ill children attending special schools.

Science.gov (United States)

Joosten, Koen; van der Velde, Kelly; Joosten, Pieter; Rutten, Hans; Hulst, Jessie; Dulfer, Karolijn

2016-04-01

In hospitalized children with a chronic disease, malnutrition was associated with a lower subjective health status. In outpatient children with a chronic disease attending special schools, this association has never been studied. The aim of this study was to assess the association between nutritional status and subjective health status in chronically ill children attending special schools. Overall, 642 children, median age 9.8 years (IQR 7.7-11.5), 60 % male, 72 % Caucasian, were included in this prospective study in nine special schools for chronically ill children in the Netherlands. Overall malnutrition was assessed as: acute malnutrition (nutritional risk-screening tool STRONGkids. Subjective health status was assessed with EQ-5D. Overall, 16 % of the children had overall malnutrition: 3 % acute and 13 % chronic malnutrition. Nurses reported 'some/severe problems' on the health status dimensions mobility (15 %), self-care (17 %), usual activities (19 %), pain/discomfort (22 %), and anxiety/depression (22 %) in chronically ill children. Their mean visual analogue scale score (VAS) was 73.0 (SD 11.1). Malnutrition, medication usage, and younger age explained 38 % of the variance of the VAS score. The presence of overall malnutrition in chronically ill children attending special schools was associated with lower subjective health status, especially in younger children and in those with chronic medication usage. Therefore, it is important to develop and use profile-screening tools to identify these children.

The Effect of High School Shootings on Schools and Student Performance

OpenAIRE

Louis-Philippe Beland; Dongwoo Kim

2015-01-01

We analyze how fatal shootings in high schools affect schools and students using data from shooting databases, school report cards, and the Common Core of Data. We examine schools’ test scores, enrollment, and number of teachers, as well as graduation, attendance, and suspension rates at schools that experienced a shooting, employing a difference-in-differences strategy that uses other high schools in the same district as the comparison group. Our findings suggest that homicidal shootings s...

Disaster and youth violence: the experience of school-attending youth in New Orleans.

Science.gov (United States)

Madkour, Aubrey S; Johnson, Carolyn C; Clum, Gretchen A; Brown, Lisanne

2011-08-01

Although disaster exposure has been linked with increased child aggression by previous reports, population-level trends are unknown. Pre- to post-Katrina changes in violence-related behaviors among New Orleans high school youth (ages: 12-18 years) were assessed. Data from the 2003 (pre-Katrina), 2005 (pre-Katrina), and 2007 (post-Katrina) New Orleans Youth Risk Behavior Survey (n = 5,267) were used. Crude comparisons across years of population characteristics and violence behavior prevalence were made with χ(2) analyses. Changes in violence-related behaviors over time were assessed with logistic regression models including indicators for survey years and controls for compositional changes. Age, gender, and race/ethnicity of school-attending youth were stable across years. In models controlling for demographics, most behaviors were stable over time. Some changes were observed for all groups; dating violence and forced sex increased before the storm, whereas weapon-carrying and missing school as a result of feeling unsafe decreased after the storm. Among African American adolescents only, being threatened at school increased before Katrina. Results do not support significant population-level increases in violent behavior post-Katrina among school-attending youth in New Orleans. Factors that buffered New Orleans students from post-Katrina violence increases, such as population composition changes or increased supportive services, may explain these findings. Copyright © 2011 Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine. All rights reserved.

Associations between classroom CO2 concentrations and student attendance in Washington and Idaho.

Science.gov (United States)

Shendell, D G; Prill, R; Fisk, W J; Apte, M G; Blake, D; Faulkner, D

2004-10-01

Student attendance in American public schools is a critical factor in securing limited operational funding. Student and teacher attendance influence academic performance. Limited data exist on indoor air and environmental quality (IEQ) in schools, and how IEQ affects attendance, health, or performance. This study explored the association of student absence with measures of indoor minus outdoor carbon dioxide concentration (dCO(2)). Absence and dCO(2) data were collected from 409 traditional and 25 portable classrooms from 22 schools located in six school districts in the states of Washington and Idaho. Study classrooms had individual heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems, except two classrooms without mechanical ventilation. Classroom attributes, student attendance and school-level ethnicity, gender, and socioeconomic status (SES) were included in multivariate modeling. Forty-five percent of classrooms studied had short-term indoor CO(2) concentrations above 1000 p.p.m. A 1000 p.p.m. increase in dCO(2) was associated (P student absence. Annual ADA was 2% higher (P student attendance, and occupant health and student performance, with longer term indoor minus outdoor CO(2) concentrations and more accurately measured ventilation rates. If our findings are confirmed, improving classroom ventilation should be considered a practical means of reducing student absence. Adequate or enhanced ventilation may be achieved, for example, with educational training programs for teachers and facilities staff on ventilation system operation and maintenance. Also, technological interventions such as improved automated control systems could provide continuous ventilation during occupied times, regardless of occupant thermal comfort demands.

Student attendance and academic performance in undergraduate obstetrics/gynecology clinical rotations.

Science.gov (United States)

Deane, Richard P; Murphy, Deirdre J

2013-12-04

Student attendance is thought to be an important factor in the academic performance of medical students, in addition to having important regulatory, policy, and financial implications for medical educators. However, this relationship has not been well evaluated within clinical learning environments. To evaluate the relationship between student attendance and academic performance in a medical student obstetrics/gynecology clinical rotation. A prospective cohort study of student attendance at clinical and tutorial-based activities during a full academic year (September 2011 to June 2012) within a publicly funded university teaching hospital in Dublin, Ireland. Students were expected to attend 64 activities (26 clinical activities and 38 tutorial-based activities) but attendance was not mandatory. All 147 fourth-year medical students who completed an 8-week obstetrics/gynecology rotation were included. Student attendance at clinical and tutorial-based activities, recorded using a paper-based logbook. The overall examination score (out of a possible 200 points) was obtained using an 11-station objective structured clinical examination (40 points), an end-of-year written examination comprising 50 multiple-choice questions (40 points) and 6 short-answer questions (40 points), and an end-of-year long-case clinical/oral examination (80 points). Students were required to have an overall score of 100 points (50%) and a minimum of 40 points in the long-case clinical/oral examination (50%) to pass. The mean attendance rate was 89% (range, 39%-100% [SD, 11%], n = 57/64 activities). Male students (84% attendance, P = .001) and students who failed an end-of-year examination previously (84% attendance, P = .04) had significantly lower rates. There was a positive correlation between attendance and overall examination score (r = 0.59 [95% CI, 0.44-0.70]; P year examination, and the timing of the rotation during the academic year. Distinction grades (overall score

Options for Educating Students Attending Department of Defense Schools in the United States

Science.gov (United States)

2016-01-01

student engagement , which has a detrimental effect on student achievement. School Inputs Teacher quality is an important determinant of student learning...Poor attendance can also indicate low student engagement , which has a detrimental effect on student achievement. Students who are chronically

Patterns of and Influences on Elementary School Attendance in Early Victorian Industrial Monmouthshire 1839-1865

Science.gov (United States)

James, David C.; Davies, Brian

2017-01-01

Issues associated with school absenteeism have attracted considerable attention and have long been one of the focal points of government strategies for school improvement. Pupil non-attendance is not a new phenomenon and featured prominently in Her Majesty's Inspectors' reports from 1839. This paper outlines the patterns of and influences on…

Investigating Level of Mathematics Knowledge for Students Attending Vocational Schools in Turkey

Science.gov (United States)

Colakoglu, Nurdan

2013-01-01

Students attend mathematics courses in Turkey for totally 11 years, throughout education life ranging from primary school to university, including eight years in primary education and three years in secondary education (four years based on new arrangement); however, level of mathematic knowledge of students is upsetting when they reach university…

Do young people attending addiction services differ from those attending youth mental health services?

Science.gov (United States)

Christie, Grant; Merry, Sally; Robinson, Elizabeth

2010-07-01

We aimed to describe and compare the self-reported substance use, psychopathology and psychosocial morbidity in adolescents attending two adolescent outpatient services, a triage-based mental health service and an engagement-focused addiction service in Auckland, New Zealand. A naturalistic cross-section of 131 (addiction service = 67, mental health service = 64) 14-18-year-old boys and girls attending each service completed a standardised screening and assessment instrument, the Drug Use Screening Inventory-Revised. The Drug Use Screening Inventory-Revised measures self-reported problems across 10 domains of functioning, including substance use, behaviour, psychiatric symptoms and school and family functioning. Descriptive statistics were used to provide an overview of the self-reported morbidity in each group and t-tests were used to determine differences between the two groups. Adolescents attending the addiction service reported significantly more problems with substance use, school performance and peer relationships than those attending the mental health service. There was no significant difference in reported psychiatric symptoms, behavioural problems, social competency, health problems, family problems, difficulties in work functioning or leisure time between the two groups. Young people presenting to engagement-focused substance use services report similar difficulties to those at mental health services across most areas of psychosocial functioning. Addiction services may require equivalent staffing expertise and workforce development to that in mental health to effectively meet young people's needs.

Class attendance, peer similarity, and academic performance in a large field study

Science.gov (United States)

Bjerre-Nielsen, Andreas; Mones, Enys; Lehmann, Sune; Lassen, David Dreyer

2017-01-01

Identifying the factors that determine academic performance is an essential part of educational research. Existing research indicates that class attendance is a useful predictor of subsequent course achievements. The majority of the literature is, however, based on surveys and self-reports, methods which have well-known systematic biases that lead to limitations on conclusions and generalizability as well as being costly to implement. Here we propose a novel method for measuring class attendance that overcomes these limitations by using location and bluetooth data collected from smartphone sensors. Based on measured attendance data of nearly 1,000 undergraduate students, we demonstrate that early and consistent class attendance strongly correlates with academic performance. In addition, our novel dataset allows us to determine that attendance among social peers was substantially correlated (>0.5), suggesting either an important peer effect or homophily with respect to attendance. PMID:29117190

Parent-reported problem behavior among children with sensory disabilities attending elementary regular schools

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Maes, B; Grietens, H

2004-01-01

Parent-reported problem behaviors of 94 children with visual and auditory disabilities, attending elementary regular schools, were compared with problems reported in a general population sample of nondisabled children. Both samples were matched by means of a pairwise matching procedure, taking into

class attendance and academic performance of second year

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Temechegn

Data was collected through expo-facto survey involving real time ... still a major concern for educators and educational researchers all over the world ..... attendance on students' academic performance using association rule mining technique.

AIDS Risk Among Students Attending Seventh-day Adventist Schools in North America.

Science.gov (United States)

Hopkins, Gary L.; Hopp, Joyce W.; Marshak, Helen P. Hopp; Neish, Christine; Rhoads, Gayle

1998-01-01

Surveys of students attending Seventh-Day Adventist (SDA) high schools assessed sexual and drug-use behaviors that placed them at risk for contracting or transmitting HIV. Comparison of the results with data from the Youth Risk Behavior Survey indicated that SDA students had lower rates of sexual intercourse and substance use. Parental…

Parental Involvement in Middle School Predicting College Attendance for First-Generation Students

Science.gov (United States)

Bui, Khanh; Rush, Ryan A.

2016-01-01

Using data from the National Education Longitudinal Study, this report examined the relationship between parental involvement in eighth grade and college attendance by eight years after high school for students whose parents have no college education (i.e., first-generation students; n = 1,358) in comparison to students whose parents have some…

Life Satisfaction and School Performance of Children Exposed to Classic and Cyber Peer Bullying

OpenAIRE

Bilić, Vesna; Buljan Flander, Gordana; Rafajac, Branko

2014-01-01

This paper analyses the relationship between the exposure of school children to various forms of peer bullying (classic/cyber) and their life satisfaction in the domain of school, family, friends and school performance. The sample included 562 children from rural and urban areas of Croatia who were attending the seventh and the eighth grade of primary school. Results show that children were more often exposed to classic forms of peer bullying, especially verbal, and then physical bullying. On...

Attendance and Student Performance in Undergraduate Chemistry Courses

Science.gov (United States)

Lyubartseva, Ganna; Mallik, Uma Prasad

2012-01-01

Numerous studies suggest that attendance may be one of the key factors which influence student performance. Although there have been many studies in introductory science courses, there have been virtually no studies which analyze and compare students' performance from different types of institutions as well as different level of classes. Our study…

Do differentials in the support and advice available at UK schools and colleges influence candidate performance in the medical school admissions interview? A survey of direct school leaver applicants to a UK medical school.

Science.gov (United States)

Lambe, Paul; Waters, Catherine; Bristow, David

2013-09-01

To our knowledge, nothing is known about whether differentials in support and advice during preparation for the interview influence candidate performance and thereby contribute to bias in selection for medical school. To assess if differences in advice and support with preparation for the medical school admissions interview given type of school last attended influence interview score achieved by direct school leaver applicants to study on an undergraduate UK medical degree course. Confidential self-completed on-line questionnaire survey. Interview performance was positively related to whether a teacher, tutor or career advisors at the School or College last attended had advised a respondent to prepare for the interview, had advised about the various styles of medical interview used and the types of questions asked, and what resources were available to help in preparation. Respondents from Private/Independent schools were more likely than those from State schools to have received such advice and support. Differentials in access to advice on and support with preparation for the medical school interview may advantage some candidates over others. This inequity would likely be ameliorated by the provision of an authoritative and comprehensive guide to applying to medical school outlining admission requirements and the preparation strategy applicants should use in order to best meet those requirements. The guide could be disseminated to the Principals of all UK schools and colleges and freely available electronic versions signposted in medical school prospectuses and the course descriptor on the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service.

Service Station Attendant. Performance Objectives. Basic Course.

Science.gov (United States)

Davis, John

Several intermediate performance objectives and corresponding criterion measures are listed for each of 24 terminal objectives for a basic secondary level service station attendant course. The materials were developed for a two-semester course (2 and 3 hours daily). The specialized classroom and shop experiences are designed to enable the student…

The impact of family size on children’s school attendance in the Philippines

OpenAIRE

Kezia C. Bansagan; Hazel Joyce C. Panganiban

2008-01-01

Much empirical work has been done to determine the effects of family size on the education of children. Using a sample from the October 2006 Labor Force Survey, this paper attempts to determine the impact of family size on children’s education as measured by school attendance while considering socioeconomic factors. Results have shown that family size is significantly and negatively correlated with children’s school enrollment. Even after controlling for family size and birth-order effect, th...

Attendance and exam performance at university: A case study

OpenAIRE

Allen, D. O.; Webber, D. J.

2010-01-01

The link between absenteeism and students’ academic performance at university is perpetually a hot topic for teaching academics. Most studies suggest the effect is negative, although the strength of this effect is in dispute. The issue is complicated further when researchers draw their inferences from different angles, such as the removal of a mandatory attendance policy or the implementation of a module-specific attendance policy. Although previous studies have suggested the effect on exam p...

Performance goals on simulators boost resident motivation and skills laboratory attendance.

Science.gov (United States)

Stefanidis, Dimitrios; Acker, Christina E; Greene, Frederick L

2010-01-01

To assess the impact of setting simulator training goals on resident motivation and skills laboratory attendance. Residents followed a proficiency-based laparoscopic curriculum on the 5 Fundamentals of Laparoscopic Surgery and 9 virtual reality tasks. Training goals consisted of the average expert performance on each task + 2 SD (mandatory) and best expert performance (optional). Residents rated the impact of the training goals on their motivation on a 20-point visual analog scale. Performance and attendance data were analyzed and correlated (Spearman's). Data are reported as medians (range). General Surgery residency program at a regional referral Academic Medical Center. General surgery residents (n = 15). During the first 5 months of the curriculum, weekly attendance rate was 51% (range, 8-96). After 153 (range, 21-412) repetitions, resident speed improved by 97% (range, 18-230), errors improved by 17% (range, 0-24), and motion efficiency by 59% (range, 26-114) compared with their baseline. Nine (60%) residents achieved proficiency in 7 (range, 3-14) and the best goals in 3.5 (range, 1-9) tasks; the other 6 residents had attendance rates motivation as 15 (range, 1-18) and setting a best goal as 13 (range, 1-18). Motivation ratings correlated positively with attendance rates, number of repetitions, performance improvement, and achievement of proficiency and best goals (r = 0.59-0.75; p motivation to participate in a simulator curriculum. While more stringent goals may potentiate this effect, they have a limited impact on senior residents. Further research is needed to investigate ways to improve skills laboratory attendance. Copyright 2010 Association of Program Directors in Surgery. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Aging Audiences: Association of Live Performance Attendance and Cognitive Decline in a Biracial Sample.

Science.gov (United States)

Rajan, Kumar B; Rajan, Rekha S; Manning, Lydia K; Evans, Denis A

2018-03-01

To examine if attendance in live performances was associated with change in cognition among African Americans (AAs) and European Americans (EAs). The study consisted of 5,567 older adults with at least follow-up interview and analyzed using a linear mixed effects regression model adjusting for demographic and health variables. We found that frequent performance attendance was associated with slower decline in composite cognitive function among older AAs and EAs. Attending 10 or more performances per year was associated with 23% slower cognitive decline among AAs and 31% slower cognitive decline among EAs compared with those who never attend any performance. However, this difference was not significant ( p = .56). Attending live performances was also associated with slower decline in individual tests of perceptual speed, episodic memory, and mini-mental state exam (MMSE). Our findings suggest that live performances form a valuable component of arts engagement and should be encouraged for potential cognitive benefits.

Factors influencing students' performance in a Brazilian dental school.

Science.gov (United States)

Silva, Erica Tatiane da; Nunes, Maria de Fátima; Queiroz, Maria Goretti; Leles, Cláudio R

2010-01-01

Comprehensive assessment of students' academic performance plays an important role in educational planning. The aim of this study was to investigate variables that influence student's performance in a retrospective sample including all undergraduate students who entered in a Brazilian dental school, in a 20-year period between 1984 and 2003 (n=1182). Demographic and educational variables were used to predict performance in the overall curriculum and course groups. Cluster analysis (K-means algorithm) categorized students into groups of higher, moderate or lower performance. Clusters of overall performance showed external validity, demonstrated by Chi-square test and ANOVA. Lower performance groups had the smallest number of students in overall performance and course groups clusters, ranging from 11.8% (clinical courses) to 19.2% (basic courses). Students' performance was more satisfactory in dental and clinical courses, rather than basic and non-clinical courses (pstudent's performance was predicted by lower time elapsed between completion of high school and dental school admission, female gender, better rank in admission test, class attendance rate and student workload hours in teaching, research and extension (R(2)=0.491). Findings give evidence about predictors of undergraduate students' performance and reinforce the need for curricular reformulation focused on with improvement of integration among courses.

Exploring Instructional Differences and School Performance in High-Poverty Elementary Schools

Science.gov (United States)

Hirn, Regina G.; Hollo, Alexandra; Scott, Terrance M.

2018-01-01

In the United States, federal funding under Title 1 is provided to schools to improve academic achievement for disadvantaged students. Many students attending schools eligible for Title 1 funding are from families in poverty and at risk for negative outcomes. Identifying instructional factors that mitigate this risk must be a priority for teachers…

Role development of nurses for technology-dependent children attending mainstream schools in Japan.

Science.gov (United States)

Shimizu, Fumie; Suzuki, Machiko

2015-04-01

To describe the role development of nurses caring for medical technology-dependent children attending Japanese mainstream schools. Semi-structured interviews with 21 nurses caring for technology-dependent children were conducted and analyzed using the modified grounded theory approach. Nurses developed roles centered on maintaining technology-dependent children's physical health to support children's learning with each other, through building relationships, learning how to interact with children, understanding the children and the school community, and realizing the meaning of supporting technology-dependent children. These findings support nurses to build relationships of mutual trust with teachers and children, and learn on the job in mainstream schools. © 2015, Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Understanding Barriers and Solutions Affecting Preschool Attendance in Low-Income Families

Science.gov (United States)

Susman-Stillman, Amy; Englund, Michelle M.; Storm, Karen J.; Bailey, Ann E.

2018-01-01

Preschool attendance problems negatively impact children's school readiness skills and future school attendance. Parents are critical to preschoolers' attendance. This study explored parental barriers and solutions to preschool attendance in low-income families. School-district administrative data from a racially/ethnically diverse sample of…

Massage and Storytelling Reduce Aggression and Improve Academic Performance in Children Attending Elementary School.

Science.gov (United States)

Gonçalves, Lia Lopes; Voos, Mariana Callil; de Almeida, Maria Helena Morgani; Caromano, Fátima Aparecida

2017-01-01

Aggressive behaviors must be addressed in elementary schools. Massage and storytelling can be strategies to deal with aggression because both involve experience exchange and social interaction. Both can decrease stress and anxiety and increase self-esteem. To evaluate the effect of two interventions (massage and storytelling) on aggressive behaviors and academic performance of elementary school children. Three groups ( n = 35 children in each group) of the second grade participated (aged 6.5-8.1 years). One group received ten extra classes of massage (MG), another group received extra classes of storytelling (SG), and the control group received extra classes of random subjects (CG). Extra classes lasted for 50 minutes, once a week. Aggressive behaviors were recorded on diaries, by the teachers and the coordinator. The frequency of aggressive behaviors and the academic performance of MG, SG, and CG were observed for six months and the groups were compared. ANOVAs evidenced that MG and SG, but not CG, showed a reduction in aggressive behaviors registered by the teachers and coordinator, after the intervention. Academic performance of MG and SC improved after the intervention ( p < 0.05).

Impact of Texas high school science teacher credentials on student performance in high school science

Science.gov (United States)

George, Anna Ray Bayless

A study was conducted to determine the relationship between the credentials held by science teachers who taught at a school that administered the Science Texas Assessment on Knowledge and Skills (Science TAKS), the state standardized exam in science, at grade 11 and student performance on a state standardized exam in science administered in grade 11. Years of teaching experience, teacher certification type(s), highest degree level held, teacher and school demographic information, and the percentage of students who met the passing standard on the Science TAKS were obtained through a public records request to the Texas Education Agency (TEA) and the State Board for Educator Certification (SBEC). Analysis was performed through the use of canonical correlation analysis and multiple linear regression analysis. The results of the multiple linear regression analysis indicate that a larger percentage of students met the passing standard on the Science TAKS state attended schools in which a large portion of the high school science teachers held post baccalaureate degrees, elementary and physical science certifications, and had 11-20 years of teaching experience.

What Is the Influence of a Compulsory Attendance Policy on Absenteeism and Performance?

Science.gov (United States)

Snyder, Jason L.; Lee-Partridge, Joo Eng; Jarmoszko, A. Tomasz; Petkova, Olga; D'Onofrio, Marianne J.

2014-01-01

The authors utilized a quasiexperimental design across sections of managerial communication and management information systems classes (N = 212) to test the impact of compulsory attendance policies on student absenteeism and performance. Students in the compulsory attendance policy condition received an attendance policy that punished excessive…

Improving children's behaviour and attendance through the use of parenting programmes: an examination of good practice

OpenAIRE

Hallam, Susan; Rogers, Lynne; Shaw, Jacqueline

2004-01-01

There is powerful evidence that attendance at school and academic performance are positively related and that those who are excluded and do not attend school regularly, whatever the reasons, are more likely to become involved in crime. Recently, much emphasis has been put on the role that parents can play in improving the attendance and behaviour of their children. The Anti-Social Behaviour Act 2003 introduced new powers for Local Education Authorities (LEAs) to apply for a parenting order to...

School Progress Report 2012. Montgomery County Public Schools

Science.gov (United States)

Montgomery County Public Schools, 2013

2013-01-01

The 2012 School Progress Report for Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) provides state, county, and individual school performance data, as well as information on student attendance, high school graduation rates, and the professional qualifications of teachers at the state, district, and school levels. Montgomery County primary schools are…

The relationship between school type and academic performance at medical school: a national, multi-cohort study.

Science.gov (United States)

Kumwenda, Ben; Cleland, Jennifer A; Walker, Kim; Lee, Amanda J; Greatrix, Rachel

2017-08-31

Differential attainment in school examinations is one of the barriers to increasing student diversity in medicine. However, studies on the predictive validity of prior academic achievement and educational performance at medical school are contradictory, possibly due to single-site studies or studies which focus only on early years' performance. To address these gaps, we examined the relationship between sociodemographic factors, including school type and average educational performance throughout medical school across a large number of diverse medical programmes. This retrospective study analysed data from students who graduated from 33 UK medical schools between 2012 and 2013. We included candidates' demographics, pre-entry grades (adjusted Universities and Colleges Admissions Service tariff scores) preadmission test scores (UK Clinical Aptitude Test (UKCAT) and Graduate Medical School Admissions Test (GAMSAT)) and used the UK Foundation Programme's educational performance measure (EPM) decile as an outcome measure. Logistic regression was used to assess the independent relationship between students' background characteristics and EPM ranking. Students from independent schools had significantly higher mean UKCAT scores (2535.1, SD=209.6) than students from state-funded schools (2506.1, SD=224.0, pschools came into medical school with significantly higher mean GAMSAT scores (63.9, SD=6.9) than students from state-funded schools (60.8, SD=7.1, pschools were almost twice as likely (OR=2.01, 95% CI 1.49 to 2.73) to finish in the highest rank of the EPM ranking than those who attended independent schools. This is the first large-scale study to examine directly the relationship between school type and overall performance at medical school. Our findings provide modest supportive evidence that, when students from independent and state schools enter with similar pre-entry grades, once in medical school, students from state-funded schools are likely to outperform students

School Progress Report 2013. Montgomery County Public Schools

Science.gov (United States)

Montgomery County Public Schools, 2014

2014-01-01

The 2013 School Progress Report for Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) provides state, county, and individual school performance data, as well as information on student attendance, high school graduation rates, and the professional qualifications of teachers at the state, district, and school levels for the 2012-2013 school year. Montgomery…

The Presence of Asthma, the Use of Inhaled Steroids, and Parental Education Level Affect School Performance in Children

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. Tsakiris

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Objective. Childhood asthma is a frequent cause of absenteeism that affects school performance. We aimed to investigate the impact of asthma on absenteeism and school performance level of elementary and high school students. Methods. Data about sociodemographics, absenteeism, and academic achievement were obtained from 1539 students attending 98 schools in Greece. School performance was assessed for the last two years of school attendance using parents’ and teachers’ reports and grade point average promotion. Results. The mean of the days of absence of students with asthma was higher compared to the healthy students (6.2 ± 11.7 versus 0.3 ± 3.1, resp., P<0.001. Students with reduced healthcare use presented less absenteeism than those with increased healthcare use for asthma (4.3 ± 8.6 versus 12.4 ± 17.0 days, resp., P<0.001. Asthma and healthcare use for asthma accounted for an overall estimated variability in absence days of 13.8% and 9%, respectively. Absenteeism was associated with poor school performance for the last two years of school (P=0.002 and with lower grade point promotion in elementary school students (P=0.001 but not in high school students (P=0.316. Higher level of parental education was associated with better school performance (P<0.001. Asthma was associated with a decreased possibility for excellent performance (OR = 0.64, P=0.049, 95%CI = 0.41–1.00 in elementary students. Students with asthma using inhalers were four times more likely to perform excellently in elementary school (OR = 4.3, P=0.028, 95%CI = 1.17–15.95 than their asthmatic peers with alternative asthma treatments. Conclusions. Asthma and increased healthcare use enhance school absenteeism. Inhaled steroid use and the higher parental education level were the most important predicting factors for good school performance in elementary school asthmatic children.

Personality traits affect teaching performance of attending physicians: results of a multi-center observational study.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Renée A Scheepers

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Worldwide, attending physicians train residents to become competent providers of patient care. To assess adequate training, attending physicians are increasingly evaluated on their teaching performance. Research suggests that personality traits affect teaching performance, consistent with studied effects of personality traits on job performance and academic performance in medicine. However, up till date, research in clinical teaching practice did not use quantitative methods and did not account for specialty differences. We empirically studied the relationship of attending physicians' personality traits with their teaching performance across surgical and non-surgical specialties. METHOD: We conducted a survey across surgical and non-surgical specialties in eighteen medical centers in the Netherlands. Residents evaluated attending physicians' overall teaching performance, as well as the specific domains learning climate, professional attitude, communication, evaluation, and feedback, using the validated 21-item System for Evaluation of Teaching Qualities (SETQ. Attending physicians self-evaluated their personality traits on a 5-point scale using the validated 10-item Big Five Inventory (BFI, yielding the Five Factor model: extraversion, conscientiousness, neuroticism, agreeableness and openness. RESULTS: Overall, 622 (77% attending physicians and 549 (68% residents participated. Extraversion positively related to overall teaching performance (regression coefficient, B: 0.05, 95% CI: 0.01 to 0.10, P = 0.02. Openness was negatively associated with scores on feedback for surgical specialties only (B: -0.10, 95% CI: -0.15 to -0.05, P<0.001 and conscientiousness was positively related to evaluation of residents for non-surgical specialties only (B: 0.13, 95% CI: 0.03 to 0.22, p = 0.01. CONCLUSIONS: Extraverted attending physicians were consistently evaluated as better supervisors. Surgical attending physicians who display high levels of

Personality traits affect teaching performance of attending physicians: results of a multi-center observational study.

Science.gov (United States)

Scheepers, Renée A; Lombarts, Kiki M J M H; van Aken, Marcel A G; Heineman, Maas Jan; Arah, Onyebuchi A

2014-01-01

Worldwide, attending physicians train residents to become competent providers of patient care. To assess adequate training, attending physicians are increasingly evaluated on their teaching performance. Research suggests that personality traits affect teaching performance, consistent with studied effects of personality traits on job performance and academic performance in medicine. However, up till date, research in clinical teaching practice did not use quantitative methods and did not account for specialty differences. We empirically studied the relationship of attending physicians' personality traits with their teaching performance across surgical and non-surgical specialties. We conducted a survey across surgical and non-surgical specialties in eighteen medical centers in the Netherlands. Residents evaluated attending physicians' overall teaching performance, as well as the specific domains learning climate, professional attitude, communication, evaluation, and feedback, using the validated 21-item System for Evaluation of Teaching Qualities (SETQ). Attending physicians self-evaluated their personality traits on a 5-point scale using the validated 10-item Big Five Inventory (BFI), yielding the Five Factor model: extraversion, conscientiousness, neuroticism, agreeableness and openness. Overall, 622 (77%) attending physicians and 549 (68%) residents participated. Extraversion positively related to overall teaching performance (regression coefficient, B: 0.05, 95% CI: 0.01 to 0.10, P = 0.02). Openness was negatively associated with scores on feedback for surgical specialties only (B: -0.10, 95% CI: -0.15 to -0.05, Pwork on development paths of attending physicians in medical education.

76 FR 29805 - Submission for Review: Verification of Full-Time School Attendance, RI 25-49

Science.gov (United States)

2011-05-23

... other technological collection techniques or other forms of information technology, e.g., permitting... OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT Submission for Review: Verification of Full-Time School Attendance... Federal agencies the opportunity to comment on a revised information collection request (ICR) 3206-0215...

An Examination of Barriers to Physical Education for Christian and Muslim Girls Attending Comprehensive Secondary Schools in the UK

Science.gov (United States)

Elliott, Dave; Hoyle, Kathryn

2014-01-01

This study examined barriers to Physical Education (PE) in a sample of Christian and Muslim schoolgirls attending UK comprehensive secondary schools. Also assessed was whether religion and school year (age) had any impact upon barrier strength and if school year × religion interactions existed. A questionnaire was developed and exploratory factor…

Computer program for the automated attendance accounting system

Science.gov (United States)

Poulson, P.; Rasmusson, C.

1971-01-01

The automated attendance accounting system (AAAS) was developed under the auspices of the Space Technology Applications Program. The task is basically the adaptation of a small digital computer, coupled with specially developed pushbutton terminals located in school classrooms and offices for the purpose of taking daily attendance, maintaining complete attendance records, and producing partial and summary reports. Especially developed for high schools, the system is intended to relieve both teachers and office personnel from the time-consuming and dreary task of recording and analyzing the myriad classroom attendance data collected throughout the semester. In addition, since many school district budgets are related to student attendance, the increase in accounting accuracy is expected to augment district income. A major component of this system is the real-time AAAS software system, which is described.

Association between attendance and overall academic performance on a module within a professional pharmacy degree.

Science.gov (United States)

Irwin, Nigel; Burnett, Kathryn M; McCarron, Paul A

2018-03-01

As the higher education (HE) classroom begins to adopt newer internet-based technologies, the relationship between attendance and performance needs to be re-evaluated, particularly for professional degree courses such as pharmacy. In the present study, we aimed to establish if an association exists between attendance at all timetabled classes and academic performance, in a Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics (CPT) module, as part of the Master of Pharmacy (MPharm) degree course at Ulster University. Data on attendance, final examination and coursework performance were collected over two academic years (2013-14 and 2014-15) of the CPT module at Ulster. In total 67 students were analysed. The MPharm degree at Ulster University implements an attendance policy, both as a pastoral support tool and to reinforce the need for professional conduct as a pharmacist. Student (2013-14 and 2014-15, n = 35 and 32, respectively) attendance on the module across both year groups was approximately 80%. We observed positive, and statistically significant relationships between attendance and performance on the examination, and especially in the coursework elements of the module. Student failure (below 40%) in the final examination was linked to attendance below an 80% threshold in nine of 12 cases. Reasons for not attending class varied, but illness was unquestionably the most commonly cited extenuation. Taken together, these data confirm a convincing association between student attendance and academic achievement. Our studies promote the use of attendance monitoring policies for professional degree courses such as pharmacy. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Linking student performance in Massachusetts elementary schools with the "greenness" of school surroundings using remote sensing.

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Chih-Da; McNeely, Eileen; Cedeño-Laurent, J G; Pan, Wen-Chi; Adamkiewicz, Gary; Dominici, Francesca; Lung, Shih-Chun Candice; Su, Huey-Jen; Spengler, John D

2014-01-01

Various studies have reported the physical and mental health benefits from exposure to "green" neighborhoods, such as proximity to neighborhoods with trees and vegetation. However, no studies have explicitly assessed the association between exposure to "green" surroundings and cognitive function in terms of student academic performance. This study investigated the association between the "greenness" of the area surrounding a Massachusetts public elementary school and the academic achievement of the school's student body based on standardized tests with an ecological setting. Researchers used the composite school-based performance scores generated by the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) to measure the percentage of 3rd-grade students (the first year of standardized testing for 8-9 years-old children in public school), who scored "Above Proficient" (AP) in English and Mathematics tests (Note: Individual student scores are not publically available). The MCAS results are comparable year to year thanks to an equating process. Researchers included test results from 2006 through 2012 in 905 public schools and adjusted for differences between schools in the final analysis according to race, gender, English as a second language (proxy for ethnicity and language facility), parent income, student-teacher ratio, and school attendance. Surrounding greenness of each school was measured using satellite images converted into the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) in March, July and October of each year according to a 250-meter, 500-meter, 1,000-meter, and 2000-meter circular buffer around each school. Spatial Generalized Linear Mixed Models (GLMMs) estimated the impacts of surrounding greenness on school-based performance. Overall the study results supported a relationship between the "greenness" of the school area and the school-wide academic performance. Interestingly, the results showed a consistently positive significant association between the

Daily Attendance Data. Chronic Absenteeism in Oregon Elementary Schools. Part 3 of 4. September 2016. Research Brief Series

Science.gov (United States)

Oregon Department of Education, 2016

2016-01-01

The Oregon Department of Education (ODE) partnered with 15 elementary schools to obtain and analyze student-level daily attendance records for 6,390 students. Schools ranged in size from just over 100 students to more than 600 students. Geographic locations also varied with 4 schools located in a city, 4 in a suburb, 4 in a town, and 3 in a rural…

Association between nutritional status and subjective health status in chronically ill children attending special schools

NARCIS (Netherlands)

K.F.M. Joosten (Koen); K. van der Velde (Kelly); P. Joosten (Pieter); H. Rutten (Hans); J.M. Hulst (Jessie); K. Dulfer (Karolijn)

2016-01-01

textabstractPurpose: In hospitalized children with a chronic disease, malnutrition was associated with a lower subjective health status. In outpatient children with a chronic disease attending special schools, this association has never been studied. The aim of this study was to assess the

School violence, mental health, and educational performance in Uganda.

Science.gov (United States)

Devries, Karen M; Child, Jennifer C; Allen, Elizabeth; Walakira, Eddy; Parkes, Jenny; Naker, Dipak

2014-01-01

Violence against children from school staff is anecdotally common in low- and middle-income countries, but data on prevalence and associations with mental health and educational outcomes are lacking. We report data from a cross-sectional survey conducted in June and July 2012 in Luwero District, Uganda. Forty-two primary schools representing 80% of students in the district were randomly selected; 100% agreed to participate. The International Society for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect Child Abuse Screening Tool-Child Institutional; Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire; and reading, spelling, and math tests were administered. We present descriptive statistics and logistic regression models, accounting for the complex sampling scheme used in the survey. We surveyed 3706 students and 577 school staff members; 93.3% (SE 1.0%) of boys and 94.2% (SE 1.6%) of girls attending primary school reported lifetime experience of physical violence from a school staff member, and >50% reported experience in the past week. Past-week physical violence was associated with increased odds of poor mental health and, for girls, double the odds of poor educational performance (adjusted odds ratio = 1.78, 95% confidence interval = 1.19-2.66). For boys, significant interactions were present. Despite a ban on corporal punishment in Ugandan schools since 1997, the use of violence against students is widespread and associated with poor mental health and educational performance. School violence may be an important but overlooked contributor to disease burden and poor educational performance in low- and middle-income settings.

Assessment of exposure to traffic related air pollution of children attending schools near motorways

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Janssen, Nicole A.H.; Vliet, Patricia H.N. van; Aarts, Francee; Harssema, Hendrik; Brunekreef, Bert

2001-01-01

To assess exposure to air pollution from traffic of children attending schools near motorways, traffic related air pollution (PM 2.5 , NO 2 and benzene) was measured in and outside 24 schools located within 400m of motorways in the Netherlands. Reflectance of PM 2.5 filters was measured as a proxy for elemental carbon (EC). The relationship between this proxy and measurements of EC was studied in a sub-sample and a high correlation was established. In both indoor and outdoor air, concentrations of PM 2.5 and 'soot' significantly increased with increasing truck traffic density and significantly decreased with increasing distance. Indoor NO 2 concentrations significantly increased with increasing car traffic. The percentage of time that the school was downwind of the motorway during the measurements was significantly associated with 'soot' and NO 2 , but no with PM 2.5 and benzene. Estimated yearly averaged concentrations, calculated after standardising for differences in the background concentrations during the measurements, showed an about 2.5 fold range in 'soot', benzene (indoors and outdoors) and NO 2 (indoors) concentrations. For PM 2.5 (indoors and outdoors) and NO 2 outdoors the range was smaller (1.4-1.7). Standardised concentrations were highly correlated with the results of two other approaches that were used to order the exposures at the schools. This study has shown that concentrations of air pollutants in and outside schools near motorways are significantly associated with distance, traffic density and composition, and percentage of time downwind. These variables can therefore be used to assess exposure to traffic related air pollution of subjects living near motorways. Furthermore, the yearly averaged concentrations of PM 2.5 , soot, NO 2 and benzene can be used as a more direct measure of long-term exposure in epidemiological studies of the children attending the 24 schools. (Author)

Health-Related Quality of Life in Children Attending Special and Typical Education Greek Schools

Science.gov (United States)

Papadopoulou, D.; Malliou, P.; Kofotolis, N.; Vlachopoulos, S. P.; Kellis, E.

2017-01-01

The purpose of this study was to examine parental perceptions about Health Related Quality of Life (HRQoL) of typical education and special education students in Greece. The Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedsQL) was administered to the parents of 251 children from typical schools, 46 students attending integration classes (IC) within a…

Team Performance and Sport Attendance of South African Super ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

In professional rugby, competitions such as the Super Rugby and Currie Cup benefit from the lucrative money-generating opportunities offered. This study focuses on team performance and spectator attendance of the Super Rugby and Currie Cup competitions. Results indicated some interesting relationships between ...

Aspects of birth history and outcome in diplegics attending ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Aim. We aimed to study functional mobility and visual performance in spastic diplegic children and adolescents attending specialised schools. Methods. Spastic diplegia (SD) was confirmed by clinical examination. Birth and related history were added to explore relationships between SD, birth weight (BW) and duration of ...

School Performance

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Héctor A. Lamas

2015-03-01

Full Text Available The school performance study of students is, due to its relevance and complexity, one of the issues of major controversy in the educational research, and it has been given special attention in the last decades. This study is intended to show a conceptual approach to the school performance construct, contextualizing the reality in the regular basic education classrooms. The construct of learning approaches is presented as one of the factors that influences the school performance of students. Besides, an outlook of the empirical research works related to variables that are presented as relevant when explaining the reason for a specific performance in students is shown. Finally, some models and techniques allowing an appropriate study of school performance are presented.

Investigation of a cluster of children with Down's syndrome born to mothers who had attended a school in Dundalk, Ireland.

Science.gov (United States)

Dean, G; Nevin, N C; Mikkelsen, M; Karadima, G; Petersen, M B; Kelly, M; O'Sullivan, J

2000-12-01

To investigate a reported cluster of Down's syndrome in offspring of former pupils of a girls' school in Ireland, to establish the prevalence of Down's syndrome among live births in the area around the school, and to review the literature on the possible causes of reported clusters of Down's syndrome. Questionnaire survey of obstetric and personal histories of women who had attended the girls' school at Dundalk, County Louth, Republic of Ireland, at some time during 1956-7, and also of women who had attended another, nearby, girls' school during the same period. Comparison of observed numbers of cases of Down's syndrome identified by these surveys with maternal age adjusted expected numbers for the reported live births. Laboratory tests were conducted to verify and characterise the cases of Down's syndrome constituting the cluster. Retrospective collection and collation of data on Down's syndrome occurring among live births, and the compilation of maternal age specific incidences, in County Louth and in Newry and Mourne District in neighbouring Northern Ireland, during 1961-80. These rates were compared with reference rates and rates for other areas of Ireland. Six children with Down's syndrome were confirmed among 387 reported live births to women who had been pupils at the girls' school in Dundalk during 1956-7, compared with 0.69 expected (nominal p<10(-4)). Five of the affected births were to mothers under 30 years of age, against 0.15 expected (nominal p<10(-6)), although only four of these mothers were attending the school at any one time. The origin of the non-disjunction was found to be maternal first meiotic in four children, mitotic after fertilisation in another (with the youngest mother), and in the remaining one could not be determined. The marked excess of Down's syndrome in births to young mothers did not extend to offspring of former pupils of the other Dundalk girls' school surveyed, or to live births in County Louth generally or in adjacent Newry

Personality traits affect teaching performance of attending physicians: results of a multi-center observational study

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Scheepers, Renée A.; Lombarts, Kiki M. J. M. H.; van Aken, Marcel A. G.; Heineman, Maas Jan; Arah, Onyebuchi A.

2014-01-01

Worldwide, attending physicians train residents to become competent providers of patient care. To assess adequate training, attending physicians are increasingly evaluated on their teaching performance. Research suggests that personality traits affect teaching performance, consistent with studied

Diagnostic Performance on Low Dose Computed Tomography For Acute Appendicitis Among Attending and Resident Radiologists

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chang, Chih-Chen; Wong, Yon-Cheong; Wu, Cheng-Hsien; Chen, Huan-Wu; Wang, Li-Jen; Lee, Yu-Hsien; Wu, Patricia Wanping; Irama, Wiwan; Chen, Wei Yuan; Chang, Chee-Jen

2016-01-01

Low-dose computed tomography (LDCT) techniques can reduce exposure to radiation. Several previous studies have shown that radiation dose reduction in LDCT does not decrease the diagnostic performance for appendicitis among attending radiologists. But, the LDCT diagnostic performance for acute appendicitis in radiology residents with variable training levels has not been well discussed. To compare inter-observer and intra-observer differences of diagnostic performance on non-enhanced LDCT (NE-LDCT) and contrast-enhanced standard dose CT (CE-SDCT) for acute appendicitis among attending and resident radiologists. This retrospective study included 101 patients with suspected acute appendicitis who underwent NE-LDCT and CE-SDCT. The CT examinations were interpreted and recorded on a five-point scale independently by three attending radiologists and three residents with 4, 1 and 1 years of training. Diagnostic performance for acute appendicitis of all readers on both examinations was represented by area under receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves. Inter-observer and intra-observer AUC values were compared using Jackknife FROC software on both modalities. The diagnostic accuracy of each reader on NE-LDCT was compared with body mass index (BMI) subgroups and noise using independent T test. Diagnostic performances for acute appendicitis were not statistically different for attending radiologists at both examinations. Better performance was noted on the CE-SDCT with a borderline significant difference (P = 0.05) for senior radiology resident. No statistical difference of AUC values was observed between attending radiologists and fourth year resident on both examinations. Statistically signifi@@cant differences of AUC values were observed between attending radiologists and first year residents (P = 0.001 ~ 0.018) on NE-LDCT. Diagnostic accuracies of acute appendicitis on NE-LDCT for each reader were not significantly related to BMI or noise. Attending radiologists

Using Group Counseling to Improve the Attendance of Elementary School Students with High Rates of Absenteeism: An Action Research Study

Science.gov (United States)

Webb-Landman, Eleanor

2012-01-01

The foundations of academic and social learning are laid in the early years of school, and attendance is critical to school success. However, research suggests that chronic absenteeism is a significant problem at the elementary school level (Chang & Romero, 2008; Romero & Lee, 2007). This paper presents the results of an action research…

Linking Student Performance in Massachusetts Elementary Schools with the “Greenness” of School Surroundings Using Remote Sensing

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Chih-Da; McNeely, Eileen; Cedeño-Laurent, J. G.; Pan, Wen-Chi; Adamkiewicz, Gary; Dominici, Francesca; Lung, Shih-Chun Candice; Su, Huey-Jen; Spengler, John D.

2014-01-01

Various studies have reported the physical and mental health benefits from exposure to “green” neighborhoods, such as proximity to neighborhoods with trees and vegetation. However, no studies have explicitly assessed the association between exposure to “green” surroundings and cognitive function in terms of student academic performance. This study investigated the association between the “greenness” of the area surrounding a Massachusetts public elementary school and the academic achievement of the school’s student body based on standardized tests with an ecological setting. Researchers used the composite school-based performance scores generated by the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) to measure the percentage of 3rd-grade students (the first year of standardized testing for 8–9 years-old children in public school), who scored “Above Proficient” (AP) in English and Mathematics tests (Note: Individual student scores are not publically available). The MCAS results are comparable year to year thanks to an equating process. Researchers included test results from 2006 through 2012 in 905 public schools and adjusted for differences between schools in the final analysis according to race, gender, English as a second language (proxy for ethnicity and language facility), parent income, student-teacher ratio, and school attendance. Surrounding greenness of each school was measured using satellite images converted into the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) in March, July and October of each year according to a 250-meter, 500-meter, 1,000-meter, and 2000-meter circular buffer around each school. Spatial Generalized Linear Mixed Models (GLMMs) estimated the impacts of surrounding greenness on school-based performance. Overall the study results supported a relationship between the “greenness” of the school area and the school-wide academic performance. Interestingly, the results showed a consistently positive significant

Does Attendance Matter? An Examination of Student Attitudes, Participation, Performance and Attendance

Science.gov (United States)

Massingham, Peter; Herrington, Tony

2006-01-01

Non attendance of lectures and tutorials appears to be a growing trend. The literature suggests many possible reasons including students' changing lifestyle, attitudes, teaching and technology. This paper looks at the reasons for non attendance of students in the Faculty of Commerce at the University of Wollongong and identifies relationships…

The impact of class absenteeism on undergraduates’ academic performance: evidence from an elite Economics school in Portugal

OpenAIRE

Aurora A.C. Teixeira

2013-01-01

The empirical literature focusing mainly on the USA suggests that class absenteeism undermines students’ academic performance and that an enforced mandatory attendance policy may be beneficial. Based on a different cultural and economic context, and using data on 146 second-year management students enrolled in a Macroeconomics course at an elite economics school in Portugal, it is shown that even when controlling for potential endogenous factors associated to attendance and academic performan...

Boosting Student Attendance: Beyond Stickers, Stars, and Candy Bars

Science.gov (United States)

Dill, Vicky; Lopez, Patrick; Stahlke, Tim; Stamp, Jeanne

2016-01-01

We know that students cannot learn if they are not in school, and that students with economic challenges miss school more frequently than other students. What obstacles create this attendance gap, and how can school districts provide the supports to improve attendance for these students? The authors of this article, who work with the Texas…

Shadow Education in Malaysia: Identifying the Determinants of Spending and Amount of Time Attending Private Supplementary Tutoring of Upper Secondary School Students

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chang Da Wan

2017-10-01

Full Text Available This paper examines the determinants of spending and the amount of time attending private supplementary tutoring, or commonly known as private tuition, in Malaysia. Based on 343 self-reported questionnaires with upper secondary students across three states in Malaysia and using multiple regression analysis, we identified ethnicity, father’s level of education and past academic performance as significant determinants of spending and amount of time attending private tuition. However, interestingly, we found that while geographical location and participation in internal tuition in schools were also determinants of spending, these two were not significant in determining the amount of time attending private supplementary tutoring. The identification of determinants of spending and amount of time, and in addition, the differences between these two illustrates the economic and educational dimensions of shadow education. More importantly, the insight also contributes to the formulation of possible interventions that can improve quality and reduce inequality in the mainstream education system.

The attendance of women in mammographic early detection programme and the results of the observation of the breast glands condition. 1. The attendance of higher schools female employees in mammography examination

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Romejko, M.; Kleszczewska, J.; Liszek, A.; Tarlowska, L.; Wronkowski, Z.

1993-01-01

The aim of the first part of this work is to assess the attendance in the early detection (mammography) in female employees of Warsaw-based higher schools aged 40-69. During the 4.5 year period (1985-1989) 1325 female employees of higher schools (23.5% of the schools' total employment) turned up to the Female Cancer Prevention Center of The Higher Schools' Medical Center (ZOZ) in Warsaw. Observation of this group continued until June 30, 1992. Majority of the women (56.5%) showed up only once, 21.7% came twice, and 21.8% at least three times. Out of the 1021 women (77% of all the examined female employees) who showed no symptoms in the first test, only 37% came again for the second checkup. Out of the 305 women who had changes detected in their X-ray images, 66% turned up for the second test. 23 women (1.7%) had suspicious mammography results or typical cancer symptoms in the first test. The present work shows that the reason of the insufficient attendance of higher schools' female employees in early detection programs need to be investigated and that a more efficient early detection system must be developed. (author)

Examining Master Schedule Practices in Rio Grande Valley Schools: Effects on Student Attendance, Discipline, and Grade Point Averages

Science.gov (United States)

Carriaga, Benito T.

2012-01-01

This study evaluated the impact of the master schedule design on student attendance, discipline, and grade point averages. Unexcused and excused absences, minor and major infraction, and grade point averages in three high schools during the 2008-09 and 2009-10 school years were included in the study. The purpose was to examine if any difference…

Cross-Sequential Results on Creativity Development in Childhood Within two Different School Systems: Divergent Performances in Luxembourg Versus German Kindergarten and Elementary School Students

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Günter Krampen

2012-08-01

Full Text Available The aim of the study is conducting methodologically sound, cross-sequential analyses of the creativity development of children attending different school systems. Culture-free tests of creativity (ideational fluency and flexibility and intelligence were administered in 5 cohorts (two kindergarten and first three elementary school years, which were retested in three consecutive years. Samples include 244 Luxembourg and 312 German children enrolled in educational systems with obligatory kindergarten and 6-year comprehensive elementary school versus optional kindergarten, 4-year comprehensive elementary school and educational placement thereafter. Results demonstrate (1 linear increases in intelligence, (2 declines of divergent performances after school enrollment in both samples, (3 increases in divergent performances up to the 5th elementary school year in Luxembourg and up to the 3rd elementary school year in Germany (i.e., the next to last school year before educational placement followed by a second creativity slump. Cross-sequential results confirm discontinuities in the development of divergent productions in childhood.

SCHOOL FEEDING PROGRAM USING RICE-PEA BEVERAGE IN SOME PRIMARY SCHOOLS: DOES IT HAVE BENEFIT?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Satoto Satoto

2012-04-01

Full Text Available ABSTRACT School feeding program is believed to be one effort among others to improve attendance rate, nutritional status and cognitive function of school children, which in turn improve academic performance of them. A study was conducted to evaluate a school feeding program using rice-pea beverage in Bandung, Indonesia. Its objective is to measure effect of the program on attendance rate, nutritional status, cognitive function and academic performance of the children joining the program. A control group design was administered. A number of students of class 3,4 and 5 from schools joining the feeding program were selected as program group, and more or less same number of school children in other schools with similar socio-economic situation were selected as control group. The feeding program was organized for 6 months. Attendance rate was measured by number of absentees, total and due to sickness in one semester. Nutritional status was standardized using WHO-NCHS z-score for weight-for-age (WAZ and height-for-age (HAZ. Cognitive function was measured by Coloured Progressive Matrices (CPM, and score of Mathematics and Indonesian Language (Bahasa Indonesia were measured using specific scholastic testings. School and home learning environment, certain food consumption frequencies were collected as covariates. GLM analyses were administered. The study found that after being controlled by some covariates, at the end of the study children in the program group showed better attendance rate, nutritional status, cognitive function and school performance. It is assumed that the improvement was due to better attendance rate as the program attracted the children to attend more days in the schools and due to improvement of food consumption provided by the program and at home. More in-depth, more specific and longer study, administering randomized case-control trial is recommended. Comparison of the use of foodstuffs for the purpose is also interesting to be

Dental caries prevalence in children attending special needs schools in Johannesburg, Gauteng Province, South Africa.

Science.gov (United States)

Nqcobo, C B; Yengopal, V; Rudolph, M J; Thekiso, M; Joosab, Z

2012-08-01

Anecdotal evidence from clinical data in Johannesburg suggests that there is a high burden of dental caries among children with special health care needs (CSHCN) in Johannesburg. To determine the prevalence of dental caries and Unmet Treatment Needs in children with cerebral palsy, hearing, learning and mental disabilities attending special needs schools in Johannesburg and to compare these with data from the National Children's Oral Health Survey (NCOHS) METHODS: This cross-sectional analytical study comprised of 882 children attending five special needs schools in Johannesburg. Stratified randomised sampling of the participating schools was done and the schools were stratified by disability. Caries status was recorded via the dmft/DMFT index using WHO criteria and guidelines. The mean age of the participants was 10.5 years; with a caries prevalence of 27.55% and 33.56% in the primary and permanent dentition respectively. The highest unmet treatment need of 100% was found in the permanent dentition of the hearing impaired group followed by 90.77% in the primary dentition of the cerebral palsy group. In general no significant difference was found when the dmft/DMFT for CSHCN and NCOHS were compared except in the hearing impaired age groups four to five and six (both primary dentition) where significantly higher dmft scores (3.58 vs. 2.4; 3.85 vs. 2.9; p special health care needs had lower caries prevalence compared with the general population and higher unmet treatment needs regardless of the type of disability.

HEALTH INDICATORS IN SCHOOL: ASSESSMENT OF NUTRITIONAL STATUS AND MOTOR PERFORMANCE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andressa Ribeiro Contreira

2013-11-01

Full Text Available Objective: This study aimed to investigate the relationship among motor performance and nutritional status in students. Methods: Attended by 27 adolescents of both sexes, aged between 11-13 years (average 11.74 ± 0.70 years from a private school in Florianópolis/SC. The motor performance was assessed using the MABC-2. For assess the nutritional status was used the BMI calculus. Results: Among 27 participants, 6 had a risk / indicative of motor difficulties and 9 had overweight. The vast majority of participants had adequate height for age. There was negative significant statistically correlation, but moderate, among BMI and total performance in the MABC-2, indicating that as higher the BMI, worse is the motor performance. Conclusion: Based on these results and the literature, it is suggested that in addition to the identification of children with overweight and motor difficulties, programs targeted physical activity and motor interventions are implemented, especially in the school environment, aiming to maintain the health conditions.

A Policy Analysis of Student Attendance Standards Related to State Education Policies

Science.gov (United States)

Guilliams, Mary Elizabeth

2014-01-01

This paper is a project report of a policy analysis of state attendance information available to public schools. Current state attendance information rarely expands beyond compulsory attendance law. It is vague, non-existent or difficult to find. Research provides strong links between student attendance and achievement. Informed school leaders…

Do school inspections improve primary school performance?

OpenAIRE

Dinand Webbink; Rob Luginbuhl; I. de Wolf

2007-01-01

Inspectors from the Dutch Inspectorate of Education inspect primary schools, write inspection reports on each inspected school, and make recommendations as to how each school can improve. We test whether these inspections result in better school performance. Using a fixed-effects model, we find evidence that school inspections do lead to measurably better school performance. Our assessment of school performance is based on the Cito test scores of pupils in their final year of primary school. ...

A Phenomenological Study of Sexual Harassment and Violence among Girls Attending High Schools in Urban Slums, Nairobi, Kenya

Science.gov (United States)

Abuya, Benta A.; Onsomu, Elijah O.; Moore, DaKysha; Sagwe, Jackline

2012-01-01

In 2003, 31% of young Kenyan women ages 15-24 reported sexual harassment and violence (SHV), with a majority experiencing sexual debut due to coercion (Central Bureau of Statistics, 2004). Data were obtained from a sample of 20 girls attending school in Kamu and Lafamu (pseudonyms used for the study sites), 10 girls who had dropped out of school,…

Church attendance and self-esteem among adolescents

OpenAIRE

Robbins, Mandy; Francis, Leslie J.; Williams, Emyr

2007-01-01

A total of 279 young people (123 males and 156 females) aged between 12 and 16 years of age attending one school in Wales completed the Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventory alongside a measure of frequency of church attendance. The data indicate a small positive correlation (r = .18) between self-esteem and church attendance.

Shiftworking families: parents' working schedule and sleep patterns of adolescents attending school in two shifts

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Biserka Radoševic-Vidacek

2004-12-01

Full Text Available OBJECTIVE: To explore whether parents' engagement in shift work affects the sleep habits of their adolescent children who attend school in two shifts. METHODS: The data were drawn from an extensive survey of sleep and daytime functioning of adolescents attending school one week in the morning and the other in the afternoon. The participants were 1,386 elementary and high school students (11-18 years old whose parents were both employed. The data were analyzed using MANOVA, with parents' work schedule, adolescents' gender and type of school as between-subject factors. RESULTS: Parents' working schedule significantly affected the sleep patterns of high school adolescents. When attending school in the morning, adolescents whose parents were both day workers woke up somewhat later than adolescents with one shiftworking parent. In addition, they slept longer than adolescents whose parents were both shift workers. On weekends, adolescents whose parents both worked during the day went to bed earlier than adolescents whose parents were both shiftworkers. They also had smaller bedtime delay on weekends with respect to both morning and afternoon shifts than adolescents for whom one or both parents worked shifts. A significant interaction between parents' working schedule, adolescents' gender and type of school was found for sleep extension on weekends after afternoon shift school. CONCLUSIONS: Parental involvement in shift work has negative effects on the sleep of high school adolescents. It contributes to earlier wake-up time and shorter sleep in a week when adolescents attend school in the morning, as well as to greater bedtime irregularity.OBJETIVO: Investigar se a ocupação de pais com o trabalho em turnos interfere nos hábitos de sono dos filhos adolescentes que freqüentam a escola em dois períodos distintos. MÉTODOS: Os dados foram coletados em uma extensa pesquisa sobre sono e atividades diurnas de adolescentes que freqüentavam a escola no

Childhood Asthma and Student Performance at School

Science.gov (United States)

Taras, Howard; Potts-Datema, William

2005-01-01

To better understand what is known about the association between childhood asthma, school attendance, and academic outcomes, the authors reviewed published studies investigating this topic. Tables with brief descriptions of each study's research methodology and outcomes are included. Research reveals evidence that rates of absenteeism are higher…

School Asthma Screening and Case Management: Attendance and Learning Outcomes

Science.gov (United States)

Moricca, Michelle L.; Grasska, Merry A.; BMarthaler, Marcia; Morphew, Tricia; Weismuller, Penny C.; Galant, Stanley P.

2013-01-01

Asthma is related to school absenteeism and underperformance in elementary students. This pilot study assessed whether school nurse case management (CM) in children identified with asthma impacts academic performance and school absenteeism in one school. A validated questionnaire was used to identify children at risk for asthma and CM was provided…

Examining the relationship between child maltreatment and school performance in public schools in Saudi Arabia: A pilot study.

Science.gov (United States)

Altamimi, Dana; Almuneef, Maha; Albuhairan, Fadia; Saleheen, Hassan

2017-07-01

The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between child maltreatment (CM) and school performance among adolescents in Saudi Arabia. A cross-sectional study was conducted in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in 2014. The enrolment criteria included both male and female Saudi students ( n=674; 52.7% male) aged 12-19 years ( M age =15.6±1.6 years), attending intermediate and secondary schools belonging to the Ministry of National Guard. A self-administered questionnaire was used to gather information on different forms of abuse that had occurred in the past or were currently occurring. Poor school performance was more likely in students who lived among substance-use family members or guardians compared with those who did not (33.3% vs. 11.4%; p<0.01), those with an imprisoned family member compared with those without (26.5% vs. 11.2%; p<0.01), those who were psychologically abused compared with those who were not abused (21.0% vs. 10.1%; p<0.01), those who were physically abused compared with those who were not abused (18.9% vs. 9.3%; p<0.01), and those suffering multiple forms of abuse compared with those not abused (23.4% vs. 9.7%; p<0.01). Logistic regression analysis showed that household dysfunction was the most predisposing factor to poor performance in school, and included living among substance-use family members or guardians (odds ratio=4.0; 95% confidence interval=1.7-9.5) and living with imprisoned family member (odds ratio=3.1, 95% confidence interval=1.5-6.3). CM, along with family structure and dynamics, has an adverse relationship with students' school performance. These findings highlight the importance of increasing awareness of the impact of CM on school performance among families, schools and the community.

Day-care attendance and child development

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bauchmüller, Robert; Gørtz, Mette; Rasmussen, Astrid Würtz

Earlier research suggests that children’s development is shaped in their early years of life. This paper examines whether differences in day-care experiences during pre-school age are important for children’s cognitive and language development at the age of 15. The analysis is based on class...... performance at the end of elementary schooling. We assess the effects of attended types and qualities of day-care institutions on various child outcomes as measured by school grades in mathematics, science, English and Danish for the whole Danish population as well as outcomes from the 2006 PISA Denmark...... survey and a 2007 PISA Copenhagen survey. We use administrative registries to generate indicators such as child-staff ratios, child-pedagogues ratios, and the share of male staff and of staff with non-Danish origins. Furthermore, we use information on the average levels of educational attainments...

Dr. David Sawyer, Mickey Mouse and Dr. David Brown attend a ceremony at Ronald McNair Middle School

Science.gov (United States)

1999-01-01

Dr. David Sawyer (left), Superintendent of the Brevard County School District, Mickey Mouse, and Dr. David Brown, a NASA astronaut, attend a tribute to NASA astronaut Ronald McNair held in the gymnasium of Ronald McNair Magnet School in Cocoa, Fla. During the tribute, Walt Disney World presented a portrait of McNair to the school, which had previously been renamed for the fallen astronaut. McNair was one of a crew of seven who lost their lives during an accident following launch of the Space Shuttle Challenger in January 1986.

Hidden Gains: Effects of Early U.S. Compulsory Schooling Laws on Attendance and Attainment by Social Background

Science.gov (United States)

Rauscher, Emily

2014-01-01

Research on early compulsory schooling laws finds minimal effects on attendance but fails to investigate heterogeneous effects. Similarly, research proposes limited contexts in which expansion policies can increase equality but has difficulty separating policy and cohort effects. Capitalizing on within-country variation in timing of early…

Monitoring student attendance, participation, and performance improvement: an instrument and forms.

Science.gov (United States)

Kosta, Joanne

2012-01-01

When students receive consistent and fair feedback about their behavior, program liability decreases. To help students to have a clearer understanding of minimum program standards and the consequences of substandard performance, the author developed attendance and participation monitoring and performance improvement instruments. The author discusses the tools that address absenteeism, tardiness, unprofessional, and unsafe clinical behaviors among students.

Computerized Attendance Accounting and Emergency Assistance Communications: Viable Tools in Secondary School Administration

Science.gov (United States)

Roberts, Vasel W.

1971-01-01

In the late 1968, the Space Technology Application Office at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) initiated a pilot study to determine whether technological aids could be developed that would help secondary school administrators cope with the volatile and chaotic situations that often accompany student activism, disorders, and riots. The study was conducted in cooperation with the Sacramento City Unified School District (SCUSD) and at the John F. Kennedy Senior High School (JFK) in Sacramento, California. The problems at JFK and in the SCUSD were identified and described to the JPL team by members of the Kennedy staff and personnel at various levels and departments within the school district. The JPL team of engineers restricted their scope to problems that appeared solvable, or at least partially solvable, through the use of technological systems. Thus far, two hardware systems have been developed for use in the school. The first, a personal emergency assistance communication system, has already been tested operationally at JFK and has met the objectives established for it. The second technological aid developed was a computerized attendance accounting system. This system has been fabricated, tested, and installed at JFK. Full-scale operational testing began in April 1971. While studies and hardware tests were in progress at JFK, contacts were made with several other schools in order that, insofar as practicable, hardware designs could allow for possible adaptation to schools other than JFK.

ANALYSIS OF DIFFERENCES BETWEEN BOYS ATTENDING A FOOTBALL SCHOOL AND THOS WHO DO NOT DO SPORT WITH SPECIFIC-MOTOR ABILITIES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Slavko Molnar

2010-09-01

Full Text Available The subject sample of 240 boys aged 7-14 was divided to two subsamples of 120 boys each (active participants of “ЯMR Vojvodina” football school since the age of 7, and boys involved in sports, who regularly attended classes of physical education at school. The sample was subjected to 11 tests for evaluation of specific–motor abilities. The purpose of this research was to determine whether there are or there are not any differences in specific- motor abilities of subjects of the same age depending whether they play any sport or not. Analysis of results processed by discriminative analysis showed that the boys who attended football school achieved much better results in tests for evaluation of specific motor abilities than the boys who did not. At the age of 7-8, the differences can be attributed to efficient selection rather than the program contents due to the fact that they are beginners, whereas at older ages, these differences, being even higher in boys doing sports, can be attributed to the effects of program contents in the football school.

School Uniforms in Urban Public High Schools

Science.gov (United States)

Draa, Virginia Ann Bendel

2005-01-01

The purpose of this study was to determine whether or not the implementation of a mandatory uniform policy in urban public high schools improved school performance measures at the building level for rates of attendance, graduation, academic proficiency, and student conduct as measured by rates of suspensions and expulsions. Sixty-four secondary…

Improving the Quantity and Quality of Attendance Data to Enhance Student Retention

Science.gov (United States)

Bowen, Eleri; Price, Trevor; Lloyd, Steve; Thomas, Steve

2005-01-01

This article draws attention to local and global attendance monitoring in higher education. The paper outlines benefits of attendance monitoring for both the individual learner and university, and compares traditional paper-based attendance monitoring systems with an electronic system piloted in the Business School and School of Technology at the…

Maternal alcohol use disorder and child school attendance outcomes for non-Indigenous and Indigenous children in Western Australia: a population cohort record linkage study.

Science.gov (United States)

Hafekost, Katherine; Lawrence, David; O'Leary, Colleen; Bower, Carol; Semmens, James; Zubrick, Stephen R

2017-07-11

Examine the relationship between maternal alcohol use disorder and child school attendance outcomes for non-Indigenous and Indigenous children in Western Australia. Population cohort study. Routinely collected linked administrative health, education and child protection data. Those in-scope for the study were women with a birth recorded on the Western Australian Midwives Notification System (1989-2007). Women who had an alcohol-related diagnosis (International Classification of Diseases Revisions 9/10) recorded on the Hospital Morbidity, Mental Health Inpatients and Outpatients, and Drug and Alcohol Office data sets formed the exposed group. The comparison cohort was frequency-matched to the exposed cohort based on maternal age within Indigenous status and child's year of birth. Child's school attendance was obtained from the Department of Education (2008-2012). Poor attendance was defined as alcohol use disorder was significantly associated with increased odds of poor attendance (non-Indigenous: OR=1.61, 95% CI 1.50 to 1.74; Indigenous: OR=1.66, 95% CI 1.54 to 1.79). With adjustment for maternal and child factors, there was no significant difference between the timing of alcohol diagnosis relative to pregnancy and attendance outcomes. The population attributable fraction was higher in the Indigenous cohort than the non-Indigenous cohort (6.0% vs 1.3%). Maternal alcohol use disorder was associated with a significantly increased odds of poor school attendance for non-Indigenous and Indigenous children. There was no significant difference between the timing of diagnoses and odds of poor school attendance. This suggests that the effect of maternal alcohol use disorder may not be driven by the neurodevelopmental effects of alcohol exposure in utero, but may be mediated through family or social factors for which we were unable to adjust. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2017. All rights reserved. No

Association of a full-day vs part-day preschool intervention with school readiness, attendance, and parent involvement.

Science.gov (United States)

Reynolds, Arthur J; Richardson, Brandt A; Hayakawa, Momoko; Lease, Erin M; Warner-Richter, Mallory; Englund, Michelle M; Ou, Suh-Ruu; Sullivan, Molly

2014-11-26

Early childhood interventions have demonstrated positive effects on well-being. Whether full-day vs part-day attendance improves outcomes is unknown. To evaluate the association between a full- vs part-day early childhood program and school readiness, attendance, and parent involvement. End-of-preschool follow-up of a nonrandomized, matched-group cohort of predominantly low-income, ethnic minority children enrolled in the Child-Parent Centers (CPC) for the full day (7 hours; n = 409) or part day (3 hours on average; n = 573) in the 2012-2013 school year in 11 schools in Chicago, Illinois. The Midwest CPC Education Program provides comprehensive instruction, family-support, and health services from preschool to third grade. School readiness skills at the end of preschool, attendance and chronic absences, and parental involvement. The readiness domains in the Teaching Strategies GOLD Assessment System include a total of 49 items with a score range of 105-418. The specific domains are socioemotional with 9 items (score range, 20-81), language with 6 items (score range, 15-54), literacy with 12 items (score range, 9-104), math with 7 items (score, 8-60), physical health with 5 items (score range, 14-45), and cognitive development with 10 items (score range, 18-90). Full-day preschool participants had higher scores than part-day peers on socioemotional development (58.6 vs 54.5; difference, 4.1; 95% CI, 0.5-7.6; P = .03), language (39.9 vs 37.3; difference, 2.6; 95% CI, 0.6-4.6; P = .01), math (40.0 vs 36.4; difference, 3.6; 95% CI, 0.5-6.7; P = .02), physical health (35.5 vs 33.6; difference, 1.9; 95% CI, 0.5-3.2; P = .006), and the total score (298.1 vs 278.2; difference, 19.9; 95% CI, 1.2-38.4; P = .04). Literacy (64.5 vs 58.6; difference, 5.9; 95% CI, -0.07 to 12.4; P = .08) and cognitive development (59.7 vs 57.7; difference, 2.0; 95% CI, -2.4 to 6.3; P = .38) were not significant. Full-day preschool graduates also had higher

Supervisors' Performance Ratings Correlated with Selected Personal Characteristics of Attendants in a Mental Retardation Developmental Center.

Science.gov (United States)

Frederick, Joseph; And Others

A research study investigated the relationship between personal characteristics and selected demographic data of 75 attendants in a mental retardation developmental center and the assessment by 24 administrators of the attendants' job performance. Instruments used included a 20-item Direct Care Performance Scale and the Demographic Data Scale,…

The Impact of Comprehensive School Nursing Services on Students' Academic Performance.

Science.gov (United States)

Kocoglu, Deniz; Emiroglu, Oya Nuran

2017-03-01

Introduction: School nursing services should be evaluated through health and academic outcomes of students; however, it is observed that the number of studies in this field is limited. The aim of this study is to evaluate the impact of comprehensive school nursing services provided to 4th grade primary school students on academic performance of students. Methods: The quasi-experimental study was conducted with 31 students attending a randomly selected school in economic disadvantaged area in Turky. Correlation analysis, repeated measures analyses of variance, multiple regression analysis were used to analyze the data with SPSS software. Results: At the end of school nursing practices, an increase was occurred in students' academic achievement grades whereas a decrease was occurred in absenteeism and academic procrastination behaviors. Whilst it was determined that nursing interventions including treatment/ procedure and surveillance was associated to the decrease of absenteeism, it also was discovered that the change in the health status of the student after nursing interventions was related to the increase of the academic achievement grade and the decrease of the academic procrastination behavior score. Conclusion: In this study, the conclusion that comprehensive school nursing services contributed positively to the academic performance of students has been reached. In addition, it can be suggested that effective school nursing services should include services such as acute-chronic disease treatment, first aid, health screening, health improvement-protection, health education, guidance and counseling and case management.

The Impact of Comprehensive School Nursing Services on Students' Academic Performance

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Deniz Kocoglu

2017-03-01

Full Text Available Introduction: School nursing services should be evaluated through health and academic outcomes of students; however, it is observed that the number of studies in this field is limited. The aim of this study is to evaluate the impact of comprehensive school nursing services provided to 4th grade primary school students on academic performance of students. Methods: The quasi-experimental study was conducted with 31 students attending a randomly selected school in economic disadvantaged area in Turky. Correlation analysis, repeated measures analyses of variance, multiple regression analysis were used to analyze the data with SPSS software. Results: At the end of school nursing practices, an increase was occurred in students’ academic achievement grades whereas a decrease was occurred in absenteeism and academic procrastination behaviors. Whilst it was determined that nursing interventions including treatment/ procedure and surveillance was associated to the decrease of absenteeism, it also was discovered that the change in the health status of the student after nursing interventions was related to the increase of the academic achievement grade and the decrease of the academic procrastination behavior score. Conclusion: In this study, the conclusion that comprehensive school nursing services contributed positively to the academic performance of students has been reached. In addition, it can be suggested that effective school nursing services should include services such as acute-chronic disease treatment, first aid, health screening, health improvement-protection, health education, guidance and counseling and case management.

School Performance

Science.gov (United States)

Lamas, Héctor A.

2015-01-01

The school performance study of students is, due to its relevance and complexity, one of the issues of major controversy in the educational research, and it has been given special attention in the last decades. This study is intended to show a conceptual approach to the school performance construct, contextualizing the reality in the regular basic…

Experiences of Caregivers in Healthcare for and Social Support of HIV Positive Children Attending Schools in Bangkok

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Duangkamol Wattradul, DNS, RN

2014-09-01

Conclusion: Our findings can inform the design of systems for educational and social support alongside adequate healthcare for children living with HIV/AIDS attending school. The Thai government needs to establish collaboration between the educational and health sectors to reduce the stigma of HIV, promote acceptance and provide support.

Learning Barriers among Grade 6 Pupils Attending Rural Schools in Uganda: Implications to Policy and Practice

Science.gov (United States)

Hungi, Njora; Ngware, Moses; Mahuro, Gerald; Muhia, Nelson

2017-01-01

The paper uses multilevel analysis procedures to examine individual- and group-level learning barriers that have the greatest impact on pupil achievement in Uganda. The data for this study were collected in 2014 among 2711 Grade 6 pupils attending 82 schools in two rural districts of Iganga and Mayuge in Uganda. Data used in this paper are part of…

Locating the Dropout Crisis. Which High Schools Produce the Nation's Dropouts? Where Are They Located? Who Attends Them? Report 70

Science.gov (United States)

Balfanz, Robert; Legters, Nettie

2004-01-01

The purpose of this report was to locate the dropout crisis- to determine its scale and scope by identifying the number of high schools with severe dropout problems, detailing the states, cities, and locales where they are concentrated, and establishing who attends them. For this analysis of high schools across the country, two cut-points were…

Who attends recovery high schools after substance use treatment? A descriptive analysis of school aged youth.

Science.gov (United States)

Tanner-Smith, Emily E; Finch, Andrew J; Hennessy, Emily A; Moberg, D Paul

2018-06-01

Recovery high schools (RHSs) are an alternative high school option for adolescents with substance use disorders (SUDs), designed to provide a recovery-focused learning environment. The aims of this study were to examine the characteristics of youth who choose to attend RHSs, and to compare them with local and national comparison samples of youth in recovery from SUDs who were not enrolled in RHSs. We conducted secondary analysis of existing data to compare characteristics of youth in three samples: (1) adolescents with SUDs who enrolled in RHSs in Minnesota, Texas, and Wisconsin after discharge from treatment (RHSs; n = 171, 51% male, 86% White, 4% African American, 5% Hispanic); (2) a contemporaneously recruited local comparison sample of students with SUDs who did not enroll in RHSs (n = 123, 60% male, 77% White, 5% African American, 12% Hispanic); and (3) a national comparison sample of U.S. adolescents receiving SUD treatment (n = 12,967, 73% male, 37% White, 15% African American, 30% Hispanic). Students enrolled in RHSs had elevated levels of risk factors for substance use and relapse relative to both the local and national comparison samples. For instance, RHS students reported higher rates of pre-treatment drug use, past mental health treatment, and higher rates of post-treatment physical health problems than adolescents in the national comparison sample. We conclude that RHSs serve a population with greater co-occurring problem severity than the typical adolescent in SUD treatment; programming offered at RHSs should attend to these complex patterns of risk factors. SUD service delivery policy should consider RHSs as an intensive recovery support model for the most high-risk students with SUDs. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

[Metabolic control and school performance in children with type 1 diabetes].

Science.gov (United States)

Román, Rossana; Garrido, Víctor; Novoa, Valentina; Mundaca, Gabriela; Pichuante, Ema; Rivera, Álvaro; Torres, Alberto; Fuentes, Margarita; Fuentes, Alison; Linares, Jeannette

2017-01-01

The impact of type 1 diabetes (T1D) on school performance is controversial. To study the relationship between school performance and metabolic control in children with T1D (Ch-T1D), comparing their school grades to general population children (Ch-GP). Clinical data for 66 Ch-T1D was reviewed, school grades were compared in Ch-T1D with Glycated Haemoglobin (HbA1c) HbA1c < 7.5% and ≥ 7.5%. School marks were also compared between Ch-T1D and Ch-GP from the same level, community and school type (public, private o chartered). Simple linear regression analysis and Mann Whitney test were used to compare groups. A p < 0.05 was considered significant. Ch-T1D were: 13.4 ± 2.9 years old, T1D duration: 5.3 ± 3.2 years, HbA1c was 8.6 ± 1.9% and capillary blood glucose was measured 3.2 ± 1.2 times per day. Grade averages showed no correlation with HbA1c, diabetes duration, hypothyroidism, mental health issues, neither with hypoglycemia or ketoacidosis records. However, primary education Ch-T1D showed lower grades than Ch-GP 5.6 ± 0.7 and 6.0 ± 0.2 (p = 0,0002). School grades correlated with the number of capillary blood glucose readings per day, Pearson correlation coefficient (r) 0.25, 0.41, 0.52 and 0.58 with general grade point average, math, language, and history average respectively (p < 0.05). School non-pass rate was 6.1% in Ch-T1D and 4.8% in Ch-GP (p = 0.65) and school dropout rate was 10.5% in Ch-T1D and 7.7% in Ch-GP (p = 0.47). Ch-T1D attending primary school showed lower school grades than Ch-GP, and patients who more frequently checked capillary blood glucose showed better school grades. T1D may have a deleterious impact on school performance.

Cyber-Truancy: Addressing Issues of Attendance in the Digital Age

Science.gov (United States)

Archambault, Leanna; Kennedy, Kathryn; Bender, Stacy

2013-01-01

Although mandatory attendance is easily determined in a traditional, brick-and-mortar school, monitoring and enforcing attendance and truancy in an online environment is less obvious. Despite this challenge, virtual schools, especially those that are publicly funded, have a requirement to ensure that students who are enrolled are actually logging…

Type of High School Predicts Academic Performance at University Better than Individual Differences.

Science.gov (United States)

Banai, Benjamin; Perin, Višnja

2016-01-01

Psychological correlates of academic performance have always been of high relevance to psychological research. The relation between psychometric intelligence and academic performance is one of the most consistent and well-established findings in psychology. It is hypothesized that intelligence puts a limit on what an individual can learn or achieve. Moreover, a growing body of literature indicates a relationship between personality traits and academic performance. This relationship helps us to better understand how an individual will learn or achieve their goals. The aim of this study is to further investigate the relationship between psychological correlates of academic performance by exploring the potentially moderating role of prior education. The participants in this study differed in the type of high school they attended. They went either to gymnasium, a general education type of high school that prepares students specifically for university studies, or to vocational school, which prepares students both for the labour market and for further studies. In this study, we used archival data of psychological testing during career guidance in the final year of high school, and information about the university graduation of those who received guidance. The psychological measures included intelligence, personality and general knowledge. The results show that gymnasium students had greater chances of performing well at university, and that this relationship exceeds the contribution of intelligence and personality traits to university graduation. Moreover, psychological measures did not interact with type of high school, which indicates that students from different school types do not profit from certain individual characteristics.

The account system for students school‘s attendance

OpenAIRE

Birgėlienė, Raminta

2007-01-01

SUMMARY The account system for students school‘s attendance The purpose of the created students school‘s attendance account system is to assist teachers in registering, observing and making reports on students school‘s attendance. This work presents the of secondary school students���result attendance account transferred to the informatics system. The system includes the analysis, separable processes, adjustable structured analysis and projections‘methods, which allow dealing with a real prob...

Attention Training in Autism as a Potential Approach to Improving Academic Performance: A School-Based Pilot Study

Science.gov (United States)

Spaniol, Mayra Muller; Shalev, Lilach; Kossyvaki, Lila; Mevorach, Carmel

2018-01-01

This study assessed the effectiveness of an attention intervention program (Computerized Progressive Attentional Training; CPAT) in improving academic performance of children with ASD. Fifteen 6-10 year olds with ASD attending a mainstream and a special school were assigned to an experimental (CPAT; n = 8) and active control (computer games; n =…

The effect of attending steiner schools during childhood on health in adulthood: a multicentre cross-sectional study.

Science.gov (United States)

Fischer, H Felix; Binting, Sylvia; Bockelbrink, Angelina; Heusser, Peter; Hueck, Christoph; Keil, Thomas; Roll, Stephanie; Witt, Claudia

2013-01-01

It is speculated that attending Steiner schools, whose pedagogical principles include an account for healthy psycho-physical development, may have long-term beneficial health effects. We examined whether the current health status differed between former attendees of German Steiner schools and adults from the general population. Furthermore, we examined factors that might explain those differences. We included former Steiner school attendees from 4 schools in Berlin, Hanover, Nuremberg and Stuttgart and randomly selected population controls. Using a self-report questionnaire we assessed sociodemographics, current and childhood lifestyle and health status. Outcomes were self-reports on 16 diseases: atopic dermatitis, allergic rhinitis, bronchial asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), cardiac arrhythmia, cardiac insufficiency, angina pectoris, arteriosclerosis, hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, osteoarthritis, rheumatism, cancer, diabetes, depression and multiple sclerosis. Furthermore, participants rated the symptom burden resulting from back pain, cold symptoms, headache, insomnia, joint pain, gastrointestinal symptoms and imbalance. Unadjusted and adjusted odds ratios were calculated for each outcome. 1136 Steiner school attendees and 1746 controls were eligible for analysis. Both groups were comparable regarding sex, age and region, but differed in nationality and educational status. After adjusting for possible confounders, we found statistically significant effects of Steiner school attendance for osteoarthritis (OR 0.69 [0.49-0.97]) and allergic rhinitis (OR 0.77, [0.59-1.00]) as well as for symptom burden from back pain (OR 0.80, [0.64-1.00]), insomnia (OR 0.65, [0.50-0.84]), joint pain (OR 0.62, [0.48-0.82]), gastrointestinal symptoms (OR 0.76, [0.58-1.00]) and imbalance (OR 0.60, [0.38-0.93]). The risk of most examined diseases did not differ between former Steiner school attendees and the general population after adjustment for

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...

Progression of impairment in adolescents with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder through the transition out of high school: Contributions of parent involvement and college attendance.

Science.gov (United States)

Howard, Andrea L; Strickland, Noelle J; Murray, Desiree W; Tamm, Leanne; Swanson, James M; Hinshaw, Stephen P; Arnold, L Eugene; Molina, Brooke S G

2016-02-01

Long-term, prospective follow-up studies of children diagnosed with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) show that symptoms tend to decline with age, but impairments in daily life functioning often persist into adulthood. We examined the developmental progression of impairments before and after the transition out of high school in relation to parent involvement during adolescence, parent support during adulthood, and college attendance, using 8 waves of data from the prospective 16-year follow-up of the Multimodal Treatment of ADHD (MTA) study. Participants were 548 proband children diagnosed with Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed., text rev.; DSM-IV; American Psychiatric Association, 2000) ADHD Combined Type and 258 age- and sex-matched comparison children (Local Normative Comparison Group; LNCG) randomly sampled from probands' schools. Impairment was assessed consistently by parent report from childhood through adulthood. Results showed that impairment worsens over time both before and after the transition to adulthood for those with ADHD histories, in contrast to non-ADHD peers, whose impairments remained stably low over time. However, impairment stabilized after leaving high school for young adults with ADHD histories who attended college. Involved parenting in adolescence was associated with less impairment overall. Attending college was associated with a stable post-high school trajectory of impairment regardless of parents' involvement during adolescence, but young adults with histories of involved parenting and who attended college were the least impaired overall. (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

Outcome of Doctors Attending the European Society for Paediatric Endocrinology Winter Schools 2008-2014.

Science.gov (United States)

Donaldson, Malcolm D C

2017-01-01

Since 1995, the European Society for Paediatric Endocrinology (ESPE) has hosted Winter School (WS), a 5-day interactive meeting of 25 trainees and 7 teachers designed to cover all main endocrine topics. The aim of the present study was to determine subsequent outcome in ex-WS "students." A questionnaire was sent in August 2016 to all ESPE WS participants between 2008 and 2014. Information was requested on job/training status at WS attendance and in 2016, and subsequent involvement with ESPE. Of 174 participants (144 women, 30 men) including 5 attending two WS, 129 (74.5%) responded. At the time of WS/2016 survey 58/3 participants were junior trainees, 38/21 senior trainees, and 33/101 consultants. One hundred and seventeen (90.6%) responders were still involved with endocrinology, 107 (82%) rating WS as having a strong/very strong influence on their careers. Following WS, 80/174 (46%) participants had attended at least one ESPE main meeting, 28 (16%) had been awarded ESPE fellowships, and 34 (19%) had become ESPE members. The great majority of WS participants responding to the questionnaire are still involved with endocrinology and rated WS as influential. This favourable outcome supports the continuing funding of WS and similar educational programmes. © 2017 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Childhood school segregation and later life sense of control and physical performance in the African American Health cohort.

Science.gov (United States)

Wolinsky, Fredric D; Andresen, Elena M; Malmstrom, Theodore K; Miller, J Philip; Schootman, Mario; Miller, Douglas K

2012-09-27

The association between childhood school desegregation and later life sense of control and physical performance among African Americans is not clear. We hypothesized that childhood school desegregation adversely affected the sense of control of in later life, and that this reduced sense of control accounts in part for reduced physical performance. In-home follow-up assessments were completed in 2010 with 582 of the 58-74 year old men and women participating in the on-going African American Health cohort. We used these data to examine the relationship between (a) retrospective self-reports of attending segregated schools during one's 1st-to-12th grade education and one's current sense of control, as well as (b) the association between current sense of control and physical performance. Multiple linear regression analysis with propensity score re-weighting was used. Attending segregated schools for at least half of one's 1st-to-12th grade education was significantly associated with higher scores on the sense of control. Adjusting for all covariates and potential confounders, those receiving half or more of their 1st-to-12th grade education in segregated schools had sense of control scores that were .886 points higher (p ≤ .01; standardized effect size = .22). Sense of control scores were independently (all p school segregation and physical performance. Childhood school desegregation was adversely associated with the sense of control of African Americans in later life, and this reduced sense of control appears, in part, to account for their poorer physical performance. The etiologic mechanism through which childhood school segregation at the time that this cohort experienced it improved the sense of control in later life, which subsequently led to better physical performance, has not been identified. We suspect, however, that the pathway involves greater exposure to racial solidarity, same-race students as peer role models and same-race teachers and

The Argument Is Not Compulsory Law, but How Attendance Is Recorded

Science.gov (United States)

Watson, Michael; Hemmer, Lynn

2015-01-01

This paper examines attendance accounting policies and practices for students enrolled in public schools in Texas and in alternative schools of choice (ASC) in particular. Technology advancement allows students to complete their coursework virtually anywhere they have internet access; however, conventional state attendance policies still require…

School performance after experiencing trauma: a longitudinal study of school functioning in survivors of the Utøya shootings in 2011.

Science.gov (United States)

Strøm, Ida Frugård; Schultz, Jon-Håkon; Wentzel-Larsen, Tore; Dyb, Grete

2016-01-01

The psychological impact on survivors of terrorism has been well documented. However, studies on adolescent survivors and the academic performance of high school students following a terrorist attack are lacking. This study investigated academic performance, absenteeism, and school support amongst survivors of a terrorist attack in Norway. Data from a longitudinal interview study were linked to officially registered grades of students (N=64) who successfully completed their 3-year senior high school program. Statistical tests of mean differences and linear regression were used to compare the survivors' registered grades with the national grade point average, before and after the event, as well as to assess absenteeism, self-reported grades and to test the association with school support. The students' grades were lower the year after the event than they had been the year before, and they were also lower than the national grade point average (pschool, indicating possible recovery. Absence from school increased after the event, compared to the previous year. However, students reported high satisfaction with school support. The results indicate that academic functioning was reduced in the year after the traumatic event, but for students who successfully completed high school, the school situation improved 2 years after the event. The findings underscore the importance of keeping trauma-exposed students in school and providing support over time. A more defined educational approach to maintaining school attendance and educational measures which compensate for learning loss are needed in trauma-sensitive teaching.

Does a Link Exist Between Examination Performance and Lecture Attendance for First Year Engineering Students ?

OpenAIRE

O'Dwyer, Aidan

2011-01-01

The objective of this study is to examine if a link exists between lecture attendance and examination performance of Level 7, Year 1, Electrical Engineering students at Dublin Institute of Technology in the Electrical Systems subject. Lecture attendance was monitored and analysed over four academic years (2007-8, 2008-9, 2009-10 and 2010-11). The average lecture attendance for students in the three academic years from 2007-10 was 55%, increasing noticeably in the 2009-10 academic year. A stat...

The role of anxiety symptoms in school performance in a community sample of children and adolescents.

Science.gov (United States)

Mazzone, Luigi; Ducci, Francesca; Scoto, Maria Cristina; Passaniti, Eleonora; D'Arrigo, Valentina Genitori; Vitiello, Benedetto

2007-12-05

Anxiety symptoms are relatively common among children and adolescents and can interfere with functioning. The prevalence of anxiety and the relationship between anxiety and school performance were examined among elementary, middle, and high school students. Samples of elementary (N = 131, age 8-10 years), middle (N = 267, age 11-13 years), and high school (N = 80, age 14-16 years) children were recruited from four public schools in a predominantly middle-class community in Catania, Italy. Children completed the Multidimensional Anxiety Scale for Children (MASC). T-scores were computed for the MASC total scores, and considered to be in the anxious range if 65 or above. Current academic grades were obtained from school records. Of the 478 children, 35 (7.3%) had a MASC T-score in the anxious range. The rate of children in the anxious range was 2.3% in elementary, 7.9% in middle, and 15.9% in high school (chi2 = 7.8, df = 2, p children and adolescents attending elementary through high school, the prevalence of abnormally high self-reported levels of anxiety increased in frequency with age and was negatively associated with school performance.

The Effect Of School Feeding Programme On Primary School ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The Effect Of School Feeding Programme On Primary School Attendance In ... and SFP were significant variables which affect attendance of children in school. ... the school-feeding programme [SFP] succeeded in increasing parent's income.

Life satisfaction and school performance of children exposed to classic and cyber peer bullying.

Science.gov (United States)

Bilić, Vesna; Flander, Gordana Buljan; Rafajac, Branko

2014-03-01

This paper analyses the relationship between the exposure of school children to various forms of peer bullying (classic/cyber) and their life satisfaction in the domain of school, family, friends and school performance. The sample included 562 children from rural and urban areas of Croatia who were attending the seventh and the eighth grade of primary school. Results show that children were more often exposed to classic forms of peer bullying, especially verbal, and then physical bullying. On the other hand, cyber bullying most often comprises harassment in forums, blogs, chats or social networks, then on the web, by e-mail and mobile phone. Almost half of the examinees knew the identity of the bully, while a minority believes that bullies are the same ones who also physically abuse them at school. We found that children exposed to all forms of both classic and cyber bullying, unlike their peers who do not have such experience, show less satisfaction with friends, while those exposed to physical and cyber bullying show dissatisfaction with their family, too. However no statistically significant difference was found in their satisfaction with school. Children exposed to physical bullying showed poorer school performance, poorer achievement in Croatian and math, while children exposed to verbal and cyber bullying and children who were not exposed to such forms of bullying showed no differences in their school achievement.

From kitchen to classroom: Assessing the impact of cleaner burning biomass-fuelled cookstoves on primary school attendance in Karonga district, northern Malawi.

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Kelly, Christine A; Crampin, Amelia C; Mortimer, Kevin; Dube, Albert; Malava, Jullita; Johnston, Deborah; Unterhalter, Elaine; Glynn, Judith R

2018-01-01

Household air pollution from burning solid fuels is responsible for an estimated 2.9 million premature deaths worldwide each year and 4.5% of global disability-adjusted life years, while cooking and fuel collection pose a considerable time burden, particularly for women and children. Cleaner burning biomass-fuelled cookstoves have the potential to lower exposure to household air pollution as well as reduce fuelwood demand by increasing the combustion efficiency of cooking fires, which may in turn yield ancillary benefits in other domains. The present paper capitalises on opportunities offered by the Cooking and Pneumonia Study (CAPS), the largest randomised trial of biomass-fuelled cookstoves on health outcomes conducted to date, the design of which allows for the evaluation of additional outcomes at scale. This mixed methods study assesses the impact of cookstoves on primary school absenteeism in Karonga district, northern Malawi, in particular by conferring health and time and resource gains on young people aged 5-18. The analysis combines quantitative data from 6168 primary school students with in-depth interviews and focus group discussions carried out among 48 students in the same catchment area in 2016. Negative binomial regression models find no evidence that the cookstoves affected primary school absenteeism overall [IRR 0.92 (0.71-1.18), p = 0.51]. Qualitative analysis suggests that the cookstoves did not sufficiently improve household health to influence school attendance, while the time and resource burdens associated with cooking activities-although reduced in intervention households-were considered to be compatible with school attendance in both trial arms. More research is needed to assess whether the cookstoves influenced educational outcomes not captured by the attendance measure available, such as timely arrival to school or hours spent on homework.

School performance after experiencing trauma: a longitudinal study of school functioning in survivors of the Utøya shootings in 2011

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ida Frugård Strøm

2016-05-01

Full Text Available Background: The psychological impact on survivors of terrorism has been well documented. However, studies on adolescent survivors and the academic performance of high school students following a terrorist attack are lacking. Objective: This study investigated academic performance, absenteeism, and school support amongst survivors of a terrorist attack in Norway. Method: Data from a longitudinal interview study were linked to officially registered grades of students (N=64 who successfully completed their 3-year senior high school program. Statistical tests of mean differences and linear regression were used to compare the survivors’ registered grades with the national grade point average, before and after the event, as well as to assess absenteeism, self-reported grades and to test the association with school support. Results: The students’ grades were lower the year after the event than they had been the year before, and they were also lower than the national grade point average (p<0.001. However, their grades improved in the last year of high school, indicating possible recovery. Absence from school increased after the event, compared to the previous year. However, students reported high satisfaction with school support. Conclusion: The results indicate that academic functioning was reduced in the year after the traumatic event, but for students who successfully completed high school, the school situation improved 2 years after the event. The findings underscore the importance of keeping trauma-exposed students in school and providing support over time. A more defined educational approach to maintaining school attendance and educational measures which compensate for learning loss are needed in trauma-sensitive teaching.

Lecture Attendance, Study Time, and Academic Performance: A Panel Data Study

Science.gov (United States)

Andrietti, Vincenzo; Velasco, Carlos

2015-01-01

The authors analyze matched administrative survey data on economics students enrolled in two econometrics courses offered in consecutive terms at a major public university in Spain to assess the impact of lecture attendance and study time on academic performance. Using proxy variables in a cross-sectional regression setting, they find a positive…

Does partner selection mediate the relationship between school attendance and HIV/HSV-2 among adolescent girls and young women in South Africa: An analysis of HPTN 068 data.

Science.gov (United States)

Stoner, Marie Cd; Edwards, Jessie K; Miller, William C; Aiello, Allison E; Halpern, Carolyn T; Julien, Aimée; Rucinski, Katherine B; Selin, Amanda; Twine, Rhian; Hughes, James P; Wang, Jing; Agyei, Yaw; Gómez-Olivé, F Xavier; Wagner, Ryan G; Laeyendecker, Oliver; Macphail, Catherine; Kahn, Kathleen; Pettifor, Audrey

2018-05-22

Similar prior publications by the first author using the same data source include: Stoner M.C.D, Edwards J, Miller W, Aiello A, Halpern C, Selin A, Hughes J, Wang J, Laeyendecker O, Agyei Y, McPhail C, Kahn K, Pettifor A.(2017) The effect of schooling on incident HIV and HSV-2 infection in young South African women enrolled in HPTN 068. AIDS. 24;31(15):2127-213. PMC5599334. Stoner M.C.D, Edwards J, Miller W, Aiello A, Halpern C, Julien Suarez, Selin A, Hughes J, Wang J, McPhail C, Kahn K, Pettifor A. (2017) The effect of schooling on age-disparate relationships and number of sexual partners among young women in rural South Africa enrolled in HPTN 068. J Acquir Immune Defic Syndr. 76 (5):e107-e114. PMC56801112This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial License 4.0 (CCBY-NC), where it is permissible to download, share, remix, transform, and buildup the work provided it is properly cited. The work cannot be used commercially without permission from the journal.Abstract OBJECTIVE:: School attendance prevents HIV and HSV-2 in adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) but the mechanisms to explain this relationship remain unclear. Our study assesses the extent to which characteristics of sex partners, partner age and number, mediate the relationship between attendance and risk of infection in AGYW in South Africa. We use longitudinal data from the HPTN 068 randomized controlled trial in rural South Africa where girls were enrolled in early adolescence and followed in the main trial for over three years. We examined older partners and number of partners as possible mediators. We use the parametric g-formula to estimate 4-year risk differences for the effect of school attendance on cumulative incidence of HIV/HSV-2 overall and the controlled direct effect (CDE) for mediation. We examined mediation separately and jointly for the mediators of interest. We found that young women with high attendance in school had

Horizontal schools-based health programme in rural Kenya.

Science.gov (United States)

Bogie, James; Eder, Ben; Magnus, Dan; Amonje, Onguko David; Gant, Martina

2017-09-01

Primary school children in low-income countries are at risk of many diseases and poor health affects attendance, cognition and ability to learn. Developing school health and nutrition strategies has been extensively highlighted as a global priority, with a particular focus on complex programme design. However, such programmes are relatively untested in low-income settings. We implemented a complex school health and nutrition programme in two schools in Western Kenya over 3 years. There were numerous elements covering health policy, skills-based health education, infrastructure and disease prevention. A local non-governmental organisation, with involvement from local government and the community, performed programme implementation. Height-for-age, weight-for-age,height-for-weight, anaemia prevalence, academic performance and school attendance were the primary outcome measures. The programme improved nutrition, academic performance and anaemia prevalence. The number of underweight children fell from 20% to 11% (OR 0.51 95% CI 0.39 to 0.68 p=effect on school attendance, the reasons for which are unclear. These results are encouraging and demonstrate that complex schools health programmes can lead to positive gains in health, nutrition and importantly academic performance. There is a need for further evaluation of comprehensive school health interventions in poor communities. © 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.

The Effects of the Classroom Performance System on Student Participation, Attendance, and Achievement

Science.gov (United States)

Termos, Mohamad Hani

2013-01-01

The Classroom Performance System (CPS) is an instructional technology that increases student performance and promotes active learning. This study assessed the effect of the CPS on student participation, attendance, and achievement in multicultural college-level anatomy and physiology classes, where students' first spoken language is not English.…

Comparing among the Experiences of Self-Cutting, Hitting, and Scratching in Chinese Adolescents Attending Secondary Schools: An Interview Study

Science.gov (United States)

You, Jianing; Ma, Congfen; Lin, Min-Pei; Leung, Freedom

2015-01-01

This study examined adolescents' experiences associated with nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) and compared among the experiences of self-cutting, hitting, and scratching. Participants included 42 Chinese adolescents attending secondary schools. They had at least three NSSI episodes in the preceding year. Information about their experiences of NSSI…

Organization Features and School Performance

OpenAIRE

Atkins, Lois Major

2005-01-01

The purpose of this study was to determine the odds of school organization features predicting schools meeting district or state performance goals. The school organization features were organizational complexity, shared decision making, and leadership behavior. The dependent variable was school performance, operationally defined as a principalâ s yes response or no response to the question, â did your school meet district or state performance goals.â The independent variables representing...

Canada's residential school system: measuring the intergenerational impact of familial attendance on health and mental health outcomes.

Science.gov (United States)

Hackett, Christina; Feeny, David; Tompa, Emile

2016-11-01

We estimate the intergenerational relationship between the residential school (RS) attendance of an older generation family member and the physical and mental health of a younger generation. Data from the 2012 Aboriginal Peoples Survey (APS) is used to examine the relationship between previous generational family RS attendance and the current physical and mental health of off-reserve First Nations, Métis and Inuit Canadians. Five outcomes are considered (self-perceived health, mental health, distress, suicidal ideation and suicide attempt). Direct (univariate) and indirect (multivariate) effects of family RS attendance are examined for each dependent variable. We draw from the general and indigenous-specific social determinants of health literature to inform the construction of our models. Familial RS attendance is shown to affect directly all five health and mental health outcomes, and is associated with lower self-perceived health and mental health, and a higher risk for distress and suicidal behaviours. Background, mediating and structural-level variables influence the strength of association. Odds of being in lower self-perceived health remain statistically significantly higher with the presence of familial attendance of RS when controlling for all covariates. The odds of having had a suicide attempt within the past 12 months remain twice as high for those with familial attendance of RS. Health disparities exist between indigenous and non-indigenous Canadians, an important source of which is a family history of RS attendance. This has implications for clinical practice and Canadian public health, as well as countries with similar historical legacies. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/.

Day-care attendance and child development:

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bauchmüller, Robert; Gørtz, Mette; Rasmussen, Astrid Würtz

performance at the end of elementary schooling. We assess the effects of attended types and qualities of day-care institutions on various child outcomes as measured by school grades in mathematics, science, English and Danish for the whole Danish population as well as outcomes from the 2006 PISA Denmark...... survey and a 2007 PISA Copenhagen survey. We use administrative registries to generate indicators such as child-staff ratios, child-pedagogues ratios, and the share of male staff and of staff with non-Danish origins. Furthermore, we use information on the average levels of educational attainments......, of total work experiences, ages and hourly wages of staff members. Those indicators show the expected correlations with children’s development outcomes, better day-care quality being linked to better child outcomes ten years later. We use rich administrative information about the children’s background...

A Randomized Experiment Using Absenteeism Information to "Nudge" Attendance. REL 2017-252

Science.gov (United States)

Rogers, Todd; Duncan, Teresa; Wolford, Tonya; Ternovski, John; Subramanyam, Shruthi; Reitano, Adrienne

2017-01-01

Reducing student absenteeism is a key part of the School District of Philadelphia's plan to boost graduation rates. One of the district's goals is to increase guardians' awareness of absenteeism, with the hope that greater awareness will lead to guardians' taking a more active role in improving their student's attendance and academic performance.…

Indigenous Australians and Preschool Education: Who Is Attending?

Science.gov (United States)

Biddle, Nicholas

2007-01-01

This paper discusses the individual, family, household and area level characteristics associated with preschool attendance for Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians (aged three to five years who are not at school). Controlling for these factors explains all of the difference between Indigenous and non-Indigenous attendance rates for…

Health Improvement and Educational Attainment in Secondary Schools: Complementary or Competing Priorities? Exploratory Analyses From the School Health Research Network in Wales.

Science.gov (United States)

Littlecott, Hannah J; Long, Sara; Hawkins, Jemma; Murphy, Simon; Hewitt, Gillian; Eccles, Gemma; Fletcher, Adam; Moore, Graham F

2018-01-01

Implementing health improvement is often perceived as diverting resource away from schools' core business, reflecting an assumption of a "zero-sum game" between health and education. There is some evidence that health behaviors may affect young people's educational outcomes. However, associations between implementation of school health improvement and educational outcomes remains underinvestigated. The study linked school-level data on free school meal (FSM) entitlement, educational outcomes, and school attendance, obtained from government websites, with data from the School Environment Questionnaire (SEQ) on health improvement activity collected in Wales (2015/2016). Spearman's rank correlation coefficients and linear regression models tested the extent of association between health improvement activity and attendance and educational outcomes. SEQ data were provided by 100/115 network schools (87%), of whom data on educational performance were obtained from 97. The percentage of pupils entitled to FSM predicted most of the between-school variance in achievement and attendance. Linear regression models demonstrated significant positive associations of all measures of health improvement activity with attainment at Key Stage (KS) 3, apart from mental health education in the curriculum and organizational commitment to health. Student and parent involvement in planning health activities were associated with improved school attendance. There were no significant associations between health improvement and KS4 attainment. Implementing health improvement activity does not have a detrimental effect on schools' educational performance. There is tentative evidence of the reverse, with better educational outcomes in schools with more extensive health improvement policies and practices. Further research should investigate processes by which this occurs and variations by socioeconomic status.

Student and Teacher Attendance: The Role of Shared Goods in Reducing Absenteeism

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Banerjee, Ritwik; King, Elizabeth; Orazem, Peter

2012-01-01

. Controlling for the endogeneity of teacher and student attendance, the most powerful factor raising teacher attendance is the attendance of the children in the school, and the most important factor influencing child attendance is the presence of the teacher. The results suggest that one important avenue...

School Breakfast Program and School Performance.

Science.gov (United States)

Meyers, Alan; And Others

Children who participate in the School Breakfast Program show significant improvement in academic performance and tardiness rates, and a trend toward improvement in absenteeism. The School Breakfast Program was created by Congress in 1966 to provide a breakfast on school days for low income children who would otherwise have none. Children…

ATTENDING LIVE PERFORMING ARTS EXPERIENCES. WHY AND HOW IS THE DECISION TAKEN?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ciceo Andreea

2012-07-01

Full Text Available Across the last years, researchers around the world have shown a greater inclination towards the arts marketing, acknowledging its importance for the well being of arts organizations. Researches have been conducted for all kind of subjects trying to understand better both phenomena: the audience and the provider. However, these studies have their own particularities as they refer to certain cultures. Therefore, we need to look into our own yard and see whether or not such interests have been raised. Unfortunately, researches conducted in this area, in Romania, are very few. That is why the knowledge regarding the live performing arts audience is actually non-existent and from this fact comes the need of discovering more about this unknown. This paper attempts to make one of the first steps in this direction by exploring the audience’s motivations to attend live performing arts events and, moreover, the buying decision process. Why do audiences choose to attend live performing arts events? How they decide for it? Which are the sources of information they use? What makes a live performing arts event be a pleasant experience? Or rather an unpleasant one? These are all questions to which this paper provides answers. The way the author have chosen to answer these matters is by conducting a qualitative research that has the aim to explore the universe of this subject and to denote insights for a better understanding. The best method was considered to be the focus group for its advantage of bringing together people who have something in common – namely their frequency in live performing arts events, and facilitate communication between them in order to discover the needed information. Thus, it has been discovered that audiences’ motivations are mainly related to social and esteem needs, that is to say people attend these kind of events from their desire to spend their time in a pleasant manner with the people they like or because

Morningness-eveningness is not associated with academic performance in the afternoon school shift: Preliminary findings.

Science.gov (United States)

Arrona-Palacios, Arturo; Díaz-Morales, Juan F

2017-11-01

The effect of morningness-eveningness, sleep habits, and intelligence on academic performance has been studied in a fixed morning school shift. However, no studies have analysed these variables in an afternoon school shift and tested whether morningness-eveningness is related to academic performance beyond sleep habits and intelligence effects. The psychometric properties of the Morningness-Eveningness Scale for Children (MESC) were analysed. Additionally, academic performance, sex, intelligence, sleep habits, and morningness-eveningness relationship in a morning and afternoon school shift were compared. The sample consisted of 400 students at a secondary public school in Reynosa, Tamaulipas, in north-eastern Mexico (195 boys and 205 girls; mean ± SD: 13.85 ± 0.70 years old) attending a double-shift school system: 200 from the morning shift (99 boys and 101 girls) and 200 from the afternoon shift (96 boys and 104 girls). The students completed the MESC as a measure of morningness-eveningness, a sleep habits survey, a test of academic performance, and the inductive reasoning subtest (R) of the Primary Mental Abilities battery. Adolescents in the two school shifts did not differ in academic performance and intelligence. In the afternoon shift, adolescents slept longer, reported less sleep deficit and social jet lag, and were more oriented to eveningness than adolescents in the morning shift. Sex (girls), sleep length, inductive reasoning, and morningness were associated with academic performance in the morning shift but only sex and intelligence in the afternoon shift. The role of morningness-eveningness in academic performance in the afternoon shift is examined. © 2017 The British Psychological Society.

The role of anxiety symptoms in school performance in a community sample of children and adolescents

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

D'Arrigo Valentina

2007-12-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Anxiety symptoms are relatively common among children and adolescents and can interfere with functioning. The prevalence of anxiety and the relationship between anxiety and school performance were examined among elementary, middle, and high school students. Methods Samples of elementary (N = 131, age 8–10 years, middle (N = 267, age 11–13 years, and high school (N = 80, age 14–16 years children were recruited from four public schools in a predominantly middle-class community in Catania, Italy. Children completed the Multidimensional Anxiety Scale for Children (MASC. T-scores were computed for the MASC total scores, and considered to be in the anxious range if 65 or above. Current academic grades were obtained from school records. Results Of the 478 children, 35 (7.3% had a MASC T-score in the anxious range. The rate of children in the anxious range was 2.3% in elementary, 7.9% in middle, and 15.9% in high school (χ2 = 7.8, df = 2, p 2 = 11.68, df = 2, p Conclusion In this community sample of children and adolescents attending elementary through high school, the prevalence of abnormally high self-reported levels of anxiety increased in frequency with age and was negatively associated with school performance.

Breakfast and performance.

Science.gov (United States)

Cueto, S

2001-12-01

Evidence suggests that the effect of fasting on performance is not uniform, but it is dependent on the basal nutritional status of the subject. Breakfast consumption has a short-term effect in improving selected learning skills, especially work memory. School breakfast programmes have a positive effect on the nutritional status of children, on school attendance and probably on dropout rates. The effect of breakfast consumption on school performance depends on the interaction between the programme, student characteristics (malnutrition) and school organisation. Unless the school setting guarantees a minimum quality standard, the benefits of breakfast consumption will not be evident in performance in complex areas like language or maths.

Impact of juvenile idiopathic arthritis on schooling

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Bouaddi Ilham

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA is the most common arthropathy of childhood. Different diseases affect school attendance to varying degrees. The aim of this study was to assess the impact of juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA on Moroccan children’s schooling. Methods Thirty-three children with JIA were included in this study, having been previously diagnosed according to the classification criteria of the International League of Associations for Rheumatology (ILAR. Seventy-four healthy children were recruited to serve as controls. Data was obtained for all children on their school level, educational performance, and attendance. The rate of absenteeism due to health complications was noted. Results All healthy children were able to attend school (p Conclusions Our study suggested that the schooling of children with JIA was negatively impacted due to the disorder. More studies, with a larger sample of children, are needed to confirm our findings.

Children's Mental Health and School Success

Science.gov (United States)

DeSocio, Janiece; Hootman, Janis

2004-01-01

An integrative review of literature was undertaken to examine the impact of children's mental health on their school success. The literature confirmed a confluence of problems associated with school performance and child and adolescent mental health. Poor academic functioning and inconsistent school attendance were identified as early signs of…

Use of ecstasy and other psychoactive substances among school-attending adolescents in Taiwan: national surveys 2004–2006

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Huang Wei-Lun

2009-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background With the backdrop of a global ecstasy epidemic, this study sought to examine the trend, correlates, and onset sequence of ecstasy use among adolescents in Taiwan, where a well-established gateway drug such as marijuana is much less popular. Methods A multistage probability survey of school-attending adolescents in grades 7, 9, 10, and 12, aged 11–19 years, was conducted in 2004, 2005, and 2006. A self-administered anonymous questionnaire elicited response rates ranging from 94.3% to 96.6%. The sample sizes were 18232 respondents in 2004, 17986 in 2005, and 17864 in 2006. Results In terms of lifetime prevalence and incidence, ecstasy and ketamine by and large appeared as the first and second commonly used illegal drugs, respectively, among middle (grades 7 and 9 and high school students (grades 10 and 12 during the 3-year survey period; however, this order was reversed in the middle school-aged students starting in 2006. Having sexual experience, tobacco use, and betel nut use were factors consistently associated with the onset of ecstasy use across years. The majority of ecstasy users had been involved in polydrug use, such as the use of ketamine (41.4%–53.5%, marijuana (12.7%–18.7%, and methamphetamine (4.2%–9.5%. Conclusion From 2004 to 2006, a decline was noted in the prevalence and incidence rate of ecstasy, a leading illegal drug used by school-attending adolescents in Taiwan since the early 2000s. The emerging ketamine use trend may warrant more attention in the future.

Marijuana smoking among secondary school students in Zaria, Nigeria: factors responsible and effects on academic performance.

Science.gov (United States)

Shehu, A U; Idris, S H

2008-12-01

The use of Marijuana is on the increase worldwide especially among adolescents and youths. Marijuana smoking has gained a foothold in our environment because of peer group influence, accessibility and availability. Its medico-social effects could ruin the life and future of our youths. This study was undertaken to determine the prevalence and the factors that influence secondary school students in Zaria LGA to smoke and the effects on academic performance. A cross-sectional descriptive study was employed to generate data among secondary school students. A multi-stage sampling technique was used. Data was collected with the use of a structured, pre tested self-administered questionnaire. F2 test was used to test for significance of association between categorical variables. Of the 350 respondents, 262 (74.9%) were males, while 88 (25.1%) were females. The study shows that 33 of the students smoke marijuana giving a prevalence of 9.4%. There were more smokers in the age group 15-19 years (54.6%). Other factors that influence marijuana smoking include family background, peer pressure and attendance of social functions. There was better academic performance (51.1%) among non smokers as compared to smokers (27.2%), and this was found to be statistically significant (chi2 = 11.73, df = 5, P family background, peer pressure and attendance of social function influence marijuana smoking. A comprehensive school health education program should be instituted to curtail this menace.

Why September Matters: Improving Student Attendance. Policy Brief

Science.gov (United States)

Olsen, Linda S.

2014-01-01

This brief examines absences in September and students' attendance over the rest of the year. Attendance should be addressed before it becomes problematic. Chronic absenteeism, missing more than 20 days of a school year, is an early indicator of disengagement. High absence rates have negative consequences not only for individual students, but also…

Bullying, psychosocial adjustment, and academic performance in elementary school.

Science.gov (United States)

Glew, Gwen M; Fan, Ming-Yu; Katon, Wayne; Rivara, Frederick P; Kernic, Mary A

2005-11-01

Over the past decade, concerns about bullying and its role in school violence, depression, and health concerns have grown. However, no large studies in the United States have examined the prevalence of bullying during elementary school or its association with objective measures of school attendance and achievement. To determine the prevalence of bullying during elementary school and its association with school attendance, academic achievement, disciplinary actions, and self-reported feelings of sadness, safety, and belonging. Cross-sectional study using 2001-2002 school data. Urban, West Coast public school district. Three thousand five hundred thirty (91.4%) third, fourth, and fifth grade students. Self-reported involvement in bullying. Twenty-two percent of children surveyed were involved in bullying either as a victim, bully, or both. Victims and bully-victims were more likely to have low achievement than bystanders (odds ratios [ORs], 0.8 [95% confidence interval (CI), 0.7-0.9] and 0.8 [95% CI, 0.6-1.0], respectively). All 3 bullying-involved groups were significantly more likely than bystanders to feel unsafe at school (victims, OR, 2.1 [95% CI, 1.1-4.2]; bullies, OR, 2.5 [95% CI, 1.5-4.1]; bully-victims, OR, 5.0 [95% CI, 1.9-13.6]). Victims and bully-victims were more likely to report feeling that they don't belong at school (ORs, 4.1 [95% CI, 2.6-6.5] and 3.1 [95% CI, 1.3-7.2], respectively). Bullies and victims were more likely than bystanders to feel sad most days (ORs 1.5 [95% CI, 1.2-1.9] and 1.8 [95% CI, 1.2-2.8], respectively). Bullies and bully-victims were more likely to be male (ORs, 1.5 [95% CI, 1.2-1.9] and 3.0 [95% CI, 1.3-7.0], respectively). The prevalence of frequent bullying among elementary school children is substantial. Associations between bullying involvement and school problems indicate this is a serious issue for elementary schools. The research presented herein demonstrates the need for evidence-based antibullying curricula in the

Cross-sectional and longitudinal associations of screen time and physical activity with school performance at different types of secondary school.

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Poulain, Tanja; Peschel, Thomas; Vogel, Mandy; Jurkutat, Anne; Kiess, Wieland

2018-04-27

Previous studies have already reported associations of media consumption and/or physical activity with school achievement. However, longitudinal studies investigating independent effects of physical activity and media consumption on school performance are sparse. The present study fills this research gap and, furthermore, assesses relationships of the type of secondary school with media consumption and physical activity. The consumption of screen-based media (TV/video, game console, PC/internet, and mobile phone) and leisure physical activity (organized and non-organized) of 10 - to 17-year old adolescents participating in the LIFE Child study in Germany were related to their school grades in two major school subjects (Mathematics and German) and in Physical Education. In addition to a cross-sectional analysis at baseline (N = 850), a longitudinal analysis (N = 512) investigated the independent effects of these activities on the school grades achieved 12 months later. All associations were adjusted for age, gender, socio-economic status, year of data assessment, body-mass-index, and school grades at baseline. A further analysis investigated differences in the consumption of screen-based media and physical activity as a function of the type of secondary school (highest vs. lower secondary school). Adolescents of lower secondary schools reported a significantly higher consumption of TV/video and game consoles than adolescents attending the highest secondary school. Independently of the type of school, a better school performance in Mathematics was predicted by a lower consumption of computers/internet, and a better performance in Physical Education was predicted by a lower consumption of TV/video and a higher frequency of non-organized physical activity. However, the association between non-organized physical activity and subsequent grades in Physical Education was significant in girls only. The present results suggest that media consumption has a negative effect on

Impact of extrinsic factors on fine motor performance of children attending day care

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Carolina Corsi

Full Text Available Abstract Objective: To assess the impact of extrinsic factors on fine motor performance of children aged 2-years old. Methods: 73 children attending public and 21 private day care centers were assessed. Day care environment was evaluated using the Infant/Toddler Environment Rating Scale-Revised Edition (ITERS-R, fine motor performance was assessed through the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development-III (BSITD-III, socioeconomic data, maternal education and time of start at the day care were collected through interviews. Spearman's correlation coefficient was calculated to assess the association between the studied variables. Results: The time at the day care was positively correlated with the children's performance in some fine motor tasks of the BSITD-III, showing that the activities developed in day care centers were important for the refinement of specific motor skills, while the overall fine motor performance by the scale was associated with maternal education and the ITERS-R scale sub-item “language and understanding”. Conclusions: Extrinsic factors such as higher maternal education and quality of day care centers are associated with fine motor performance in children attending day care.

Impact of extrinsic factors on fine motor performance of children attending day care.

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Corsi, Carolina; Santos, Mariana Martins Dos; Marques, Luísa de Andrade Perez; Rocha, Nelci Adriana Cicuto Ferreira

2016-12-01

To assess the impact of extrinsic factors on fine motor performance of children aged two years old. 73 children attending public and 21 private day care centers were assessed. Day care environment was evaluated using the Infant/Toddler Environment Rating Scale - Revised Edition (ITERS-R), fine motor performance was assessed through the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development - III (BSITD-III), socioeconomic data, maternal education and time of start at the day care were collected through interviews. Spearman's correlation coefficient was calculated to assess the association between the studied variables. The time at the day care was positively correlated with the children's performance in some fine motor tasks of the BSITD-III, showing that the activities developed in day care centers were important for the refinement of specific motor skills, while the overall fine motor performance by the scale was associated with maternal education and the ITERS-R scale sub-item "language and understanding". Extrinsic factors such as higher maternal education and quality of day care centers are associated with fine motor performance in children attending day care. Copyright © 2016 Sociedade de Pediatria de São Paulo. Publicado por Elsevier Editora Ltda. All rights reserved.

Whole-School Positive Behaviour Support: Effects on Student Discipline Problems and Academic Performance

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Luiselli, James K.; Putnam, Robert F.; Handler, Marcie W.; Feinberg, Adam B.

2005-01-01

Many students attending public schools exhibit discipline problems such as disruptive classroom behaviour, vandalism, bullying, and violence. Establishing effective discipline practices is critical to ensure academic success and to provide a safe learning environment. In this article, we describe the effects of whole-school positive behaviour…

School Feeding Programmes: Myth and Potential.

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Levinger, Beryl

1984-01-01

A review of research showed that school feeding programs (SFP) in elementary schools of developing nations do have a positive impact on student enrollment and school attendance. However, research studies examining the impact of SFP's on academic performance were inconclusive. Research findings are used to make recommendations for SFP design. (RM)

The Relationship between Correlates of Effective Schools and Social Emotional Learning within Single Gender Schools Serving Boys of Color

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Green, Curt R.

2013-01-01

Urban school districts throughout the United States are creating single gender classrooms or schools to improve student achievements for their lowest performing subgroups (Noguera, 2009). It is hoped that separating the sexes will improve domains such as discipline, attendance and academic performance, while decreasing the dropout rate. If single…

Postural changes and pain in the academic performance of elementary school students

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Maria Homéria Leite de Morais Sampaio

Full Text Available Abstract Postural changes and pain in the spine of children and adolescents of school age are influenced by the permanent incorrect sitting position, misuse of furniture and weight of the backpack. The aim of this study was to verify postural changes and pain in the academic performance of elementary school students. It was a cross-sectional study, with a descriptive and analytical approach. The subjects were 83 elementary students, aged 8 to 12 years, of Kindergarten and Elementary Education at Paulo Sarasate Municipal School, Ceará. It was performed from March to June 2008. In the physical examination it was used an evaluation form, based on Global Postural reeducation, by Souchard method, which included the variables: compromised anterior, posterior, superior shoulder muscle chains and pain and, in academic performance, a semi-structured questionnaire with the variables: behavior, attendance and performance. The data was stored in the Statistical Package for the Social Science (SPSS version 18.0. In the descriptive analysis, absolute and relative frequencies were used, and in the inferential analysis, the following tests were applied: Mann-Whitney, to verify the existence of significant differences in changes in groups A and B, at a significance level of 5%, and the F statistical test, for comparing postural changes and pain, in the three grades. Results: it was noted that the majority of the students presented postural changes, such as forward head, lifted shoulders, dorsal hyperkyphosis and pain, which predominantly occurred in the anterior chain, when compared with the posterior and superior chains. These changes in both groups were statistically significant only in subjects of the fifth grade with satisfactory academic performance and behavior. It was concluded that there was no association between postural changes and school performance, although it was influenced by pain.

Do extra compulsory physical education lessons mean more physically active children--findings from the childhood health, activity, and motor performance school study Denmark (The CHAMPS-study DK).

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Møller, Niels Christian; Tarp, Jakob; Kamelarczyk, Eva Friis; Brønd, Jan Christian; Klakk, Heidi; Wedderkopp, Niels

2014-09-24

Primarily, this study aims to examine whether children attending sports schools are more active than their counterpart attending normal schools. Secondary, the study aims to examine if physical activity (PA) levels in specific domains differ across school types. Finally, potential modifications by status of overweight/obesity and poor cardio-respiratory fitness are examined. Participants were from the first part of the CHAMPS-study DK, which included approximately 1200 children attending the 0th - 6th grade. At the sports schools, the mandatory physical education (PE) program was increased from 2 to 6 weekly lessons over a 3-year period. Children attending normal schools were offered the standard 2 PE lessons. PA was assessed at two different occasions with the GT3X ActiGraph accelerometer, once during winter in 2009/10 and once during summer/fall in 2010. Leisure time organized sports participation was quantified by SMS track. Based on baseline values in 2008, we generated a high-BMI and a low-cardio-respiratory fitness for age and sex group variable. There were no significant differences in PA levels during total time, PE, or recess between children attending sports schools and normal schools, respectively. However, children, especially boys, attending sports schools were more active during school time than children attending normal schools (girls: β=51, p=0.065; boys: β=113, pactive (girls: β=-41, p=0.004; boys: β=-72, pgirls: β=-0.4, p=0.016; boys: β=-0.2, p=0.236) than children who attended normal schools. Examination of modification by baseline status of overweight/obesity and low cardio-respiratory fitness indicated that during PE low fit girls in particular were more active at sports schools. No differences were revealed in overall PA levels between children attending sports schools and normal schools. Sports schools children were more active than normal schools children during school time, but less active during leisure time. In girls, less organized

Point-Counterpoint: Should Attendance Be Required in Collegiate Classrooms?

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Pinto, Jo Ann M.; Lohrey, Peter

2016-01-01

This paper examines two divergent viewpoints about whether or not class attendance should be mandatory in higher education. The authors, both accounting professors at the same institution, delineate their respective viewpoints citing school policy, federal regulations and academic freedom as factors which motivate their attendance policy.

Parents', nurses', and educators' perceptions of risks and benefits of school attendance by children who are medically fragile/technology-dependent.

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Rehm, Roberta S; Rohr, Julie A

2002-10-01

Few studies have focused on school activities of children who are medically fragile/technology-dependent. This article reports on an exploratory, interpretive study that examined the perceptions of parents, nurses, and educators with regard to their school concerns and strategies for ensuring the safety and health of these students. Informants all believed that attending school provided benefits to most children who are medically fragile/technology-dependent, including opportunities for skill acquisition, socialization, and respite care for families. However, they also perceived that there were real risks involved, including obtaining appropriate care, exposure to infection, and social isolation or teasing. Copyright 2002, Elsevier Science (USA). All rights reserved.

Physical outcome and school performance of very-low-birthweight infants treated with minimal handling and early nasal CPAP

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Dahl, Marianne; Kamper, Jens

2006-01-01

AIM: To describe physical outcome and school performance in a cohort of very-low-birthweight infants treated with early nasal continuous positive airway pressure (NCPAP)/minimal handling regimen with permissive hypercapnia, in comparison to siblings of normal birthweight. MATERIAL AND METHODS......% attended ordinary schools, with near-average performances in mathematics and reading/spelling, which were not statistically different to their siblings. The overall results indicate that these infants fare at least as well as survivors after conventional treatment....... of these differences reached statistical significance. However, the performance ratings correlated significantly with socio-economic conditions. CONCLUSION: In this study of infants treated with a regimen of early NCPAP/minimal handling, we found a relatively low incidence of handicaps and impairments. Nearly 90...

Do extra compulsory physical education lessons mean more physically active children - findings from the childhood health, activity, and motor performance school study Denmark (The CHAMPS-study DK)

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Møller, Niels; Tarp, Jakob; Kamelarczyk, Eva

2014-01-01

modifications by status of overweight/obesity and poor cardio-respiratory fitness are examined.MethodsParticipants were from the first part of the CHAMPS-study DK, which included approximately 1200 children attending the 0th ¿ 6th grade. At the sports schools, the mandatory physical education (PE) program...... schools and normal schools, respectively. However, children, especially boys, attending sports schools were more active during school time than children attending normal schools (girls: ß=51, p=0.065; boys: ß=113, p

Wisconsin Public Schools at a Glance

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Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, 2014

2014-01-01

"Wisconsin Public Schools at a Glance" provides in a single page document statistical information on the following topics: (1) Total number of public schools (2014-15); (2) Staff (2013-14); (3) Students (2013-14);(4) Report Cards (2013-14); (5) Attendance and Graduation (2012-13); (6) Student Performance (2013-14); and (7) School Funding.

Association of nursery and early school attendance with later health behaviours, biomedical risk factors, and mortality: evidence from four decades of follow-up of participants in the 1958 birth cohort study.

Science.gov (United States)

Batty, G David; Ploubidis, George B; Goodman, Alissa; Bann, David

2018-03-14

Although early life education for improved long-term health and the amelioration of socioeconomically generated inequalities in chronic disease is advocated in influential policy statements, the evidence base is very modest. To address this dearth of evidence using data from a representative UK national birth cohort study. The analytical sample comprised men and women in the 1958 birth cohort study with prospectively gathered data on attendance at nursery or primary school before the age of 5 years who had gone on to participate in social survey at 42 years (n=11 374), or a biomedical survey at 44/5 years of age (n=9210), or had data on vital status from 18 to 55 years (n=17 657). Relative to study members who had not attended nursery, in those who had, there was in fact a higher prevalence of smoking and high alcohol intake in middle age. Conversely, nursery attenders had more favourable levels of lung function and systolic blood pressure in middle age. This apparent association between nursery attendance and lower systolic blood pressure was confined to study members from more deprived social backgrounds of origin (P value for interaction 0.030). There was no apparent link between early school attendance and any behavioural or biological risk factor. Neither nursery nor early school attendance was clearly related to mortality risk. We found no clear evidence for an association of either attendance at nursery or primary school before the age of 5 years and health outcomes around four decades later. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2018. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

Evaluation of simulation-based training on the ability of birth attendants to correctly perform bimanual compression as obstetric first aid.

Science.gov (United States)

Andreatta, Pamela; Gans-Larty, Florence; Debpuur, Domitilla; Ofosu, Anthony; Perosky, Joseph

2011-10-01

Maternal mortality from postpartum hemorrhage remains high globally, in large part because women give birth in rural communities where unskilled (traditional birth attendants) provide care for delivering mothers. Traditional attendants are neither trained nor equipped to recognize or manage postpartum hemorrhage as a life-threatening emergent condition. Recommended treatment includes using uterotonic agents and physical manipulation to aid uterine contraction. In resource-limited areas where Obstetric first aid may be the only care option, physical methods such as bimanual uterine compression are easily taught, highly practical and if performed correctly, highly effective. A simulator with objective performance feedback was designed to teach skilled and unskilled birth attendants to perform the technique. To evaluate the impact of simulation-based training on the ability of birth attendants to correctly perform bimanual compression in response to postpartum hemorrhage from uterine atony. Simulation-based training was conducted for skilled (N=111) and unskilled birth attendants (N=14) at two regional (Kumasi, Tamale) and two district (Savelugu, Sene) medical centers in Ghana. Training was evaluated using Kirkpatrick's 4-level model. All participants significantly increased their bimanual uterine compression skills after training (p=0.000). There were no significant differences between 2-week delayed post-test performances indicating retention (p=0.52). Applied behavioral and clinical outcomes were reported for 9 months from a subset of birth attendants in Sene District: 425 births, 13 postpartum hemorrhages were reported without concomitant maternal mortality. The results of this study suggest that simulation-based training for skilled and unskilled birth attendants to perform bi-manual uterine compression as postpartum hemorrhage Obstetric first aid leads to improved applied procedural skills. Results from a smaller subset of the sample suggest that these skills

More than just a meal: Breakfast club attendance and children’s social relationships

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Margaret (Greta Anne Defeyter

2015-07-01

Full Text Available The health benefits of school food have been widely promoted in recent years while the social opportunities that surround eating occasions at school have received little attention. Breakfast clubs, which take place at the start of the school day, offer a unique opportunity for children to consume a breakfast meal on their school premises in the company of their peers. Alternatively, after school clubs, which take place on school premises at the end of the school day, whilst also providing children with social opportunities tend to focus on sports engagement and skill development. The aim of the current paper is to investigate whether attendance at breakfast clubs and after school clubs has an impact on children’s friendship quality and experiences of peer victimization. Breakfast club attendees, after-school club attendees and non-attendees completed the Friendship Qualities Scale (FQS and the Multidimensional Peer Victimization Scale (MPVS at two time points. Time 1 data were collected two months after the introduction of school clubs. Time 2 data were then collected on the same measures again six months later. Results of the analyses of Time 1 data showed no significant differences between groups on any of the measures at Time 1. However, at Time 2 breakfast club attendees showed improved levels of friendship quality compared to the other two groups. Moreover, analysis of the MPVS data at Time 2 showed that children who attended breakfast club or after school club experienced a decline in victimization across time. The current findings suggest that breakfast club attendance facilitates the quality of children’s relationships with their best friend over time. Additionally, attendance at a breakfast or after school club was associated with a reduction in victimization over time. The results have implications for utilization of breakfast and after school clubs to aid children’s social relationships in school over time.

[School refusal and dropping out of school: positioning regarding a Swiss perspective].

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Walitza, Susanne; Melfsen, Siebke; Della Casa, André; Schneller, Lena

2013-01-01

This article deals with refusal to attend school and dropping out of school from the point of view of child and adolescent psychiatry and psychology, in German speaking countries and from the perspective of Swiss schools and their administrative bodies. General epidemiological data on refusal to attend school show that approximately 5% of children and adolescents are likely to try to avoid attending school at some point. There is very little data available on the frequency of school drop-out. In the past two years (2011 and 2012), approximately 2% of all patients seen for the first time at the department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, University Zurich, were referred because of failure to attend school, making this phenomenon one of the most common reasons for referral in child and adolescent psychiatry. After a discussion of the epidemiology, symptomatology, causes and its risk factors, the article presents examples drawn from practice and guidelines for intervention in cases of refusal to attend school, and discusses ways of preventing school drop-out from the point of view of schools, hospitals and bodies such as educational psychology services in Switzerland.

The Community College Effect Revisited: The Importance of Attending to Heterogeneity and Complex Counterfactuals*

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Brand, Jennie E.; Pfeffer, Fabian T.; Goldrick-Rab, Sara

2015-01-01

Community colleges are controversial educational institutions, often said to simultaneously expand college opportunities and diminish baccalaureate attainment. We assess the seemingly contradictory functions of community colleges by attending to effect heterogeneity and to alternative counterfactual conditions. Using data on postsecondary outcomes of high school graduates of Chicago Public Schools, we find that enrolling at a community college penalizes more advantaged students who otherwise would have attended four-year colleges, particularly highly selective schools; however, these students represent a relatively small portion of the community college population, and these estimates are almost certainly biased. On the other hand, enrolling at a community college has a modest positive effect on bachelor's degree completion for disadvantaged students who otherwise would not have attended college; these students represent the majority of community college goers. We conclude that discussions among scholars, policymakers, and practitioners should move beyond considering the pros and cons of community college attendance for students in general to attending to the implications of community college attendance for targeted groups of students. PMID:25825705

Dental attendance, perceptions of cost and self-care of school year 12 and 13 students: A focus on Southland, New Zealand.

Science.gov (United States)

Murray, Colleen; Densie, Ian Kenneth; Morgan, Christian

2015-12-01

Adolescents and emerging adults can provide dentists with many challenges. Little information is available on their perceptions of dental costs once they turn 18 and dentistry is no longer State-funded. The aim of this study was to explore the use of dental care by Southland students in years 12 and 13, their perceptions of the cost of four common dental procedures, self-related oral health and dental self-care habits, time off school related to dental problems, and knowledge and views regarding fluoride. After ethical approval, a 26-question survey was conducted of all Southland students in years 12 and 13. Data were statistically analysed in SPSS version 20 with the alpha value set at 0.05. The participation rate was 49.6%. Regular attendance for examinations was reported by 77.5% with non-attendance mainly related to attitudes around lack of importance or necessity. Reported dental attendance varied according to gender, ethnicity and decile rating of school attended. Although some were accurate in their estimations of dental costs, the standard deviation for all procedures was large. The majority thought that costs put people off going to the dentist. While 74.8% brushed their teeth at least twice daily, only 26.6% flossed regularly. Knowledge regarding fluoride was lacking. It may be advantageous to include education regarding costs of dental care with patients of this age. This may motivate them to improve their self-care and ensure that their oral health is of a high standard before their dental needs are no longer State-funded.

A training program to improve neuromuscular and performance indices in female high school basketball players.

Science.gov (United States)

Noyes, Frank R; Barber-Westin, Sue D; Smith, Stephanie T; Campbell, Thomas; Garrison, Tiina T

2012-03-01

The purpose of this study was to determine if a sports-specific training program could improve neuromuscular and performance indices in female high school basketball players. We combined components from a published anterior cruciate ligament injury prevention program for jump and strength training with other exercises and drills to improve speed, agility, overall strength, and aerobic conditioning. We hypothesized that this sports-specific training program would lead to significant improvements in neuromuscular and performance indices in high school female basketball players. Fifty-seven female athletes aged 14-17 years participated in the supervised 6-week program, 3 d·wk(-1) for approximately 90-120 minutes per session. The program was conducted on the basketball court and in weight room facilities in high schools. The athletes underwent a video drop-jump test, multistage fitness test, vertical jump test, and an 18-m sprint test before and upon completion of the training program. All the subjects attended at least 14 training sessions. After training, a significant increase was found in the mean estimated VO2max (p basketball players.

Does asthma affect school performance in adolescents? Results from the Swedish population-based birth cohort BAMSE.

Science.gov (United States)

Nilsson, Sara; Ödling, Maria; Andersson, Niklas; Bergström, Anna; Kull, Inger

2018-03-01

Asthma is common among schoolchildren and may influence quality of life and school attendance. However, it is unclear if asthma affects school performance. The aim of this study was to examine whether different phenotypes of asthma affect school performance during adolescence. The study population consisted of 1715 adolescents from a population-based birth cohort, followed up to age 16 with questionnaires and clinical examinations. Asthma was defined as at least 4 wheeze episodes or at least 1 wheeze episode in combination with inhaled steroids in the last 12 months. School grades were obtained from Statistics Sweden, and logistic regression analysis was performed to investigate the association between the final overall grade from secondary school and asthma phenotypes. Among the adolescents, 20.8% have had ever asthma; 24.2% early transient, 47.2% school-age onset, and 24.2% persistent asthma. At 16 years, 7.8% had asthma; 71.7% multimorbidity and 73.9% allergic asthma. A statistically significant association for performing less well was seen for ever asthma (OR adj  = 1.43, 95% CI = 1.09-1.88). In analyses of asthma onset, an association was seen for school-age onset (OR adj  = 1.49, CI = 1.02-2.16) and a tendency for persistent asthma (OR adj  = 1.61, CI = 0.98-2.66), although with overlapping confidence intervals. Further, adolescents with uncontrolled asthma tended to perform less well (OR adj  = 2.60, CI = 0.87-7.80) compared to adolescents with partly controlled (OR adj  = 1.12, CI = 0.68-1.83) and fully controlled (OR adj  = 1.29, CI = 0.55-3.01) asthma. Our results indicate that asthma impairs school performance in adolescence. Moreover, some evidence suggests the adolescents with asthma during school age and with poorer asthma control to be more likely to perform less well. © 2018 EAACI and John Wiley and Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley and Sons Ltd.

The Internalization of Jewish Values by Children Attending Orthodox Jewish Schools, and Its Relationship to Autonomy-Supportive Parenting and Adjustment

Science.gov (United States)

Cohen, Lori R.; Milyavskaya, Marina; Koestner, Richard

2009-01-01

The present study examined the way in which children attending Orthodox Jewish schools internalize the value of both their Jewish studies and secular studies, as well as the value of Jewish cultural practices. A distinction was made between identified internalization, where children perceive Jewish studies and Jewish culture to be an important…

Four Critical Domains of Accountability for School Counselors

Science.gov (United States)

Bemak, Fred; Willians, Joseph M.; Chung, Rita Chi-Ying

2015-01-01

Despite recognition of accountability for school counselors, no clear set of interrelated performance measures exists to guide school counselors in collecting and evaluating data that relates to student academic success. This article outlines four critical domains of accountability for school counselors (i.e., grades, attendance, disciplinary…

Favouring New Indigenous Leadership: Indigenous Students Attending Higher Education in Mexico

Science.gov (United States)

Delgado, Manuel Lopez

2016-01-01

The opportunities to attend higher education in Mexico have traditionally been offered to the middle class population since around 30% of students who finish high school are able to attend higher education. The main reason for this low attendance is the poverty in which much of the population lives and the lack of higher education institutions in…

Dental caries among disabled individuals attending special schools in Vhembe district, South Africa.

Science.gov (United States)

Nemutandani, M S; Adedoja, D; Nevhuhlwi, D

2013-11-01

To determine the prevalence of dental caries among disabled individuals attending special schools in Vhembe districts. A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted from January to June 2012 among disabled individuals receiving special care in four specialised schools of Vhembe District. The research protocol had been approved by the Ethics Committee of the University of Limpopo, Polokwane Campus. Informed consent was obtained from the parents of the participants and from the respective school principals. Oral health examinations took place at the school under natural light, with participants seated on an ordinary chair/wheelchair. Dental caries examinations were carried out, using a mirror and wooden spatula in accordance with World Health Organisation (WHO) criteria and methods. Decayed, missing and filled primary and permanent teeth (dmft, DMFT) were recorded. All disabled individuals who were available during a screening period, were included. Those who were not available, as well as those whose health conditions could be compromised by dental examinations, were excluded. The number of decayed teeth ranged from 0-7 in children below 6 years, 0-12 in children below 11 years; and 0-17 among young adults. The mean decay scores and the numbers of missing teeth increased with age. Only 3 (0.04%) individuals had dental fillings. The mean dmft score of children under 6 years was 5.51 (+/- 2.1), ranging from zero to 8. The mean DMFT's of the 11-18 and 19 years and older groups were 7.38 (+/- 3.22) and 10.24 (+/- 2.97) respectively. Disabled individuals exhibited higher caries prevalence and unmet dental needs than the same age general population in Limpopo. Preventive measures and dental treatment should be considered urgent requirements at special needs schools in the Vhembe District.

Performing privacy in schools

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lauritsen, Peter; Bøge, Ask Risom; Andersen, Lars Bo

with technologies is carried out as well as observation is conducted. We obtain and present new knowledge about how surveillance is practiced in the interpersonal relations of students and teachers. References: Monahan, T., & Torres, R. D. (2009). Schools Under Surveillance: Cultures of Control in Public Education....... Rutgers University Press. Selwyn, N. (2010). Schools and Schooling in the Digital Age: A Critical Analysis. Routledge. Taylor, E. (2013). Surveillance Schools: Security, Discipline and Control in Contemporary Education. Palgrave Macmillan UK. Taylor, E., & Rooney, T. (2016). Surveillance Futures: Social......In this presentation we pursue the question: How is privacy performed and perceived in schools by children? Our aim is to investigate how the boundaries between public and private spheres are continuously performed in the formal setting of the classroom as well as in the social lives of students...

Victimization from bullying among school-attending adolescents in grades 7 to 10 in Zambia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Emmanuel Rudatsikira

2012-01-01

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Among school- attending adolescents, victimization from bullying is associated with anxiety, depression and poor academic performance. There are limited reports on victimization from bullying in Zambia; we therefore conducted this study to determine the prevalence and correlates for victimization from bullying among adolescents in grades 7 to 10 in the country in order to add information on the body of knowledge on victimization from bullying. METHODS: The 2004 Zambia Global School-based Health Survey (GSHS data among adolescents in grades 7 to 10 were obtained from the World Health Organization. We estimated the prevalence of victimization from bullying. We also conducted weighted multivariate logistic regression analysis to determine independent factors associated with victimization from bullying, and report adjusted odds ratios (AOR and their 95% confidence intervals (CI. RESULTS: Of 2136 students who participated in the 2004 Zambia GSHS, 1559 had information on whether they were bullied or not. Of these, 1559 students, 62.8% (60.0% of male and 65.0% of female participants reported having been bullied in the previous 30 days to the survey. We found that respondents of age less than 14 years were 7% (AOR=0.93; 95%CI [0.91, 0.95] less likely to have been bullied compared to those aged 16 years or older. Being a male (AOR=1.07; 95%CI [1.06, 1.09], lonely (AOR=1.24; 95%CI [1.22, 1.26], worried (AOR=1.12; 95%CI [1.11, 1.14], consuming alcohol (AOR=2.59; 95%CI [2.55, 2.64], missing classes (AOR=1.30; 95%CI [1.28, 1.32], and considering attempting suicide (AOR=1.20; 95%CI [1.18, 1.22] were significantly associated with bullying victimization. CONCLUSIONS: Victimization from bullying is prevalent among in-school adolescents in grades 7 to 10 in Zambia, and interventions to curtail it should consider the factors that have been identified in this study.

Victimization from bullying among school-attending adolescents in grades 7 to 10 in Zambia.

Science.gov (United States)

Siziya, Seter; Rudatsikira, Emmanuel; Muula, Adamson S

2012-01-01

Among school- attending adolescents, victimization from bullying is associated with anxiety, depression and poor academic performance. There are limited reports on victimization from bullying in Zambia; we therefore conducted this study to determine the prevalence and correlates for victimization from bullying among adolescents in grades 7 to 10 in the country in order to add information on the body of knowledge on victimization from bullying. The 2004 Zambia Global School-based Health Survey (GSHS) data among adolescents in grades 7 to 10 were obtained from the World Health Organization. We estimated the prevalence of victimization from bullying. We also conducted weighted multivariate logistic regression analysis to determine independent factors associated with victimization from bullying, and report adjusted odds ratios (AOR) and their 95% confidence intervals (CI). Of 2136 students who participated in the 2004 Zambia GSHS, 1559 had information on whether they were bullied or not. Of these, 1559 students, 62.8% (60.0% of male and 65.0% of female) participants reported having been bullied in the previous 30 days to the survey. We found that respondents of age less than 14 years were 7% (AOR=0.93; 95%CI [0.91, 0.95]) less likely to have been bullied compared to those aged 16 years or older. Being a male (AOR=1.07; 95%CI [1.06, 1.09]), lonely (AOR=1.24; 95%CI [1.22, 1.26]), worried (AOR=1.12; 95%CI [1.11, 1.14]), consuming alcohol (AOR=2.59; 95%CI [2.55, 2.64]), missing classes (AOR=1.30; 95%CI [1.28, 1.32]), and considering attempting suicide (AOR=1.20; 95%CI [1.18, 1.22]) were significantly associated with bullying victimization. Victimization from bullying is prevalent among in-school adolescents in grades 7 to 10 in Zambia, and interventions to curtail it should consider the factors that have been identified in this study.

Wisconsin Public Schools at a Glance, 2016

Science.gov (United States)

Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, 2016

2016-01-01

"Wisconsin Public Schools at a Glance" provides in a single page document statistical information on the following topics: (1) Total number of public schools (2015-16); (2) Student (2015-16); (3) Attendance & Graduation (2014-15);(4) Staff (2013-14); (5) School Funding; and (6) Student Performance (2014-15). [For the previous report…

High school and college biology: A multi-level model of the effects of high school biology courses on student academic performance in introductory college biology courses

Science.gov (United States)

Loehr, John Francis

The issue of student preparation for college study in science has been an ongoing concern for both college-bound students and educators of various levels. This study uses a national sample of college students enrolled in introductory biology courses to address the relationship between high school biology preparation and subsequent introductory college biology performance. Multi-Level Modeling was used to investigate the relationship between students' high school science and mathematics experiences and college biology performance. This analysis controls for student demographic and educational background factors along with factors associated with the college or university attended. The results indicated that high school course-taking and science instructional experiences have the largest impact on student achievement in the first introductory college biology course. In particular, enrollment in courses, such as high school Calculus and Advanced Placement (AP) Biology, along with biology course content that focuses on developing a deep understanding of the topics is found to be positively associated with student achievement in introductory college biology. On the other hand, experiencing high numbers of laboratory activities, demonstrations, and independent projects along with higher levels of laboratory freedom are associated with negative achievement. These findings are relevant to high school biology teachers, college students, their parents, and educators looking beyond the goal of high school graduation.

Impact of School Flu Vaccine Program on Student Absences

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Plaspohl, Sara S.; Dixon, Betty T.; Streater, James A.; Hausauer, Elizabeth T.; Newman, Christopher P.; Vogel, Robert L.

2014-01-01

Literature provides evidence that school attendance correlates with academic performance and student success. Influenza is a contributing factor to school absences. Primary prevention for influenza includes immunization. School-located influenza vaccine (SLIV) programs provide greater access for students to be immunized. A retrospective review of…

More than Just a Meal: Breakfast Club Attendance and Children's Social Relationships.

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Defeyter, Margaret Anne; Graham, Pamela Louise; Russo, Riccardo

2015-01-01

The health benefits of school food have been widely promoted in recent years while the social opportunities that surround eating occasions at school have received little attention. Breakfast clubs (BCs), which take place at the start of the school day, offer a unique opportunity for children to consume a breakfast meal on their school premises in the company of their peers. Alternatively, after-school clubs (ASCs), which take place on school premises at the end of the school day, whilst also providing children with social opportunities tend to focus on sports engagement and skill development. The aim of the current paper is to investigate whether attendance at BCs and ASCs has an impact on children's friendship quality and experiences of peer victimization. BC attendees, ASC attendees, and non-attendees completed the Friendship Qualities Scale and the Multidimensional Peer Victimization Scale (MPVS) at two time points. Time-1 data were collected 2 months after the introduction of school clubs. Time-2 data were then collected on the same measures again 6 months later. Results of the analyses of Time-1 data showed no significant differences between groups on any of the measures at Time-1. However, at Time-2, BC attendees showed improved levels of friendship quality compared to the other two groups. Moreover, analysis of the MPVS data at Time-2 showed that children who attended BC or ASC experienced a decline in victimization across time. The current findings suggest that BC attendance facilitates the quality of children's relationships with their best friend over time. Additionally, attendance at a breakfast or ASC was associated with a reduction in victimization over time. The results have implications for utilization of breakfast and ASCs to aid children's social relationships in school over time.

The Effect of Schooling on Basic Cognition in Selected Nordic Countries

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Bert Jonsson

2017-11-01

Full Text Available The present study investigated schooling effects on cognition. Cognitive data were collected as part of a research project (ProMeal that investigated school meals and measured the intake of school lunch in relation to children’s health, cognitive function, and classroom learning in four Nordic countries, among children between 10–11 years of age. It was found that Finnish pupils attending 4th grade were not, on any measure, outperformed by Norwegian and Icelandic pupils attending 5th and Swedish pupils attending 4th grade on a task measuring working memory capacity, processing speed, inhibition, and in a subsample on response- and attention control. Moreover, boys were found to perform superior to girls on tasks measuring processing speed. However, girls were found to perform better on tasks related to attention and self-control. The results are discussed in relation to the reciprocal association between cognition and schooling and whether these results reflect quality differences between schools in the four Nordic countries; most notably in comparison to Finland.

Rural/Nonrural Differences in College Attendance Patterns.

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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.

The influence of averageness on judgments of facial attractiveness: no own-age or own-sex advantage among children attending single-sex schools.

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Vingilis-Jaremko, Larissa; Maurer, Daphne; Gao, Xiaoqing

2014-04-01

We examined how recent biased face experience affects the influence of averageness on judgments of facial attractiveness among 8- and 9-year-old children attending a girls' school, a boys' school, and a mixed-sex school. We presented pairs of individual faces in which one face was transformed 50% toward its group average, whereas the other face was transformed 50% away from that average. Across blocks, the faces varied in age (adult, 9-year-old, or 5-year-old) and sex (male or female). We expected that averageness might influence attractiveness judgments more strongly for same-age faces and, for children attending single-sex schools, same-sex faces of that age because their prototype(s) should be best tuned to the faces they see most frequently. Averageness influenced children's judgments of attractiveness, but the strength of the influence was not modulated by the age of the face, nor did the effects of sex of face differ across schools. Recent biased experience might not have affected the results because of similarities between the average faces of different ages and sexes and/or because a minimum level of experience with a particular group of faces may be adequate for the formation of a veridical prototype and its influence on judgments of attractiveness. The results suggest that averageness affects children's judgments of the attractiveness of the faces they encounter in everyday life regardless of age or sex of face. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The Prevalence and Determinants of Overweight and Obesity among French Youths and Adults with Intellectual Disabilities Attending Special Education Schools

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Begarie, Jerome; Maiano, Christophe; Leconte, Pascale; Ninot, Gregory

2013-01-01

This study examines the prevalence of overweight and obesity and a panel of potential determinants among French youths and adults with an intellectual disability (ID). The sample used consisted of 1120 youths and adults with an ID, from 5 to 28 years old, attending a French special education school. The results indicated that 19.8% of the…

Cataract in children attending schools for the blind and resource centers in eastern Africa.

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Msukwa, Gerald; Njuguna, Margaret; Tumwesigye, Cillasy; Shilio, Bernadeth; Courtright, Paul; Lewallen, Susan

2009-05-01

The aim of this study was to describe results of a representative sample of children who have undergone cataract surgery in schools for the blind in 4 African countries. Cross-sectional study. Children enrolled at schools for the blind in Kenya, Malawi, Tanzania, and Uganda. We used a population-proportional-to-size methodology to select a representative sample of schools for the blind and annexes and included all the children attending the selected schools. Trained teams using standardized examination methods and a modified World Health Organization form examined the children. The form was modified specifically to collect information on outcomes of cataract surgery. Operative status and postoperative visual acuity. Of 1062 children examined, 196 (18%) had undergone cataract surgery or had cataract as the major cause of visual impairment; 140 (71%) had bilateral surgery, 24 (12%) had unilateral surgery, and 32 (16%) had not had surgery. Of operated eyes, 118 (41%) had visual acuity > or =20/200. Intraocular lenses were implanted in 65% of the operated eyes. Eyes with intraocular lens were more likely to have better vision than those without (P for trend = 0.04). Amblyopia was the most common cause of poor visual acuity in children who had undergone cataract surgery. The number of children in the schools who receive cataract surgery has increased greatly since 1995. The high rate of amblyopia highlights the critical need for programs to find children earlier and to ensure adequate follow-up after surgery. Without such programs, the value of training pediatric surgeons will not be fully realized. The authors have no proprietary or commercial interest in any materials discussed in this article.

Assessing Outgroup Prejudice among 13-15-Year-Old Students Attending Catholic and Protestant Secondary Schools in Northern Ireland: An Empirical Enquiry

Science.gov (United States)

Francis, Leslie J.; Village, Andrew

2015-01-01

Northern Ireland has been and remains a religiously divided community. This study sets out to examine outgroup prejudice among a sample of 1799 13-15-year-old students attending Catholic or Protestant schools and employs both bivariate analyses and hierarchical modelling to chart the associations between outgroup prejudice and personal factors…

Menstruation and School Absenteeism: Evidence from Rural Malawi

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Grant, Monica; Lloyd, Cynthia; Mensch, Barbara

2013-01-01

The provision of toilets and menstrual supplies appears to be a promising strategy to promote adolescent girls' school attendance and performance in less developed countries. In this article, we use the first round of the Malawi Schooling and Adolescent Survey (MSAS) to examine the individual- and school-level factors associated with…

Anti-Toxocara antibodies detected in children attending elementary school in Vitoria, State of Espírito Santo, Brazil: prevalence and associated factors

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Roberta Paranhos Fragoso

2011-08-01

Full Text Available INTRODUCTION: The aim of this study was to evaluate the frequency of anti-Toxocara antibodies in serum from 7-year-old children attending elementary school in Vitória-ES, Brazil and to correlate these antibodies with socio-demographic factors, the presence of intestinal helminths, blood eosinophil numbers, past history of allergy or asthma, and clinical manifestations of helminth infections. METHODS: The detection of anti-Toxocara antibodies was performed using an ELISA (Cellabs Pty Ltdon serum from 391 children who had already been examined by fecal examination and blood cell counts. Data from clinical and physical examinations were obtained for all children. RESULTS: The prevalence of anti-Toxocara antibodies was 51.6%, with no gender differences. No significant differences were observed between positive serology and the presence or absence of intestinal worms (60.3 and 51.7%, respectively; p = 0.286. The only variables significantly related to positive serology were onycophagy and the use of unfiltered water. Although eosinophilia (blood eosinophil count higher than 600/mm³ was significantly related to the presence of a positive ELISA result, this significance disappeared when we considered only children without worms or without a past history of allergy or asthma. No clinical symptoms related to Toxocara infection were observed. CONCLUSIONS: There is a high prevalence of anti-Toxocara antibodies in children attending elementary schools in Vitória, which may be partially related to cross-reactivity with intestinal helminths or to a high frequency of infection with a small number of Toxocara eggs.

Carpet Aids Learning in High Performance Schools

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Hurd, Frank

2009-01-01

The Healthy and High Performance Schools Act of 2002 has set specific federal guidelines for school design, and developed a federal/state partnership program to assist local districts in their school planning. According to the Collaborative for High Performance Schools (CHPS), high-performance schools are, among other things, healthy, comfortable,…

[Perceived health and academic performance among adolescents from public schools in the city of Córdoba].

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Vitale, Romina; Degoy, Emilse; Berra, Silvina

2015-12-01

During adolescence, school performance may be related to health, and academic achievements at this age can have an impact on the future. Our objective was to assess the relationship between academic performance and perceived health among adolescents, considering sociodemographic characteristics of their families. Cross-sectional pilot study conducted in a sample of adolescents attending common basic courses of three public secondary schools in the city of Córdoba (Argentina). Academic performance was calculated as the average grade in all subjects; performance was considered satisfactory if equal to or higher than 6. Perceived health was assessed using the KIDSCREEN-52 questionnaire, which scores ten dimensions. In addition, age, sex, maternal education level, socioeconomic level and household composition were also recorded. Univariate and bivariate analyses and multivariate logistic regression models were conducted. Five hundred fifty-four adolescents participated, 52% of them were girls. Unsatisfactory academic performance (27.6%) was more common among adolescents who evidenced a worse relationship with parents (OR: 2.68, 95% CI: 1.22-5.85) and a better relationship with peers (OR: 0.46, 95% CI: 0.26-0.82). Stratification by socioeconomic level showed differences: among those with a high socioeconomic level, an unsatisfactory performance was more common among adolescents who perceived themselves as having a low autonomy, while it was more common among those who perceived a worse school environment in the middle-low socioeconomic level. Academic performance was associated with psychosocial dimensions of health, such as relationship with family members, peers, autonomy and school environment.

The Value of Attending a Women's College: Education, Occupation, and Income Benefits.

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Riordan, Cornelius

1994-01-01

A study using data from the National Longitudinal Study of the High School Class of 1972 compared effects of attendance at a women's college for one to six years (n=125) with attendance at only coeducational colleges (n=1832). Findings indicated significant occupational achievement benefits were realized for each year of attendance at a women's…

Impact of implementation and conduct of the HEALTHY primary prevention trial on student performance.

Science.gov (United States)

Hernandez, Arthur E; Marcus, Marsha D; Hirst, Kathryn; Faith, Myles S; Goldberg, Linn; Treviño, Roberto P

2014-01-01

To determine whether a school-wide intervention program to reduce risk factors for type 2 diabetes (T2D) affected student achievement, rates of disciplinary actions, and attendance rates. The HEALTHY primary prevention trial was designed to evaluate a comprehensive school-based intervention to reduce factors for T2D, especially overweight and obesity. Students were followed up from beginning of sixth grade (Fall 2006) through end of eighth grade (Spring 2009). Forty-two middle schools at seven U.S. sites. Schools were randomized in equal numbers at each site to intervention (21 schools, 2307 students) or control (21 schools, 2296 students). Intervention . An integrated school-wide program that focused on (1) foods and beverages, (2) physical education, (3) classroom-based behavior change and education, and (4) social marketing communication and promotional campaigns. Aggregate (grade- and school-wide) test performance (passing rate), attendance, and referrals for disciplinary actions. Descriptive statistics and tests of intervention versus control using mixed linear models methods to adjust for the clustering of students within schools. There were no differences between intervention and control schools in test performance for mathematics (p = .7835) or reading (p = .6387), attendance (p = .5819), or referrals for disciplinary action (p = .8671). The comprehensive HEALTHY intervention and associated research procedures did not negatively impact student achievement test scores, attendance, or referrals for disciplinary action.

Parental concerns in parents of children attending pre- and primary school: analysis of the Portuguese population by District

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Susana Algarvio

Full Text Available Objective: In this study, our aim was to assess and analyze parental concerns by Portuguese District. Methods: The participants were 3842 parents of children between 3 and 10 years old, attending preschool and primary school, from 820 public schools in 18 Portuguese Districts. Parents completed a sociodemographic questionnaire, and a Parental Concerns Scale, composed by 5 subscales, family and school problems; feeding, sleep and physical complaints; preparation; fears; and negative behaviors. Results: Portuguese parents concerned about all the dimensions considered in this study. The highest level of concern was obtained in family and school problems, and the lowest level of concern about their children’s fears. There were significant differences between Districts, parents from Porto and Bragança showed the highest levels of concern. Parents from Coimbra, Évora, Beja e Portalegre, presented the lowest levels of concern. Conclusion: Parental concerns are an aspect of general parenting and must be considered by health professionals to promote healthier parents-children relationships. Geographic differences should be further investigated.

Correlação entre WISC e rendimento escolar na escola pública e na escola particular Correlation between WISC and school performance in public and private schools

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Álida Dal Vesco

1998-01-01

Full Text Available O trabalho compara resultados do WISC com rendimento escolar , no sentido de correlacionar medidas psicométricas de inteligência com critérios de rendimento escolar, a fim de aperfeiçoar a capacidade diagnóstica e preditiva do teste. Participaram 20 alunos (10 de escola pública e 10 de escola particular, de 5ª a 8ª séries, com idade entre 8,7 a 13,2 anos, do grupo considerado com um bom desempenho. Não houve correlação significativa entre resultados do WISC e rendimento escolar. Comparando escolas, os alunos da rede particular tiveram pontuações significativamente melhores em Compreensão [t(2,18= 2,78; pThis study compared performance on the WISC with school grades in na attempt to improve the diagnostic and predictive capacity of the test in Brazil. Twenty students (10 from a public school and 10 from a private school, attending the fifth through the eighth grade, 8.7 to 13.2 years old, from a group classified as having high performance participated in the study. There was no significant correlation between the WISC results and school performance. Comparing the schools, the students from the private school network obtained scores significantly higher in Comprehension, Vocabulary, and Coding. However, no significant difference was found with respect to grades. This finding was explained based on the peculiarities of school programs.

School Attendance, Absenteeism, and Student Success. Research Brief

Science.gov (United States)

Oregon Department of Education, 2015

2015-01-01

Oregon Department of Education staff spoke with principals from five Oregon schools that had low rates of chronic absenteeism compared to schools with similar demographics during the 2014-15 school year: Echo Shaw Elementary School, Free Orchards Elementary School, Dayton Junior High School, Valor Middle School, and North Marion High School. Each…

Deworming drugs for soil-transmitted intestinal worms in children: effects on nutritional indicators, haemoglobin, and school performance

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Taylor-Robinson, David C; Maayan, Nicola; Soares-Weiser, Karla; Donegan, Sarah; Garner, Paul

2015-01-01

Background The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends treating all school children at regular intervals with deworming drugs in areas where helminth infection is common. As the intervention is often claimed to have important health, nutrition, and societal effects beyond the removal of worms, we critically evaluated the evidence on benefits. Objectives To summarize the effects of giving deworming drugs to children to treat soil-transmitted helminths on weight, haemoglobin, and cognition; and the evidence of impact on physical well-being, school attendance, school performance, and mortality. Search methods We searched the Cochrane Infectious Diseases Group Specialized Register (14 April 2015); Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), published in the Cochrane Library (2015, Issue 4); MEDLINE (2000 to 14 April 2015); EMBASE (2000 to 14 April 2015); LILACS (2000 to 14 April 2015); the metaRegister of Controlled Trials (mRCT); and reference lists, and registers of ongoing and completed trials up to 14 April 2015. Selection criteria We included randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and quasi-RCTs comparing deworming drugs for soil-transmitted helminths with placebo or no treatment in children aged 16 years or less, reporting on weight, haemoglobin, and formal tests of intellectual development. We also sought data on school attendance, school performance, and mortality. We included trials that combined health education with deworming programmes. Data collection and analysis At least two review authors independently assessed the trials, evaluated risk of bias, and extracted data. We analysed continuous data using the mean difference (MD) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Where data were missing, we contacted trial authors. We used outcomes at time of longest follow-up. The evidence quality was assessed using GRADE. This edition of the Cochrane Review adds the DEVTA trial from India, and draws on an independent analytical replication of a trial from

The association between school-to-work programs and school performance.

Science.gov (United States)

Welsh, Erin C; Appana, Savi; Anderson, Henry A; Zierold, Kristina M

2014-02-01

The School-to-Work (STW) Opportunities Act was passed to aid students in transitioning from education to employment by offering work-based learning opportunities. In the United States, 72% of high schools offer work-based learning opportunities for credit. This is the first study to describe school performance and school-based behaviors among students enrolled in STW programs and compare them with nonworking and other-working students. In 2003, a questionnaire was administered to five school districts and one large urban school in Wisconsin. Between 2008 and 2010, analyses were completed to characterize STW students and compare them with other students. Of the 6,519 students aged 14-18 years included in the analyses, 461 were involved in an STW program (7%), 3,108 were non-working (48%), and 2,950 were other-working students (45%). Compared with other students, STW students were less likely to have a grade point average >2.0, more likely to have three or more unexcused absences from school, and more likely to spend performance. School-to-Work students reported poorer academic performance and more unhealthy school-related behaviors compared with nonworking students and other-working students. Whereas many factors have a role in why students perform poorly in school, more research on students enrolled in STW programs is needed to understand whether participating has a negative impact on students' academic achievement. Copyright © 2014 Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The response of 1578 school leavers to a campaign combining commercial, Health Boards' and GDPs' sponsorship in an effort to improve dental attendance

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Craven, R; Blinkhorn, A S; Schou, L

1993-01-01

A dental health promotion campaign was developed by Forth Valley Health Board in conjunction with the Scottish Health Education Group and the Department of Marketing at Strathclyde University. The aim was to encourage dental attendance among early school leavers. The emphasis was on the contribut...

Impacting Children’s Health and Academic Performance through Comprehensive School Physical Activity Programming

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Timothy A. BRUSSEAU

2015-06-01

Full Text Available Physical activity is associated with numerous academic and health benefits. Furthermore, schools have been identified as an ideal location to promote physical activity as most youth attend school regularly from ages 5-18. Unfortunately, in an effort to increase academic learning time, schools have been eliminating traditional activity opportunities including physical education and recess. To combat physical inactivity in you, numerous organizations are promoting a Comprehensive School Physical Activity Program to encourage academic achievement and overall health. Comprehensive School Physical Activity Programs include five components and should be centered around 1 quality physical education, 2 physical activity before and after school, 3 physical activity during school (both recess and classroom activity, 4 staff involvement, and 5 family and community engagement.

Menstruation and School Absenteeism: Evidence from Rural Malawi

OpenAIRE

Grant, Monica J.; Lloyd, Cynthia B.; Mensch, Barbara S.

2013-01-01

The provision of toilets and menstrual supplies has emerged as a promising programmatic strategy to support adolescent girls’ school attendance and performance in less developed countries. We use the first round of the Malawi Schooling and Adolescent Survey (MSAS) to examine the individual- and school-level factors associated with menstruation-related school absenteeism. The MSAS is a school-based longitudinal survey of adolescent students enrolled in coed public primary schools in the southe...

Street hawking among in-school adolescents in a south-western town in Nigeria: pattern, determinants and effects on school performance.

Science.gov (United States)

Ijadunola, Macellina Y; Ojo, Temitope O; Babatunde, Adelekan; Olatunji, Gbajumo J; Owolabi, Gbolagade K; Adewale, Ibiyemi A; Ifedayo, Ibukun F; Friday, Ijuewe S

2015-02-01

Street hawking is the commonest form of child labor in Nigeria. Although street hawking is very pervasive, there is the increasing need to fully understand its pattern and effects on those involved in hawking particularly adolescents who combine schooling with hawking. In Nigeria, data on the effects of street hawking on in-school adolescents are generally scanty. Therefore, the present study was undertaken in Ife Central Local Government Area (LGA) of Osun State, Nigeria to assess the pattern, determinants of street hawking among in-school adolescents and its effect on school performance. A cross-sectional study of 435 adolescents (aged 10-19) attending public secondary schools was done. Data were collected using facilitated self-administered questionnaires alongside a review of class records. Appropriate statistical analysis including multiple regression was done. Results showed mean age of respondents to be 14.6±2.1 years with prevalence of street hawking at 37.2%. Early adolescents (10-13 years) were more likely to engage in street hawking compared to their counterparts in late adolescence (aged 17-19). Female adolescents and students of trading mothers were significantly more likely to engage in street hawking. Respondents engaged in street hawking were significantly more likely to have failed the last academic term examination. The findings from this study will be useful for stakeholders as they develop policies and programmes to address the challenge of street hawking among adolescent school goers.

High-Performance Schools: Affordable Green Design for K-12 Schools; Preprint

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Plympton, P.; Brown, J.; Stevens, K.

2004-08-01

Schools in the United States spend $7.8 billion on energy each year-more than the cost of computers and textbooks combined, according to a 2003 report from the National Center for Education Statistics. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) estimates that these high utility bills could be reduced as much as 25% if schools adopt readily available high performance design principles and technologies. Accordingly, hundreds of K-12 schools across the country have made a commitment to improve the learning and teaching environment of schools while saving money and energy and protecting the environment. DOE and its public- and private-sector partners have developed Energy Design Guidelines for High Performance Schools, customized for nine climate zones in U.S. states and territories. These design guidelines provide information for school decision makers and design professionals on the advantages of energy efficiency and renewable energy designs and technologies. With such features as natural day lighting, efficient electric lights, water conservation, and renewable energy, schools in all types of climates are proving that school buildings, and the students and teachers who occupy them, are indeed high performers. This paper describes high performance schools from each of the nine climate zones associated with the Energy Design Guidelines. The nine case studies focus on the high performance design strategies implemented in each school, as well as the cost savings and benefits realized by students, faculty, the community, and the environment.

School-Based Peer Mentoring in High School: A Program Evaluation Study

Science.gov (United States)

Cooper, Felicia Cecile

2017-01-01

The dissertation is an initial investigation of a peer mentoring program in a suburban high school in the southeastern United States. Additionally, the Peer Mentoring Program (PMP) study examined whether the Program improves academic performance and attendance, and decreases referrals. Utilizing an experimental design, a Participant and a…

A survey of severe visual impairment and blindness in children attending thirteen schools for the blind in sri lanka.

Science.gov (United States)

Gao, Zoe; Muecke, James; Edussuriya, Kapila; Dayawansa, Ranasiri; Hammerton, Michael; Kong, Aimee; Sennanayake, Saman; Senaratne, Tissa; Marasinghe, Nirosha; Selva, Dinesh

2011-02-01

To identify the causes of blindness and severe visual impairment (BL/SVI) in children attending schools for the blind in Sri Lanka, and to provide optical devices and ophthalmic treatment where indicated. Two hundred and six children under 16 years from 13 schools for the blind in Sri Lanka were examined by a team of ophthalmologists and optometrists. Data were entered in the World Health Organization Prevention of Blindness Eye Examination Record for Childhood Blindness (WHO/PBL ERCB). Of the 206 children, 83.5% were blind (BL = Visual acuity [VA] schools for the blind in Sri Lanka had potentially avoidable causes of BL/SVI. Vision could also be improved in a third of children. The data support the need to develop specialized pediatric ophthalmic services, particularly in the face of advancing neonatal life support in Sri Lanka, and the need for increased provision of optical support.

Sleep-wake patterns and their influence on school performance in Portuguese adolescents.

Science.gov (United States)

Duarte, João; Nelas, Paula; Chaves, Cláudia; Ferreira, Manuela; Coutinho, Emília; Cunha, Madalena

2014-11-01

To characterise sleep-wake patterns and their influence on academic performance for a sample of Portuguese adolescents. Cross-sectional, analytical-explanatory, correlational epidemiological research. The protocol includes the composite morningness questionnaire (Barton et al, 1985 adapted by Silva et al, 1985), the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (Murray, 1991), chronic fatigue scale (Smith et al, 1995), the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (Buysse, 1988), Educational Achievement (Fermin, 2005), personal and academic data. 2094 students (55.3% girls; 16-23 years old; M=16.82±1.25) attending secondary school in central Portugal. Living in urban areas, living with their parents and about 57.1% are in a family with reasonable economic resources. Adolescents' sleep patterns reveal that they sleep on average between 8-9 hours a night, do not use medication to sleep, with sleep latency within the normal range, with good sleep efficiency, without daytime dysfunction and with undisturbed sleep, predominantly intermediate chronotype. Minor drowsiness, increased sleep efficiency, improved subjective sleep satisfaction, less sleep disturbance, less daytime dysfunction, not consuming hypnotic medications, associated with better academic performance. Morningness/eveningness, sleep efficiency, daytime dysfunction and sleep latency emerge as predictors of academic performance. The chronotype interacts to predict the quality of sleep enhancing it as a mediator of school performance. Sleep and associated individual characteristics should be considered in the diagnosis and intervention process in secondary education. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

School-based Telerehabilitation In Occupational Therapy: Using Telerehabilitation Technologies to Promote Improvements in Student Performance

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Melanie Joy Criss

2013-06-01

Full Text Available This article discusses the use of telerehabilitation technologies in occupational therapy for school-based practice. Telerehabilitation, for the purpose of this program, included the implementation of occupational therapy services via two-way interactive videoconferencing technology. The subjects included in this pilot program were children, ages 6 to 11 years, who attended an online charter school and had difficulties in the areas of fine motor and/or visual motor skills which impacted success with handwriting. Each participant completed a virtual evaluation and six 30-minute intervention sessions. The Print Tool™ Assessment was used to determine progress pre- and post-program. A learning coach/student satisfaction survey was given at the end of the program to determine participant satisfaction. Outcomes revealed improvements in handwriting performance for most students who participated in the program and high satisfaction rates reported by all participants.

Increasing Student Attendance: A Study Comparing Superintendents' Knowledge of Best Practices to Enacted Policies

Science.gov (United States)

Isom, Dena K.

2014-01-01

This report describes a problem-based learning project focused on the information available to superintendents related to improving student attendance. This information has the potential to assist school districts in improving the attendance of each student as is required by attendance standards such as those of the fifth version of the Missouri…

Age, place of living and education influences the pregnancy universal thyroid function screening program attendance - questionnaire study.

Science.gov (United States)

Milewicz, Tomasz; Zuk, Małgorzata; Stochmal, Ewa; Hubalewska-Dydejczyk, Alicja; Galicka-Latała, Danuta; Juszczyk, Leszek; Krzysiek, Józef

2011-01-01

The aim of this study was to assess attendance at the universal screening programme for thyroid function in pregnancy and attempt to evaluate the influence of age, number of past pregnancies, level of education, and place of residence on the attendance. The study was performed by means of a questionnaire. Our study was performed on the basis of an anonymous questionnaire handed out to 543 women aged 16-45 years, on the third day of their puerperal stay in one of five obstetric wards in southern Poland. The questionnaire contained questions about participation in plasma level measurements of TSH, fT4, total T4, thyroid antibodies or thyroid ultrasound scanning at least once in pregnancy. The rate of attendance at any examination of thyroid function among pregnant women was 26.7%. The highest attendance rate (32.7%) was found among women living in provincial capitals or with higher education (41.3%), whereas the lowest was among women who had completed only primary school (11%) and those living in county towns (15%). The number of previous pregnancies did not influence the thyroid screening attendance. Women over 21 years of age participated in this screening programme more frequently (27.1-30%). Less than one third of pregnant women participated in the thyroid function screening. Place of living, education level, and age were the main factors influencing the attendance rate.

Intestinal helminth infections and nutritional status of children attending primary schools in Wakiso District, Central Uganda.

Science.gov (United States)

Lwanga, Francis; Francis, Lwanga; Kirunda, Barbara Eva; Orach, Christopher Garimoi

2012-08-01

A cross-sectional study to assess the prevalence of intestinal helminth infections and nutritional status of primary school children was conducted in the Wakiso district in Central Uganda. A total of 432 primary school children aged 6-14 years were randomly selected from 23 schools. Anthropometric measurements of weight, height, MUAC were undertaken and analyzed using AnthroPlus software. Stool samples were examined using a Kato-Katz method. The prevalence of stunting, underweight and moderate acute malnutrition (MAM) was 22.5%, 5.3% and 18.5% respectively. Males had a threefold risk of being underweight (OR 3.2, 95% CI 1.17-9.4, p = 0.011) and 2 fold risk of suffering from MAM (OR 2.1, 95% CI 1.21-3.48, p = 0.004). Children aged 10-14 years had a 2.9 fold risk of stunting (OR 2.9, 95% CI 1.37-6.16, p = 0.002) and 1.9 risk of MAM (OR 1.9, 95% CI 1.07-3.44, p = 0.019). Attending urban slum schools had 1.7 fold risk of stunting (OR 1.7, 95% CI 1.03-2.75, p = 0.027). Rural schools presented a twofold risk of helminth infection (OR 1.95, 95% CI 1.12-3.32, p = 0.012). The prevalence of helminth infections was (10.9%), (3.1%), (1.9%), (0.2%) for hookworm, Trichuriatrichiura, Schistosomamansoni and Ascarislumbricoides, respectively. The study revealed that 26.6%, 46% and 10.3% of incidences of stunting, underweight and MAM respectively were attributable to helminth infections.

What Works Clearinghouse Quick Review: "Meeting the Challenge of Combating Chronic Absenteeism: Impact of the NYC Mayor's Interagency Task Force on Chronic Absenteeism and School Attendance and Its Implications for Other Cities"

Science.gov (United States)

What Works Clearinghouse, 2013

2013-01-01

This study examined the effectiveness of an intervention designed to reduce rates of chronic student absenteeism in New York City public schools. The study authors reported that schools participating in the intervention experienced greater reductions in rates of student chronic absenteeism than the comparison schools. Students who attended the…

Middle School Concept Helps High-Poverty Schools Become High-Performing Schools

Science.gov (United States)

Picucci, Ali Callicoatte; Brownson, Amanda; Kahlert, Rahel; Sobel, Andrew

2004-01-01

The results of a study conducted by the Charles A. Dana Center at the University of Texas at Austin for the U.S. Department of Education during the 2001-02 school year showed that elements of the middle school concept can lead to improved student performance, even in high-poverty schools. This article describes common elements of the middle school…

School Shootings and Student Performance

OpenAIRE

Panu Poutvaara; Olli Ropponen

2010-01-01

In this paper, we study how high school students reacted to the shocking news of a school shooting. The shooting coincided with national high-school matriculation exams. As there were exams both before and after the shooting, we can use a difference-in-differences analysis to uncover how the school shooting affected the test scores compared to previous years. We find that the average performance of young men declined due to the school shooting, whereas we do not observe a similar pattern for ...

Knowledge of students attending a high school in Pretoria, South Africa, on diet, nutrition and exercise.

Science.gov (United States)

Letlape, S V; Mokwena, K; Oguntibeju, O O

2010-12-01

The objective of this study was to ascertain the knowledge of students on the composition of a healthy diet, daily nutritional requirements and the importance of regular exercise. A cross-sectional survey using a self-administered questionnaire with closed and open-ended questions to assess students 'knowledge on diet, nutrition and exercise was conducted. The study group were students of Tswaing High School in Pretoria, South Africa, who were in attendance on a particular day when the study was conducted and who consented to participate in the study Only 500 students of the school participated in the study Results showed that 77% of the students do not have adequate knowledge on diet, nutrition and exercise while 23% of the students showed satisfactory knowledge. Approximately 26% and 16% of the students reported that they participated in rigorous and moderate exercise respectively The study also showed that the majority of the students were however not engaged in physical activities. Students at Tswaing High School do not have adequate knowledge on nutrition, diet and exercise. Their views on what exercise entails were found not to be satisfactory. Programmes/ information or seminars that could assist to inform students on the importance of diet and exercise are therefore suggested.

Health and School Performance among Danish adolescents

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hansen, Claus D.; Andersen, Johan Hviid

adult educational achievement. Data are taken from a birth cohort study of all adolescents born in 1989 (n=3,058) living in a rural county in Denmark. Information was obtained from questionnaires (sent to the adolescents and their parents) and from different national registers (e.g. hospitalization......This study examines the impact of a wide range of health measures on school performance at the end of compulsory school (9 years of school). The key questions raised are whether different health problems lowers school performance contributing to a health selection process that could lead to lower...... health and school performance....

A photovoice study of school belongingness among high school students in Norway.

Science.gov (United States)

Lieblein, Vaiva Sunniva Deraas; Warne, Maria; Huot, Suzanne; Laliberte Rudman, Debbie; Raanaas, Ruth Kjærsti

2018-12-01

Although high school graduation is important for living conditions and health throughout life, many students do not complete. In Norway's northern most county, Finnmark, up to 45% of students do not complete high school. Contrary to prior research that has primarily focused on causes for dropout, this study's aim was to deepen understanding of factors that support high school attendance. A strengths-based participatory approach using photovoice addressed attendance factors as perceived by seven participating students from one high school in Finnmark. Qualitative content analysis of data generated through group dialogue about participant-generated photos and individual interviews identified six factors important for students' school attendance: a supportive school environment, a good learning environment, recuperation and recreation, family and friends, goals and ambitions, and place attachment. Related aspects of a supportive environment and belongingness, where school staff made important contributions to promoting a positive environment, were essential.

The Academic Differences between Students Involved in School-Based Robotics Programs and Students Not Involved in School-Based Robotics Programs

Science.gov (United States)

Koumoullos, Michael

2013-01-01

This research study aimed to identify any correlation between participation in afterschool robotics at the high school level and academic performance. Through a sample of N = 121 students, the researcher examined the grades and attendance of students who participated in a robotics program in the 2011-2012 school year. The academic record of these…

Family environment, coping, and mental health in adolescents attending therapeutic day schools.

Science.gov (United States)

Rodriguez, Erin M; Donenberg, Geri R; Emerson, Erin; Wilson, Helen W; Brown, Larry K; Houck, Christopher

2014-10-01

This study examined associations among family environment, coping, and emotional and conduct problems in adolescents attending therapeutic day schools due to mental health problems. Adolescents (N = 417; 30.2% female) ages 13-20 (M = 15.25) reported on their family environment (affective involvement and functioning), coping (emotion-focused support-seeking, cognitive restructuring, avoidant actions), and emotional and conduct problems. Poorer family environment was associated with less emotion-focused support-seeking and cognitive restructuring, and more emotional and conduct problems. Emotional problems were negatively associated with cognitive restructuring, and conduct problems were negatively associated with all coping strategies. Cognitive restructuring accounted for the relationship between family environment and emotional problems. Cognitive restructuring and emotion-focused support-seeking each partially accounted for the relationship between family functioning and conduct problems, but not the relationship between family affective involvement and conduct problems. Findings implicate the role of coping in the relationship between family environment and adolescent mental health. Copyright © 2014 The Foundation for Professionals in Services for Adolescents. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Does School Choice Improve Student Performance?

OpenAIRE

Kaja Høiseth Brugård

2013-01-01

This paper studies the relationship between school choice and student performance for high school students in Norway. The analysis exploits both the fact that the degree of school choice formally differs between counties, and detailed information on travelling distances to high schools, which more closely reflects the students' actual school choice possibilities. Information on students' residence, high school location, and the degree of formal school choice is used to estimate the effect on ...

Methylphenidate use and school performance among primary school children : a descriptive study

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van der Schans, Jurjen; Cicek, Rukiye; Vardar, Sefike; Bos, Jens H. J.; de Vries, Tjalling W.; Hoekstra, Pieter J.; Hak, Eelko

2017-01-01

Background: There is no conclusive evidence that stimulants have beneficial effects on major associated outcome parameters, particularly school performance. We assessed the differences in school performance among children using methylphenidate at the end of primary school in relation to various

Depression and anxiety among Grade 11 and 12 learners attending schools in central Bloemfontein

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M A A Strydom

2012-08-01

Full Text Available Objectives. Anxiety disorders are the most common childhood psychiatric disorders. Previous research suggests that South African rates may be high. Our study examined the prevalence and severity of anxiety and depression among Grade 11 and 12 learners attending schools in central Bloemfontein. Learners’ perception of the important stressors as well as the most relevant coping strategies were investigated. Methods. A cross-sectional study was conducted by using self-assessment rating scales and questionnaires. The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS was used to screen for anxiety and depressive symptoms. Participants were provided with an additional list of possible stressors and coping skills, from which they identified those applicable to themselves. All students enrolled in Grades 11 and 12 at the selected schools during August 2009 were eligible for inclusion. Results. Five hundred and fifteen learners participated in the study, of whom 32.0% presented with moderate or severe anxiety and 5.3% with moderate or severe depressive symptoms. Mild symptoms were reported by an additional 29.0% on the anxiety subscale and 14% on the depression subscale of the HADS. Academic workload was reported as the main source of stress (81.4%. Conclusions. Although the study has limitations in terms of methodology and size, resulting in undetermined validity, it indicates possible higher prevalence rates for anxiety and depression than in previous South African studies and worldwide prevalence rates for adolescents. Pupils were generally hesitant to seek help from formal assistance structures provided by the schools, and preferred discussing problems with parents or friends.

A Study on Attendance and Academic Achievement

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sund, Kristian J.; Bignoux, Stephane

In this study we attempt to answer Romer’s (1993) question: “Should attendance be mandatory?” Contrary to many existing studies, we conclude that in the case of business and management programs the answer is ‘no’. In a study of over 900 undergraduate strategy students, spanning four academic years......, we examine the link between attendance and exam results. Unlike prior research on this topic, our findings show that attendance is not the best determinant of student performance. We find instead that the best determinant of student performance for third year bachelor students is their over......-all degree classification, which we see as a proxy for academic ability. We suggest that attendance may simply be a reflection of student conscientiousness, engagement and motivation. We also challenge the assumptions about gender differences found in prior research on student attendance and student...

Post traumatic stress disorder among former child soldiers attending ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Post traumatic stress disorder among former child soldiers attending a rehabilitative service ... school in northern Uganda with a case of mass psychotic behavior. ... Methods: Data on post-traumatic stress disorder, depressed mood, physical ...

Academic performance in high school as factor associated to academic performance in college

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Mileidy Salcedo Barragán

2008-12-01

Full Text Available This study intends to find the relationship between academic performance in High School and College, focusing on Natural Sciences and Mathematics. It is a descriptive correlational study, and the variables were academic performance in High School, performance indicators and educational history. The correlations between variables were established with Spearman’s correlation coefficient. Results suggest that there is a positive relationship between academic performance in High School and Educational History, and a very weak relationship between performance in Science and Mathematics in High School and performance in College.

Can school income and racial/ethnic composition explain the racial/ethnic disparity in adolescent physical activity participation?

Science.gov (United States)

Richmond, Tracy K; Hayward, Rodney A; Gahagan, Sheila; Field, Alison E; Heisler, Michele

2006-06-01

Our goal was to determine if racial/ethnic disparities in adolescent boys' and girls' physical activity participation exist and persist once the school attended is considered. We performed a cross-sectional analysis of 17,007 teens in the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health. Using multivariate linear regression, we examined the association between adolescent self-reported physical activity and individual race/ethnicity stratified by gender, controlling for a wide range of sociodemographic, attitudinal, behavioral, and health factors. We used multilevel analyses to determine if the relationship between race/ethnicity and physical activity varied by the school attended. Participants attended racially segregated schools; approximately 80% of Hispanic and black adolescent boys and girls attended schools with student populations that were schools that were >94% white. Black and Hispanic adolescent girls reported lower levels of physical activity than white adolescent girls. There were more similar levels of physical activity reported in adolescent boys, with black boys reporting slightly more activities. Although black and Hispanic adolescent girls were more likely to attend poorer schools with overall lower levels of physical activity in girls; there was no difference within schools between black, white, and Hispanic adolescent girls' physical activity levels. Within the same schools, both black and Hispanic adolescent boys had higher rates of physical activity when compared with white adolescent boys. In this nationally representative sample, lower physical activity levels in Hispanic and black adolescent girls were largely attributable to the schools they attended. In contrast, black and Hispanic males had higher activity levels than white males when attending the same schools. Future research is needed to determine the mechanisms through which school environments contribute to racial/ethnic disparities in adolescent physical activity and will need to

Compulsory Attendance Policies: About Age or Intervention? SREB Focus Report

Science.gov (United States)

Grove, Jeffrey

2014-01-01

Over the past decade, SREB state policy-makers have focused on actions to reduce dropout rates and increase high school graduation rates. Some policy-makers have suggested that raising their state's compulsory attendance age (often called the dropout age) to require students to stay in school until age 17 or 18 is an important step. However,…

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 @school project : developmental considerations in the design and delivery of cognitive-behavioural therapy for adolescent school refusal

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Sauter, Floor Margriet

2010-01-01

School refusal is an attendance problem characterized by a young person’s difficulty in going to school, accompanied by emotional distress on the part of the young person and parental attempts to return the young person to regular school attendance. Prolonged absence from school has serious short-

School performance in pubertal adolescents with dysmenorrhea

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Syamsir Alam

2011-08-01

Full Text Available Background Dysmenorrhea is a common gynecological symptom reported in adolescent girls. Prevalence of the condition has been reported to be 45 - 75%. Absenteeism from work and school as a result of dysmenorrhea is common (13 - 51% of women have been absent at least once, and 5 - 14% are often absent due to the severity of symptoms. Objective To compare school performance in pubertal adolescent girls with and without dysmenorrhea. Methods This cross-sectional study was conducted in June 2010 in adolescent females aged 12 - 18 years from the Musthafawiyah School, Mandailing Natal district, North Sumatera. Adolescent females with and without dysmenorrhea were recruited for this study. All participants completed questionnaires including age of menarche, length of menstrual cycle, length of bleeding, number of sanitary napkins used daily and school absences. School reports from two consecutive semesters in one year were used to evaluate subjects’ academic performance. An academic score of higher than 7.5 was considered good performance while scores of less than 7.5 were considered poor. We used the chi-square test to analyze differences in school performance between girls with and without dysmenorrhea. Results One hundred and sixteen participants were divided into 2 groups, those with and without dysmenorrhea, of 58 subjects each. We found no significant difference in school performance between the two groups, P=0.176 (95% CI -0.009 to -0.048 and P=0.08 (95%CI -0.052 to 0.024. Conclusion There was no significant difference in school performance of girls with and without dysmenorrhea.

Fast Capitalism, School Reform, and Second Language Literacy Practices

Science.gov (United States)

Gebhard, Meg

2004-01-01

This 2-year qualitative study explores the ironies of educational reform in the United States as experienced by three second language learners attending a school attempting to transform itself into a high-performance elementary school in California's Silicon Valley. Drawing on the concept of fast capitalism in a globalized economic work order…

School Discipline, School Uniforms and Academic Performance

Science.gov (United States)

Baumann, Chris; Krskova, Hana

2016-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of school discipline in achieving academic performance. The study aims to clarify the role of permissive "vis-à-vis" authoritative teaching styles with an overarching hypothesis that better discipline leads to better academic performance. The authors also probe whether uniformed…

Flemish Primary Teachers' Use of School Performance Feedback and the Relationship with School Characteristics

Science.gov (United States)

Vanhoof, Jan; Verhaeghe, Goedele; Van Petegem, Peter; Valcke, Martin

2012-01-01

Background: Schools are increasingly confronted with the challenges that information about school performance brings with it. It is common for schools' use of performance feedback to be limited. Equally, however, there are documented cases in which school performance feedback is meaningfully used. Purpose: This study looks at how Flemish primary…

Prevalence of dental caries in people attending special schools in Hyderabad-Secunderabad, India

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mahesh Kumar Duddu

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Aim: The present cross-sectional study was conducted to determine the decayed, missing, filled primary and permanent teeth (dmft-DMFT indices and its association with the type of disability in 856 disabled individuals attending special schools in twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad, Andhra Pradesh State, India. Materials and Methods: Participants were grouped according to their disability such as: Mild, moderate, severe mental retardation, hearing and speech defect and others (39 (including Down′s syndrome [20], autism [9], hyperactive [4], microcephaly [2], border line cases [4]. Examination was carried out at their schools, with participants seated in ordinary chairs and examined under natural light with mouth mirror and probe. Subjects were of different age groups ranging from 1 to 55 years. Statistical Analysis Used: Analysis of variance with post-hoc Games-Howell test was used for statistical analysis. Results: Mean dmft; DMFT scores were as follows: 2-6 years: 1.58 ± 1.9; 2.18 ± 2.94, 7-12 years: 1.1 ± 2.4; 1.9 ± 2.13, 13-30 years: 2.38 ± 2.5, 30+ years: 2.13 ± 3.2. Overall only 23% of subjects were caries free. "dmft" was statistically higher among moderate mentally retarded group while DMFT was statistically higher in mild and moderate mentally retarded groups. Conclusions: These findings emphasize the need of educating parents and caregivers of disabled individuals in preventive dental procedures, especially those of the mild and moderate mentally challenged group.

Knowledge of sexual and reproductive health among adolescents attending school in Kelantan, Malaysia.

Science.gov (United States)

Ab Rahman, Azriani; Ab Rahman, Razlina; Ibrahim, Mohd Ismail; Salleh, Halim; Ismail, Shaiful Bahri; Ali, Siti Hawa; Muda, Wan Manan Wan; Ishak, Maizun; Ahmad, Amaluddin

2011-05-01

The objectives of this study were to describe the knowledge of sexual and reproductive health among adolescents attending school and to compare the levels of knowledge between males and females and between older and younger groups of adolescents. Across-sectional study was conducted among 1,034 secondary school students using a self administered validated questionnaire. The items with the fewest correct responses included: whether one can get pregnant after a single act of sexual intercourse (30.4%), whether sexual intercourse causes sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) (12.4%) and whether washing the vagina after sexual intercourse prevents pregnancy (17.0%). Their main source of sexual information was friends (64.4%). An independent t-test revealed the mean knowledge score was significantly higher among females than males on items assessing whether the genitalia may be touched freely by family members, females having attained menarche may become pregnant if having sex, whether pregnancy will occur if there is penetration of the penis into the vagina, whether premarital sexual intercourse causes pregnancy and if there is a relationship between abandoned babies and premarital pregnancies. The mean knowledge score assessing whether pregnancy can be prevented using condoms was higher among males than females. The mean knowledge scores were significantly higher among form four and form five students than forms one, two and three students. Lack of knowledge regarding important aspects of sexual and reproductive health warrant the need to strengthen sexual and reproductive health education.

The First NEON School in La Silla

Science.gov (United States)

Dennefeld, M.; Melo, C.; Selman, F.

2016-06-01

The NEON Observing Schools have long provided PhD students with practical experience in the preparation, execution and reduction of astronomical observations, primarily at northern observatories. The NEON School was held in Chile for the first time, with observations being conducted at La Silla. The school was attended by 20 students, all from South America, and observations were performed with two telescopes, including the New Technology Telescope. A brief description of the school is presented and the observing projects and their results are described.

Should Attendance Be Required in Lecture Classrooms in Dental Education? Two Viewpoints: Viewpoint 1: Attendance in the Lecture Classroom Should Be Required and Viewpoint 2: Attendance Should Not Be Required in the Lecture Classroom.

Science.gov (United States)

Cutler, Christopher W; Parise, Mary; Seminario, Ana Lucia; Mendez, Maria Jose Cervantes; Piskorowski, Wilhelm; Silva, Renato

2016-12-01

This Point/Counterpoint discusses the long-argued debate over whether lecture attendance in dental school at the predoctoral level should be required. Current educational practice relies heavily on the delivery of content in a traditional lecture style. Viewpoint 1 asserts that attendance should be required for many reasons, including the positive impact that direct contact of students with faculty members and with each other has on learning outcomes. In lectures, students can more easily focus on subject matter that is often difficult to understand. A counter viewpoint argues that required attendance is not necessary and that student engagement is more important than physical classroom attendance. This viewpoint notes that recent technologies support active learning strategies that better engage student participation, fostering independent learning that is not supported in the traditional large lecture classroom and argues that dental education requires assimilation of complex concepts and applying them to patient care, which passing a test does not ensure. The two positions agree that attendance does not guarantee learning and that, with the surge of information technologies, it is more important than ever to teach students how to learn. At this time, research does not show conclusively if attendance in any type of setting equals improved learning or ability to apply knowledge.

School Performance, School Segregation, and Stress-Related Symptoms: Comparing Helsinki and Stockholm

Science.gov (United States)

Modin, Bitte; Karvonen, Sakari; Rahkonen, Ossi; Östberg, Viveca

2015-01-01

This study investigates cross-cultural differences in the interrelation between school performance, school segregation, and stress-related health among 9th-grade students in the greater Stockholm and Helsinki areas. Contrary to the Swedish case, it has been proposed that school performance in Finland is largely independent of the specific school…

Physical Activity and School Performance: Evidence from a Danish Randomised School-Intervention Study

Science.gov (United States)

Quinto Romani, A.; Klausen, T. B.

2017-01-01

It has been claimed that physical activity has a positive effect on not only health but also on school performance. Using data from a randomised school-intervention study, this paper investigates whether different interventions promoting physical activity affect school performance in primary school children. The results indicate that on average,…

The Influence of Scale on School Performance

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Robert Bickel

2000-05-01

Full Text Available In this study, we investigate the joint influence of school and district size on school performance among schools with eighth grades (n=367 and schools with eleventh grades in Georgia (n=298. Schools are the unit of analysis in this study because schools are increasingly the unit on which states fix the responsibility to be accountable. The methodology further develops investigations along the line of evidence suggesting that the influence of size is contingent on socioeconomic status (SES. All previous studies have used a single-level regression model (i.e., schools or districts. This study confronts the issue of cross-level interaction of SES and size (i.e., schools and districts with a single-equation-relative-effects model to interpret the joint influence of school and district size on school performance (i.e., the dependent variable is a school-level variable. It also tests the equity of school-level outcomes jointly by school and district size. Georgia was chosen for study because previous single-level analysis there had revealed no influence of district size on performance (measured at the district level. Findings from this study show substantial cross-level influences of school and district size at the 8th grade, and weaker influences at the 11th grade. The equity effects, however, are strong at both grade levels and show a distinctive pattern of size interactions. Results are interpreted to draw implications for a "structuralist" view of school and district restructuring, with particular concern for schooling to serve impoverished communities. The authors argue the importance of a notion of "scaling" in the system of schooling, advocating the particular need to create smaller districts as well as smaller schools as a route to both school excellence and equity of school outcomes.

Linking Teacher Quality, Student Attendance, and Student Achievement

Science.gov (United States)

Gershenson, Seth

2016-01-01

Research on the effectiveness of educational inputs, particularly research on teacher effectiveness, typically overlooks teachers' potential impact on behavioral outcomes, such as student attendance. Using longitudinal data on teachers and students in North Carolina I estimate teacher effects on primary school student absences in a value-added…

A Descriptive Qualitative Study Exploring Teacher and Parental Perceptions of African-American Middle School Male Students Related to Mathematics Performance

Science.gov (United States)

Fowler, Crystal Nicole

2013-01-01

This qualitative descriptive case study explored the perceptions of parents and teachers of the academic achievement gap in mathematics between African-American middle school males and their White counterparts. Ten parents, both African-American and White, with students attending middle school in the Cherokee County School District and 5 teachers…

The Copenhagen School Health Records Register

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Baker, Jennifer L; Sørensen, Thorkild I A

2011-01-01

The Copenhagen School Health Records Register is an electronic register of health examination information on 372,636 children who attended school in Copenhagen, Denmark from 1936 to 2005.......The Copenhagen School Health Records Register is an electronic register of health examination information on 372,636 children who attended school in Copenhagen, Denmark from 1936 to 2005....

An evaluation of the impact of 'Lifeskills' training on road safety, substance use and hospital attendance in adolescence.

Science.gov (United States)

Teyhan, Alison; Cornish, Rosie; Macleod, John; Boyd, Andy; Doerner, Rita; Sissons Joshi, Mary

2016-01-01

To evaluate if attendance at Lifeskills, a safety education centre for children in Year 6 (10-11 years), is associated with engagement in safer behaviours, and with fewer accidents and injuries, in adolescence. The sample are participants in the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children who attended school in the Lifeskills catchment area in Year 6; 60% attended Lifeskills. At 14-15 years, participants (n approximately 3000, varies by outcome) self-reported road safety behaviours and accidents, and perceived health effects and use of alcohol, cannabis, and tobacco. Additional outcomes from linkage to Hospital Episodes Statistics were available for a sub-sample (n=1768): hospital admittance (for accident-related reason, from 11-16 years) and A&E attendance (for any reason, from approximately 14-16 years). Children who attended Lifeskills were more likely to report using pedestrian crossings on their way to school than children who did not attend (59% versus 52%). Lifeskills attendance was unrelated to the ownership of cycle helmets, or the use of cycle helmets, seat belts, or reflective/fluorescent clothing, or to A&E attendance. Use of cycle helmets (37%) and reflective/fluorescent clothing (<4%) on last cycle was low irrespective of Lifeskills attendance. Lifeskills attendance was associated with less reported smoking and cannabis use, but was generally unrelated to perceptions of the health impact of substance use. Lifeskills attendance was associated with some safer behaviours in adolescence. The overall low use of cycle helmets and reflective/fluorescent clothing evidences the need for powerful promotion of some safer behaviours at Lifeskills and at follow-up in schools. Copyright © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Parents and the School Dropout Problem.

Science.gov (United States)

Ferguson, Earl E.; Killingsworth, Jerry

1987-01-01

The school dropout problem is discussed, with suggestions for parents on ensuring that their children do not become part of the dropout population, including; monitoring children's school attendance patterns; making sure children understand how important school and attendance is; maintaining close contact with teachers; and helping children…

Air pollution around schools is linked to poorer student health and academic performance.

Science.gov (United States)

Mohai, Paul; Kweon, Byoung-Suk; Lee, Sangyun; Ard, Kerry

2011-05-01

Exposing children to environmental pollutants during important times of physiological development can lead to long-lasting health problems, dysfunction, and disease. The location of children's schools can increase their exposure. We examined the extent of air pollution from industrial sources around public schools in Michigan to find out whether air pollution jeopardizes children's health and academic success. We found that schools located in areas with the highest air pollution levels had the lowest attendance rates-a potential indicator of poor health-and the highest proportions of students who failed to meet state educational testing standards. Michigan and many other states currently do not require officials considering a site for a new school to analyze its environmental quality. Our results show that such requirements are needed. For schools already in existence, we recommend that their environmental quality should be investigated and improved if necessary.

School feeding in Jamaica: a review of its evaluation.

Science.gov (United States)

Simeon, D T

1998-04-01

This paper reviews two studies that evaluated the school feeding program in Jamaica. The first examined 115 children aged 12-13 y who were enrolled in three classes in a poor, rural school. One class was served the standard school meal at 0900 whereas the other two classes served as controls. The outcome variables included school achievement, attendance, and weight gain. After one semester, the class receiving the meal showed improved arithmetic scores and school attendance compared with the control classes; however, they showed no weight gain. The academic improvement remained significant after school attendance was controlled for. It was therefore hypothesized that the gains in arithmetic resulted from the alleviation of hunger in the classroom. The other study, conducted in a metabolic ward, examined the effects of missing breakfast on cognitive function in 90 children aged 9-10 y and of differing nutritional status. Using a crossover design, the investigators tested each child on two mornings 1 wk apart, once after serving them breakfast and second without. Breakfast, consisting of the school program meal, was served at 0800. When severely malnourished, stunted, or wasted children received no breakfast, their performance in various cognitive tests deteriorated. These results indicate that alleviation of hunger was one of the mechanisms by which school feeding improved academic achievement in the previous study. Undernourished children are more likely to benefit from school feeding programs than are adequately nourished children.

School Quality Signals and Attendance in Rural Guatemala

Science.gov (United States)

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…

Testing the Causal Links between School Climate, School Violence, and School Academic Performance: A Cross-Lagged Panel Autoregressive Model

Science.gov (United States)

Benbenishty, Rami; Astor, Ron Avi; Roziner, Ilan; Wrabel, Stephani L.

2016-01-01

The present study explores the causal link between school climate, school violence, and a school's general academic performance over time using a school-level, cross-lagged panel autoregressive modeling design. We hypothesized that reductions in school violence and climate improvement would lead to schools' overall improved academic performance.…

Psychosocial Interventions for School Refusal with Primary and Secondary School Students: A Systematic Review

OpenAIRE

Brandy Maynard; Kristen E. Brendel; Jeffery J. Bulanda; David Heyne; Aaron M. Thompson; Therese D. Pigott

2015-01-01

BACKGROUND School refusal is a psychosocial problem characterized by a student’s difficulty attending school and, in many cases, substantial absence from school (Heyne & Sauter, 2013). It is often distinguished from truancy, in part because of the severe emotional distress associated with having to attend school and the absence of severe antisocial behavior. Truancy, on the other hand, is not typically associated with emotional distress and is commonly associated with severe externalizing ...

Physical education, school physical activity, school sports and academic performance

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shephard Roy J

2008-02-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The purpose of this paper is to review relationships of academic performance and some of its determinants to participation in school-based physical activities, including physical education (PE, free school physical activity (PA and school sports. Methods Linkages between academic achievement and involvement in PE, school PA and sport programmes have been examined, based on a systematic review of currently available literature, including a comprehensive search of MEDLINE (1966 to 2007, PSYCHINFO (1974 to 2007, SCHOLAR.GOOGLE.COM, and ERIC databases. Results Quasi-experimental data indicate that allocating up to an additional hour per day of curricular time to PA programmes does not affect the academic performance of primary school students negatively, even though the time allocated to other subjects usually shows a corresponding reduction. An additional curricular emphasis on PE may result in small absolute gains in grade point average (GPA, and such findings strongly suggest a relative increase in performance per unit of academic teaching time. Further, the overwhelmingly majority of such programmes have demonstrated an improvement in some measures of physical fitness (PF. Cross-sectional observations show a positive association between academic performance and PA, but PF does not seem to show such an association. PA has positive influences on concentration, memory and classroom behaviour. Data from quasi-experimental studies find support in mechanistic experiments on cognitive function, pointing to a positive relationship between PA and intellectual performance. Conclusion Given competent providers, PA can be added to the school curriculum by taking time from other subjects without risk of hindering student academic achievement. On the other hand, adding time to "academic" or "curricular" subjects by taking time from physical education programmes does not enhance grades in these subjects and may be detrimental to health.

Indoor Air Quality in High Performance Schools

Science.gov (United States)

High performance schools are facilities that improve the learning environment while saving energy, resources, and money. The key is understanding the lifetime value of high performance schools and effectively managing priorities, time, and budget.

Concussion Knowledge and Reporting Behavior Differences Between High School Athletes at Urban and Suburban High Schools.

Science.gov (United States)

Wallace, Jessica; Covassin, Tracey; Nogle, Sally; Gould, Daniel; Kovan, Jeffrey

2017-09-01

We determined differences in knowledge of concussion and reporting behaviors of high school athletes attending urban and suburban high schools, and whether a relationship exists between underreporting and access to an athletic trainer in urban schools. High school athletes (N = 715) from 14 high schools completed a validated knowledge of concussion survey consisting of 83 questions. The independent variable was school type (urban/suburban). We examined the proportion of athletes who correctly identified signs and symptoms of concussion, knowledge of concussion and reasons why high school athletes would not disclose a potential concussive injury across school classification. Data were analyzed using descriptive, non-parametric, and inferential statistics. Athletes attending urban schools have less concussion knowledge than athletes attending suburban schools (p urban schools without an athletic trainer have less knowledge than urban athletes at schools with an athletic trainer (p urban schools and 10 reasons for not reporting. Concussion education efforts cannot be homogeneous in all communities. Education interventions must reflect the needs of each community. © 2017, American School Health Association.

Impact of Attendance Policy on Adult College Learners

Science.gov (United States)

Carr, Tracinal S.

2014-01-01

This qualitative evaluation focused on the problem of student attrition at a northern California college, its attendance policy, the policy's impact on previous students' decisions to persist in school, and on administrators' attempts to increase retention. The purpose for this study was to evaluate the participants' perceptions about their…

Can school choice improve more than just academic achievement? An analysis of post-Katrina New Orleans.

Science.gov (United States)

Hutchinson, Paul L; Ferrell, Natalie; Broussard, Marsha; Brown, Lisanne; Chrestman, Sarah K

2014-04-01

Recent evaluations of school choice school reforms have focused on improving academic achievement but have ignored associations with adolescent health and the risk of interpersonal violence. The innovative school choice model implemented in post-Katrina New Orleans provides a unique opportunity to examine these effects. Using a sample of approximately 1700 students from the 2009 School Health Connection Survey, the relationships between the type of school attended and depression, suicide planning, absences attributable to fears for personal safety, and threats of violence at school are examined. Multivariate regression analysis adjusting for self-selection into the type of school attended-a city-run high-performing school, a state-run failing school, or an independent charter school-estimates the effects of school type on student health. Relative to students at state-run schools, students who choose to attend city-run schools are less likely to plan for suicide or to miss school because they are afraid of becoming victims of violence. These beneficial effects tend to be larger for students traveling from higher violence neighborhoods. The effects for charter schools are similar but less robust. Local school jurisdictions that implement reforms allowing adolescents and their families greater freedom in school choice may also improve adolescent health. © 2014, American School Health Association.

Objectively Measured Physical Activity Levels among Ethnic Minority Children Attending School-Based Afterschool Programs in a High-Poverty Neighborhood

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Youngdeok Kim, Marc Lochbaum

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Ethnic minority children living in high poverty neighborhoods are at high risk of having insufficient physical activity (PA during school days and, thus, the importance of school as a place to facilitate PA in these underserved children has been largely emphasized. This study examined the levels and patterns of PA in minority children, with particular focus on the relative contributions of regular physical education (PE and school-based afterschool PA program in promoting moderate- and vigorous-intensity PA (MVPA during school days. PA data were repeatedly measured using a Polar Active accelerometer across multiple school days (M = 5.3 days per child, from seventy-five ethnic minority children attending a Title I public elementary school in a high-poverty neighborhood in the US. The minutes and percentage of MVPA accumulated during school, PE, and afterschool PA program were compared to the current recommendations (≥30-min of MVPA during school hours; and ≥50% of MVPA during PE or afterschool PA program as well as by the demographic characteristics including sex, grade, ethnicity, and weight status using a general linear mixed model that accounts for repeated observations. On average, children spent 41.6 mins (SE = 1.8 of MVPA during school hours and of those, 14.1 mins (SE = 0.6 were contributed during PE. The average proportion of time spent in MVPA during PE was 31.3% (SE = 1.3, which was significantly lower than the recommendation (≥50% of MVPA, whereas 54.2% (SE = 1.2 of time in afterschool PA program were spent in MVPA. The percentage of monitoring days meeting current recommendations were 69.5% (SE = 0.03, 20.8% (SE = 0.02, and 59.6% (SE = 0.03 for during school, PE, and afterschool PA program, respectively. Our findings highlighted that school-based afterschool PA, in addition to regular PE classes, could be of great benefit to promote PA in minority children during school days. Further research and practice are still needed to

Maltreatment and the School-Aged Child: School Performance Consequences.

Science.gov (United States)

Kurtz, P. David; And Others

1993-01-01

This study evaluated the school performance of 139 school-age and adolescent children, 22 of whom had been physically abused and 47 neglected. The abused children displayed pervasive and severe academic and socioemotional problems, while neglected children displayed academic delays. Both groups of maltreated children showed unexpected strengths on…

Who Attends Charter Schools and How Are Those Students Doing? Exploratory Analysis of NAEP Data

Science.gov (United States)

Chudowsky, Naomi; Ginsburg, Alan

2012-01-01

This report examines what the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) can tell us about charter school enrollment and student performance compared to that of regular public schools. The study uses NAEP reading and mathematics data from 2011 and the earlier years when charter school data first became available (2003 for grade 4; 2005 for…

Psychosocial Interventions for School Refusal with Primary and Secondary School Students: A Systematic Review

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Brandy Maynard

2015-05-01

weighting each study by the inverse of its variance using random effects statistical models. We assessed statistical heterogeneity using the Q-test and I2 statistic. Several moderator and sensitivity analyses were planned, but due to the small number of studies included in this review and lack of heterogeneity, we limited additional analyses performed. RESULTS A total of eight studies examining effects of interventions on anxiety or attendance with 435 school-age participants exhibiting school refusal were included in this review. Six studies examining effects of psychosocial interventions and two studies assessing comparative effects of psychosocial interventions with and without medication met inclusion criteria for this review. Six of the included studies were randomized controlled trials (RCT and two were quasi-experimental design (QED studies. The majority (75% of the studies were published in peer-reviewed journals. Five of the interventions took place in a clinic setting, one in the school, one in the school and home and one in an undisclosed setting. All but one of the six psychosocial intervention studies in this review assessed the effects of a variant of cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT compared to no treatment control (k = 1, an unspecified control (k = 1 or alternative treatment control group (k = 4. For the two studies assessing effects of medication, the same CBT intervention was applied across treatment and control groups with either Fluoxetine or imipramine as the treatment and placebo or no placebo as the control. The mean effect of the psychosocial interventions at post-test on anxiety was g = 0.06 (95% CI [-0.63, 0.75], p = .86, demonstrating a non-significant effect. The homogeneity analysis indicated a moderate degree of heterogeneity (Q = 11.13, p = .01, I2 = 73.05%, τ2 = .36. Effects on attendance were significant (g = 0.54 (95% CI [0.22, 0.86], p = .00. The homogeneity analysis indicated a small degree of heterogeneity (Q = 8.82, p = .12, I2 = 43

Towards sustaining performance in a Gauteng secondary school

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nonceba P. Ntuta

2010-11-01

Full Text Available Orientation: Poor school performance is a major problem in South Africa. To date the success of intervention strategies that were aimed at turning the situation around in dysfunctional schools have been short lived and were not sustainable. Research purpose: The aim of this study was to determine the reasons for the failure of an intervention programme in a school that managed to perform well for the time when it received assistance. Motivation: It is essential to determine the reasons for this continuous failure of school intervention programmes if we want to address the serious problems experienced by the South African education system. Research design, approach and method: In this study, a qualitative research approach within a case-study design was used. Main findings: The main reasons for the inability of the school to sustain its performance were not internal (within the school itself but external (within the education system. Practical and managerial implications: The findings of this study highlight the importance of external leadership and support by the districts and the Department of Education in changing the poor performance of schools at large. Main contribution: Contrary to literature emphasising the lack of leadership at school level as the main problem of poor school performance, this study found that the problem was mainly due to a lack of leadership at departmental level.

School Reform in a High Poverty Elementary School: A Grounded Theory Case Study of Capacity Building

Science.gov (United States)

Dodman, Stephanie Lynn

2011-01-01

There is a persistent and significant gap in the achievement of students who attend high-poverty schools and those who attend low-poverty schools. Students in high-poverty schools, the majority of whom are African American and Hispanic, are not achieving the same levels of academic success as their low-poverty or White counterparts. Retention…

Test anxiety in medical school is unrelated to academic performance but correlates with an effort/reward imbalance.

Science.gov (United States)

Hahn, Henry; Kropp, Peter; Kirschstein, Timo; Rücker, Gernot; Müller-Hilke, Brigitte

2017-01-01

During their early years at medical school, students repeatedly criticize their workload, time constraints and test associated stress. At the same time, depressiveness and anxiety among first and second year medical students are on the rise. We therefore hypothesized that test anxiety may be related to depressiveness and considered cognitive and academic performances as confounders for the former and psychosocial distress for the latter. A whole class of 200 second year students was invited to participate in the study. Anxiety as a trait, depressiveness, crystallized intelligence, verbal fluency and psychosocial distress were assessed using validated tests and questionnaires. Acute state anxiety and sympathetic stress parameters were measured in real life situations immediately before an oral and a written exam and paired tests were used to compare the individual anxieties at the various time points. Previous academic performances were self-reported, the results of the impending exams were monitored. Finally, correlations were performed to test for interrelatedness between academic performances and the various personal, cognitive and psychosocial factors. Acute test anxiety did not correlate with depressiveness nor did it correlate with previous nor impending academic performances nor any of the expected confounders on academic performance. However both, depressiveness and test anxiety strongly correlated with the perceived imbalance between efforts spent and rewards received. Moreover, anxiety as a trait not only correlated with acute state anxiety before an exam but was also significantly correlated to the feeling of over-commitment. Depressiveness during the early years of medical school seems unrelated to test anxiety and academic performance. Instead, it strongly correlated with the psychosocial distress emanating from attending medical school and points at a perceived imbalance between efforts spent and rewards received.

A Study of School Size among Alabama’s Public High Schools

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Ronald A. Lindahl

2012-01-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between the size of Alabama’s public high schools, selected school quality and financial indicators, and their students’ performance on standardized exams. When the socioeconomic level of the student bodies is held constant, the size of high schools in Alabama has relatively little relationship with 11th grade student (both regular and special education performance on the reading and math portions of the Alabama High School Graduation Exam (AHSGE. High schools’ average daily attendance rates and pupil-to-computer (and computer with Internet connections ratios do not vary in accordance with school size. Higher percentages of highly qualified teachers are found in Alabama’s largest high schools. There was very little difference in the percentage of teachers with a master’s degree or above across school size categories. Very little difference exists across size categories in regard to mean expenditures per pupil (range = $7,322 to $7,829. However, districts of the large high schools exert over twice the effort of those with small high schools (3.2 mills to 1.5 mills and approximately 50 percent greater local effort than the districts of the medium-size high schools.

Does Competition Improve Public Schools? New Evidence from the Florida Tax-Credit Scholarship Program

Science.gov (United States)

Figlio, David; Hart, Cassandra M. D.

2011-01-01

Programs that enable students to attend private schools, including both vouchers and scholarships funded with tax credits, have become increasingly common in recent years. This study examines the impact of the nation's largest private school scholarship program on the performance of students who remain in the public schools. The Florida Tax Credit…

Abdominal obesity in adolescent girls attending a public secondary ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Background: Deposition of excess fat in the abdominal region is strongly associated with the metabolic disturbances thought to underlie many obesity related complications. Aim: To determine the prevalence of abdominal obesity using waist circumference inadolescents' girls attending a public secondary school in Port ...

Teacher-Provided Positive Attending to Improve Student Behavior

Science.gov (United States)

Perle, Jonathan G.

2016-01-01

A teacher serves many important roles within a classroom, including an educator and a manager of child behavior. Inattention, overactivity, and noncompliance have long been cited as some of the most common areas of reported difficulty for schools (Axelrod & Zank, 2012; Goldstein, 1995). The evidence-based practice of positive attending (i.e.,…

Attendance and alcohol use at parties and bars in college: a national survey of current drinkers.

Science.gov (United States)

Harford, Thomas C; Wechsler, Henry; Seibring, Mark

2002-11-01

This study examines attendance and alcohol use at parties and bars among college students by gender, residence, year in school and legal drinking age. The study participants were respondents in the 1997 and 1999 Harvard School of Public Health College Alcohol Study (CAS). The combined sample consisted of 12,830 students (61% women) who reported use of alcohol in the past 30 days prior to interview. Their responses provided information on attendance and alcohol use at parties (dormitory, fraternity, off campus) and off-campus bars. Logistic regression analyses examined the influence of gender, residence, year in school and legal drinking age related to attendance, drinking/non-drinking and heavy drinking (5 or more drinks) at each select setting. Consistent with the literature, fraternity/ sorority parties were occasions of heavy drinking (49%) among drinkers in those settings, yet they drew upon smaller proportions of students (36%) when compared to off-campus parties (75%) and off-campus bars (68%). Off-campus parties (45%) and bars (37%) were also occasions for heavy drinking among drinkers in these settings. College residence was shown to relate to differential exposure to drinking settings, but residence had less impact on the decision to drink and the level of heavy drinking. Attendance at parties decreased with advance in school years, but attendance at off-campus bars increased. Although heavy drinking at off-campus bars decreased with advancing grade year in school, slightly higher proportions of under-age students (41%) compared to students of legal drinking age (35%) exhibited heavy drinking at off-campus bars. The identification of high-risk settings and their correlates serves to better understand the development of heavy drinking on college campuses. Off-campus parties, as compared to campus parties and bars, may pose greater difficulties related to successful intervention.

Do Children in Montessori Schools Perform Better in the Achievement Test? A Taiwanese Perspective

Science.gov (United States)

Peng, Hsin-Hui; Md-Yunus, Sham'ah

2014-01-01

The study examines whether elementary school students in Taiwan who had received Montessori education achieved significantly higher scores on tests of language arts, math, and social studies than students who attended non-Montessori elementary programs. One hundred ninety six children in first, second, and third grade participated in the study.…

Influence of children's oral health-related quality of life on school performance and school absenteeism.

Science.gov (United States)

Piovesan, Chaiana; Antunes, José Leopoldo Ferreira; Mendes, Fausto Medeiros; Guedes, Renata Saraiva; Ardenghi, Thiago Machado

2012-01-01

This study assessed the relation of child oral health-related quality of life with school performance and school absenteeism. We followed a cross-sectional design with a multistage random sample of 312 12-year-old schoolchildren living in Brazil. The participants completed the child perceptions questionnaire (CPQ(11-14) ) that provides information about psychological factors, while their parents or guardians answered questions on their socioeconomic status measured by parents' education level and household income. A dental examination of each child provided information on the prevalence of caries and dental trauma. Data on school performance, which included the results of baseline Brazilian language (Portuguese) tests, and school absenteeism (school days missed) were obtained from the school register. Multilevel linear regression was used to investigate the association among psychological and socioeconomic status and children's school performance. In the multiple model, after adjusting for individual covariates, being a girl was associated with higher school performance (P Children's school performance and absence were influenced by psychological and socioeconomic conditions. © 2012 American Association of Public Health Dentistry.

Medication adherence, work performance and self-esteem among psychiatric patients attending psychosocial rehabilitation services at Bangalore, India

OpenAIRE

Sailaxmi Gandhi; Rajitha Pavalur; Sivakumar Thanapal; Nirmala B Parathasarathy; Geetha Desai; Poornima Bhola; Mariamma Philip; Santosh K Chaturvedi

2014-01-01

Context: Work benefits mental health in innumerable ways. Vocational rehabilitation can enhance self-esteem. Medication adherence can improve work performance and thereby the individuals’ self-esteem. Aim: To test the hypothesis that there would be a significant correlation between medication adherence, work performance and self-esteem. Setting and Design: A quantitative, descriptive correlational research design was adopted to invite patients attending psychiatric rehabilitation services to ...

The "Generacion Diez" after-school program and Latino parent involvement with schools.

Science.gov (United States)

Riggs, Nathaniel R; Medina, Carmen

2005-11-01

The current study examines associations between participation in after-school programs and change in Latino parent involvement with schools. Hierarchical linear regression analyses demonstrated that parents of children who had higher after-school program attendance rates were significantly more likely to report increases in the quality of relationships with their children's teachers, frequency of parent-teacher contact, and engagement with their children's schooling over a two-year period. However, greater home educator contacts were related to decreases in quality and quantity of parent-school involvement. A primary implication is that attendance in school-based after-school programs may draw parents into children's regular-day school context. Editors' Strategic Implications The authors illustrate the promising practice of using after-school programs to promote parent involvement and to help integrate the often disparate family and school contexts for Latino children.

A qualitative study on why did the poorly-educated Chinese elderly fail to attend nurse-led case manager clinic and how to facilitate their attendance.

Science.gov (United States)

Hung, Susanna Lok Lam; Fu, Sau Nga; Lau, Po Shan; Wong, Samuel Yeung Shan

2015-01-31

This study explored the views, barriers and facilitators of the poorly-educated elderly who were non-attendee of the nurse-led case manager clinic. The case managers provide assessment for diabetes complication screening and can refer patients to the appropriate multidisciplinary team in public outpatient primary care setting. We adopted qualitative research method by individual semi-structured face to face interviews. Nineteen Chinese type 2 diabetes mellitus subjects aged ≥ 60 who failed to attend the nurse-led case manager clinic were interviewed. They all came from a socially deprived urban district in Hong Kong. Content and thematic analysis was performed. Seven men and twelve women aged 60 to 89 were interviewed. Nine of them received no formal education and ten of them attended up to primary school. The reasons for non-attendance included attitude and poor knowledge towards diabetes complication screening and confusion of the nurse-led clinic as an educational talk. Most respondents could not understand the reason for the screening of diabetic complications, the concept of multidisciplinary care and the procedure and outcomes of nurse assessment. Five respondents were unable to follow multiple appointments because they could not read. Other reasons included physical barriers and comorbidity, family and financial constraint. They either had a tight daily schedule because of the need to take care of family members, or the family members who brought them to clinic had difficulty in attending multiple appointments. Enhanced understanding of the importance and procedure of diabetes multidisciplinary management, a flexible appointment system and a single clear appointment sheet may facilitate their attendance. Poorly-educated Chinese elderly with DM and their care givers faced physical, social and psychological barriers when attending the nurse-led case manager clinic. Strategies targeting on their low literacy include effective communication and education

The Type of Culture at a High Performance Schools and Low Performance School in the State of Kedah

Science.gov (United States)

Daud, Yaakob; Raman, Arumugam; Don, Yahya; O. F., Mohd Sofian; Hussin, Fauzi

2015-01-01

This research aims to identify the type of culture at a High Performance School (HPS) and Low Performance School (LPS) in the state of Kedah. The research instrument used to measure the type of organizational culture was adapted from Organizational Culture Assessment Instrument (Cameron & Quinn, 2006) based on Competing Values Framework Quinn…

Overweight and school performance among primary school children: the PIAMA birth cohort study.

Science.gov (United States)

Veldwijk, Jorien; Fries, Marieke C E; Bemelmans, Wanda J E; Haveman-Nies, Annemien; Smit, Henriëtte A; Koppelman, Gerard H; Wijga, Alet H

2012-03-01

The aim of this study was to assess the association between overweight and school performance among primary school children prospectively and including a broad range of potential confounding factors. In addition it was investigated what factors mediate this association. For this purpose, data of 2,159 12-year-old children who participated in the Prevention and Incidence of Asthma and Mite Allergy (PIAMA) birth cohort study were used. Two indicators of school performance were parental reported when children were 12 years of age and included (i): the score on a standardized achievement test that Dutch children have to complete at the end of their primary education (Cito)-test and (ii): the teacher's advice regarding a child's potential performance level in secondary education. Children's height and weight were measured by a trained research assistant at the age of 8 and by their parents at the age of 12. Overweight was defined using age and gender specific cut-off points. Multivariate regression analyses were performed to assess the association between overweight and school performance. Besides, both confounder and mediation analyses were conducted. Results showed lower Cito-test scores and lower teacher's school-level advice among overweight children. These associations were no longer significant when adjusting for parental educational level, skipping breakfast, and screen time. This study found no independent association between overweight and school performance among primary school children. Results showed strong confounding by parental educational level.

ADOLESCENT WORK INTENSITY, SCHOOL PERFORMANCE, AND ACADEMIC ENGAGEMENT.

Science.gov (United States)

Staff, Jeremy; Schulenberg, John E; Bachman, Jerald G

2010-07-01

Teenagers working over 20 hours per week perform worse in school than youth who work less. There are two competing explanations for this association: (1) that paid work takes time and effort away from activities that promote achievement, such as completing homework, preparing for examinations, getting help from parents and teachers, and participating in extracurricular activities; and (2) that the relationship between paid work and school performance is spurious, reflecting preexisting differences between students in academic ability, motivation, and school commitment. Using longitudinal data from the ongoing national Monitoring the Future project, this research examines the impact of teenage employment on school performance and academic engagement during the 8th, 10th, and 12th grades. We address issues of spuriousness by using a two-level hierarchical model to estimate the relationships of within-individual changes in paid work to changes in school performance and other school-related measures. Unlike prior research, we also compare youth school performance and academic orientation when they are actually working in high-intensity jobs to when they are jobless and wish to work intensively. Results indicate that the mere wish for intensive work corresponds with academic difficulties in a manner similar to actual intensive work.

Class attendance, peer similarity, and academic performance in a large field study

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kassarnig, Valentin; Bjerre-Nielsen, Andreas; Mones, Enys

2017-01-01

which have well-known systematic biases that lead to limitations on conclusions and generalizability as well as being costly to implement. Here we propose a novel method for measuring class attendance that overcomes these limitations by using location and bluetooth data collected from smartphone sensors.......5), suggesting either an important peer effect or homophily with respect to attendance....

Student attendance and student achievement: a tumultuous and ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Administrator

2001-12-21

Dec 21, 2001 ... students must be present in school in order to benefit from academic program in .... attend class but passed with sometimes very high scores (e.g. 83% in CBS ..... done outside class or interaction forms, through online learning plat-form. ... also has obliged all journalism students to possess either an iPhone.

Academic performance of school children with behavioural ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Introduction: Behavioural disorders can have a negative influence on the academic performance of school children. There are no similiar published is no known studies in Nigeria. Objective: To compare the academic performance of primary school children with behavioural disorders with that of their controls. Methods: A ...

The association between body mass index and academic performance

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Khaled A. Alswat

2017-02-01

Full Text Available Objectives: To examine the relation between body mass index (BMI and the academic performance of students from Taif city, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA using the grade point average (GPA. Method: A cross-sectional study that includes students from intermediate and high schools located in Taif city, KSA between April 2014 and June 2015. Height and weight were measured and BMI calculated. Related risk factors including dietary habits, activity, parent’s education, sleeping pattern, and smoking were recorded. Result: A total of 14 schools included 424 students. 24.5% were either overweight or obese. The mean age was 15.44 year, 74.8% of the students were male, 53.8% were high school students, and 83.7% attended public schools. The mean overall GPA was 82.44% and the mean GPA for science subjects was 70.91%. No statically significant difference in the BMI was found between those who achieved >90% of the overall grade compared with those who achieved 90% overall grade are more likely to attend private school (p<0.05, live with their parents (p=0.013, having educated parents (p=0.037, getting optimal sleep (p<0.05, and they rarely eat their food outside their home (p<0.05. Conclusion: There was no correlation between the BMI and school performance, except in physics results where obese students perform worse than normal-weight students.

Enhancing Educational Performance for Remote Aboriginal Australians: What Is the Impact of Attendance on Performance?

Science.gov (United States)

Jorgensen, Robyn

2012-01-01

The educational performance of Aboriginal Australians lags behind non-Indigenous Australians with the gap increasing the longer students remain at school. The Australian government has released its Closing the Gap policy with the specific intent to redress gaps in health, education and housing, as these are seen as key indicators to life success.…

School Choice Outcomes in Post-Katrina New Orleans

Science.gov (United States)

Zimmerman, Jill M.; Vaughan, Debra Y.

2013-01-01

Today, over 80% of public school students in New Orleans attend charter schools, and just 37% of students attend school in their neighborhood (Louisiana Department of Education, 2011; Scott S. Cowen Institute for Public Education Initiatives, 2011). This study examines school choice participation and outcomes in New Orleans by analyzing the extent…

Prevalence and Distribution of Oral Mucosal Lesions by Sex and Age Categories: A Retrospective Study of Patients Attending Lebanese School of Dentistry

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sami El Toum

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Background. Prevalence and distribution of oral mucosal lesions in a sample of Lebanese population attending the School of Dentistry of Lebanese University is necessary to evaluate their oral health situation. Objectives. The aim of the present study was to determine the prevalence and distribution of oral mucosal lesions of patients attending the School of Dentistry. Methods. A descriptive study was carried out by retrospectively examining a total of 231 medical and clinical examination record files of patients, attending the School of Dentistry Lebanese University for multidisciplinary dental treatments. 178 medical records were retained. Each medical and clinical examination record was done by an undergraduate student and then evaluated by a doctor. The record file included a civil status, chief complaint, medical history, and extraoral and intraoral clinical examination during the period between October 2014 and May 2015. Exclusion criteria were lack of written information in their medical and clinical examination record and being nonevaluated by a doctor. Data regarding age, gender, socioeconomic status, chief complaint, systemic diseases, and drugs intake were collected by using a questionnaire while the type of extraoral and oral mucosal lesions by clinical examination. Results. The sample consisted of 102 (57.3% females and 76 (42.7% males. The age ranged from 10 to 92 years with a mean age of 40.1 years. Among these subjects, 110 (61.8% presented with one or more lesions. All patients were Lebanese. The most common lesion diagnosed was coated/hairy tongue affecting 17.4% of the subjects, followed by melanotic macule (11.2%, gingivitis (9.6, linea alba (6.2%, tongue depapillation (5.1, leukoplakia (5.1, traumatic fibroma (4.5, frictional keratosis (3.9%, fissured tongue (3.9%, hemangiomas (3.9%, Fordyce granules (3.9%, dry mucosa (3.4, angular cheilitis (2.2, gingival hyperplasia (2.2, and crenulated tongue (1.7%. Overall, the prevalence