Children's School Activities Research Articles

TRUANCY RATE AMONG SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS IN DELTA STATE: IS BULLYING A CONTRIBUTING FACTOR?

This study examined impact of bullying on Delta State secondary school students' truancy rate. The study was guided with three research questions and two null hypotheses. The study adopted Ex-post-facto research design using descriptive and correlation methods. 106719 senior secondary school students from 477 public secondary schools in Delta State during the 2023/2024 academic year formed the population in this research. 672 Senior Secondary school students were selected as the study's sample from the study's overall population. The main instrument used for data collection was a questionnaire. The questionnaire which titled “Impact of bullying on the rate of truancy Questionnaire” (IBRTQ) was designed by the researcher. The validity and reliability of the instrument was established with a coefficient of 0.82 and 0.772 for bullying and truancy rate respectively. Three statistical methods were used for the data analysis. They are mean, PPMCC and linear and multiple regression. The findings showed that indicate that bullying have effects on Delta State secondary school students' truancy rates, showed a statistically significant positive correlation between the rate of truancy among Delta State secondary school students and verbal bullying, showed a substantial positive correlation between the rate of truancy among Delta State secondary school students and physical bullying. Based on the conclusion it was recommended among that in order to prevent absenteeism, parents should continuously monitor and inquire about their children's school activities to find out when they are being bullied, to prevent needless punishment and bullying by instructors and older pupils, the school administration should review its disciplinary policies and procedures.

Influence of personality on self-efficacy of work and supervision of children's schooling during COVID-19

This study evaluated the influence of personality factors and traits on the sense of self-efficacy in the combination of roles (work and supervision of children's school activities) in the context of COVID-19 in a representative sample of Ecuadorian adults of both sexes (n=400). Personality traits were assessed using Cattell's 16-PF personality test, and self-efficacy was measured using an adaptation of the Self-Efficacy Questionnaire. The results show that the five main personality factors of the 16-PF significantly predict self-efficacy and influence its variability by 12.7%. The factors Anxiety, Independence, and Toughness are the strongest predictors of self-efficacy. It was also found that the 16 personality traits assessed by the 16-PF questionnaire can predict 16.9% of self-efficacy. The most predictive traits were Stability, Openness to Change, Dominance, Privacy, and liveliness. These results suggest that individual personality differences allow individuals to better adapt to the various demands in a complicated environment such as COVID-19. These findings can be used to understand and support individuals when faced with complex environmental demands.

"Talk to me": Parent-teacher background similarity, communication quality, and barriers to school-based engagement among ethnoculturally diverse Head Start families.

Primary caregivers (e.g., parents, grandparents, other family members) from low-income and ethnically minoritized families tend to face a host of barriers when participating in their children's school activities. Research suggests that demographic match and quality communication between caregivers and teachers could support minoritized families' school-based engagement. This study examined the associations among caregiver-teacher demographic match, caregivers' perceived communication quality with the teacher and caregivers' perceived barriers to school-based engagement. Caregivers (n = 565) from 49 Head Start classrooms completed the parent-report versions of the surveys: Barriers to Family Engagement, reporting resource, cultural/relational, and program/context barriers to school-based engagement; and Family-Teacher Communication, reporting communication quality with their children's lead and assistant teachers (n = 102). Caregivers and teachers also completed demographic surveys to provide information about their family background, such as race/ethnicity, primary language, and education level. Multilevel modeling results showed that among the three demographic match variables (i.e., race/ethnicity, primary language, formal education), only language match was associated with caregivers' perception of fewer cultural/relational barriers. Latine and Black non-Latine caregivers reported more cultural/relational and program/context carriers than White, non-Latine caregivers. Finally, caregivers who perceived better communication with their children's teachers reported fewer cultural/relational and program/context barriers. Primary language match and high-quality communication between families and teachers appear essential in creating a welcoming preschool environment that could alleviate some of the barriers to engagement typically faced by ethnically minoritized and low-income families. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Ways of overcoming academic failures: A review article

Introduction. The article examines the problem of low learning outcomes of schoolchildren in the modern education system. The purpose of the article is to identify and summarize the ways of overcoming students’ academic failure from the standpoint of foreign and Russian studies for their use at schools. Materials and Methods. To achieve the aim of the review, 63 full-text sources were analyzed. The study used general research methods of theoretical knowledge, thematic content analysis, synthesis of theoretical foundations, and comparative method for identifying and summarizing research on ways of overcoming students’ academic failure in foreign and Russian theory and practice and their use at schools. The generalization of the research results was based of the systematic approach. Results. Analysis of the studies has shown that in order to overcome student failure at school, it is necessary to introduce practical methods in schools that will bring about a reduction in the level of unsuccessful students. Schools' work to involve parents in their children's education and school activities (engagement at home, engagement at school, academic socialization) has a positive impact on reducing student failure at school. A special role of the parent community is to develop students’ motivation to learn. The work of schools to integrate formal and non-formal education expands the educational space and contributes to overcoming school failure, developing the emotional, intellectual, communicative sphere, educational motivation and social advancement of students. The use of various forms of mentoring in schools mainly leads to the design of programs for students' personal growth, building their own professional path of self-development and developing motivation for learning. Using international experience in applying developmental programs in Russian schools will ensure equalization of starting opportunities for students with low socio-economic status. Conclusions. The review concludes that the introduction of ways to overcome the academic failure (parental involvement, supplementary education, using various forms of mentoring and international practices of developmental education programs) in the school practice will contribute to reducing the rate of student failure in school.

Parents with intellectual disability reporting on factors affecting their caregiving in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic: A qualitative study.

BackgroundParents with intellectual disability are vulnerable to parenting stress and overwhelming life events. The COVID‐19 pandemic constitutes a potentially overwhelming event, but there is little knowledge concerning the effects on parents' caregiving. The present study aimed to fill this gap.MethodSemi‐structured interviews with 10 Swedish parents with intellectual disability were analysed using thematic analysis.ResultsOne broad caregiving‐related theme: increased caregiving demands and reduced resources for coping resulting in strained parent–child interactions and relationships. Four subthemes highlighted influential factors: pandemic information, professional support, social relationships and informal support, and children's school activities. Strained parent–child interactions were particularly common in the absence of adapted pandemic information, if professional and informal support were compromised, and if the parents had dealt with school‐related changes.ConclusionsFindings support contextual models of caregiving and a stress‐resources perspective, and emphasise the importance of adapted information and support to parents with intellectual disability during crises.

Reflections and perspectives on parental involvement in children’s school activity

This paper aims to look at the family as a living, unique organism that evolves, transforms, and adapts according to certain conditions. With the birth of children come challenges and responsibilities that each family understands and directs differently. Assuming the parental role, translating it into desirable behaviors, family relationships, and identifying the parents' attitude towards education in general are prerequisites of how they will get involved in their child's school activities. Research results have shown that the more and more effective parents are involved, the better their children's cognitive development, academic achievement, and self-confidence increase. On the other hand, children in families with poor parental relationships will experience lower academic achievement and less confidence in their ability to cope with school tasks. Differences have also been reported between the involvement of mothers and fathers respectively, as well as some of the effects of parental absence on children.

MENGATASI STRESS SAAT PANDEMIK DENGAN MEMBUAT BUKU MEWARNAI (Di IEEEL Institute, Tangerang)

<p align="center"><strong><em>ABSTRACT</em></strong></p><p><strong><em> </em></strong></p><p><em> </em><em>During the Corona Virus Disease-2019 (Covid-19) pandemic, which has been going on for almost 1 (one) year, many people feel confused, anxious, afraid, and some are also frustrated. This pandemic has an impact on various sectors, such as economy, education, tourism, social and many more. Feelings of fear of contracting and facing death alone and other worries that everyone thinks about so that the level of stress is getting higher. There has been a change in lifestyle that is usually spent with friends now mostly alone at home or boarding house. Those who already have a family have a heavier burden, especially when it comes to dealing with work when working from home or WFH. Coupled with taking care of children's school and household activities. Stress is a person's emotional response caused by external problems or when facing various life problems. To some extent, stress is needed to be prepared to face the threat of problems. This kind of stress is called eustress or normal stress. However, if the stress is prolonged and causes suffering to turn into distress and can cause mental health problems, this should be avoided. One way to deal with stress during a pandemic can be done by making pictures. As stated by Herawati and Iriaji, they argue that drawing is a tool to express thoughts. During a pandemic when people are worried about leaving the house, coloring books are an alternative to relieve stress. But the obstacle is that people are afraid to leave the house to buy books and also during the economic situation in the family that must be regulated because many do not receive full salaries, so making their own coloring books is an alternative.</em><em></em></p><p><strong><em><br /></em></strong><em></em></p><p> </p>

Childhood deprivation experience, family pathways, and socioemotional functioning.

Using the ECLS-K, a dataset following a nationally representative cohort of children from kindergarten through 8th grade in the United States (N ≈ 9,250), this study fills the following knowledge gaps. We captured childhood economic experiences by incorporating multiple forms of exposures to income-based deprivation-poverty depth (i.e., the severity of deprivation), spells (i.e., length of time in poverty), and income volatility (i.e., fluctuations in family income)-with a latent class analysis. We also examined how different patterns of economic experiences shaped adolescents' socioemotional functioning through family stress (parental depressive symptoms and punitive parenting) and family investment (provision of stimulating materials and parental school involvement) pathways via structural equation modeling. Our analysis indicated 6 classes of deprivation, and these deprivation patterns had both direct and indirect significant associations with children's locus of control and internalizing behaviors. Our structural equation modeling results further indicated that deprivation was associated with parental depressive symptoms, which were, in turn, associated with parents providing less cognitively stimulating materials to children and engaging less in children's school activities. These disadvantages were associated with unfavorable socioemotional functioning in 8th grade. The findings highlight the importance of family practitioners and psychologists recognizing and acting on the interconnections among deprivation, inequity, and child well-being. Our results also suggest considering variations in economic experiences and mechanisms when developing informed policies and programs. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Effect of individual and neighborhood social capital on gingival bleeding in children: A 7-year cohort study.

Social capital incorporates contextual and individual levels of interactions, which influence human health. The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of individual and contextual social capital in early childhood on gingival bleeding in children after 7 years. This 7-year cohort study was conducted with a randomized sample of 639 children (1 to 5 years old) evaluated in 2010 (T1) in Santa Maria, southern Brazil. Gingival bleeding was recorded during follow-up (T2). Contextual (social class association and number of churches) and individual (religious practice, volunteer networks, and school involvement) social capital variables were collected at baseline, along with demographic, socioeconomic, and oral health variables. A multilevel Poisson regression model was used to investigate the influence of individual and contextual variables on mean gingival bleeding. The incidence rate ratio (IRR) and 95% confidence interval (95% CI) were calculated. A total of 449 children were reassessed after 7 years (70.3% cohort retention rate). Children living in areas with a larger number of churches at baseline had lower mean gingival bleeding at follow-up. Regarding individual social capital, children whose parents did not attend school activities were more likely to have gingival bleeding. Additionally, low maternal education, poor parents' perception of oral health, non-use of dental services, and low frequency of tooth brushing were related to higher mean gingival bleeding at follow-up. The presence of more churches in neighborhoods and parents' involvement in a child's school activities positively influenced children's oral health, and these individuals had lower mean gingival bleeding.

Can children's oral hygiene and sleep routines be compromised during the COVID-19 pandemic?

BackgroundDuring COVID‐19 pandemic, children are confined at home, with changes in family routines.AimEvaluate sleep disorders among Brazilian and Portuguese children during social distancing, and its association with parental perception of child's oral hygiene.DesignIn this cross‐sectional study, Portuguese and Brazilian parents/caregivers of 3‐ to 15‐year‐old children, practicing social distancing due to COVID‐19 pandemic, answered an online questionnaire, from April 24‐26, 2020, evaluating sociodemographic characteristics, child's school activities online, child's sleep quality during social distancing. Two questions from the questionnaire, developed based on previous studies, evaluated the parental perception of child's oral hygiene quality and routine changes during social distancing. Parents/caregivers answered five domains of the Portuguese‐language version of the Sleep Disturbances Scale for Children, evaluating sleep‐breathing disorders, disorders of arousal, sleep‐wake transition disorders, disorders of excessive somnolence and sleep hyperhidrosis. Descriptive, Linear‐by‐linear association, Kruskal‐Wallis and post hoc analysis were performed (P ≤ .05).ResultsParticipated in the study 253 parents/caregivers, 50.2% from Brazil. Most parents (72.2%) reported changes in child's routine during social distancing. Sleep breathing disorders (P = .019), sleep‐wake transition disorders (P = .022), and disorders of excessive somnolence (P < .001) were associated with poor oral hygiene during social distancing.ConclusionSleep disorders are associated with poor oral hygiene during social distancing.

Quality of life of children with hearing loss in special and mainstream education: A longitudinal study

ObjectivesTo compare the quality of life (QoL) of children with hearing loss (HL) and children with normal hearing (NH) and to examine how the QoL of children with HL changes over time, considering language skills, type of hearing device, degree of HL, and type of education. Methods and materialsThis longitudinal study included 62 children with HL and their parents. Developmental outcome data were collected at two time points, when the mean ages of the children were 4 and 11 years. The Pediatric Quality of Life (PedsQL™) questionnaire, which includes assessments of Physical, Emotional, Social, and School functioning, was completed by parents at both time points and by the children with HL at the second time point. Receptive and expressive language skills at 4 years were assessed by the Reynell Developmental Language Scale. Results were compared with a Dutch normative sample. ResultsThe QoL of children with HL was similar to that of children with NH at both time points on two of the four QoL scales, Emotional and Physical functioning. On the other two scales, Social and School functioning, children with HL who attended special education and children who switched to mainstream education showed lower scores than children with HL who were consistently in mainstream education and lower scores than children with NH. The School QoL of children with HL decreased over time, as did the School QoL of children with NH. Social QoL of children with cochlear implants decreased over time, but this was not the case in children with hearing aids. Language skills and the degree of HL did not clinically improve the QoL over time of preschool children with HL. ConclusionsThe QoL of children with HL in mainstream education and the Physical and Emotional QoL of all children with HL were satisfactory. It is essential to develop specific guidance regarding school activities for children with HL in special education and for children with HL who switch to mainstream education in order to increase their social QoL.

The Contribution of Digital Technologies to the Involvement of Parents in School Life of Their Children

Using digital technologies as a means to promote parental involvement has been a practice used in projects in different countries. Parental involvement has been studied as a factor contributing to the academic achievement of learners, although some ethnic minorities face barriers to this involvement. This article presents the current state of a research, carried out in the context of a PhD. It used the digital technologies that are present at schools, as a privileged means of training parents of African minorities in the scope of the language of schooling, in order to support their involvement in the school life of their children. The authors used an action-research methodology with a variety of data collection instruments: biographical interviews, naturalistic observation, research diary and field notes. The results show that parents became more involved in their children's school activities and began to better understand their lives inside school.

Actual use of walls in clubs for after school activities for children and development of activity program of making sound absorption fabric panels

Actual use of walls in clubs for after school activities for children and development of activity program of making sound absorption fabric panels

神戸市A放課後児童クラブ（学童保育）におけるおやつ提供の現状と課題

神戸市A放課後児童クラブ（学童保育）におけるおやつ提供の現状と課題

Individual and contextual factors influencing dental health care utilization by preschool children: a multilevel analysis

The effect of contextual factors on dental care utilization was evaluated after adjustment for individual characteristics of Brazilian preschool children. This cross-sectional study assessed 639 preschool children aged 1 to 5 years from Santa Maria, a town in Rio Grande do Sul State, located in southern Brazil. Participants were randomly selected from children attending the National Children's Vaccination Day and 15 health centers were selected for this research. Visual examinations followed the ICDAS criteria. Parents answered a questionnaire about demographic and socioeconomic characteristics. Contextual influences on children's dental care utilization were obtained from two community-related variables: presence of dentists and presence of workers' associations in the neighborhood. Unadjusted and adjusted multilevel logistic regression models were used to describe the association between outcome and predictor variables. A prevalence of 21.6% was found for regular use of dental services. The unadjusted assessment of the associations of dental health care utilization with individual and contextual factors included children's ages, family income, parents' schooling, mothers' participation in their children's school activities, dental caries, and presence of workers' associations in the neighborhood as the main outcome covariates. Individual variables remained associated with the outcome after adding contextual variables in the model. In conclusion, individual and contextual variables were associated with dental health care utilization by preschool children.

Factors Influencing Non-native Parents to Use Educational e-Services

Educational e-services in schools help to bridge the gap between parents and teachers by sharing information about the children's school activities in a collaborative way. However, there is a lack of research explaining how effectively this collaboration takes place and the challenges that inhibit as well as promote such collaboration in a multicultural context. This paper investigates the factors which influence non-native parents to use educational e-services in the context of preschools (förskola) in Sweden. This is an interpretive case study based on interviewing non-native parents through structured as well as semi-structured questionnaires and literature review. The findings show that apart from some ‘internal factors', creating ‘awareness' and providing ‘motivation' are the two important successful factors that should be taken care of by the school management in order to influence non-native residents in a country to use educational e-services.

"My Child has Cerebral Palsy": Parental Involvement and Children's School Engagement.

Engaged students tend to show school-committed behaviors (e.g., attend classes, get involved with the learning process), high achievement, and sense of belonging. However, students with disabilities are prone to show a lack of engagement with school due to the specific difficulties they have to handle. In fact, children with disabilities are likely to show poor participation in school when compared with children without disabilities. This poor involvement is related to their low autonomy to participate in the school activities, which, in turn, results in low school engagement. Parents play a crucial role in their children’s education. Parental involvement in school activities promotes autonomous behaviors and, consequently, school engagement. In fact, extant literature has shown close relationships between parental involvement, school engagement, and academic performance. Yet, parental involvement in school activities of children with Cerebral Palsy (CP) has received little direct attention from researchers. These children tend to display lower participation due to the motor, or cognitive, impairments that compromise their autonomy, and have a high likelihood to develop learning disabilities, with special incidences in reading and arithmetic. Therefore, our aim is twofold, to understand the parental styles; and how the perceived parental involvement in school activities is related to their children school engagement. Hence, 19 interviews were conducted with one of the parents of 19 children with CP. These interviews explored the school routines of children and the perceived involvement of parents in those routines. Additionally, children filled out a questionnaire on school engagement. Results show that the majority of the parents were clustered in the Autonomy Allowance and Acceptance and Support parental style, and the majority of their children were perceived as autonomous. Moreover, about a half of the children reported a high level of school engagement. Finally, neither children’s autonomous behaviors reported by parents, nor parental style, seem to be related with the children’s level of school engagement. Rehabilitation centers and schools could consider training parents/caregivers focusing on their educational needs, promotion of reflections on the usefulness of applying autonomy promotion strategies with their child, and foster their involvement.

Descriptions of sound in the textbooks of living environment studies in elementary schools and the development of a life and sound activity programs

In Japan, children learn about the subject Living Environment Studies in the first and second grades at elementary school. Eight companies published the 2015-approved elementary school Living Environment Studies textbooks. In this study, we investigated and analyzed the references to sound in all the Living Environment Studies textbooks and the development of life and sound activity programs. Textbooks were found to include contents relating to nature sounds (e.g., sounds made by insects and the sound of rain); musical sounds; sounds of life (e.g., sound of toys); and sound of voices (e.g., loud screams or shrieks in response to danger seeking help), etc. We developed two activity programs, a quiz on sounds and a competition for loud voices. The purpose of these programs was to learn about enjoying “sound” and understand its role in life. These activity programs conducted in Clubs for After School Activities for Children at F city. A questionnaire survey was conducted after two activity programs. Eight children answered that the quiz on sounds was fun and nine children answered that the loud voice competition was fun (N = 14). Further investigation and improvements are required.

Level of Parent Involvement in the Elementary and Secondary Levels

Parent involvement is very essential because it contributes to the success of children in academics and extracurricular aspects. It also hastens the implementation of school projects of the Parent-Teacher Association (PTA). The study was conducted to know the level of parent involvement in both the elementary and secondary levels. Descriptive research was used in the study. Results showed that the level of parent involvement in the elementary level was very high in the academics and extracurricular aspects, and high in performing their role as members of the Parent-Teacher Association (PTA). The level of parent involvement in the secondary level was high in the three aspects, namely academics, extracurricular, and as members of the PTA. Moreover, the findings showed that the difference between the level of parent involvement in the elementary and secondary levels was not statistically significant. This means that parents in both levels display similar level of involvement in their children's school activities and in performing their role as members of the PTA. Thus, it is evident that parents in both the elementary and secondary levels have the willingness to support their children and reach out to any activities the school imposes.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy plus Amitriptyline for Children and Adolescents with Chronic Migraine Reduces Headache Days to ≤4 Per Month.

The objective of this secondary analysis of results from a previously published trial (Clinical Trials Registration Number: NCT00389038) in chronic migraine in children and adolescents was to examine if participants who received cognitive behavioral therapy and amitriptyline reached a greater level of reduction in headache frequency that no longer indicated a recommendation for preventive treatment as compared to those who received headache education and amitriptyline. Chronic migraine negatively affects children's home, school, and social activities. Preventive medication therapy is suggested for 5 or more headaches per month. Reduction to one headache day per week or less may suggest that preventive treatment is no longer indicated and provide a clinically relevant outcome for treatment efficacy and patient care. Randomized study participants (N = 135) kept a daily record of their headache frequency during 20 weeks of treatment and during a 1 year follow-up period. Baseline headache frequency was determined at the end of a 28 day screening period. Post treatment frequency was determined at 20 weeks (N = 128 completed) and post treatment follow-up was measured 12 months later (N = 124 completed). A chi-square test of independence was conducted by treatment group and by time point to determine group differences in the proportion of headache days experienced. At 20 weeks (post treatment), 47% of the cognitive behavioral therapy plus amitriptyline group had ≤4 headache days per month compared to 20% of the headache education plus amitriptyline group, (P = .0011), and 32% of the cognitive behavioral therapy plus amitriptyline group had ≤3 headache days per month at 20 weeks compared to 16% of the headache education plus amitriptyline group, (P = .0304). At the month 12 follow-up, 72% of the cognitive behavioral therapy plus amitriptyline group had ≤4 headache days per month compared to 52% of the headache education plus amitriptyline group, (P = .0249), and 61% of the cognitive behavioral therapy plus amitriptyline group had ≤3 headache days per month at their month 12 follow-up compared to 40% of the headache education plus amitriptyline group, (P = .0192). Participants who received cognitive behavioral therapy and amitriptyline were more likely than participants who received headache education plus amitriptyline to reach the clinically meaningful outcome of less than or equal to 4 headache days per month at both time points. These results may help inform what treatment outcomes are possible for children and adolescents suffering from chronic migraine and provides further evidence for behavioral treatment to be considered as a key part of a first line treatment regimen.