Regular School Classes Research Articles

Sense of Belonging at School as a Quality Measure of Inclusion – Comparing the Inclusive Experimental School Laborschule Bielefeld with Regular Inclusive Comprehensive Schools and Investigating the Determining Factors

Sense of belonging at school (SoBaS) is a basic requirement for every student and a major inclusivity goal for educational institutions. In the present study, we report on a self-evaluation of the Laborschule Bielefeld (LS; Germany) covering SoBaS. LS is an inclusive experimental comprehensive school with more than forty years of experience concerning a non-segregative and diversity-friendly school culture. Based on propensity score matching, the study investigated whether the SoBaS scores of the students at this inclusive experimental school (N = 115) differ from the students visiting inclusive classes in regular state-run comprehensive schools (N = 2376). Furthermore, we examined the factors in the students’ educational environment at LS that may potentially influence their SoBaS. The results indicate that the students attending the LS experienced a higher SoBaS. In addition, certain aspects of LS's teaching and interaction culture were identified as auspicious factors for accomplishing high levels of students’ SoBaS.

Academic motivation of intellectually gifted students and their classmates in regular primary school classes: A multidimensional, longitudinal, person- and variable-centered approach

Most prior studies on academic motivation of intellectually gifted children focused only on intrinsic motivation. To gain insight into the full scope of intellectually gifted students' motivation, differences between clinically diagnosed gifted students and their classmates in multiple motivational dimensions (intrinsic, identified, introjected, and external regulation, and amotivation) were examined across two school years. Using both variable-centered and person-centered techniques, we examined differences in separate motivational dimensions as well as differences in configurations of motivational dimensions (‘profiles’). A sample of 1438 primary school students in Grade 3–5 (5.5% clinically diagnosed as gifted with an IQ > 120) participated. They filled out motivation questionnaires pertaining to their regular class during two waves across two school years. Gifted students reported more favourable motivation at Wave 1 but lost this advantage over time. Specifically, they demonstrated more intrinsic motivation at Wave 1, but a decrease in identified regulation, and a stronger increase in external regulation and amotivation from Wave 1 to Wave 2. Similarly, gifted students were more likely to transition from theoretically more favourable to less favourable profiles. These findings suggest that children who are clinically diagnosed as gifted are at risk for developing unfavourable motivational patterns toward the end of primary school. Educational relevance statementMotivation for school plays a pivotal role in students' school engagement and achievement. This is also the case for intellectually gifted children. Just like other children, motivation enables them to translate their abilities into achievement. Intellectually gifted students in primary school may particularly be at risk of unfavourable motivational developments because it can be difficult for regular schools to provide an optimally challenging learning environment for them. This study aimed to get a full understanding of the motivational dynamics of intellectually gifted children in regular classes. This would be a step toward developing more targeted interventions that can address motivational problems encountered by gifted students in regular classes.The findings of this study indicated that, clinically diagnosed gifted children initially reported more favourable motivation, but lost this advantage over time. Toward the end of primary education, they were more likely than other children to show a decrease in external motivation and amotivation.These findings are of great practical importance. If teachers can identify students who start to become less motivated for school, it may be easier to intervene and prevent motivational problems and subsequent underachievement later on. To identify students who are at risk of developing an unfavourable motivational pattern, teachers or other educational professionals could regularly assess their students' motivation or engage in talks with their students about their motivation. Additionally, prior research suggests teaching practices and interventions which support students' need for autonomy, structure, and relatedness are likely to foster students' motivation for school, for gifted students as well as other students.

Developmentally Appropriate Prevention of Behavior and Emotional Problems and Fostering of Social and Emotional Skills in Elementary School – Overview of Program Theory and Measures of the Preventive Intervention Program Papilio-6to9

Children face increased demands for interpersonal as well as learning-related social skills, especially by the vulnerable stage of school entry, due to the more structured setting, new academic requirements, and the fact that children are supposed to interact successfully within a larger and heterogeneous peer group. Although a plethora of social-emotional learning (SEL) programs for elementary school students have been developed, there is a lack of empirically evaluated programs suitable for implementation in field-based settings, especially in Germany. The universal-selective, school-based prevention program Papilio-6to9 aims at facilitating the transition from preschool to elementary school, improving social-emotional competences, and preventing behavior and emotional problems. As a universal-selective prevention program, Papilio-6to9 includes all children in elementary school classes regardless of risk factors (universal prevention) whereby also children with risk factors are targeted without being stigmatised (selective prevention). The program targets elementary school children aged about six to nine and their teachers who receive a three-day training followed by two collegial supervisions to implement the program in and during regular school classes. Papilio-6to9 is part of an approach combining findings from developmentally appropriate practice, positive psychology, social-emotional learning, and developmentally appropriate prevention, and aligns with the early childhood education and care (ECEC)

A Study on Strategies to Improve Elementary School Teachers' Professionalism in the Context of Integrated Education

Integrated education is an educational concept of special education, which refers to the provision of equal quality education and related services for all children, including those with special educational needs, in regular classes in regular schools in the community, based on the belief of meeting the diverse learning needs of all children. In recent years, the elementary school level has become the main basis for the development of integrated education, and the number of children with special needs attending classes has gradually increased, placing higher demands on the professionalism of elementary school teachers. This study aims to improve the professionalism of elementary school teachers in the context of integrated education at three levels: educational administration, schools and teachers, which will not only inject new energy into the development of elementary school teachers' professionalism, but also better promote the development of "class attendance" in China.

Ostvarivanje prijateljskih odnosa među vršnjacima u osnovnoj školi

In our country, there have been few studies focusing on the exploraion of friendly relations among peers in the school context, especially those established among the pupils with developmental difficulties. Therefore, our goal was to get an insight into the quatity of the established friendly relations among pupils in regular primary school classes and to examine to what extent the developmental specificities of the pupils (pupils with developmental difficulties/pupils without developmental difficiulties), gender, age, general school achievement, and mother's and father's level of education predict friendships with peers. A total of 120 pupils (28 girls and 92 boys) from 36 classes of the fourth and eighth grades from eight primary schools from the territory of the city of Belgrade participated in our research. A half of the total sample consisted of pupils with developmental difficulties, while the other half consisted of pupils without developmental difficulties. We applied a socio-metric technique of peer nominations (a friendly relationship is established if two pupils nominate each other in the question "Name up to three pupils that you would like to be friends with"). In terms of data processing, apart from descriptive statistics, we applied a regression model that belongs to generalized linear models (Poisson's regression). The results indicate that the number of established friendships increases with pupils' age, better school achievement, and parents' higher level of education, and that pupils without developmental difficulties make more friendships with their peers than pupils with developmental difficulties. The findings of the regression model confirm that age and developmental specificities statistically highly predict the level of peer friendships, whereas this was not confirmed relative to pupils' gender, school achievement, and parents' level of education. The pupils without developmental difficulties are more likely to make friends with their peers than the pupils with developmental difficulties. In addition, the eighth-grade pupils are more likely to establish mutual friendships than the fourth-grade pupils. We selected the key implications and offer suggestions for further research.

Linguistically responsive reciprocal teaching in primary school: effectiveness of an intervention study on students’ Reading competence

ABSTRACT One shared goal of classroom instruction is to support students’ reading competence as a key skill of school success and participation in daily life. Yet, teaching that addresses multilingual students’ language-related resources to support reading is rare. In this study, we enriched reciprocal teaching with elements of linguistically responsive teaching (labelled LRRT) and conducted an intervention study in German primary schools (38 classes and 684 students) to examine its effects on reading competence. To assess reading competence, we used reading comprehension and reading strategy tests. Findings demonstrate the feasibility of our approach in regular primary school classes. Teachers and students highly valued the teaching unit as well. Results of latent mean difference score analysis confirmed the effectiveness of LRRT with respect to students’ reading strategy use but not with respect to their reading comprehension. Moreover, multilingual and monolingual students did not differ in their gains in reading competence. However, multilingual students’ different language use was of particular importance for gains in reading comprehension. The study thus provides further research on multilingualism as well as various stimuli for teachers of today’s heterogenous primary school classes.

Challenges for Right to Education to students of Government Schools all over India: Legal Discourse

Education is an indicator of relative intellectual development of a person. It integrates knowledge with the intellectual capacity in order to provoke vibrations of thought. The development of science and technology, the philosophy in the form of Vedas, Qurans, Bibles and other religious texts, the contemporary method of civilized social order, all inheres from cognitive skills of mankind. These cognitive skills have been nurtured and further inculcated by the concept of education. However, the COVID-19 pandemic induced lockdowns forced closure of educational institutions in India as well as in other countries of the World. There can be general division of students of private schools based on comparatively better economic standards than those of the Government schools. Such classification is manifest from the different types of fees charged by a private school and the 'free and compulsory education' guaranteed in the Government schools. This economic disparity in reach to quality education is countenanced by the Right to (Free and Compulsory) Education Act 2009 which is applicable throughout the country. This paper endeavours to provide an alternative mode of conduct of regular school classes particularly for the Government schools all over India with the sole objective of greatest good of greatest number. Such an initiative would further the implementation of RTE Act in more effective and transparent manner. The paper endeavours to critically analyse the provisions of the RTE Act and provides certain initiatives or suggestions for the more feasible delivery of education in the Government schools. The research work is based on doctrinal method.

Implications of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Children and Adolescents: Cognitive and Emotional Representations.

The present research investigated children and adolescents’ explicit and spontaneous representation of the COVID-19 pandemic and their related emotions, cognitions, and coping strategies. We explored the self-reported protective factors and coping mechanisms, in addition to similar attributional emotional experiences, i.e., the ways participants evaluated others’ pandemic experiences. Our sample consisted of 155 children and adolescents aged 10 to 13 (M = 10.70, SD = 0.85, 56.1% females). We designed a 12-item survey and analyzed our data using both qualitative and quantitative methods. Our findings suggested that most children and adolescents associated masks with the thought of the novel coronavirus, and the most frequently associated emotion was sadness (45.2%), followed by fear (17.4%). Generally, participants reported a medium level of perceived adverse effects of the pandemic, mainly because their regular physical school classes moved to the online setting. We also found a significant association between children’s self-reported levels of harmful effects of the pandemic and perceived adverse effects on their families. Most participants expressed their dissatisfaction concerning online school classes, primarily due to poor online interaction. In our sample, the children and adolescents reported positive thoughts and family relationships as their primary coping mechanisms during the pandemic, suggesting similar perceived coping mechanisms in the others around them. Finally, more than half of the participants considered that the COVID-19 pandemic had no positive effects, while 40% considered the increased time spent with their families the primary positive consequences following the COVID-19 health crisis. Results are discussed regarding their implications concerning healthcare, social, and educational policies.

FIE as a Tool for Correcting Deficient Functions in Children and Students with Behavioral Disorders

The paper has a theoretical and application character. Nowadays, the issue of education of children and pupils with behavioural disorders (specific as well as non-specific disorders) is highly topical as their number is constantly growing in regular primary and secondary school classes. Therefore, it is necessary to pay attention to the specifics of their education. In the theoretical part, the authors deal with the issue of the disorders; they describe its etiology as well as the symptoms as possible consequences of the present impairment of partial functions in the perceptual-cognitive area. The application part of the paper is focused on presenting the essence and content of the instrumental enrichment method, the creator of which is the Israeli pedagogue and psychologist, Professor Reuven Feuerstein.

Subjective Perceptions and Their Characteristics of Middle School Students Regarding the Effectiveness of the “0th Period Physical Education Class” in South Korea: The Q Methodology Application

The aim of this study is to explore the subjective perception types and characteristics of Korean middle school students regarding participation in the “0th period physical education class”, a class involving physical movement that takes place before the start of regular school classes in the morning. This goal was achieved by applying the Q methodology, which can categorize the subjective viewpoints of research participants. The selection of the final 25 Q-samples was done by composing the Q-population. Twenty middle school students were selected as the P-sample, and Q-sorting was performed on them. The PQ method program (version 2.35) was used to perform centroid factor analysis and varimax rotation. The study presented five types with a total variance of 87%. Types 1 to 5 (N = 4, 4, 4, 5, and 3) pertained to a potent means of enhancing lesson concentration and academic performance, efficient activities to improve physical ability and a healthy body image in adolescence, the motivating power behind a stable school life and sociability development, building an upright character and successful changes in daily life, and raising awareness of the importance of participating in sports and the importance of physical activity, with eigenvalues (EVs) of 3.89, 4.48, 3.96, 5.16, and 2.58, respectively, and explanatory variances of 0.10, 0.22, 0.13, 0.33, and 0.09, respectively. Moreover, consensus statements for each factor were demonstrated as being Q24 and Q25. The findings in this study supported the academic foundation for the official introduction and activation of “0th period physical education classes” in the Korean education community for the near future.

Implementation of a Physical Activity Program Protocol in Schoolchildren: Effects on the Endocrine Adipose Tissue and Cognitive Functions.

Practicing exercise is one of the best strategies to promote well-being and quality of life, however physical activity in schoolchildren and adolescents is developed in an unpredictable, intermittent way and in short periods. There are relatively few intervention studies investigating the role of physical activity in schoolchildren endocrine function of adipose tissue and cognitive function. One hundred and three boys, divided into two groups: control (n = 51, did not perform additional physical activity) and exercise (n = 52, performed vigorous physical activity after the regular school classes). The exercise group, developed a 6 months physical activity protocol delivered by the physical education teacher during the second semester of the academic course (6 months). Body composition measurements, adherence to the Mediterranean diet, nutritional intake, hematological and biochemical parameters, endocrine function of the adipose tissue and biomarkers of brain molecular function were assessed at enrolment and after 6 months of intervention. No statistically significant differences between both groups were found for age, height and bone mass. Weight and BMI was lower in the exercise group compared to the control group, increasing lean mass and reducing fat mass. 58.68% of children in the exercise group showed high adherence to the Mediterranean Diet compared to 46.32% of the control group. The exercise group was more concerned about their diet consumed more fiber, vitamin B1, B2, B6, B12, D, Niacin, Folic acid, Fe, Zn, Se and Cu. Triglycerides levels and HDL-cholesterol were higher in the exercise group at the end of the study. Leptin, MCP-1, lipocalin-2, adipsin and PAI-1 levels were lower in the exercise group at the end of the exercise protocol. In contrast, adiponectin and osteocrin markedly increased in the exercise group. Moreover, marked increases were recorded in healthy brain state biomarkers (NGF, BDNF, and irisin) in the exercise group, which could have a positive impact on academic performance. Taken together, all the findings reported are consistent with many benefits of the exercise protocol on adipose tissue and brain molecular function, demonstrating the usefulness of early interventions based on physical activity in children to reduce risk factors related to sedentary lifestyle.

Inclusive Education from a Very Beginning: Yerevan School N20 Principal's Narrative

There are more than one billion “disabled persons” worldwide, 10% of whom are children mostly living in developing countries. Within the United Nations (UN) the term “disability” is defined as “any restriction or lack (resulting from an impairment) of ability to perform an activity in the way or within the range considered normal for a human being” (Sharma, 2015). The UN and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) endeavor for all children to have equitable access to education as a basic human right. Education is critical for children to develop their human capital and enhance their upcoming economic and social prospects (Sharma, 2015). The “Salamanca Statement” adopted at the “World Conference on Special Educational Needs: Access and Quality” called upon all governments and urged them to: adopt as a matter of law or policy the principles of inclusive education, enrolling all children in regular schools, unless there are compelling reasons for doing otherwise (UNESCO, 1994). In developing countries understanding of inclusive education is closely related to the special education needs of students and their participation in regular school classes. From this perspective, this paper aims to tell a story of one school in Yerevan, the capital of Armenia from the very beginning till nowadays.

PAPEL DO PRINCÍPIO DE COOPERAÇÃO NA COCONSTRUÇÃO DA INTERAÇÃO DOCENTE-DISCENTE EM TEMPOS DE ISOLAMENTO SOCIAL

O objetivo precípuo deste trabalho é produzir entendimentos sobre os efeitos pragmático-interacionais do (des) cumprimento do princípio de cooperação na avaliação discente de vídeo-aulas produzidas no contexto da pandemia de COVID-19. Para tanto, assento-me em um arcabouço teórico de viés pragmático, que articula a reflexão griceana acerca do princípio da cooperação no estabelecimento da comunicação à uma discussão sobre as especificidades da abordagem pragmática e as particularidades do gênero vídeo-aula. Com base em tal diálogo, empreendo uma análise acerca de comentários produzidos acerca de uma aula de inglês publicada na plataforma do YouTube ® azo de um projeto de ensino a distância em circunstâncias de isolamento social. As análises evidenciaram a presença das máximas de Grice nos construtos avaliativos dos alunos, corroborando a ideia de que, ainda que nem sempre conhecidas em sua forma teórica, tais imperativos permeiam os julgamentos cotidianos dos indivíduos acerca da qualidade comunicativa das intervenções discursivas. Os entendimentos gerados ao longo da pesquisa emergem como suprimentos importantes para o desenvolvimento de uma discussão acerca do processo de construção das práticas docente-discentes durante o período de suspensão sanitária das aulas presenciais e, em um esforço de elucubração, acerca da construção de uma prática pedagógica pós-pandemia.

Systematic Intervention for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder and Integration in Regular School Classes: A Naturalistic Study.

Objective of the present study was the assessment of the effect of a systematic community intervention offered at an early age to 32 children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), 2 to 5 year after completion of treatment while attending public school classes. The intervention had been offered at a community Day Centre and lasted 3 years. On assessment all children showed clinical improvement and significant results on Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS) and Vineland Adaptive Scales and 13 scored below criteria for autism on Autism Diagnostic Observation Scale-2 (ADOS-2). Most performed adequately at school whilst 12 required academic assistance. No major disruptive behavior difficulties were reported.

Electronic Game Creation through Scratch Software: Creative and Collaborative Learning Fostering STEAM Practices

Background: This research is an excerpt from the master's thesis of the first author, therefore, some perceptions students have of the creation of games using the Scratch software and the teachers’ perception will be presented here. Objective: This research aims to foster and optimize learning in STEAM practices, using creative and collaborative learning, for the creation of games. Design: The research is exploratory qualitative. Setting and Participants: The team included 7 students from the final years of a public school in the municipality of Alvorada, RS, Brazil. The research was developed through workshops in the counter shift from the regular school classes. who developed games in the Scratch software and presented them to the school classes of the early years. Data collection and analysis: the data collection was based on the responses of students and teachers. Results: That students built collaborative learning, took advantage of playfulness and creative thinking to transform realities. Conclusions: The development of games provided, besides learning in STEAM practices from creative and collaborative learning, increased self-esteem, affectivity, and collaborative work, movements that are so necessary in communities with high socioeconomic vulnerability, as is the case of the students participating in the research.

A prática pedagógica no atendimento educacional especializado para o aluno com deficiência intelectual

The Specialized Educational Service - AEE is geared towards meeting the needs of students with disabilities at times opposite to regular school classes. The present study aimed to describe the pedagogical practice of a special education teacher to develop the logical-mathematical thinking of students with intellectual disabilities in a specialized support room - AEE of a state school in a city in the interior of Sao Paulo. It is a qualitative, descriptive and exploratory study, characterized by a case study. For data collection, the following instruments were used: open interview and participant observation. The results showed that the teacher's pedagogical practice is focused on the teacher/student relationship, on social interaction and on stimulating learning, aiming at building knowledge to overcome difficulties.

Design of a Metrics for Teaching Quality on Cram Schools Business

Due to the pressure of fierce competition, many parents worry about their children being unable to compete with their peers. Besides the regular school class, they have engaged their kids at the cram school in order to strengthen the performance of their academic or creative art, so they might have a better foundation. The cram school business thus becomes a unique and prosperous educational business. Due to the low entry barrier, many companies have joining this business. However, the declining birth rate makes cram school business facing decreasing students number in recent years. Therefore, developing effective practices to improve students retention rate and to improve competitive advantages are becoming critical for managers of cram schools. The first step to change the cram school competition environment from cost-driven to quality-driven is to establish a way to measure the teaching quality — as there is no metrics during the past few decades in this domain. This work proposes a metrics based on the theory developed by Marsh and elaborated their idea to design a teaching quality assessment mechanism. Experts in academia and cram schools were interviewed to revise the proposed framework and the associated weighted values of elements in all dimensions of the framework were further calculated using Analytic Network Process (ANP) process. Questionnaires were distributed to representative teachers and supervisors in the cram school to justify the proposed metrics. The results show that this proposed metrics are valuable to the managers and could be used to improve students retention rate.

Classroom-Based Micro-Sessions of Functional High-Intensity Circuit Training Enhances Functional Strength but Not Cardiorespiratory Fitness in School Children-A Feasibility Study.

The present study assessed the short-term effect of 6 min classroom-based micro-sessions of multi-joint functional high-intensity circuit training (FunctionalHIIT) performed by students during regular classes on parameters related to functional strength and cardiorespiratory fitness. In this randomized controlled 4-week study, 17 students (11 male; 6 female; age: 11.6 ± 0.2 years) performed 6 min of FunctionalHIIT (targeting >17 on the Borg scale) 4 days per week during regular school classes and 18 students (11 male; 7 female; age: 11.7 ± 0.3 years) served as control group (CG) without any additional in-class physical activity. The FunctionalHIIT group completed 86% of all planned sessions (mean duration: 6.0 ± 1.5 min) with a mean RPE of 17.3 ± 2.1. Body height, mass and BMI did not differ between the groups at baseline or between pre- and post-testing (p > 0.05; eta2 ≤ 0.218). The performances in lateral jumping (p < 0.000; part eta2 = 0.382; Δ% 4.6 ± 8.6), sit-ups (p < 0.000; part eta2 = 0.485; Δ% 3.1 ± 8.6) and 20-m sprints (p < 0.000; part eta2 = 0.691; Δ% 15.8 ± 5.4) improved in both groups with greater increase following FunctionalHIIT. No baseline differences and no interaction effects occurred in performance of 6 min run, flexibility, push-ups, balance, and long jump. Classroom-based FunctionalHIIT sessions, performed 4 days per week during 4 weeks did not improve variables related to aerobic endurance performance but enhanced certain parameters of functional strength in schoolchildren. As time is limited in the educational system of schools, FunctionalHIIT during regular school classes could offer a new perspective for increasing functional strength in schoolchildren.

Sun-related knowledge and attitudes of primary and secondary schoolchildren in western Switzerland.

Switzerland, particularly its western region, has the highest incidence of melanoma in Europe. Although the risk of melanoma increases with sun overexposure during childhood, sun-related knowledge and attitudes of Swiss children are scarcely documented. We report the first investigation of the knowledge of the danger of ultraviolet radiation, attitudes towards a suntan and parental influence of schoolchildren in western Switzerland. All fifth, eighth and eleventh graders (average ages of 9, 12 and 15, respectively) in the 18 primary (fifth grade, n=431) and secondary (eighth and eleventh grades, n=837) public schools of La Chaux-de-Fonds were surveyed during regular school classes. The response rate was 91% (1154/1268). Sun-related knowledge was high overall. Eight out of 10 children knew about the risk of skin cancer and recognized the most susceptible phototype. Knowledge increased significantly with age. Girls, older children, fair-skinned participants and those who preferred a tanned skin obtained the highest knowledge score. The main source of information on ultraviolet radiation and sun protection was their parents (76%), followed by the school (11%) and the media (9%). Multivariate logistic regression analyses identified higher sun-related knowledge, lower familial socioprofessional status and skin phototypes III-IV to be associated with a tan-seeking attitude. Parental sensitization (56%) and encouragement (61%) towards sun protection were more common among fair-skinned children and those of higher familial socioprofessional status. The high awareness of the risk of skin cancer among Swiss schoolchildren does not translate into appropriate attitudes. Community-wide intervention programmes involving parents, teachers, peers and primary care clinicians could be considered for Swiss prevention campaigns to improve children's sun behaviour and change their current pro-tan attitude.

Método de alfabetização fonovisuarticulatório na EJA: estudo de caso

This project involved the participation of students of the young and adults education (EJA) from a regular school class in an interior city of Sao Paulo state. This multisensory, phonic-visual-oral-articulatory methodology proposes the use of articulemes (mouths) to promote graphophonemic conversion, allowing students to deal with self-regulation of their learning. The evolution of work involved control by surveys on the psychogenesis of writing, comparison of school attendance with the previous year and two semi-structured questionnaires, to the teacher and students, involving both social and emotional issues, such as learning. The results showed significant improvement, for the analyzed questions. With this, it deserves a new examination on the issue EJA with quality of teaching that are linked to literacy allowing a condition for student self identification, focusing on a specific methodology, which is conducive to learning quickly and effectively, as the work presented by this method.