Current School Research Articles

Identifying the perceptions, barriers, and implementation of middle school supervised agricultural experiences

Although School based agricultural education (SBAE) teachers have a variety or responsibilities within a comprehensive program, supervised agricultural experience (SAE) programs are considered an intracurricular component. Unfortunately, the ability for teachers to plan for and facilitate SAEs has been reported as lacking. The purpose of this study was to identify the current perceptions, barriers, and implementation of current middle school SAEs in the Southeast United States, which was carried out by a modified Delphi approach to reach consensus on the perceptions, barriers, and implementation of middle school SAEs from a panel of experts. After three rounds, 18 items achieved consensus related to perceptions of Middle School SAE integration, 19 items outlining barriers for Middle School SAE implementation, and 22 items indicating best practices for Middle School SAE integration. When we consider the uniqueness of middle school SBAE programs, the overall list of perceptions, barriers, and best practices is of great value for future implementation as additional programs are added. Recommendations for practice begin with purposeful professional development opportunities specific for middle school SBAE teachers.

Developing Phoneme-Grapheme Recognition for English as a Foreign Language: A Longitudinal Study at Japanese Primary School

Foreign language was recently added to Japan's national primary school curriculum. Phoneme-Grapheme Recognition (PGR) skills are a critical step in both L1 and L2 development. Due to its simplistic approach and the lack of new investment in teacher training, research regarding the impact on PGR skills are important. This study tested the relative differences and growth of primary school students' (grades 3, 4, 5, 6) PGR skills across two semesters. Semester-1 (July) and Semester-3 (March) students (n = 256, female n = 130) completed the same PGR test during regular class time. ANOVA and follow-up pairwise tests assessed achievement differences between grades and across the two-semester gap. Difference testing between grades indicated substantial (R2 = .32 & .19) and statistically significant (p < .001) differences at both time points. Pairwise follow-up tests pointed to two steps in statistically different ability (grades 3-4/5-6). Longitudinal tests suggested that the current Japanese national elementary school curriculum supports phoneme-grapheme skill development; However, the two-step ability grouping indicated that the current national curriculum is not sufficiently detailed and/or rigorous to ensure annual student improvement in PGR skills.

Multi-country case study on school health policy and its implementation in relation to COVID-19 control in Micronesia Small Islands Developing States

IntroductionThe COVID-19 pandemic caused school closures and rises in mental illness and non-communicable disease among school children worldwide. The Pacific Small Islands Developing States (SIDS) were also affected, but school health activities, which can effectively reduce negative effects of COVID-19, were not widely implemented compared to other Asia-Pacific countries. This study examined current school health implementation and related policies at national, local, and school levels in the Micronesia SIDS according to phases of COVID-19 control.MethodsMulti-country case study targeted the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI), and Republic of Palau (ROP). These studies focused on school health implementation periods according to the PPR (Prevention, Preparedness, and Response) concept: Phase #1: prevention/preparedness, #2: early phase response, and #3: chronic phase response/recovery phase. Data were collected through policy document reviews that identified school health policies related to COVID-19 controls in the three phases and key informant interviews (KIIs) with 44 key informants (FSM, n = 14; RMI, n = 18; ROP, n = 12) whose work related to school health. The collected data were analyzed using content analysis methods according to the conceptual framework in this study.ResultsThis study identified three factors of school health implementation related to COVID-19 controls: promotion of decentralized education (FSM), implementation of COVID-19 controls in the school community (RMI), and disaster management for the protection of students including response to infectious disease (ROP). In Phase #1, no country had established a school health policy. In Phase #2, three enablers were identified in FSM and ROP, as reflected in COVID-19 controls by the education and health sectors. In Phase #3, RMI implemented COVID-19 controls in the school community. Documents on youth policy and disaster management in ROP were updated to reflect the chronic phase response and response to future public health crises.ConclusionsA decentralized education was instrumental in immediately implementing COVID-19 control measures in schools at national and local levels for coordination between education and health sectors. Despite each county’s multi-sectoral approach to engage COVID-19 controls in schools, local government organization requires strengthening and implementation of the formulated school health policy. In preparation for the next public health crisis, school health should be promoted that is integrated into both infection control and disaster management.

Physical condition, global self-esteem and academic performance in adolescence

To better understand the global self-esteem of adolescents, to know how global self-esteem and different levels of physical fitness are related; to know how global self-esteem is related to male versus female gender. And determining how global self-esteem is associated with academic performance, according to gender and age, is an important and pertinent task in the current school context.The sample of this study consists of 1,327 participants, 711 females (53.58%), aged between 12 and 17. Physical condition was assessed using the Fitnessgram; academic performance using the arithmetic average of subjects and global self-esteem using the Rosenberg global self-esteem scale (1965), adapted by Romano, Negreiros and Martins (2007). It was found that there was no statistically significant relationship between the different physical condition groups and global self-esteem, in the overall sample and in both sexes. In the overall sample, global self-esteem is not significantly associated with academic performance. In males, the correlation is significant, positive and weak. In females, the correlation is not significant. Overall self-esteem is not related to age, in the total sample and in both sexes.The self-esteem of male participants differs statistically significantly from that of females.

Lietuvių kalba mokykloje: mokslinės įžvalgos ir pedagoginė patirtis

The article reviews the issues investigated in the reports and articles developed from the conference reports of the scientific and practical conferences “Mother Tongue at School” organised at Šiauliai University (since 2021, Šiauliai Academy of Vilnius University) in 2012–2022. The aim of the article is to present the journal “Gimtoji kalba mokykloje” [Mother Tongue at School] using the descriptive-analytical method, to discuss topics, problems, aims of the articles, and to summarise the most relevant issues of Lithuanian studies, Lithuanian language and literature teaching (didactics), variations in the Lithuanian language, changes, standardisation, and the importance of Lithuanian literature in developing a thinking and reading individual, conscious of the importance of the native (Lithuanian) language.
 The journal “Gimtoji kalba mokykloje” has published 119 articles by 148 authors. Linguistic articles among them are divided into the following thematic blocks: 1) The importance of the influence of linguistic environment and personalities in preserving national identity. Language policy; 2) Public language. Language etiquette; 3) Language in the digital space, computer literacy. Office, administrative language. Language management; 4) Language correctness. Literacy. Spelling and punctuation issues; 5) Language norms and errors; 6) Dialect studies; 7) Stylistic figures. Conceptual metaphors. Associations; 8) Terminology issues; 9) Language didactics. Academic, professional language. The field of topics is broad, discussions include: general language, dialects, language norming, language in the digital space, language didactics, the process of language teaching and learning, and the effects of bilingualism. The articles in the literature section are divided into five thematic blocks: 1) Promotion of reading, professional press for teachers; 2) Lithuanian writers’ works in school, concerns of reading classics; 3) Children’s literature and school; 4) Working with the text to prepare the future reader; 5) Non-traditional literature teaching methods and other problems. Researchers and teachers are interested in current school (and societal) issues, exploring why reading is low and discussing what could encourage reading. The importance of creative, innovative library work and family reading traditions are highlighted. It stresses that the school is also an important player in this field, where the child must become a competent reader.
 The articles published in the journal encourage a theoretical dialogue between researchers and practical educators, highlight topical issues in teaching Mother Tongue, and invite to jointly search for solutions to problems.

Effect of demographic factors on reading habits: Study on Indonesian secondary school students

This study explored the relationship between demographic variables and reading habits among Indonesian secondary school students, focusing on gender, age, current school, school type (public or private) and level. 451 students from six schools participated in the study. We used an explanatory sequential design, a mixed-methods approach. Quantitative data were collected through an online survey based on the reading habits scale by the National Library of Indonesia and included demographic questions. Qualitative data were then collected through an in-depth follow-up survey. An independent sample t-test and one-way ANOVA analyzed the influence of gender, age, current school, school type and school level on reading habits. Thematic analysis analyzed the qualitative data from the survey. The quantitative data indicated that students possessed low reading habit levels. Among the demographic variables, school location, public or private and level influenced the reading habit score, while gender and age had no influence. The qualitative findings highlighted the need for reading motivation, parent reading attitude and school library improvement to enhance reading habits. This study highlights practices that could shape reading habits, especially in secondary and upper secondary school students.

Environmental Content as a Part of Science-Oriented Sustainable Development Goals in Grades 6 and 7 of Slovenian Primary School: An Analysis of Science Textbooks

Slovenian science education in Grades 6 and 7 (11- and 12-year-old students) of primary school focuses on the integration of various science subjects. According to the current Slovenian science curriculum, environmental concepts, as a part of science-oriented sustainable development goals, are an integral part of the subject of science. In 2026, a new science curriculum will be introduced in the education system to provide students and teachers with competences for sustainable development. Consequently, the aim of this study is 1) to analyse old (valid prior to the 2010/2011 school year) and current 6th and 7th-grade Slovenian science curriculum for primary school from an environmental and sustainability perspective, and 2) to investigate textual and pictorial material of four 6th grade and four 7th grade textbooks available for students in the current school year (2023/24) of primary school, that relate to environmental content, as well as their overall structure. The analysis of the textbooks showed that all textbooks explain some environmental topics recommended by the national curriculum. The text is supported by pictorial elements that present phenomena with realistic pictures on the macrolevel. The present study suggests that some environmental content is present in 6th- and 7th-grade science textbooks that are consistent with the learning goals of the curriculum but that a significant amount of sustainability content is missing. For this reason, the curriculum reform currently underway in Slovenia should more clearly include the implementation and thoroughly consider the integration of science-oriented sustainable development goals into the science curriculum in Grades 6 and 7.

School social workers’ experiences delivering mental health supports amid COVID-19 school reopening

Child and adolescent mental health needs are at unprecedented rates in the continued wake of COVID-19. While prior research has examined school mental health practice during initial COVID-19 school closures, few studies have examined school mental health practice amid COVID-19 school reopening. This exploratory study investigates school social workers’ perceptions of their mental health service and support delivery during COVID-19 school reopening as well as the facilitators and barriers they experienced to delivering these supports. This study also examines school social worker’s perceptions of the mental health supports they wished were offered. Fifteen current school social workers in one southeastern state who practiced during the first full school year amid COVID-19 school reopening (2020–2021) participated in virtual interviews. Interview data were analyzed using a qualitative content analysis approach. Findings suggest crisis intervention and counseling were primary mental health services provided by school social workers during this time, and barriers to service delivery included the virtual format of service delivery, emerging experiences of burnout, and a lack of mental health providers. Facilitators to providing mental health services included collaboration with school and community-based partners and supervisor support. Participants wished schools had offered additional in-person mental health services and supports and expressed a need for additional school mental health professionals to be hired. Implications are offered for school mental health practice and research with the aim of helping to inform ongoing responses to COVID-19, future crisis response planning, and areas for improvement in current school mental health approaches.

The Application Strategy of Graphic Combination in Primary Art Teaching

Graphic teaching is a teaching mode that guides teachers to combine images and words in the course of teaching. This teaching mode enables art teachers to explain the course content to students in a more intuitive way, deepen their understanding of what they have learned, and promote the improvement of art level and aesthetic ability. At the same time, it also helps to cultivate students' good study habits and achieve their all-round development. After consulting that no matter which version of the current primary school art textbooks are composed of text and picture typesetting. They complement each other and are closely linked to guide the learners. This is enough to explain an important feature of the combination of pictures and texts in art teaching, that is, teachers should pay attention to the combination of pictures and texts in teaching, especially in PPT courseware, and try to avoid all words or only pictures. This paper will discuss the essay and drawing diary and the combination of illustration and text in the form of graphic combination. This paper demonstrates the significance of graphic combination to the primary school art teaching and puts forward the application strategy of graphic combination in the primary school art teaching. Finally, the importance of graphic combination teaching to the overall development of students and the cultivation of social talents is emphasized again.

The structure of principal-teacher conversation: Why it matters for school leadership

PurposeThis study addressed a relatively understudied process of school leadership: the principal-teacher conversation about instructional change. Two distinct conversation structures were examined: controlling conversation and transformative leadership conversation (TLC). Self-determination theory (SDT) was used to make the case that TLC is a better fit for instructional change than controlling conversation. Hypotheses were developed on the relationship between principal-teacher conversation and teacher trust in the principal, teacher autonomy and teacher vitality. These mental states were identified for empirical testing because of their influence on change processes.Design/methodology/approachThe empirical study used a correlational research design with survey data. The data came from a random sample of 2,500 teachers from the population of certified teachers in a southwestern state in the USA. Useable survey responses were obtained from 1,615 teachers, for a response rate of 65 percent. Teachers in the sample averaged 15 years of teaching experience, with 7 years in their current school. Around 81% of teachers identified as female and 18 percent as male and 79% of teachers listed a racial identification as white. Hypotheses were tested in a path model using AMOS 28.0 with robust maximum likelihood (MLR).FindingsAs hypothesized, TLC had moderate to strong positive relationships with teacher trust in the principal, teacher autonomy and teacher vitality. Controlling conversation had small, negative relationships with teacher trust in the principal and teacher autonomy. Controlling conversation was not related to teacher vitality in the path analysis. Compared with controlling conversation, TLC had stronger relationships with teacher mental states.Originality/valueThe results of this study begin to reveal useful evidence on the inherent social-psychological mechanisms active in principal-teacher conversations. With results indicating that conversation structure has consequences for positive teacher mental states, the study directs attention to a ubiquitous yet understudied leadership process.

Human Rights Education: Exploring the Safety of Teachers in South African Secondary Public Schools

This paper examined the extent and nature of safety for teachers in their different school settings and further underscored the importance of safety for teachers in the school context. The current school environment is violent owing to the increasing lack of teachers’ ability to maintain order in schools due to the uncertain alternatives to corporal punishment. This creates a hostile learning environment that weakens the teachers’ position of power and prohibits them from using their authority and fulfilling their duty to provide learners with compassionate monitoring. A qualitative interpretivist research paradigm was used in this study employing Critical Emancipatory Research (CER) as a research framework. A CER framework aims to strengthen the liberating, enlightening, emancipating, and empowering democratic values of equality and justice among the researcher and the participants in the research setting. A team of four teachers, a principal, and the School Governing Body (SGB) member from each school were purposively sampled to apply the principles of PAR in Lejweleputswa District in the Free State Province in South Africa. A focused group was employed to answer the following questions: What are the perceptions of secondary school teachers regarding their safety in the school setting? To what extent does learners’ violent behaviour threaten teachers’ safety at schools? And, how can teachers be assisted to change their minds regarding Human Rights Education as a tool for peaceful education? Data was analysed thematically. The findings of this research showed that teachers do not feel safe at their workplace, they fear both learners and parents who most of the time come to humiliate them physically and emotionally in front of their learners. The study contributes to a debate on the safety of teachers in schools for professional development. Keywords: Human Rights Education, Teacher-Learner Relationships, Teachers’ Safety, Parental Involvement.

Social justice promotion in youth sport: insights from current high school coaches

Social justice promotion in youth sport: insights from current high school coaches

Compliance of New Media Art Course in Chinese Middle School

Since the 21st century, with the rapid rise of the Internet, a variety of new media continue to appear, especially the rise of network media and electronic equipment, which has brought great changes to human information dissemination and communication, and made mankind enter a new era of information dissemination. In this era, in addition to using computers as a tool for art creation, art educators began to study the application of new media such as computers and networks in art classroom and teaching practice.In order to adapt to the development trend of international art education, China has added the content of new media art education in art curriculum standards, middle school art textbooks and middle school art courses. However, compared with the developed countries in the world, the current middle school new media art education in China generally has some problems, such as low attention, limited teaching content, lack of teacher training courses and so on. These problems have seriously affected the development of middle school new media art curriculum and teaching in China.Since the 2022 version of the art curriculum standard clearly puts forward the content of the new media art curriculum, the focus of this paper is how schools and teachers adapt to the curriculum standard and solve the difficulties encountered in the implementation of the new media art curriculum standard.

Analysis of the perceptions, competencies, and educational needs for global health among Korean medical students.

The purpose of this study was to examine perceptions of global health education (GHE) among medical students and their involvement in global health activities and identify priorities of educational needs for developing GHE programs. This study was cross-sectional and conducted through an online survey for medical students. The participants were students attending medical schools nationwide, and the final analysis target was 678. The survey developed questionnaires necessary for research purposes regarding global health-related experiences and perceptions, level of awareness of global health competencies (GHC), and needs assessments. The data were analyzed using the frequency analysis, chi-square test, independent t-test, Borich Needs Assessment Model, and the Locus for Focus Model. In total, 60.6% (411/678) agreed on the need for GHE, whereas 12.1% (82/678) agreed on the appropriateness of GHE in the current medical school curriculum, indicating a perception gap between the necessity and the status. At the current level of awareness of global health and GHC, we identified statistically significant differences according to gender, participation in global health activities, and GHE. In the analysis of the educational needs of GHC, all items of GHC had statistically significant differences between the importance level and the current level, and priorities were derived. The competency with the highest priority was domain A (Global Burden of Disease). We expect the findings of this study to be used in Korean medical education as fundamental data to prepare a hereafter research foundation for GHE and discuss systematic GHE based on GHC.

초등 사회과 금융교육 내용 요소 탐색 연구

Objectives The purposes of this study was to explore the content elements of financial education in elementary school social studies.
 Methods we analyzed overseas cases such as the United Kingdom, the United States, Australia, Singapore, and OECD/INFE, which have advanced financial education, and conducted focus group interviews with current elementary school teachers to explore the content elements of elementary financial education. Based on the analysis of overseas cases and the results of the teacher interviews, we derived the content elements of elementary financial education and presented a financial education curriculum that shows how these content elements can be taught in the field.
 Results Through a synthesis of international financial education practices and interviews with elementary school teachers, we identified four content areas that should be covered in primary social studies financial education: money and income, consumption and spending, saving and investing, and credit and financial security. In order to provide examples of how these content elements are specifically addressed in elementary school, a financial education lesson plan was developed for the area of saving and investing.
 Conclusions Based on the results of this study, it was suggested that in the field of elementary financial education, efforts should be made to strengthen and expand the content of financial education in the school curriculum, and that rich teaching and learning materials for financial education should be developed and academic research should be conducted. It was also suggested that the content of financial education should be flexible to meet the rapidly changing financial environment, and that financial literacy surveys should be conducted periodically for elementary school students to identify their financial capabilities.

A model of the process for forming the readiness of future mathematics teachers to teach schoolchildren in the context of the PISA-2021 concept

Relevance. The relevance of the research topic lies in the fact that educational tasks in geometry contribute to the formation and development of mental abilities, spatial imagination, which are necessary in logistics, architecture and construction, mechanical engineering, cartography and other fields of applied science. Purpose. The purpose of the study is to study the stage of training of future mathematics teachers in the direction of implementing the PISA-2021 concept. Methodology. Among the theoretical research methods, analysis and synthesis, the method of comparison and generalization were used. At the stage of the empirical part, an experimental pedagogical study was conducted on the basis of three universities of Kazakhstan. Results. The article examines the issue of designing the learning process in the context of forming the readiness of future mathematics teachers to carry out pedagogical activities. A system of content components of the future teacher's general readiness to teach schoolchildren was determined. The signs and stages of formation of the readiness of future mathematics teachers to teach schoolchildren in the context of the PISA-2021 concept have been identified. A model of the process of forming the professional readiness of future mathematics teachers to teach schoolchildren in the context of the formation and development of their mathematical thinking, spatial ideas, and divergent thinking has been built skills of the 21st century. Conclusions. The study confirms the effectiveness of a new model for preparing future math teachers, showing high student proficiency in mathematical and pedagogical skills, while noting potential for broader application and challenges in implementation due to current school curriculum limitations. Keywords: readiness components; stages of the learning process; thinking abilities; geometric problems; section of polyhedra

Exploring the needs of girls of color in the juvenile legal system: A latent class analysis.

Girls of color are overrepresented in the juvenile legal system and experience high levels of unmet needs. Assessing and meeting girls' needs may prevent system contact or deeper involvement by providing for these needs in community-based settings, rather than through juvenile legal systems. This study used a structured interview-based assessment adapted from an advocacy intervention to examine girls' self-identified needs and perceived effectiveness and difficulty of accessing resources for these needs. Descriptive analyses found that girls reported needing resources beyond those typically assessed and supported in existing programming, such as technology, extracurriculars, and employment. Latent class analysis revealed four subgroups of girls with distinct but overlapping areas of needs: (1) High Employment, Current School, and Logistical Needs, (2) Low Overall Needs, (3) High Employment Needs, and (4) High Employment, Current School, and Social/Emotional Needs. Girls also reported wide variation in their ability and difficulty accessing needed resources, with employment being most difficult to access and school and social/emotional resources being the easiest to access. These findings suggest that more comprehensive and individualized approaches to programming and community services for system-impacted girls of color are essential.

Hiding and Seeking: The Educational and Socioemotional Needs of Asylum Seeker and Refugee Students

ABSTRACT Focusing on asylum seeker and refugee students attending a school with the stated mission to cater to recent immigrants, asylees, and refugees in Texas, we explored the school experiences of asylum-seeking and refugee middle schoolers and how they see their education. Having obtained political asylum in the United States, they are hiding from strife in their native lands, but also seeking a schooling experience that will nurture their dreams. We explored that seeking by having students envision their ideal classrooms with a group drawing exercise and then discuss these visions, the experiences that shaped them, and how their current schooling experience compares to their ideal in in-depth interviews. Complementary school data were collected. By focusing on asylum seeker and refugee students, we sought to eschew assimilationist ideologies and to highlight the diversity of experiences and interpretations within this group. We explored the themes found in students’ conceptualizations of their ideals, including the high aspirations students hold, their comparative outlook on education processes, the centrality of relationships to student success, and the conflicted identities students have to negotiate daily.

Abai’s legacy as a fundament of the art of speech

Relevance. Contributions of Abai Kunanbayev are pivotal in understanding the role of literary art in national education, stressing the importance of the word in shaping individual and collective consciousness. Purpose. This study aims to explore Abai's profound impact on the art of speech and its educational implications. Methodology. The research methodically reviews scholarly works on Abai, analyzing his literary contributions and educational philosophy. It involves a detailed examination of Abai's poetry and prose, identifying themes related to language and speech. Furthermore, the study assesses current school textbooks to determine the extent of Abai's presence in the curriculum. Through content and semantic analysis, the research delineates Abai's criteria for language and speech, offering a nuanced understanding of his educational vision. Results. The research found that the rich heritage of the universally recognised poet Abai offers a single methodological system for the development of the student’s speech. The study examined the role of Abai’s legacy in the development of the student’s speech, it disclosed the characteristic of the concepts “language” and “word” in his works. The study carried out an analysis of the positive and negative characteristics of the speaker. In this way, requirements to the speaker were formulated. Conclusions. This article showed the place in world literature of such a great Kazakh person as Abai, and also analysed the extent to which school textbooks include the necessary part of Abai’s creativity for mastering the literary art. On the basis of the conducted research, the preconditions for the introduction of Abai’s works into the educational process as a scientific and methodological basis for the development of the student’s speech were determined.

School Nutrition Personnel Perceptions of School Salad Bars before and after COVID-19.

Many schools have salad bars as a means to increase students' fruit and vegetable intake. School nutrition programs experienced drastic changes to the school food environment due to COVID-19. The aim of the current study was to understand cafeteria personnel's experiences related to salad bar implementation before the COVID-19 pandemic and in the current school environment to inform efforts to enhance salad bar sustainability. Seven elementary schools (N = 30 personnel) installed salad bars prior to COVID-19; three of these schools (n = 13 personnel) re-opened salad bars after COVID-19. Cafeteria personnel completed surveys assessing their experiences with salad bars at both time points. Satisfaction with salad bar implementation and training was high pre- and post-COVID-19. Most agreed that salad bars increased students' fruit and vegetable intake, yet had concerns about cleanliness and waste. Perceived job difficulty increased post-COVID-19 (p = 0.01), and satisfaction with student salad bar training decreased (p = 0.001). Additional staff support and greater student training were needed post-COVID-19. Overall, salad bars were viewed favorably; however, more challenges and lower satisfaction were reported following COVID-19. Increasing support for cafeteria personnel is needed for salad bar sustainability and improving the school food environment.