School Curriculum Research Articles

High School Curricular Rigor and Cognitive Function among White Older Adults.

Most research on the strong relationship between education and cognitive aging has focused on years of schooling. Using data from the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study-a sample of White persons born in 1939-we explored whether greater curricular rigor in high school was also associated with better cognitive function in later life. We estimated multilevel structural equation models in data from 2,749 participants who attended 308 Wisconsin high schools, graduating in 1957. Independent of academic ability and performance and school-level financial and material resources, a more rigorous high school curriculum was associated with significantly better global cognitive functioning in 2020, when most participants were 81 years old. There was also a significant mediation via eventual degree attainment. The mediation was moderated such that men and participants from high socioeconomic status families benefited most from a rigorous curriculum. We discuss implications for modern educational policy.

Sign of the Times

This paper discusses the significance of school curricula in reflecting societal priorities and needs, focusing on the incorporation of computational thinking (CT) in Nordic national curricula. Our point of departure is that the preparedness of future generations for a digitally driven society can be determined by analysing how CT is either explicitly or implicitly framed in school curricula. Accordingly, this study examined the school curricula of Denmark, Finland, and Norway in terms of their similarities and differences in how they framed CT, as these countries have different approaches to the inclusion of CT. A framework for analysis that was grounded in influential works on CT in education was developed, focusing on problem-solving, algorithmic and transversal practices. National-level curricula were examined using a content analysis. Despite the differences in the approaches used in these countries, our findings indicate similarities across all three curricula, with an emphasis on how CT was framed.

Review on pedagogical practices for computational thinking in teacher education

As computational thinking (CT) enters school curricula, and research on teaching of CT emerges, the time has come to spotlight CT in teacher education (TE). To this end, we conducted a literature review on CT in TE for STEM subjects with particular focus on research into pre-service teachers’ (PSTs) learning of pedagogical practices. We found 31 articles addressing CT in TE for STEM subjects between 2012 and 2023, applying qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods, mainly with smaller sample sizes. Almost all describe teaching interventions with research on PSTs’ CT skills or attitudes. Only five articles include research questions explicitly addressing pedagogical practices for learning to teach CT. However, 13 articles explicitly describe such pedagogical practices and another seven implicitly do so. The review shows that the practices for teaching CT is an under-researched area, and the field lacks a common language and systematic research approaches. However, we do find that TE has clear ambitions for teaching PSTs about pedagogical practices as well as CT skills and attitudes.

Awareness of DepEd Core Values among Grade 12 Students in a Public High School in the Philippines

This study determined the level of awareness of Department of Education (DepEd) core values among grade 12 students in a public school in Antique, Philippines, in the areas of maka-Diyos (Godly), makatao (person-oriented), makakalikasan (pro-environment), and makabansa (patriotism). Likewise, the study assessed the significant difference in their awareness of DepEd core values relative to their demographics. Hence, the study utilized quantitative research design, particularly descriptive-comparative approaches. The theoretical framework of the study is the ecological systems theory, which assumes the influence of a series of nested systems and environments in shaping human development. This indicates the need for considering the larger ecological context that drives core value awareness. Meanwhile, using the adopted questionnaire, data were collected from 293 Grade 12 senior high school students in a public high school in Antique, Philippines, during the school year 2023-2024. In the analysis of data, frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation, Mann-Whitney U test, and Kruskal-Wallis test were employed to analyze both the descriptive and inferential problems. The study revealed that the overall core value awareness of students was very high (M=4.35, SD=0.48). This shows that the students at this public school fully recognized the four DepEd core values, namely, maka-Diyos, makatao, makakalikasan, and makabansa. Also, among all the four demographics, only sex [U=7782.5, P=0.001] and strand [χ2(5) =13.739, P=0.017] were found with significant differences. The findings postulate that to elicit students’ core value awareness, strengthening educational policies on consistent core value integration in school curricula, programs, and activities is greatly encouraged. The findings also convey the need to strengthen sustainable teacher orientation to maintain their students' high awareness.

What are future doctors learning about sex? An assessment of sexual health curricula across medical schools in the Northeastern United States.

Sexual health is an imperative area of study in medical school education, yet many medical schools do not offer a comprehensive curriculum nor is it standardized across the United States (US). This study aims to assess written curriculum materials from sexual health curricula in medical schools across the northeast region of the US and compare the current teachings to suggested standards. A compilation of academic resources including lecture materials and syllabi were systematically reviewed utilizing a standardized and validated rubric with variables assessed including: biological and psychological aspects of human sexual development, anatomy and physiology of the human sexual response cycle, sexual health in relation to human reproduction, and contraceptive options. We analyzed our data from the document analysis to look at the frequency of inclusion and exclusion of the sexual health topics included in our rubric. The outcomes of our data set were in line with our hypothesis that there is significant variance between sexual health curricula across institutions as well as an overall lack in material covering sexual health topics. The data show significant sex specific differences such that male-specific topics were covered more frequently than female-specific information. Additionally, only one of the 10 schools examined taught about vulvar conditions. There was also a paucity of information about sexuality in the post-partum period. The clinical implications of this study aim to highlight the discrepancy between an ideal sexual health curriculum and what is actually being taught in medical schools and help to guide future work of creating a comprehensive and standardized sexual medicine education in US. medical schools. The validity of this study was strengthened by analyzing direct curricula materials as opposed to previous use of subjective, self-reported questionnaires. However, the sample location being restricted to the Northeast was a limitation to generalize findings across the country. Future studies would aim to analyze medical school curricula across different regions in the US. This study shows that there is a lack of comprehensive and standardized sexual health curriculum in medical schools in the Northeastern US and serves as initial evidence for further investigation of this topic across American medical schools.

Features of the development of strength and flexibility of middle school children by means of fitness with elements of martial arts

The article is devoted to the study of the peculiarities of the development of flexibility and strength of schoolchildren aged 13-14 under the influence of martial arts fitness. The purpose of the study is to determine the effectiveness of using fitness exercises with elements of martial arts for the development of flexibility and strength abilities of secondary school children. The research involved 20 boys and 20 girls who studied in the 8th grade of a secondary school. The following methods were used to solve the research tasks: studying and analyzing literary sources on the research topic; pedagogical experiment; pedagogical testing of the level of physical abilities development, methods of mathematical statistics. To conduct the pedagogical experiment all participants of the experiment were divided into two groups: experimental (10 girls and 10 boys) and control (the same composition). The essence of the experiment was that for children who were included in the experimental group during 5 weeks during physical education lessons an experimental variable module on fitness with elements of martial arts was introduced. When developing the variable module on martial arts fitness, we adhered to the requirements for variable modules in the current physical education curriculum for schools. Girls and boys in the control group attended physical education classes based on the educational material of the variable module gymnastics. The study proved that the use of a variable fitness module based on the use of classical aerobics exercises and martial arts elements during physical education lessons in middle school contributes to a statistically significant improvement in flexibility (forward bending) and strength (flexion and extension of the arms in a lying position and lifting the torso from a lying position in 30 seconds). At the same time, such exercises are emotional and can have a positive impact on adolescents' functional fitness, well-being, and mood.

Formation of a healthy lifestyle of high school students using the «Fitness Mix» means

The article analyzes the importance of developing a healthy lifestyle among high school girls and the role of the "Fitness Mix" methodology in this process. The study explores the use of "Fitness Mix" as an innovative tool for enhancing physical activity levels, improving performance, and promoting overall health among adolescents. It emphasizes how combining different types of physical activities, such as aerobics, strength training, and stretching, can be integrated into physical education classes to achieve comprehensive results. In addition to physical exercises, the article highlights the importance of the theoretical component, which includes principles of healthy eating, regular sleep and rest routines, prevention of harmful habits, and maintaining mental health. Special attention is given to the analysis of scientific research and practical examples that confirm the effectiveness of using fitness technologies in schools. Alternatives to traditional modular physical education programs are discussed, broadening the opportunities for educating and developing adolescents. The study emphasizes the need to consider individual student characteristics when designing exercise programs, ensuring optimal results and maintaining motivation for regular physical activity. The article also provides recommendations for educators and trainers on implementing «Fitness Mix» into the school curriculum to promote the development of sustainable healthy lifestyle habits among youth. A range of examples is analyzed regarding the combination of different types of physical activity, specifically aerobics, strength exercises, stretching, etc., with an additional focus on important aspects such as healthy eating principles, sleep and rest routines, prevention of harmful habits, and mental health preservation. The importance of considering the individual characteristics of students when designing exercise programs is underscored.

Biblical Perspective and Educational Domains in Sex Education: Addressing Gaps in Indonesian Sex Education

In Indonesia, sex education is delivered in public high schools as part of the biology curriculum and under the topic of reproductive health. According to the government’s view, when schools teach students properly about reproductive health, they will have a good understanding of their sexuality. Therefore, there is no need to have any further sexual education outside of the school curriculum. However, about half of the teenagers living in major cities are involved in premarital sex, and the rate of teen abortion and HIV infections is high. This article examined the implementation of sexual education in public high schools in Indonesia using a combination of qualitative and quantitative research. The survey was done on a sample of 416 students from 30 provinces and 66 cities in Indonesia. The finding support a particular approach to sex education that incorporates cognitive, affective, and psychomotor learning aspects of educational taxonomy. We find that it is essential to develop a separate sex education module in addition to the current reproductive health topic taught in biology to encourage students to practice abstinence, rather than just teaching reproductive health.

Teachers and Students’ Awareness of Re-Entry of Mother-Students Policy in Public Secondary Schools in Dodoma City, Tanzania

This study investigates the awareness levels among teachers and students regarding the re-entry policy for mother-students in public secondary schools in Dodoma City, Tanzania. The study employed a descriptive research design. A purposive sampling method was employed to select 10 of these 35 schools, ensuring a diverse representation from different areas within the city. The selected schools' population included 11,329 students and 512 teachers, from whom a sample of 489 students and 104 teachers was drawn. Data was collected using a self-administered questionnaire and analyzed through descriptive statistics and the Chi-square test. Based on the findings, the study concludes that gender and students’ education level determine the awareness of re-entry policies. Those students in higher classes had greater exposure to the policies than those in lower classes. Therefore, educational mobility expands individuals' access to policy discussion, calling for specific interventions among females and lower classes. The study suggests that professional development programs must increase teachers’ understanding of the re-entry policies, especially for female teachers. The school curriculums should introduce an extensive advocacy program for lower-level classes and girls. A fair outreach must be undertaken so that students, regardless of their socio-economic background, can know about reentry policies.

Mental Health Outcomes of Parents with Children Enrolled in the Competence-Based Curriculum in Public Day Primary Schools in Nairobi County, Kenya

Involvement in their children's education through the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC) significantly impacts the mental health outcomes of parents, necessitating a deeper understanding of how these educational demands influence parental well-being. This study examines the mental health outcomes of parents with children enrolled in the CBC in primary schools in Nairobi County, Kenya. Utilizing Cognitive Behavioral Theory (CBT), the research employed a quantitative approach with a cross-sectional survey design targeting parents with children enrolled in the CBC in primary schools. A multi-stage sampling technique resulted in a sample size of 376 parents. Data were collected using structured questionnaires, including the Parenting Sense of Competence (PSOC) scale, Multidimensional Fatigue Inventory (MFI), Parental Stress Scale, and New General Self-Efficacy Scale. Statistical analysis using SPSS Version 25 involved descriptive methods. The findings revealed generally positive mental health outcomes, with high levels of parenting satisfaction and self-efficacy, alongside moderate levels of mental fatigue and stress. These results align with CBT, emphasizing the role of positive beliefs and effective coping strategies in maintaining mental health. The study concludes that while CBC aims to enhance learning, it also creates challenges for parents that impact their mental health.

Cultivating Leadership and Teamwork in Medical Students Through Rowing: A Phenomenological Study.

This study was conducted to allow us to understand the subjective experiences of medical students participating in rowing exercise classes at a medical school in South Korea and to derive implications for medical education. Accordingly, we analyzed their reflective journals, focusing on leadership and teamwork development. The study involved 40 second-year premedical students, and Colaizzi's analysis was employed to understand and structure their experiences. The comprehensive analysis revealed 149 meaningful statements expressing students' thoughts and experiences regarding the rowing exercise. From these statements, 13 meanings were synthesized, resulting in nine themes and four overarching categories, which provided a multilayered understanding of students' experiences. The factors that enhanced teamwork included communication, trust, respect among team members, and a sense of responsibility. By contrast, the hindering factors were competitiveness, impatience, and avoidance of responsibility. Before the class, a mix of anticipation, excitement, and dissatisfaction regarding the rowing exercise course was observed. However, after the class, students realized that the role of the entire team, rather than individual ability, is crucial, and collaboration with peers is key-the concept of shared leadership. This study is significant in that it demonstrates rowing's potential as a team sport to serve as an effective program for fostering collaboration and leadership within the medical school curriculum.

Пути преодоления трудностей при освоении учащимися младших классов читательских умений

Reading skills are the basis of schoolchildren’s reading literacy. A student’s readiness to find the necessary information in a text, analyze, interpret it and use it to complete educational and life tasks determines the successful mastery of the subjects of the curriculum in primary school. In the article, in the course of a comparative analysis of the main problems that teachers encounter when developing reading literacy in primary school students, as well as the difficulties demonstrated by Russian schoolchildren according to the results of the International Reading Literacy Study PIRLS, methodological solutions to the identified problems are proposed.

The association between empathy and artistic practice: a cross-sectional study with medical students

BackgroundEmpathy is essential to medical practice, and efforts to cultivate it often include incorporating liberal arts into medical curricula to promote it. However, the association between empathy and engagement in artistic practice beyond the medical curricula remains unclear. This study aims to assess the association between medical students´ empathy and their engagement in artistic activities.MethodsStudents enrolled at 11 Portuguese medical schools were invited to participate in an online survey. The survey included questions about their artistic practice, and the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI) to measure empathy.ResultsA total of 450 medical students completed the survey. 158 students (35%) were actively engaged in the arts, 118 of which practiced music (75%). Participants involved in artistic activities demonstrated significantly higher scores in the Fantasy subscale compared to their peers. Participants engaged in multiple artistic activities scored significantly higher in overall IRI, as well as in Empathic Concern and Fantasy subscales, compared to those practicing only one artistic activity. Participants who began their artistic practice earlier tended to achieve higher scores in overall IRI and on the Empathic Concern subscale.ConclusionsThe present study highlights a significant positive association between artistic practice and empathy levels among medical students. Further research is recommended to clarify this association, potentially informing revisions to medical school curricula.

The Essence of Islamic Religious Education Curriculum: Integrating Islamic Values with Contemporary Education

The purpose of writing this article is to explain the essence of the Islamic religious education curriculum in schools. Where the Islamic education curriculum plays a central role in shaping identity and scientific development in the context of religion-based education. This research is literature research by examining the nature of the Islamic education curriculum. The literature review method includes indirect observation or looking at internet platforms, books and other sources, then analyzing facts relevant to the specified topic. The essence of the Islamic education curriculum is activities that involve learning plans, material content and student learning method strategies that are implemented well, which will create a generation that is obedient and obedient to Allah SWT, has a high religious attitude, becomes human beings who are highly capable, have interests and appropriate talent.

Indigenous Knowledge Content & Mathematics Curriculum

Cultural practices present opportunities for Mathematics Education to be more relevant, and effective, especially in post-colonial contexts. Despite national policies emphasising integration of Indigenous Knowledge (IK) into school curricula, there has been limited success in incorporating ethnomathematics into Mathematics teaching. We exploredgeometrical concepts inherent in traditional baskets produced by Aawambo women, an ethnic group in northern Namibia. We identified specific geometrical concepts that can be linked to the junior secondary school Mathematics syllabus. We employed ethnographic observations, interviews with local basket makers and focus group discussions with Mathematics junior secondary school teachers for triangulation. Furthermore, we adopted an interpretive paradigmusing a multi-modal method to source empirical data that demonstrated relevance to the curriculum. We explored socio-cultural perspectives of women and artefacts (baskets) to compare the subject matter from literature. The findings revealed common concepts as well as the ethnomathematical content not yet incorporated in the junior secondary school Mathematics curriculum comprising of symmetry (axial symmetry) and geometrical transformation (shear and translation). The study has implications for decolonizing western Mathematical practices through adoption ethnomathematics approaches across Africa.

Langue littéraire – langue standard: une nécessaire révision terminologique de la langue roumaine

The purpose of this paper is to analyse two linguistic terms, limbă literară (literary language) and limbă standard (standard language), which illustrate a particular type of terminological instability in Romanian linguistics: throughout times, they have been used either in a hyponymy/hypernymy relation, or in an equivalence one. We first provide a short history of the usage of the two terms from the ’50s onwards, and then we concentrate on the situation encountered today in linguistic papers, but also in school curricula and textbooks. As a result of our analysis, we advocate for a terminological revision of the two terms: while limbă literară is the only appropriate term for Old Romanian (early 16th – late 18th centuries), limbă standard is now used (and has been for a while) as its synonym, highlighting the standardization process that Romanian has undergone (starting from the 19th century), and should be registered as such in dictionaries.

핵심역량 함양을 위한 초⋅중등학교 교육과정기준 개발 연구: 핵심프로젝트 중심으로

Objectives The purpose of this study is to develop core-project curriculum standards for elementary and middle school schools by assuming the elementary and middle school curriculum for cultivating core competency as a ‘core project’ and exploring the curriculum standard development model for this purpose. Methods To this end, according to the ABCD (A Bridge Curriculum Development) procedure, the basic questions of the core-project curriculum standards for elementary and middle school schools were set and a draft plan was designed, and a draft and revised plan were prepared by reflecting the opinions of elementary and middle school teachers and experts. The final draft was finalized through an expert council and applied to the general outline of the 2015 revised curriculum. Results Firstly, in order to discover core-projects that fit the characteristics of the subject, the ‘10 characteristics’ of core projects that represent the characteristics of core-projects were derived. Secondly, the research and development of the core-project curriculum standards for elementary and middle school schools was materialized through the process of draft, draft, revision, final draft, and application plan. Thirdly, it was confirmed that the elementary and middle school curriculum standards for cultivating core competencies are universally applicable to various subjects such as technology and science. Conclusions Firstly, core-projects can become an important curriculum that allows students to comprehensively learn subject matter and core competencies. Secondly, It was confirmed that there was a need to maximize educational effectiveness by clearly establishing the function, form, and contents of elementary and middle school curriculum standards for cultivating core competency. Thirdly, it was emphasized that the development of curriculum standards should reflect the diverse needs of society, learners, and academics.

Navigating Tensions in the Design of a New Equity Centered Elementary Teacher Preparation Program

ABSTRACT Working as concerned colleagues grappling with the notion that today’s schools reflect the social inequalities that exist in today’s society and are often characterized by racial, ethnic, social class, linguistic and cultural diversity with school curricula, instructional strategies, and teacher demographics that rarely reflect this diversity, this qualitative self-study sought to explore the following question: What tensions did a team of teacher educators experience and navigate when designing an equity centered initial teacher preparation program at a Historically White Institution (HWI)? This paper illuminates our design process, three significant tensions that emerged, and the corresponding navigation strategies that were utilized to implement our vision of progressive teacher education, with the goal of highlighting the complexity inherent in enacting an equity centered teacher preparation program that seeks to address the opportunity gaps that emerge in school contexts.

Updating a Code for Teaching Ethical Visualizations

The prevalent paradigm for understanding what constitutes a ‘good’ data visualization, and what we are likely teaching business students, relates to a conventional wisdom of efficiency, clarity, transparency, and faithful representation of truth. Teaching about the ethics of visualizations seems to be largely absent from business school curricula. This paper suggests that business students who make and use visualizations should be taught to use a code of ethics for visualizations based not only on conventional wisdom, but also on ideas from the Machine Learning/AI and ‘ethical visualizations’ communities. Elaborating on Sheppard’s code, the code suggested here incorporates ideas about bias, transparency, user agency, and privacy. Ethical awareness and practice become even more important as more data collection, processing, and visualization is shifted to Machine Learning and Generative AI. A threshold model is adapted to understand when visualization decisions require more scrutiny. Ideas from the code and the threshold model are used to analyze choices made by the CDC’s COVID-19 Rapid Response Team for an early pandemic visualization that circulated widely beyond the initial report in which it appeared. This and other examples underscore the need for business professionals to consider their visualizations from the perspective of the code.

Yo! Chisme Is Good! Latina/x Girls’ Cultivando Confianza in an After-School Program

Background or Context: Middle-school Girls of Color experience complex systems of relationships, structures, and situations in and out of school spaces. Their experiences, however, are often at the margins or excluded from middle school curricula and after-school programming. In this article, we focus on how young women engage with chisme to liberate themselves from social and academic pressures placed upon them. Purpose and Research Questions: Our study seeks to center and explore the ways of knowing and being of Latina/x middle school girls with particular attention to the role of chisme. We draw on Chicana/Latina feminist perspectives to address the following research questions: (1) How do middle school Latina/x girls define chisme? (2) How and why was chisme enacted or leveraged to co-create a trusting space in an after-school program for middle school Latina/x girls? Research Design: We employed a practitioner research inquiry design to explore chisme as a literacy practice of Latina/x middle-school girls in an after-school program. The after-school program, Latina/x Girlhood Narratives, was implemented in a middle school in a mid-sized, urban city in the Midwest region of the United States. Analytically, we engaged in video data analysis and qualitative coding analysis to examine the data. Results and Conclusions: Three main findings emerged from the study: (1) shared understandings: chismes, rumors, and snitching; (2) todo or la mitad del chisme: a process and product of confianza; and (3) from chismes to liberatory literacy practices of desahogamiento. Our study demonstrates how chisme, in particular, not only was vital to building and deepening confianza, but also allowed access to the girls’ ideas for activities and pedagogies. The field of education must continue to work to make visible the ways in which Latina/x girls engage with themselves and the world in order to sustain better relationships with and for them, and to build pathways for Latina/x girls to see themselves as successful in schools and in society.