Dutch High Schools Research Articles

Online Delinquent Behaviors of Adolescents: Parents as Potential "Influencers"?

In this study we examined whether aspects of parental monitoring of adolescents' online behavior (rules regarding time spent on the internet, rules regarding content of internet use, frequency of communication, and quality of communication about internet use) are related to different kinds of online delinquent behaviors (sexting, spreading viruses, DDoS attacking, hacking, and online threatening) and whether the level of adolescents' problematic (addictive) internet use mediates these relations. In regular Dutch high schools 1,009 adolescents filled out an online questionnaire (with adjusted versions of the ISPP, PIUQ, and the Dutch Youth Crime Monitor). Descriptive statistics showed that, in general, parents do not seem to monitor adolescents' online behavior to a great extent. Furthermore, results of logistic regression analyses and mediation tests showed that fewer rules about online time, more rules about online content, and a good quality of parent-adolescent communication about online behavior are all associated with lower problematic internet use, which in turn is associated with lower odds of several online delinquent behaviors (mediation). Moreover, parental handling of rules about online content is also directly associated with lower odds of spreading viruses, hacking, and online threat.

Adolescent sleep duration: associations with social-cognitive determinants and the mediating role of sleep hygiene practices.

Insufficient sleep duration among adolescents is a widespread public health problem. Gaining better insight into social-cognitive determinants associated with adolescent sleep duration is necessary for developing effective preventive interventions to support healthy sleep. This study aimed to explore whether social-cognitive determinants regarding sufficient sleep duration were associated with sleep duration, and if these associations were mediated by collective sleep hygiene practices. Furthermore, we examined these associations for social-cognitive determinants related to not using media before bedtime and doing relaxing activities and considered whether these associations were mediated by specific sleep hygiene practices. Data were collected amongst second- and third-grade adolescents from 10 Dutch high schools. A total of 878 adolescents (mean [SD] age 13.3[0.71]years) completed data on sleep duration, social-cognitive determinants of the Theory of Planned Behaviour (i.e., attitude, subjective norms from parents, subjective norms from peers, perceived behavioural control, intention), and sleep hygiene practices. Single- and multivariable path models were constructed and mediation by sleep hygiene practices was analysed by Monte Carlo simulation. All social-cognitive determinants except for subjective norms from peers were associated with longer sleep duration (p < 0.01). Sleep hygiene practices mediated all associations between social-cognitive determinants and sleep duration (mediation ranging from 16% to 72%). Although some of the significant associations and mediation disappeared in the multivariable model, behavioural arousal was the strongest mediator, but collective sleep hygiene practices and cognitive/emotional arousal also explained parts of the associations. The findings indicate that social-cognitive factors should not be overlooked when targeting adolescent sleep duration.

Effect Evaluation of a School-Based Intervention Promoting Sleep in Adolescents: A Cluster-Randomized Controlled Trial.

ABSTRACTBACKGROUNDThis study evaluated the effect of the school‐based intervention Charge Your Brainzzz on adolescents' social‐cognitive determinants, sleep hygiene and sleep duration and quality.METHODSA cluster‐randomized controlled trial was conducted with 972 students from 10 Dutch high schools. Schools were randomly allocated to the intervention (N = 5) or control condition (N = 5). Outcomes were measured with the digital Consensus Sleep Diary and via a digital questionnaire, based on valid measures. Data were collected at baseline (T0), ±1.5 weeks post‐intervention (T1) and ±3 months post‐intervention (T2). Mixed model analyses were performed to estimate the effects on social‐cognitive determinants, sleep hygiene, and sleep outcomes.RESULTSThe intervention increased sleep knowledge post‐intervention (b = 1.91; 95%CI: 1.22‐2.60) and at follow up (b = 1.40; 95%CI: 0.70‐2.10). The intervention was also effective in changing adolescents' attitudes (b = 0.10; 95%CI: 0.01‐0.19) and perceived behavioral control (b = 0.11; 95%CI: 0.01‐0.22) post‐intervention. No positive changes were found regarding subjective norms, behavioral intentions, sleep hygiene, or sleep outcomes.CONCLUSIONSThe intervention improved adolescents' sleep knowledge, attitude, and perceived behavioral control. To significantly impact sleep health, theoretically sound and systematically developed interventions are needed which take into account the interplay between sleep, sleep‐related behaviors, and adolescents' social and physical environment.CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATIONTrial name: Evaluation of the school‐based intervention Charge Your Brainzzz promoting sleep in adolescents; URL: https://doi.org/10.1186/ISRCTN36701918; ID: ISRCTN36701918.

'Sex Is Not Just about Ovaries.' Youth Participatory Research on Sexuality Education in The Netherlands.

Young people are not satisfied with the sexuality education they receive in Dutch high schools. They rate their sexuality education as mediocre (5.8 on a scale of one to ten). In cooperation with 17 young peer researchers, we explored what good sexuality education looks like from the point of view of young people. The peer researchers collected data in their own high school, using mixed methods, starting with individual interviews, followed by focus group discussions and Photovoice sessions to get more in-depth views on topics, class atmosphere, and teacher skills. In total, 300 pupils aged 12–18 participated in the research. Our findings demonstrate that young people want more sexuality education, during their whole school career. They want sexuality education to move beyond biological functions, sexually transmitted diseases, and reproduction into issues like dating, online behavior, sexual pleasure, relationships, and sexual coercion. Moreover, pupils want sexual diversity integrated and normalized in all content. One of the main issues is that sexuality education should be given in a safe class atmosphere, which demands sensitivity from the teacher. In addition to the findings of the study, this article reflects on the steps to be taken to realize the changes desired by young people.

Designing inquiry-based learning environments for quantum physics education in secondary schools

This paper describes the design process for a digital instructional sequence on introductory quantum physics for upper secondary education. Based on a collaboration between teachers and physics education researchers, this sequence incorporates relevant theoretical foundations from the field of science teaching to promote meaningful and conceptual learning of quantum physics. The sequence is composed of units, which are being developed using the Go-Lab ecosystem (www.golabz.eu), a free online platform for teachers to create digital inquiry-based lessons. So far, the sequence covers the photoelectric effect, wave-particle duality, and tunnelling phenomena. This paper focuses on the sequence’s first unit, addressing the photoelectric effect. The unit is used in this paper to exemplify the incorporation of the sequence’s theoretical foundations: digital inquiry-based learning with simulations, collaborative learning, and conceptual change. The unit was pilot-tested with 114 students in four Dutch high schools. Answers to multiple-choice and open-ended questions were collected through the Go-Lab platform. Analyses showed the unit’s potential to promote correct reasoning about the role of the intensity and frequency variables and revealed students’ difficulties in grasping light’s particle nature at the end of the lesson. These preliminary results are used to draw conclusions about how to improve this unit and inform the design of new instructional sequences.

Avoidance, antipathy, and aggression: A three-wave longitudinal network study on negative networks, status, and heteromisos

Our aim is to explain negative networks in Dutch high schools, using three-wave stochastic actor oriented models (SAOMs). We differentiate between avoidance, antipathy, and aggression based on how costly and visible these behaviours are. Our results show that pupils’ ethnicity does not explain negative ties. Moreover, we do not find that negative ties form archetypical social hierarchies, formed by networks that are asymmetrical and transitive. Instead, we find positive effects of reciprocity on avoidance, antipathy, and aggression, and we find no effects of transitivity. Rather than allowing themselves to be dominated by their classmates, pupils fight back and reciprocate negative behaviour. We further show that some pupils behave negatively to a lot of their classmates, and that some pupils are treated negatively by many classmates. These results require us to reconsider what status hierarchies look like. Finally, we explore the extent to which the avoidance, antipathy, and aggression networks co-evolve.

Peers and Homophobic Attitudes in Adolescence: Examining Selection and Influence Processes in Friendships and Antipathies

Homophobic attitudes and behavior are a widespread problem among adolescents, but what the role of peer relationships such as friendships and antipathies is in shaping these attitudes remains unclear. Therefore, this study examined to what extent homophobic attitudes are influenced by friends’ and foes’ homophobic attitudes, and whether homophobic attitudes serve as a selection criterion for the formation of friendships and antipathies. Participants came from three Dutch high schools across two waves (wave 1 November 2014, wave 2 March/April 2015, ages 11–20, N = 1935, 51.5% girls). Stochastic actor-oriented models were estimated for testing hypotheses. The results showed that adolescents adjusted their homophobic attitudes to their friends’ homophobic attitudes, but homophobic attitudes were not consistently related to friendship selection. Further, findings indicated that being dissimilar in homophobic attitudes increased the likelihood to dislike cross-sex peers. Together, the findings suggest that adolescents’ homophobic attitudes were to some extent subject to peer influence, but homophobic attitudes did not steer who adolescents befriended or disliked.

The influence of gender stereotype threat on mathematics test scores of Dutch high school students: a registered report

ABSTRACTThe effects of gender stereotype threat on mathematical test performance in the classroom have been extensively studied in several cultural contexts. Theory predicts that stereotype threat lowers girls’ performance on mathematics tests, while leaving boys’ math performance unaffected. We conducted a large-scale stereotype threat experiment in Dutch high schools (N = 2064) to study the generalizability of the effect. In this registered report, we set out to replicate the overall effect among female high school students and to study four core theoretical moderators, namely domain identification, gender identification, math anxiety, and test difficulty. Among the girls, we found neither an overall effect of stereotype threat on math performance, nor any moderated stereotype threat effects. Most variance in math performance was explained by gender, domain identification, and math identification. We discuss several theoretical and statistical explanations for these findings. Our results are limited to the studied population (i.e. Dutch high school students, age 13–14) and the studied domain (mathematics).

Associations of health behaviors, school performance and psychosocial problems in adolescents in The Netherlands

School-based health-promoting interventions show promising results in improving various health outcomes of adolescents. Unfortunately, much is still unknown about the relations between health behaviors and school performances, while improving these would give schools a stronger incentive to invest in health promotion. This paper presents the associations of several health behaviors with school performances and studies the mediating effects of psychosocial problems. Health behavior and socio-demographic data were gathered from 905 Dutch high school students via an online survey, completed in-class. These data were matched with school records of the students' overall grade average (GA) on the three core subjects in Dutch high schools (Dutch, English and Math). The associations between health behaviors and school performances, and the potentially mediating effects of psychosocial problems, were studied via mixed-effects regression models. Smoking, being bullied, compulsive and excessive internet use and low physical activity were directly associated with lower school grades. Additionally, being bullied, bullying, smoking, excessive and compulsive internet use were associated with students' grades via mediation of psychosocial problems. This means that lower school grades were (also) associated with those behaviors through the effects of psychosocial problems in those students. This study showed the strong links between health behaviors and academic achievements among adolescents. Schools and health promoters should be educated more on these relations, so that they are aware of this common interest to get more support for health-promoting interventions. Additionally, the role of psychosocial problems in the relations between behaviors and school performances should be studied further in future research.

The effects of English bilingual education in the Netherlands

This paper reports on the effectiveness of bilingual education in the Netherlands. After a brief history of the rise of bilingual education in the Netherlands, the study traces the development of English proficiency of two cohorts at Dutch high schools during one year: a group of Year 1 students (average age 12) and a group of Year 3 students (average age 14) were tested three times during one academic year. The results suggest a dynamic interplay as proficiency increases between condition and other factors such as initial proficiency, scholastic aptitude, out of school contact, and motivation/attitude factors. In Year 1, scholastic aptitude and initial proficiency were strong predictors for all students. In Year 3, scholastic aptitude no longer played a role, but initial proficiency and motivation/attitude did. The students who received bilingual education outperformed the students from the other two groups (regulars and controls).

Selection patterns, gender and friendship aim in classroom networks

The social networks of students, and the underlying processes of selection, can have strong effects on their psychological and academic adjustment. The effects of gender, friendship aim (intimacy or social activities) and the combination of gender and friendship aim on selection patterns (student’s activity in selecting new friends, linking with friends of friends, and similarity in behavior) were studied, using two wave data from 741 students (12–14 years old) in 27 freshmen classes in Dutch high schools. Many students did not fit the gender-typical expectations regarding friendship aim (girls preferring intimacy and boys social activities). In most classes, girls who preferred intimacy, and boys who preferred social activity, were more active in engaging in new friendships than the other girls and boys. Girls who preferred intimacy more often befriended classmates who were similar in school behaviors, whereas boys who preferred social activities more often befriended dissimilar classmates. We discuss these findings with regard to their implications for academic adjustment in terms of academic performance and wellbeing.

Alcohol use among adolescents as a coordination problem in a dynamic network

Whereas most research on substance (ab)use by adolescents studies only the effects of personal networks of adolescents, we propose a theoretical approach that allows for predictions on the effects of the macro-level social network structure on usage rates. We model alcohol use as risk-dominant but inefficient behaviour in a coordination problem, given that adolescents face incentives to align their behaviour with their friends. We propose a game-theoretical model in which actors choose behaviour in a repeated coordination game in an endogenous network. Predictions on levels of alcohol use depending on initial network structure are based on computer simulations of this model. We test the predictions using longitudinal data on alcohol use and friendship choices in school classes in Dutch high schools. We replicate the predicted ‘catalysing’ effect of initial network density on the development of alcohol use but the predicted opposing effect of centralization could not be confirmed.

Extremely low prevalence of epinephrine autoinjectors in high-risk food-allergic adolescents in Dutch high schools

The aim of the study was to estimate the prevalence of probable food allergy in adolescents aged 11-20 and to examine the frequency of epinephrine autoinjector (EAI) ownership among high-risk individuals. Adolescents were screened followed by a more detailed telephone questionnaire inquiring about suspected food(s), symptoms, diagnosis, and use of an EAI. The participating adolescents were classified as probably or unlikely to be food-allergic. The need for an EAI was assessed. In total, 2284 adolescents completed the screening questionnaire, of which 396 indicated food to be a problem and 168 agreed to be interviewed. Forty-eight adolescents were classified as probably food-allergic, of which eight were not aware of their food allergy. Twenty-three adolescents were considered candidates for an EAI, whereas only two of them had been prescribed this medication. The calculated questionnaire-based prevalence of EAI need was 3.0% (minimal prevalence at least 1.0%), whereas the EAI ownership was 0.09%. In conclusion, we found an alarming under prescription of EAIs in school-going adolescents.

Het nieuwe Brabants. Een onderzoek naar diversiteit in taal en cultuur onder jongeren in Noordoost-Brabant

This paper aims at mapping out and analyzing language variation and the underlying social structures of adolescents in a part of the province North Brabant, The Netherlands. It presents the findings of a study that was conducted in 2010 at two Dutch high schools, in a large college in the town of Uden and in a much smaller school in the peripheral village of Mill. Twelve video recordings were made of Brabantish boys and girls aged 15 and 16, who were having spontaneous conversations in their spare time at school. Additionally a written survey was made of social and cultural characteristics. We sketched profiles of our 38 informants, consisting of features such as locality, ethnicity, language use, language attitude, cultural behavior, and political opinion. We could form only one cluster of three informants that shared relating characteristics. Diversity and variability seems to reach such a degree that stereotypes are not or hardly applicable.

Auditing management practices in schools

PurposeOver the past ten years, most Dutch high schools have been confronted with mergers, curriculum reforms, and managerial changes. As a result, the pressure on the schools' communication systems has increased and several problems have emerged. This paper aims to examine recurring clusters of communication problems in high schools.Design/methodology/approachA multi‐method communication audit was conducted within three large high schools in The Netherlands. Data were collected using network analysis, the critical incident technique, and the Communication Satisfaction Questionnaire.FindingsThe communication audits uncovered six major clusters of communication problems that require management's attention. These problems vary from a lack of participation in decision making to employees feeling under appreciated. While some of these problems could be solved by creating more awareness within the organization, others require more structural changes and long‐range planning.Originality/valueThe study identifies specific problem areas in the organizational communication of high schools. Educational managers may use the findings to optimize the communication in their schools.

Revisiting Selection and Influence: An Inquiry into the Friendship Networks of High School Students and Their Association with Delinquency

Criminologists tend to assume that friends are fairly similar in their delinquent behaviours. However, the process leading to this similarity is not fully understood. It is not clear whether similarity in delinquent behaviour among friends is the result of a selection- or of an influence process. In this article, we investigate this issue using longitudinal data on students’ friendship networks and their delinquent behaviour in 16 Dutch high schools (n = 859). For the analysis, we made use of SIENA, a technique for the simultaneous analysis of the dynamics of both networks and behaviour. A meta-analysis showed influence to be a general process without variation over the schools, while selection played a role in only 4 of the 16 schools.

The First Decade of Informatics in Dutch High Schools

Informatics is currently being taught in high schools all over the world. In the Nether- lands, where all students are expected to become computer literate in the lower grades of high school (Hulsen et al., 2005), it has been decided not to consider computer literacy as being part of Informatics. What, then, should be the content of the Informatics curriculum taught in the higher grades? What should be taught, how and to whom? How should students' achievements be assessed? The answers to these questions completely depend on defining what the objectives of teaching Informatics are. This case study will discuss these objectives, along with the content of the Dutch High School Informatics Curriculum, the experiences resulting from the initial imple- mentation of this curriculum, including the setting in which Informatics presently finds itself, and in the course of this we will provide answers to the above questions.

Ethnic Boundaries in High School Students' Networks in Flanders and the Netherlands

Ethnic boundaries were tested in students' networks in 34 Flemish and 19 Dutch high schools. Each network consisted of a school cohort in an intermediate level of education (track). While students from the native majority predominantly had friendships within their own ethnic category, minority students often had more inter-ethnic than intra-ethnic friendships. However, a multilevel p2 model for analysing the networks showed that this was due mainly to the quantitative dominance of native students in the networks. Native students were more inclined than minority students to engage in inter-ethnic friendships. The study found ethnic boundaries to be stronger in the Dutch networks than in the Flemish networks. It is unclear whether this is due to methodological reasons or to more substantial differences between the Netherlands and Flanders.