Initial Educational Level Research Articles

(077) WOMEN'S SEXUAL HEALTH: AN INTRODUCTION TO A BIOPSYCHOSOCIAL LECTURE FOR EARLY HEALTHCARE TRAINING

Abstract Introduction In 2009, The International Consultation in Sexual Medicine called for the implementation of a greatly expanded, national standard on sexual health education across the nation within medical schools (E Coleman et al. 2013). Yet, over half of medical students throughout the United States and Canada feel that their medical school education left them inadequately prepared to address their patients’ sexual health concerns (Shindel AW et al. 2010). A 2022 study illustrates that outside of basic female anatomy, over half of the Chicago area medical schools failed to address female sexual functioning in their curriculum (N Codispoti et al 2022). Furthermore, today's physicians share similar qualms, as they cite lack of education and training on sexual health as leading to barriers to care and a decrease in screening for sexual dysfunction (Parish SJ et al 2009). Our study delineates a proposed curriculum, analyzing for efficacy as well as the students perceived comfort with addressing this topic in clinic and their perspectives on its importance to their education. Objective Assess the need for curriculum supplementation based on student baseline knowledge and comfort with the topic of women's sexual health. Establish the supplemental curriculum, analyzing for efficacy of education and improved student comfort with addressed topics. Integration of supplemental curriculum into study location medical school curriculum and standardization to all area medical school curriculums. Methods This self controlled, cross-sectional, survey study investigates first year medical students' initial education level and perspectives on womens’ sexual function (WSF) and womens’ sexual dysfunction (WSD), and their post education knowledge level and perspective. The study team recruited 50 students for our study, approximately one third of the class. The study outcomes were assessed for the efficacy of each of the teaching materials through content based quiz questions, as well as the students perceived comfort with addressing this topic in clinic and their perspectives on its importance to their education as compared to the pre-education survey. Results The study resulted in statistically significant improvement from the pretest knowledge in subjects of postmenopausal atrophic vaginitis, perimenopausal risk factors and preventative care, and female HPG axis-based pubertal development. Notably within the demographic assessment, all medical specialties were selected as “of interest” by at least one participant. The participants also assessed that overall women’s sexual health should be taught in their preclinical curriculum and is valuable to their future career, despite the widely varied fields of medicine within interest. Conclusions With statistically significant improvement in knowledge of women’s sexual development and function through our proposed curriculum, we aim to advocate for implementation of a standardized preclinical women’s sexual health curriculum. Furthermore, our ongoing studies focus on the development of a curriculum directed at the pathology and treatments of female sexual dysfunction from a biopsychosocial perspective, resulting in a comprehensive curriculum. Disclosure No.

Linguistic intuition in the system of teaching Russian as a foreign language at the pre-university stage

The relevance of the study is due to the lack of methodological complexes designed to develop linguistic intuition among foreigners studying the Russian language at pre-university stage. Foreign students at the initial level of education usually use linguistic intuition formed in their native language, but observations show that a full-fledged linguistic intuition in Russian-language speech communication is based on the automatic use of elements and constructions of the Russian language. The purpose of the study is to substantiate the need for consistent use of tasks that contribute to the automated speech skills and stimulate linguistic guess in the process of teaching Russian as foreign language. The following methods were applied: observation of the communicative activities of students learning the Russian language with the proposed methodology, analysis and synthesis of results, as well as observation in order to identify difficulties in achieving automaticity of speech skills and the use of linguistic intuition. The research was conducted at the elementary and basic levels of teaching the Russian language to Iranian students of medical and biological specialties at the Preparatory Faculty of the Kazan (Volga Region) Federal University. A methodology has been developed, based on the system of phonetic, lexical-grammatical and text tasks for classroom and independent work. The training complex uses elements of critical thinking to form and improve speech and cognitive skills that will help foreign students develop the ability to independently solve various communicative problems. Provided that tasks for developing intuition are regularly completed at classroom, it seems promising to achieve freedom of speech behavior of foreign students in communicative acts of various types.

Implementing Moral Attitudes in Students Through Citizenship Education in Primary Schools

This research aims to find out how students apply moral values to the development of the character of elementary school students who are intelligent, creative and have noble character. Adult moral problems often occur in school-age children, including due to a minimal understanding of right and wrong and a lack of direction from the second party, namely the school, regarding character education. Pancasila as an ideology plays an important role in building the morals of Indonesian society. So Pancasila must be understood and instilled in the nation through the values contained in each point of Pancasila. The research method uses a qualitative approach with literature study. Research data sources are taken from scientific journals, electronic books and other sources. The research results show that the application of Pancasila values can shape the morals of elementary school children through integration with learning and accompanied by habituation based on teacher direction. Moral education which originates from Pancasila should continue to be implemented in the world of education, especially for the initial level of education, namely elementary school, because with this the quality of the Indonesian nation will be better in the future.

ANALISIS PENGARUH PENGGUNAAN MEDIA KARTU KATA BERGAMBAR TERHADAP KEMAMPUAN MEMBACA SISWA KELAS 1 SEKOLAH DASAR

Based on findings from MI Islamiyah Tugu Mantup researchers, researchers found that students' reading abilities were relatively low, there were some students who were able to read, but some still had difficulty reading. With this, researchers are carrying out research on picture word card media, which is expected to present a more visual and interesting learning concept for students. This research aims to conduct a qualitative analysis of the impact of using picture word card media on the reading ability of grade 1 elementary school students. The method used in this research is descriptive qualitative method, this research involves grade 1 students who are involved in learning using picture word cards as media. Data was collected through classroom observations, teacher interviews, and document analysis. The research results show that this media makes a positive contribution to the development of students' reading skills. Visualization of words through images not only improves contextual understanding, but also stimulates students' interest in the text. There was a significant difference in reading comprehension before and after media use, as well as a marked improvement in students' reading progress. Student engagement also increased, reflected in active participation in discussions. Teachers recognize the effectiveness of this media in creating an interactive learning environment. This research shows that picture word card media can be an effective learning tool to improve the reading skills of grade 1 students. It is hoped that teachers will integrate this media into the curriculum and provide additional training to teachers to maximize its potential. These findings contribute to the development of reading learning strategies at the initial level of education.

Analysis of the Implementation of Early Childhood Education Transition to Primary School through Fun Learning

This research analyzes good practice training assistance to facilitate the transition of early childhood (PAUD) to elementary school (SD) with a fun learning approach. This research aims to identify effective methods and strategies in facilitating children's transition from the initial education level to the basic education level. The research method of analyzing data is carried out in an interactive way and takes place continuously, where the technical flow of this interactive model is divided into four parts, namely data collection, data reduction, data presentation and drawing conclusions. Apart from that, to check the validity of the data using triangulation techniques, methods and data sources. If you look closely at the interactive model data analysis chart, a fun learning approach is implemented as the main focus in the mentoring program. This article covers the training design, resources used, and evaluation of the results of implementing this program. The results of this research show that (1) PPDB does not use the calistung test but uses assessment as a selection process. (2) MPLS activities have been implemented for 1 week. (3) The learning process in developing children's foundational abilities has been carried out in a fun way. This is proven by the pleasant learning room settings in elementary schools, the PAUD and early grade elementary school environments are in the same place, placing PG-PAUD graduates as teachers in early grade elementary schools. In addition, a fun learning approach significantly influences the ease of transition from PAUD to elementary school. Strategies such as educational games, use of technology in learning, and gradual introduction to the school environment have proven effective in reducing anxiety and increasing children's involvement in the learning process. research results that can make a significant contribution to the development of good practices in facilitating early childhood education transitions. The practical implications of these findings can be used as a guide for educators and trainers in supporting a smoother and more positive transition process for children.

The knowledge and attitude on the prevention of pressure ulcers in Chinese nurses: A cross-sectional study in 93 tertiary and secondary hospitals.

Although pressure ulcers are related to substantial health burdens, they may be preventable. Since nurses play a fundamental role in pressure ulcer prevention, their knowledge and attitude are of great importance. This study aims to investigate the current situation and associated factors of nurses' knowledge and attitude on the prevention of pressure ulcers from both tertiary and secondary hospitals. A total of 11 347 nurses were recruited including 7108 nurses (62.6%) from tertiary hospitals and 4239 nurses (37.4%) from secondary hospitals. The median (interquartile range) of the pressure ulcer knowledge score was 51% (38%, 90%) for all the participants with the lowest scores on prevention of pressure ulcers (51.33%). The mean (standard deviation) of attitude towards pressure ulcer prevention was 39.64 (4.65) with the lowest scores on personal competency to prevent pressure ulcers (mean 3.09). The results of multivariate linear regression showed that hospital level, nurses' age, years of work experience, initial education level at work and time of last training significantly associated with nurses' knowledge of pressure ulcer prevention. Meanwhile, hospital level, job title, previous training, time of last training and subjective needs for further training had significant association with nurses' attitude towards pressure ulcer prevention (all p < 0.05). Results showed inadequate knowledge but relative positive attitudes in nurses indicating the importance to deliver continuing education and training regarding pressure ulcer prevention in practice to improve the quality of care.

Representation of Roma Content in Curricula and Textbooks at the Initial Education Level in Serbia

The 1989 Convention on the Rights of the Child guarantees all children the right to an education, and this paper focuses on Roma children and that right. The extent of Serbia’s strategy documents was reviewed, particularly in light of their responsibility for guaranteeing equity, accessibility, and equal educational opportunities for all children. The study’s objective is to assess how content related to the Roma is portrayed in current curricula (N = 16) and textbooks (N = 93) for the 2022–2023 academic year. It was discovered that despite the objectives in each of the analyzed courses (Serbian language, The World around Us, Nature and Society, Music Education, and Civic Education) clearly promote equality, diversity, and mutual appreciation, democratic values, inclusion, and anti-discrimination, none of them explicitly mention the words Roma or the Roma people. Only a few times do the Roma people explicitly appear in textbooks on nature, society, and music, and then only as a numerical representation of the national minority; no mention is made of the positive traits of the Roma people, who have their own identity, tradition, and culture as well as well-known members. The results highlight the need for textbooks to include specific content about the Roma people as fundamental teaching tools. This content should also be included in the curriculum because it would help students of Roma origin feel less excluded and more empowered to participate in school on an equal footing.

Educational level and alcohol use in adolescence and early adulthood-The role of social causation and health-related selection-The TRAILS Study.

Both social causation and health-related selection may influence educational gradients in alcohol use in adolescence and young adulthood. The social causation theory implies that the social environment (e.g. at school) influences adolescents' drinking behaviour. Conversely, the health-related selection hypothesis posits that alcohol use (along other health-related characteristics) predicts lower educational attainment. From past studies it is unclear which of these mechanisms predominates, as drinking may be both a cause and consequence of low educational attainment. Furthermore, educational gradients in alcohol use may reflect the impact of 'third variables' already present in childhood, such as parental socioeconomic status (SES), effortful control, and IQ. We investigated social causation and health-related selection in the development of educational gradients in alcohol use from adolescence to young adulthood in a selective educational system. We used data from a Dutch population-based cohort (TRAILS Study; n = 2,229), including measurements of educational level and drinking at ages around 14, 16, 19, 22, and 26 years (waves 2 to 6). First, we evaluated the directionality in longitudinal associations between education and drinking with cross-lagged panel models, with and without adjusting for pre-existing individual differences using fixed effects. Second, we assessed the role of childhood characteristics around age 11 (wave 1), i.e. IQ, effortful control, and parental SES, both as confounders in these associations, and as predictors of educational level and drinking around age 14 (wave 2). In fixed effects models, lower education around age 14 predicted increases in drinking around 16. From age 19 onward, we found a tendency towards opposite associations, with higher education predicting increases in alcohol use. Alcohol use was not associated with subsequent changes in education. Childhood characteristics strongly predicted education around age 14 and, to a lesser extent, early drinking. We mainly found evidence for the social causation theory in early adolescence, when lower education predicted increases in subsequent alcohol use. We found no evidence in support of the health-related selection hypothesis with respect to alcohol use. By determining initial educational level, childhood characteristics also predict subsequent trajectories in alcohol use.

Acompañamiento pedagógico y práctica reflexiva en docentes de la IE 430 de Chilca - Huancayo

The objective of the article was to determine the relationship between the pedagogical accompaniment and the reflective practice of the teachers of the Educational Institution No. 430 of the district of Chilca in the year 2022. For this, a causal correlational descriptive study was carried out, whose context It was the Educational Institution No. 430 of the district of Chilca, in the year 2022. The experience was developed with eight classroom teachers of the initial education level. The data collection took place through observation, the semi-structured interview and the demonstrations of the actions in the systematization process. As a main result it was determined that after establishing the structure of hypotheses, Ho: There is no correlation between the variables managerial pedagogical accompaniment and reflective practice and Hypothesis H1: There is a relationship between the variables managerial pedagogical accompaniment and reflective practice, in order to answer the research question, was obtained through the statistical test, Spearmam's Rho coefficient, which achieved a value of 0.101 and a bilateral significance of 0.811, well above the expected value between 0 and 0.05. As a relevant As a relevant conclusion, it was possible to detect that as the bilateral significance is greater than 0.05, H1 was rejected and Ho was accepted, which allowed us to infer that there is no significant relationship between the study variables.

Correlation between nurses’ attitudes towards death and their subjective well-being

With China's ageing society, the number of deaths increased gradually. Clinical nursing staff are among the first to come into contact with dying patients and scientific attitudes towards death will affect not only the quality of hospice care but also the physical and mental health of the nursing staff. Subjective well-being (SWB) mainly points to the overall emotional and cognitive evaluation of life quality. However, few studies have examined the correlation between attitudes towards death and subjective well-being in nurses. A total of 810 nurses recruited from a tertiary hospital in Zhuhai were surveyed using the Chinese version of the Death Attitude Profile-Revised and the Subjective Well-being Scale. Pearson correlation coefficient was computed to analyze the correlation between attitudes towards death and the subjective well-being of the nursing staff. Subjective well-being was correlated with attitudes towards death (P<0.05). Multivariate analysis found that serious illness/acute or chronic disease, night shifts, and initial education level among nurses were also factors significantly related to subjective well-being (P<0.05). The findings indicate a close correlation between nurses' attitudes towards death and their subjective well-being. Nursing managers should guide nursing staff to develop a more appropriate and healthier view of death so as to enhance their subjective well-being.

TECHNOLOGIES FOR TRAINING SPECIALISTS IN THE HOTEL AND CATERING INDUSTRY IN UKRAINE IN THE CONTEXT OF LIFELONG LEARNING

This article is relevant, as staff training in the context of lifelong learning increases the value of travel services for customers, providing added value in the hotel and catering industry. The purpose of the paper is to study the technologies of training specialists in the hotel and catering industry in the context of lifelong learning for the formation of the life cycle of an employee in the hospitality industry. The research methodology is based on statistical analysis of indicators for distribution. The results demonstrate that there are differences in the technologies for training specialists in the hospitality industry in terms of such characteristics, as: the provider of educational services, the initial educational level, the position held by the specialist and the status in the society. The practical value of the research lies in the possibility of using the existing methodology of the life cycle of training a specialist in the practice of hotel and catering industry.

Augmented Reality based Adaptive and Collaborative Learning Methods for Improved Primary Education Towards Fourth Industrial Revolution (IR 4.0)

Existing primary education is not organized properly to fulfil the demand of fourth industrial revolution (IR 4.0) which causes lack of engagement in learning materials, lack of spatial ability and motivation towards learning by young age students. Students especially from initial education level tend to learn from seeing rather than reading or memorizing. In this context, technology like augmented reality and virtual reality bears such visual power in lieu with interactivity and engaging characteristics by bringing virtual and real world together. In addition, flexible presentation mechanisms in lieu with tagging and tracking technology with various degree of freedom provide the effective ground of augmented reality and virtual reality to integrate with current primary education or initial level of education. In this context, this research presents comprehensive and critical reviews in the previous research in terms with several aspects such as methods, research design and experimental validation. Each of the aspects is demonstrated with adequate advantages and disadvantages to design the integration of augmented reality and virtual reality with primary education methodology. In addition, this research illustrates extensive critical explanation for various challenges to integrate augmented reality and virtual reality with primary education to make students motivated towards education, effective activity and memorization with visualization. The overall investigation proposed in this research is expected to fulfil the future demand for Fourth Industrial Revolution (IR 4.0).

Education and alcohol use in adolescence – The role of social causation and health-related selection

Abstract Background Both social causation and health-related selection may influence educational gradients in alcohol use in adolescence. From past studies it is unclear which of these mechanisms predominates, as drinking may be both a cause and consequence of low educational attainment. Furthermore, gradients in alcohol use may reflect 'third variables' already present in childhood, such as parental socioeconomic status (SES), effortful control, and IQ. We investigated social causation and health-related selection in the development of educational gradients in alcohol use. Methods We used data from a Dutch population-based cohort (TRAILS Study; n = 2,229), including measurements of educational level and drinking at ages around 14, 16, 19, 22, and 26 years. First, we evaluated the directionality in longitudinal associations between education and alcohol use with cross-lagged panel models, with and without adjusting for pre-existing individual differences using fixed effects. Second, we assessed the role of childhood characteristics around age 11, i.e. IQ, effortful control, and parental SES, both as confounders in these longitudinal associations, and as predictors of educational level and drinking around age 14. Results In fixed effects models, lower education at age 14 strongly predicted increases in drinking at 16. From age 19 onward, we found a non-significant tendency towards opposite associations, with higher education predicting increases in alcohol use. Alcohol use was not associated with subsequent changes in education. All childhood characteristics strongly predicted education around age 14 and, to a lesser extent, early drinking. Conclusions We found conclusive evidence for social causation from education to alcohol use in early adolescence only, and no evidence for selection attributable to alcohol use. By determining initial educational level, childhood characteristics also predict subsequent trajectories in alcohol use. Key messages Our findings illustrate the importance of social causation in relation to alcohol use in early adolescence, while no support was found for health-related selection from alcohol use to education. Parental SES, effortful control, and IQ in childhood strongly predicted educational level in early adolescence, which subsequently predicted trajectories in alcohol use during adolescence.

Teen Parents’ Cumulative Inequality in Job Achievement: Mediation Effect of Educational Achievement

Abstract Teen pregnancy remains an important societal concern in the United States because teen pregnancy tremendously influences teen parents in terms of opportunities for education and employment. However, little is known about the long-term dynamic relationship between the trajectory of educational attainment and trajectory of job achievement among teen parents. This study examined the sample of National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997, which comprises representative American youths born between 1980 and 1984 (N = 7,771). Latent growth models revealed that teen parents had not only lower initial educational levels, hourly compensation, and annual wages, but also lower increases in educational level, hourly compensation, and annual wages over 10 years. Also, the latent growth mediation model found that initial educational level and changes in educational level mediated the negative association between teen parents and job achievement. These findings suggest that social work intervention for teen parents should focus on supporting academic success in the long term and providing appropriate employment training programs for better job achievement. Future research may contribute by examining the long-term effect of being a teen parent beyond 10 years and investigating differences between teen mothers and teen fathers.

The link between language and culture on the lessons of Russian as a foreign language

The main aim of a foreign language teacher is to form a student’s communicative competence, which is a complex of other competencies such as linguistic, discursive and linguocultural. For successful psychological and social adaptation in a new cultural and linguistic space for a foreign student is extremely important at the initial level of education begin to master the basic linguistic and cultural concepts that reflect the culture of the speakers of the studied language and leads to the adoption of a different worldview. Thus, for successful communication, you need not only use phonetic, grammatical, syntactic and pragmatic rules of the language, but also you should have a clear idea of the conceptual picture of the world of the people, who speaks this language. It follows that the study of any foreign language should occur inextricably linked with the knowledge of culture, values and understanding of the native people of this language. The objective of the work is to formulate the key linguocultural principles of teaching Russian as a foreign language. To achieve this objective, the works of leading researchers in the field of linguistics, didactics, methods of teaching Russian as a foreign language have been analyzed. The research object is an inextricable link between learning a foreign language and the culture of its speakers. The research result is the proof of the need to learn a foreign language as being inextricably linked with knowledge of the culture, values and world outlook of the people - speakers of this language, as well as a list of basic linguocultural principles, on which teaching a foreign language, including Russian as a foreign language, should be based.

ГРАМОТНОСТЬ ВЗРОСЛЫХ В США, 1992–2014 гг.: РЕЗУЛЬТАТЫ НАЦИОНАЛЬНЫХ И МЕЖДУНАРОДНЫХ ТЕСТИРОВАНИЙ

The article aims at revealing the change of adult (functional) literacy in the USA and defining the role played by general (country’s population growth, the system of adult education, and its funding) and specific (age, ethnicity, and race) factors. The research is based on the results of national and international assessments of the level of adult literacy in 1992–2014. The following methods were applied for the research: generalization, system, deductive, inductive, and comparative, as well as the historical method and cluster selection for analyzing statistics. The author outlined the concept of functional literacy and described demographic features of the USA on the basis of migration statistics and the ethnic and racial portrait of the country’s population. The author reviewed the American and Russian historiography of adult literacy. A brief history and the current state of the US system of adult education and the corresponding legislation were presented. The study provided data on how the system of adult education was financed and what the initial level of education of migrants and the US migrant policy and testing were. The results of national and international assessments of adult literacy in 1992–2014 were analyzed and compared by literacy types on the national scale and among ethnic groups/races in the USA. The author concluded that the USA had not met the challenge of modern literacy connected not only with rather average assessments of its level in comparison with other countries of the world, but also with significant differences in the level of adult literacy within the country, despite political interest in improving this socioeconomic index, the legislative support which was embodied in setting up the system of adult education based on regional demands, and its annually growing budget. Besides, contradictions in the information (the results of the international assessments were lower than those presented in analytical reports within the country) on adult literacy in the USA available to most Americans were revealed. Trends of the change of literacy levels shown by representatives of various ethnic groups were defined. White Americans demonstrated the highest level of all types of literacy (above the country’s average). Together with the growing level of literacy of Asians and African-Americans, it allowed the USA to remain in the middle of the list of the tested countries of the OECD. The initially low indicators of literacy of Latin Americans and their having become the largest ethnic minority in the USA by the 2000s affected the growth of the country’s literacy in the world rankings negatively. Document literacy was the only indicator which remained stable throughout this period by the results of national surveys. By the results of the international ones, it even rose both compared to the earlier assessments and to the gradually decreasing average world level.

Early-life Health and Lifetime Outcomes: Evidence from the Large-scale Schistosomiasis Eradication in China

Schistosomiasis is one of the most prevalent parasitic diseases in the world. This study uses a large-scale deworming program targeted to schistosomiasis in China to identify the long-term impacts of early-life health on adult outcomes. We find that disease interventions led to increases in educational attainment and female fertility. The effects on targets with a low initial educational level focus on basic education, while targets with a high initial level experience educational development at a higher level. We also document that childhood schistosomiasis infection decreased adult income and consumption, explained by the negative disease impact on adult cognitive abilities, education, and employment status. The gender heterogeneity in education and earnings is consistent with the theoretical model.

Midwifery service and midwifery human resource demand in western China: a cross-sectional study

BackgroundChina has made impressive progress in improving maternal and child health nationally, although national progress might conceal inequality across regions within China. Mortality ratios in western counties remains high, and midwives in western areas are in extreme shortage as guarantors of maternal and child safety. This study aims to investigate the current situation for the midwifery service in western China and to explore the demand for midwifery human resources in the area using the Birthrate Plus workforce planning methodology. MethodsFirst, we did a cross-sectional survey in 28 hospitals in three western provinces—Yunnan (southwest China), Inner Mongolia (northern China), and Xinjiang (northwest China)—to investigate the status of the midwifery service and midwifery human resources using a tailored questionnaire. We selected two tertiary hospitals in each province, as well as eight secondary hospitals in Yunnan, six in Inner Mongolia, and 14 in Xinjiang, to reflect population sizes (according to the National Health and Family Planning statistical yearbook). Questionnaires were sent to midwifery managers in the 34 hospitals, and 28 returned the questionnaire (all six tertiary hospitals, seven secondary hospitals in Yunnan, five in Inner Mongolia, and ten in Xinjiang). Second, we analysed medical records from all women attending the midwifery departments of the 28 hospitals (n=18 520) who received midwifery services in 2017 and 2018, and the Birthrate Plus workforce planning methodology was used, with modifications, to calculate demand for midwives in each hospital. Women were divided into five categories according to the Birthrate Plus guidelines (of which categories I and II were natural deliveries with no need for intervention, and categories III–V required different levels of intervention). Two core elements were analysed: the percentage of maternity patients in each category and midwifery service time (time in the delivery suite, from admission in labour to leaving for the postnatal unit or operating room for caesarean section) in each category. Each hospital gave informed verbal consent. The study was approved by the Peking University institutional review board office. FindingsThe maximum and minimum annual delivery volumes per hospital were 12 048 and 192, respectively. The highest and lowest caesarean section rates were 59·00% (472 of 794) and 20·86% (907 of 4345), respectively, and the average caesarean section rate was 38·49% (SD 10·33). A total of 476 midwives in 28 hospitals were included. 94·34% (417 of 476) of the midwives had an initial educational level below a bachelor's degree, and 69·75% (332 of 476) had less than 10 years of work experience. Data from a total of 18 520 maternity patients from 28 hospitals were eligible for analysis. According to the Birthrate Plus results, 37·2% (6890 of 18 520) maternity patients were in category I/II (grouped together for comparison), 42·1% (7804 of 18 520) in category III, 18·1% (3343 of 18 520) in category IV, and 2·6% (483 of 18 520) in category V, and midwifery service times of each category were 6·79 h, 9·92 h, 9·89 h, and 11·93 h, respectively. The actual number of midwives in the majority of hospitals (67·86%, 19 of 28) exceeded the calculated demand, while that in 21·43% of hospitals (six of 28) was less than the calculated demand, and in 10·71% of hospitals (three of 28) the actual number of midwives was consistent with the calculated demand. InterpretationThe midwifery service varied between hospitals in western China. Given that inexperience or lack of education negatively affect the core competencies of midwives, it is likely that these factors affected the midwifery service that patients received. Efforts are needed to promote the construction of midwifery teams. Most maternity patients belonged to categories I–III, and gave birth naturally or with less need for interventions. However, women in categories IV and V, who represented a small proportion of the overall data set, experienced pregnancy complications or required more interventions than those in categories I–III, and thus tended to require longer midwifery hours. The surveyed hospitals varied in type (general hospitals, and maternity and child health hospitals) and level, and provided services for different numbers of each category of maternity patient, and thus the midwifery service time varied accordingly. For example, there were more maternity patients in categories IV and V in general hospitals than in maternal and child health hospitals, which suggests that more midwives may be required in general hospitals to care for the same number of maternity patients. Therefore, it is necessary to fully consider the service characteristics of hospitals when allocating midwifery human resources. Our findings suggest that Birthrate Plus workforce planning methodology can be used to accurately assess workload of midwives based on the status of the midwifery service in China. Its applicability as a midwifery demand assessment tool in western China should be explored further. FundingThis study was funded by the UN Children's Fund (Maternal and Child Health Management Information System).

Necesidades de Capacitación de los Docentes de Educación Inicial sobre las Altas Capacidades Intelectuales

Los sujetos con Necesidades Educativas Especiales son aquellos niños, jóvenes y adultos que por sus características intelectuales, sensoriales y físicas presentan interferencias en el aprendizaje; en ese sentido, en Venezuela, la modalidad de educación especial para garantizar cierta homogeneidad ha creado siete áreas de atención: Deficiencias Visuales, Deficiencias Auditivas, Retardo Mental, Autismo, Impedimentos Físicos, Dificultades de Aprendizaje y Talento Superior. En cuanto a esta última, los niños, niñas y jóvenes con talento superior o altas capacidades intelectuales requieren planes y programas especializados para brindarle la atención educativa según sus condiciones. El contexto problemático es el vacío existente en la atención educativa de este tipo de infantes, por lo que resulta importante indagar acerca del conocimiento que poseen los docentes del nivel de educación inicial sobre esta condición. El factor relevante es que los niños con altas capacidades intelectuales o con talento no presentan características o necesidades homogéneas, sino que, en cambio, son tan distintas entre sí como el resto de sus compañeros; sus requerimientos educativos son distintos. De allí que el propósito de este artículo es determinar las necesidades de capacitación del docente de educación inicial sobre las altas capacidades intelectuales. En cuanto a la modalidad de investigación es descriptiva, con un diseño de campo no experimental, utilizándose un cuestionario en escalas alternativas impares, validado a través del juicio de experto y la confiabilidad se realizó con el coeficiente Alfa de Cronbach. Entre los hallazgos se tiene que el 55,56% manifiestan que no manejan la información sobre el tema, así como el 61,11% revelan que desconocer el método para diagnosticar y en cuanto a las estrategias didácticas para la atención educativa el 83,33% de las encuestadas relatan que no las conocen. Se recomienda establecer condiciones educativas favorables a la estimulación, creando elementos de intervención y no solo de identificación.

Trastornos del Espectro Autista en Educación Inicial: Experiencia Educativa

El autismo, al igual que el resto de los trastornos generalizados del desarrollo, están siendo estudiados en la actualidad, no obstante, su causa sigue siendo desconocida. Aunado a esto, el autista es integrado a las escuelas normalistas para mejorar su convivencia y relación con la sociedad. Por ello, los fines de la educación para las personas con Trastornos del Espectro Autista son los mismos que para el resto de los niños(as), con o sin necesidades educativas especiales. Hoy día, el Sistema Educativo Venezolano tiene la necesidad de educar y atender de forma adecuada a todo el alumnado, donde pretenden que en las instituciones educativas no sólo admitan a todos, sino realmente sean escuelas para todos; adaptando el sistema a las personas, en lugar de que sean éstas las que se adapten. El presente artículo tiene como objetivo describir una experiencia educativa de una niña con el trastorno del espectro autista en el ambiente de aprendizaje en el nivel de educación inicial. En cuanto a la parte metodológica, se fundamenta en un estudio de caso con un diseño de campo. Teniendo como resultados, integración con los niños, niñas y docentes, mirada centrada en las personas, permanencia sentada por un tiempo determinado, cumplimiento de instrucciones básicas.