Pilot Schools Research Articles

Implementing tablet PCs in schools: Students’ attitudes and opinions

In this study, the attitudes, expectations and views of 206 students in four high schools within the scope of the FATİH project in Turkey were assessed regarding tablet PC technology after six months of a pilot plan that included the distribution of tablet PCs to students. The research questions of this study are whether there is a meaningful difference between tablet PC use by male and female students and the effect of computer and Internet by students on attitudes toward tablet PC use. Qualitative and quantitative data collection tools were used in the research. The Computer Attitude Measure for Young students (CAMYS) developed by Teo and Noyes (2008) was used in evaluating the students’ attitudes toward the tablet PC usage. Interviews were conducted with eight teachers at pilot schools concerning the integration of tablet PCs into their classes; the positive and negative dimensions of tablet PCs were analyzed. The findings indicate that students have a positive attitude toward tablet PCs. There was not a meaningful difference between the attitudes of male and female students toward tablet PCs. The length of computer and Internet by the students did not affect their attitudes toward tablet PCs. The ways that teachers used tablet PCs in classes, the positive and negative aspects of tablet PC usage and the students’ expectations of tablet PCs were discussed in the study.

Development and implementation of a tailored health promoting school in The Netherlands: Lessons learned

This paper presents the lessons learned from the design and implementation of a whole school Health Promoting School (HPS) pilot on a high school in The Netherlands. This pilot aims to improve a range of health behaviours in adolescents via the Whole School Approach of Health Promoting Schools framework of the WHO-supported Schools for Health in Europe initiative (SHE). Eleven semi-structured interviews were held with key stakeholders in the intervention’s design and implementation. Results showed that becoming a HPS should be considered a comprehensive curriculum change that requires significant organizational investments. By integrating the intervention instead of implementing it “as is” into school’s existing infrastructure the additional burden to the curriculum was minimized; this was important for intervention relevance and it strengthens feelings of intervention ownership and motivation among teachers. Also, implementation should be led by a steering group of professionals from health sciences and education as well as parents, students and teachers from the school to combine knowledge on practical feasibility and evidence based practices. Teachers should be further educated to increase competence in their new role. Lastly, a central coordinator with proper personal competencies and power to get things done is necessary to steer these developments. Since not all schools are able to make the necessary investments, successfully becoming a HPS is not feasible for just any school at any point in time; it has to be considered a well-planned comprehensive system change. Schools with competing problems such as school violence or organizational struggles should postpone HPS developments.

Types of ICT Materials available for Teaching of Geography in Secondary Schools in Rongo District

This article explored the use of ICT in teaching of Geography to students in Rongo secondary schools in Kenya. Objective of this article was; to establish the types of ICT materials available for teaching Geography in secondary schools in Rongo District, Kenya. The Research question was: Which ICT materials are available for teaching Geography in secondary schools in Rongo District? This study was guided by sensory-education theory (Maria Montessori 1870-1952) who emphasized on teaching methods involving actions on things rather than listening to the teachers. The study adopted the descriptive survey design and targeted a population of consisting of form two Geography teachers and students from 40 registered secondary schools in Rongo district. Simple random sampling was used to select 12 schools in Rongo district` of which 30% of total number of enrolment that is 1,200 students, 360 of them were used as respondents. Data was collected using closed and open ended questionnaires. The questionnaires were pre-tested by being administered to respondents from two schools in Gucha district as Pilot Schools for this study. The scores obtained from the first and second tests were : 0.69, 0.60 and 0.73 respectively which was good enough for the instrument which is above 0.50 value recommended as minimum reliability coefficient value required to judge the instrument. The descriptive statistics including percentages mean and frequency tables were used to analyze the data. Data was analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 15 computer programme. The results of the study indicated that ICT resources are inadequately supplied in most schools in Rongo District.

A study of the use of the laptop XO in Brazilian pilot schools

This article presents a study on the perception of 63 students and 15 teachers of two Brazilian public school, which took part in the pilot test of the OLPC educational laptop XO. For the students, the XO turned classes more attractive mainly because they changed from individual learning to collective research. The internet, the games and the learning aid are the most important XO's functionalities but gender and age impacted the results. Boys value the laptop for its recreation attribute while girls use the computer for interaction with people and to improve learning at school. Younger students like mostly the games while the older ones value the social interaction and research. The XO design is suitable for students under 6 years old but considered too toyful by the older ones. Rather than an educational tool, the students recognize the XO as a means of communication/entertainment. Despite an initial resistance to the OLPC project, the teachers understand that the introduction of a laptop as a pedagogical tool was worthy, because it enhanced learning, communication and social skills. Technical problems should be override and a sustainability plan should be promoted before the educational project is implemented countrywide.

Promoting gender parity in basic education: Lessons from a technical cooperation project in Yemen

Many girls are not sent to school in Yemen, despite basic education being free as well as compulsory for all children aged 6–15. Aiming to improve girls’ enrolment by increasing parental and community involvement, the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) offered a technical cooperation project in June 2005 called Broadening Regional Initiative for Developing Girls’ Education (BRIDGE). Phase 1 of this project ran for three and a half years, piloting a participatory school management model supported by school grants in six districts of the Taiz Governorate in the Southwest of Yemen. To find out how successful this approach has been in a traditional society, the authors of this paper analysed the gender parity index (GPI) of the project’s pilot schools. Based on data collected at three points in time (in the initial and final years of the project, and two years after the project’s end), their findings suggest that interventions in school management which strongly emphasise girls’ education can be effective in improving gender parity rather quickly, regardless of the schools’ initial conditions. However, the authors also observe that the pilot schools’ post-project performance in terms of gender parity is mixed. While the local government allocated budgets for school grants to all pilot schools even after the project’s end, training and monitoring activities were cut back. The authors further observe that the variation in performance appears to be significantly correlated with school leaders’ initial perceptions of gender equality and with the number of female teachers employed. These findings point to the importance of providing schools with continuous long-term guidance and of monitoring those which implement school improvement programmes.

Pilot project of the Nutrition-Friendly School Initiative (NFSI) in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso and Cotonou, Benin, in West Africa

This paper describes the first African experience with the Nutrition-Friendly School Initiative (NFSI) in two large West African cities: Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso and Cotonou, Benin. NFSI was launched by the World Health Organization (WHO) and its partners in 2006, as a means of preventing the double burden of malnutrition: the coexistence of undernutrition and overnutrition among school-children. NFSI pilot-testing is one component of the Partnership Project on the Double Burden of Malnutrition, funded by the Canadian International Development Agency for 6 years (2008-2014). The Project assisted the government in the selection of pilot schools, fostered the installation of health and nutrition committees in selected schools, and helped with the initial school self-assessments. In accordance with the empowering philosophy of health promotion, pilot schools did not follow a pre-defined schedule of interventions, except for the training of teachers in nutrition education and the nutritional (anthropometric) surveillance of schoolchildren. For the latter activities, technical assistance and seminal funds were provided. Yearly planning workshops were held for school committees, with WHO support. In both settings, training was given to street vendors in order to improve the hygiene and nutritional value of food sold to schoolchildren. Other activities included special nutrition events and sanitation measures. In both cities, NFSI showed promising results in terms of school and community mobilization towards improved nutrition and health; however, NFSI must be better understood as an endogenous and self-sustaining approach. Furthermore, household poverty and scarce school resources appear as major barriers to gaining full impact of NFSI in low-income populations.

Pioneering of Schools with International Standard to Respond the Globalization

In order to meet respond the challenges of globalization Indonesia Government held a Pioneering of Schools with International Standard (RSBI). As an international standard schools pilot, these schools prepared gradually through the guidance by government and stakeholders. Within a certain period of four years it is expected that the schools is able to fulfill and meet the criteria of Schools with International Standard (SBI). Actually, in it’s implementation, RSBI faces many challenges, among others, were expensive anda require modern infrastructure, require a qualified teacher, SBI criteria and English implementation in education not yet possessed constitutional base. With RSBI it will form a national school with national education standards that have international quality and its graduates are able to compete internationally

Professional Development of Mathematics Teachers with Lesson Study and Open Approach: The Process for Changing Teachers Values about Teaching Mathematics

The aim of this study was to analyze the process for changing values about teaching mathematics for teachers in a pilot school implementing Lesson Study and Open Approach. The study was structured through a questionnaire survey of 83 teachers in 4 pilot schools. Case studies were then conducted with 3 of the teachers and involved participatory observations and video recording in 3 phases of Lesson Study, interviews and document analysis. Theoretically, the conceptualization of professional development with Lesson Study and Open Approach, values change (Rescher, 1969 cited in Seah, 2004) and change process (Fullan, 1985; Joyce & Showers, 1980) helps to explain the process for changing values about teaching mathematics. The study shows that teachers in a pilot school implementing Lesson Study and Open Approach have developed a new view and values about teaching mathematics (e.g. values in designing lesson plans, values in teaching practice, values in classroom assessment). The components were essential for changing teachers values about teaching mathematics and consisted of 1) Teachers participating and learning about the underlying theoretical principles of Lesson Study and Open Approach 2) Practicing weekly cycles of Lesson Study into school culture 3) Seeing Lesson Study and Open Approach demonstrated from expert and Japanese teachers 4) Ongoing coaching or support from the project and 5) Obtaining feedback from outsiders such as educators, parents, school board members etc.

The History, Implications, and Development of the Baccalaureate Transition Resource Manual

Life is full of transitions, changes, and adaptations. In this article, we will describe the developmental process and transition steps of a baccalaureate degree program in nuclear medicine technology (NMT). We will introduce a living document that was created by the leadership of the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging Technologist Section (SNMMI-TS). This article suggests that the SNMMI-TS Baccalaureate Transition Resource Manual should be considered in programmatic degree criteria related to practitioner preparedness. We believe other institutions may benefit from this experience in the development of their own baccalaureate program. Our experiences may allow other institutions to have insights that will facilitate their own process for new program development. The resource manual delivers an innovative curriculum emphasizing interdisciplinary collaboration on degree content among science courses, general education courses, and additional NMT didactic completion courses. The Joint Review Committee on Educational Programs in Nuclear Medicine Technology did incorporate many of the recommendations from the Curriculum Guide for Educational Programs in Nuclear Medicine Technology, fourth edition, from the SNMMI-TS. The resource manual in conjunction with data on the transitioning of the first 3 pilot schools is the first step the SNMMI-TS has made in helping schools transition to the baccalaureate level. The manual is intended to be a living document and will be changed as additional programs make the transition and new models are created.

Results of a Multibehavioral Health-Promoting School Pilot Intervention in a Dutch Secondary School

Recent studies increasingly show adolescent health-related behaviors to be interrelated, interacting synergistically and sharing several common determinants. Therefore, research increasingly focuses on studying interventions that target a range of health behaviors simultaneously. This report describes the results of a pilot study of a secondary school-based, health-promoting intervention that simultaneously targets a range of adolescent health behaviors via a whole-school approach. We collected self-reported behavioral data via an annual online questionnaire to 336 students. We collected data before the intervention implementation and after the intervention's first completed, 3-year curriculum cycle on the fourth-grade students (15- to 16-year-olds). We analyzed differences between pre- and postintervention groups. Significant behavioral changes were reported for extreme alcohol use, smoking, sedentary time, and bullying behaviors. Certain behaviors were significantly different only in girls: namely, weekly alcohol use, ever having used cannabis, compulsive Internet or computer use score, compulsive gaming score, and recent bully victimization. Differences in several sedentary time behaviors (television watching and Internet or computer use) were significant only in boys. No changes were reported regarding body mass index; physical activity; or the time spent on, or the compulsiveness of, video game playing. In addition, the postintervention group showed significantly fewer psychosocial problems. The intervention successfully changed student health behaviors on many accounts. It remains largely unclear as to what causes the different effects for boys and girls. Further studies regarding multiple health behavior targeting interventions for adolescents are required.

Komparace vybavenosti žáků 9. tříd klíčovými kompetencemi k učení a řešení problémů

The article deals with the question whether the new reform of education will bring a better and more effective learning process for pupils involved in the development of life skills (key competencies) which are critical these days. Th e author compares the results of the education process in the fi eld of key competencies included in two education programmes at elementary schools following in close succession - the „Elementary School Programme“ and „General Education Programme for Basic Education” and/or “Th e School Education Programme”. Th e research was conducted in the year 2009 when the last 9th grade pupils were instructed according to the Primary School Programme while 14 pilot schools throughout the Czech Republic implemented and tested the fourth year of teaching according to their own education programmes. For the comparison of the above mentioned education programmes an empirical method of non-standardized questionnaire was selected. Th e non-standardized questionnaire was based on a research and scientifi c Key Competencies Questionnaire supplied by the SCIO organization. Testing the diff erences between the programmes in particular items was carried out using the Pearson’s chi-square test of contingency tables. Results showed insignifi cant diff erences in the respective questionnaire items, therefore, education programmes must pass through a long evaluation and assessment process to meet expected targets. Th e fi nal section of the article is focused on the assessment of problems with introducing the General Education Programme for Basic Education to school syllables. Th e author presents recommendations for teachers at elementary schools and for academic staff preparing future teachers at universities.

Evaluation of the Effectiveness of a Positive Youth Development Program for Secondary Students in Macau

A well-tested comprehensive Chinese positive youth development program (Project P.A.T.H.S.) developed in Hong Kong has been modified and adapted for use in Macau. This program aims to help adolescent school children develop positively and to be better prepared for their future. The present study investigated the effectiveness of the Tier 1 Program of “P.A.T.H.S.” for Secondary 2 students of two pilot schools. Since there were “repeating” and “transferring” students joining the program, the effectiveness of the program on these particular groups of participants was also examined. The subjective outcome evaluations including participants' perceptions of the program, program instructors, benefits from the program, and overall satisfaction were positive. Although the longitudinal data from the objective outcome evaluation did not show any notable improvement, the overall effect of the program was found to be positive to the new comers in the junior secondary years. The existing evaluation findings suggest that the Secondary 2 program is especially effective to those newly joining the program. In view of the paucity of youth studies in Macau, the present study can contribute to evidence-based youth work and provide baseline data for the program to be evaluated in the Secondary 3 periods in the future.

Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) Implication for Education

This paper illustrates the development of Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) and its implication for education. IPTV is a new type of educational technology that provides digital content (text, graphic, audio and video) which users watch as television broadcasting on the Internet. With the capabilities of IPTV that could be used for educational purpose. Therefore, the IPTV project’s (Suan Dusit Internet Broadcasting: SDIB) aim has been to develop into a platform that increase educational opportunities that support distant education. The IPTV system was designed to broadcast in four channels (kids, video on demand, variety and radio). More than seven hundred program are being transmitted both trough live and video on demand streams via computer, set top boxes and mobile devices. The IPTV system has been implemented and used in 80 pilot schools. The data of an evaluation of the IPTV system was collected from questionnaires and interviews. The results indicated that IPTV users were highly satisfied with the contents, set top boxes, LCD television, and overall IPTV systems.

The longitudinal impact of a comprehensive literacy intervention

Background: Writing, implementing and evaluating a literacy programme is challenging particularly when the intervention is multi-faceted. In relation to literacy content, certain features have been shown to improve reading attainment (e.g. a systematic phonics programme); however, advice on how to integrate these strands into a whole is less clear. Furthermore, the success of an intervention is arguably as dependent on teacher quality as the literacy components. Evaluation of multi-faceted interventions can fail to explore the relative effects of different elements, whereas single strand interventions may be easier to measure but they can be atypical. It was with these thoughts in mind that the authors developed a literacy programme in North Lanarkshire, Scotland. Purpose: The paper evaluates the impact of a two-year literacy programme on attainment in reading and spelling. Programme description: The literacy programme ‘Think About It’ incorporated three strands: phonemic awareness and phonics instruction (strand 1), the development of semantic cueing systems (strand 2) and the use of metacognitive strategies to improve decoding and comprehension (metacomprehension, strand 3). The intervention was supported by continuing professional development, consultation and curriculum materials, parental involvement and by the deployment of early years' workers. Sample: The study took place in a socio-economically deprived local authority in Central Scotland. Sixteen mainstream primary schools in rural and urban areas took part in the intervention, which targeted children in their first two years of school (ages five and six). A random sample of children from each intervention class in the 16 pilot schools was assessed yearly. Additionally a random comparison sample of 10 children came from each class in the year previous to the intervention. Over the period of the study, approximately 480 intervention children were assessed. Design and methods: The study used a cross-sectional design over a period of four years, with standardised measures in each year. Each of the three intervention groups started in ensuing years. The longest established of these received the intervention for two years and were followed up for the next two years. The others followed this pattern as far as they were able. Because of the longitudinal nature of the study, the measures were not the same across all the years – they were changed to match the development of the children's reading skills. Questionnaires were used with staff to assess their views of the intervention. Results: Children's attainments in word reading, spelling and reading comprehension were significantly improved as result of the intervention. This was true not only at the end of the intervention, but at follow-up one and two years later. Conclusion: The intervention (of phonemic awareness and phonic instruction, the development of semantic and syntactical cueing systems, and the development of metacognitive strategies) was evidence based and did appear to work. The intervention was multi-faceted, but the relative efficacy of these different resource components is unknown. Recommendations for practice and future research are made.

Progress towards implementing the e-Bug Project in Poland

The e-Bug Project provides useful educational tools that can be implemented in primary and secondary schools, and plays important role in reducing the burden of community-acquired infections. Consideration of the Polish education system and educational programmes in schools facilitated the selection of the best age groups for the implementation of e-Bug materials in Poland. The Polish version of the resources has been reviewed by a special group of experts and teachers from pilot schools. The pilot implementation is currently provided by demonstration lessons for educators and recorded as a demonstration material. The e-Bug teaching pack is a valuable resource that is useful for improving knowledge about microorganisms, hygiene and antimicrobial agents, and is aimed at pupils, teachers and parents.

Experiences and perceptions of physical education

This research has studied how children and young people, who are deemed by their school to have social, emotional and behavioural difficulties (SEBD), experience the National Curriculum of Physical Education (PE) in England. Research has previously highlighted the physical, social, affective and cognitive benefits of participation in PE. Furthermore, practical, physical and expressive creative experiences in education have been cited as being an important constituent when educating children with SEBD. However, research has yet to address the experiences of the child with SEBD alongside the ideological benefits of their participation in physical education. After a period of sensitisation to the field in a number of pilot schools, 24 weeks in total were spent immersed in the cultures of two mainstream schools in the west of England. After six weeks of local familiarisation, during which field notes and research diaries were kept, weekly interviews with each of six case study participants commenced. In this research, a PE environment afforded opportunities to spend time and build trust through co-participation in the negotiation of socially constructed roles in the subject. The six case study participants, whose experiences were explored, make reference to, amongst others: their affinity towards the physical nature of PE, and the perception of it being a subject allowing for freedoms not found elsewhere in the curriculum as well as one which cemented both the positive and negative social systems in relation to their relationships with peers. Inductive processes of analysis utilising constant comparison methods between data sources have generated data which show signs of both the idiosyncratic nature of multiple truths and some common ground in their experiences.

Accountability and Flexibility in Public Schools: Evidence from Boston's Charters And Pilots

We use student assignment lotteries to estimate the effect of charter school attendance on student achievement in Boston. We also evaluate a related alternative, Boston's pilot schools. Pilot schools have some of the independence of charter schools but are in the Boston Public School district and are covered by some collective bargaining provisions. Lottery estimates show large and significant score gains for charter students in middle and high school. In contrast, lottery estimates for pilot school students are mostly small and insignificant, with some significant negative effects. Charter schools with binding assignment lotteries appear to generate larger gains than other charters.

The views of teachers toward the Balanced Day schedule in one elementary school in southern Ontario

Using a case study method to describe the experience of the teachers of five Ontario elementary schools to implement the Balanced Day schedule in the 2004-2005 school year, data sources included questionnaires completed by teachers from the pilot schools, which were administered at the beginning of the year and at the end of the year, and three focus group interviews from one school, conducted twice during the year. Findings indicate that, overall, teachers perceived the Balanced Day to be more effective than the traditional schedule for student learning, and that the schedule also resulted in changes to their own instructional practices that positively impacted student learning.

In Brown's wake: legacies of America's educational landmark

What is the legacy of Brown vs. Board of Education? Well known for establishing racial equality as a central commitment of American schools, the case also inspired social movements pursuing equality in education for students across all lines of difference, including language, gender, disability, immigration status, socio-economic status, religion, and sexual orientation. Yet, more than a half-century following Brown, schools, parents and policy makers still debate whether the ruling requires all-inclusive classrooms, and today American schools appear to be more segregated than ever. School choice, once a strategy for avoiding racial integration, has emerged as a method for racial mixing in some school systems, even as magnet and pilot schools, charter schools, and vouchers for private schools enable new forms of self-separation by language, gender, disability, and ethnicity. In In Brown's Wake, Martha Minow examines the way that Brown continues to reverberate over a wide-spectrum of equality issues in public and school choice programs. She argues that the terms placed on such initiatives carry serious consequences for both the character of American education and civil society itself. Though the original promise of Brown remains more symbolic than effective, Minow demonstrates the power of its vision in the struggles for equal education regardless of students' social identity, in the United States and internationally. Further, she urges renewed commitment to the project of social integration even while identifying the complex routes necessary to achieve it. A concise introduction to Brown and its aftermath, In Brown's Wake explores surprising and widespread effects of one of the most important Supreme Court decisions of the century with elegance and economy.

Connecting local history, ancient history, and mathematics: the Eustis Elementary School pilot project

In Clark and Robson (2008), we described the re-discovery, translation, and edition of a collection of 25 cuneiform tablets that reside in the Robert Manning Strozier Library at Florida State University (FSU). In addition, we discussed the construction of a classroom instructional unit, intended for use with Grade 4 and 5 students (aged 9 to 11) in Eustis, Florida—the retirement home of Edgar J Banks, who sold the tablet collection to FSU in 1922. Here I describe piloting the instructional unit with students, their teachers, and district supervisors in Fall 2008. The unit was created from the historical text found on FSU 22 and FSU 23 and the grade level mathematics standards from Florida's Next Generation Sunshine State Standards (NGSSS) for mathematics (2007).