Primary Education Settings Research Articles

Turns vs consensus: Learning mathematics in multi-touch surfaces

• There is no significant difference between turns and consensus. • Consensus methodology enhaces 21st century skills. • There is no gender gap. • Multi-touch table have a positive impact in the knowledge. The adoption of information and communication technologies in primary education is crucial for adapting traditional classrooms to the digital era. Over time, young children are increasingly using touch screen technologies such as tablets at home and interactive whiteboards at school, either for leisure or for academic activities. However, the literature shows that there is still a gap between what is known about the benefits of using this technology and its real use in primary education settings. Most researchers have focused on the pedagogical theory behind using touch screen devices, but there are few empirical studies about how these technologies and different approaches affect students’ learning processes. This paper presents two learning experiences in a primary school in Fuenlabrada (Madrid-Spain) where primary students performed mathematics activities using a multi-touch table with two different methodologies: turns and consensus. The results show that both methodologies help students acquire meaningful learning, but there is no statistically significance between them.

Sharing contextual knowledge information via asynchronous distance learning

This paper expands on the effective implementation of collaboration platforms for research purposes in primary education settings. In our study, Edmodo has been introduced as a medium for facilitating the asynchronous discourse between learners of Guadeloupe and Quebec. The following analysis is based on the digital traces derived from the online activity of users working on two different disciplinary research projects: one in linguistics and one in education for sustainable development (ESD). In essence, this paper covers the procedure of introducing a collaborative tool for educational purposes to an audience with diverse expertise in understanding and using it. In addition, it provides a conceptual analysis for understanding the online messages exchanged during these context-related interactions.

Validation Study of the Family Involvement Questionnaire–Elementary Version With Families in Belize

The purpose of this study was to examine the factor structure of the Family Involvement Questionnaire–Elementary Version with families in Belize. Participants were 185 primary caregivers of children in primary education settings in Belize. Caregivers were given the Family Involvement Questionnaire–Elementary Version to measure their educational involvement in their children’s schooling. Findings indicated the factor structure of the Family Involvement Questionnaire–Elementary Version in Belize was not congruent with the factor structures with samples from the United States and New Zealand. Exploratory factor analysis suggested a five-factor solution: (a) home-school communication, (b) home expectations and monitoring, (c) educational support, (d) school and community involvement, and (e) school attendance. In light of similar measurement studies in the literature, these data indicate that family educational involvement varies across geographic and cultural contexts. This suggests that interventions and policies to improve education outcomes via family involvement ought to consider the unique structure of families’ involvement in the educational system.

Validity and Reliability of Total Quality Management Questionnaire in Greek Primary Education Settings

Validity and Reliability of Total Quality Management Questionnaire in Greek Primary Education Settings

Mindfulness-Based Intervention in a Rural Primary School: Effects on Attention, Concentration and Mood

There are few studies on the effects of mindfulness-based interventions (MBI) in primary education settings, specifically in rural schools, despite the potential beneficial effects on mood state, attention, and concentration. This study compares two groups of 45 children, ages 6 to 13 from a rural school. The experimental group participated in a 6-week, daily MBI program which trained their attention to breathing, to the senses, and to the body. Meanwhile the control group was assigned to a waiting list. Following the intervention, the MBI group improved mood state, concentration, and immediate auditory-verbal memory. However, there were no significant results regarding focused attention and working memory. These results show that MBI in a rural setting is feasible and produces beneficial results in the short term. Research needs to be done over a longer period in order to identify all the possible effects of continued practice of mindfulness in a school setting.

The Coordination of Talk and Touch in Adults’ Directives to Children: Touch and Social Control

Adults sometimes accompany the directives they issue to children about their actions and movements with bodily contact (for example, shoving, guiding, or pushing). This article explores the interactional uses and meanings of such combinations of spoken directive and bodily contact that involves touch in data from families and primary educational settings in Sweden. The focus is on how the timing and coordination of haptics (communicative acts of touch), speech, and contextual factors produce communicative meanings. Findings reveal how touch and talk are synchronized to achieve the child’s compliance to directives. Laminated (that is, multimodal) directives combine concurrent use of imperatives with adults’ own haptic acts, signaling and enforcing the onset and/or trajectory of the required movement. They constitute the prevalent pattern of use, as compared to the use of control touch without accompanying verbalization. Haptic control formats are usually responsive to the child recipient’s noncompliant responses. The data are in Swedish with English translation.

Students With ASD in Mainstream Primary Education Settings: Teachers' Experiences in Western Australian Classrooms

The shift to inclusive education within Australia has resulted in increasing numbers of students with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) being placed in mainstream educational settings. This move has created new demands on teachers who are not necessarily trained to meet the challenge. Therefore, the present study aimed to develop an understanding of how 12 Western Australian primary school (K–7) teachers adapted to the challenge of having a student with ASD in their mainstream classroom. Using an interpretivist framework, data from semistructured interviews revealed that teachers perceived a need to first recognise and accept the challenges associated with having a student with ASD in their mainstream classroom before they could move to accessing avenues of support. The implications of this finding are discussed.

No Outsiders and “the eternal sunshine of the spotless child”

Interrogating Heteronormativity in Primary Schools: The No Outsiders Project is a book that reflects on a research project based in primary schools and funded by The Economic and Social Research Council of the UK. This text is accompanied by another practice-focused work: Undoing Homophobia in Primary Schools. The project was led by Elizabeth Atkinson and Renée DePalma in collaboration with researchers at the University of Exeter and the Institute of Education (University of London) and school and community based educators. Together, the team developed strategies and resources to address lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender equality in their primary education settings. An overarching aim of the project, according to an associated website (www.nooutsiders.sunderland.ac.uk), is “to create school environments and communities where no-one is marginalized because of their sexual orientation or gender expression.”

Epidemiological Survey of Epilepsy in the Special School Population in the City of Buenos Aires

Background: Previous studies in special schools have shown a high prevalence of epilepsy, which is strongly associated with cerebral palsy and severe mental retardation. The conditions regulating school placement have also been described in those studies. In the City of Buenos Aires, information is known only for mainstream schools. Objective: To determine the prevalence and characteristics of epilepsy in special schools and to compare results with common primary education settings. Design and Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out in special schools in the City of Buenos Aires, by adopting the same definitions, diagnostic criteria and questionnaire as those used in a previous study in the common primary school population. Responses from 1,682 children, aged 6–16 years, residing in the City of Buenos Aires, with mental retardation, visual or hearing impairment, psychiatric disorders and motor disabilities were analyzed. Results: A total of 121 children with epilepsy were detected. Lifetime prevalence was 71.9‰ and active prevalence was 64.8‰ (22–25 times greater than rates in mainstream schools). Prevalence was highest in girls and generalized seizures prevailed over other seizure types. Ninety-two percent of cases received antiepileptic drugs, 57.9% as a single drug treatment and 85.1% in adequate doses. Only 56% of the children with a diagnosis of epilepsy proved to be true-positive cases, and almost 40% received antiepileptic drugs for nonepileptic disorders. Malformations/degenerative disease were the most common etiology. Conclusions: Special schools contain clusters of children with epilepsy as a comorbid condition. False high frequency is due to misdiagnoses and unnecessary treatments. These schools are an important target for educational interventions.

Children, families and inter‐agency work: experiences of partnership work in primary education settings

Despite UK government initiatives intended to address social exclusion, those with poor access to social and economic resources continue to experience unresponsive services. In these circumstances, small inter-agency projects may offer accessible alternatives. This article explores the implementation of inter-agency work at a local level, focusing on implications for families involved. It draws on a study of a Health Action Zone (HAZ) initiated project, working in primary schools in a deprived urban area, with children at risk of school exclusion. It examines children's and parents' experiences of the project, locating these within current social policy and social justice debates. While positive outcomes are evident, the article also highlights difficulties in inter-agency collaboration, which potentially undermine support available to families and maintain pessimism about future improvements. By focusing remedies at the level of individual intervention, such initiatives may also neglect structural and organisational factors contributing to families' difficulties.

Epilepsy in mainstream and special educational primary school settings

This population based study compared the prevalence, nature and management of epilepsy between primary school children in mainstream education and those attending a special educational placement (children with special needs). The overall prevalence of epilepsy was 4.3/1000, but was 30 times higher in children with special needs, many of whom also had severe physical disabilities. Seizure types and the proportion of subjects with multiple seizures were similar in mainstream children and those with special needs. Epilepsy syndromes were identified in 74% of children. Although seizures were better controlled in children at mainstream school, 44% of these children did not have well controlled seizures. Children with epilepsy are an educationally vulnerable group and both education and health staff need to be aware of the additional support that many of these children require in all types of primary educational settings.