Primary School Boys Research Articles

Associations of body composition with physical self-description among lower primary school boys

Physical self-description (PSD) plays an important role in physical education outcomes. Body composition is part of physical education component. The purpose of the present study is to determine the associations...

Normative cruelties and gender deviants: The performative effects of bully discourses for girls and boys in school

Since the 1990s the educational community has witnessed a proliferation of ‘bullying’ discourses, primarily within the field of educational developmental social psychology. Drawing on ethnographic and qualitative interview data of primary and secondary school girls and boys, this article argues that the discourse ‘bullying’ operates to simplify and individualise complex gendered/classed/sexualised/racialised power relations embedded in children's school‐based cultures. Using a feminist post‐structural approach, this article critically traces the discursive production of how the signifiers ‘bully’ and ‘victim’ are implicated in the ‘normative cruelties’ of performing and policing ‘intelligible’ heteronormative masculinities and femininities. It shows how these everyday gender performances are frequently passed over by staff and pupils as ‘natural’. The analysis also illustrates how bully discourses operate in complex racialised and classed ways that mark children out as either gender deviants, or as not adequately performing normative ideals of masculinity and femininity. In conclusion, it is argued that bully discourses offer few symbolic resources and/or practical tools for addressing and coping with everyday school‐based gender violence, and some new research directions are suggested.

Changes in cardiorespiratory fitness among children and adolescents in Australia: 1997 and 2004

In this paper, we describe changes in cardiorespiratory fitness among children and adolescents in New South Wales, Australia from 1997 to 2004. Altogether, 4363 children and adolescents were surveyed in 1997 and 3720 were surveyed in 2004. Participants were randomly selected from Grades 4 and 6 in primary school and Grades 8 and 10 in high schools. Cardiorespiratory fitness was assessed on both occasions using the 20-m shuttle run test. There was a very small, but statistically significant, increase in the median number of laps completed for primary (P = 0.02) and high school girls (P = 0.02) and high school boys (P = 0.01); however, the prevalence of adequate cardiorespiratory fitness did not change significantly from 1997 to 2004 for primary or high school boys or girls. Cardiorespiratory fitness was higher among the most socially advantaged boys and girls and this tertile also recorded the greatest increases in all but one group. Over the period 1997 to 2004, the prevalence of adequate cardiorespiratory fitness among students rose slightly in general. It is concerning that the gap between low and high socio-economic tertiles appears to have widened.

Weight and height growth velocities of Japanese boys and girls between age 7 and 14 years: a critical window for early adolescent overweight risk

Childhood overweight is an important worldwide problem of public health concern, with metabolic, physical and psychosocial complications. More and more evidence is accumulating that children who gain weight rapidly earlier in life are at higher risk of becoming overweight later in adulthood life. Therefore, in a seven-year longitudinal study, we studied mid-childhood and early adolescence weight and height growth velocities among 5,024 Japanese 2(nd) grade primary school boys and girls along with its effect on the likelihood of being overweight adolescents by the age of 14 y. Our findings showed that weight growth velocity of both sexes was associated with being overweight at the end of longitudinal study. Boys' risk of accelerated weight growth velocity and becoming overweight adolescents was almost doubled during ages 7 approximately 11 y and become reduced afterward. Otherwise, odds ratios of girls' weight growth velocity peaks were found only at ages from 9 approximately 10 and 10 approximately 11 y. Thus, we suggest a critical window of mid-childhood period associated with adolescence risk of overweight, and we recommend that studying weight growth determinants during 7 approximately 11 y of boys and 9 approximately 11 y of girls may help in developing and applying proper programs for prevention and intervention of overweight problem.

Tracking overweight and obesity in Japanese children; a six years longitudinal study

Childhood overweight/obesity is growing steeply, globally. It is usually regarded as a risk factor for severe obesity over life-time course. Here, we investigated temporal course of overweight/obesity development in Japanese school children. A six-year longitudinal study was performed on 16,245 Japanese primary school children (8,427 boys and 7,818 girls) comprising three cohorts of 1(st) approximately 3(rd) grade. A baseline survey was conducted at 2001, followed by annual baseline studies from 2002 approximately 2007 to determine the prevalence and track overweight/obesity. Our results showed that the prevalence of overweight was 15 approximately 23% in boys and 15 approximately 18% in girls, however, for obesity it ranged between 4 approximately 7% in boys; and 2 approximately 4% in girls. As regards for tracking status, 60 approximately 80% of overweight and 35 approximately 70% of obese Japanese primary school boys track into overweight or obese junior high school adolescents. However, these percentages are lower among primary school girls, where only 50 approximately 70% overweight and 30 approximately 60% obese primary school girls track into overweight and obese adolescents, respectively. We conclude that Japanese boys are fatter than girls; and approximately 80% of overweight/obese Japanese primary school children track into junior high school overweight/obese adolescents.

The use of aggression in primary school boys' decisions about inclusion in and exclusion from playground football games

Sociometric studies have shown that some aggressive boys are popular, perceived as popular or cool, dominant, and central in the peer group (Estell, Cairns, Farmer, & Cairns, 2002; Milich & Landau, 1984; Prinstein & Cillessen, 2003; Rodkin, Farmer, Pearl, & Van Acker, 2006). This is not predicted by social information processing (SIP) models which see aggression as socially incompetent, resulting from distorted understanding of the social world (e.g. Crick & Dodge, 1994). However, sociologists of childhood have argued that some aggressive boys are popular because they use aggression to gain status and dominance, to undermine those of lower status, and to achieve hegemonic masculinity (Adler & Adler, 1998; Ferguson, 2000; Renold, 2007). This study aims to connect psychological and sociological literatures, asking whether social processes of status formation contribute to the link between popularity and aggression identified sociometrically. The paper describes case studies of three boys, aged between 8 and 10 years, attending a London primary school. Sociometric data on liking, disliking, and aggression are combined with ethnographic and interview data for each case study. The data show that one way in which aggression aids popularity and dominance is through boys' strategic use of aggression to enforce decisions about inclusion and exclusion in desirable activities. It can be difficult for individual boys to achieve acceptance without resorting to aggression. The data provide support for sociological explanations of aggression in terms of status and inclusion, and challenge the SIP claim that aggressive children are socially incompetent and biased.

Lower limb dynamics change for children while walking with backpack loads to modulate shock transmission to the head

Backpack load carriage increases ground reaction forces and increases the stiffness in the upper extremity that can cause transmission of higher amount of forces from the lower extremity to the head. This study investigated the effect of load carriage and placement of load on the back on the shock transmission mechanisms amongst children. Fifteen primary school boys with mean age 10.01 (±1.31) years, mean height 136.40 (±10.08) cm and mean mass 31.83 (±7.13) kg completed the study. Subjects carried 10%, 15% and 20% bodyweight (BW) loads on two locations on the back, namely upper and lower. Results showed a significant reduction in pelvic and trunk rotation in the transverse plane and an increase in the upper body stiffness for loads exceeding 15% of BW. The lower limb results showed a reduction in the first peak force and cadence and a significant change in the walking velocity and time to the first peak force for 20% load. No significant differences were found for the load configuration but the upper configuration showed slightly higher shock transmission. The changes in the lower limb dynamics indicated that there are locomotion mechanisms in place amongst children to modulate shock transmission to the head.

Maternal, child and family factors in childhood obesity

Objective: Childhood obesity is an ever increasing problem in today’s modern world. This study aimed at trying to recognize the role of maternal, child and family factors in childhood obesity. Methods: There were 2 groups in the study, the study group comprising of 80 obese primary school boys and their mothers and the control group that comprised of 80 normal weight primary school boys and their mothers. The children and mothers were assessed using a semi-structured questionnaire for collecting socio-demographic and other relevant data. Maternal mental health was assessed using the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS) and the Negative Life events scale. Parenting and family functioning was assessed using the Parenting Scale and the McMaster Family Assessment Device (FAD), respectively. Results: Maternal depression and anxiety, laxness and verbosity in parenting styles, meal frequency, eating out, lack of play with increased television viewing was significantly more in the study group. Family functioning was affected significantly in the study group as well. Conclusions: Childhood obesity is intricately linked to maternal, child and family health, both physical and mental. It is therefore essential that family based interventions be sought in the long term management of childhood obesity.

Towards effective partnerships in a collaborative problem‐solving task

Collaborative learning is recognized as an effective learning tool in the classroom. In order to optimize the collaborative learning experience for children within a collaborative partnership, it is important to understand how to match the children by ability level, and whether assigning roles within these dyads is beneficial or not. The current study investigated the effect of partnering children with different task-specific abilities and assigning or not assigning helping roles within the dyads on the quality of talk used in a collaborative learning task. The participants in this study comprised 54 year 6 pupils from a Western Sydney government primary school (boys=26, girls=28). The ages ranged from 10 years 10 months to 12 years 4 months with a mean age of 11 years 4 months. The children were formed into 27 single sex dyads of low-middle- and low-high-ability partnerships. In half of each of these dyads the higher ability partner was asked to help the lower ability partner, which was compared with just asking partners to work together. The quality of talk used by the dyads while working collaboratively on the problem-solving task was analysed using a language analysis framework developed by Mercer and colleagues (e.g. Littleton et al., 2005; Mercer, 1994, 1996). Results of this study found that children who worked collaboratively in the low-middle-ability dyad condition demonstrated significantly more high-quality exploratory talk than those in the low-high-ability dyad condition. Although there was no significant difference between dyads who were assigned roles and those who were asked to work together, there was an interaction trend which suggests that low-high-ability dyads, who were given the roles of helper and learner, showed more exploratory talk than dyads who were asked just to work together. Mercer's re-conceptualization of Vygotsky's Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) in terms of the Intermental Development Zone (IDZ), which is reliant on constructive challenging discourse, can potentially provide a platform upon which all learners in the classroom can benefit from collaborative learning experiences.

Longitudinal differences and trends in body fat and running endurance in Hungarian primary schoolboys

Long-range repeated-measure sample differences in body dimensions, body composition and physical performance are considered accurately describing the changes in a population's life standards and lifestyle. The aim of our study was to analyse such changes in longitudinal studies repeated after a 15-year interval. Two six-monthly repeated data collections (1987-1991 and 2002-2006, respectively; n = 136 and n = 147, respectively) were carried out in non-athletic boys aged between 6.51 and 11.00 decimal years in the same schools of the city of Gyor, Hungary. The means of height, body mass, body mass index (BMI), body fat percentage and running distance in the Cooper-Test were compared as well as the slopes of the changes. The children of the second series of studies were significantly taller and heavier, had more depot fat and showed poorer cardio-respiratory endurance than their peers 15 years before. The increases with age in weight, BMI and depot fat were steeper in the second series. The significant differences that developed in body weight, fat content and physical performance between the two samples during these 15 years are regarded as an indirect evidence for how severely the average physical condition had declined, respectively how the health risks of the schoolchildren of the respective middle socio-economic strata had increased. Recent adverse changes in lifestyle are too strong, so that the presently obligatory physical education classes at school (four times in 10 days, 45 minutes per class) cannot be expected to provide any solution. Daily 90 minutes blocks of exercise only may promise some improvement.

When rewards and sanctions fail: a case study of a primary school rule‐breaker

UK schools commonly employ a behavioral discipline method comprising rules, rewards awarded when children follow the rules and sanctions when children break them. To date, this approach has had only limited success in halting classroom disruption (Render, Padilla and Krank, 1989; Riley & Rustique‐Forrester, 2002; Gutherson & Pickard, 2006). This paper sought explanations for this limited success through a case study of a British primary school boy who persistently broke school rules. Participant observation, interviews and questionnaires were used to explore his perspective over a period of over two years. The data pinpoint three issues which were implicated in the boy’s antagonistic response to school discipline: emotions (particularly anger), perceptions of fairness and trust, and the role of the peer group in providing alternative morals, rewards and punishments which conflict with those operating in the classroom. It is argued that behavioral discipline methods sometimes fail because they neglect these important dimensions of children’s experience.

‘Six packs and big muscles, and stuff like that’. Primary school‐aged South African boys, black1 and white, on sport

This paper explores the salience of sport in the lives of eight‐year‐old and nine‐year‐old South African primary school boys. Drawing on ethnographic and interview data, I argue that young boys' developing relationship with sport is inscribed within particular gendered, raced and classed discourses in South Africa. Throughout the paper I show differences and durability of meanings across the social sites that affect and position blacks, white, boys and girls. It is argued that young boys' early association with sport is centrally about identity and doing sport, or at least establishing interest in sport is one important way in claiming to be a real boy. The findings have implications for the call by the South African Government to get the nation to play.

Prevalence of Dental Anxiety among 5- to 8-Year-Old Taiwanese Children

Many people experience discomfort to a greater or lesser degree about the prospect of dental treatment. Dental treatment can be a terrible experience, especially for children with dental anxiety. This study estimated the prevalence of dental anxiety among 5- to 8-year-old children in Kaohsiung City, Taiwan. The Children's Fear Survey Schedule-Dental Subscale (CFSS-DS) was translated into Chinese, and a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was made based on criteria determined from pretest clinical observations of a sample population to set a cutoff score. Then, the parental CFSS-DS was used as a screening tool to survey the dental anxiety levels of 5- to 8-year-old children at kindergartens and elementary schools in Kaohsiung City, Taiwan. Participants were selected by stratified random sampling. The stratification was done by geographic district, age group, and sex. A total of 3,597 valid questionnaires were collected. The Chinese version of the CFSS-DS had an optimal cutoff score of 38/39 (sensitivity was 0.857, specificity was 0.882) with an area under the ROC curve of 0.912. The estimated prevalence of dental anxiety among 5- to 8-year-old children in Kaohsiung City was 20.6 percent. The dental anxiety score was found to decrease as age increased; primary school boys had significantly lower scores. The prevalence of dental anxiety was found to be high for 5- to 8-year-old Taiwanese children. The study's findings point to the urgent need for preventive health education and intervention programs in Taiwan to promote children's oral health and reduce dental anxiety.

Do left-handed children have advantages regarding school performance and leadership skills?

A handedness polymorphism exists in all human populations so far investigated, at least since the Palaeolithic. Handedness is a heritable trait, and a possible evolutionary explanation for the higher prevalence of right-handers is the association of left-handedness with some deleterious traits. In this context, the persistence of left-handers remains unexplained. Reproductive success has been shown to be dependent on cultural success in many human societies. This study is the first attempt to consider the importance of social status to evolutionary processes related to handedness. We conducted a survey in French public primary schools to look for a possible association between laterality, school performance, and leadership skills. This study revealed only weak associations, and a sex effect. For primary-school girls, we report a negative association between several indicators of left-sidedness and teacher's ratings of school performance and leadership skills. For primary-school boys, we report a positive association between left-handedness for writing and teacher's ratings of school performance. The present study did not reveal any strong relation between laterality and school performance, but has shown that general school performance is not independent of laterality, and that the effect is opposite in males and females. The main difficulty is now to define clearly the different intellectual functions involved.

Aprendizagem e subjetividade: uma construção a partir do brincar

O artigo discute o processo de aprendizagem e a subjetividade na perspectiva epistemológica qualitativa. Tem-se como objetivo mostrar o papel do brincar no processo de aprendizagem concebida na interação com o professor. Participaram da experiência, "Oficina do Brincar", cinco professoras e 28 alunos do primeiro ano do ensino fundamental em Sobradinho II, Distrito Federal, com população de baixa renda. Os alunos foram indicados por terem dificuldade de aprendizado. Durante cinco meses, uma metodologia qualitativa com ênfase na observação participativa foi utilizada. No artigo é exposta uma fundamentação teórica sobre o brincar, seguida de relatos de observações, dos quais aspectos particulares foram discutidos a partir de uma perspectiva do brincar como possibilidade de uma produção positiva de subjetividade e não apenas como procedimento didático. Conclui-se que o brincar, como espaço de lazer, deve ser visto como constituinte do sujeito e do desenvolvimento de sua subjetividade.

Effects of ICT group work on interactions and social acceptance of a primary pupil with Asperger's Syndrome

AbstractThe aim of this study was to ascertain whether collaborative group work on a computer, facilitated by an adult, could provide a means for a primary schoolboy with Asperger's Syndrome (AS)—moderately‐highly affected in all areas of the “triad of impairments”—to develop appropriate task‐related interactions with his peers. Data were gathered before, during, and after group work sessions. A combination of interviews and questionnaires established background data and concerns of parent and teachers. Sociometric testing of classmates was used to determine social acceptance and friendship grouping among the child's immediate peer group. During the adult‐facilitated ICT sessions an interaction process schedule (IPS) was used to record interactions of the three children involved. The results indicate moderate improvements in the child's ability to interact with his peers, both in social and task‐related contexts, as well as a raised social profile among his classmates in general. Although this was a discrete setting, the findings are encouraging and this strategy may be replicated in schools to support mainstream inclusion for children with AS.

Improving Aerobic Power in Primary School Boys: A Comparison of Continuous and Interval Training

The purpose of this study was to assess whether the magnitude of change in aerobic power was different in boys (mean age 10.25 +/- 0.50 y) who followed a high-intensity interval training protocol, compared to those who followed a moderate-intensity continuous training protocol. Boys were assigned to either a control group (n = 15), a continuous training group (n = 10), or an interval training group (n = 10). They completed peak oxygen uptake tests at baseline and following an 8-week training period. The control group continued with normal activity habits, whilst the continuous training group followed a 20-minute steady-state cycle protocol at 80-85 % of the maximal heart rate, and the interval training group completed 30-s sprints on a cycle ergometer, interspersed with active rest periods. The two training protocols were designed to incur similar cardiovascular work over the 20 minutes of each training session. Significant increases (p < 0.05) in peak oxygen uptake were noted for both the interval and continuous training groups. The interval training group showed marked pre- to post-increases in both peak oxygen pulse, oxygen pulse at the ventilatory threshold, and ventilatory threshold that were not apparent in the continuous group boys. It would appear that a high-intensity interval protocol confers a different training effect in comparison to continuous steady-state training in boys. Possible mechanisms that underpin these adaptations may include increased blood volume and a concomitant adjustment in stroke volume.

Histopathological evaluation of the preputium in preschool and primary school boys

To evaluate the dermatopathology of the preputium in preschool and primary school children. The study group consisted of 32 boys subjected to circumcision procedure for religious belief consecutively between June 2003 and September 2003 in our clinic. The removed foreskin is examined by the same pathologist in all cases and the presence of any dermatopathology was noted. The mean age of the children was 6+/-2 (4-12) years. Three (9.3%) boys had complete phimosis while 2 (6.2%) had partial phimosis. Among 27 (84.3%) cases without phimosis, the histopathological examination of the preputium revealed focal lichenoid cellular infiltrate with epidermal atrophy in 1 (3.1%) patient. This pattern was considered as early lichen sclerosus et atrophicus (LSA). Minor changes were reported in 1 (3.1%) boy namely minimal inflammation and oedema while 1 (3.1%) patient had more marked oedema and acute inflammatory cell infiltration (diagnosed as balanoposthitis). Three (9.3%) preputium specimens revealed evidence of chronic inflammation. Finally 2 (6.2%) boys showed increased melanin pigmentation in basal segment of the foreskin. In 5 (15.6%) patients with phimosis 1 (20%) (complete phimosis) had chronic inflammation and oedema while the other (20%) (partial phimosis) had chronic inflammatory infiltrate only. The rest of the boys with phimosis had normal preputial pathology. As a total, 22 (68.8%) of the 32 cases had totally normal preputial foreskin. The presence of foreskin in preschool and primary school children might rarely be associated with important inflammatory dermatoses like LSA even in the absence of phimosis.

A cognitive-behavioral intervention program for students with special reading disabilities.

Interaction among cognitive, meta-cognitive, and emotional factors seems to play a determining part in achievement behavior and especially in scholastic performance. In this study some preliminary results are presented of the implementation of a multidimensional cognitive-behavioral psychoeducational program especially designed for students with reading disabilities in which parents and teachers also take part. The aim of the program was to provide students with appropriate emotional and cognitive skills with which to address their learning problems. First results on the efficacy of the implemented program to 20 primary school boys and girls with special reading disabilities encourage research on management of learning problems with focus on cognitive and emotional aspects in which parents and teachers contribute. Research including a control group is necessary.

Primary School Boys' Identity Formation and the Male Role Model: An exploration of sexual identity and gender identity in the UK through attachment theory

This paper questions the concept of feminisation which has been invoked by some commentators to explain the widely reported difficulties with boys. Its focus is upon primary schooling, and the point is made that a literature dominated by the consider ations of adolescence and secondary schooling has underestimated the degree to which younger boys are socialised into the norms of hegemonic masculinity. Attachment behaviour theory is used as the framework for analysis, and a detailed study of a primary school provides evidence for the central contention that peers, rather than teachers, are the main role models for boys. The discussion is therefore critical of the notion that an increased number of male teachers who will act as role models has any serious purchase in tackling the problems of boys' identity formation. The paper identifies a number of weaknesses in the conceptualisation of 'the problem with boys' and points out the degree to which homophobic and sexualised bullying is a largely unrecognised issue in primary schools. The conclusion is that such issues need to be tackled in the light of an understanding of the significance of peer attachments.