Schools In Rural Communities Research Articles

Challenges of Early Childhood Care Education in Sustaining Girl-Child Development in Nigeria

This study was informed by the age-long abandonment of the girl child and denial of her rights and rightful place in the education and overall development of the human race. Evidence has it that the female children are not given equal opportunities for self development and self realization right from inception of life. The Early childhood care Education (ECCE) as constitution in the Nigeria system is perceived as potent instrument that can be used to redress some of the misgivings. The ECCE programme in Nigeria was designed on a sound philosophy as its purpose and role in training of qualified preschool teachers were clearly highlighted. The study made a comprehensive review of the rationale for ECCE constitution and the state of its implementation which as it were, has been disproportionately under the control of less qualified personnel. The challenges of ECCE were identified to include: poor and inconsistent standards across schools, unstimulating learning environments, preponderance of unqualified teachers and care-givers, high cost of education and exploitative and profiteering tendencies on the part of proprietors of ECCE schools/centers. Among the recommended strategies for improving the situation and for giving the girl-child ample opportunity to harness the intended benefits of ECCE included the following; full government control and regulation of establishment and running of ECCE schools/centers; training and retraining of preschool teachers and care-givers through workshops, seminars and conferences, extension of government grants/subventions to privately-owned ECCE schools; establishment of ECCE model schools in rural communities, provision of instructional facilities to ECCE school properties to highly subsidized rates and regular and close monitoring to ensure set standards and conditions are sustained. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2013.v4n5p151

The Lost Carpetbagger

The following discussion highlights the impact depression and anxiety can have on perceptions of psychological and geographical “place” for a Southern, White male teacher studying racism and prejudice in the predominantly White rural high school community he lives and works. The teacher-researcher utilizes autoethnographical and psychoanalytical techniques of critical reflection and self-applied transportation theory, and arts-based research to unravel these perceptions and to enhance his autobiographical findings of both geographical and psychological place. One intent of the nonnative teacher-researcher was to uncover one predominantly White Texas high school community’s actions and thoughts of racism and prejudice through his own eyes while at times suffering from a relapse of Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) and anxiety. Another intent was to give the teacher-researcher further perspectives into his biography, his own attitudes of racism, prejudice, and inequality, and further understandings into the underlying causes of depression that bound his experiences in geographical and psychological place. Findings suggest that this teacher-researcher’s use of psychological techniques while suffering from a relapse of MDD and anxiety can negatively impact his ability to locate physical and psychological aspects of place.

Equal and Universal Access?: Water at Mealtimes, Inequalities, and the Challenge for Schools in Poor and Rural Communities

As a result of the rising national obesity rates, public health researchers and advocates have initiated a number of obesity prevention interventions to reduce the rates of overweight and obesity along with their related medical conditions and costs. Policymakers have also initiated a wide range of environmental and policies to support healthy eating and physical activity. Policies such as California's SB1413, which requires that free drinking water be served in school cafeterias during mealtimes, and subsequently the Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010, assume an equal access to safe and healthy drinking water. As a result, these policies and their application may unintentionally, exacerbate the inequities already present. Unless we take reasonable steps to address the needs of high-need communities, these one-size-fits-all policy efforts may result in an unequal patchwork of disparities and may have a greater negative impact in high-need poor and rural areas.

Allergy sensitization and asthma among 13-14 year old school children in Nigeria

The prevalence of asthma and role of atopy in asthma among children has not been clearly defined in Nigeria. To determine the prevalence of asthma and investigate risk factors related to allergy sensitization among urban and rural school children in southwest Nigeria. Validated ISAAC questionnaire was administered to 1736 high school children in randomly selected schools in rural and urban communities. Identified asthma cases were matched to controls. Allergy skin tests, blood eosinophil count, serum IgE and stool examination for parasites were performed. Dust samples from homes were also collected and analyzed for allergens. The prevalence of asthma was 7.5% (95% CI 6.0 to 9.2%) and 8% (95% CI 6.0-10.4%) in the rural and urban communities respectively . Risk factors for asthma included cigarette-smoking, cats in the home and family size. Eosinophil count (109/L) was elevated in asthmatics [0.70 (95% CI 0.48-1.11) vs. 0.32 (95% CI 0.19-0.69); p<0.01], but IgE levels were similar between the two groups (298±229 IU/mL vs. 288±257; p=0.97). Positive skin tests to cat hair, cockroach, mango blossom and mouse epithelium were more frequent in asthmatics than in healthy controls, especially in the rural communities. There was no correlation between allergens in dust collected from homes and skin test reactivity. Asthma prevalence is similar in rural and urban children in Southwest Nigeria and atopy with elevated IgE was not observed to be a major factor for asthma in our cohort of children in both communities.

Rural schools, social capital and the Big Society: a theoretical and empirical exposition

The paper commences with a theoretical exposition of the current UK government's policy commitment to the idealised notion of the Big Society and the social capital currency underpinning its formation. The paper positions this debate in relation to the rural and adopts an ethnographically‐informed methodological approach to provide an in‐depth look at two contrasting English rural primary schools and their relationship with their village communities. The empirical investigation seeks to explore the extent to which the potential for building social capital is evidenced in current rural school–community relations within these two locales. The findings reveal a highly differentiated countryside in which any attempt to essentialise the abilities of rural schools to generate social capital in order to build the Big Society should be avoided.

Challenges and Reflections of Implementing the Technical and Vocational Education Policy: A Case for Secondary Schools in Rural Communities of Rushinga District, Mashonaland Central Province

Challenges and Reflections of Implementing the Technical and Vocational Education Policy: A Case for Secondary Schools in Rural Communities of Rushinga District, Mashonaland Central Province

Assessment of Factors Determining Parents’ Preference for Private Secondary Schools in Rural Communities of Cross River State

This paper explored the underlying factors determining parents’ choice of sending their children/wards to private secondary schools, using Cross River State rural communities as a case study. Sixty (60) private secondary institutions in the state were selected through stratified sampling technique. A total of 720 respondents were used in the study. This comprised 360 parents (males 153 and females 207) 300 teachers and 60 principals. The study used two sets of questionnaire: Parents’ Patronage of Private School Questionnaire (PPPSQ) and Teachers’ Opinion on Parents’ Patronage of Private Schools Questionnaire (TOPPSQ). Survey design was adopted and percentages, and frequencies techniques were used. The study found out that private secondary schools in the area were highly patronized by parents who were influenced by pride of school ownership, effective monitoring of school activities by proprietors, high level of students achievement among other factors. One of the recommendations made was that government should adhere strictly to maintenance of high quality of school facilities and standard in order to avoid mediocre schools. KEY WORDS: Assessment, Parents’ Patronage, Rural, Private – Schools.

A mixed-methods analysis of achievement disparities in Guatemalan primary schools

Although most Guatemalan rural students currently have access to primary school, there are large differences in the levels of learning that take place among different populations and in different contexts. This paper uses multiple data and methods to examine the interrelated factors underlying achievement disparities in Guatemalan primary schools. The research suggests that strong levels of disadvantage connected to attending schools in poor rural communities are connected to systematic differences in the way school quality is supported in different contexts. There are inadequate resources, capacity, and authority to monitor and enforce fundamental educational issues, especially in marginal communities.

The Effect of Schoolwide Positive Behavioral Supports on Children in Impoverished Rural Community Schools

This study describes the 1st-year effects of a Schoolwide Positive Behavior Support on four schools in impoverished communities in rural west Texas. The authors present pre- and postdescriptive data that demonstrate the positive effect upon decreasing discipline referrals, lowering in school suspension rates, and reducing failure rates. The authors hypothesized that using a Schoolwide Positive Behavior Support system is used in rural impoverished schools can help mitigate the negative consequences children experience in communities with few mental health services, thereby increasing their academic engagement and success.

Digital storytelling in Bhutan: A qualitative examination of new media tools used to bridge the digital divide in a rural community school

This qualitative study examines the use of digital storytelling as an instructional intervention for bridging the digital divide among public school students in rural Bhutan. Primary participants for the study included elementary school children who had never been previously exposed to computer technology and were recipients of a donated classroom set of laptops. Results demonstrated how technology instruction and infrastructure inherently positions ethical and cultural differences between researchers, education personnel, school children and their families. The use of English became an inadvertent gatekeeper for who was chosen to participate in the classroom laptop program. Another major finding examines how Bhutan’s social awareness for “Gross National Happiness” is inherently juxtaposed in contrast to Western perceptions of modernity and progress. Educators and administrators concerned about initial technology instruction in developing regions should find this study informative.

Investing in Sustainable and Resilient Rural Social Space

Attracting and retaining effective education leaders and teaching staff for regional, rural and remote schools in Australia is a major sustainability and quality issue facing every State and Territory. It is also a major concern in pre-service teacher education, particularly for those universities which have a commitment to rural and regional areas. There is a strategic link between teacher education and the sustainability of rural communities with earlier suggestions (White &amp; Reid, 2008, p. 1) highlighting that ―healthy rural communities may be supported via reform of the ways in which teacher education prepares graduates for teaching in rural schools. Likewise, the proposition is made in this paper that the relationship is importantly reciprocal and that, in turn, healthy rural communities and 'successful rural schools‘ can inform and help reform teacher education and professional learning through the insights gathered into the ways in which rural education leaders and teaching staff work closely with their school communities. In this paper we draw specifically from the research findings of a three-year Australian Research Council funded project (2008-2010) of schools and communities where sustainable practices around staff recruitment and retention were identified to explore this reciprocal relationship. The paper will firstly discuss the context of the study, its method and conceptual framework, and then focus in particular on the emerging themes from the twenty case-studies across Australia. Themes discussed include the important linking between rural school leadership and community renewal; the possibilities of developing school-university partnerships to sustain the rural workforce; and the need for social and creative enterprise to be acknowledged as important work of rural teachers and leaders. The paper concludes with the implications of these themes in terms of better preparing a future rural teacher workforce.

School Consolidation in Nebraska: Economic Efficiency vs. Rural Community Life

We examine the factors driving rural school consolidations, focusing our analysis on Nebraska. We consider statutory and case law, the school financing formulas that drive consolidation and the efforts by rural citizens to challenge those financing formulas in courts. We analyze how rural school consolidations have been framed in newspaper coverage, in order to see the dominant understandings of the cost-benefit tradeoffs in consolidating rural schools. Finally, we study three cases of rural Nebraska school districts for the insights these cases provide as to the challenges of sustaining rural community schools and the effects of consolidation on the students and the communities. Our conclusion is that schools play a vital role in sustaining rural community life, although the costs to the community when schools are consolidated are more difficult to quantify than the economies of scale that motivate those consolidations.

Every voice counts: Towards a new agenda for schools in rural communities in the age of AIDS

This discussion piece focuses on possible strategies for taking action around some of the challenges teachers and schools in rural communities face in the context of larger systemic changes in southern Africa, and particularly in the context of HIV/AIDS. For this purpose we examine five key entry points, i.e. teachers’ lives, school leadership and management, the voices of young people, teachers working with communities, and partnerships and pedagogies for preparing new teachers. We propose visual participatory research as a possible strategy for providing a space for dialogue that could be unleashed from the narrow political and economical aims of education transformation in South Africa. In a context where rural communities and schools are often viewed and approached as deficient, we consider the importance of an asset-based approach, invoking specific types of communication as an alternative to a needs-based approach to community development.

The devil is in the details

Objective: Guidelines from a variety of jurisdictions for the health-promoting schools (HPS) approach include healthy school policy as a critical element. Research also supports the importance of policy; however, there seems to be a lack of information on how to develop and implement policy. The article examines the processes involved in one school division’s development and implementation of healthy school policy. Design: The study emerged from the Battle River Project, a multilevel partnership designed to explore the efficacy of implementing HPS at a school division level. The project intervention involved support for schools, a division-level steering committee, and a framework for implementation. Setting: The Battle River School Division is located in Alberta, Canada, and serves both rural and urban school communities. The study involved 21 of the 36 schools in the division and was initiated by the Ever Active Schools programme. Method: Development and implementation of policy and procedure were examined using case study methodology. Data gathered included interviews, focus groups, documents and observation. Results: Four primary themes were revealed through data analysis. Perceptions and misconceptions; bottom–up/top–down; flexible rigidity; and the way we do business. Conclusion: The process of developing and implementing healthy school policy can be streamlined by planning for clear communication, involving all stakeholders, and by embedding health into the structures of a school jurisdiction.

Evaluating the impact of a multicomponent intervention model on teachers' awareness of social networks at the beginning of middle school in rural communities.

Evaluating the impact of a multicomponent intervention model on teachers' awareness of social networks at the beginning of middle school in rural communities.

Using appreciative inquiry to create a sustainable rural school district and community

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to document how a doctoral research team applied an action research process to improve communication and collaboration strategies among rural Midwestern school district stakeholders.Design/methodology/approachAn appreciative inquiry (AI) action research methodology framed as a qualitative case study using the AI 4‐D cycle over four consecutive weeks was facilitated with nine purposively selected stakeholders.FindingsFindings suggest that the AI 4‐D cycle promoted greater respect and value of participants' strengths/assets through shared personal narratives; participants transformed their rural school district's culture from defensive, isolationist, and reactive to one that embraced internal and external collaboration, greater levels of trust, and hope; and participants increased social capital between the school district and community agencies as well as in the relationship among school district stakeholders.Practical implicationsParticipants entered the process with strong expressions of powerlessness focused on school district and stakeholder deficits. They left the process empowered, with a plan to improve stakeholder communication, form district and community partnerships at many levels, and act immediately to initiate transformation projects. Participants became conduits of hope for their rural community and viewed themselves as assuming leadership roles to bring groups together to build generative capacity.Originality/valueThe paper highlights the importance of the highly participatory nature of school organizations as democratic institutions, and it demonstrates that educators are empowered when their focus is on a co‐constructed imagined future.

Excellent Teachers Leading the Way: How to Cultivate Teacher Leadership

Policy changes and mandates that may be at odds with middle school philosophy continue to come from state legislatures and departments of education. Increased emphasis on content coverage and test scores can be an obstacle to many middle level practices, such as curriculum integration and differentiated instruction. As this situation continues, it becomes increasingly difficult for middle grades educators to meet students' needs as individual learners, to develop their voices and ownership in learning, and to explore students' questions and concerns about the world around them (Kohn, 2000). While an increasing number of well-prepared, exemplary middle grades educators know and understand this situation, these educators are often not the ones leading school change. Teachers are at the center of all reform movements, and without their full participation and leadership, any effort to reform education is doomed to failure. Real change cannot be mandated, even by well-intentioned policymakers (Lieberman & Miller, 1999). Given this, why is it that teachers are not taking the lead in current reform, and how can they best be supported as leaders of school improvement? A grassroots movement by teachers reinforcing the notion that every teacher is a leader may be vital to the continued success of middle level schools in this challenging time. Benefits of teacher leadership Middle schools benefit in numerous ways by increasing opportunities for teacher leadership. Teacher leaders serve as mentors and encourage their peers; they influence policies in their schools; they assist in improving instructional practice; and they help develop the leadership capacity and improve retention of other teachers (Katzenmeyer & Moller, 2001). As these teacher leaders work to help others develop skills and practices, they frequently hone their own teaching skills and improve their classroom performance (Ovando, 1994). The ultimate benefit is improved practice and increased student performance for all (Katzenmeyer & Moller). Higher student achievement, even as defined by traditional measures, increases in schools with strong teacher leaders (Lambert, 2003). Teacher leadership allows excellent teachers to impact their colleagues and the students in their classrooms, and this serves as an incentive for them to remain in the classroom. Given these benefits, it may be worth asking, What is the current status of teacher leadership? and How we can we cultivate it in our middle level schools? In the spirit of teacher leadership, let us ask teachers to answer these questions. Are teacher leaders in our schools? Teachers enrolled in graduate programs that included a focus on action research and teacher leadership designed and implemented studies within their home schools. These teacher researchers used action research projects to examine teacher leadership in 44 middle level schools in 13 counties. All were rural or small community schools, identifying themselves as middle schools or middle schools within a K-8 setting. Most schools housed grades 6-8, with others housing grades 7-8 or K-8. All included elements of middle school organization such as teaching teams, common planning time, a verbalized commitment to teachers who are knowledgeable about young adolescents, and some implementation of integrated curriculum and exploratory classes. They included a range of educators in terms of experience, typically predominantly female, with 10%-15% males. Both male and female principals were included in the study, and the gender of the principal did not correlate with any findings. The schools ranged in size from 160 to 908 students, with the majority falling within the 500-749 range. The schools varied in terms of students' ethnic diversity, with the majority serving less than 25% students of color. Half of the schools identified more than 50% of students as economically disadvantaged. In terms of student achievement test scores, the majority of the study schools were identified as meeting expected state growth goals (Figure 1). …

Estimation of lead in urine of school children in south western Nigeria and effect of ascorbic intervention

This study was carried out to investigate the level of lead in the air and urine of pupils in selected schools in south western Nigeria and ascertain the effect of ascorbic acid, with a view to providing baseline data on lead levels in children. A total of 197 pupils in schools in urban and rural communities of Ife Central Local Government, Osun State in the south west of Nigeria (that is Sabo, Iremo and Ajebamidele (n = 119) and Kajola and Abagboro (n = 78), respectively), The pupils in both communities were randomised into experimental and control group, the experimental group were placed on 500 mg of ascorbic acid daily for five days. Urine samples were collected on the first, third and fifth day of the study from the pupils in experimental and control groups and analysed for lead using Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer. Air samples were collected using the LaMotte air sampling pump and analysed for lead using the same method. The cross sectional survey indicated that the mean lead levels in the air in the school environment in the urban communities on the first, third and fifth day of the study were (8.69 ± 0.070, 9.27 ± 0.09 and 9.27 ± 0.09 µg/m³) respectively and significantly higher than lead levels in rural communities (3.73 ± 0.030 µg/m³). The lead concentration in the urine of the pupils in experimental group in urban (5.51 ± 1.07 µg/m³) and rural communities (5.27 ± 0.98 µg/m³) were similar on the first day of the study. The ingestion of ascorbic acid increased excretion of lead in the urine of pupils significantly (11.22 ± 1.48 µg/m³) on the third day and decreased marginally on the fifth day (9.87 ± 1.20 µg/m³) in the urban communities. Similarly in the rural communities there was a significant increase (11.52 ± 1.41 µg/m³) in the excretion of lead in the urine of pupils on the third day but a marginal increase on the fifth day (12.88 ± 2.27 µg/m³) of the ascorbic acid ingestion. The lead level in the air on the first day of the study had no linear relationship with urinary lead level in the urban and rural communities whilst on the third and fifth day of the study, a linear relationship was observed between lead levels in the air and urinary lead levels of the pupils in the urban and rural communities. Key words: Urinary lead levels, air lead levels, school children, ascorbic acid intervention

Quality of Basic Education Provided by Rural Community and Regular Schools in the Northern Province of Zambia

Community schools provide an alternative mode of education delivery in Zambia. They have helped in making basic education accessible to many school goingage children. In addition, community schools have helped in strengthening relationships between schools and surrounding communities; and pupils do not have to travel long distances to schools. Considering that both regular and community basic schools play a very important role in the provision of education, the study sought to establish the quality of education in 12 selected rural basic schools belonging to both categories in the Northern Province of Zambia. Although the fi ndings indicated that all stakeholders felt that some learning was taking place, it was clear that neither community nor regular basic schools provided what may be referred to as good quality education. However, the picture emerging from the fi ndings was that the situation in regular basic schools was slightly better than that found in community schools. Suggestions from respondents on ways of improving the quality of basic education included, among other things, rehabilitating of existing infrastructure, building new classroom blocks and enough teachers’ houses, provision of adequate desks as well as teaching and learning materials, deployment of an adequate number of trained teachers, and running of regular inservice training courses.

The Affects of Language Assessment Policies in Speech-Language Pathology on the Educational Experiences of Indigenous Students

The role and significance of speech-language pathology (SLP) is not often considered in studies of language planning. SLP has tended to be considered more as an issue for health policy than for language policy. However, the health focus of SLP does interact with language planning especially in education where SLP assessments have implications for language-in-education planning in local contexts and in the development of literacy programmes and educational interventions in schools. It is in the case of assessment in educational contexts in which the concerns of SLP and language planning come closest together. This paper will discuss the implementation of language assessment policies within one rural Aboriginal community school in Australia. These policies have had the effect of medicalising non-standard language systems and increasing existing power imbalances between the Aboriginal people and the non-Aboriginal education system. This has resulted in significant detrimental impacts being experienced by the individual children who have been tested in accordance with these language assessment policies.