School Gate Research Articles

Thank You for Allowing Us To Speak

In Thank You for Allowing Us To Speak, youth pedestrian activists Nitya Jaiswal (13) and Radha Patel (18) - supported by Auckland-based urban strategist, Boopsie Maran - describe images from their parallel traffic safety campaigns. Across Auckland, families feel the streets students must use between their home and the school gate are growing to be more hostile than ever before. Particularly, in the city centre, their environment lacks shade and safe separation from car traffic, and often includes crossing the entrance to a motorway. While the kids themselves understand that walking and using active modes is a sustainable route, they just wish their streets were made safer by adult drivers, often the ones speeding to work.This photo essay highlights the inherent challenges faced by students on and off the streets—whether at a traffic circle or at local board offices sitting opposite elected members. Through captions and selected images, Jaiwal and Patel speak frankly to their intended adult audience and detail in their own words the “consequences, for [those] of you who are wondering.”

PERAN GURU MATA PELAJARAN AKIDAH AKHLAK DALAM MENGHADAPI ERA DIGITAL DI MADRASAH TSANAWIYAH EXCELLENT ZAINUL HASAN BALUNG JEMBER

Abstract: This journal aims to determine the role of Aqidah Akhlak subject teachers in facing the digital era at Madrasah Tsanawiyah Excellent Zainul Hasan Balung. The role of teachers, especially teachers of Aqidah Akhlak subjects in an educational institution, is very important. This refers to the aim of education which is one of the important aspects of life to form people of quality, character, responsibility and usefulness. This research uses a descriptive qualitative research approach. Data collection techniques using observation, interviews, documentaries. This research uses qualitative descriptive analysis. The results of this research are: 1). Teachers as educators include: (a) Religious inspirers, disciplinary inspirers. b) Religious motivator, discipline motivator. (c) Religious facilitator, discipline facilitator. 2) The teacher as a motivator, namely by instilling habitual character education, morning tadarus, reading Asmaul Husna, and welcoming students by the teacher at the front of the school gate to shake hands. 3) The teacher as an innovator in planning, namely using curmer to create teaching modules. In the implementation of learning the Aqidah Akhlak teacher uses 1 student 1 laptop as media.

Mediating between schools and families: experiences of teachers in privately-run migrant schools in South-West China

ABSTRACT This paper examines the experiences of 23 teachers who work in privately-run migrant schools (PMSs) in South-West China. Such schools cater for the needs of internal migrant children who do not often have access to free state education provision because of their lack of status in their new cities. We draw data from an ethnographic-informed qualitative study conducted in Guiyang City. The spillover effect as the theoretical lens, enables us to understand our participants’ experiences within and beyond the school gates. Different from existing research focusing on how home environment characteristics affect school-related outcomes, this study shifted towards investigating whether factors within the school domain can mitigate children’s home-related disadvantages or risks. The findings show that teachers support the students and their families by mediating family conflicts, supplementing often poor nutrition and assisting with homework. Overall, similar to educators in disadvantaged school settings elsewhere, the study demonstrates that teaching and managerial staff in PMSs go beyond their paid roles as educators and they are actively committed to breaking the cycle of poverty and transforming the lives of their students.

‘There is a lot of traffic at the school gate in the morning which makes me nervous’: exploring children’s current and desired school commutes

ABSTRACT Although children are the primary users of many spaces, their voices are often unheard in transport planning. We therefore do not know much about children’s barriers or wishes regarding mobility. What is known, however, is that children have become less independent in their daily mobility, with parents (or guardians) increasingly driving children instead of allowing them to walk and cycle. The decline in active mobility is worrisome, since active mobility is beneficial to children, but incorporating children’s voices in transport planning can be conducive to increased active mobility of children. The objective of this paper is to explore the wishes and barriers of children regarding school commuting. Data was collected from a survey completed by 1251 pupils and through workshops with four schools in a residential neighbourhood in Brussels, Belgium. We found that there is a significant gap between the current and desired transport modes of pupils, with an important untapped potential for cycling. We also found that traffic safety is a predominant worry of pupils. Additionally, when suggesting the re-design of their school neighbourhood, the most recurring suggestions from pupils included walking and cycling infrastructure, and reduced access to the school neighbourhood for cars.

Modeling speed behavior of vehicles in school zones under the impact of motorcycle-dominated societies

This study evaluates the free-flow speed of vehicles passing through the 9 school zones in Pleiku City, Vietnam before and after the establishment of the speed limit. The speed data was collected and analyzed by using an image processing technology. The results show that there is a decrease in the speed of vehicles when passing through the school gate, however, it still remains high. After the establishment of the speed limit of 30 kph at the school zone, the speed is likely reduced but not significantly. Furthermore, Maximum Likelihood Estimation method was used to model the speed behavior in the form of normal distribution. The estimated results show a realistic reflection of the observed speed distribution. The results can be applied in making policies to reduce school traffic accidents and to promote active travel on the school journey in countries such as Vietnam or in other countries with relevant contexts.

Designing a Virtual Learning Platform for Enhanced Campus Epidemic Prevention: A VR Technology Approach

The global pandemic caused by COVID-19 has brought about severe adverse impacts on university campuses worldwide. Some universities have started using virtual reality (VR) technology to design a virtual environment (VE) for effective infection prevention on campuses. VR is an innovative interactive technology in improving various virtual simulation fields. The utilization of VR technology’s computational design and engineering features facilitates seamless implementation of epidemic prevention education. This positively impacts students’ engagement and comprehension levels. The research aims to use VR technology to design a VE for campus epidemic prevention. The immersive interaction can attract the staff/students to explore and learn, bringing convenience to campus epidemic prevention. The novelty of the study is the design of a virtual learning platform for campus epidemic prevention practices. The platform includes several scenes: school gates, classrooms, food courts, and school-based health centers. The study carried out a user testing experiment involving 30 students to assess the effectiveness of epidemic prevention education. The study results show that the virtual tour can enhance the user experience without physical space restrictions. The study further suggests that the virtual learning platform proposed in the study will assist universities in improving campus infection prevention practices.

PENGETAHUAN DAN SIKAP SISWA DENGAN TINDAKAN PENCEGAHAN COVID-19

Background: The world was shocked by the emergence of COVID-19 virus infection. Therefore itis necessary to apply new habits such as washing hands, wearing masks, maintaining distance, avoiding crowds, and limiting mobility. Purpouse: The aim to analyze the relationship knowledge and attitudes of students the prevention of COVID-19 at state elementary school 030349 parfruits, Dairi regency.Method: This analytical survey study applied cross sectional approach. Seventy people were involved as the population in this study. this study used total sampling wherein the number of sample equals to the number population. in analyzing the data, chi-square test with α<0.05. Results: The results showed that there was a relationship of knowledge and preventive measures for COVID-19 with pvalue of 0.02. There is a relationship attitudes and precautions for COVID-19 with pvalue of 0.02. Conclusion: The conclusion there was a relationship knowledge and attitudes with prevention of COVID-19. Advice: To the school to provide understanding to implement health protocols. Facilitating students by providing handwashing with soap (CTPS) facilities with running water and hand sanitizers in every class, teacher's room, school gate and other places students often access. Educating students to do CTPS and correct coughing/sneezing ethics, in collaboration with the puskesmas.

Bacteria Load Assessment from Hands of Students in a Tertiary University in South-South Nigeria

Clean hands are the single most important factor in preventing the spread of pathogens and reducing the incidence of infections. The good hand hygiene practices promote health safety and prevent infections. This study was carried out to assess the presence of bacteria from hands of Ambrose Alli University Students. Of all fifty (50) samples analyzed, at least one or two bacteria were isolated. The colony counts of students from each site were properly recorded with the highest found amongst dwellers of male hostels i.e 4.85 x 105cfu/ml, compared to dwellers at female hostels. However, there was considerable increase amongst students at Microbiology laboratory, which may be attributed to lack of good hand hygiene procedures not been adhered to. The considerable increase in the frequency of Escherichia coli and as well as Proteus sp is indicative of poor hygiene practices. The low colony counts recorded amongst students from school gate could be as a result of the student have taken their bath before coming to school. The frequency of occurrence of the isolates includes: Staphylococcus aureus 50 (100%), Escherichia coli 35 (70%), Klebsiella sp 15 (30%), Salmonella sp 21 (42%), Streptococcus sp 10 (20%), Bacillus sp 4 (8%), Pseudomonas sp 2 (4%) and Proteus sp 2 (4%). From the study, it was shown that there was considerable increase in poor hygienic practices amongst students of Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma Edo State, Nigeria.

Fine and nano particles in the school environments and the respiratory deposition doses to schoolchildren in a Middle City of Jambi, Indonesia

Five public high schools in Jambi, Indonesia, located on the roadside, were chosen as sampling sites, i.e., at the school gate (SG) and schoolyard (SY), to assess the respiratory deposition doses (RDDs) to schoolchildren during the COVID-19 pandemic (December 2021 to February 2022). The fine- and nano-particles information was proven to be critical and limited during the pandemic, but school activities have resumed as usual, even though they only occur for ~4 hours per day at that time. The results show average PM concentrations at the school gate (SG) were higher than those at the schoolyard (SY) regardless of the site location, which was attributed to a difference in influences from road traffic that may be due to the distance from the road. Each PM2.5 concentration, particularly at SY during the school day, exceeded the World Health Organization’s PM2.5 daily standard (15 μg m-3), resulting in higher RDDs compared to other particle sizes, particularly for headways. The deposition of PM2.5 and PM0.1 needs more attention since RDDs have higher values and can infiltrate the alveoli more deeply. Overall, these findings will help to improve health surveillance and guide future efforts in Indonesia to develop air pollution mitigation strategies, particularly for children during the school day.

‘It comes with more baggage than prestige’: deferred culpability and disavowal among elite boys’ school alumni

ABSTRACT Research investigating elite schools has highlighted how students within these learning environments embody and naturalise their privilege through discourses of merit, hard work, and innate talent and skill. However, relatively little is known about how privilege, and its associated discourses, moves with students beyond the school gate and into adulthood. In this paper we present accounts from elite boys’ school alumni to interrogate how they mediate representations of Self as morally ‘good and sincere’. The active disavowal of the elite education experience, and deferral of culpability from the cultural practices of these institutions feature in these accounts. In particular, the paper explores the strategies used to reconcile aspects of the elite boys’ school experience. We argue that these practices of disavowal and deferred culpability provide a degree of personal and professional mobility, from which the cultivation of a positive sense of self as a ‘good’ man emerges.

Geographies of COVID‐19

Geographies of COVID‐19

An exploration of the possible educational opportunities and the challenges at the intersection of the physical and digital worlds occupied by 10–14 year-old students

In developed countries, digital technologies are disrupting every facet of students’ lives. It is no longer an option to turn off devices and disconnect from the outside world at the school gate. Educators are struggling with the number of technologies being introduced and how to safely and effectively integrate these tools in classrooms that have no boundaries. In an era where it seems that each child takes central place on the world stage; always connecting, learning, creating and sharing, it is timely to investigate the experiences of technology-rich 10–14 years old Australian students’ experiences with technology in everyday life, and reflect on the persisting challenges and the new possibilities being created by the myriad choices of technological tools and their uses. The purposive selection of the participants was based on the volunteers’ daily access to personal devices and frequent use of applications and various online platforms. This inductive qualitative study used concept mapping as a tool for conducting research and thematic analysis to identify and explore patterns in the data. Our findings reveal the formation of a fluid and hybrid digital rhizomatic non-hierarchical and multiplicitous network that allows students to connect, think, act, interact, access ideas and resources in ways that may assist educators in closing the gap between formal learning and informal learning whilst living in a rich technology world.

Mother of the Nation: A Short Translation History of Yang Qianhe’s ‘Flower Blooming Season’

Abstract First published in 1942, Yang Qianhe’s Japanese-language short story ‘Flower Blooming Season’ depicts a schoolgirl named Huiying who seeks out female role models to help her navigate the realities of womanhood beyond the school gates. This article uses close readings of the 1979, 1992, and 2001 Mandarin Chinese translations of the text to argue that the translation process politicised the text’s depiction of girlhood through omitting or foregrounding the protagonist’s interest in cultural and social markers of Japanese womanhood. In examining the translators’ differing approaches, the article explores how literary translation reflects and reinforces narratives concerning the period of Japanese rule in Taiwan, as well as questioning the tendency to view imperial subjectivity from a male perspective exclusively.

Freire for twenty-first-century, austerity-driven schools: creating positive educational relations with and among students at the margins

Despite the rhetoric of successive governments in England to engage all students with their learning there has been a substantial increase in suspensions and permanent exclusions from secondary schools since the early 2000s. This removal of students from school is particularly high among underperforming students, most of whom come from low-income families. These concerns, amplified by well-being and mental health issues related to the lockdowns caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, accelerated government calls for new and innovative approaches to re-engage students with education. Particular emphasis is placed on mentoring and tutoring projects. This article discusses a relational pedagogy employed in the initial stages of a mentoring project called Beyond the School Gates that emerged from a research study carried out by the University of Portsmouth in 2018 and was established as a charity association in 2020. Specifically, it analyses the mentoring processes that draw on Freire’s decoding model to create relational spaces within excluded students’ homes in order to facilitate critical dialogue between mentors, students and their parents. Mentors facilitate relational encounters that involve mutual dialogue and a series of relationship-building activities so that students are able to voice their social realities and educational experiences. Students depict their circumstances in image metaphors or art forms, some of which are illustrated. These frame conversations about their educational and social developmental interests, needs and goals. Mentors then facilitate activities that help the students develop confidence and the skills necessary to access resources to meet these needs and realise their goals. This extends to facilitating conversations between students, parents and teachers in order to address social and curricular barriers in school.

DISTRIBUTION OF HERBACEOUS WEEDS OF SELECTED UNDISTURBED LOCATIONS ON UNIVERSITY OF ABUJA MAIN CAMPUS

A study was carried out to determine occurrence and distribution of herbaceous weed species of selected undisturbed locations of University of Abuja Main Campus. 8 locations were selected and 12 coordinate points were assessed within each of the locations using a Geograhical Positioning System (GPS).Weed species were sampled with the use of quadrat (1 m2), randomly thrown at different points of infestation of herbaceous weeds. A total of 1735 herbaceous weeds belonging to 39 species and 14 families were identified. Hyptis suaveolens (mint weed) was observed to be the most occurring specie (398), followed by Calopogonium mucunoides (248), Sida acuta (110), Paspalum vaginatum (88) and Tridax procumbens (81). The highest density of Hyptis suaveolens was observed at the School Gate (7.3), followed by Senate Building (5.8), The highest relative densities were observed at School Gate (32.4) and Faculty of Agriculture (24.1). Also,the highest frequency of occurrence of identified species were observed at the School Gate (100 %) and senate building (85 %), respectively. Weed abundance was observed to be highest at the School Gate (733.3), followed by Senate Building (690). The lowest abundance was at Faculties of Law and Veterinary Medicine (211.1). It is, therefore, recommended that control is required to mitigate their harmful effects. Also, the need for appropriate design and implementation of weed management strategies which may decrease the density or noxiousness of herbaceous weeds.

The built environment impacts on route choice from home to school for rural students: A stated preference experiment.

Rural roads and built environment in China have been developed enormously, but it is not clear whether these roads fulfill the needs of school children as they need to travel long to school every day. It is crucial to understand the influencing factors of their travel mode choices to better design future country roads and built environment, aiming to promote physical activities of school children in a safe built environment. This study thus attempts to explore the impacts of rural built environment attributes on children's school travel mode preferences. Eight rural built environment attributes are considered: distance from home to school; the number of intersections passed on the way to school; whether there are sidewalks/bicycle lanes; the traffic speed of school access routes; whether there are separation facilities between motor vehicles and non-motor vehicles; whether there are traffic lights and zebra crossings; availability of greenery such as lawns, flower ponds and street trees and whether there are shops on the way to school and at the school gate. Six hundred and thirty eight valid questionnaires were obtained through face-to-face interviews with school-age children in villages. A multinomial logit model was estimated to unravel the preferences and choices of rural school-age children in different models of school travel using the stated choice data. All the eight attributes have significant impacts on rural children's school travel choices on foot, bicycle, electric bicycle or motorbike. And four rural road design attributes have significant effects on rural children's school travel by private cars. A travel path with pavements or bike lanes, few intersections, low traffic speeds, greenery and shops can facilitate children's school travels on foot or by bike. The conclusions can provide reference for the further upgrading planning, designing and construction of rural roads, as well as enriching the theory and practice of child-friendly villages construction.

A parent-school initiative to assess and predict air quality around a heavily trafficked school

Many primary schools in the UK are situated in close proximity to heavily-trafficked roads, yet long-term air pollution monitoring around such schools to establish factors affecting the variability of exposure is limited. We co-designed a study to monitor particulate matter in different size fractions (PM1, PM2.5, PM10), gaseous pollutants (NO2, O3 and CO) and meteorological parameters (ambient temperature, relative humidity) over a period of one year. The period included phases of national COVID-19 lockdown and its subsequent easing and removal. Statistical analysis was used to assess the diurnal patterns, pollution hotspots and underlying factors driving changes. A pollution episode was observed early in January 2021, owing to new year celebration fireworks, when the daily average PM2.5 was around three-times the World Health Organisation limit. PM2.5 and NO2 exceeded the threshold limits on 15 and 10 days, respectively, as the lockdown eased and the school reopened, despite the predominant wind direction often being away from the school towards the roads. The peak concentration levels for all pollutants occurred during morning drop-off hours; however, some weekends showed higher or comparable concentrations to those during weekdays. The strong disproportional Pearson correlation between CO and temperature demonstrated the possible contribution of local sources through biomass burning. The impact of lifting restrictions after removing the weather impact showed that the average pollution levels were low in the beginning and increased by up to 22.7 % and 4.2 % for PM2.5 and NO2, respectively, with complete easing of lockdown. The Prophet algorithm was implemented to develop a prediction model using an NO2 dataset that performed moderately (R2, 0.48) for a new monthly dataset. This study was able to build a local air pollution database at a school gate, which enabled an understanding of the air pollution variability across the year and allowed evidence-based mitigation strategies to be devised.

Religious Activity-Based School Culture Program Implementation In MA Paradigma Palembang

The background of this research is that the religious culture of the school is essentially the embodiment of the values of religious teachings as a culture of behaviour and an organizational culture that all school members follow. This needs to be done so that Islamic religious discounts are always reflected in the daily conduct of all school members, especially students, and they can be calm in dealing with negative cultures in their environment. The method in this research is descriptive research with a qualitative approach. Data collection techniques using observation, interviews, and documentation. The study results a show that implementing The religious culture contained in MA Paradigma is a set of religious values, namely the mandatory tradition of wearing the hijab, the habit of shaking hands with teachers when entering the school gate, the practice of reading the Koran and short letters, muhadhoroh, and performing midday prayers in congregation. The supporting factors are 1) Islamic-based schools; 2) Morals to teachers and elders; 3) Parents or guardians of students who can be invited to work together; 4) Having a broad understanding and view of Islam; and 5) Supervising teachers who participate directly in activities. The inhibiting factors are 1) the schedule of religious activities that collide with the teaching and learning schedule, 2) Students who are still negligent in participating in activities, and 3) Media information.

Keeping the Parents outside the School Gate—A Critical Review

The existing evidence shows that parental engagement is one of the most effective educational interventions. Most parents, carers, and teachers are aware of that and wish to engage with their children’s education. However, most parents are still only peripherally involved through parent–teacher evenings, school activities, or by helping their children keep up with their homework. In this review paper, we summarize the evidence about the impact of parental engagement, as opposed to involvement, on the learning of children. Via that, we critically look at the design choice of most western mainstream public education systems to distance parents from their children’s education, which, as the review results indicate, can be detrimental to children’s learning. Based on these results, we reframe parental engagement in the light of two global shifts: (1) the implications of the school closures during the COVID-19 pandemic for the role of parents in their children’s learning; and (2) the increased use of educational technologies for learning, and specifically, the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies. We conclude by calling for a renewed conversation about parents’ and families’ roles in their children’s learning and their interface with schools and teachers.

Educational Leadership as Accompaniment: From Managing to Cultivating Youth Activism

Background/Context: Youth activism, the broad-based leadership among young people who seek to challenge and build alternatives to oppressive social systems, has spread across the nation and globe. Yet youth activism is often hemmed in at school gates, particularly by school leaders charged with maintaining efficient school environments. Focus of Study: This article explores the roles and responsibilities of educational leaders committed to justice and asks: What does it mean to lead schools in times of (re)surgent youth activism? Research Design: To address this urgent question, we conducted an interdisciplinary review of youth participation in social movements that spans the fields of civic engagement, learning sciences, and social movement studies. Findings: We argue that youth activism offers profound sites of consequential learning, generative insights for organizational redesign, and imaginative visions for school and societal transformation. Based on these contributions, we offer the notion of educational leadership as accompaniment: a participatory praxis of leadership reflection and action that foregrounds an ethic of listening, attends to dominant forms of exclusion, and stands in solidarity with youth and their struggles for a more dignified and just world. Conclusions/Recommendations: Leadership as accompaniment challenges the deeply rooted managerial imperative in school administration scholarship and deepens opportunities for realizing existing leadership principles, such as those evident in the Professional Standards for Educational Leaders (PSEL). We conclude by discussing the social and material risks impacting those who exercise leadership as accompaniment, and consider what responsibilities such risks demand of education researchers.