School Travel Research Articles

Fun, food and friends: A wearable camera analysis of children's school journeys

BackgroundThe environments where children travel can present both risks as well as opportunities for their health and development. We aimed to explore the nature of school journeys from a child's perspective, including how exposure to environmental ‘goods’ and ‘bads’ vary by travel mode. MethodsChildren aged 11–13 years (n = 153) wore wearable cameras that automatically captured images of their surroundings every 7 s on two school days in Wellington, New Zealand. School journey segments were coded as either active school travel (AST), private car travel, public transport, waiting for transport or journey breaks. Exposure to environmental ‘goods’ (blue space, green space or sport facilities) and ‘bads’ (marketing of unhealthy food, alcohol and gambling) were identified using the same wearable camera data. Differences in exposure by journey segments were explored using Poisson regression. ResultsOn average, school journeys comprised 3.1 segments (e.g. walk – journey break – walk). Average journey time was 24.2 min and the average time contribution by segment was 29.3% for AST, 24.4% for private travel, 21.9% for public transport, 2.9% for waiting and 21.5% for journey breaks. The vast majority of journey breaks (85%) took place between AST segments and about one-third involved visits to food outlets (36.0%); breaks to visit recreation/sport settings were rare (3.3%). Journey time, journey breaks and exposure to environmental ‘bads’ were higher on afternoon school journeys. AST and journey break segments involved higher rates of exposure to both environmental ‘goods’ and ‘bads’. ConclusionsThe findings show that school journeys, particularly afternoon journeys and AST, involve frequent journey breaks and high rates of exposure to both environmental ‘goods’ and ‘bads’. To bolster opportunities for healthy behaviours during the school journey, policies could usefully focus on reducing outlets selling unhealthy products close to school and increasing natural/recreation space.

Exploring COVID-19 pandemic potential impacts on students’ school travel behavior

ABSTRACT This study aims to identify the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on school trips using a survey of 1120 students and their households in Cairo, Egypt. We found that students' age, distance to school, and school type (public or private) influence the mode used to school, the majority of parents would prefer to wait for one month or more after the lockdown before sending their children to school, and the pandemic has a significant impact on parents' evaluation of the various schooling options. Based on the responses and using different scenarios, we predicted that the original vehicle-kilometers-traveled would increase by 17% to 34%, with most of the expected modal shift occurring from large occupancy vehicles to smaller vehicles. This shift was attributed to; the distance to school, the father's occupation and education level, parents waiting more time to send children to school, and parents expecting reduced class capacity.

South African Rural Girls’ Safety Strategies on the School Journey

Abstract In this article, we use data generated through photovoice and focus group discussions to examine how primary school girls from two resource-poor and high-risk rural communities in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, negotiate their safety on the dangerous journey to and from school. Our findings show that girls actively identify and apply specific safe-seeking strategies by drawing on available community and interpersonal resources as they navigate their way to school. These strategies moderate risk exposure and are perceived to reduce girls’ vulnerability to victimization. While the sustainability of these strategies remains in question, it is essential to note that girls can exercise their agency in providing safety in sociocultural and geographic contexts that expose them to risk.

Public health and social measures during health emergencies such as the COVID-19 pandemic: An initial framework to conceptualize and classify measures.

Public health and social measures (PHSM) intend to reduce the transmission of infectious diseases and to reduce the burden on health systems, economies and societies. During the COVID-19 pandemic, PHSM have been selected, combined and implemented in a variable manner and inconsistently categorized in policy trackers. This paper presents an initial conceptual framework depicting how PHSM operate in a complex system, enabling a wide-reaching description of these measures and their intended and unintended outcomes. In a multi-stage development process, we combined (i) a complexity perspective and systems thinking; (ii) literature on existing COVID-19 PHSM frameworks, taxonomies and policy trackers; (iii) expert input and (iv) application to school and international travel measures. The initial framework reflects our current understanding of how PHSM are intended to achieve transmission-related outcomes in a complex system, offering visualizations, definitions and worked examples. First, PHSM operate through two basic mechanisms, that is, reducing contacts and/or making contacts safer. Second, PHSM are defined not only by the measures themselves but by their stringency and application to specific populations and settings. Third, PHSM are critically influenced by contextual factors. The framework provides a tool for structured thinking and further development, rather than a ready-to-use tool for practice. This conceptual framework seeks to facilitate coordinated, interdisciplinary research on PHSM effectiveness, impact and implementation; enable consistent, coherent PHSM monitoring and evaluation; and contribute to evidence-informed decision-making on PHSM implementation, adaptation and de-implementation. We expect this framework to be modified and refined over time.

Estimation and prediction of the multiply exponentially decaying daily case fatality rate of COVID-19.

The spread of the COVID-19 disease has had significant social and economic impacts all over the world. Numerous measures such as school closures, social distancing, and travel restrictions were implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak. Currently, as we move into the post-COVID-19 world, we must be prepared for another pandemic outbreak in the future. Having experienced the COVID-19 pandemic, it is imperative to ascertain the conclusion of the pandemic to return to normalcy and plan for the future. One of the beneficial features for deciding the termination of the pandemic disease is the small value of the case fatality rate (CFR) of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). There is a tendency of gradually decreasing CFR after several increases in CFR during the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak. However, it is difficult to capture the time-dependent CFR of a pandemic outbreak using a single exponential coefficient because it contains multiple exponential decays, i.e., fast and slow decays. Therefore, in this study, we develop a mathematical model for estimating and predicting the multiply exponentially decaying CFRs of the COVID-19 pandemic in different nations: the Republic of Korea, the USA, Japan, and the UK. We perform numerical experiments to validate the proposed method with COVID-19 data from the above-mentioned four nations.

Effects of the built environment and sociodemographic characteristics on Children's school travel

Commuting to and from school occupies a large proportion of urban transportation, especially during rush hours. Therefore, investigating the factors that affect students' choice of school transportation and co-promoting active school transportation from the viewpoint of urban planning are important to create an eco-friendly transportation system. This study used data from Shenzhen Household Travel Survey 2016) and developed a comprehensive indicator system to deeply understand the factors that affect children's (primary school students) commuting choices. The results indicate the following. (1) 71% of Shenzhen primary school students walk to and from school, which is much higher than in some developed countries. (2) The distance between home and school, number of intersections on the way, floor area ratio, architectural diversity, whether the motor vehicle and non-vehicle lanes are physically separated, and commercial buildings along the roadside are built environment factors that affect children's choice of school transportation. (3) Age of the student, household income, family size, and ownership of cars and e-bikes are sociodemographic factors that affect children's choice of school transportation. (4) The built environment factors are more significant than the sociodemographic ones. These findings show how upstream policy choices largely determine rates of active travel and inspire policymakers and urban planners in school planning and traffic management to promote active school travel.

Understanding short-distance travel to school in Singapore: A data-driven approach

This study examines the school travel mode of children and youth students (ages 7 to 18) in Singapore. Using a large crowdsensing dataset the paper focuses on minute-by-minute decision-making of those students living within 2.5km of school. Data-driven methods are employed in order to identify students’ chosen transport mode (car, walking, taking bus or riding metro). Furthermore, we present attributes of travel mode alternatives computed by a replicable framework that utilises open sources. New algorithms are developed to identify proxies for walking access and public transport access. We found that about 19% of students in the sample live up to a distance of 2.5km from the school. From these, about 45% of trips are made by public transit (e.g., bus and metro), and only 13% are made by walking. The empirical results suggest that the public transport modes of bus and metro are not distinct. Consistent with past research based on traditional survey data, walking time and walking distance are the most influential factors in the decision to walk-to-school. Interestingly, schools’ connectivity to the street network is found to play a key role on the shift from public transport to walking. Likewise, departing at peak hours, the odds to choose public transport modes are about 40-45% lower as compared to walk.

Longitudinal associations between the school built environment and adolescents’ physical activity: Evidence from the COMPASS study.

PurposeExamine adolescent moderate-to vigorous-intensity physical activity (MVPA) and active school travel over a four-year period; Examine associations between the surrounding school built environment and adolescent MVPA and active school travel, and whether adolescent MVPA and active school travel are moderated by the built environment over time. MethodsData from the COMPASS project (2013/14 to 2016/17) were used. Participants were adolescents aged 13–18 (n = 20,221) from 91 schools. MVPA and active school travel were self-reported via questionnaire. The built environment (park-, recreation-, retail-densities, Walk Score®) was objectively measured. Multilevel modeling was conducted. ResultsAdolescent square root transformed MVPA (SQRT-MVPA) and the likelihood of active school travel decreased over time. Several positive associations were observed between the surrounding school built environment and SQRT-MVPA and active school travel when time was held constant. Adolescents attending schools in very walkable areas had an increased likelihood of active school travel over time. Higher park-, retail-, and recreation-densities appeared to help maintain the likelihood of active travel to school over time, though the same pattern was not apparent for active travel from school or SQRT-MVPA. ConclusionSQRT-MVPA and active school travel declined over time. However, the downward trend for the likelihood of active school travel appeared to be opposite for students attending schools in very walkable areas. Schools and municipalities should work together in creating built environments around schools that are more walkable and have greater park and recreation densities. Schools in unfavourable built environments may need additional physical activity programming.

How the Built Environment Moderates Gender Gap in Active Commuting to Schools.

This study investigates the influences of built environmental (BE) factors, network design, and sociodemographic factors on active school travel (AST). Although numerous studies have explored these relationships, this study is trying to assess this issue with a focus on gender differences. Data from a cross-sectional sample of children from first to sixth grades from 16 public primary schools exclusive for girls and boys (N = 1260) in Shiraz collected in November 2019 was used. The analysis of the data revealed that, on average, boys are more willing to walk than girls, but that the boys' tendency to walk is less elastic with respect to distance. Moreover, it is shown that street connectivity for all distance thresholds has a positive relationship with walking level, but the street network choice parameter decreases the chance of walking within an 800 metre threshold. It is demonstrated the need to take gender differences into account in local planning policies to promote AST in a developing country context.

Perceived Safety Influencing Active Travel to School-A Built Environment Perspective.

Despite the many research studies on active school travel (AST), the number of children walking/cycling to school is decreasing as there is a lack of implementable research evidence. This review through database searches from 2000 to 2020 aims to identify research gaps and explore new perspectives. The articles are selected and screened methodically for systematic presentation of the review. An existing active school travel framework is used to structure and discuss this review paper on mediating factors influencing children's active travel to school, that is the perceived traffic safety, neighborhood safety, and distance to school. Perception of traffic safety could be ameliorated through lateral separation from the traffic, and this could be a new area of research. The neighborhood safety perception may require more research to validate the previous findings. Schools should be located within high-density residential development so that many children can walk to school.

Adolescents' environmental perceptions mediate associations between streetscape environments and active school travel

Promoting adolescents’ active school travel may support their health and wellbeing. Based on survey data of 473 adolescents in Guangzhou, China, and street view images, we employed generalized structural equation models to examine 1) the relationships between objective and perceived streetscape characteristics and adolescents’ active school travel and 2) the mediating roles of perceived safety, walkability, and air pollution. Results showed that street safety, vitality, greenery, and vehicle volume were positively related to odds of active school travel, while higher pavement ratio was associated with lower odds of active school travel. Street safety, pavement ratio, and vehicle volume were related to active school travel through perceived walkability, while street vitality and vehicle volume were associated with active school travel through the perceived safety-walkability path and perceived air pollution-walkability path. Our findings provide practical insights that could help city planners to make urban street environments more child-friendly for adolescents’ active travelling.

Parent perceptions of itinerant services for students who are deaf or hard of hearing

ABSTRACT The itinerant teaching model is the most common service delivery method for students who are deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) in the United States. Itinerant teachers of the deaf and hard of hearing (ITODHHs) may serve several school buildings and travel extensive distances. Substantial literature exists regarding ITODHHs; however, a notable gap exists regarding parent perceptions of itinerant teacher of the deaf and hard of hearing (ITODHH) services for their children in the US. Modelled after work completed in Australia, the current study examined parent perceptions of ITODHH services for their children who were DHH. Results indicated that most parents were mostly satisfied with the ITODHH services and offered specific suggestions for improvement. Implications of these results for service delivery and attending to family-school partnerships are discussed.

Telling tales on the tail: One school’s journey towards cultural responsiveness

Pasifika peoples have long been tellers of tales. It is one of the ways our knowledge and wisdom is passed down from generation to generation. When it comes to the education of Pasifika students in Aotearoa, our tale is often defined by a tail of another sort – ‘the long brown tail’ of underachievement. The ‘tail’ is a reference to how Pacific Islands’ students are over-represented in the bottom of educational statistics in Aotearoa. My masters research completed in 2015 gave voice to the lived experiences of students from above the tail, and in particular gave voice to what they perceived as effective teacher actions and dispositions. Effective teachers nurtured students’ academic and cultural identities and as such were considered culturally responsive. Of particular significance was the manner in which culturally responsive teachers increased their influence on student engagement and achievement. These teachers operated from a strong sense of agency and on a foundational belief that their students also had agency in teaching and learning. Participants did encounter culturally responsive teachers, but it was the exception and not the rule.
 This article is a reflection on the findings of the ‘tales from above the tail’ and leading our school journey towards a culturally responsive curriculum and pedagogy. There have been significant culture shifts in the organisation to position our school and teaching staff to deliver a curriculum that is responsive to the identities of our local community. The work towards making cultural responsiveness the rule is definitely a journey. The challenge is to continually question our own deeply seated colonised thinking to give freedom to indigenising what and how we teach.

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.

Examining the Relationship Between First-Gen Students’ Networks and Their Higher Education Journey

This study seeks to discover the meaningful and impactful high school relationships that first-generation, students of color studying at the University of Florida had while in high school. Personal network maps and student interviews were used to identify the key high school relationships that left a lasting impact on students’ post-high school journeys. Results showed five main relationship types were helpful to students: family, teachers, counselors, self-advocacy, and friends. This paper specifically focuses on the positive impact that friendship/peer support had on first-generation students attending the University of Florida while they navigated high school and the college-going process as this was an unanticipated finding that ended up being significant in the data. Peer support and peer mentorship allowed first-generation students to not only gather information and work through the college application process together with their peers, but peers also supported the emotional well-being of the first-generation students during this time. This study can help stakeholders and educators understand the importance of friendship and peer support among first-generation students while they are in high school and the positive impacts it has on improving their college access.

Trends and determinants of active school travel among Australian secondary school students: national cross‐sectional data from 2009 to 2018

ObjectiveTo examine active school travel trends and predictors among Australian secondary school students (aged 12–17) between 2009 and 2018. MethodsThree cross‐sectional surveys (2009‐10: N=13,790; 2012‐13: N=10,309; and 2018: N=9,102) using a web‐based self‐report questionnaire. Logistic regression was used to identify differences in active travel (to and/or from school every weekday) between survey years and predictors. ResultsFrom 2009‐10 to 2012‐13 to 2018, active travel decreased from 33.6% to 32.3% to 29.5% among females, and from 37.4% to 36.6% to 32.6% among males. Distance, female sex and regional location were associated with a lower likelihood of active travel. Students with pocket money, those who spoke a language other than English at home, and Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander students were more likely to actively travel. ConclusionsBetween 2009‐10 and 2018, active school travel among secondary students in Australia declined. Several factors were found to be associated with active travel. Implications for public healthThis is the first national study on active travel trends among secondary students in Australia. The recent decline requires action given the increasing prevalence of overweight and climate change.

Modelling factors that impact the use of child safety seats for nursery school travel

Children, as one of the most vulnerable road user groups, are exposed to a high risk of traffic crash-related injuries and fatalities. Children’s incomplete physical and cognitive development leads to inaccurate detection of traffic hazards and inadequate road crossing decisions. When young children travel as car occupants, their body structures are immature, and restraint over larger and sometimes different body areas is necessary. Therefore, children’s vulnerability as car occupants is subject to their age and physical development. This research investigates factors influencing child car seat usage, particularly child restraint systems or booster seats, for commuting to nursery schools. An experimental study was conducted in three suburbs of Athens, Greece, with distinctive socioeconomic status (SES) and built environment characteristics. For this purpose, a self-administered parental questionnaire was completed for 734 children attending municipality nursery schools, exploring the traffic safety practices for preschool children, child-parent interactions, the parent’s risk perception, behaviour, and knowledge of traffic safety. Responses reveal that the surveyed children—irrespective of the residence area—travel to the nursery school mainly as car occupants (89.6% overall, ranging between 84.8% for the area with the lowest SES and 96.1% for the area with the highest SES). In addition, the results indicate that three-quarters of the children are often placed in a car seat, while almost one-quarter are never restrained. Regression and structural equation models are estimated and used to examine factors affecting the usage of child safety seats. Finally, conclusions are drawn, along with suggestions to overcome the limitations and complete this research with ongoing and future data collection and analyses.

Patterns of Active Travel and Physical Activity among Adolescents in Israel.

Active travel (AT) is a core physical activity (PA) indicator for children and youth; contributing to health and wellbeing, at both the individual and societal levels. This analysis explores patterns of adolescent active school travel (AST) and cycling and associations with different PA measures. Secondary analysis of the cross-sectional 2018-2019 Health Behaviour in School Age Children study in Israel included an extended PA module with walking, cycling and e-cycling modes. The nationally representative sample includes students in grades 6-12 (n = 4407). Analysis of weighted data included descriptive analyses, inferential statistics, and regression analyses. AST was reported by 61.9% of adolescents; 39.3% reported 20 min or more daily AST; 27.1% reported habitual cycling (HC) and 17.4% reported habitual e-cycling (HEC). There are mixed results for socio-economic status and environment. AST and HC were associated with less sedentary hours daily (odds ratio [OR] = 1.190 and 1.397, respectively); HC was associated with positive sports self-rating (OR = 2.394). Stepwise regression analysis found that lower AST duration, time in minutes, was associated with watching television with the family. Promotion of adolescent AT may be associated with increased PA and joint parent-adolescent AT, and was utilized across different socio-demographic groups in Israel.

How School Travel Affects Children's Psychological Well-Being and Academic Achievement in China.

Previous research on the role of school travel in children's well-being (WB) has paid little attention to developing countries. Using national survey data across China, this study examines how children's psychological well-being (PWB) and academic performance differ across commute duration and mode among urban, rural, and urban fringe areas. Our findings show that commute times are significantly negatively associated with children's PWB and academic achievements, and this correlation varies across areas. Children living in the urban fringe have the longest average one-way commuting time (18.6 min), but they have a better acceptance of longer commuting duration, whereas commuting time is more influential in the city center and rural areas. Regarding travel mode, walking to school is positively associated with PWB in the center area, while bicycles and public transport positively affect the rural student scores. Results from quantile regression show that students on the lower quantiles of the conditional distribution of PWB tend to suffer more than the others when commuting time increases; students with middle scores respond similarly to marginal changes in commuting time. Recommendations for urban planners and policymakers to enhance child WB include fostering school-home balance, improving public transit services, and investing in pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure for those vulnerable groups.

Key factors associated with traffic crashes and the role of crash experiences in mode choice for school trips – A case study of Can Tho, Vietnam

The present study identifies the determinants of traffic crashes as well as the role of crash experiences in mode choice when commuting to school in Can Tho, a medium-sized city in Vietnam, based on self-reported travel behavior data. In Vietnamese medium-sized cities, the fatality rate has been reported to be 8% higher than the national rate and 19% higher than in larger cities. In addition, private vehicles account for over 90% of travel demand in these cities due to uncontrolled urbanization and the people inhabiting these cities are dependent on motorcycle as a mode of travel. Motorcycle and bicycle riders are the most vulnerable road users, hence those commuting to school by these vehicles are often at risk for crashes. In the present study, a total of 4,358 samples, categorized by ‘self-driving’ and ‘pick-up’ subgroups, were collected and used in the analysis. Of the 2,227 participants in the self-driving group, 313 persons (14.05%) experienced by at least one crash in the preceding year. In the pick-up group, with 2,131 participants, 193 persons (9.06%) experienced at least one crash in the preceding year. Crash model estimation results indicate that the household location, gender with specific age group, motorcycle license, travel characteristics and population density have significant impacts on different levels of the crash outcome in each group. In the mode share model, variables representing crash prevalence, household size, the mobility sources available in the household (for example, the number of bicycles, motorcycles, or cars), household location, gender with specific age group, occupation levels, trip rate, levels of school travel distance, build environment, and some variables of perception, also show significant impacts on different levels of mode choice outcomes in each group. The present study provides an insightful understanding of the behaviors and perception of individuals taking school trips in a medium-sized motorcycle-dependent city. Our results indicate that the culture of using motorcycles is firmly entrenched among citizens and policymakers should attempt to redesign road infrastructure to ensure the safety of motorcycle users in parallel with improving walking and cycling infrastructure.