School Trips Research Articles

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.

Perceptions of Parents of the Quality of the Public Transport Services Used by Children to Commute to School

The risk of accidents is a danger in public transport that could lead to threats to property, the environment, and the lives and health of people. In particular, parents are keenly aware of and concerned about the safety of school trips. Thus, this study aims to examine the factors that influence the perceptions of parents about the safety of the school trips of children. The study recruited 750 respondents from Northeast Thailand. Data were obtained from responses to a self-report questionnaire. The model consisted of six factors, namely, transportation satisfaction, infrastructure, information, the safe behavior of drivers, the safety of the transportation systems, and the safety policy. The results of the confirmatory factor analysis indicated that all six factors were in accordance with the empirical data (model fit statistic: χ2 = 758.098, df = 276, χ2/df = 2.747, CFI = 0.962, TLI = 0.955, SRMR = 0.038, RMSEA = 0.048). The results can serve as a reference for developing guidelines and recommending policies for the management and the implementation of safe school trips for students.

Guided school visits to a research center: Perspectives from teachers and staff

This study investigates (i) the educational program offered by one of the largest research centers in Greece and (ii) the teachers’ and staff’s perspectives for the school visits. Data came from interviews of teachers, staff of the research center and observation of the school visits. Though the majority of the teachers were satisfied of the visit, and they perceived the trip as a unique experience for their students, it was mostly inconsistent with recommendations of informal science teaching literature, as science teachers perceived the visit as an isolated one-day occurrence with no connection to the curriculum and no intention of planning any pre- or post-visit activities. This fact, combined with the demonstrated gap between teachers’ and staff’s perspectives, gave little or no learning orientation to the visits. Finally, this study assists in developing guidelines that would serve both teachers and research centers in collaborating together for better school trips.

Spatial multicriteria decision analysis for Walking School Bus target development strategies

IntroductionAround the world there has been a decline in the mode share of walking to school. This is the result of many factors influencing the mode choice decisions of parents for their own journeys to work and their children's journeys to school. Walking School Bus (WSB) has been proved to be an effective strategy that can be an innovation to promote walking to school and combat the ‘vicious circle’ of chauffeuring children to school. This modal switch can thus be a key for enhancing the sustainability of our transportation system and more importantly the health of our next generation. MethodsThis paper proposes an innovative decision analysis model to identify areas for targeting WSB development. By applying spatial multicriteria decision analysis (SMCDA) to existing aggregate data on both work and school trip mode choices and relevant zonal characteristics, the proposed model can help planners and policy decision makers to identify where investments on setting up/enhancing WSBs might be most effective in enabling modal shift. We apply our SMCDA model to a case study in Bradford, UK. We highlight zones/schools within the study area where WSB programmes can be most effective to help realise the full potential of walking to school in health, environmental and social inclusion terms. ResultsSix zones in Bradford have been identified as the areas with the highest potential for the uptake of WSB schemes. These present characteristics that are favourable conditions for walking but with less than ideal current walking mode shares. They have large numbers of school aged children, lower level of work trips by car and higher parents’ availability. ConclusionsOur SMDCA method for WSB target development is highly transferable and can be applied to other cities in the UK or around the world; providing genuine applied value as an apparatus for supporting, informing and systematising the implementation of potentially successful (in engagement and usage terms) WSB schemes.

Does children’s independent mobility matter? Insights into escorting practices in a developing country

ABSTRACT Understanding children’s mobility behaviour and parents escorting practices are important to developing a children-friendly society. But only a few studies concerning children’s mobility behaviour have focused on developing countries. In this study, we attempted to develop an econometric model to understand escorting practices in a developing country. A multinomial logit (MNL) model is developed using travel diary data of 398 elementary school-going children, inhabiting in Chattogram City Corporation (CCC) area of Bangladesh. We have considered different combinations of environmental (both school and neighbourhood environment), socio-cultural, household, and personal factors to explain children’s independent mobility behaviour for both school and discretionary trip purposes. The findings suggested that children’s individual (e.g. education level) and parents’ sociodemographic (e.g. income, access to cars, mother’s education level) facilities available at school, and built-environmental factors (e.g. commercial density, road density, land use mix and proximity to open spaces) are significantly associated with parent’s choice for chauffeuring their children in CCC area. Results will be useful to planners and policy makers for formulating effective measures to promote children’s independent mobility and will be a guideline for urban planners to include children’s mobility demand for the neighbourhood as well as city design.

EXPLORING IMPACTS OF URBAN DENSITY ON TRAVEL BEHAVIOR IN KHULNA CITY, BANGLADESH USING SPATIAL ANALYSIS

Urban density not only represents the intensity of travel demand, but also serves as a useful tool for quantifying the elements that influence travel behavior and demand. In this study, Khulna City of Bangladesh has been selected as a case study to explore the impacts of urban density on travel behavior in a city of a developing country. The average characteristics of urban density, as well as their impacts on travel behavior and demand, have been studied using geospatial analysis techniques. Urban densities have been categorized into Single Density (Population Density, Employment Density, and Building Density) and Composite Density (Household to Work trip Density, Household to School trip Density and Household to Shop trip Density) based on characteristics of travel behavior and demand. Descriptive statistics have been used to explore the impacts of urban densities on the various trip characteristics such as trip production, trip distance, trip cost, trip time, and trip mode. Diversity of trips and overall trip attraction areas have been identified using the Shannon diversity index and other spatial analyses. Trip production, trip distance, trip time, trip cost, and mode choice all show a positive linear relationship with urban single-density, according to this study. The everyday activities of residents are closely related to urban composite densities, and trip production increase in tandem with composite densities. It has been concluded that different urban densities have significant impacts on travel demand and travel behavior.

Understanding Parents’ Preferences While School Selection in Indian Cities Using Cluster Analysis and Logit Model

Location of schools is one of the most important factors for encouraging active school transportation. The study identifies a gap that children lose a considerable amount of time in their school trips. The reason behind this is also identified: the ignorance of the population’s preferences while planning for this infrastructure. Location of schools in Kharagpur city is evaluated in Geographic Information System (GIS) environment. Global Moran’s I test and hot spot cluster analysis provided the existing spatial distribution of schools. Desire line maps are prepared to note the distances children are traveling for schools. Parents’ preference patterns are comprehended in the SERVQUAL framework. Cluster analysis is performed to identify the different categories of parents with respect to their preference patterns. These categories are profiled with their demographic characteristics using logit model. Next, multinomial logit model is used to ascertain the type of schools selected by the parents of each identified category. The framework developed to assess the expectations and perceptions of parents from schools will help the school providers understand the satisfaction level of their users. Schools of different categories will be able to customize their serviceability. If preference is included in the location planning of schools, it will encourage children for active school transportation.

Improving Inclusion and Participation in School Trips Through Parental Perceptions and Experiences of Their Children With Disabilities

Abstract Date Presented 04/01/2022 School trips present challenges for the inclusion and participation of students with disabilities. School trips provide expanded learning opportunities and real-world learning experiences. This research presentation will provide an overview of the challenges, barriers, supports, and strategies reported by parents of children with disabilities in qualitative interviews. OTs, as part of the interdisciplinary team, can facilitate increased school trip participation and inclusion. Primary Author and Speaker: Ann Potter Contributing Authors: Kimberly D. Wynarczuk, Laurie D. Kahn, Eric Sanders, Brenna M. Curley, Lauren Kresge, Corinne Jean-Louis

Georg B. Michels. The Habsburg Empire under Siege: Ottoman Expansion and Hungarian Revolt in the Age of Grand Vizier Ahmed Köprülü (1661–76).

Georg B. Michels. <i>The Habsburg Empire under Siege: Ottoman Expansion and Hungarian Revolt in the Age of Grand Vizier Ahmed Köprülü (1661–76)</i>.

Mode choice analysis of school trips using random forest technique

Mode choice analysis of school trips becomes important due to the fact that these trips contribute to the second largest share of peak hour traffic. This scenario is more relevant in India, which has almost 265 million students enrolled in different accredited urban and rural schools of India, from Class I to XII as per the UDISE report of 2019-20. Thus, it becomes necessary to understand what mode of transport will be mostly used for school trips in order to design an efficient transportation system. Modal attributes and socio-economic characteristics are mostly considered as explana-tory variables in travel mode choice models. Multinomial Logit (MNL) model is one of the classic models used in the development of mode choice models. These logistic regression models predict outcomes based on a set of independent variables. With the recent advances in machine learning, transportation problems are getting a wide arena of methods and solutions. Among them the method of ensemble learning is finding a prominent place in contemporary modelling. This study explores the potential of using ensembles of random decision trees in mode choice analysis by Random Forest Technique with a comparative analysis on conventional method. It was observed that Random Forest method outperforms MNL method in predicting the mode choice preference of students. The high accuracy of machine learning models is mainly due to its ability to consider complex nonlinear relationship between socio-economic attributes and travel mode choice. These models can learn and identify pattern characteristics extracted from sample data and form adaptive structures through computational process thereby offering insights into the relationships between variables that random utility models cannot recognize. This study considered activity -travel information, personal data and household characteristics of students as attributes for model development and observed that the age of the student and distance of school from home plays a significant role in deciding the mode choice of school trips.

Adolescents’ School Travel and Unhealthy Snacking: Associations with School Transport Modes, Neighbourhood Deprivation, and Body Weight

Active transport to and/or from school (ATS), alone or combined with motorised transport, provides an opportunity to increase adolescents’ physical activity levels to prevent obesity. However, travel through and exposure to an unhealthy food environment en route to school may have unintended consequences, specifically unhealthy snacking. This study examined the association between adolescents’ unhealthy snack food/soft drink purchases/consumption during the journey to and from school and their school transport modes, neighbourhood deprivation, and body weight. Adolescents (n = 660, age: 15.3 ± 1.3 years, 51.7% female) from 11 schools in the Otago region, New Zealand, completed an online survey and anthropometry. Data were analysed using χ2 test and logistic regression. Overall, 36.7% of adolescents purchased/consumed unhealthy snack foods and 25.9% purchased/consumed soft drinks at least once during their weekly school trips. ATS and mixed transport users reported more frequent unhealthy snack food/soft drinks purchases/consumption on the way to school than motorised transport users. Neighbourhood deprivation, but not body weight, was positively associated with unhealthy snack food/soft drink purchases/consumption during the school journey. Our findings highlight the importance of considering not only travel mode shift but also the obesogenic environment and unhealthy food/drinks purchases/consumption during adolescents’ school journeys, particularly in lower socio-economic areas, to prevent obesity.

The Contribution of Walking to School in Students’ Physical Activity and Its Effect on Being Overweight

Results The findings of this research showed that being overweight is a concerning issue even in a small-sized and lightly populated city such as Bandar-Turkmen, Iran. Most students (90%) did not perform the required minimum daily activity when commuting to school. Further, overweight could be found even among those students who walked more than one hour to commute to school. The contribution of walking to school to the MVPA of overweight students was found to be low on school days and throughout the year. Counterintuitively, the situation is even worse for nonoverweight students. Conclusion The population of overweight students was more active compared to nonoverweight students in general, although they still suffered from excess weight since walking distances were short and not all days were school days. Thus, encouraging students to walk to school is necessary, while it is not sufficient alone as a single measure. Moreover, we recommend that all students should perform extra PA at home, school, or other places, on both school days and all other days of the year.

SCHOOLS’ WITHDRAWAL OF PRIVILEGES AND DEVELOPMENT OF VALUES AMONG LEARNERS

Purpose: The study examined the influence of withdrawal of student privileges on students discipline in public schools, Matungu Sub-County, Kenya.&#x0D; Methodology: The study adopted a cross-sectional study design to conduct the survey as it was suitable for comparing the following aspects: Demotion of prefects, denial of school trips and denial in co-curricular activities in relation to the development of values among learners. Data was collected using interviews, questionnaires and document analysis. Data were analysed both qualitatively and quantitatively. Qualitative data was analysed thematically while quantitative data was analysed using linear regression. Reliability was attained through test re test method using Cronbach’s alpha with coefficients between 0 and 1 thus rating the internal consistency of the development of values amongst learners.&#x0D; Findings: The findings of the study indicated that withdrawal of privileges as a disciplinary strategy was effective in developing values ​​among public school students in Matungu Sub-County. The results of the regression analysis revealed that the variables of students who were denied from participating in school trips, demotion of prefects and denial from participating in co-curricular activities were predicted to reduce students discipline mean score by 7.146,15.347 and 5.0123 points respectively. Furthermore, demotion of prefects seemed to contribute more in development of values among learners compared to denial to participate in co-curricular activities and denial from participating in school trips.&#x0D; Unique contribution to theory, practice and policy: The researchers focused on withdrawal of students privileges as one of the effective disciplinary actions implemented by many Kenyan schools but with little documentation available for evidence on its contribution to development of values among learners.

TRAVEL MODE CHOICE BEHAVIOR OF SCHOOL-GOING CHILDREN IN KHULNA CITY

School-going children's trips play an essential role in transport planning. The change in transport mode choice to school might look insignificant, but it contributes to a great extent to growing transportation. Children's mode choice behavior has dramatically shifted from active modes, mainly walking, to non-active modes over the last few years. This research analyzes the influential factors affecting travel mode choice for school travelers in Khulna City. A multinomial logit model was developed for school trip makers. The results show that majority of the children ride motorized rickshaws on school trips. With the increase in travel cost and travel time, the odds of choosing the selected mode decrease. The findings revealed that female children are more likely to choose a car over other modes of transportation than male students. Children from higher-income households are more likely to use a car than any other income group. Compared to children from higher-income backgrounds, those from lower-income families were significantly more likely to walk to and from school. Regarding parents' perceptions of traffic safety, if parents perceived their neighborhood to be safe for children, children were also more likely to walk to school. The findings of this research also show that active travel, e.g., walking, is associated with the environmental characteristics (walking and safe environment, heavy traffic volume) of walking routes. This information should be taken into account when policy-making and school plans to enhance the safety of children walking to and from school.

Modeling Work Trip Mode Choice in Post-Metro Bengaluru City

Traffic congestion and emissions are the acute problems faced by most cities in the country. The cause for these problems could be increased usage of personal vehicles and lesser popularity of public transport. The aggregate effect of individual mode choice decisions reflects in traffic congestion and emissions in the city. To study these problems, it is essential to know the mode choice and the factors affecting it. Commute trips like work and school trips contribute heavily to these typical urban transportation problems. In the present study, attempts have been made to study the mode choice of working commuters in Bengaluru City. To achieve this, a household survey is conducted. Multinomial logit models are used to analyze the mode choice behavior of these individuals. Findings from the model revealed that individual characteristics like age, vehicle ownership, level of service characteristics such as travel time and travel cost, and subjective factors like comfort, security, and station environment significantly affect mode choice. Using the model developed, a policy has been proposed to predict the effect of restricting ownership of the second car on mode choice, resulting in about 2% decrease in car shares, which could reduce traffic congestion and pollution in the city.

Perceived disadvantages or motorized vehicle use habit? Investigating obstacles in bicycle use among adolescents in Yogyakarta, Indonesia

It is well known that the choice of travel mode decision is highly influenced by users’ perceptions of those travel modes. However, habitual behavior also acts as the primary determinant of mode choice, either complementary or as a substitute for perception factors. This study aimed to analyze how perception factors and habits influence cycling frequency among adolescents. The effect of socio-demographics (gender and age) and household characteristics (number of car and motorcycle ownerships and family members) on cycling frequency was also considered in this study. The analyses were based on 432 school students aged 13–18 years in Yogyakarta. The model results revealed two main determinants influencing the perceived disadvantages of cycling among adolescents. The first is related to the environment and constraints, and the second to cycling attitudes. However, the results revealed that rather than perceived disadvantages, habitual behaviors determine the cycling frequency for adolescents’ school commute. With regards to respondents’ characteristics and their households, boys and adolescents living in households with less car ownerships tend to cycle to school more often. Furthermore, attitude-related perceived disadvantages of cycling were affected by socio-demographic factors, such as age, gender, and number of cars and family members. However, only gender and car ownership substantially influenced the environment and constraints-related perceived disadvantages of cycling. Based on the findings of this study, policy recommendations were proposed to increase bicycle use for school trips among adolescents.

Investigating the impacts of transit-oriented development on transport-related CO2 emissions

Transit-oriented development (TOD) is considered as one of the most sustainable neighborhood planning practices, yet relatively little evidence exists on the environmental sustainability of TODs. This study examines transport-related CO 2 emissions of TODs in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Individual-level CO 2 emissions were calculated for three types of trips (home-based work, home-based school, and home-based other non-work) of 31,101 residents living in TOD and non-TOD neighborhoods. Three multi-level models were estimated, one for each trip type, to identify the effects of TODs on CO 2 emissions, controlling for spatial heterogeneity and spatial dependency of the neighborhoods and other confounding effects. Findings show that TODs have the potential to reduce CO 2 emissions for work and school trips, but not for other non-work trips in Dhaka. While the results partially verify the environmental sustainability outcome of TODs, how to design TODs to capitalize full environmental benefits remains a challenge for planners in developing countries.

PTSD in French Adolescent Victims Following the London Attack in March 2017: Data From the First Step of the AVAL Study.

BackgroundThe terrorist attack at Westminster Bridge on March 22nd, 2017 impacted on French high school students on a school trip in London. This terrorist attack was claimed by the Islamic State. The aim of the study was to assess the mental health consequences of the attack on the French adolescents who were directly exposed (criteria A for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, PTSD). This involved three dimensions, namely: (1) clinical; (2) epidemiological; and (3) prevention and therapeutic.Material and MethodThe investigation was the first observational step of AVAL (Adolescents Victimes de l'Attentat de Londres) study, a cohort monitoring project and it was then a monocentric, cross sectional, non interventional survey, at only one-year post-trauma. The study was carried out utilizing self- and clinician-administered questionnaires. Volunteers from the medico-psychological emergency unit provided support for these victims during the study protocol.ResultsFrom the target population (n = 53), 39 adolescents (73.6%) agreed to participate, with a median age 16.9 years. 12 months after the attack, 25.6% of teenagers suffered from current PTSD (p < 0.0001). Those with, vs. without, PTSD showed several significant differences: (1) heightened levels of major depressive episodes (p = 0.0266) and suicidality (p = 0.0164); (2) increased substance use, including tobacco (p = 0.0284) and cannabis (p = 0.0449); and (3) impaired functioning in school (p = 0.0203), social (p < 0.0001) and family (p < 0.0001) settings. Sixty four percentage of directly exposed teenagers also had a current psychiatric disorder other than PTSD.DiscussionThe heightened levels of PTSD, psychiatric disorders, and substance use at 12 months highlight the importance of early intervention in adolescents exposed to terrorist-linked potentially traumatic events.

Effects of Large-Scale Municipal Safe Routes to School Infrastructure on Student Active Travel and Physical Activity: Design, Methods, and Baseline Data of the Safe Travel Environment Evaluation in Texas Schools (STREETS) Natural Experiment.

Past evaluations of Safe Routes to School (SRTS) programs have been relatively small in scope and have lacked objective measurements of physical activity. A 2016 Mobility Bond in Austin, Texas, USA, allocated USD 27.5 million for infrastructure changes to facilitate active commuting to schools (ACS). The Safe TRavel Environment Evaluation in Texas Schools (STREETS) study aims to determine the health effects of these infrastructure changes. The purpose of this paper is to describe the STREETS study design, methods, and selected baseline results. The STREETS study is comprised of two designs: (1) a serial cross-sectional design to assess changes in ACS prevalence, and (2) a quasi-experimental, prospective cohort to examine changes in physical activity. Differences between study arms (Austin SRTS and comparison) were assessed for school demographics, ACS, and school programs. At baseline, 14.3% of school trips were made by ACS, with non-significant differences between study arms. Only 26% of schools implemented ACS-related programs. Some significant differences across SRTS and comparison schools were identified for several school- and neighborhood-level characteristics. Substantial changes are needed across area schools and neighborhoods to promote optimum ACS. STREETS study longitudinal findings will be critical for informing optimal future implementations of SRTS programs.

A CASE STUDY COMPARING GOOD PRACTICE IN THE USE OF PEDAGOGICAL RESOURCES IN HOLOCAUST EDUCATION IN ENGLAND AND REPUBLIKA SRPSKA

The aim of this study is to analyze good practice in teaching about the Holocaust, comparing the use of pedagogical resources in Republika Srpska (Bosnia and Herzegovina) and England (United Kingdom). The paper compares the use of three types of pedagogical resources used in history classes: fictional films, documentaries, and photographs of Holocaust atrocities. Comparison is drawn between a developing and post-conflict society (Republika Srpska) and the well-established and reputable English educational system. By cross-referencing teachers’ and students’ answers, the paper attempts to identify good practice of notable value to be shared and exchanged. The research method firstly incorporated questionnaires, followed by interviews and then lesson observation. Data revealed that teachers in both education systems do not appear to consider all the educational benefits of film screening. The way teachers from England use pictures of Holocaust atrocities and organization of school trips seem to be applicable to the context of Republika Srpska, as well as being useful for classroom practitioners beyond these two education systems.