Secondary Grammar School Research Articles

Effects of school-based high-intensity interval training on health-related fitness in adolescents

BackgroundHigh-intensity interval training (HIIT) in school settings has been much less studied in adolescents. The aim of this study was to examine the impact of HIIT on health-related fitness in adolescents.MethodsThe total sample consisted of 60 adolescents (age 16.33 ± 0.62 years) from secondary Grammar school, randomly divided into two groups: the experimental (EG) (30) and the control group (CG) (30). The experimental program (12-weeks; 2 times per week) involved two Tabata sessions during one physical education class lasting 4 min each. Participants were tested for health-related fitness components-cardiorespiratory fitness (The Shuttle Run Test (SRT) and strength, hand grip test, standing long jump (SLJ) and counter movement jump (CMJ).ResultsBoth the EG and the CG experienced significant positive changes in SRT (meters) and VO2max values compared to baseline value (p < 0.05), however, the increase in the EG was significantly higher than that in the CG (SRT - ηp2 = 0.111; VO2max - ηp2 = 0.111, p < 0.01). The EG showed significant improvement in SRT (meters) and VO2max values compared to the CG (p < 0.01). Regarding the hand grip test results, a significant time × group interaction was found only for right hand (p < 0.01). Moreover, the improvements in SLJ and CMJ values was greater in EG than that in the CG group (SLJ- ηp2 = 0.182; CMJ- ηp2 = 0.112, p < 0.01).ConclusionFindings indicate that HIIT implemented into physical education classes can result in significant improvements in selected health related fitness components in adolescents.

From museum to school and back again: tracing the biographies of natural history objects, 1866–2024

ABSTRACT The article traces and examines the history of some of the specimens used in teaching in Swedish secondary grammar schools from the mid-nineteenth century up until today. Previous research has focused on empirical analyses of teaching materials and school collections, while this paper adds new knowledge to the history of education using an object-biographic approach. Whilst focusing on the history of two distinct specimens, a bird and a small collection of butterflies, and how these were circulated and recontextualised, the paper raises wider questions about how different actors are involved as meanings and knowledge content change. Through the object-biographic approach, we show that the use of natural history objects was multifaceted and had several purposes at the same time, ranging from research to education to providing status or being a hobby. The use of natural history specimens changed with reforms of the Swedish educational system. New teaching materials and new educational ideals were developed, and from 1960 onwards the importance of these objects decreased. We show how the specimens have taken on new meanings today as selected and displayed museum objects.

Collections in the Jesuit Archbishop’s Secondary Grammar School in Kalocsa (Hungary)

In this paper, the author introduces the collections of the secondary grammar school in Kalocsa. The author researches: (1) the subjects that the formal collections were created to facilitate teaching, (2) what their purpose was, (3) the manner in which these collections were accumulated, and (4) how they were used. The annually published school yearbooks provided the main sources of this research. As a method, we applied historic document analysis. The value of teaching natural sciences was amplified in the course of the 19th century, primarily in its second half, as a result of industrial modernisation. Thus, a number of natural scientific subjects were taught on an obligatory basis (natural history, geography, physics, chemistry). Studying these subjects was facilitated by the collections, which were also established in this grammar school – besides the collections of humanities such as the historical one. The mineralogical collection constituted the most outstanding one in the Kalocsa secondary grammar school, but its animal and plant collection also burgeoned. Behind these outstanding collections stood one or other Jesuit teachers, who were driven, besides the aim of teaching, by the desire of scientific understanding. Among the Jesuits in Hungary, just as in other countries, the interest in natural sciences escalated. The collections grew during the study tours announced for students, in the course of the curators’ acquisition excursions, and also as a result of donations, purchases and exchanges. Following the state appropriation, the material of the Kalocsa caches was dispersed.

Oktatási mélyfúrások: Különböző fenntartású középiskolák profilja 11. osztályos tanulóik jellemzői alapján

The choice of a secondary school is influenced by several factors, for example the profil of the institution. In previous researches children with better family backgrounds prefer the „unique” (classes with an increased number of lessons, bilingual training or schools with non-state maintainer) institutions (Hegedűs, 2016; Garami, 2020). In our paper, we analyse the database called „Learning and teaching German in Hajdú-Bihar and Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg counties (2018–2019)”, with data of 890 students, who learned German and/or English in the 11th grade of secondary grammar or technical school in this school year. From this database, we examine the data of eight institutions of four maintainers (466 students) in SPSS program with crosstabs- and ANOVA-analysis with the following variables: maintainer of the secondary school, family background of the students and characters of secondary school choice. According to our results, the secondary school choice and learning foreign languages can characterised with consideration for practicum, further learning’s plan and the usefulness on the labour market. The students chose the analysed institutions mostly because of the high level of the teaching, the simplicity of all-days going to town and the simple higher educational admission.

Appreciation of multilingual teaching activities by secondary school students in Germany: findings from a quasi-experimental intervention study on teaching French

ABSTRACT Recognising and appreciating linguistic diversity and different cultural identities is an important educational goal for the development of our societies [Council of Europe 2007. From Linguistic Diversity to Plurilingual Education: Guide for the Development of Language Education Policies in Europe. Council of Europe Publishing; 2020. Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning, Teaching, Assessment – Companion Volume. Council of Europe Publishing]. This paper presents the results of a quasi-experimental pre–post control-group study on the implementation of multilingual teaching activities in teaching French as a second foreign language at secondary grammar schools in Germany (in total n = 221 students, a convenience sample of 207th grade classes). Results of analysis of questionnaires and interviews with students show a positive appreciation of multilingual teaching activities, especially among students with migration background who have been raised plurilingually, and an increase in the appreciation of multilingual teaching activities among students who have been raised monolingually in the lingua franca German. Furthermore, the results indicate that the intervention was relevant to students’ intercultural learning in terms of fostering their appreciation of multilingual teaching activities, even though the teaching materials prepared for the study were not implemented consistently in all participating classes.

The significance of foreign language Geography teaching in the dual language secondary school programmes of the Northern Great Plain region

Dual language education has been present in numerous institutions across the Northern Great Plain region of Hungary. Educational centres across the region have been running dual language programmes in secondary grammar schools and vocational schools for decades. As regional centre and traditional educational hub, Debrecen is also represented by a number of schools offering international programmes. Although recent socioeconomic and education policy changes have forced schools for constant renewal, bilingualism in educational programmes managed to remain popular, partly due to the achievements of foreign language subject teaching. Through the alignment of subject-specific content and the development of language competence, this form of education effectively contributes to the improvement of students’ language skills, shapes their mindset and expands their further education and increases their market value as potential workforce. This study will explore the role and impact of foreign language Geography teaching across the secondary schools of the Northern Great Plain region through the lens of teaching and educational research, by discussing some of the relevant regional findings of a broader PhD dissertation (including school visits, final exam results and a recent nationwide teacher survey). Research findings prove that Geography has been a popular subject choice to be taught in foreign languages: it has been present in the majority of the 15 dual language secondary schools of the region, it has been playing an important role in vocational school programmes and it has been chosen as final exam subject by nearly 1,000 candidates.

The Structure and the Distribution of Phraseological Units in Intermediate and Upper- Intermediate EFL Textbooks

The knowledge of native phrases and idiomatic expressions is considered to be an essential aspect of one’s fluency in a foreign language and can advance learners toward more excellent proficiency in foreign language acquisition. However, not much research has been dedicated to how they are implemented in the school textbooks. This research work aims to examine the occurrence of phraseological units in the four selected English textbooks for B1 and B2 levels, which are recommended for use at secondary grammar schools and secondary vocational schools in Slovakia by the Ministry of Education. They aim to prepare the secondary school learners for their final school-leaving exams – which are based on and in line with the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages requirements for the specific proficiency levels. To fill the gap in present studies, a detailed analysis was implemented, which included not only the exercises explicitly aimed at phraseological units but also the parts of the textbook, which dealt with the formulaic language implicitly. The main question posed dealt with the categories of phraseological units and their distribution in the analyzed textbooks. Phraseological units were identified, classified, analyzed, and counted by quantitative content analysis. The results showed that although there were phraseological units found in all analyzed textbooks, their distribution and classification differed significantly. Once they were included in the very limited number and variety of exercises, they were never used or mentioned again. Moreover, their explanation was absent or insufficient. The listed findings indicate that learners might encounter significant issues when trying to advance toward higher EFL proficiency levels.

Using Mathematical Models in Secondary Grammar Schools

On February 11, 2021, I gave a motivational lecture at the Tamás Esze High School in Mátészalka, and I completed a series of test tasks with the students. In this article, I looked for an answer to how students who are about to graduate approach to solving math problems. The main objective was to investigate whether they prefer to solve purely mathematical or application-oriented tasks, and in which one they achieve better results. In this paper, I analyze the results obtained.

Teaching through objects and collections: The case of Strängnäs Secondary Grammar School and school museum 1830-1960

This paper aims to introduce educational history to multimodal studies by combining a source-oriented approach with multimodal social semiotics. We trace the role of objects and collections in teaching and learning, and focus on Strängnäs Secondary Grammar School in Sweden 1830-1960 as a case example. Closely examining original documents, remaining physical objects, and examples of their situated use as represented in photographs and drawings, the paper provides a nuanced perspective on how object-based pedagogy was applied. It traces how objects and artefacts were incorporated into the school’s collections, by the actions of different actors, in processes of recontextualisation and framing. The activity types that we use as examples, include: drawing lessons in art, weapons practice in physical education, plant collecting in botany, and map exercises in history. These examples show how objects and their meaning potential were used in teaching and learning, and how they realized certain discourses of schooling. Based on our examples, we can see how educational discourses such as progressivism came to have different impact in different subjects. While an authoritarian and national discourse prevailed in art and physical education, a scientific and progressive discourse seem to have been established in botany and history. By combining multimodality with historical research, we can understand meaning-making within a larger context of sociocultural practices and sociopolitical forces.

„Generációk munkájára támaszkodva kutatunk” Beszélgetés Hajdú Zoltánnal 70. születésnapja alkalmából [Interjú

Zoltán Hajdú was born on May 4th, 1952 in Végardó. He completed his secondary school studies at the Rákóczi Secondary Grammar School in Sárospatak, and after his military service, he graduated from the Lajos Kossuth University of Debrecen in Geography and History. In 1976–1977, he was an assistant lecturer at the Technical University of Heavy Industry in Miskolc. He defended his doctoral dissertation at the Institute of Geography at the Lajos Kossuth University in 1977, and in 1977–1978, he became a scholarship researcher of the Central Office of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences in Pécs. Since 1978 he has been a research fellow at the Transdanubian Scientific Institute (and its successors) of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. He defended his CSc dissertation in 1986 and became a Doctor of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences in 2002. His habilitation procedure was successfully completed in 2013 and he became a professor in 2017. The present semi-structured interview was conducted in March 2022 at the Institute of Regional Studies. The aim of the article is to help readers get acquainted with the most important stages of Zoltán Hajdú’s life, his relationship with geography, as well as the factors underlying the previous two and affecting his career.

Development of Institutional Leadership in the Hungarian Education System

The study provides a systematic pedagogical overview of the training courses that prepare leaders of Hungary's educational institutions. By education, the authors mean the system established by Act CXC of 2011 on public education and Act LXXX of 2019 on vocational education and training, i.e. the system of educational institutions created by the secession of vocational education and training from public education: i.e. kindergarten, primary and secondary schools (secondary grammar school, vocational grammar school and vocational school), art schools and colleges. The paper also analyses the basic content adequacy of the training, i.e. whether there is a match between the range of management activities and the range of knowledge offered. Given the deficient number of training courses for development purposes besides preparation in the system of educational leaders' training, and as priority is given to the training of the heads of institutions in the public education strategy adopted in 2020, the paper concludes by suggesting that it is time to develop a concept in which preparation, development and training for leadership supervision are interlinked in a complex model of leadership development.

Development Level of Pedagogical Students' Inductive Thinking in the 21th Century

The international literature on the examination of inductive reasoning is rather rich. Approaching it from the direction of soft skills can be considered still novel. The main objectives were to draw a picture of the development level of first-grade teacher students’ inductive thinking, to analyse the time used for the solution of tasks and task items and finally to explore the interconnection between solution time and the performance achieved in the inductive test. According to the results of 204 students attending teacher training at J. Selye University in Slovakia, the abstract and analogue reasoning of these students is of medium development level, while their diagrammatic thinking is weaker. There is a connection between the time used for the items and the test results, both the task types and the students can be classified according to time consumption. The 10% having reached the best results are women, have parents with a degree, live in cities and took their secondary school leaving exams at secondary grammar schools Hungary. Female and correspondence students spent more time on solving the tasks than male and full-time students.

Relationship between motor learning and general intelligence

AIM: The aim of the research was to find out the differences in the level of motor learning (ML) and general intelligence (IQ). The research sample included 120 boys and girls of primary school and grammar school aged 12-17 years and the subsequent identification of a possible relationship between the two indicators. METHODS: 120 students Elementary school (ES) and Secondary Grammar School (SGS) took part in testing the level of motor learning and intelligence (n = 120). We evaluated the level of ML in boys and girls in the demonstration of learned gymnastic elements. We used the intelligence test to determine the level of general intelligence [1]. RESULTS: The results did not show significant differences in the level of motor learning and intelligence between the genders in either age category. Correlation analysis confirmed a significant relationship between ML and IQ excluding the gender factor (r = -0.297). When gender was taken into account, the relationship was seen only in boys (r = -0.312). We note that we found a lower rate of ML in students with a higher level of intelligence. CONCLUSION: We assume the continuity of certain mental and motor processes, which is called motor intelligence. The results of our research did not show significant differences in the level of ML and IQ in both genders. Boys slightly dominated in ML, girls in IQ. This difference decreases with increasing age. 

Croatian Vocational Schools Within a Museum-School Partnership

The paper presents research on museum-school relationship from the point of view of teachers from secondary grammar and vocational schools. It explores their current and preferred interactions. The results show that teachers from vocational schools make field trips less frequently and are less satisfied with their relationship with museums. The characteristics of museum-school interactions are the same for both groups and form a model of low-intensity relations, with each institution maintaining its discrete authority, responsibilities and resources. Unlike the responses of the grammar-school teachers, those of vocational-school teachers do not indicate any development of the present relationship.

Exploring Potential of Sketchnoting as a Tool for Constructing Learner´s Knowledge in Geography

<p style="text-align: justify;">In the paper, we explore the potential of sketchnoting as a tool for constructing learner´s knowledge. Sketchnoting is non-linear note-taking method that combines text and visual elements to express knowledge in a complex form, and is represented by text, symbols, arrows, frames, and other visual elements. Drawing on theory of dual coding and theory of multimedia learning, it is argued that a learner retains information more permanently if they process it verbally and visually at the same time. Sketchnoting can be effectively implemented in a learning process. We illustrate sketchnoting as a supportive learning tool by empirical study with learners at geography lessons in a secondary grammar school. We assessed twenty students´ first sketchnotes and found out most of them focused on facts rather than relations. It is therefore suggested that teachers draw more attention to organisation, structure and interrelations of the elements of knowledge in sketchnote when introducing it first to learners.</p>

Types of Overexcitability in Intellectually Gifted Adolescent Students in Slovakia

The aim of the study was the comparison of intellectually gifted secondary grammar school students with students from the average population of secondary grammar school students, in the level of overexcitability and prediction of intellectual giftedness through the various types of overexcitability. The research sample consisted of 88 secondary grammar school students aged 16-17 years. The target group, who were identified as intellectually gifted students, consisted of 44 students, whereas the control group consisted of 44 students from an average population of secondary grammar school students. We used tests of intellectual ability, Raven's Advanced Progressive Matrices Test, Intelligence Structure Analysis, and Urban's Figural Test of Creative Thinking to identify intellectually gifted secondary grammar school students. Types of overexcitability were assessed by means of the Overexcitability Questionnaire. Statistical analysis showed significant differences in the level of overexcitabilities between intellectually gifted secondary grammar school students and students from the average population of secondary grammar school students. Significant predictive power of intellectual and emotional overexcitability was found in relation to intellectual giftedness.

Psychological Distress of High School Graduates During Social Distancing in Croatia

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic has influenced the whole world, thus also affecting the high school graduates in Croatia. Aims: The purpose of the study was to examine the psychological distress high school graduates experienced during the COVID-19 social distancing measures, more precisely to investigate gender and school type differences and to examine the relationship between psychological distress and self-regulated learning. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, an online questionnaire was administered to 13,037 high school graduates across Croatia. Results: The results show that girls exhibit higher levels of psychological distress compared to the boys, while the art school graduates show the highest distress, followed by gymnasium (i.e., secondary grammar school, prep school) graduates, and lastly vocational school graduates. Furthermore, a moderate negative correlation was found between self-efficacy and psychological distress, and significant, but small correlations were found between regulation of effort, management of work, time and environment, self-handicapping as well as elaboration and psychological distress. These results show that higher levels of self-regulation are connected to lower levels of psychological distress. Conclusions: These findings demonstrate that a need exists for greater accessibility of mental health care for adolescents.

Can the neuroticism-willingness to communicate relationship across languages be explained by anxiety?

This study focuses on the role of neuroticism in shaping L1 and L2 users’ communicative behaviour, as represented by the L1/L2 users’ willingness to communicate (WTC). It was expected that this relationship could be explained by language-specific forms of anxiety: communication apprehension (CA) in L1 communication, and language anxiety (LA) in L2 communication. The participants were 621 Polish secondary grammar school students at the intermediate to upper-intermediate levels of English proficiency. Two mediation analyses revealed that for L1 communication, neuroticism was significantly related to WTC, with CA mediating this relationship. For L2 communication, in contrast, this relationship could be observed only when controlling for LA, which suppressed the link between neuroticism and WTC. These findings suggest that the effect of neuroticism on the willingness to communicate is indirect in L2 communication, and detectable with the mediation of language anxiety. It can thus be concluded that the link between personality and aspects of communicative behaviour is likely to be language-dependent, suggesting that it may be necessary to apply more refined research models when assessing L2 effects.

Learning Languages among Aristocrats in Hungary (1867-1918)

In the present study, by means of private letters, memoirs, as well as school registry forms, we focus on aristocratic children’s language education: what languages did they study, with whom did they study them, with what methods and for what purpose – whether at home or in school. After 1867, the aristocracy retained its multilingual facility. The daughters of the family typically continued studying at home, guided by foreign governesses and Hungarian home tutors. Besides Hungarian, they usually acquired three languages (French, German, English) to a proficient level, by help of a method that placed the emphasis on speaking. The boys’ language studies progressed in a similar way, the difference being that they were more likely to study in public schools – abroad or in Hungary. Within the high society, the two most sought-after foreign institutions were the Theresianum in Vienna and the Jesuit secondary grammar school in Kalksburg. In these, the students had the chance to choose from among several classical and modern languages to study; moreover, however surprising it might seem at first glance, they also placed a great emphasis on nurturing the Hungarian language. Thus, by the time they reached adulthood, the daughters and sons of high nobility became polished speakers and readers of foreign languages, which, besides cultivating their international family relations, also helped them in keeping abreast on world events, as well as in literature and the sciences, not to mention – in the case of the boys – constituting an advantage in their career fields.

Před 50 lety zemřel akademik Antonín Přecechtěl

Antonín Přecechtěl was born on 6 November 1885 in the village of Srbce in the Prostějov region (Moravia) in a peasant’s family. He graduated from the secondary grammar school in Kroměříž and studied medicine at the Czech Medical Faculty of the Charles-Ferdinand University in Prague. After graduating in 1910, he started his career as a surgeon at prof. Kukula’s surgery clinic in Prague. As a surgeon, he participated in the Balkan Wars and the First World War. In 1918 he began to work at prof. Kutvirt’s ear clinic in Prague. Here he obtained habilitation in otology and pharyngology in 1920, and in 1924 he was appointed associate professor. After Kutvirt’s death, he became the head of the clinic in 1930, and in the same year, he also received habilitation in rhino-laryngology, thus completing the process of unifying the teaching of otorhinolaryngology as one field. He held the position of head of the Otolaryngology Clinic for 30 years. He was a founding member of the Czech Otolaryngological Society (1921) and in the period 1935–1951, he was its chairman. In 1926, as a founding member, he participated in the founding of the prestigious organization Collegium Oto-Rhino-Laryngologicum Amicitiae Sacrum. He also participated in the establishment and management of the international journal Otolaryngologia Slavica, and the journal Czechoslovak Otolaryngology began to be published in 1952 on his initiative. The results of his scientific work have been published in almost 400 publications in both domestic and foreign journals. Přecechtěl was also involved in laboratory and experimental research, especially on the vestibular apparatus. In 1954 he was appointed a full member of the Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences, in which he founded the Otolaryngological Laboratory. Professor Přecechtěl created his own otorhinolaryngology school and trained many experts. He died on 5 February 1971, at the age of 85. Keywords: history – Antonín Přecechtěl – remembrance – commemoration – Czech otorhinolaryngology – ENT