Secondary Schools In Urban Areas Research Articles

Assessment of Felt Needs Regarding Reproductive Health among Adolescent Girls in Schools Located in Urban Area

ABSTRACT Introduction: Among adolescents, girls are more vulnerable than boys1. To promote these girls and for progress on all grounds, it has become very important to find out their problems and their felt needs. Aim: To assess the felt needs of adolescent girls of secondary schools in urban areas regarding reproductive health. Objectives: 1) To assess the felt needs of adolescent girls regarding reproductive health. Materials and Methods: This is a cross-sectional study conducted over 6 months of period among 9th-class girls of 2 municipal secondary schools located in urban area. The sample size was calculated to be 139. Result: Felt need of a maximum (82%) of participants was that education about reproductive health should be provided to adolescent girls by a female doctor in school followed by (41%) confidential health check-up of girls regarding reproductive health issues. Conclusion: Present study reveals that the Primary felt needs of 9th-class girls in municipal schools of urban area is reproductive health education by a female doctor in school followed by confidential health check-ups for reproductive health issues.

The Relationship between Teacher’s Motivation and their Job Satisfaction in Secondary Schools in Onitsh Education Zone, Anambra State, Nigeria

Aims: This study determined.
 The relationship between teacher’s intrinsic motivation and job satisfaction in secondary schools in rural areas in Onitsha education zone.
 The relationship between teacher’s extrinsic motivation and job satisfaction in secondary schools in rural areas in Onitsha education zone.
 The relationship between teacher’s intrinsic motivation and job satisfaction in secondary schools in urban areas in Onitsha education zone.
 The relationship between teacher’s extrinsic motivation and job satisfaction in secondary schools in urban areas in Onitsha education zone.
 Study Design: This study adopted the Correlation Survey Research Design.
 Place and Duration of Study: This study was conducted among secondary school teachers in secondary schools in Onitsha Education Zone of Anambra State, Nigeria.
 Methodology: The population of this study comprised 1,179 (male = 92, female = 1087) teachers in government owned secondary schools in Onitsha education zone. The sample for this study is 300 teachers (175 – schools in urban areas, 125 – schools in rural areas). The instruments adopted for data collection were the Work Task Motivation Scale for Teachers (WTMST) and the Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire (MSQ). The Work task Motivation Scale for Teachers was developed by Fernet, Senecal, Guay, Marsh, Dowson (2008). The questionnaire contains 15 items on why teachers are motivated to carry out teaching tasks. The MSQ is developed by Weiss, Dawis, England and Lofquist (1967) to measure an employees’ satisfaction with their job. The MSQ consist of 20-items from the long form MSQ that best represent each of the 20 scales. The instruments for data collection were not subjected to further validation because they are standardized instruments. However, both the WTMST and MSQ have been adopted for use in other studies in Nigeria. Based on this usability, the instrument will be adopted for the present study. The administration of the instrument was done through direct delivery approach. In this approach, copies of the questionnaire were distributed personally to the respondents by the researcher with the help of some research assistants. The data collected was analyzed using the Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient (Pearson r), applying the statistical package for social science (SPSS) for data coding and analysis.
 Results: The finding of this study revealed that a high positive relationship of 0.632 exist between intrinsic motivation and job satisfaction in secondary schools in rural areas in Onitsha education zone, A moderate positive relationship of 0.530 exist between teacher’s extrinsic motivation and job satisfaction in secondary schools in rural areas in Onitsha Education zone, A moderate positive relationship of 0.482 exist between teacher’s intrinsic motivation and job satisfaction in secondary schools in urban area in Onitsha Education zone, A high positive relationship of 0.70 exist between teacher’s extrinsic motivation and job satisfaction in secondary schools in urban area in Onitsha Education zone.
 Conclusion: This study concludes that a high and positive relationship exist between teacher’s intrinsic motivation and job satisfaction in secondary schools in rural and urban areas, a moderate and positive relationship exist between teacher’s extrinsic motivation and job satisfaction in secondary schools in rural and urban areas.

Effects of the School-Based Integrated Health Promotion Program With Hydroponic Planting on Green Space Use and Satisfaction, Dietary Habits, and Mental Health in Early Adolescent Students: A Feasibility Quasi-Experiment.

Background: School-based green space activities have been found to be beneficial to the physical activity level and lifestyle habits of adolescent students. However, their effects on green space use and satisfaction, mental health, and dietary behaviors required further investigation. This study aimed to investigate the effects of school-based hydroponic planting integrated with health promotion activities in improving green space use, competence and satisfaction, healthy lifestyle, mental health, and health-related quality of life (QoL) among early adolescent students in secondary schools.Methods: This study adopted a three-group comparison design (one control and two intervention groups). Secondary school students (N = 553) of grades 7–9 participated in either (1) hydroponic planting (two times per week for 8 months) integrated with health promotion activities; (2) only health promotion activities (one time per week for 6 weeks); or (3) control group. Outcomes assessed by questionnaire included green space use and satisfaction, life happiness, lifestyle, depressive symptoms, and health-related QoL.Results: After adjusting for sex and school grade, the scores in “green space distance and use” and “green space activity and competence” were significantly better in the intervention groups than in the control group. Hydroponic planting integrated with health promotion activities was also associated with better scores in dietary habits and resistance to substance use. Intervention groups had a higher score in “Green space sense and satisfaction” and life happiness when compared with the control group.Conclusions: Our study shows that the school-based hydroponic planting integrated with health promotion activities were feasible and, to a certain extent, useful to improve green space use and competence, dietary habits, and resistance to substance use among early adolescent students in secondary schools in urban areas. Future studies should address the limitations identified, for example, designing a randomized controlled trial that could fit school schedules to generate new evidence for physical and mental health in adolescent communities.

Train‐the‐trainers Biology Workshop as a Useful Science Advocacy Tool: An Impact Assessment and Emerging Issues for Science Education

Introduction Science advocacy tool assessment is essential for ensuring improved and more beneficial science education, especially in resource-poor countries where science education is underfunded. This study assessed the impact of a train-the-trainer biology workshop (TTTBW) as a useful instrument for science advocacy and biology teacher training. Method Thirty-one biology teachers (30% male and 70% female) were competitively selected from 25 secondary schools in urban areas of Anambra State, Nigeria, based on a self-reported assessment of knowledge transfer ability. These teachers were trained to become future workshop trainers for other biology teachers within their schools. They participated in a two-day TTTBW, where they were taught pre-identified need-based topics in professional teacher development, including A) Effective communication skills for biology teaching; B) Teaching management skills; C) Dynamics of child education; D) New pedagogical skills in teaching Biology; E) Strategies for targeted Assessment in Biology and, F) Adaptation of Biology teaching for resource-poor countries. Pre and post-workshop impact assessment interviews were also carried out through an online form and self-administered questionnaire, respectively. Pre and post-test were also done on the topics taught, and the data were analyzed. Results There was a significant increase in the post-test scores of the teachers in topics taught (A-C) when compared to the pre-test scores (p= 0.00, 0.00, and 0.004, respectively). After the workshop, the interest in teaching biology increased in most of the participants (91%) compared to 23% before the workshop. Conclusion TTTBW can improve biology teaching interest and knowledge based on critical professional teaching competencies among biology teachers. Significance and Implication TTTBW is a potent tool for science advocacy and professional development for teachers and exhibits scale-up potentials for maximal impact, especially in resource-poor countries.

Train-the-Trainers Biology Workshop as an Effective Science Advocacy Tool: An Impact Assessment and Emerging Issues for Science Education

Science advocacy is an important tool for ensuring improved and more beneficial science education, especially in resource-poor countries. This study assessed the impact of a train-the-trainer biology workshop (TTTBW) as a useful instrument for science advocacy and maximizing biology teacher training. Thirty-one biology teachers (30% male and 70% female) participated in the two-day TTTBW, competitively selected from 25 secondary schools in urban areas of Anambra State, Nigeria where they were taught several pre-identified need-based topics as part of professional development. Some of the topics taught include: A) Effective communication skills for biology teaching B) Teaching management skills C) Dynamics of child education D) New pedagogical skills in teaching Biology E) Strategies for targeted Assessment in Biology F) Adaptation of Biology teaching for resource-poor countries. Each of the topics lasted for at least an hour and a pre and post-test was done for topics A-C and analyzed. Pre-workshop assessment and post-workshop impact assessment interviews were also carried out through an online form and self-administered questionnaire respectively. There was a significant increase in the post-test scores of the teachers in topics examined (A-C) when compared to the pre-test scores (p= 0.00, 0.00, and 0.004 respectively). After the workshop, the interest to teach biology was increased in most of the participants (91%) compared to 23% before the workshop. TTTBW is a potent tool for science advocacy and professional development for teachers and exhibits scale-up potentials for maximal impact.

Climate Variability and Its Effects on School Attendance in Selected Public Senior Secondary Schools in Urban Areas of Ibadan, Nigeria

Good classrooms, adequate security, school location, incessant strikes have been found to significantly influence school attendance and are baseline factors in determining student success. However, little is known about the influence of climate variability on school attendance in Nigeria. Thus, the focus of this study was to examine the effects of climate variability on school attendance in urban areas of Ibadan, Nigeria. Both primary and secondary data were used. A total of 450 students were sampled randomly from five public senior secondary schools in urban areas of Ibadan. The study revealed that the awareness of climate variability was high and not significantly different among students (x2= 20.465; p>0.05). Rainfall explained 38.9% and had a significant negative correlation with school attendance (r= -0.609; p<0.05), and this was largely due to the perceived threats that come along with high rainfall in the form of violent wind. The reality of climate variability has made students to devise means of coping with its adverse effects such as; sleeping naked and frequent drinking of water. The study concluded that there should be adequate enlightenment on effective environmental interaction to mitigate the adverse effects of climate variability.

Hypertension and prehypertension among adolescents attending secondary schools in urban area of South-East, Nigeria.

Introductionin the past, the need for regular blood pressure screening in children was doubtful, and the main reason against it is that hypertension is an adult illness and there is no evidence that screening healthy children for hypertension was worthwhile. We did this study to determine the prevalence of hypertension and prehypertension as well as some risk factors for hypertension among secondary school adolescents in an urban area of the South-East, Nigeria.Methodsthis was a cross-sectional study of 984 adolescents aged 10-19 years in secondary schools in Awka South Local Government Area of Anambra state, South-East, Nigeria. The multi-stage sampling method was used to select the subjects. Data were collected from all eligible subjects with the aid of a questionnaire administered to them. Weight, height, and blood pressure were measured and recorded.Resultsnine hundred and eighty-four adolescents were recruited for this study, and they comprised 470 (47.8%) males and 514 (52.2%) giving a male: female ratio of 1:1.1. Their ages ranged from 10-19 years. The mean systolic blood pressure and mean diastolic BP were 110.5±10.2mmHg 71.5±8.5mmHg respectively. Prevalence of hypertension and pre-hypertension were 6.3% and 5.0% respectively. There were a higher proportion of females (7.3%) than males (5.4%) with hypertension, and more females (5.8%) than males (4.2%) with prehypertension but these were not statistically significant. Overweight and obesity were significantly associated with hypertension.Conclusionhypertension exists among secondary school adolescents in Awka South Local government area of Anambra state, with a prevalence of 6.3%. Early detection and treatment will forestall the early development of complications.

Harcerstwo – szkoła – społeczeństwo w południowo-wschodniej Polsce w latach 1911–1939

The Scouting and Guiding Movement known initially in the territory of Poland as “Scouting” (Polish: Skauting ) began its activity in 1911 in Lviv (now in Ukraine), and then developed in the region of Galicia. Its primary bases of activity were secondary schools in urban areas. Female scouting was to overcome much more difficult obstacles than the male one. The male scouting movement realised an educational ideal, which was generally accepted by the society, whereas female scouting was naturally involved in the emancipation movement. In the beginning, a considerable part of the Galician society, as well as teaching communities, did not accept female scouting. The situation changed after the First World War when the Polish Scouting and Guiding Association (Polish: ZHP) in Lviv was established including in its range the Voivodeships of Tarnopol, Stanislawow and a bigger part of the Lviv Voivodeship. It was the general acceptance for the Scouting and Guiding Movement of the government authorities that influenced this change of attitude. However, it was not until the 30s that this positive attitude became apparent. Their cooperation resulted in financial help in organising summer camps. The approach of the government authorities had a significant impact on school authorities who became more interested in creating and running female scouting groups. When the Polish Scouting and Guiding Association was raised to the rank of “High Public Utility Association” in 1936, it gained more importance in the eyes of Polish citizens.

Abandono Escolar en las Escuelas Secundarias Urbanas de Argentina: Nuevos Indicadores para el Planeamiento de Políticas de Inclusión Educativa

La Argentina ha asumido el compromiso de que todos los adolescentes y jóvenes terminen el nivel secundario. Si bien el acceso al nivel se ha incrementado significativamente en los últimos años, hay todavía serios problemas para lograr que todos permanezcan y egresen del nivel. La secundaria obligatoria constituye un desafío importante para el sistema educativo, o los sistemas educativos que lo constituyen. Es una meta que además de interpelar la disponibilidad de recursos materiales para ampliar la oferta, interpela fundamentalmente a la escuela, su cultura institucional, los actores involucrados y la propuesta pedagógica. El abandono escolar es sin duda el punto más crítico en este diagnóstico. Este trabajo tiene como objeto ampliar el diagnóstico sobre el abandono escolar que ocurre durante el año lectivo en las escuelas secundarias en Argentina. El análisis se centra en los establecimientos de gestión estatal del ámbito urbano, considerando el territorio y la configuración de su oferta. ¿Se produce el mismo nivel de abandono en todos los establecimientos del país? Los resultados del estudio indican que a partir del análisis del nivel de abandono de los establecimientos y la dispersión de este fenómeno observado en función de su distribución entre las escuelas, es posible identificar distintas situaciones. Los resultados muestran que se registran al menos cuatro tipos de escenarios que requieren de estrategias de política diferenciadas. Advierte sobre el nivel de heterogeneidad que presenta la oferta educativa del nivel en cada uno de los territorios y de la necesidad de profundizar el análisis de esta problemática junto con mayores datos sobre el contexto social e institucional de los establecimientos.

Prediktivnost osobina ekstraverzije, savesnosti i neuroticizma za različite tipove motivacije za rad

Osnovni cilj ovog istraživanja bio je utvrđivanje prediktivnosti ekstraverzije, savesnosti i neuroticizma za različite tipove motivacije za rad prema teoriji samodeterminacije. Osobine ličnosti merene su upitnikom Velikih pet plus dva, dok su tipovi motivacije za rad utvrđeni putem Skale za ispitivanje motivacije za rad. Uzorak je prigodnog karaktera, a činili su ga prosvetni radnici, nastavnici osnovnih i srednjih škola iz gradske sredine (ukupno 230). Na osnovu dobijenih rezultata može se zaključiti da osobine neuroticizam, ekstraverzija i savesnost značajno predviđaju sve tipove motivacije za rad, kao i motivaciju ispitivanih nastavnika. Ekstraverzija značajno predviđa intrinzičku motivaciju podsticajem i ekstrinzičku motivaciju eksternom regulacijom. Savesnost značajno predviđa ekstrinzičku motivaciju introjekcijom, zatim, ekstrinzičku motivaciju identifikacijom i intrinzičku motivaciju saznanjem i podsticajem, dok je neuroticizam značajan prediktor nemotivisanosti za rad, ekstrinzičke motivacije eksternom regulacijom i ekstrinzičke motivacije introjekcijom. Rezultati istraživanja predstavljaju doprinos razumevanju motivisanog radnog ponašanja uopšte, i postavljanju osnove za ispitivanje uticaja ličnosnih dispozicija na radnu motivaciju.

Authority in the classroom: adolescent autonomy, autonomy support, and teachers’ legitimacy

Younger generations are increasingly questioning the legitimacy of teachers. However, evidence concerning classroom authority and the many factors that shape it tend to disregard the complexity and dynamics of the relationship between the teacher and the student. This paper aims to contribute to further unfold and understand this topic. Specifically, teachers’ legitimacy is examined from the scope of the Relational Model of Authority and the principle of autonomy, from the standpoint of the individual (i.e. adolescent’s autonomy level) and the individual’s perception of the social context (i.e. perceived autonomy support). Participants were 323 adolescents attending two secondary schools in urban areas of Portugal, from 9th to 12th grades. The results indicate that teachers’ legitimacy, as recognised by students, varies according to their perceived autonomy support. In addition, more autonomous adolescents, when in contexts that they perceive as lower in autonomy support, recognise lower levels of legitimacy to their teachers, compared with individuals with lower autonomy levels. Results are discussed from the standpoint of the Relational Model of Authority, the Self-Determination Theory and the Theory of Psychological Reactance.

Sexual Risk Behaviour Among In-School Adolescents in Public Secondary Schools in a Southwestern City in Nigeria

Purpose: Several studies have documented the high sexual activities and risky sexual behaviours among adolescents in most parts of the world thus putting them at high risk of contacting the HIV infection and other complications. This study aimed to determine sexual risk factors among adolescents in secondary schools in urban areas of Osogbo in South western Nigeria. Methods: A descriptive cross sectional study was done among 521 public secondary school students in Osogbo, Southwestern Nigeria, using multistage sampling technique and semi-structured administered questionnaire. Data were analyzed using the SPSS software package version 15. Results: Appreciable number (31.5%) of the respondents have had sexual intercourse (the mean age of sexual debut being 15.2+1 yr). Some of them (14.6%) had had more than one sexual partners, 17 (3.3%) had visited commercial sex workers before, 33 (6.3%) had been raped previously while 25 (4.8%) had been treated for STIs symptoms in the past. Most respondents were aware of common modes of transmission of the HIV virus. Less than half (32.8%) of the respondents were prepared to be screened for HIV infection. Conclusion: Many adolescents studied were sexually active, and taking a lot of risky sexual behaviours that could facilitate transmission of HIV. Advocacy programme that will make adequate information about sexual health available to the adolescents needs to be intensified. Keywords: Adolescents, Sexually transmitted infections, Risky sexual behaviours, HIV/AIDs