School Situation Research Articles

Assessment of Open Defecation Practice Among Almajiri Schools in Kware Local Government, Sokoto State, Nigeria: Preventive Lessons from Sokoto Caliphate Ideals

Almajiri schools in Nigeria face challenges, including poor sanitation and open defecation. This study assessed the situation of Almajiri schools in Kware Local Government, Sokoto State, Nigeria, regarding open defecation and proffered comparative preventive solutions from Sokoto Caliphate ideals. A semi-structured questionnaire was administered to 50 Almajiri schools, and data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. And a historical comparative method was used to link the result with the qualitative information from Sokoto Caliphate literatures or information. The results showed: 1. Poor sanitation: 50% of schools had open defecation, and 20% had scarce toilets. 2. Water scarcity: 50% of schools had no source of water supply. 3. Poor environmental sanitation: 50% of schools had bad environmental sanitation. 4. Hazardous waste management: 46% of schools practiced open dumping, and 28% practiced open burning. The study highlights the need for improved sanitation, water supply, and waste management in Almajiri schools. The Sokoto Caliphate ideals, which emphasize Zakat, seeking for wealth to earn livelihood, cleanliness and hygiene, can provide valuable lessons for preventing open defecation and promoting better sanitation practices.

Life Impact of Cluttering: The Adult Perspective.

Though the research on the quality of life of people who stutter is extensive, there is minimal research on cluttering's life impact. Anecdotal reports from people who clutter1 and their significant others have described some elements of cluttering's impact and advocated for these components to be addressed in treatment. Three formal studies have used semistructured interviews to document cluttering's impact. These non-peer-reviewed studies make important contributions; however, more research is needed to add to this existing information. The current study adds perspectives of adults who clutter related to cluttering's impact upon the specific contexts of work, school, and social situations. In this phenomenological study, 10 adults who clutter participated in a semistructured interview. Through grand tour, mini tour, and example questions, participants were asked to provide their perspective on the life impact of cluttering. Each interview was orthographically transcribed, and transcripts were coded for themes. Triangulation and member checking were conducted to establish reliability and validity of themes. Results revealed the following themes: Social impact of cluttering leads to avoidance, misunderstanding, and feelings of isolation; cluttering impacts natural tendencies; educational impact of cluttering results in misunderstanding and struggle; occupational impact of cluttering leads to role entrapment and difficulty maintaining employment. This study adds perspectives of adults who clutter regarding specific aspects of quality of life such as social isolation, frequent misunderstandings, and negative educational and occupational impact. As more voices are heard within the cluttering community, more support is presented for the importance of understanding the negative life impact cluttering can have. Further understanding of these perspectives adds to the information needed to inform holistic cluttering assessment and treatment.

Cooperative program between Suzhou ZHIO Co., Ltd and GSU on foreign trade talents

School-enterprise cooperation is the way to realize a win-win situation for students, schools and enterprises. Currently, there are still lots of problems with college-enterprise cooperation, mainly because there is no practical school-enterprise cooperation program. Therefore, the planning of the college-enterprise cooperation program is the first issue. This article examines the actual situation of foreign trade training in Guangxi Vocational University of Science & Technology and the shortcomings of foreign trade in ZHIO Trading Co., Ltd, and analyzes problems they face and the needs of both parties, concluding the necessity of college-enterprise cooperation. Based on the analysis of successful cases of school-enterprise cooperation, the successful experience of school-enterprise cooperation in vocational colleges was summarized and applied in school-enterprise cooperation. The school and company mainly cooperate in enrollment management, curriculum provision, teaching staff construction as well as students' internship, thus deriving the college-enterprise cooperation program which has reference value.

Stories of inspiration and agency: Messages from culturally diverse, gifted young adults living in low SES circumstances to the next generation

ABSTRACT This qualitative study broadly aims to develop an understanding of the enablers and barriers to successful education pathways for multi-culturally diverse, gifted students living in economically vulnerable circumstances. The study administered an online questionnaire to fifty young, gifted adults currently enrolled at university or post graduate; followed by semi-structured interviews with eleven of the young adults; and finally a focus group discussion with seven of the participants. The study is a retrospective analysis of their school experience as young adults. Their perspectives provided valuable insight into the hidden rules of their home and school situations which made their experience as gifted students challenging, as well as the internal and external factors that enabled them to achieve education success. A reimagined collaborative ethnography approach yielded unique insights into their intrapersonal capacities that acted as protective factors within environments that were more or less supportive of their education. An inductive and exploratory approach to analyzing the data demonstrated the critical role of the teacher in understanding, recognizing and supporting culturally diverse gifted students; the criticality and nature of intrapersonal skills, notably motivation and volition; the impact of heterogenous cultural backgrounds; and the power of peer relationships with others who truly understood their experience of living at the intersection of giftedness, cultural diversity and low SES. Critically, the culturally nuanced notions of giftedness described by participants challenged textbook conceptions of giftedness. This study adds to the scarce but growing body of research into culturally contextual conceptions of multiple presentations of giftedness by exploring how this group of successful learners relates to the label “gifted” and internalizes the hidden rules of education in schools in low SES locales and beyond.

Adaptation and psychometric validation of the school anxiety inventory in a university population

AbstractThe objective of this study was to adapt and validate the School Anxiety Inventory to a university population, analyzing its factorial structure, internal consistency, convergent validity, and sex differences. The School Anxiety Inventory - University Version (SAI-UV) was administered to a sample of 1,404 Spanish college students (63.82% female and 36.18% male) aged 18 to 49 (M = 21.32). Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were applied to analyze the dimensional structure of the SAI-UV. Internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha) and test-retest reliability (3-week interval) were calculated for the SAI-UV scores. The convergent validity of the SAI-UV was also verified, and sex differences were analyzed. A correlated three-factor structure was found, based on the analyzed school situations (Anxiety about Social Evaluation, Anxiety about Academic Failure, and Anxiety about Aggression). Furthermore, a three-factor structure was found for the anxiety response systems (Cognitive Anxiety, Physiological Anxiety, and Behavioral Anxiety). Internal consistency and test-retest reliability were acceptable. The correlations obtained supported the inventory’s convergent validity. As for sex differences, females obtained higher mean scores as compared to males on all of the factors. Therefore, the psychometric properties of the SAI-UV were satisfactory, determining that it has a reliable and valid inventory for the analysis of school anxiety in university students.

Examining Teaching Motivation and Classroom Practices of Public Secondary School Teachers in Ulanga Tanzania: A Self-Determination Analysis

Based on self-determination theory, this study explored how much secondary school teachers in public schools were motivated to work in their careers and how their motivation related to classroom practices. The study adopted a quantitative study design. A study recruited 70 secondary school teachers (male=36 and female=34) from different public schools who were randomly selected and involved. The questionnaire was administered to 70 teachers, and all the papers were returned positively. Teachers’ motivation was measured using the modified Work Tasks Motivation Scale for Teachers (WTMST) (Fernet C. et al., 2008). The Teachers’ classroom practices were measured using an adapted vignette-based instrument, the Situations-in-School (SIS) Questionnaire (Alterman A. et al., 2019). The score for autonomy motivation was computed by averaging the subscale of intrinsic and identified motivation, and the score for controlling motivation was calculated by averaging the subscale of introjected and external motivation. The result indicates that, to a large extent, secondary school teachers are autonomously motivated to work in their careers. It also found that teachers’ autonomy motivation allied significantly with structure (need-supportive) and control (need-depriving) classroom practices. Controlling motivation and motivation are significantly related to control and chaos (need-depriving) classroom practices. The study findings are crucial to educational stakeholders in addressing teachers' challenges to boost their motivation, which positively relates to their classroom teaching and, in turn, can affect students' performance. Conclusively, any change in the educational structure that promotes teacher motivation should result in improved levels of classroom teaching.

Navigating tensions between despair and hope - Arab teachers' perception in challenging situations in Jewish schools

Navigating tensions between despair and hope - Arab teachers' perception in challenging situations in Jewish schools

Youth Protagonism: Promoting a Culture of Peace at School Through Socio-Emotional Development

Numerous situations in schools highlight the urgency of work fo-cused on socio-emotional development. Educational institutions should incorporate subjects into their curriculum that promote a culture of peace. Schools should serve as collective environments for practicing dialogue and respecting for diversity. Method: a teamwork strategy was structured to help students learn respectful coexistence and to develop conflict-solving skills among peers. This doctoral research employed a qualitative-quantitative ap-proach, using the case study method to understand the importance of such school project. Preliminary results: this study elucidates the needs of adolescents and describes how teamwork can effectively teach peer conviviality and social skills. The final analysis of the thesis is ongoing but contributes to the argument for socio-emotional development in schools. It highlights the need to imple-ment student training projects that promote youth leadership, con-flict resolution, and a culture of peace. After the implementation of the help teams, 59% of the students recognized that the school has student teams to help resolve peer conflicts. Additionally, some students who had social difficulties increased their engagement at school throughout the project.

선택적 함구증 아동의 자기표현 향상을 위한 인간중심 미술치료 단일 사례연구

The expression of children with selective mutism extends beyond the personal dimension, causing emotional and psychological difficulties in school and social situations. Alleviating anxiety in these children is important, as it is closely related to self-expression. Based on this, our study aimed to create a human-centered art therapy program to encourage spontaneity and explore the process of self-expression through creative activities in children with selective mutism. For this purpose, we conducted a 16-session program, once a week for 60 minutes, targeting children with selective mutism. The results showed positive changes in self-expression through pre- and post-assessments and qualitative analysis. In conclusion, providing a safe environment and supportive atmosphere allowed these children to alleviate tension and anxiety, enabling them to engage in profound exploration. The art-making process facilitated external expression of inner anxiety, leading to self-discovery and self-assurance.

Prácticas y saberes docentes en torno a procesos del enseñar y el aprender en las intersecciones entre Educación Especial y Educación Rural: Un estudio con maestras/os de apoyo a la inclusión y docentes de aula en una escuela rural

In this article we address the teaching practices and knowledge that are built and displayed in the daily interrelationships between inclusion support teachers and classroom teachers in a rural school located in the northwest of the province of Chubut, Argentina. We focus on teaching practices and knowledge linked to teaching processes that, in the particularity of rurality, take place in a multigrade classroom. In the course of our study we recognize that these teaching practices and knowledge in rural education contexts account for certain intersections between rural education and special education. This study is carried out from an ethnographic (Rockwell, 2009) and dialectical relational approach (Achilli, 2005). The empirical material that is recovered and analyzed in this work is based on interviews conducted with inclusion support teachers, classroom teachers and management teams of the Center for Alternative and Complementary Services and rural schools. Also, records of observations of different school situations and the institutional work instances between teachers supporting inclusion and multigrade classroom teachers.

Examining Immediate and Sustained Effects of Check-In/Check-Out in Finnish Elementary Schools

Check-in/Check-out (CICO) behavioral support has been implemented in Finnish School-Wide Positive Behavior Interventions and Support (SWPBIS) schools to cater to students who require personalized behavior support beyond the universal level. Previous studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of CICO as a behavioral support method. However, further research is needed to investigate its effectiveness in a larger sample and to analyze the timeline for behavioral change. This study focused on 51 elementary school students in Finland, assessing their behavior at baseline and during the CICO intervention phase using two data collection methods: the Daily Report Card (DRC) and the School Situation Questionnaire (SSQ). Nonlinear growth modeling was employed to examine the effects of the intervention. The results indicated that CICO yielded significant positive effects on behavior within 1 week of initiating support. After the outcomes stabilized, the behavior change remained stable beyond the first week of the intervention. These effects were detected in both the target behavior measured with DRC and the problem behavior measured with SSQ. These findings suggest that CICO interventions produce rapid and sustained changes in behavior. Further, the effects of CICO were observed in various settings within the school environment, indicating distal outcomes.

Humanisation of the Teacher Education Curriculum and Pedagogy in South Africa: A Literature Review

A humanising curriculum cum pedagogy is an evolving terminology in the South African education space. Post-apartheid South Africa continues to struggle with her reasonably new democracy, which is still characterised by social injustice, inequity, racism, xenophobia, crime, and unemployment. A panacea for these is through a fully humanised education system. Underpinned by the Freirean humanising pedagogy theory, this review explored the state of a humanising curriculum and pedagogy in South Africa.Five search terms, "humanising curriculum", "humanising pedagogy", "humanising teacher education", "humanising andragogy", and “South Africa”, were used for the review. Journal articles, scholarly books, doctoral theses, and conference proceedings published in English and indexed in SCOPUS, EBSCO, PsyINFO, and Google Scholar formed the inclusion criteria. 29 published articles were initially identified, with only 7 articles meeting the set criteria. The review's findings and strategies for promoting a humanising teacher education curriculum and pedagogy are discussed. I surmise that a humanising curriculum and pedagogy is not fully operational in South African schools. I suggest that practical deliberative actions and efforts at enhancing its operations and manifestations be intensified to avoid making it rhetorical. It is anticipated that this paper will lead to a better understanding of and promote a humanising philosophy in teacher education that is geared towards changing the current situation in schools and equip curriculum designers and scholars, teacher educators, as well as pre-service and in-service teachers, to commit to a humanising curriculum and pedagogy in these current times. Thus, promoting a more humane philosophy and approach in the South African teacher education curriculum and pedagogy could be the first step in this transformation.

The association of schooling, sibling life situation, and dietary habits with the estimated 24-h urinary salt excretion and sodium-to-potassium ratio in 3-year-old children

ABSTRACT Objectives We examined the association of schooling, sibling life situation, and dietary habits with the estimated 24-h urinary salt excretion and the urinary sodium-to-potassium (Na/K) ratio in 3-year-old children. Methods The subjects were 639 children who underwent a health checkup in four cities and towns in Kyoto Prefecture from January to November 2019. The children’s parents answered questionnaires about weekday childcare places, the birth order, and the awareness of reducing the salt intake. The questions on food intake frequency included 10 items. The estimated 24-h salt excretion and Na/K ratio were calculated from the participants’ first voiding urine in the morning. Results Data were available for 294 children. The median (interquartile range (IQR)) of salt excretion (g/day) was 2.6 (1.7–3.4), and urinary Na/K ratio (mmol ratio) was 2.6 (1.6–4.1). Multinomial logistic regression analysis showed that the group with older siblings was significantly associated with high salt (odds ratio 1.89 (95% confidence interval 1.04 to 3.46)). In the urinary Na/K ratio, the nursery group had a significantly lower Na/K (odds ratio 0.32 (0.17 to 0.60)). High processed meat products intake was associated with a higher Na/K (odds ratio 1.96 (1.05–3.66)), whereas high vegetable intake was associated with a lower Na/K (odds ratio 0.45 (0.23–0.87)). Other factors showed no significant associations. Conclusions In Japanese 3-year-old children, the estimated 24-h urinary salt excretion was associated with older siblings, and the urinary Na/K ratios were associated with schooling situation and the intake of processed meat products and vegetables.

A Sustainable Vision for Technical Education 4.0 of Post COVID-19

The impacts of industry 4.0 have been reflected in education around the world as countries compete to formulate educational policies based on innovation and digitization in order to adapt to the IR 4.0. In this regard, a new approach to technical education 4.0 has been formulated. It seeks to integrate technical education with the technology developments that define the Industrial Revolution 4.0, emphasizing the importance of this alignment in promoting sustainable economic growth and fostering inclusive development. The paper highlights the strategies and techniques implemented in the design of technical education 4.0 school buildings, arriving at legislative and design recommendations for creating school buildings that are compatible with sustainable education, meet the needs of industry 4.0 building practices, and are supported by modern technologies. By using an integrated approach in terms of new design needs and new education needs that adapt to modern pandemics and prevent any diseases in the future, this research aims to present a new model for technical education 4.0 in the pandemic era in line with the sustainable development goals in the Education Strategy 2030. This study discusses the problems existing in the current situation of technical education schools in Egypt and comes up with a new model that is compatible with new design and educational needs. It is structured using new design strategies for technical education 4.0 schools based on design patterns for 21st century schools that meet industry 4.0 needs and address the COVID-19 pandemic.

A Chinese Perspective on Online Gaming Usage and its Impact on Students' Attitudes Toward Learning

In the context of the digital era, online games have become part of the daily life of Chinese middle school students, affecting not only their academic performance and social activities but also significantly influencing their attitudes toward learning. Starting from the current situation of secondary schools in China, this review analyzes online gaming usage, the industry development trend, the cognitive and psychological impact on adolescents, the social impact, and the role of parental involvement and supervision, and explores the impact of online gaming usage on secondary school students' attitudes toward learning. This academic review help educators, parents, and policymakers design interventions that facilitate proper modulation between gaming and academics to promote healthier developmental pathways among middle school students.

Rurális iskolák helyzete: szakmai munkák a székelyföldi térségben

This study presents the analytical professional works on the situation of rural schools in Szeklerland, their repositioning possibilities and limitations. Its aim is to provide a comprehensive review of the collected professional works, to identify common themes, trends and results in order to provide an overview of the situation of rural schools in Szeklerland and their repositioning potential.

Essential(ly forgotten) workers: Latine youth farmworkers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Essential workers across multiple industries faced a disproportionate burden of morbidity and mortality during the COVID-19 pandemic. The effects were especially severe for agricultural and food processing workers, many of whom are members of the structurally vulnerable Latine community. Under current U.S. federal laws, children under 12 years old can legally work in agriculture, one of the most hazardous U.S. industries. Many of these working youth are Latine and experience health and educational inequities. Using a community-based participatory research approach and a qualitative design, we conducted semi-structured in-depth interviews in North Carolina in 2022, with service providers in health, education, and advocacy fields (n = 10) and Latine youth farmworkers aged 10-17 (n = 24). We used participatory qualitative analysis methods and a reflexive thematic analysis to understand and describe the work experiences of these youth during the first 2 years of the pandemic. Amidst precarious economic and school situations exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, many youths described an increased need to work to support their families. While aware and sometimes fearful of the added occupational health risks of COVID-19, youth and their families felt they had few other options. Service providers and youth described minimal employer-provided safety protocols or equipment, yet some workers organized their own attempts at safety protocols. Youth narratives imply limited knowledge of basic workplace safety requirements. Study findings emphasize the urgent need to address structural vulnerabilities shaping workplace policies and norms to protect Latine youth farmworkers to support their healthy development.

Educational Leadership and Learners’ Academic Achievement in Secondary Schools in Developing Countries: A Critical Review

The study explored three leadership styles in education for students’ academic achievement in secondary schools viz: democratic, laissez-faire and autocratic leadership styles in developing countries. The main crux of the study was examining the impact of heads of schools' leadership towards academic achievement of secondary schools’ students and recommending the most effective leadership style for heads. In-depth study of heads of schools' leadership styles to students’ academic achievement through systematic review of previous related literature was conducted. The study used qualitative method to analyse 49 published documents of which 5 were books published from 2002 to 2023 and 44 were papers published from 2006 to 2023 years. This study was confined in the following sample of countries Nigeria, Ghana, Tanzania, Kenya and South Africa. Also, supplementary papers from Kuwait and USA were reviewed to study more how leadership in education is done. The findings showed that no single leadership style in educational context fits all schools’ environments. Moreover, it was shown that most heads of schools prefer the use of the democratic type of leadership style which does not fit all schools’ environments. The studies revealed that educational situations differ, thus the leadership style chosen should rely on the school situation. The current study recommends some effective measures for leadership development of secondary schools’ heads.

Peran Kesetaraan Gender dalam Kemampuan Kepemimpinan Siswa di Sekolah Dasar

Student leadership is one of the student abilities that need to be developed. This research is motivated by the low leadership ability of female students because they are not given the opportunity to lead equally with male students. This study aims to determine students' leadership abilities, understanding of student gender equality and gender equality analysis of student leadership abilities. The approach used in this research is a qualitative approach with descriptive methods. The subjects of this research are students, principals and teachers. The techniques used in this research are observation and interview. The results showed that the understanding of gender equality is characterised by the situation in schools that provide equal access, participation, control and benefits for male and female students. Likewise, the leadership skills of students who have the ability to lead proficiently, student leadership skills are facilitated through the habituation of routine activities at school even though the school does not yet have a special programme for leadership. By creating a gender-responsive space, male and female students can optimise their leadership skills that will be useful for their future lives.

Situated Readiness and Transformation of Learning Across Situations and Settings

This short paper introduces the concept of Situated Readiness as a set of skills and dispositions required to participate meaningfully across settings and situations, seeing them as networked and intertwined. Following earlier work within the field, networked learning is here understood as learners' connecting of contexts in which they participate, and as their resituation of knowledge and ways of acting across these contexts (Dohn, 2014). The development of the concept of Situated Readiness is based on a conducted study using a Design-Based Research (DBR) approach to investigate, how student teachers at a Danish Teacher Education Program (TEP) transformed knowledge and ways of participation when transitioning between a course and a public-school class. The findings of the study indicate the needs of socio-epistemic skills and dispositions that enable students to resituate, utilise and transform knowledge from known social contexts to new ones e.g. from a learning situation at the TEP to novel situations in school. Situated Readiness is, in this sense, the ability to attune to the specific social and epistemic requirements and demands, also termed "requirement characteristics", pertaining in these new contexts. To aid the analysis of the skills needed to engage in networked situations, an analytical framework of context levels is presented. The framework points out how requirement characteristics at three interacting levels are posed on the learner. The three levels: 1) the life-setting, 2) the activity-internal level and 3) the domain-internal level form a complex whole and as a learner acting competently in a situation, consists of the ability to respond accordingly to this complex whole. The findings of the DBR study points at challenges towards students’ transformation of knowledge between the two settings, suggesting that the development of Situated Readiness on the learners behalf requires educators to design for learning opportunities, that take into account, how settings and situations are networked and that students are given opportunities and support to recognise these temporally connections as part of their learning trajectories. The lack of explicit articulation of the sameness and differences between the setting leaves the students to realize and attune to these by themselves, which the study shows, is a major challenge to students, who have limited experiences with teaching in practice.