Suburban School Students Research Articles

Evaluating a school-based science program that teaches the physiological effects of nicotine

School-based drug prevention programs represent a widely endorsed public health goal, with an important aspect of knowledge-based curricula being education about the physiological effects of drugs. Nicotine is one of the world’s most addictive substances and in this program we have used nicotine-induced mammalian-like behaviors in flatworms called planarians to successfully teach students (4th-12th grade; n = 1,616 students) about the physiological and addictive effects of nicotine. An initial study tested the change in knowledge about addictive substances in 6th-12th grade students after they completed a lab examining the effects of two concentrations of nicotine on the number of stereotypies (C-shaped spasms) planarians demonstrate in a 5-minute period of time. Lab discussion focused on developing and testing hypotheses, measurement reliability, and mechanisms of nicotine action. Surveys given pre- and post-lab experience showed that 6th grade students have significantly lower knowledge about nicotine than 7th-12th grade students (6th grade: 40.65 ± 0.78% correct, 7th-12th grade: 59.29 ± 1.71%, p < 0.001) pre-lab, but that students in all grades showed a significant increase in knowledge post-lab (p < 0.001). In 6th grade the lab was effective in improving knowledge about nicotine in urban, suburban and rural schools, p < 0.001, with students in suburban schools showing significantly greater knowledge both pre-test (urban: 37.62 ± 1.45%; suburban: 48.78 ± 1.62%; rural: 37.33 ± 0.99%; p < 0.001) and post-test (urban:60.60 ± 1.85%; suburban: 67.54 ± 1.82%; urban: 61.66 ± 1.18%; p < 0.001).A second study, modifying the lab so that the time spent observing the planarians is reduced to a 1-minute period, showed that students in both 4th and 5th grades had a significant increase in knowledge about the physiological and addictive effects of nicotine post-lab (p < 0.001).

Students’ Perception and Readiness on School-Based Assessment

School-Based Assessment (SBA) was implemented in Malaysia in stages, starting with form one secondary school students in 2012. After a few years of implementation, the SBA has raised many concerns among educational practitioners nationwide. Previous studies highlighted several implications due to perception and readiness of the stakeholders, leaving much room for improvement of SBA implementation in several countries. Hence, this study was conducted to investigate students’ perception and readiness concerning the SBA implementation. The survey study was conducted among 336 lower secondary school students located in different geographical areas. The data were collected using questionnaire and were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The result indicates that the students have moderate perception and readiness for SBA, and there is no difference between urban and suburban school students. It has been found that students were not serious when faced with SBA assessment components and not well prepared for continuous assessment. The implication is that students in form one in secondary school should be well informed of the SBA system implementation, so that they understand the impact of SBA on their final grade. Generally, the implementation of SBA throughout of the schooling system will benefit the students and the country development, but must through a careful planning. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2016.v7n6p189

Study on Current Levels of Physical Activity and Sedentary Behavior among Middle School Students in Beijing, China.

IntroductionThis study aimed to determine current levels of physical activity and sedentary behavior in middle school students on the basis of grade, sex, student attitudes toward physical education, and residence location.MethodsIn 2013, a cross-sectional study of 1793 students aged 12 to 15 years was conducted across eight middle schools in Beijing, China. Four schools were selected from an urban district and another four schools were from a suburban district. Physical activity and sedentary behavior data were collected using the commonly used school-based Chinese version of the China Health and Nutrition Survey.ResultsThe mean age of sampled students was 13.3±1.0 years; 51.5% were boys. Approximately 76.6% of students reported having three 45-minute physical education classes every week. A total of 35.6% students spent ≥1 h/day performing moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) during school, and 34.9% spent ≥1 h/day in MVPA outside school time. Approximately half (49.7%) of the students engaged in reading, writing, or drawing for ≥2 h/day, and 42.9% reported screen time for ≥2 h/day. Although boys spent more time engaged in physical activity than girls did, they also spent more time exhibiting sedentary behavior. Each 10-unit increase in attitudes toward physical education was associated with an increased odds of 1.15 (95%CI: 1.09–1.20) for spending more than 1 h/day on MVPA. Students in suburban schools reported engaging in physical activity less when compared with those in urban schools.ConclusionThe majority of our students did not meet the current physical activity recommendations, and about half of the students spent excessive time engaging in sedentary behaviors. Findings from this study highlight a positive association between student attitudes toward physical education and physical activity. Studies are needed to further explore the role of student attitudes toward physical education in promoting physical activity among Chinese students.

“Give a Brotha a Break!”: The Experiences and Dilemmas of Middle-Class African American Male Students in White Suburban Schools

Background/Context Today, in the era of the first African American president, approximately one third of all African Americans live in suburban communities, and their children are attending suburban schools. Although most research on the education of African American students, particularly males, focuses on their plight in urban schooling, what occurs in suburban schools is also in need of examination. Purpose/Focus of Study This research focused on the lived experiences of 4 middle-class African American male students attending affluent White suburban schools. Through vignettes focusing on their various experiences and recollections, this study provides a preliminary snapshot, part of a larger study, of the schooling environments in the life stories of middle-class Black suburban youth. Research Design Qualitative methodology was used to explore the life histories of the 4 African American males. Each student participated in a tape-recorded interview to examine what it meant to grow up in White upper-middle-class suburban communities and to matriculate within suburban district schools from elementary through high school. Findings/Results The salient themes that emerged from the rich, interactive conversations and dialoguing address issues related to disillusionment and resilience; the presence or absence of racism; academic pressures; social bonding and identity development in racialized social and academic settings; and the gatekeeping role of athletics. Conclusions/Recommendations Suburban education may not be the panacea that African American families had hoped. The socioeconomic status of African American families who live in affluent White suburban communities may not be enough to mitigate against the situated “otherness” that Black students—in this case, males—experienced in affluent White suburban schools. More research is needed to understand the positionality of Black male students in suburban schools; relationships between suburban Black adolescent males and females; school life beyond athletics; the role of the family and community in combating racism and otherness; and how student agency can be a force for change.

The status on the level of environmental awareness in the concept of sustainable development amongst secondary school students

This paper aims to identify the status on the level of environmental awareness in the concept of sustainable development among secondary school students. The survey was conducted on 340 respondents (n=340) of Form Four and Form Five students from urban and suburban area in the district of Hulu Langat, Selangor (Bandar Baru Bangi and Mukim Hulu Langat). Dependents variables were the level of environmental awareness in the concept of sustainable development and practices, attitudes and moral values for sustainability. Independent variables on the demographic factors were gender, types of subject streaming, and school locations. The research instrument used was the questionnaire, using Likert scale. Methods of analyzing data were descriptive, t-test, Pearson correlation using SPSS software ver. 11.5. Research outcomes showed that secondary school students had “high level” of environmental awareness in the concept of sustainable development. The t-test analysis showed significant differences on the significant level of 95% (p<0.05). It indicated that the level of environmental awareness for the (i) female students were “higher” than the male students, (ii) science stream students were “higher” than the arts stream students, and the (iii) urban school students were “higher” than suburban school students. The Pearson correlation showed that there was positive but weak relationship between the level of environmental awareness in the concept of sustainable development and the practices, attitudes and moral values of sustainability. The research also revealed the three classifications of concepts for environmental awareness were emotional, attitude, and practices of sustainability awareness.

Instructional Uses of Computers for Writing: The Effect of State Testing Programs

Over the past two decades, the presence and use of technology in the workplace and in schools has increased dramatically. At the same time, the importance of test-based educational accountability has also increased. Currently, formal testing programs are used in 49 states. Some observers have raised concerns that the testing programs that make high-stakes decisions about students and/or schools have adverse impact on instructional practices. This study examines the extent to which teachers believe they are modifying instructional uses of computers for writing in response to state testing programs. Through a national survey of teachers, the study finds that a substantial percentage of teachers believe they are decreasing instructional uses of computers for writing as a result of paper-based state tests. This study also reports that computing skills of students in urban and poor performing schools are reported by teachers to be less developed than students in suburban schools. The combined effect is that those students who most need opportunities to develop skills in using computers for writing in school may not be acquiring those opportunities as a result of teachers’ responses to paper-based state tests.

Instructional Uses of Computers for Writing: The Effect of State Testing Programs

Over the past two decades, the presence and use of technology in the workplace and in schools has increased dramatically. At the same time, the importance of test-based educational accountability has also increased. Currently, formal testing programs are used in 49 states. Some observers have raised concerns that the testing programs that make high-stakes decisions about students and/or schools have adverse impact on instructional practices. This study examines the extent to which teachers believe they are modifying instructional uses of computers for writing in response to state testing programs. Through a national survey of teachers, the study finds that a substantial percentage of teachers believe they are decreasing instructional uses of computers for writing as a result of paper-based state tests. This study also reports that computing skills of students in urban and poor performing schools are reported by teachers to be less developed than students in suburban schools. The combined effect is that those students who most need opportunities to develop skills in using computers for writing in school may not be acquiring those opportunities as a result of teachers’ responses to paper-based state tests.

The Status of Science Classroom Learning Environments in Indonesian Lower Secondary Schools

This study reports cross-validation results for an Indonesian-language version of a modified form of the What Is Happening In this Class?(WIHIC) questionnaire and its use in investigating the nature of science classroom learning environments in Indonesian lower secondary schools. Following administration of the WIHIC to approximately 1400 students and their teachers in 16 schools, the study led to five assertions. First, the study confirmed that the Indonesian version of the modified WIHIC is a valid and reliable instrument for measuring the classroom learning environment in the Indonesian educational context. Second, there were significant differences between students' perceptions of the actual and preferred learning environment, with students tending to prefer a more favourable classroom learning environment than the one which they actually experienced. Third, female students generally held slightly more positive perceptions of both actual and preferred learning environments. Fourth, students held less favourable perceptions of both actual and preferred learning environments than did their teachers. Finally, there were significant differences in students' perceptions of the actual classroom learning environment depending on the schools' locality, with students in rural schools holding less favourable perceptions than students in urban and suburban schools for all seven WIHIC scales. Students in urban and suburban schools perceived their classroom environments similarly with the exception that students in urban schools perceived greater cooperation and less teacher support than did students in suburban schools.

Measuring Change in Students' Attitudes Toward Science Over Time: An Application of Latent Variable Growth Modeling

The purpose of this paper is to show how latent variable growth modeling can be utilized to examine change in students' attitudes toward science over the middle and high school years using data from the Longitudinal Study of American Youth (Miller, Hoffer, Suchner, Brown, & Nelson, 1992).The results of the present study show that students' attitudes toward science generally decline over the middle and high school years. Science self-concept was found to be the strongest predictor of attitudes toward science. Teacher encouragement of science and peer attitudes are also significant predictors of students' attitudes. The effect of the parent variable was found to be quite small and statistically nonsignificant, with the exception of the seventh grade. Boys were found to have higher initial status on attitudes toward science and their attitudes dropped faster than girls. Also it was found that students in metropolitan and rural schools have less positive attitudes toward science in the seventh grade compared to students in suburban schools. Latent variable growth modeling allows one to examine change in attitudes and also examine the effects of time-varying and time-invariant predictors. Substantive and methodological implications of this technique are also discussed.

Achievement Disparities Between Minority and Nonminority Students in Suburban Schools

National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) data on reading provide one means for examining and comparing the performance of minority and nonminority suburban-type communities. In the present study, we made use of NAEP computer tapes pertaining to reading proficiency scores of 13-year-olds public schools metropolitan communities (which the NAEP also designates as 1advantaged-urban) or those in or around cities having a population greater than 200,000, where a high proportion of the residents are professional or managerial positions (Applebee et al., 1988). We also utilized additional data from individual school districts that have reported discrepancies the of minority and nonminority suburban school districts. Table I shows reading proficiency scores for 1986 of African American, Hispanic, and non-Hispanic White' 13-year-olds such metropolitan suburban communities. African American and Hispanic 13-yearolds whose parents had attended college had average reading proficiency scores 16 and 13 points, respectively, below the average for comparable White students. The scores for the two minority groups were nearly half a standard deviation below the score for the White group. In a publication focusing entirely on issues involving disparities the performance of minority and nonminority large school districts, Frankel (1988) described how district officials of the Montgomery County (MD) Public Schools identified improvement the achievement and participation of Black and Hispanic students as one of their highest priority goals. The county initiated several school improvement efforts, including a planning process which requires each school to develop annual action plans as well as external review and monitoring arrangements focused partly on improving minority student achievement. As a result, the average performance of African American