Suburban Elementary Research Articles

Developing Teachers’ Professionalism through School Initiative-Based Lesson Study

<p style="text-align:justify">The implementation of Lesson Study (LS) varies considerably across countries and institutions and is still in a phase of adaptation and experimentation. This article explains the result and the process of a school-based initiative endeavor to implement LS at a suburban elementary in Padang, Indonesia. The study involved 13 teachers, the principal and 6 classes of students. The data were collected through observation and interview. They were classified on the basis of three noticeable emerging themes- teacher collaboration, scaffolding, and reflection. The data were analyzed qualitatively. The results of data analysis reveal a promising improvement in these aspects. Implementing school- support LS increased by weaving the concept into practice helped teachers develop their professionalism gradually. It was obvious that the teachers felt more at ease to work collaboratively when they designed the lesson. This also affected their design which showed more meaningful learning activities and challenging tasks. Then, the teachers improved the way they scaffolded the pupils. The content of reflection and the way the results of reflection were conveyed became better. The principal’s support and the teachers’ strong willingness to elevate their quality apparently took an important role. In spite of that, there were some challenges in carrying out collaboration, providing appropriate scaffolding, and doing reflection. Changing the teachers’ common practice to LS apparently needs some adjustment and time.</p>

Characteristics and Health Risks of Particulate Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons and Nitro-polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons at Urban and Suburban Elementary Schools in Shanghai, China

PM2.1 was collected at urban and suburban elementary schools in Shanghai during two sampling periods in cold and warm seasons in 2007. Nine polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and ten nitro-polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (NPAHs) in PM2.1 were determined. During both seasons, the concentrations of PAHs and NPAHs at urban and suburban schools were not significantly different(p >0.05) and were higher in the cold period than in the warm period. According to the diagnostic ratios, PAHs and NPAHs at both schools were subject to the mixed effects of vehicle emission and coal combustion during both periods. Moreover, the results of the backward trajectory showed that PAHs and NPAHs were more susceptible to external polluted air masses in the cold period. At both urban and suburban schools, the inhalation cancer risk of PAHs and NPAHs in PM2.1 for children during elementary period was dozens of times of the acceptable risk level regulated by the U.S.EPA, highlighting the adverse impact of exposure to PAHs and NPAHs on the healthy development of children.

The Effect of Conservation Knowledge on Attitudes and Stated Behaviors toward Arthropods of Urban and Suburban Elementary School Students

ABSTRACTArthropods provide ecosystem services upon which humans depend, yet are declining across the globe. Arthropods are neglected from conservation efforts due to many factors that include a lack of understanding of their roles and conservation need. Knowledge gain of arthropod roles could therefore increase support for their conservation, albeit indirectly through attitude changes. Evidence suggests knowledge and attitudes are more highly correlated in children and that environmental attitudes are shaped before age 12 years. Differences in the connection between knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors toward arthropods may also be different in children from different cultures or from urban versus rural locations due to varying experiences with arthropods. We sought to understand if different types of knowledge increased positive attitudes and stated conservation-based behaviors toward insects in children in both urban and suburban schools. We conducted either a basic biology lesson or a conservation lesson on ecosystem services in both urban and suburban 4th and 5th grade classes, and used pre- and post-questionnaires to detect changes in knowledge, attitudes, and stated behavior toward arthropods. We found that urban students had significantly lower knowledge of, less positive attitudes toward, and fewer stated conservation behaviors toward arthropods but also exhibited the greatest positive changes when presented the conservation-based lesson. In addition, we found that being able to identify the type of arthropod correctly was related to more positive attitudes and stated behaviors. Finally, we found that while attitudes did not change toward some species, stated conservation behaviors did increase with knowledge of the arthropod’s role in the ecosystem. Education in urban schools, with a focus on both distinguishing arthropods as well as ecosystem services, provides the most change per effort for conservation. Arthropod lessons could be done by local professors and undergraduate students in urban classrooms or local green spaces.

The Effect of an Active Transport to School Intervention at a Suburban Elementary School

BackgroundMany children do not meet physical activity (PA) guidelines. One strategy that may enhance PA is to increase active transport to school (ATS) rates.PurposeTo assess the effects of an ATS intervention.MethodsA quasi-experimental design was used to compare ATS and vehicle traffic rates at a school that participated in a statewide event (Nevada Moves Day [NMD]) with those of a control school. Schools were matched on enrollment, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and neighborhood street patterns. Data collection occurred one week before, on NMD, and one week later. Children using ATS and motor vehicles were counted by university students.ResultsPre-intervention ATS rates were statistically similar at the intervention (10.3%) and control schools (7.8%; P>.05). On the NMD, ATS increased to 17.9% at the intervention school and was 7.0% (P < .001) at the control school. One week later, ATS rates returned to baseline levels at both schools. The intervention had no effect on motor vehicle traffic.DiscussionA one-day intervention increased ATS rates, but the effect was ephemeral.Translation to Health Education PracticeTo institutionalize increases in ATS rates, intervention strategies in addition to a one-day event will likely be required.

Volatile Organic Compound Exposure of Suburban Elementary Students in Taiwan

Occupational studies indicate that exposure to highlevel benzene can result in a leukemogenic effect (International Agency for Research on Cancer [IARC], 1982; IARC, 1987). In fact, the health effects of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) include immune effects (e.g., asthma and allergy), cellular effects (e.g., cancer), cardiovascular effects, neurogenic and sensory effects, and some respiratory effects other than immunologic effects (Molhave, 2003). Besides industries and occupational sources, VOCs can be released from various sources including vehicles, environmental tobacco smokes, personal laser printers, and the like (Hsu et al., 2005; Molhave, 2003). Versatile sources of VOCs probably lead to the larger uncertainties when personal exposure is estimated on the basis of source intensity. Thus, personal sampling and biomarker measurements are used for accurate determination of personal exposure to toxic substances. Studies on personal exposure to VOCs by personal sampling have been reported extensively in recent decades (Edward et al., 2001; Han and Naeher, 2006; Kim et al., 2002; Kinney et al., 2002; Ortiz et al., 2002). However, most studies have focused on the adult population or commuters. Children are considered more susceptible to hazardous pollutants (Aprea et al., 2000; Guzelian et al., 1992). Thus the concern about the relationship between children’s exposure to chemicals and their adverse health effects has been growing (Pearson et al., 2000). Automobile exhaust is reported to be associated possibly with childhood cancers including leukemia (Pearson et al., 2000). In Taiwan, no personal VOC exposure data on children are available to date. Additionally, the reported personal VOC exposure of commuters was much higher than for those in other counties (Chan et al., 1994; Kuo et al., 2000). This study therefore aimed to collect personal samples of elementary students for estimation of their current environmental VOC burden so their health can be further protected with appropriate measures.

Volatile Organic Compound Exposure of Suburban Elementary Students in Taiwan

Volatile Organic Compound Exposure of Suburban Elementary Students in Taiwan

An Analysis of Parents Segmentation at a Public School : A Case Study of the Suburban Elementary School

An Analysis of Parents Segmentation at a Public School : A Case Study of the Suburban Elementary School

Prevalence of Active Commuting at Urban and Suburban Elementary Schools in Columbia, SC

We directly observed the prevalence of walking and bicycling (active commuting) to 8 randomly selected urban and suburban elementary schools. When school was used as the unit of analysis, only 5.0% of the students actively commuted to or from school across all observed trips. Active commuting was not affected (P >/=; 18) by school urbanization level, school socioeconomic status, time of day, day of week, weather conditions, or temperature. These results indicate a need for school- and community-based interventions.

General Education Teachers' Perceptions of the Prereferral Intervention Team Process

Little information is available about teachers' perceptions of the prereferral intervention team (PIT) process. This ethnographic study examined the perceptions of 12 kindergarten through fourth-grade teachers as they progressed through the PIT process in two western New York suburban elementary schools. Data from interviews and observations suggest that teachers disengaged from the process in response to team behaviors at three critical points. Teachers disengaged when the team (a) devalued or ignored teachers' input; (b) responded to referrals with limited, vague, or irrelevant interventions; or (c) exhibited little accountability or follow-up after PIT meetings. Teachers either withdrew actually by not referring other students or functionally by failing to engage in active problem solving, clarify recommendations enough to implement them, challenge unacceptable outcomes, or implement some or all of the recommendations. We present a hypothesized model of teacher engagement in the PIT process and discuss implications for practice and research.

米国の郊外立地型の小学校建築の変遷と今日的状況 : 米国の学校建築に関する研究

米国の郊外立地型の小学校建築の変遷と今日的状況 : 米国の学校建築に関する研究

Disordered eating patterns, body image, self-esteem, and physical activity in preadolescent school children.

Eating disorders have been typically defined as an "adolescent problem." As a result of emerging evidence which indicated this health problem to be evident in the prepubescent age range, this study aimed to establish prevalence and factors associated with eating/dieting, physical activity, and body image among a nonclinical, naturalistically-derived sample of preadolescent (aged 10 and 11) school children (n = 61). This cohort of children, which represented the entire grade 6 class of a suburban Elementary school, was measured for body image satisfaction [silhouettes], a participation in activity index, a self-worth scale and a measure of eating attitudes & behavior [Eating and Me scale [E & M]]. The longitudinal assessment of body image [3 measures over 9 months] indicated signs of stability of "actual" assessments of body image for males, but marked changes for females who preferred to be ideally "chunkier" in stature over time. Physical activity was only implicated with bulimia for the male sub-group. The E & M scale reported a Cronbach's alpha of .76, with two factors [bulimia; drive for thinness/anorexia] representing 65% of the total variance. Moderate internal validity [r .58] between body dissatisfaction on the E & M scale and the silhouette measure was observed. These results demonstrated that body image views and concerns appeared before puberty, that gender differences prevailed with respect to eating/dieting, activity and body image, and that the E & M scale has emerged as a promising research tool. The longitudinal nature of this study of eating disorders also promotes the need for qualitative research methodology and attention to pre-pubertal cognitive/perceptual processes.

Comparison of Scores of Bilingual Urban and Monolingual Suburban Elementary School Children for Two Measures of Intelligence

The comparability of scores from a bilingual (L1 = Spanish and L2 = English) sample and a monolingual (L1 = English) sample was assessed. The former sample showed significantly lower scores on the Wechsler Intelligence Scale—Revised than the latter, but no significant difference on another measure of intelligence using a more culture-fair test, the Raven's Coloured Progressive Matrices. Differences in the WISC—R scores may be attributed to the manner in which the individual is motivated for these tests by the examiner but was not associated with a measure of anxiety.

Perceived Career Incentives of Suburban Elementary School Principals

While school reform literature calls attention to incentives for teachers, little research or policy making has focused on school administrators′ incentives. Career incentives perceived by a sample of elementary school principals and the influence of career background on those incentives are examined. It was found, using both qualitative and quantitative methods of analysis, that principals perceive their career as having economic, ancillary and task‐related rewards. However, principals varied in the kinds of incentives they preferred and the nature of their future goals. Principals who have moved among several school districts in their administrative careers are more likely to be satisfied and to emphasise incentives, such as contact with school constituencies, which come from staying in the principalship. In contrast, principals who have remained in the same district throughout their administrative careers are more likely to prefer those incentives which advancement to central office can offer.

Verbal Behavior Differences between Inner-City and Suburban Elementary Teachers

Verbal Behavior Differences between Inner-City and Suburban Elementary Teachers