Voluntary School Research Articles

The effect of obligatory versus voluntary school food standard implementation on the fulfillment of the school food standard requirements in Germany

BackgroundIn high income countries there is increased focus on health- and sustainability aspects concerning school feeding. To ensure this in Germany, a school food standard (SFS) was established. Implementation of the SFS is mandatory only in some federal states and has remained voluntary in others. The aim of this first exploratory study is to analyze school lunch menus regarding their fulfillment of the SFS requirements and detect differences between obligatory and voluntary implementation of the SFS. MethodsAfter drawing a random sample of schools and reaching out for voluntary participation in this study, school menus of federal states with obligatory (OSFS) and voluntary (VSFS) SFS implementation were collected and analyzed. The SFS criteria are based on the conditions observed in the menu for a four-week mixed diet menu, an ovo-lacto-vegetarian dish, additional criteria for menu planning and menu criteria. In addition, we estimated binominal logistic regression models and two-step multiple regression models to control for the effects of geographical factors and socioeconomic status to the fulfillment of the SFS criteria. ResultsWe assessed 48 menus from OSFS federal states and 102 menus from VSFS federal states. OFSF menus met the requirements to a higher extent and exhibited a better dietary pattern. School food-standardized meals included significantly less breaded and deep-fried components (96 % vs. 79 %, p = 0.009), contained more whole grain products (83 % vs. 30 %, p < 0.001) and fewer meat products (60 % vs. 25 %, p < 0.001), more fruits (81 % vs. 63 %, p = 0.023) and more vegetables, legumes and salad (85 % vs. 61 %, p = 0.002). Menus with SFS obligation emphasized nutrient optimized menus significantly more frequently (42 % vs. 28 %, p < 0.001) and used unambiguous designations of meals more often (96 % vs. 82 %, p = 0.023). They contain more regional products (33 % vs. 13 %, p = 0.003), more organic products (71 % vs. 41 %, p < 0.001) and meat from animal friendly husbandry (21 % vs. 7 %, p = 0.012). The effects of the covariates were rarely significant. ConclusionSchool menus with obligatory use of the SFS met the requirements to a greater extent and contain healthier and sustainable food components more frequently. Nevertheless, results show that even in federal states with obligational use, the standard implementation is not fulfilled completely. Further research is needed to detect barriers in the daily implementation of the SFS.

Busing to Opportunity? The Impacts of the Metco Voluntary School Desegregation Program on Urban Students of Color

Busing to Opportunity? The Impacts of the Metco Voluntary School Desegregation Program on Urban Students of Color

Busing to Opportunity? The Impacts of the Metco Voluntary School Desegregation Program on Urban Students of Color

Busing to Opportunity? The Impacts of the Metco Voluntary School Desegregation Program on Urban Students of Color

School Principals Technological Leadership Self-Efficacies and 21st Century Teacher Skills

This research aims to explore the technological leadership self-efficacy (TLS) of school principals and their use of 21st-century teacher skills (CTS). Furthermore, the study investigates potential variations in self-efficacy and teacher skills among school principals based on certain variables, including gender, administrative seniority, teaching seniority, education status, participation in in-service training on information technologies, and daily average internet use. The research employs a correlational survey model, a quantitative methodology, to scrutinize the interplay between school principals' TLS and their proficiency in 21st CTS. The study encompasses 102 voluntary school principals employed in public schools during the 2021-2022 academic year as participants. Three data collection instruments are utilized within the study. The data analysis involves descriptive statistics, t-tests for unrelated samples, ANOVA, Pearson correlation analysis, and regression analysis. The research findings indicate that the mean scores for school principals' TLS and their use of 21st CTS are notably high. A moderate, positive, and statistically significant correlation is observed between school principals' technological leadership self-efficacy and their utilization of 21st CTS. Additionally, it is deduced that school principals' 21st CTS significantly predict their TLS. Seminars could be considered to enhance the competencies of school principals in adapting to changing learning-teaching environments driven by technology.

Παραγωγή Εκπαιδευτικού Υλικού με Εφαρμογές της Αλληλεπιδραστικής Βιβλιοθεραπείας σε Πολυπολιτισμικές Ομάδες

Bibliotherapy is the personal development or personal problem solving through reading. It is suitable for every individual or group of any age and ability. Bibliotherapy can be divided into clinical-remediate or preventive-developmental and into self-helping or interactive bibliotherapy. During an educational intervention in an immigrants’ voluntary school in the city of Volos, I used pre-designed bibliotherapeutic teaching equipment (e.g. excerpts from appropriate literature, issues for discussion and activities) in order to facilitate female immigrant mature students who are occupied as domestic workers in Greece to externalize their emotions. The material from this educational intervention formed the corpus for a case study – qualitative research. The domestic workers who participated in five bibliotherapeutic sessions seemed to prefer a non-fiction, informational book about problems at work and in social life rather than a fiction book. Nevertheless, we claim that through literature they may gain some emotional benefits, as they tend to identify themselves with the hero and they eventually develop empathy, a realistic view of their problems in life, as well as a more dynamic attitude regarding social demands and decision making.

Impact of School Closure Due to COVID-19 on the Social-Emotional Skills of Japanese Pre-school Children.

Objective: This study examines the impact on the social-emotional skills of Japanese pre-school children from downsizing of school activities in conjunction with voluntary school closures due to the first wave of COVID-19, in 2020.Methods: Participants included 32 children aged 4–5 years old from three pre-schools in Tokyo, Japan, where strict lockdown was not implemented and voluntary school closure was recommended. Child social-emotional skills was assessed by classroom teachers using Devereux Student Strengths Assessment mini (DESSA-mini) three times: November 2019, January 2020 (before the COVID-19), and March 2020 (during the first COVID-19 wave). All pre-schools implemented voluntary school closures from March 2nd, and two schools (school A and B) canceled school recitals, while one school (school C) allowed for it to be held on March 4th, with precautions in place to prevent the spread of infection. Repeated measures ANOVA were performed to examine the difference between the T scores of the DESSA-mini three pre-schools before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.Results: In school C, children showed stable T scores of the DESSA-mini, whereas children in school A and B showed lower T scores of the DESSA-mini during COVID-19 than before it started. The interaction effects between time and pre-schools were found (F = 7.05, p < 0.001).Conclusion: Our findings suggest that school recitals in pre-schools were important to maintaining children's social-emotional skills during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Voluntary school fees in segregated public schools: how selective public schools turbo-charge inequity and funding gaps

ABSTRACT Parent-generated revenue in public schools, in the form of fee-giving or fundraising, is fast developing as a robust source of financial revenue for public schools in OECD countries. In this paper we draw on a comprehensive empirical dataset of parent-generated financial revenue for public schools located in New South Wales, Australia. We draw on a census dataset of all public schools over a five-year period, examining how funding gaps are exacerbated by selective processes and school segregation. The analysis compares parent-generated financial revenue within two types of public schools, namely select-entry public schools and local comprehensive public schools. We find that select-entry public schools consistently generate more than three-times more income across different measures, and over a five-year period. Furthermore, the amount of revenue for select-entry schools annually grows, and the gap increases, suggesting that as market logics intensify, cyclical disadvantage and residualisation of comprehensive public schools increase.

Collaboration Between a School Nurse Task Force and the Local Health Department in Illinois: Development of a COVID-19 Toolkit.

Multidisciplinary collaboration for healthy student outcomes is not a new concept for school nurses nor is working with public health officials in promoting school-community initiatives. The SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19; severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, coronavirus disease 2019) virus further highlighted the need to work together to promote best practice strategies to arm the community with information and guidance to prevent illness. The McHenry County Health Department recognized the expertise school nurses have in school health and formed a voluntary School Nurse Task Force. This collaboration worked to implement requirements for operating a school during a pandemic. The task force adapted those concepts into a toolkit to assist schools to meet health requirements throughout the most significant pandemic in over 100 years.

Imagining the homeland: mother tongue tuition in Sweden as transnational space

ABSTRACT In this article images of and narratives about a specific homeland, heritage and culture in Mother Tongue Tuition (MTT) in Sweden are analyzed in order to discuss if and how the MTT classroom is constructed as a transnational space. In the Swedish context, MTT is a voluntary school subject with the aim to support students to develop knowledge in and about the mother tongue, namely languages other than Swedish used in the home setting. Through a modified nexus analysis of policy documents, field notes and photos from observations and semi-structured interviews with Mother Tongue teachers, a picture emerges of MTT as a transnational space. However, while the discourses of official curricula express a simplified view of the relations between language, culture and the geopolitical space perceived as the homeland, the analysis of the linguistic landscape of the classrooms and the MT teachers’ voices exposes the complexity of such relations in a globalized world. The analysis revealed that the construction of the homeland is not limited to relations between two geographical places, as expressed through the national curriculum, but rather the discourses in place may include varied diaspora communities as well as complex national situations in the perceived homeland.

Medical Student Perceptions of Emergency Medical Technician Training During the First Year of Medical School.

PurposeMedical schools look for ways to provide clinical experiences and skill development in connection with knowledge. One method used is to provide emergency medical technician (EMT) training to medical students; however, limited data are available concerning EMT training in medical education. Therefore, the aim of this study was to review student feedback about the EMT curriculum through multiple iterations of the curriculum.MethodsStudents completed a voluntary school administered survey upon completion of their first year of medical school. Student responses to statements related to the EMT course and program were analyzed for classes matriculating in academic years 2012–2017. A one-way ANOVA with post hoc Tukey Honestly Significant Difference (HSD) was performed across all years for each survey statement.ResultsMean response scores to statements related to the EMT course were higher when the EMT course was a standalone course and lower when integrated with biomedical science coursework. Students “strongly agreed” or “agreed” with most statements related to experiences and clinical skill development provided by the EMT program. Response rates ranged between 46–52 (88–100%) for 2012, 40–46 (74–85%) for 2013, 72–79 (88–96%) for 2014, 73–86 (71–83%) for 2015, 47–65 (46–63%) for 2016, 62–82 (59–78%) for 2017.ConclusionOur data show that first year medical students liked the course design best when the EMT course was a standalone course at the start of the M.D. program while students liked experiences and clinical skill development provided by the EMT program regardless of course design.

Developmental and Sexual Offense Onset Characteristics of Australian Indigenous and Non-Indigenous Male Youth Who Sexually Offend

The present study sought to address gaps in knowledge concerning Australian Indigenous and non-Indigenous youth who commit sexual offenses. Developmental histories and onset sexual offense characteristics of Indigenous (n = 81) and non-Indigenous (n = 130) adjudicated male youth were compared. Results indicate that, in addition to problems affecting both groups, Indigenous youth in this sample were disproportionately exposed to systemic vulnerabilities (e.g., familial antisocial attitudes and incarceration, engagement with antisocial peers, poor school engagement and voluntary school dropout, low socioeconomic status) associated with onset of sexual offending. Differences in the circumstances and context surrounding the onset sexual offense (e.g., use of drugs/alcohol, relationship to person harmed, co-offending, age of person harmed, location, threats/force) were also found. When these analyses were stratified by age of person harmed, these differences were retained only for offenses against children below 16 years. Together, these findings highlight the need for more contextualized primary-, secondary-, and tertiary-level prevention efforts to reduce youth sexual offending in Australia and elsewhere.

SSCARF Education Model and Happiness Index Modelling

SCARF model has been proposed and widely adopted in most traditional classroom teaching for decades. SCARF essentially focus on Status, Certainty, Autonomy, Relatedness and Fairness, in neuroscience, which constitute to developing the character of a child in city living. However, this paper studies about the alternative education model in Heibe, China. It is found that those children lack of family supports, especially siblings (due to the one-child policy in China in the past years); and the neigbours live far apart. Hence, most of those children grow up in isolated environment. By tracing these the brought-up of those children, who attended a voluntary school where the author has taught for some years, it is noticed that those children appear to be happier in general, compared to those who did not go to such school. Hence it is pondering on the importance of social life which can be provided by attending the lessons in the voluntary school. In this paper, the authors propose extending the SCARF model to SSCARF where the prefix S symbolizing the social life that is in provision in the voluntary school. It is believed that the social aspect is a very important part of a child’s brought up. The hypothesis of SSCARF especially the social “S” is backed and verified by happiness index modelling via data mining. The results show that happiness is more related to the social aspects of the children’s childhood than material wealth.

Volunteer educational initiative for undocumented immigrants’ children

Learning outcomes The learning outcomes are as follows: to gain insights into an immigrant community with an emphasis on positioning stakeholders using power, legitimacy and urgency constructs; to help participants dwell on a decision-making process under challenging circumstances; and to help learners understand the level of commitment and efforts needed in initiating and sustaining a volunteer initiative. At the micro level, the case helps learners understand the nature of an interaction between two distinct social groups (ragpickers and volunteers). At the macro level, the case helps the learners understand the way marginalised migratory communities think and behave in the larger scheme of politics, religion and ever-increasing migration at the global level. Case overview/synopsis This case is about an informal educational activity initiated by a group of volunteers who intend to eradicate illiteracy amongst ragpickers’ children in Rohtak, a small city in Haryana, India. This town has a population of &lt;0.4 million and houses several immigrant families who come from different regions of India. Most immigrant families are into construction and rag picking. The localites mostly perceive ragpickers as undocumented immigrants from Bangladesh. Usually, most ragpickers’ children engage in garbage collection and do not attend school. In this backdrop, a group led by Mohan set up an evening class in an open ground, which in turn attracted several children from both the ragpicker and local communities alike. However, after a few days, the harsh weather made the volunteer team to shift the classes to a closed room. The shifting from the open ground to the closed room infuriated the parents and resulted in the parents not allowing their children to go to school. In this context, the volunteer team has to decide whether to continue the voluntary school or shut it down. Complexity academic level Executive, Under-Graduation and Post Graduation Supplementary materials Teaching Notes are available for educators only. Please contact your library to gain login details or email support@emeraldinsight.com to request teaching notes. Subject code CSS 7: Management Science

Nation-building Through Compulsory Schooling during the Age of Mass Migration

AbstractWhy did America introduce compulsory schooling laws at a time when financial investments in education and voluntary school attendance were high? We provide qualitative and quantitative evidence that states adopted compulsory schooling laws as a nation-building tool to instil civic values to the culturally diverse migrants during the ‘Age of Mass Migration’ between 1850 and 1914. We show the adoption of compulsory schooling laws occurred significantly earlier in states that hosted European migrants with lower exposure to civic values in their home countries. Using cross-county data, we show that these migrants had significantly lower demand for American schooling pre-compulsion.

“Science of the singular”: an explanatory single case study of whole school guidance counselling in Ireland

This article will discuss the findings of a single explanatory case study on the model of whole school guidance counselling in the Irish secondary school system, which was carried out during a turbulent period of policy and practice changes in the delivery of guidance counselling services to students from 2012 onwards. Although the case study is positioned within a single voluntary school, the findings may be typical of similar secondary schools settings in Ireland and abroad. Particular focus is given to explicating the key findings of the case study through the specific themes of: concepts of whole school guidance counselling, the Irish integrated model of guidance counselling, stakeholder roles and responsibilities, and the effect of resource re-allocations by policy makers funding guidance school services.

Voluntary Interdistrict Choice Program: Examining Black Girls’ Experiences at a Predominately White School

A plethora of research on voluntary school choice programs and the impact on student’s outcomes have been documented. However, lacking are the experiences of students of color attending predominately White schools that are part of these voluntary school choice programs. Using the integrative model for the developmental competencies of minority children as a theoretical lens, the authors explored the racial and gendered socio-emotional experiences of Black adolescent girls (N = 15, Mage = 13.59) who were participants in a voluntary school choice program. Inductive analytic techniques were used to identify themes based on the lived experiences of Black girls within this context. Three themes emerged that centered the intersectionality of race, class, and gender in their experiences including: (1) racial and cultural stereotypes; (2) differential discipline; and (3) academic expectations. Directions for future research and implications for Black girls, who participate in voluntary school choice programs are discussed.

Social capital: a qualitative investigation of principal views

The purpose of this study is to determine the knowledge and opinions of school principals about the concept of the social capital. This research is deemed essential regarding increasing the awareness of school administrators who could play a significant role in mobilizing the potential social capital in schools. The study has been conducted in a qualitative design in the direction of this purpose, and the data of the research have been obtained by using the semi-structured interview form. The participants of this study consisted of 20 voluntary school principals. The data have been collected and digitized under the common categories after encoding. According to the findings of the study, the school principals indicate networks (social relations), trust and norms as the factors that create the social capital. It is observed that they benefit from the networks (social relations) dimension of the social concept most. Besides, it is seen that the school principals who can reveal the social capital can use the trust and social networks elements more useful. It is thought that the findings of the research would contribute to the better understanding of social capital by school principals and the realization of the social capital in schools.

Starting the Bandwagon: A Historiography of African American Mothers' Leadership during Voluntary School Desegregation, 1954-1971

In this article, the author presents a historiography that considers the leadership that African American women, particularlymothers, played in U.S. school desegregation. Discussion moves beyond offering a political analysis of school integration politicsthat is male centered, bounded by a legalistic frame, or steeped within general discussions of the political clashes betweenintegrationists and segregationists to recast significant historical events through a more nuanced womanist lens. Literature isreviewed and archival data from 1954 to 1971 are marshaled to shed light on why and how African American motherscontributed to the school desegregation movement, particularly in Greensboro, NC. The author suggests what lessons can begleaned from the mothers' legacy to extend conceptualizations of transformative educational leadership.

The Clinical Effectiveness of School Screening Programme for Idiopathic Scoliosis in Malaysia

IntroductionThere is no large population size study on school screening for scoliosis in Malaysia. This study is aimed to determine the prevalence rate and positive predictive value (PPV) of screening programme for adolescent idiopathic scoliosis.Materials and MethodsA total of 8966 voluntary school students aged 13-15 years old were recruited for scoliosis screening. Screening was done by measuring the angle of trunk rotation (ATR) on forward bending test (FBT) using a scoliometer. ATR of 5 degrees or more was considered positive. Positively screened students had standard radiographs done for measurement of the Cobb angle. Cobb angle of >10° was used to diagnose scoliosis. The percentage of radiological assessment referral, prevalence rate and PPV of scoliosis were then calculated.ResultsPercentage of radiological assessment referral (ATR >5°) was 4.2% (182/4381) for male and 5.0% (228/4585) for female. Only 38.0% of those with ATR >5° presented for further radiological assessment. The adjusted prevalence rate was 2.55% for Cobb angle >10°, 0.59% for >20° and 0.12% for >40°. The PPV is 55.8% for Cobb angle >10°, 12.8% for >20° and 2.6% for > 40°.ConclusionsThis is the largest study of school scoliosis screening in Malaysia. The prevalence rate of scoliosis was 2.55%. The positive predictive value was 55.8%, which is adequate to suggest that the school scoliosis screening programme did play a role in early detection of scoliosis. However, a cost effectiveness analysis will be needed to firmly determine its efficacy.

Political contestation and discourses of meaning: Revising Minnesota’s school integration revenue statute

The integration of students from diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds in public schools has been an issue of educational policy concern for several decades. Most school desegregation programs implemented in the United States post-Brown that relied on student busing and race-based school assignment were discontinued by the 1990s. In Minnesota, these were replaced with an approach that encouraged voluntary school integration efforts, supported with funding provided through State Statute 124D.86 to districts with racially identifiable schools or whose schools were racially isolated relative to neighboring communities. A legislatively mandated Integration Revenue Replacement Advisory Task Force was convened from November 2011 to February 2012 to frame the role of the state’s schools in addressing racial inequities and to recommend changes to existing policy. This article applies Fairclough and Fairclough’s (2012) analytic framework of political discourse as argumentation to examine the revision of this statute as a site of ideological contestation. The appointed members of this task force included professional educators, former legislators, faith leaders, and lawyers, and presented distinct epistemological beliefs regarding the purposes and roles of schools and of policy. Two competing claims for action were identified, summarized as “Bipartisan Compromise” and “Conservative Dissent.” This analysis reveals the effect of underlying values on developing particular claims for action made by Task Force members, and connects these values to divergent understandings of the purpose of state educational funding and the outcomes that public schooling should achieve.