After the testing : talking and reading and writing the world

This critical essay discusses the challenges and prospects for the reform of school-based literacy programs. It begins with an overview of the effects of a decade of test-driven accountability policy on research and teachers’ work, noting the continuing challenges of new demographics, cultures and technologies for literacy education. The case is made that whole school literacy programs can make a difference in improving the overall education of students and youth from low socioeconomic and cultural minority backgrounds. But this requires a strong emphasis on engagement with substantive readings of cultural, social and scientific worlds through talk, reading and writing. The key questions facing teachers, then, are not simply around basic skills instruction and acquisition, but about sustained, intellectually demanding and scaffolded talk around texts, print and multimodal.

Sexual abuse prevention education

Child sexual abuse is a serious problem that has received increased attention in recent years. From an ecological perspective, in which social problems are viewed in the context of characteristics of individuals, families, and broader societal systems (Prilleltensky, Peirson, & Nelson, 2001), preventing child sexual abuse involves strengthening capacity to intervene at individual, family/relationship, school, and community levels. School-based education programs have been developed in efforts to prevent child sexual abuse before it happens and to provide children who may already be experiencing it with help seeking information. Use of these programs must be based on evidence rather than ideology. Evaluations of these programs have demonstrated that sexual abuse prevention education can provide children with improved knowledge and skills for responding to and reporting potential sexual abuse. However, this learning does not seem to be maintained over time which means further attention should be given to repeated learning, opportunities for concept reinforcement and integration with other topics. School-based programs typically present information to children by presenting a series of core concepts and messages which are delivered using engaging pedagogical strategies such as multi-media technologies, animations, theatre and songs, puppets, picture books, and games. This chapter will outline the key characteristics of effective child sexual abuse prevention programs, and will provide directions for future research and practice.

K-12 transitions: Approaches and lessons learned

More than 140 countries offer what has become the international norm for preteritiary education, namely a kindergarten through grade 12 (K-12) system. Why kindergarten? Because, research attests to the long-term learning and social benefits of school readiness programs. Why 12 grades? Because experience in many countries shows that a K-12 system of schooling is the minimum necessary to acquire the knowledge and expertise for university education, employment training, or decent work.

Transitions to K–12 Education Systems: Experiences from Five Case Countries

Currently more than 140 countries offer, or are in transition to, what has become the international norm for pre-tertiary education, namely a kindergarten through grade 12 (K–12) school education system—kindergarten because of the preponderance of research asserting the long-term learning and social benefits of school readiness programs; and 12 years of primary and secondary schooling due to the time needed to acquire the knowledge and skills sets necessary for 21st century university education, postsecondary training, or decent1 work. This desk study2 conveys the experiences of four countries and one province in preparing and implementing a transition to a K–12 school education system: Mongolia, Ontario (Canada), the Philippines, Poland, and Turkey. Looking at K–12 transition in countries and systems that vary as broadly as this set enables common threads to stand out and divergent options to be noted.

Schools' guide : How to select providers of road safety education programs for senior school students

Road safety education is not just about safe driving. Best practice road safety education seeks to improve knowledge and change attitudes relating to being safe, and making sure others are safe on the road. Typical topics might include: • Strengthening attitudes toward safe road use behaviours and avoiding risks • Supporting behaviours to ensure others are safe • Promoting knowledge of traffic rules.

School-based drug prevention programs: a review of what works

This article examines the effectiveness of school-based drug prevention programs in preventing illicit drug use. Our article reports the results of a systematic review of the evaluation literature to answer three fundamental questions: (1) do school-based drug prevention programs reduce rates of illicit drug use? (2) what features are characteristic of effective programs? and (3) do these effective program characteristics differ from those identified as effective in reviews of school-based drug prevention of licit substance use (such as alcohol and tobacco)? Using systematic review and meta-analytic techniques, we identify the characteristics of schoolbased drug prevention programs that have a significant and beneficial impact on ameliorating illicit substance use (i.e., narcotics) among young people. Successful intervention programs typically involve high levels of interactivity, time-intensity, and universal approaches that are delivered in the middle school years. These program characteristics aligned with many of the effective program elements found in previous reviews exploring the impact of school-based drug prevention on licit drug use. Contrary to these past reviews, however, our analysis suggests that the inclusion of booster sessions and multifaceted drug prevention programs have little impact on preventing illicit drug use among school-aged children. Limitations of the current review and policy implications are discussed.

Design on the future: developing and enacting sustainable living programs in primary schools

Sustainable living is high on the international agenda (Ginsberg & Frame, 2004; Sutton, 2004). If education is fundamental to global transformation towards sustainability, then schools are in strategic positions to facilitate this change. Over recent years, schools in Australia have become more active in encouraging sustainability with the implementation of programs such as Science Education for Sustainable Living (SESL) that focus on topics such as energy efficiency, recycling, enhancing biodiversity, protecting species, and managing resources. This paper reports on a government funded Australian School Innovation in Science, Technology and Mathematics (ASISTM) project titled “Integrating science, technology and mathematics for understanding sustainable living” in which teachers, preservice teachers and other science professionals worked collaboratively to plan and enact a range of SESL programs for primary school students. Participants in this study included: 6 teachers, 5 preservice teachers, 2 university partners, 2 scientists, 4 consultants, and over 250 primary students. The findings from this qualitative study revealed a need for: (1) professional development for understanding SESL, (2) procedures for establishing and implementing SESL, and (3) strategies to devise, implement and evaluate SESL units of work.

Developing targets and strategies for school-based injury prevention programs to reduce alcohol associated transport risks

Background There is considerable and ongoing debate about the role and effectiveness of school-based injury prevention programs in reducing students’ later involvement in alcohol associated transport injuries. Most relevant literature is concerned with pre-driving and licensing programs for middle age range adolescents (15-17 years). This research team is concerned with prevention at an earlier stage by targeting interventions to young adolescents (13-14 years). There is strong evidence that young adolescents who engage in unsafe and illegal alcohol associated transport risks are significantly likely to incur serious related injuries in longitudinal follow up. For example, a state-wide representative sample of male adolescents (mean age 14.5 years) who reported being passengers of drink drivers were significantly more likely to have incurred a hospitalised injury related to traffic events at a 20 year follow up. Aim This paper reports on first aid training integrated with peer protection and school connectedness within the Skills for Preventing Injury in Youth (SPIY) program. A component of the intervention is concerned with providing strategies to reduce the likelihood of being a passenger of a drink driver and effectiveness is followed up at six months post-intervention. Method In early 2012 the study was undertaken in 35 high schools throughout Queensland that were randomly assigned to intervention and control conditions. A total of 2,521 Year 9 students (mean age 13.5years, 43% male) completed surveys prior to the intervention. Results Of these students 316 (13.7%) reported having ridden in a car with someone who has been drinking. This is a traffic safety behaviour that is particularly relevant to a peer protection intervention and the findings of the six month follow up will be reported. Discussion and conclusions This research will provide evidence as to whether this approach to the introduction of first aid skills within a school-based health education curriculum has traffic safety implications.

School-based physical activity programs for adolescent wellness improvement : an investigation of the association between wellness and physical activity

This thesis by publication included seven manuscripts that advanced contemporary understanding of the association between physical activity and wellness among adolescents. The findings suggested that due to potential interrelatedness between various aspects of wellness, changes in physical activity may also influence co-existing wellness domains; highlighting the potential for physical activity interventions to have a broad range of benefits among youth. These findings also added to the body of literature supporting the potential inclusion of physical activity as a component within multifaceted youth wellness programs. Findings reported in this thesis have implications for those seeking to initiate youth wellness interventions.

Physical activity levels among children attending after-school programs

Purpose To describe the physical activity (PA) levels of children attending after-school programs, 2) examine PA levels in specific after-school sessions and activity contexts, and 3) evaluate after-school PA differences in groups defined by sex and weight status. Methods One hundred forty-seven students in grades 3-6 (mean age: 10.1 +/- 0.7, 54.4% male, 16.5% overweight (OW), 22.8% at-risk for OW) from seven after-school programs in the midwestern United States wore Actigraph GT1M accelerometers for the duration of their attendance to the program. PA was objectively assessed on six occasions during an academic year (three fall and three spring). Stored activity counts were uploaded to a customized data-reduction program to determine minutes of sedentary (SED), light (LPA), moderate (MPA), vigorous (VPA), and moderate-to-vigorous (MVPA) physical activity. Time spent in each intensity category was calculated for the duration of program attendance, as well as specific after-school sessions (e.g., free play, snack time). Results On average, participants exhibited 42.6 min of SED, 40.8 min of LPA, 13.4 min of MPA, and 5.3 min of VPA. The average accumulation of MVPA was 20.3 min. Boys exhibited higher levels of MPA, VPA, and MVPA, and lower levels of SED and LPA, than girls. OW and at-risk-for-OW students exhibited significantly less VPA than nonoverweight students, but similar levels of LPA, MPA, and MVPA. MVPA levels were significantly higher during free-play activity sessions than during organized or structured activity sessions. Conclusion After-school programs seem to be an important contributor to the PA of attending children. Nevertheless, ample room for improvement exists by making better use of existing time devoted to physical activity.

Pre-packaging preschool literacy: What drives early childhood teachers to use commercially produced phonics programs in prior to school settings

Language-rich environments are key to overall quality in early childhood settings, including frequent child–staff interactions around picture books and dramatic play. In a language-rich environment, explicit teaching of literacy concepts, such as phonics, is embedded in authentic and meaningful situations where alphabet letters and sounds are taught in a context meaningful to the child. Recent research, however, suggests that the use of commercial pre-packaged phonics programs (such as Letterland and Jolly Phonics) is widespread in prior to school settings in Sydney, Australia. Little is known about why early childhood teachers choose to use such programs with children aged five and under. In the present study, thematic analysis of data from interviews with five early childhood teachers using commercial phonics programs found that their reasons were pragmatic rather than pedagogical. Motivations included the idea that the programs reduced their workload, provided tangible evidence to parents of their child’s ‘school readiness’, and served as a marketing tool to attract parents. Further analysis found that the teachers were unable to articulate what phonics and phonological awareness are and how they are learnt in early childhood.

Feasibility studies on using microwave-heating techniques for recycling lead waste

Lead is present everywhere in the environment and has been defined as one of the greatest threats to the human health. In this paper, attempts have been made to study a way of recycling the lead produced from waste usage and disposed of in such a way as to avoid degrading the surrounding environment. In order to contain the waste, recycled asphalt material is mixed with the lead and then heated with microwave energy. This is an attempt to solidify and reduce the lead contaminants and use the final product as sub-base material in road pavement construction. The microwave heating of the specimens is carried out with 30%, 50%, 80% and 100% of power at 800W. The optimum power mode is used to compare with the conventional heating of asphalt with sulfur additive. The results are characterized by compact density, permeability, and subjected to toxicity test with regards to lead concentration. A mechanical test to evaluate the stability is also performed on the three methods of solidification and to prove that microwave zapping method allow to convert into an environmentally stable material for recycling without having to be deposited in a landfill site.