"Sexism in the Schools" conference at P.S. 41 about sex biases in high schools

General note: Title and date provided by Bettye Lane.

"Sexism in the Schools" conference at P.S. 41 about sex biases in high schools

General note: Title and date provided by Bettye Lane.

Seeing disadvantage in schools: exploring student teachers’ perceptions of poverty and disadvantage using visual pedagogy

This paper describes exploratory research into the development of innovative visual pedagogies for investigating how pre-service student teachers articulate their views about the effects of poverty on educational attainment. Social class emerges as the strongest factor in poverty and educational disadvantage in the UK. The resulting issues are often awkward for students to discuss and conventional pedagogies may not have effective ‘reach’ here. Findings from this study showed that the visual methods deployed gave students pedagogically well structured spaces for the expression and exchange of a diversity of views about poverty and social class, engaging them in both heated discussions and prolonged ‘silences’. However, the pedagogies did not challenge the stereotypical deficit models of ‘the poor’ which some students expressed. Nevertheless, we argue that reconfigured versions of these visual pedagogies have considerable potential for innovative social justice work in teacher education.

CHARACTERISTICS OF PRIVATE HIGH SCHOOLS FOR STUDENTS WITH EMOTIONAL DISABILITIES AND PERCEPTIONS OF THEIR PUBLIC SCHOOL CASE MANAGERS

Placement of students with disabilities in private special-education schools remains costly and controversial. This is particularly concerning, given the lack of research on the characteristics and quality of these restrictive settings. The purpose of this study was to identify the academic and vocational course offerings and behavioral supports provided in private special-education schools the serve high school students with emotional disabilities (ED). Second, the research examined the perceptions of the quality of services in these setting from the perspectives of public school case managers. Using a mixed-method design to collect data, 9 administrative heads of private special-education schools were surveyed, and 7 public school case managers were interviewed. Results indicated that (a) private special-education schools offer the basic academic core courses needed to meet graduation requirements, (b) vocational options for students enrolled in these schools are quite limited, (c) these schools provide a variety of behavioral interventions and supports, and (d) case managers are concerned with the lack of academic rigor and inconsistent programming at these schools but applauded the notion that students with ED are exiting with a high school diploma. Findings from this study may have policy implications for improving and developing programming options for high school students with ED.

Investigation of Escape and Negative Student Behaviors Related to Florida State High Stakes Test Preparation in Miami-Dade County Public High Schools, having been approved in respect to style and intellectual content, is referred to you for judgment

The purpose of this study was to determine whether there was a relationship between pressure to perform on state mandated, high-stakes tests and the rate of student escape behavior defined as the number of school suspensions and absences. The state assigned grade of a school was used as a surrogate measure of pressure with the assumption that pressure increased as the school grade decreased. Student attendance and suspension data were gathered from all 33 of the regular public high schools in Miami-Dade County Public Schools. The research questions were: Is the number of suspensions highest in the third quarter, when most FCAT preparation takes place for each of the 3 school years 2007-08 through 2009-10? How accurately does the high school’s grade predict the number of suspensions and number of absences during each of the 4 school years 2005-06 through 2008-09? The research questions were answered using repeated measures analysis of variance for research question #1 and non-linear multiple regression for research question #2. No significant difference could be found between the numbers of suspensions in each of the grading periods nor was there a relationship between the number of suspensions and school grade. A statistically significant relationship was found between student attendance and school grade. When plotted, this relationship was found to be quadratic in nature and formed a loose inverted U for each of the four years during which data were collected. This indicated that students in very high and very low performing schools had low levels of absences while those in the midlevel of the distribution of school performance (C schools) had the greatest rates of absence. Identifying a relationship between the pressures associated with high stakes testing and student escape behavior suggests that it might be useful for building administrators to reevaluate test preparation activities and procedures being used in their building and to include anxiety reducing strategies. As a relationship was found, it sets the foundation for future studies to identify whether testing related activities are impacting some students emotionally and are causing unintended consequences of testing mandates.

Weak reasoning argumentative theory. A dialogical approach for the discovery of philosophy in high schools

In the literature on philosophical practices, despite the crucial role that argumentation plays in these activities, no specific argumentative theories have ever been proposed to assist the figure of the facilitator in conducting philosophical dialogue and to enhance student’s critical thinking skills. The dissertation starts from a cognitive perspective that challenges the classic Cartesian notion of rationality by focusing on limits and biases of human reasoning. An argumentative model (WRAT – Weak Reasoning Argumentative Theory) is then outlined in order to respond to the needs of philosophical dialogue. After justifying the claim that this learning activity, among other inductive methodologies, is the most suitable for critical thinking education, I inquired into the specific goal of ‘arguing’ within this context by means of the tools provided by Speech Act Theory: the speaker’s intention is to construct new knowledge by questioning her own and other’s beliefs. The model proposed has been theorized on this assumption, starting from which the goals, and, in turn, the related norms, have been pinpointed. In order to include all the epistemic attitudes required to accomplish the complex task of arguing in philosophical dialogue, I needed to integrate two opposed cognitive accounts, Dual Process Theory and Evolutionary Approach, that, although they provide incompatible descriptions of reasoning, can be integrated to provide a normative account of argumentation. The model, apart from offering a theoretical contribution to argumentation studies, is designed to be applied to the Italian educational system, in particular to classes in technical and professional high schools belonging to the newly created network Inventio. This initiative is one of the outcomes of the research project by the same name, which also includes an original Syllabus, research seminars, a monitoring action and publications focused on introducing philosophy, in the form of workshop activities, into technical and professional schools.

In Adolescents With Epilepsy, High Scores Of Anxiety And Depression Are Associated With Occurrence Of Seizures In Public Places.

Objective To assess depression and anxiety symptoms of adolescents with epilepsy compared with adolescents without epilepsy. Method The study sample consisted of: case participants (50 subjects) attending the pediatric epilepsy clinic of a tertiary hospital and control participants (51 subjects) from public schools. The instruments utilized were: identification card with demographic and epilepsy data, Beck Depression Inventory and State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. Results No significant differences were founded between the groups regarding scores for depression and anxiety symptoms but both groups presented moderate scores of anxiety. A correlation was found between low scores anxiety and not frequent seizures, low scores anxiety and perception of seizure control, high scores of anxiety and depression and occurrence of seizures in public places. Conclusion Low scores of anxiety are associated with not frequent seizures; high scores of anxiety and depression are associated with occurrence of seizures in public places.

Factors associated with depression symptoms in high school students in São Paulo, Brazil

OBJECTIVE: To assess factors associated with depression symptoms in high school students. METHODS: A cross-sectional study involving high school students was conducted in the city of São Paulo, Brazil, 2001. A total of 724 students aged 14-18 years answered questionnaires on life and health conditions. Another questionnaire was applied to working (44.8%) and unemployed (22.9%) students to collect information on working conditions. Factors associated to depressive disorders were analyzed using multiple logistic regression controlled for occupational status. RESULTS: Overall prevalence rate of depression was 7.5%. Rates according to gender were 39 (10.3%) in females and 15 (4.3%) in males. The multiple logistic regression analysis showed that factors associated with depressive disorders were: poor self-perception of health (OR=5.78), being female (OR = 2.45), and alcohol consumption (OR=2.35). CONCLUSIONS: The study results showed that sociodemographic, lifestyle and health variables were associated with symptoms of depression in this population. These ndings suggest that it is important to have mental health professionals available in high schools for early detection of mental conditions and student counseling.

Methods and Participant Characteristics of a Randomized Intervention to Promote Physical Activity and Healthy Eating Among Brazilian High School Students: The Saude na Boa Project

Background: A cross-cultural, randomized study was proposed to observe the effects of a school-based intervention designed to promote physical activity and healthy eating among high school students in 2 cities from different regions in Brazil: Recife and Florianopolis. The objective of this article is to describe the methodology and subjects enrolled in the project. Methods: Ten schools from each region were matched and randomized into intervention and control conditions. A questionnaire and anthropometry were used to collect data in the first and last month of the 2006 school year. The sample (n = 2155 at baseline; 55.7% females; 49.1% in the experimental group) included students 15 to 24 years, attending nighttime classes. The intervention focused on simple environmental/organizational changes, diet and physical activity education, and personnel training. Results: The central aspects of the intervention have been implemented in all 10 intervention schools. Problems during the intervention included teachers' strikes in both sites and lack of involvement of the canteen owners in schools. Conclusions: The Saude no Boa study provides evidence that public high schools in Brazil represent an important environment for health promotion. Its design and simple measurements increase the chances of it being sustained and disseminated to similar schools in Brazil.

Effectiveness of a School-Based Intervention on Physical Activity for High School Students in Brazil: The Saude na Boa Project

Background: We evaluated the effectiveness of a school-based intervention on the promotion of physical activity among high school students in Brazil: the Saude no Boa project. Methods: A school-based, randomized trial was carried out in 2 Brazilian cities: Recife (northeast) and Florianopolis (south). Ten schools in each city were matched by size and location, and randomized into intervention or control groups. The intervention included environmental/organizational changes, physical activity education, and personnel training and engagement. Students age 15 to 24 years were evaluated at baseline and 9 months later (end of school year). Results: Although similar at baseline, after the intervention, the control group reported significantly fewer d/wk accumulating 60 minutes+ moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) in comparison with the intervention group (2.6 versus 3.3, P < .001). The prevalence of inactivity (0 days per week) rose in the control and decreased in the intervention group. The odds ratio for engaging at least once per week in physical activity associated with the intervention was 1.83 (95% CI = 1.24-2.71) in the unadjusted analysis and 1.88 (95% CI = 1.27-2.79) after controlling for gender. Conclusion: The Saude no Boa intervention was effective at reducing the prevalence of physical inactivity. The possibility of expanding the intervention to other locations should be considered.

Enrollment in Physical Education Is Associated With Health-Related Behavior Among High School Students

METHODS: A total of 4210 students attending public high schools in Pernambuco (northeast of Brazil) were selected using random 2-stage cluster sampling. Data were collected by using the Global School-based Student Health Survey. The independent variable was the frequency of participation in PE classes, whereas physical activity, television viewing, smoking, and alcohol, fruit, vegetables and soda consumption were dependent variables. Logistic regressions were carried out to perform crude and adjusted analysis of the association between enrollment in PE classes and health-related behaviors. RESULTS: Sixty-five percent of students do not take part in PE classes, with a significantly higher proportion among females (67.8%). It was observed that enrollment in PE classes was positively associated with physical activity, TV viewing, and fruit consumption, but was negatively associated with soda drinking. The likelihood of reporting being active and eating fruit on a daily basis was 27% and 45% higher, respectively, among those who participate in at least 2 classes per week in comparison with those who do not. Students who participate in PE classes had 28-30% higher likelihood of reporting lower TV viewing during week days. CONCLUSIONS: Findings suggest that higher levels of enrollment in PE classes could play a role in the promotion of health-related behaviors among high school students.

Educational characteristics of students with high or low self-concept

In response to methodological concerns associated with previous research into the educational characteristics of students with high or low self-concept, the topic was re-examined using a significantly more representative sample and a contemporary self-concept measure. From an initial screening of 515 preadolescent, coeducational students in 18 schools, students significantly high or low in self-concept were compared using standardized tests in reading, spelling, and mathematics, and teacher interviews to determine students' academic and nonacademic characteristics. The teachers were not informed of the self-concept status of the students. Compared to students with low self-concept, students with high self-concept were rated by teachers as being more popular, cooperative, and persistent in class, showed greater leadership, were lower in anxiety, had more supportive families, and had higher teacher expectations for their future success. Teachers observed that students with low self-concept were quiet and withdrawn, while peers with high self-concept were talkative and more dominating with peers. Students with lower self-concepts were also lower than their peers in reading, spelling, and mathematical abilities. The findings support the notion that there is an interactive relationship between self-concept and achievement. (C) 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Adolescent depressive symptomatology: Improve schools or help students?

Despite the increasing interest in programs designed to improve the social ecology of schools, surprisingly little is known about whether differences between schools influence student mental health. This 3-year prospective, naturalistic study examines the school effect on adolescent depressive symptomatology (measured by the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale, CES-D) among 2,489 students from 25 Australian high schools. Multilevel modelling techniques (HLM) formed the basis of the statistical analyses, There were statistically significant school effects on students' depressive symptomatology; however, these were much smaller than expected. Nearly all of the variation in CES-D depression scores was found to be at the student level, indicating that the potential mental health gains from reducing risk factors in school social environments may be extremely limited and have little effect on student depressive symptomatology.

Teen Triple P: A universal approach to reducing risk factors for behavioural and emotional problems in adolescents at the transition to high school

Teen Triple P is a multilevel system of intervention that is designed to provide parents with specific strategies to promote the positive development of their teenage children as they make the transition into high school and through puberty. The program is based on a combination of education about the developmental needs of adolescents, skills training to improve communication and problem-solving, plus specific modules to deal with common problems encountered by parents and adolescents that can escalate into major conflict and violence. It is designed to increase the engagement of parents of adolescent and pre-adolescent children by providing them with easy access to evidencebased parenting advice and support. This paper presents data collected as part of a survey of over 1400 students in first year high school at 9 Brisbane schools. The survey instrument was constructed to obtain students' reports about behaviour which is known to be associated with their health and wellbeing, and also on the extent to which their parents promoted or discouraged such behaviour at home, at school, and in their social and recreational activities in the wider community. Selected data from the survey were extracted and presented to parents at a series of parenting seminars held at the schools to promote appropriate parenting of teenagers. The objectives were to provide parents with accurate data about teenagers' behaviour, and about teenagers' reports of how they perceived their parents' behaviour. Normative data on parent and teenager behaviour will be presented from the survey as well as psychometric data relating to the reliability and validity of this new measure. Implications of this strategy for increasing parent engagement in parenting programs that aim to reduce behavioural and emotional problems in adolescents will be discussed.