Evaluating a School Community Linked Physical Activity Intervention Programme: a Multi-level Analysis.

Previous research has highlighted the importance of positive physical activity (PA) behaviors during childhood to promote sustained active lifestyles throughout the lifespan (Telama et al. 2005; 2014). It is in this context that the role of schools and teachers in facilitating PA education is promoted. Research suggests that teachers play an important role in the attitudes of children towards PA (Figley 1985) and schools may be an efficient vehicle for PA provision and promotion (McGinnis, Kanner and DeGraw, 1991; Wechsler, Deveraux, Davis and Collins, 2000). Yet despite consensus that schools represent an ideal setting from which to ‘reach’ young people (Department of Health and Human Services, UK, 2012) there remains conceptual (e.g. multi-component intervention) and methodological (e.g. duration, intensity, family involvement) ambiguity regarding the mechanisms of change claimed by PA intervention programmes. This may, in part, contribute to research findings that suggest that PA interventions have had limited impact on children’s overall activity levels and thereby limited impact in reducing children’s metabolic health (Metcalf, Henley & Wilkin, 2012). A marked criticism of the health promotion field has been the focus on behavioural change while failing to acknowledge the impact of context in influencing health outcomes (Golden & Earp, 2011). For years, the trans-theoretical model of behaviour change has been ‘the dominant model for health behaviour change’ (Armitage, 2009); this model focusses primarily on the individual and the psychology of the change process. Arguably, this model is limited by the individual’s decision-making ability and degree of self-efficacy in order to achieve sustained behavioural change and does not take account of external factors that may hinder their ability to realise change. Similar to the trans-theoretical model, socio-ecological models identify the individual at the focal point of change but also emphasises the importance of connecting multiple impacting variables, in particular, the connections between the social environment, the physical environment and public policy in facilitating behavioural change (REF). In this research, a social-ecological framework was used to connect the ways a PA intervention programme had an impact (or not) on participants, and to make explicit the foundational features of the programme that facilitated positive change. In this study, we examined the evaluation of a multi-agency approach to a PA intervention programme which aimed to increase physical activity, and awareness of the importance of physical activity to key stage 2 (age 7-12) pupils in three UK primary schools. The agencies involved were the local health authority, a community based charitable organisation, a local health administrative agency, and the city school district. In examining the impact of the intervention, we adopted a process evaluation model in order to better understand the mechanisms and context that facilitated change. Therefore, the aim of this evaluation was to describe the provision, process and impact of the intervention by 1) assessing changes in physical activity levels 2) assessing changes in the student’s attitudes towards physical activity, 3) examining student’s perceptions of the child size fitness equipment in school and their likelihood of using the equipment outside of school and 4) exploring staff perceptions, specifically the challenges and benefits, of facilitating equipment based exercise sessions in the school environment. Methodology, Methods, Research Instruments or Sources Used Evaluation of the intervention was designed as a matched-control study and was undertaken over a seven-month period. The school-based intervention involved 3 intervention schools (n =436; 224 boys) and one control school (n=123; 70 boys) in a low socioeconomic and multicultural urban setting. The PA intervention was separated into two phases: a motivation DVD and 10 days of circuit based exercise sessions (Phase 1) followed by a maintenance phase (Phase 2) that incorporated a PA reward program and the use of specialist kid’s gym equipment located at each school for a period of 4 wk. Outcome measures were measured at baseline (January) and endpoint (July; end of academic school year) using reliable and valid self-report measures. The children’s attitudes towards PA were assessed using the Children’s Attitudes towards Physical Activity (CATPA) questionnaire. The Physical Activity Questionnaire for Children (PAQ-C), a 7-day recall questionnaire, was used to assess PA levels over a school week. A standardised test battery (Fitnessgram®) was used to assess cardiovascular fitness, body composition, muscular strength and endurance, and flexibility. After the 4 wk period, similar kid’s equipment was available for general access at local community facilities. The control school did not receive any of the interventions. All physical fitness tests and PA questionnaires were administered and collected prior to the start of the intervention (January) and following the intervention period (July) by an independent evaluation team. Evaluation testing took place at the individual schools over 2-3 consecutive days (depending on the number of children to be tested at the school). Staff (n=19) and student perceptions (n = 436) of the child sized fitness equipment were assessed via questionnaires post-intervention. Students completed a questionnaire to assess enjoyment, usage, ease of use and equipment assess and usage in the community. A questionnaire assessed staff perceptions on the delivery of the exercise sessions, classroom engagement and student perceptions. Conclusions, Expected Outcomes or Findings Findings showed that both the intervention (16.4%) and control groups increased their PAQ-C score by post-intervention (p < 0.05); with the intervention (17.8%) and control (21.3%) boys showing the greatest increase in physical activity levels. At post-intervention, there was a 5.5% decline in the intervention girls’ attitudes toward PA in the aesthetic subdomains (p = 0.009); whereas the control boys had an increase in positive attitudes in the health domain (p = 0.003). No significant differences in attitudes towards physical activity were observed in any other domain for either group at post-intervention (p > 0.05). The results of the equipment questionnaire, 96% of the children stated they enjoyed using the equipment and would like to use the equipment again in the future; however at post-intervention only 27% reported using the equipment outside of school in the last 7 days. Students identified the ski walker (34%) and cycle (32%) as their favorite pieces of equipment; with the single joint exercises such as leg extension and bicep/tricep machine (<3%) as their least favorite. Key themes from staff were that the equipment sessions were enjoyable, a novel activity, children felt very grown-up, and the activity was linked to a real fitness experience. They also expressed the need for more support to deliver the sessions and more time required for each session. Findings from this study suggest that a more integrated approach within the various agencies is required, particularly more support to increase teachers pedagogical content knowledge in physical activity instruction which is age appropriate. Future recommendations for successful implementation include sufficient time period for all students to access and engage with the equipment; increased access and marketing of facilities to parents within the local community, and professional teacher support strategies to facilitate the exercise sessions.

Supervision For School Staff: What is Valuable about Solution Circles?

Group supervision is used for support, education and/or monitoring. Despite the potential value of these elements for school staff, it is rarely practised. This mixed methods research, from a critical realist perspective, explored the use of Solution Circles to structure staff supervision groups in three schools. Five circles were run in each school, involving thirty-one participants, eighteen of whom contributed data. Thirteen staff trained as facilitators. The self-efficacy, resilience and anxiety levels of the staff taking part were not found to be significantly different as a result of the intervention. However, a small effect size was noted for self-efficacy, perhaps worthy of further investigation in the context of the small sample size. Thematic analysis of participant feedback (gathered during the last circle, which ran as a Focus Group) indicated the following mechanisms as affecting the value of Solution Circles for staff supervision groups: the structure of the sessions; aspects linked to the groups meeting a ‘need to talk’; elements which helped participants to ‘feel like a team’; and, school context factors. Semi-structured interview data from six facilitators indicated that the structure of the circles, individual characteristics of facilitators, the provision of support for facilitators, and elements of the wider school context, were all mechanisms which affected the facilitation of the programme. Further research might implement elements of these mechanisms and measure their impact.

An examination of factors that influence entrepreneurial intention of high school students in Kenya

Abstract Considerable research has been carried out on entrepreneurship in efforts to understand its incidence in order to influence and maximize its benefits. Essentially, researchers and policy makers have sought to understand the link between individuals and business creation: Why some people start businesses while others do not. The research indicates that personality traits, individual background factors and association of entrepreneurship with career choice and small business enterprises, cannot sufficiently explain entrepreneurship. It is recognized that entrepreneurship is an intentional process and based on Ajzen’s Theory of Planned Behavior, the most defining characteristic of entrepreneurship is the intention to start a business. The purpose of this study was, therefore, to examine factors that influence entrepreneurial intention in high school students in Kenya. Specifically, the study aimed at determining if there were relationships between the perceptions of desirability, and feasibility of entrepreneurship with entrepreneurial intention of the students, identifying any difference in these perceptions with students of different backgrounds, and developing a model to predict entrepreneurship in the students. The study, therefore, tested how well Ajzen’s Theory of Planned Behavior applied in the Kenyan situation. A questionnaire was developed and administered to 969 final year high school students at a critical important point in their career decision making. Participants were selected using a combined convenience and random sampling technique, considering gender, rural/urban location, cost, and accessibility. Survey was the major method of data collection. Data analysis methods included descriptive statistics, correlation, ANOVA, factor analysis, effect size, and regression analysis. iii The findings of this study corroborate results from past studies. Attitudes are found to influence intention, and the attitudes to be moderated by individual background factors. Perceived personal desirability of entrepreneurship was found to have the greatest influence on entrepreneurial intention and perceived feasibility the lowest. The study findings also showed that perceived social desirability and feasibility of entrepreneurship contributed to perception of personal desirability, and that the background factors, including gender and prior experience, influenced entrepreneurial intention both directly and indirectly. In addition, based on the literature reviewed, the study finds that entrepreneurship promotion requires reduction of the high small business mortality rate and creation of both entrepreneurs and entrepreneurial opportunities (Kruger, 2000; Shane & Venkataraman, 2000). These findings have theoretical and practical implications for researchers, policy makers, teachers, and other entrepreneurship practitioners in Kenya.

EXPLORING THE EFFECTS OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SCHOOL CHARACTERISTICS, TEACHER CHARACTERISTICS, ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT, AND SCHOOL CLIMATE ON VOLUNTARY INTRA-DISTRICT TEACHER MIGRATION

This quantitative research study utilized a binary logistic regression in a block design to investigate exogenous and endogenous factors influencing a teacher’s decision to make an intra-district move. The research focused on the following exogenous factors: classroom characteristics (size of class, percent minority, percent of students with an individualized education plan, and percent of students that are English language learners) and teacher characteristics (experience and gender). The following endogenous factors were examined: direct administrative influence (administrative support, rules enforced, school vision, teacher recognition, and job security) and indirect administrative influence (school climate, student misbehavior, parental support, materials, staff collaboration). The research was conducted by using information available from the National Center for Educational Statistics, the SASS from 2011-2012 and TFS from 2012-2013. The 2012-2013 Teacher Follow-up Survey identified 60 teachers who made a voluntary intra-district move. Results illustrate there is a statistically significant relationship between percentage of English Language Learners and overall job satisfaction and teachers choosing to make an intra-district move.

Prevalence of asthma among school children in Gaborone, Botswana.

Background: Asthma prevalence is high (>10%) in developed countries and although data is still missing for most of Africa, rates are increasing in developing regions as they become more westernized. We investigated the prevalence of asthma in school children in Gaborone, Botswana. Methods: This was a cross sectional descriptive study. ISAAC methodology was used. A representative proportionate size random sample of two age groups of children (13-14 year olds and 6-7 year olds) was consecutively enrolled from 10 schools. The schools were selected using a table of random numbers. A minimum sample size of 924 individuals (462 from each group) was adequate to achieve a precision of 3 % around our estimated prevalence of asthma of 10% with 95% confidence assuming a non-response rate of 20%. Data was collected using the validated International study of Asthma and Allergies in children (ISAAC) questionnaire. In accordance with the ISAAC criteria, Asthma was defined as wheezing in the previous 12 months. Data was captured in microsoft excel and analysed using SPSS version 23. Results: The prevalence of asthma (wheezing in the previous 12 months) was 16.5% (194/1175). Among the 6-7 year olds, the prevalence of asthma (wheezing in the previous 12 months) was 15.9%, while among the 13-14 years olds it was 16.8 %. The prevalence school type was 22.3 % in private schools versus 14.5 % in public schools. More severe asthma was associated with older children, 13 -14 years. The older children reported more limited speech due to wheezing (OR= 2.0, 95% CI =1.034, 3.9, p-value=0.043), ever had asthma (OR= 1.5, 95% CI=1.031, 2.3, p-value=0.034) and wheezing during exercise (OR=3.4, 95% CI= 2.5, 4.9, p-value= <0.001) compared to the younger children 6-7 years. Children from private schools had more wheezing symptoms. They were more likely to have ever wheezed (OR=2.2, .95% CI=1.7,2.9, p-value < 0.0001), wheezed in the previous twelve months (have asthma) (OR=1.7,95%CI=1.2,2.4, p-value = 0.001), ever had asthma (OR=2.4, 95% CI=1.7,3.5, pvalue< 0.0001), and wheezed during exercise (OR=1.8, 95% CI=1.4,2.4, p-value < 0.0001). Conclusion: The prevalence of asthma amongst school children in Gaborone, Botswana is high with older children experiencing more severe symptoms of asthma.

School Development in Urbanizing Areas

Good schools are essential for building thriving urban areas. They are important for preparing the future human resource and directly contribute to social and economic development of a place. They not only act as magnets for prospective residents, but also are necessary for retaining current population. As public infrastructure, schools mirror their neighborhood. “Their location, design and physical condition are important determinants of neighborhood quality, regional growth and change, and quality of life.”2 They impact housing development and utility requirements among many things. Hence, planning for schools along with other infrastructure in an area is essential. Schools are very challenging to plan, especially in urbanizing areas with changing demographic dynamics, where the development market and housing development can shift drastically a number of times. In such places projecting the future school enrollments is very difficult and in case of large population influx, school development can be unable to catch up with population growth which results in overcrowding. Typical is the case of Arlington County VA. In the past two decades the County has changed dramatically from a collection of bedroom communities in Washington DC Metro Region to a thriving urban area. Its metro accessible urban corridors are among most desired locations for development in the region. However, converting single family neighborhoods into high density areas has put a lot of pressure on its school facilities and has resulted in overcrowded schools. Its public school enrollment has grown by 19% from 2009 to 2014.3 While the percentage of population under 5 years age has increased in last 10 years, those in the 5-19 age group have decreased4. Hence, there is more pressure on the elementary school facilities than others in the County. Design-wise, elementary schools, due to their size, can be imagined as a community component. There are a number of strategies that can be used to develop elementary school in urbanizing areas as a part of the neighborhood. Experimenting with space planning and building on partnership and mixed-use opportunities can help produce better designs for new schools in future. This thesis is an attempt to develop elementary school models for urbanizing areas of Arlington County. The school models will be designed keeping in mind the shifting nature of population and resulting student enrollments in these areas. They will also aim to be efficient and sustainable, and lead to the next generation design for elementary school education. The overall purpose of the project is to address barriers to elementary school development in urbanizing areas through creative design and planning strategies. To test above mentioned ideas, the Joint-Use School typology of housing +school design has been identified for elementary school development in urbanizing areas in this thesis project. The development is based on the Arlington Public School’s Program guidelines (catering to 600 students). The site selected for this project is Clarendon West (part of Red Top Cab Properties) in Clarendon, Arlington County VA.