Ramadan school holidays as a natural experiment : impacts of seasonality on school dropout in Bangladesh

In 2000, Ramadan school vacation coincided with the original annual exam period of December in Bangladesh. This forced schools to pre-pone their final exam schedules in November, which was the month before the harvest begins. 'Ramadan 2000' is a natural experiment that reduced the labor demand for children during the exam period. Using household level panel data of 2000 and 2003, and after controlling for various unobservable variations including individual fixed effects, aggregate year effects, and subdistrict-level year effects, this paper finds evidence of statistically significant impact of seasonal labor demand on school dropout in Bangladesh among the children from agricultural households.

Growth in literacy and numeracy achievement : evidence and explanations of a summer slowdown in low socio-economic schools

The phenomenon of summer slide or setback has gained a great deal of attention in the USA. It is understood to account for as much as 80 % of the difference in achievement for students between low and high socio-economic families over their elementary schooling. In a mixed method longitudinal study of reforms in low socio-economic school communities in Victoria, Australia this phenomenon in the achievement growth of primary and secondary school students for both literacy and numeracy was identified. The longitudinal analysis of achievement data revealed decelerated growth during Terms 4 and 1, the spring and summer months in the Australian school calendar. In this article we present these findings and the reflections of Principals, literacy and numeracy leaders and coaches about these findings and their suggestions for action. We argue that reforming school practices during Terms 1 and 4 and developing a deeper understanding of students’ out-of-school learning and knowledge are essential for enhancing growth in achievement from September to March and for narrowing the achievement gap between marginalised and advantaged students. Further research of this phenomenon in the Australian context is needed.

O fio de Ariadne: a religiosidade nas festas comemorativas escolares

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Expanding Learning Time in Schools: Considering the Challenges of Implementation and the Potential Impact

Considering the broader context of school reform that is seeking education strategies that might deliver substantial impact, this article examines four questions related to the policy and practice of expanding learning time: (a) why do educators find the standard American school calendar insufficient to meet students’ educational needs, especially those of disadvantaged students? (b) how do educators implement a longer day and/or year, addressing concerns about both educational quality and costs? (c) what does research report about outcomes of expanding time in schools? and (d) what are the future prospects for increasing the number of expanded-time schools? The paper examines these questions by considering research, policy, and practice at the national level and, throughout, by drawing upon additional evidence from Massachusetts, one of the leading states in the expanded-time movement. In considering the latter two questions, the article explores the knowns and unknowns related to expanded learning time and offers suggestions for further research.

Insumos demográficos para el sector educacional: América Latina, población en edad escolar, edades simples y años calendarios 1980-2000 = Demographic elements for the education sector: Latin America, school-age population, single ages and calendar years 1980-2000

Publicación bilingüe (Español e inglés)

Geek goddesses go to school : A study of female pre-service teachers in information technology courses

Various reasons have been proffered for female under-representation in tertiary information technology (IT) courses and the IT industry with most relating to cultural moirés. The 2006 Geek Goddess calendar was designed to alter IT’s “geeky image” and the term is used here to represent young women enrolled in pre-service IT teaching courses. Their special mix of IT and teaching draws on conflicting stereotypes and represents a micro-climate which is typically lost in studies of IT occupations because of the aggregation of all IT roles. This paper will report on a small-scale investigation of female students (N=25) at a university in Queensland (Australia) studying to become teachers of secondary IT subjects. They are entering the IT industry, gendered as a “male” occupation, through the safe space of teaching a discipline allied to feminine qualities of nurturing. They are “geek goddesses” who – perhaps to balance the masculine and feminine of these occupations - have decided to go to school rather than into corporations or government.

Use of physical activity self-management strategies by high school students

Teaching adolescents to use self-management strategies (SMS's) may be an effective approach to promoting lifelong physical activity (PA). However, the extent to which adolescents use SMS's and their impact on current PA have not been studied previously. The aims of this study were: 1) describe the prevalence of SMS use in adolescents; and 2) determine relationships between SMS use, PA self-efficacy, and PA participation. 197 students completed questionnaires measuring use of SMS's, self-efficacy, and PA behavior. The most prevalent SMS's (>30%) were thinking about the benefits of PA, making PA more enjoyable, choosing activities that are convenient, setting aside time to do PA, and setting goals to do PA. Less than 10% reported rewarding oneself for PA, writing planned activities in a book or calendar, and keeping charts of PA. SMS use was associated with increased self-efficacy (r = 0.47, P < .001) and higher levels of PA (r = 0.34 P < .001). A one unit difference in SMS scores was associated with a ~ 4-fold increase in the probability of being active (OR = 3.7, 95% CI = 1.8-7.4). Although strongly associated with PA, a relatively small percentage of adolescents routinely use SMS's.

Quarterly calendar.

The Library's set of this title consists of vols. from various editions: Academy ed.; Divinity ed.; Graduate School ed.; etc.

Calendar.

Mode of access: Internet.