Differentiation Between School Attendance Problems: Why and How?

School attendance problems (SAPs) are heterogeneous with respect to etiology and presentation. The long history of conceptualizing SAPs has led to a vast array of terms and definitions as well as different perspectives on the most helpful approach to classification. For educators, practitioners, researchers, and policymakers, this presents a challenge in understanding, assessing, and intervening with SAPs. This paper outlines evolution in the conceptualization of SAPs, focusing on two contemporary approaches to differentiating between them. One approach draws on the longstanding differentiation between SAP types labeled school refusal, truancy, and school withdrawal. A fourth type of SAP, labeled school exclusion, is also considered. The other approach focuses on the function of absenteeism, measured via the School Refusal Assessment Scale (SRAS). Anecdotal and scientific support for the SAP typology is presented, along with the benefits and shortcomings of the SRAS approach to differentiation. The paper offers suggestions for how to differentiate between SAPs and introduces the SNACK, a brief screening measure that permits differentiation by SAP type.     

Comorbidity of Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD) and major depression in primary school children

The study investigated comorbid Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and depression in a sample of rural primary school children in Limpopo Province, South Africa. A total of 320 learners participated in this study of whom 160 learners had teacher and parent identified ADHD symptoms (females?=?50%; age range 6–14 years). All the learners took the Beck Depression Youth Inventory, second edition. Data were analysed applying ANOVA to investigate the possible differences between and within age, gender, and ADHD subtype group differences in depression symptomatology. Results indicated no statistically significant differences in the scores on the depression scale between the children with ADHD as identified by parents and teachers and the comparison group peers.     

Context-based variations in EFL teachers’ reflection: the case of public schools versus private institutes in Iran

The aim of the present study was twofold: examining the effect of contextual differences on the degree of English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers’ involvement in reflection and exploring context-related factors that may help/hinder the reflection process. A mixed-methods quantitative-qualitative procedure was adopted. Eighty-five Iranian EFL teachers (41 teaching in public schools and 44 working in private language institutes) completed the English-language teaching reflection inventory developed by Akbari, Behzadpour, and Dadvand (2010 Akbari, R., Behzadpoor, F., &; Dadvand, B. (2010). Development of english language teaching reflection inventory. System, 38, 211–227.10.1016/j.system.2010.03.003[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]), with 10 of the participants attending a follow-up interview too. The results of multiple sets of independent samples t-tests showed that teachers in the private sector reported significantly more active involvement in lower levels of reflection (i.e. practical, cognitive, and affective reflection), while no measurable difference was detected between the two groups in terms of higher levels of reflection (i.e. metacognitive and critical reflection). Analysis of the interview data further revealed that teachers’ involvement in reflection was influenced by five main context-specific factors namely, knowledge of reflection, institutional demands, teachers’ attitude toward teaching, availability of resources, and collegial support. The implications of the findings for educational policymakers and teacher educators were discussed and suggestions were provided for future research.     

Psychological,social and physical environmental mediators of the SCORES intervention on physical activity among children living in low-income communities

ObjectivesThis study examined mediation effects of socio-ecological variables on accelerometer-determined physical activity among children in the Supporting Children's Outcomes using Rewards, Exercise and Skills (SCORES) intervention.DesignRandomized control trial mediation analysis.MethodsPrimary school children were randomly assigned the SCORES multi-component intervention or control group for the 12-month study. The outcome was accelerometer derived total moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA). Hypothesized mediators measured in children were physical activity enjoyment and perceived sport competence and social support. Hypothesized mediators measured in parents were family social support, access to physical activity facilities and equipment at home, and perceived access to physical activity opportunities in the local community. Mediation analyses were conducted using multi-level linear analysis in MPlus.ResultsThere were significant intervention effects for social support from teachers (A = 1.73, SE = 0.88, p = 0.048) and parental perceived access to physical opportunities in the local community (A = 2.69, SE = 1.12, p = 0.016). There were significant associations between changes in perceived sport competence (B = 0.48, SE = 0.36, p = 0.027), parental perceived access to physical activity opportunities in the local community (B = 0.60, SE = 0.26, p = 0.021), and changes in total MVPA. Parental perceived access to physical activity opportunities in the local community was found to have a significant mediating effect on total MVPA (AB = 1.61, 95% CI = 0.06 to 3.95, proportion 13%).ConclusionsParental perceived access to physical activity opportunities in the local community is a potential mechanism of behavior change for children and mediated the effect of the SCORES intervention on objectively measured physical activity.     

The Effect of Physical Activity on Children With ADHD: A Quantitative Review of the Literature

Research on the effects of physical activity on children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder is promising, yet no attempt has been made to integrate current findings using meta-analytic techniques. Using a meta-regression, the present study examined the effectives of physical activity for children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder on a number of cognitive, behavioral, and emotional outcomes. From 20 empirical studies, 164 effect sizes quantifying the effectiveness of physical activity for children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder were extracted from 22 independent samples. Results indicated an overall moderate-to-large effect for physical activity on children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, with a significant effect for emotion/mood. Limitations of the study, future directions, and implications for school professionals are discussed.     

Enhancing the Behavioral and Mental Health Services Within School-Based Contexts

ABSTRACT

Recent health care reform provides many new opportunities to expand mental health and behavioral support to students in schools and school–community partnerships. Through newly available funding sources, as well as expanded legislative initiatives, school psychologists can advocate for and become leaders in delivering universal programming, tiered mental health supports, and formalized collaborative efforts with community agencies. The authors highlight the application of tiered levels of services, with current practice samples, designed to address students' mental and behavioral health. Implications for practice are discussed.     

Dark and bright sides of thriving – school burnout and engagement in the Finnish context

School burnout is defined as exhaustion, cynicism and inadequacy as a student, and engagement can be conceptualized as study-related vigor, absorption and dedication. School burnout is increasing, particularly among students on an academic track, while at the end of elementary school almost half of the students no longer find school meaningful. School burnout and engagement were investigated by applying the demand-resource and stage-environment models. The results show that high school demands lead to burnout, while personal and school resources lead to school engagement. Burnout from school-context can also spillover to later depression, drop out and internet addiction, and engagement to overall satisfaction with life and success in educational pathways. In line with the stage-environment fit theory, educational transitions play a role in changes in school burnout trajectories. Adoption of a person-oriented approach revealed several different burnout-engagement profiles, including a profile in which students are at the same time both exhausted and engaged. The social context of peers, immigrant status, parents and teachers also play an important role in engagement and burnout.     

Boys,girls, and the school cultural environment: Teachers’ judgment and students’ values

Due to gender socialization, girls are more likely to endorse self-transcendence values (e.g., helping people) compared to boys, whereas boys are more likely to endorse self-enhancement values (e.g., wanting to be in charge) compared to girls. In two studies, we investigated teachers’ judgment regarding the display of these values in school and students’ endorsement of the self-transcendence and self-enhancement values in two contexts: home and school. In Study 1 (N = 240), teachers evaluated a student perceived as strongly endorsing the self-transcendence values more positively compared to a student perceived as strongly endorsing the self-enhancement values, regardless of the student’s gender. In Study 2 (N = 151), boys endorsed the self-enhancement values more than the self-transcendence values at home, whereas the opposite occurred in the school context. Girls did not vary across contexts, endorsing the self-transcendence values more than the self-enhancement values in both contexts. Possible consequences on boys’ school-related outcomes are discussed.     

Black Mountain College: A Creative Art Space Where It Was Safe to Fail

Black Mountain College is remembered as an artistic utopian alternative to institutional learning. Its faculty and students included some of the most important creative thinkers of the 20th century. Its foundation was built on the philosophy of “learning by doing.” But what made Black Mountain such a dynamic educational environment? Today, the financial burden of higher education places a lasting strain on students that inhibits creative growth. Does the educational structure of the college system impede our learning? Black Mountain was a legendary educational experiment, which offers a model for contemporary art education.