Primary School

The present paper describes a pilot and follow-up study of the preliminary development of a new tool to screen for Asperger Syndrome (AS) and related social and communication conditions (the CAST: Childhood Asperger Syndrome Test) in children aged 4-11 years, in a non-clinical setting. Pilot Study: Parents of 13 children with AS and 37 typically developing children completed the CAST. There were significant differences in mean scores, with the AS sample mean of 21.08 (range 15 -31) and the typical sample mean of 4.73 (range 0 -13). The Pilot was used to establish preliminary cut-off scores for the CAST. Main Study: Parents of 1150 primary-school-age children were sent the CAST, with 199 responders and 174 taking part in the full data analysis. Results suggest that compared to other tools currently available, the CAST may be useful for identifying children at risk for AS and related conditions, in a mainstream non-clinical sample.

Cooperative, small-group learning is widely recognised as a pedagogical practice that promotes learning and socialisation across a range of curriculum areas from primary school through to high school and college. When children work cooperatively together, they learn to give and receive help, share their ideas and listen to other students' perspectives, seek new ways of clarifying differences, resolving problems, and constructing new understandings and knowledge. The result is that students attain higher academic outcomes and are more motivated to achieve than they would be if they worked alone. This paper provides an overview of five different studies that the author has conducted that demonstrate clearly the importance of explicitly structuring cooperative small-group work in classrooms if children are to derive the benefits widely attributed to this pedagogical practice. r

Araştırmanın temel amacı; sınıf öğretmenlerinin derste öğrencileriyle göz teması kurma davranışlarını ve bu davranışları hakkındaki görüşlerini, meslekî kıdemlerine, cinsiyetlerine, algısal öğrenme stillerine ve öğrencilerinin akademik başarı düzeyleri ile cinsiyetlerine göre incelemektir. Bu temel amaç doğrultusunda araştırmanın ilk iki bölümünde eğitim ve iletişim literatürü çerçevesinde araştırmanın problem durumu ve kuramsal çerçevesi tanımlanmış, sözsüz iletişim becerileri ile algısal öğrenme stilleri kapsamında araştırmanın temel kavramları teorik düzeyde incelenmiştir. Ayrıca araştırma kapsamında, veri toplama yöntemi olarak kullanılan göz izleme sistemi ve teknolojileri hakkında bilgiler verildikten sonra, farklı bilim alanlarında yapılan göz izleme çalışmalarının sonuçlarına göre; öğretmenlerle öğrenciler arasında gerçekleşen göz teması kurma davranışlarının bu yöntemle ölçümlenip ölçümlenemeyeceği tartışılmıştır. Araştırmanın yönteminin anlatıldığı üçüncü bölümde, öncelikle araştırmanın modeli, değişkenleri, çalışma grubu, veri toplama yöntemleri ve araçları, sınırlılıkları, veri analiz süreçleri anlatılmıştır. Araştırmanın dördüncü bölümünde ise, araştırma kapsamında yapılan göz izleme testi ve diğer veri toplama yöntemleriyle ulaşılan bulgular, öncelikle öğretmenlerin göz teması kurma davranışları, daha sonra ise bu davranışları hakkındaki görüşleri kapsamında iki başlık altında anlatılarak yorumlanmıştır. Kıdem değişkenine göre odaklanma süresi anlamlı olarak farklılaşmaktadır (p=0,039). Ancak, odaklanma sayısı kıdeme göre anlamlı bir farklılık göstermemektedir (p=0,336). Başka bir anlatımla, sınıf öğretmenlerinin kıdemi, odaklanma süresini anlamlı düzeyde etkileyen bir faktörken, odaklanma sayısını anlamlı düzeyde etkileyen bir faktör olmadığı söylenebilir. Öğretmenlerin öğrenme stilleri değişkenine göre odaklanma süresi anlamlı olarak farklılaşmaktadır (p=0,004). Ancak, odaklanma sayısı öğretmenlerin öğrenme stillerine göre anlamlı bir farklılık göstermemektedir (p=0,199). Başka bir anlatımla, sınıf öğretmenlerinin öğrenme stilleri, odaklanma süresini anlamlı düzeyde etkileyen bir faktörken, odaklanma sayısını anlamlı düzeyde etkileyen bir faktör olmadığı söylenebilir. Öğrenci not ortalması değişkenine göre odaklanma süresi (p=0,031) ve odaklanma sayısı (p=0,022) öğrenci not ortalamasına göre anlamlı bir farklılık göstermektedir Başka bir anlatımla, öğrencilerin not ortalamasının, odaklanma süresini ve odaklanma sayısını anlamlı düzeyde etkileyen bir faktör olduğu söylenebilir. Araştırmanın beşinci ve son bölümünde, öğretmenlerin meslekî kıdemlerinin, algısal öğrenme stillerinin ve öğrencilerin akademik başarılarının göz teması kurma davranışları arasında anlamlı bir ilişki olduğu ortaya çıkmıştır. Ancak öğretmenlerin cinsiyet değişkeninin ve öğrencilerin cinsiyet değişkeninin öğretmenlerin göz teması kurma davranışları üzerinde açıklayıcı etkiye sahip olmadığı sonucuna ulaşılmıştır. Son olarak araştırma sonucunda elde edilen bulgulara göre öğretmenlerin göz teması kurma davranışlarını geliştirmeye yararlı olabilecek ve gelecekte aynı konuda yapılacak araştırmalara ışık tutacak önerilerde bulunulmuştur. ANALYSING EYE CONTACT BEHAVIOURS OF CLASSROOM TEACHERS BASED ON SOME VARIABLES The main objective of the present study is to analyze eye contact behaviors of classroom teachers during the class and their opinions about such behaviors of them based on their professional seniority, gender, perceptional learning styles and level of academic achievement of their students. In line with this primary objective, the problem situation and the theoretical framework of the study is defined under the educational and communication literature in the first two chapters of the study, and then the main concepts of the study are analyzed in a theoretical level under the non-verbal communication skills and perceptional learning styles. In addition, upon giving information on the eye tracking system and technologies used as a data collection method, whether the eye contact behaviors between teachers and students can be measured through this method is discussed based on the results of the eye tracking studies conducted in different scientific disciplines. In the third chapter of the study where the method used is discussed, primarily the model, variables, work group, data collection methods, data collection tools, restrictions, data analysis of the study are described. In the forth chapter of the study, the findings obtained through the eye tracking test performed under the study and other data collection methods are interpreted in two headings: firstly, eye contact behaviors of teachers, and secondly, their opinions about such behaviours of them. There is a statistically signifant difference in focusing time based on the seniority variable (p=0,039). However, there is no statistically significant difference in the number of focusing based on the seniority variable. (p=0,336). In other words, while the seniority of the classroom teachers affects the focusing time significantly, it is possible to say that it does not affect the number of focusing significantly. There is a statistically significant difference in focusing time based on the teachers' learning styles variable (p=0,004). However, there is no statististically significant difference in the number of focusing based on the teachers' learning styles (p=0,199). In other words, while the classroom teacher's learning styles variable is a factor that affects the focusing time significantly, it is possible to say that it is a factor that does not affect the number of focusing significantly. There is a statistically significant difference in focusing time (p=0,031) and number of focusing (p=0,022) based on the students' grade point average variable. In other words, students' grade-point average is a factor that significantly affects the focusing time and number of focusing of the students. In the fifth and final chapter of the study, it reveals that there is a statistically significant relation between the eye contact behaviours, professional seniority and percentional learning styles of teachers, and academic achievement of students. However, it is found that teachers' gender variable and students' gender variable do not have a descriptive influence on the eye contact behaviours of the teachers. Consequently, according to the findings obtained at the end of the study, recommendations are made that would help improve the eye contact behaviors of the teachers and shed light on the future studies on the same issue.

In line with the aims of the "National Bilharzia Control Programme" and the "School Health and Nutrition Programme" in Zambia, a study on urinary schistosomiasis was conducted in 20 primary schools of Lusaka province to further our understanding of the epidemiology of the infection, and to enhance spatial targeting of control. We investigated risk factors associated with urinary schistosomiasis, and examined small-scale spatial heterogeneity in prevalence, using data collected from 1,912 schoolchildren, 6 to 15-year-old, recruited from 20 schools in Kafue and Luangwa districts. The risk factors identified included geographical location, altitude, normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), maximum temperature, age, sex of the child and intermediate host snail abundance. Three logistic regression models were fitted assuming different random effects to allow for spatial structuring. The mean prevalence rate was 9.6%, with significance difference between young and older children (odds ratio (OR) = 0.71; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.51-0.96). The risk of infection was related to intermediate host snail abundance (OR = 1.03; 95% CI = 1.00-1.05) and vegetation cover (OR = 1.04; 95% CI = 1.00-1.07). Schools located either on the plateau and the valley also differed in prevalence and intensity of infection for moderate infection to none (OR = 1.64; 95% CI = 1.36-1.96). The overall predictive performance of the spatial random effects model was higher than the ordinary logistic regression. In addition, evidence of heterogeneity of the infection risk was found at the micro-geographical level. A sound understanding of small-scale heterogeneity, caused by spatial aggregation of schoolchildren, is important to inform health planners for implementing control schistosomiasis interventions.

With the introduction of the National Curriculum primary teachers have come under increasing pressure from the Office for Standards in Education and other government agencies to change the ways they teach. However, the research evidence is equivocal as to the changes which have taken place at Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 over the last 5 years. This article argues that part of the problem stems from the way that characteristics of classroom organisation, such as whole-class teaching, have been defined in various studies. From case studies of nine rural schools in which systematic observation and pupils' diary records were collected, an attempt is made to chart the changes in classroom practice over a decade and to compare these findings with other recent studies.

Background: Approximately 55,000 children in New Zealand do not eat breakfast on any given day. Regular breakfast skipping has been associated with poor diets, higher body mass index, and adverse effects on children's behaviour and academic performance. Research suggests that regular breakfast consumption can improve academic performance, nutrition and behaviour. This paper describes the protocol for a stepped wedge cluster randomised trial of a free school breakfast programme. The aim of the trial is to determine the effects of the breakfast intervention on school attendance, achievement, psychosocial function, dietary habits and food security. Methods/Design: Sixteen primary schools in the North Island of New Zealand will be randomised in a sequential stepped wedge design to a free before-school breakfast programme consisting of non-sugar coated breakfast cereal, milk products, and/or toast and spreads. Four hundred children aged 5-13 years (approximately 25 per school) will be recruited. Data collection will be undertaken once each school term over the 2010 school year (February to December). The primary trial outcome is school attendance, defined as the proportion of students achieving an attendance rate of 95% or higher. Secondary outcomes are academic achievement (literacy, numeracy, self-reported grades), sense of belonging at school, psychosocial function, dietary habits, and food security. A concurrent process evaluation seeks information on parents', schools' and providers' perspectives of the breakfast programme.

The transition from severe disciplinary measures (such as kneeling, beating and other types of corporal punishment) to children’s rights was neither short nor smooth. The A. retraces this transition in Slovenia from 1870 – when corporal punishment was, at least officially, banned by legislation on school punishment – to the first decades of the 20th century. Even though punishment actually continued to be experienced on a daily basis by young people, a new attitude begun to spread at the end of the 19th century, in liberal pedagogical journals as well as Catholic ones, which manifested a growing criticism of beatings at school, advising teachers to be careful when handing out punishment, the unacceptability of kneeling in religion classes, and support for teachers who educated through the strength of their personalities, guided by love for children and based on Christ’s teachings.

This study examined the effect of the You Can Do It! Education (YCDI) cognitive-behavioural intervention program on the emotional resilience of students in grades 4 to 6 who were identified with achievement, behavioural, social and/or emotional challenges. 61 students were randomly assigned to either small groups receiving an eight week YCDI cognitivebehavioural intervention or small groups receiving “eclectic” counselling other than cognitivebehavioural. Results indicated a positive impact of the YCDI program on the resilience items contained in the ACER Social and Emotional Well-Being Surveys (student self-report; teacher survey) with no positive impact found for students receiving “eclectic” counselling. Results are discussed in terms of the need for social and emotional learning programs that explicitly teach emotional resilience skills. Children of all ages face situations on a daily basis that can evoke negative feelings of anger, anxiety and sadness. The failure to develop ag...

This study gives results of the first phase of the 12-18 year old Turkish students’ norm study of The Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ), which deveoped by Pintrich, Smith, Garcia & McKeachie (1993). The scale was administrated to 1114 students from 3 primary schools and 3 high schools in Ankara in Turkish language, science, mathematics and social science courses. After eliminating the questionnaires which have missing and extreme values, the analyses were done on 762 valid questionnaires for motivation subscale and 1100 valid questionnaires for learning strategies subscale. Results of the confirmatory factor analyses show that the first subscale, Motivation, has six factors, and the second subscale, Learning Strategies, has nine factors according to original scale’s factor structures. Depending on the results of the confirmatory factor analysis; 6 items from motivation subscale and 5 items from learning strategies subscale were removed due to their low factor lo...

This paper reports a two year longitudinal study of the effects of cooperative learning on science attainment, attitudes towards science and social connectedness during transition from primary to high school. A previous project on cooperative learning in primary schools observed gains in science understanding and in social aspects of school life. This project followed 204 children involved in the previous project and 440 comparison children who were not as they undertook transition from 24 primary to 16 high schools. Cognitive, affective and social gains observed in the original project survived transition. The implications improving the effectiveness of school transition by using cooperative learning initiatives are explored. Possibilities for future research and the implications for practice and policy are discussed.

This article explores the impact that schools have on their pupils' obesity and so identify those where targeted input is most needed. A modelling process was developed using data that had been collected over 2 years on a socio-economically and ethnically representative sample of 2367 school pupils aged 5 and 9 years old attending 35 Leeds primary schools. The three steps in the model involved calculating the ''Observed'' level of obesity for each school using mean body mass index standard deviation (BMI SDS); adjusting this using ethnicity and census-derived deprivation data to calculate the ''Expected'' level; and calculating the ''Value Added'' by each school from differences in obesity at school entry and transfer. We found there was significant variance between the schools in terms of mean BMI SDS (range À0.07 to þ0.78). Residential deprivation score and ethnicity accounted for only a small proportion of the variation. Expected levels of obesity therefore differed little from the Observed, but the Value Added step produced very different rankings. As such, there is variation between schools in terms of their levels of obesity. Our modelling process allowed us to identify schools whose levels differed from that expected given the socio-demographic make up of the pupils attending. The Value Added step suggests that there may be a significant school effect. If this is validated in extended studies, the methodology could allow for exploration of mechanisms contributing to the school effect, and identify schools with the highest unexpected prevalence. Resources could then be targeted towards those schools in greatest need.

This study compares the effectiveness of different approaches to training complex cognitive and psychomotor skills within the framework of road safety education for primary school children. A method involving roadside behavioral training, a classroom instruction method and a method combining these two approaches were developed to teach basic skills critical to the safe crossing of intersections. These three methods were presented to pupils of the first grade of primary schools (6-7-year-olds) and both the knowledge of the necessary crossing skills and the ability to perform these skills under normal traffic conditions was measured using a before/after treatment design. The results indicate that knowledge and behavioural improvements can be achieved by both classroom instruction and the behavioral training, even though the latter approach appeared to be slightly superior. This suggests that instruction carried out in the classroom can be beneficial in acquiring complex psychomotor skills, which is in contrast to earlier findings indicating that classroom instruction can only affect knowledge and does not improve road crossing skills. The conclusion is reached that precise formulation of the educational objectives and use of audiovisual media are essential factors determining the effectiveness of cognitive instruction of road crossing skills in the classroom. Young pedestrians between 4 and 9 years of age are disproportionally involved in traffic accidents. Traffic is in fact one of the major causes of death for children in developed countries (Foot, Chapman & Wade, 1982). Accident analyses indicate that inappropriate behavior of children, in particular failing to stop and look before crossing, is an important

This paper is the product of a joint research project, carried out by PRAESA and Babylon, Centre for Studies of the Multicultural Society at Tilburg University (the Netherlands). It reports on a language survey conducted amongst primary school children in the Greater Cape Town as well as in the rural/town areas of the Western Cape province between 1999 and 2002. The focus is on language policy in schools in relation to language vitality indicators such as language repertoire, choice, proficiency, dominance and preference. The findings show the dominance of English in the metropolis and its growing influence in the traditionally Afrikaans-dominant rural areas. There is also considerable interest in isiXhosa, both from speakers of isiXhosa themselves and from Afrikaans-and English-speakers. The outcomes of the survey stand to inform existing databases on language statistics in education with a view to informing language policy and practice. In this way, language surveys in multilingual societies provide information crucial to informed language planning. UNIVERSITY OF CAPE TOWN u PRAESA's series of occasional papers is meant to provide an opportunity for the research done by staff members and associated researchers working in the domain of language policy in education to obtain initial exposure to an interested peer audience. It is hoped that feedback will improve the final version in which this research is eventually published or distributed. u Daryl Braam is a former primary school teacher who currently conducts research into aspects of school language policy and its role in whole school development. Other research interests include surveys and language mapping.

The literature suggests that peer assessment contributes to the development of student learning and promotes ownership of assessment processes. These claims emerge from research conducted primarily in Western contexts. This exploratory paper reports on the perspectives that a class of Hong Kong primary school students and their teachers have on their engagement with peer assessment. It draws on data collected through extensive interviews and classroom observations from a 2-year case study. The findings indicate that student perceptions about the usefulness of peer assessment follow from their perspectives on quality of peer feedback, peer language proficiency, and the novelty or repetitiveness of its processes. Teachers and students also viewed peer assessment as assuming a wider role in preparing for examinations and future secondary schooling. A key implication is that assessment practices are deeply cultural and, in test-dominated settings, peer assessment may have most potential when explicit links are drawn with preparation for summative assessment.

Applying Realistic Mathematics Education (RME) in Teaching Geometry in Indonesian Primary Schools Thesis University of Twente, Enschede. -With refs. -With summary in Ducth ISBN 90 365 18 43 1 Lay-out: Sandra Schele Press: PrintPartners Ipskamp -Enschede

tage has been shown to translate into a clinical benefit. The superior spatial resolution of MRI may be particularly important in the pediatric age group given the smaller size of the cardiac chambers. Another advantage of MRI is its ability to provide comprehensive anatomic and functional evaluation in a single examination. However, the current limitations of MRI in pediatric patients include the lack of validation of FPP and MDE against a gold standard technique, susceptibility to imaging artifacts (especially in the presence of metallic implants), and limited temporal resolution in patients with fast heart rates. The use of regional wall motion analysis in this study reflects the lack of an acceptable gold standard method to assess myocardial viability in vivo. 16 Therefore, this initial examination should be validated and expanded by additional studies. 1. Donnelly JP, Raffel DM, Shulkin BL, Corbett JR, Bove EL, Mosca RS, Kulik TJ. Resting coronary flow and coronary flow reserve in human infants after repair or palliation of congenital heart defects as measured by positron emission tomography. J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg 1998;115:103-110. 2. Hauser M, Bengel FM, Kuhn A, Sauer U, Zylla S, Braun SL, Nekolla SG, Oberhoffer R, Lange R, Schwaiger M, Hess J. Myocardial blood flow and flow reserve after coronary reimplantation in patients after arterial switch and Ross operation.

There has been a long-standing debate regarding the functions of play during childhood. An important, but neglected, first step in this debate entails documenting the costs associated with play. In this study we analysed energetic costs (expressed in terms of caloric expenditure) associated with physical play in four field experiments of play in primary school children. Experiment 1 established the concurrent validity of an observational check list to estimate caloric expenditure of children's physical play. Experiment 2 compared caloric expenditure of the play (defined as all behaviour exhibited during play time) for two age groups of children during playtime outdoors and during indoor sedentary activity; caloric expenditure of outdoor activity was greater and was significantly correlated with ambient temperature. In experiment 3, children were observed during indoor play to control for the influence of ambient temperature. Outdoor physical play was more energetically costly than indoor physical play. In experiment 4, children's behaviour was observed outdoors and caloric expenditure for play, games and other activities was compared. Physical play was more costly than other forms of behaviour and games. Estimates of total energetic costs of play ranged from 6 to 15%. Results are discussed in terms of the relatively low caloric costs of play.

Many software systems would significantly improve performance if they could adapt to the emotional state of the user, for example if Intelligent Tutoring Systems (ITSs), ATM's, ticketing machines could recognise when users were confused, frustrated or angry they could guide the user back to remedial help systems so improving the service. Many researchers now feel strongly that ITSs would be significantly enhanced if computers could adapt to the emotions of students. This idea has spawned the developing field of affective tutoring systems (ATSs): ATSs are ITSs that are able to adapt to the affective state of students. The term ''affective tutoring system'' can be traced back as far as Rosalind Picard's book Affective Computing in 1997. This paper presents research leading to the development of Easy with Eve, an ATS for primary school mathematics. The system utilises a network of computer systems, mainly embedded devices to detect student emotion and other significant bio-signals. It will then adapt to students and displays emotion via a lifelike agent called Eve. Eve's tutoring adaptations are guided by a case-based method for adapting to student states; this method uses data that was generated by an observational study of human tutors. This paper presents the observational study, the case-based method, the ATS itself and its implementation on a distributed computer systems for real-time performance, and finally the implications of the findings for Human Computer Interaction in general

This paper describes the Chinle Primary School Dual Language Project in terms of both the activities of the project and the attitudes and aspirations of the bilingual teachers who have restructured the educational setting to meet the needs of students who are speakers of Navajo as their primary language and of students who are speakers of English who are learning Navajo as their heritage language.

A national survey to investigate the use of computers by primary school children in the Republic of Ireland was carried out by postal questionnaire. Teacher education on computer related ergonomics was also investigated. Questionnaires (n=1863) were returned from 416 of the 830 schools included in the study. Almost all schools (99.7%) had computers for children's use. The majority (89.6%) of

Teaching via an integrated approach is regarded as beneficial to students because connections are drawn between content areas so as t o help them develop greater understanding of concepts inherent across disciplin es. This paper presents the results of a case study that was designed to explore the knowled ge, beliefs and practices of primary school teachers who integrate mathematics and music. The study extends our knowledge concerning teachers' beliefs and practices and broa dens our understanding of issues surrounding subject integration. Music is universal, crosses cultural, historical, a nd intellectual boundaries, and is grounded in mathematics. Mathematics is also universal, crosses cultural, historical, and intellectual boundaries, and is reflected in music. The interconnectedness o f math and music pulsates with a rhythm and harmony of its own. (Garland & Kahn, 1995, p.5) To many, mathematics and music are logically connected. For example, Nisbet (1990) noted that music...

Informal inferential reasoning has shown some promise in developing students’ deeper understanding of statistical processes. This paper presents a framework to think about three key principles of informal inference – eneralizations ‘beyond the data,’ probabilistic language, and data as evidence. The authors use primary school classroom episodes and excerpts of interviews with the teachers to illustrate the framework and reiterate the importance of embedding statistical learning within the context of statistical inquiry. Implications for the teaching of more powerful satistical concepts at the primary school level are discussed.

In July 1999 the House of Parliament in Cyprus passed the Education Act for Children with Special Needs, according to which all children have the right to be educated in their neighbouring regular school together with their age-mates. An important component of this law is that it introduces, for the first time, inclusive education into pre-primary education. A child can be considered as having special needs only when he/she has attained the age of 3 years or older. The purpose of this paper is to examine how the policy of inclusive education is implemented in pre-primary schools in Cyprus, to investigate whether some children are still marginalized (after the implementation of the new law) and, if they are, to identify factors influencing marginalization or acting as a barrier to inclusion. We also briefly present the results from a study we conducted that supports the discussion of the issues raised in this paper.

Multi-proxy approach was used to reconstruct the environmental conditions of remote lakes in the High Tatra Mountains (Slovakia) over the past few centuries (approximately 500-1000 years). Short sediment cores (*30 cm) taken from three morphologically similar glacial lakes distributed along altitudinal gradient (subalpine to alpine conditions) were analysed for organic matter content (LOI), diatoms and chironomids. Both descriptive and correlative approaches were used for analysing stratigraphical data. Predictive canonical correspondence analysis and co-correspondence analysis were applied to directly relate physical and biological proxies to each other. The relationship between LOI and biotic proxies was inconsistent across groups and lakes. Concordant patterns in diatom and chironomid composition were found in two non-acidified lakes. Common trends in those assemblages indicated major past environmental events such as the Little Ice Age, air pollution and lake acidification. In contrast, no relationship between the composition of diatom and chironomid assemblages was found in the formerly acidified lake, suggesting different responses of assemblages to acidification. While chironomids showed shifts that are attributable to recovery, diatoms assemblage remained relatively stable throughout the uppermost layers of the sediment record. On the other hand, climatic-driven changes in assemblages detected in the deeper layers were more pronounced in diatoms than in chironomids.

RESUMEN: El propósito del presente artículo es analizar de forma crítica algunas de las ideas derivadas de la investigación sobre el factor edad que muestran cierta relevancia para una fundamentación de la enseñanza de lenguas extranjeras en primaria. Se presentan, en primer lugar, ...

A series of Mathematics Camps were organized as an effort to improve pupils’ achievement in Mathematics. This article introduces a model used in a series of twelve Mathematics Camps for primary school since 2008. This article also shares the research findings obtained during the Camps. The explanatory design of mixed method was used in the study. Census was used in collecting quantitative data where randomly selected participants, teachers and parents were involved in the interview. Overall, participants, teachers and parents were satisfied with the Mathematics Camp. Participants also showed interest, enthusiasm, motivation and positive attitude towards Mathematics after the Camp.

The study examined the theoretical and practical understandings of Cultural Studies at the lower primary school level in Botswana. The education system in Botswana intends to produce learners who are reflective, adaptive and who can easily fit in every academic and social environment. Cultural Studies was introduced in 2002 as an integral part of the lower primary school curriculum (Standard 1-4) thus replacing Social Studies and Religious Education at this level. Aspects of the new subject would imbue learners with an understanding of cultural citizenship so that they become living and practicing citizens, in their everchanging global community. The qualitative and quantitative approaches were employed in collecting data. This was done through interviews, observations and questionnaires which were administered to teachers and students in primary schools country-wide. In addition, an officer from the Department of Curriculum and Evaluation of the Ministry of Education responsible fo...

The present research investigated and studied students' representations about daily life technologies, in a prospect of studying technology in Greek primary education. In the research participated 60 Greek primary school students aged 9 to 12 years old. Re- search data were collected through semi-structured, personal, clinical-type interviews. Each interview investigated student's conceptions and views about the following thematic areas: the

Within primary school classrooms children are often seated in groups but research shows that pupils do not collaborate or learn effectively within these groups. This study is focused on children 5e7 years old. Using a quasi-experimental design, children in experimental classes undertook relational activities to improve the effectiveness of group working during a school year. Nine hundred and eighty children (from 17 experimental and 21 control classes) were assessed and compared for attainment (reading and mathematics), motivation for group working and behavioural/communicative actions. Over a school year, children in experimental classes improved more than children in control classes with regard to academic attainment, motivation to work with others, group and on-task focus and showed high levels of communicative interaction with partners. It is concluded that young children are capable of engaging in effective group work that promotes academic achievement.

Anemia is a significant public health problem among schoolchildren in Vietnam. Food fortification is considered one of the most sustainable long-term strategies to control iron-deficiency anemia in Vietnam. The success of a food-fortification program depends on the choice of the food vehicle. The aim of the present study was to identify an appropriate vehicle for iron fortification to be used in a school-feeding program aimed at improving the iron and anemia status of schoolchildren in rural Vietnam. Children 6 to 8 years of age in two primary schools in Tam Nong District, Phu Tho Province, and their parents were included in this study. The study consisted of three substudies: a food-consumption study with 24-hour recalls of two nonconsecutive days; a food-beliefs study, with focus group discussions, a pile-sorting test, and a food attributes and differences exercise; and a food-acceptance study using noodles and biscuits fortified with sodium iron ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (N...

In this paper we analyze the effect of private voucher education on student academic performance using new data on Chilean students and a novel identification strategy. Most schools in Chile provide either primary or secondary education. We analyze the effect of private voucher education on students that are forced to enroll at a different school to attend secondary education once graduated from primary schooling -structural switches. Moreover the data set used in this paper contains information on previous academic achievement and thus allows us to control for it. Using a number of propensity score based econometric techniques and changes-in-changes estimation methods we find that private voucher education leads to small, sometimes not statistically significant differences in academic performance. The estimated effect of private voucher education amounts to about 4 to 6 percent of one standard deviation in test scores. The literature on Chile based on cross sectional data had previously found positive effects of about 15 to 20 percent of one standard deviation.

Recently, compulsory primary education has been extended to eight years, instead of five. Therefore, primary school principals’ career development has become much more complex and important. A self–deviced questionnaire has been prepared to figure out the elements which influenced their pre–service development, whether their development is effected by being in post in private or state schools, what their future career plan is and how they develop themselves in post. According to the result of the statistical analysis of thirty–three principals’ answers in Bahçelievler, it appeared that pre–service training is not very effective, daily routine influences their career development and internet is also limited in state schools. Principals follow contemporary approaches from books about educational administration. Their most effective years are between the ages of 46–50, and principals with 1–3 years of experience conduct more in–service training. According to the analysis, a series of suggestions were produced.

Background: Children with poor social-emotional health are at risk of failing to reach their potential. Method: The impact of the Pyramid Club year 3 preventive intervention on children's social-emotional health was investigated. Children were allocated to an intervention or non-problem comparison group. Results: Post-intervention both groups had improved Total Difficulty scores (Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire) with the Pyramid group showing a significantly stronger effect size (r ¼ .71) than the non-problem comparison group (r ¼ .44). Conclusions: The Pyramid Club intervention improves the social-emotional health of vulnerable children. The need to evaluate such interventions and to extend research are discussed.