published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education

Language issues, often linked with ideas of history, sentiment, identity, ideology, maintenance, revitalization, minority, and indigenous peoples, are raised constantly in Taiwan. This study focused on examining issues related to language planning and bilingual education at the elementary school level in Taiwan. The research purposes were: 1) to examine the current language education practices in the elementary school by employing perspectives of language planning and bilingual education in Taiwan; and 2) to make recommendations about the current language planning and policy of Taiwan with respect to elementary school language education. There were 123 participants involved in this study. They were elementary school language teachers, language professionals, and parents. Data collection began in the winter of 2004 and continued through the summer of 2005. The research context was elementary school language education. Transcripts and questionnaires were the primary sources for data analysis. Five major phenomena with respect to elementary school language education in Taiwan were found. First, there was no systematic language planning for the present elementary school language education in Taiwan. Second, the three language subjects, Mandarin, English, and Dialects, within the Language Arts area were seen as independent courses without any interdisciplinary integration. Third, parental decisions about the prior order of language learning were structured upon a profound process related to language ideology and instrumentalism. Fourth, the elementary school language curriculum was guided by the concept of Han-centrism. Fifth, because of the phenomenon of language shift, Mandarin has become most children's mother tongue rather than the local languages. Based on the five findings, I suggest that first, team teaching is helpful for elementary school language teachers to integrate children's learning of different languages. Second, parents, language professionals, and language teachers should have more opportunities to communicate with each other about children's language learning. Third, language planners should bear the Han-centric phenomenon in mind, especially when considering issues of educational resources and opportunities and social justice. Fourth, the definition of mother tongues needs to be redefined. Fifth, it is important for every elementary school to develop its own school-based language policy.

Overweight and obesity in Mexican children substantiates the need to identify effective strategies and policies to address this problem. Instituto Nacional de Salud Publica (INSP) designed and implemented a randomized control trial (RCT) to assess an ecologically-based intervention program to modify the school environment to promote healthy lifestyle behaviours in children. The objectives of this thesis are to describe the design and impact of this RCT, to examine the program content through an ecological approach, and to examine policy activities that have been informed by the RCT findings. Four manuscripts address these objectives. Manuscript one is Promoting a Healthful Diet and Physical Activity in the Mexican School System for the Prevention of Obesity in Children: Rationale, Design and Methods. It describes the rationale, design, and methods of the two-year INSP-Secretaria de Educacion Publica (Secretary of Public Education, SEP) RCT. Manuscript two is Impact of a School-based Intervention Program on Obesity Risk Factors in Mexican Children. It reports on the environmental impact of the INSP-SEP intervention by comparing 16 intervention schools with 11 non-intervention schools. Results showed increased availability and food intake of healthy foods with a concomitant decrease in unhealthy food availability in intervention schools/children. Manuscript three is An Ecological and Theoretical Deconstruction of a School-based Obesity Prevention Program in Mexico. It reports on an assessment of the integration of ecological principles and theoretical constructs in the school-based behavioural change/obesity prevention intervention carried out by the INSP-SEP. Results showed that 32 intervention strategies were implemented in the school setting to engage target-groups; the most used SCT construct was Reciprocal Determinism. Manuscript four is titled Quality and Implementation of the Nutrition and Physical Activity School Policy Guidelines in Mexico City. It assesses the quality and implementation conditions of a policy and reports on the implementation and the uptake of the national school policy to prevent obesity in Mexico city through a policy analysis, WHO School Policy Framework (SPF) and indicators informed by the national policy. Findings showed that not all of the 10 implementation pre-conditions were met; School Guidelines mostly complied with SPF but were not fully implemented within our sample. / Thesis (Ph.D, Kinesiology & Health Studies) -- Queen's University, 2013-09-30 17:05:33.787

Whilst high levels of cardiorespiratory fitness and physical activity may protect against cardiometabolic risk factor clustering, evidence suggests these outcomes are below optimal in English youths. Adolescence is a key stage in health behaviours development, and thus represents an opportunity for interventions aiming to improve the cardiometabolic health, fitness and activity levels of this population. Recently, there has been growing interest in the efficacy of low-volume high-intensity interval training (HIT) as a time efficient way of improving health and fitness outcomes in adults. Contrastingly, the effects of low-volume HIT in adolescents remains relatively unknown. The first aim of this programme therefore was to develop a novel school-based low-volume HIT intervention. The second was to determine the effectiveness of this model for improving the cardiometabolic health, cardiorespiratory fitness and physical activity levels of adolescents. Study one examined adolescents’ views towards high-intensity exercise, and the proposed low-volume HIT intervention. This data was used to design the novel low-volume HIT model. In Study 2, participants’ heart rate and perceived exertion responses to three prototype prescriptions of low-volume HIT, based on boxing, dance and football were examined. Here, it was indicated that these activities were capable of eliciting a high-intensity training response (~90% of maximum heart rate). Study 3 incorporated the main intervention, which examined the effect of a 10-week multi-activity low-volume HIT intervention (named Project FFAB [Fun Fast Activity Blasts]) on various health and fitness outcomes in adolescents. Here, beneficial effects were detected in the intervention participants compared to the controls for triglycerides, waist circumference, lipid accumulation product and daily moderate-to-vigorous physical activity. Study 4 assessed the fidelity of the intervention, and found that this had been largely upheld. Collectively therefore, it appears that Project FFAB represents a viable strategy for improving aspects of cardiometabolic health and physical activity levels in adolescents.

Les manifestations de stress semblent de plus en plus présentes chez nos jeunes. C’est pourquoi des interventions pouvant amener une réduction de stress sont pertinentes à intégrer dans nos écoles. Parallèlement, toujours avec le souci d’aider les jeunes dans leur réussite éducative, des interventions favorisant l’apprentissage et les performances académiques sont tout aussi importantes à intégrer dans nos réseaux éducatifs. L’activité physique et la méditation de pleine conscience semblent être des activités prometteuses à ces égards. L’objectif de cette recherche est de déterminer auprès de jeunes l’effet immédiat sur les performances cognitives et le stress perçu des interventions suivantes : 1- Quinze minutes d’activité physique; 2- Quinze minutes de méditation de pleine conscience; 3- Quinze minutes d’activité physique et de méditation de pleine conscience; 4- Quinze minutes d’écoute passive d’un documentaire. Pour ce faire, 82 participants ont été recrutés dans une école primaire de la région de Sherbrooke. Chaque participant a effectué chacune de ces conditions à une seule reprise. Pour mesurer les performances cognitives, les tests de Stroop et du Tracé ont été utilisés alors que le stress perçu a été mesuré à l’aide d’une échelle visuelle analogique. Une amélioration significative des performances cognitives a été remarquée pour les jeunes ayant performé sous la médiane lors de la condition témoin. De plus, toutes les interventions, y compris l’intervention témoin, ont engendré une réduction significative du stress perçu et aucune différence significative entre les interventions n’a été observée. Ces résultats soutiennent l’utilisation des interventions d’activité physique et de méditation de pleine conscience dans les écoles primaires. De plus, cette recherche répond à plusieurs critiques effectuées dans la littérature scientifique. En effet, les interventions comprenant de la pleine conscience ont été dans le cadre de cette étude standardisées et elles sont complètement reproductibles. Les participants ont aussi indiqué leur niveau d’appréciation ainsi que la fréquence à laquelle ils désireraient pratiquer de la méditation de pleine conscience. Finalement, ce projet de recherche innove en mesurant des effets immédiats chez les jeunes de l’intervention de méditation de pleine conscience en plus de combiner la pratique d’activité physique et celle de la méditation de pleine conscience.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the perceptions of principals who had served in their positions prior to and since the state-mandated implementation of site-based management. The study sought to determine if the state mandates impacted the principals' perceptions regarding the pre-existing site-based management in their district. The study also sought to determine relationships between support or lack of support and the principals' gender, age, ethnicity, years as principal, and educational level.

No description available.

D. Phil. / School based assessment (SBA) or continuous assessment (CASS) as it is often referred to, includes all forms of assessment conducted by the teacher, at the classroom level, which are then collated for summative judgment purposes to feed into the exit point assessment result. Internationally there has been a search for more authentic forms of assessment and South Africa has also explored alternative forms of assessment so that the final assessment is not dominated by a once-off external summative examination. SBA was officially introduced as part of the assessment regime for the award of the Senior Certificate, in the South African education system, in 2001 and has subsequently been included as part of the assessment requirement for the National Senior Certificate (NSC) that replaced the Senior Certificate, in 2008. As much as SBA allows for a broader form of assessment of learning, it reduces the reliability of assessment and claims have been made that it impacts on the public confidence and credibility of the certificate. This is as a result of assessment now being conducted by teachers in the classroom, who are poorly equipped to implement SBA. Umalusi, the Quality Assurance Council, responsible for the final standard and quality of exit assessment has raised concerns about the reliability of SBA and therefore, to guard the credibility of the Senior Certificate and the National Senior Certificate, the Council has statistically moderated the SBA marks using the examination marks as a benchmark. This form of moderation has been regarded as not being the most appropriate, since it undermines the essence and purpose of this form of assessment. Therefore this study attempts to review the current form of quality assurance of SBA as it is implemented across all provincial education departments (PEDS), so as to develop an improved model for the quality assurance of SBA. In order to adequately contextualise the study, two of the key components of this study, that is, school based assessment (SBA) and quality assurance, were explored in detail in chapter two of the study. This chapter also evaluated the strengths and weaknesses of SBA, and then focused on the implementation and management of SBA in South Africa, its current status and challenges. The major challenges facing the South African schooling system, with regard to SBA, relate to: (a) the lack of a clear understanding of the specific purpose of SBA; (b) the policies, structures and processes for the implementation of SBA are grossly inadequate; (c) the reliance on statistical moderation of SBA has resulted in a lack of motivation to improve the quality of SBA; and therefore there is a need for creative thinking to ensure fairness in SBA.

School-based sexual health education is commonly used to promote the sexual health of young people and guide them in their relationships. This thesis reports on research that aimed to provide evidence-based recommendations to optimise the effectiveness of school-based sexual health education in sub-Saharan Africa (sSA). There are six chapters in the thesis. Chapter 1 introduces the thesis, Chapters 2 to 5 consist of four empirical studies, and Chapter 6 provides an overall discussion and looks at the strengths, limitations, and implications of the findings. Chapter 2 is a systematic review and meta-analysis of school-based sexual health education in sSA. It provides some evidence of the interventions in promoting self-reported condom use. However, it shows there are no harmful or beneficial effects with respect to sexually transmitted infections (STI) as evidenced by biomarkers. It highlights the paucity of evaluated interventions using biomedical markers, and reports on the process of evaluation, which limits our understanding of why interventions work or do not work. Features associated with effective interventions are noted. Chapter 3 is a case study involving MEMA Kwa Vijana, an adolescent sexual and reproductive health intervention implemented in Tanzania. This study highlights the influence of structural factors in schools and wider environmental factors on the effectiveness of school-based sexual health interventions. Furthermore, it identifies the social and cultural factors that influence young people’s sexual behaviours and that must be addressed beyond the education and health sectors. Chapter 4 is a multiple case study of seven school-based sexual health interventions implemented in five sub-Saharan African countries. It 4 identifies the design, implementation, and evaluation features that differentiate between effective and ineffective interventions. Chapter 5 is a qualitative study of researchers’ experiences of school-based sexual health education in sSA. This study extends previous work by generating a set of valuable recommendations based on researchers’ experiences of interventions that could improve future interventions in sSA. Overall, this research project demonstrates the potential of school-based sexual health education in promoting sexual health and preventing STIs in sSA. It provides a series of recommendations for the design, implementation, and evaluation of school-based sexual health interventions.

Background: DISA (Depressive Symptoms In Swedish Adolescents) is a cognitive behavioral intervention aimed at preventing stress and depressive symptoms in adolescents. It is frequently used in Swedish schools for students aged 13-15 years. DISA is commonly offered to females, but at some schools, the intervention is also offered to males. In this study, the application of the intervention for both females and males is evaluated. Aim: The overarching aim of this thesis was to explore the experience, significance, and effectiveness of the school-based intervention DISA. The specific aims were to investigate the effectiveness of depressive symptoms and self-reporting health, and costs and cost-effectiveness as well as to elucidate the experiences of adolescents and tutors. Methods: The effectiveness of DISA was investigated using method triangulation. The thesis is based on two quantitative and two qualitative studies. The quantitative studies were quasi-experimental trials with an intervention group (I, IV), and a control group (IV), with follow-up measurements obtained at 3 and 12 months after baseline. The qualitative studies were based on focus group interviews with adolescents (II) and tutors (III). The school-based cognitive behavioral prevention program DISA was presented by school health staff and teachers once per week for ten weeks. Students in grade 8 (median age: 14) participated in the intervention in study I (n=62, 52% females) and study IV (n=462, 79% females), and 486 students (46% females) were allocated to the control group (IV). Focus group interviews were conducted with 89 adolescents (II) and 22 tutors (III). The interviews were analyzed with qualitative content analysis. Findings: The intervention group decreased their self-reported depressive symptoms and improved their self-rated health more than the control group (p<0.05) at the 12-month follow-up. The majority of the adolescents rated the cognitive behavioral program as a positive experience, and the attendance rate was high. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio was approximately USD 6,300 per quality-adjusted life year (QALY). The focus group interviews with the adolescents revealed that the students found that they developed intrapersonal strategies through DISA, such as directed thinking, improved self-confidence, stress management, and positive activities. They also gained an increased interpersonal awareness regarding trusting the group and considering others. However, structural constraints of the DISA program, such as negative framing and an emphasis on performance, were also noted. The focus group interviews with the tutors identified an overall theme of striking a balance between strictly following the manual and meeting student needs. Conclusions: The DISA program appears to be a feasible, cost-effective school-based cognitive behavioral program with high levels of student adherence and satisfaction, as well as positive mental health benefits. However, a desire for a more health-promoting approach was expressed.