The Teensleep study: the effectiveness of a school-based sleep education programme at improving early adolescent sleep

Background: School-based green space activities have been found to be beneficial to the physical activity level and lifestyle habits of adolescent students. However, their effects on green space use and satisfaction, mental health, and dietary behaviors required further investigation. This study aimed to investigate the effects of school-based hydroponic planting integrated with health promotion activities in improving green space use, competence and satisfaction, healthy lifestyle, mental health, and health-related quality of life (QoL) among early adolescent students in secondary schools.Methods: This study adopted a three-group comparison design (one control and two intervention groups). Secondary school students (N = 553) of grades 7–9 participated in either (1) hydroponic planting (two times per week for 8 months) integrated with health promotion activities; (2) only health promotion activities (one time per week for 6 weeks); or (3) control group. Outcomes assessed by questionnaire included green space use and satisfaction, life happiness, lifestyle, depressive symptoms, and health-related QoL.Results: After adjusting for sex and school grade, the scores in “green space distance and use” and “green space activity and competence” were significantly better in the intervention groups than in the control group. Hydroponic planting integrated with health promotion activities was also associated with better scores in dietary habits and resistance to substance use. Intervention groups had a higher score in “Green space sense and satisfaction” and life happiness when compared with the control group.Conclusions: Our study shows that the school-based hydroponic planting integrated with health promotion activities were feasible and, to a certain extent, useful to improve green space use and competence, dietary habits, and resistance to substance use among early adolescent students in secondary schools in urban areas. Future studies should address the limitations identified, for example, designing a randomized controlled trial that could fit school schedules to generate new evidence for physical and mental health in adolescent communities.

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School based education programme to reduce salt intake in children and their families (School-EduSalt): cluster randomised controlled trial

BMJ ◽

10.1136/bmj.h770 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 350 (mar18 13) ◽

pp. h770-h770 ◽

Cited By ~ 64

Author(s):

F. J. He ◽

Y. Wu ◽

X.-X. Feng ◽

J. Ma ◽

Y. Ma ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Randomised Controlled Trial ◽

Salt Intake ◽

Controlled Trial ◽

Cluster Randomised Controlled Trial ◽

Education Programme ◽

School Based ◽

Cluster Randomised ◽

Randomised Controlled

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Effect of the Dutch school-based education programme ‘Taste Lessons’ on behavioural determinants of taste acceptance and healthy eating: a quasi-experimental study

Public Health Nutrition ◽

10.1017/s1368980014003012 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 18 (12) ◽

pp. 2231-2241 ◽

Cited By ~ 16

Author(s):

Marieke CE Battjes-Fries ◽

Annemien Haveman-Nies ◽

Reint-Jan Renes ◽

Hante J Meester ◽

Pieter van ’t Veer

Keyword(s):

Experimental Study ◽

Elementary Schools ◽

Intervention Group ◽

Education Programme ◽

Subjective Norm ◽

Control Group ◽

Multilevel Regression ◽

School Based ◽

Behavioural Determinants ◽

Quasi Experimental

AbstractObjectiveTo assess the effect of the Dutch school-based education programme ‘Taste Lessons’ on children’s behavioural determinants towards tasting unfamiliar foods and eating healthy and a variety of foods.DesignIn a quasi-experimental study design, data on behavioural determinants were collected at baseline, four weeks and six months after the intervention in both the intervention and control group. Children completed consecutively three questionnaires in which knowledge, awareness, skills, attitude, emotion, subjective norm and intention towards the two target behaviours were assessed. Teachers implemented on average a third of the programme activities. Multilevel regression analyses were conducted to compare individual changes in the determinants in the intervention group with those in the control group, corrected for children’s gender and age. Effect sizes were expressed as Cohen’s d.SettingDutch elementary schools.SubjectsForty-nine classes (1183 children, 9–12 years old) in grades 5–8 of twenty-one elementary schools.ResultsThe intervention group showed a higher increase in knowledge (d=0·26, P<0·01), which persisted after six months (d=0·23, P<0·05). After four weeks, the intervention group showed a higher increase in number of foods known (d=0·22, P<0·05) and tasted (d=0·21, P<0·05), subjective norm of the teacher (d=0·17, P<0·05) and intention (d=0·16, P<0·05) towards the target behaviours.ConclusionsPartial implementation of Taste Lessons during one school year showed small short-term effects on increasing behavioural determinants in relation to tasting unfamiliar foods and eating healthy and a variety of foods. Full and repeated implementation of Taste Lessons in subsequent years might result in larger effects.

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Impact and cost-effectiveness analysis of the national school-based sexuality education programme in Estonia

Sex Education ◽

10.1080/14681811.2013.813386 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 14 (1) ◽

pp. 1-13 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Jari Kivela ◽

Kai Haldre ◽

Kai Part ◽

Evert Ketting ◽

Rob Baltussen

Keyword(s):

Cost Effectiveness ◽

Sexuality Education ◽

Education Programme ◽

Cost Effectiveness Analysis ◽

School Based ◽

National School ◽

Effectiveness Analysis

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Connecting Does Not Necessarily Mean Learning

Journal of Teacher Education ◽

10.1177/0022487111413605 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 62 (5) ◽

pp. 465-476 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Alaster Scott Douglas ◽

Viv Ellis

Keyword(s):

Teacher Learning ◽

Student Teacher ◽

Education Programme ◽

Ethnographic Study ◽

University Partnerships ◽

School Based ◽

Education Activity ◽

Mediating Tools ◽

Cultural Historical Activity ◽

Using Data

Partnerships between schools and universities in England use course handbooks to guide student teacher learning during long field experiences. Using data from a yearlong ethnographic study of a postgraduate certificate of education programme in one English university, the function of course handbooks in mediating learning in two high school subject departments (history and modern foreign languages) is analyzed. Informed by Cultural Historical Activity Theory, the analysis focuses on the handbooks as mediating tools in the school-based teacher education activity systems. Qualitative differences in the mediating functions of the handbooks-in-use are examined and this leads to a consideration of the potential of such tools for teacher learning in school–university partnerships. Following Zeichner’s call for rethinking the relationships between schools and universities, the article argues that strong structural connections between different institutional sites do not necessarily enhance student teacher learning.

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