Assessment

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robin Detterman ◽  
Jenny Ventura ◽  
Lihi Rosenthal ◽  
Ken Berrick
Keyword(s):  
General Education ◽  
Planning Process ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Logic Model ◽  
High Quality ◽  
Climate Assessment ◽  
School Year ◽  
Effective Interventions ◽  
Culture And Climate

By now it should be apparent that unconditional education (UE) is both comprehensive in its scope and ambitious in its goals. This chapter will help outline the formative assessment process that has been created as a means to inform high-quality program planning and implementation and summative assessments used to measure the extent to which the model promotes positive outcomes for students and schools. The two overarching goals of implementing this model are (1) to increase the academic performance and social-emotional well-being of the most struggling students and (2) to increase the capacity of schools serving highly stressed communities to deliver effective interventions through the implementation of a transdisciplinary multi-tiered framework. The second goal relates to capacity building and systems change within the school community itself; while the first relates to the outcomes these changes bring about. More information about the model’s overall theory of action can be found in the logic model in Appendix 7.1. The logic model also highlights the four key components of UE and the implementation strategies related to them. These key components are as follows: …System efficiency, resources match the level of identified student need and schools are able to leverage braided funding, including general education, special education, and mental health dollars. Coordination of services, a transdisciplinary team reviews data, assigns students to intervention, and monitors their progress. Universal supports/Tier 1, a culture and climate team engages in a schoolwide assessment and planning process explained in great detail later in this chapter. Targeted and intensive supports, data-informed, high-quality interventions are implemented with fidelity and monitored for effectiveness…. The strategies related to these four key components are expected to influence a set of comprehensive, long-term outcomes. These outcomes measure the extent to which the model has improved school culture and climate (as measured by the School Climate Assessment Instrument), increased academic achievement (as measure by standardized tests), improved behavior outcomes (as measured by suspension rates), and increased attendance. While data are reviewed at the end of every school year, it is not until the third year that a substantial impact on these long-term measures is expected.

Early identification for special education: Implications for research and development in the Pacific Rim

2012 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 75-88 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bryan Cook ◽  
Michael Gerber ◽  
Li-Yu Hong ◽  
Hasheem Mannan ◽  
Weng-jing Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Special Education ◽  
General Education ◽  
Early Identification ◽  
Children With Disabilities ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Pacific Rim ◽  
Education Systems ◽  
Effective Interventions ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
National Investment

Early identification and intervention for children with disabilities can significantly improve longer term outcomes, but in developing nations like many in the Pacific Rim, such programs and practices can be expensive and must compete against other needs. We argue that early identification and intervention by schools leads not only to life improvements for children with disabilities and their families but also to substantial additions to a nation's human capital. Therefore, national investment in special education and prevention systems that provide the earliest possible identification and effective interventions can not only offset the lifetime family and social costs of disabilities, but also can add importantly to general well-being. Moreover, new knowledge and technologies relevant to applied problems in early identification are rapidly emerging, potentially increasing the precision and lowering the costs involved. The bottleneck, however, is the inadequate supply of highly skilled professionals in the special and general education systems – from university doctoral training down to typical classroom teaching. Based on extant literature, we articulate some development principles to help developing education systems in choosing how they may best invest in early identification and intervention.

The Major Health Implications of Social Connection

2021 ◽  
Vol 30 (3) ◽  
pp. 251-259
Author(s):  
Julianne Holt-Lunstad
Keyword(s):  
Social Relationships ◽  
Scientific Evidence ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Social Connection ◽  
Supporting Evidence ◽  
Major Health ◽  
Physical Health Outcomes ◽  
Effective Interventions ◽  
Bradford Hill

The influence of social relationships extends beyond emotional well-being to influence long-term physical-health outcomes, including mortality risk. Despite the varied measurement approaches used to examine social relationships within the health literature, the data can be synthesized using social connection as an organizing framework. This review discusses cumulative scientific evidence of links between various aspects of social connection and mortality, as well as supporting evidence for links with morbidity and plausible mechanisms. This evidence fulfills the criteria outlined in the Bradford Hill guidelines for establishing causality. Despite strong evidence currently available, several gaps remain and will need to be addressed if society is to rise to the challenge of developing effective interventions to reduce risk associated with social disconnection. This evidence has important broader implications for medical practice and public health.

Life after childhood bullying: Body image development and disordered eating in adulthood

2019 ◽  
Vol 44 (3) ◽  
pp. 246-255
Author(s):  
Kristina Holmqvist Gattario ◽  
Magnus Lindwall ◽  
Ann Frisén
Keyword(s):  
Body Image ◽  
Disordered Eating ◽  
Longitudinal Research ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Negative Body Image ◽  
Childhood Bullying ◽  
Mediation Analyses ◽  
Effective Interventions ◽  
Being Bullied

Studies have demonstrated that being bullied in childhood may have long-term associations with lower psychological well-being in adulthood. However, although bullying incidents frequently target the victim’s body and appearance, research has overlooked studying victims’ long-term body image development and risk of engaging in disordered eating later in life. This 14-year longitudinal research project examined childhood bullying in relation to body image development and disordered eating in emerging adulthood. Growth curve analyses of participants’ body image at ages 10–21 years ( N = 960) revealed that more victimized children experienced more body dissatisfaction at baseline and maintained their negative body image throughout adolescence and into adulthood. Mediation analyses showed that childhood bullying (age 10 years) predicted more negative body image in adolescence (age 18 years), which in turn predicted more disordered eating in adulthood (age 24 years). The indirect effect was stronger for girls than for boys. The findings suggest that bullied children are likely to face both more body image problems and disordered eating as they evolve through adolescence and into adulthood, indicating the need for early and effective interventions. Incorporating components known to promote a more positive body image could be a valuable feature of future interventions. Thus, as children and adolescents are taught to cope with bullying situations, they could also be helped to deal with the appearance culture that permeates many of these situations.

scholarly journals The continued use of placebo arms in COVID-19 vaccine trials does not adequately protect the well-being of participants

2021 ◽  
pp. 01-06
Author(s):  
Bridget Haire
Keyword(s):  
Well Being ◽  
High Quality ◽  
International Ethics ◽  
Vaccine Trials ◽  
Placebo Controls ◽  
Effective Interventions ◽  
Guidance Documents ◽  
Continued Use ◽  
Study Designs ◽  
Optimal Implementation

Covid-19 vaccines are a critical tool for controlling the pandemic. While safe and effective vaccines have been developed, research is expected to continue for many years regarding the optimal implementation of existing vaccines in specific settings, and the development of second-generation vaccines that may offer advantages in terms of either efficacy or ease of implementation. Given this context, some commentators have argued that new Covid vaccine trials should be able to use placebo controls, and that existing studies should be able to continue with blinded participants in order to collect high quality, unbiased data. Using international ethics guidance documents, this paper argues against placebo controls, given the existence of proven effective interventions, and against protracted blinding once safety and efficacy milestones have been met. Instead, it advocates for study designs that allow for direct comparison between approved and experimental vaccines, which facilitates both data collection and greater access to vaccines.

scholarly journals Following the Science to Generate Well-Being: Using the Highest-Quality Experimental Evidence to Design Interventions

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stewart I. Donaldson ◽  
Victoria Cabrera ◽  
Jaclyn Gaffaney
Keyword(s):  
Well Being ◽  
Equitable Access ◽  
High Quality ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
Randomized Controlled ◽  
Effective Interventions ◽  
Global Pandemic ◽  
Rigorous Research ◽  
Meta Analyses ◽  
Second Wave

The second wave of devastating consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic has been linked to dramatic declines in well-being. While much of the well-being literature is based on descriptive and correlational studies, this paper evaluates a growing body of causal evidence from high-quality randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that test the efficacy of positive psychology interventions (PPIs). This systematic review analyzed the findings from 25 meta-analyses, 42 review papers, and the high-quality RCTs of PPIs designed to generate well-being that were included within those studies. Findings reveal PPIs have the potential to generate well-being even during a global pandemic, with larger effect sizes in non-Western countries. Four exemplar PPIs—that have been tested with a high-quality RCT, have positive effects on well-being, and could be implemented during a global pandemic—are presented and discussed. Future efforts to generate well-being can build on this causal evidence and emulate the most efficacious PPIs to be as effective as possible at generating well-being. However, the four exemplars were only tested in WEIRD (Western, Educated, Industrial, Rich, and Democratic) countries but seem promising for implementation and evaluation in non-WEIRD contexts. This review highlights the overall need for more rigorous research on PPIs with more diverse populations and in non-WEIRD contexts to ensure equitable access to effective interventions that generate well-being for all.

Promoting mental health and well-being

2018 ◽  
pp. 389-398
Author(s):  
Katherine Weare
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Effective Schools ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Young Person ◽  
Social And Emotional ◽  
Whole School ◽  
Effective Interventions ◽  
Specialist Services ◽  
Whole School Approach

Schools are increasingly concerned with the well-being and mental health of their students. Effective schools use a ‘whole-school approach’ based on universal work from which targeted approaches gain coherence and support. The ethos is supportive, connected, and safe, with active steps to tackle stigma. ‘Difficult’ behaviour is seen as meaningful, and as an opportunity for learning and growth. Both risk factors and the building of resilience are addressed. Students and families are involved, ‘heard’, and engaged. Programmes to cultivate social and emotional skills are taught effectively with clear aims, programme fidelity, starting early, and carrying on for the long term. There are robust and clear processes to identify early, refer, and treat those with greater levels of mental health difficulty, integrated into the whole-school approach, involving the young person and their family, liaising closely with specialist services, and with easy and transparent pathways to timely and effective interventions.

scholarly journals Associations between Adolescents’ Interpersonal Relationships, School Well-being, and Academic Achievement during Educational Transitions

2019 ◽  
Vol 49 (5) ◽  
pp. 1057-1072 ◽  
Author(s):  
Noona Kiuru ◽  
Ming-Te Wang ◽  
Katariina Salmela-Aro ◽  
Lasse Kannas ◽  
Timo Ahonen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Academic Achievement ◽  
Secondary School ◽  
Interpersonal Relationships ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Educational Transitions ◽  
Lower Secondary School ◽  
High Quality ◽  
Reciprocal Associations

AbstractA youth’s ability to adapt during educational transitions has long-term, positive impacts on their academic achievement and mental health. Although supportive relationships with parents, peers, and teachers are protective factors associated with successful educational transitions, little is known about the reciprocal link between the quality of these interpersonal relationships and school well-being, with even less known about how these two constructs affect academic achievement. This longitudinal study examined how the quality of interpersonal relationships and school well-being worked together to affect academic achievement during the transition from primary school to lower secondary school. Data were collected from 848 Finnish adolescents (54% girls, mean age at the outset 12.3 years) over the course of sixth and seventh grade. The results support a transactional model illustrating the reciprocal associations between the quality of interpersonal relationships and school well-being during the transition to lower secondary school. As such, the presence of high quality interpersonal relationships promoted higher academic achievement through increased school well-being, whereas high school well-being promoted higher subsequent academic achievement through increased quality of interpersonal relationships. Overall, the results suggest that promoting learning outcomes and helping adolescents with challenges during educational transitions is a critical part of supporting school well-being and the formation of high-quality interpersonal relationships.

The Stepwise Approach to Decision Making for Long-Term Radioactive Waste Management: Activities of the OECD/NEA Forum on Stakeholder Confidence

2003 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Pescatore ◽  
A. Va´ri
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Radioactive Waste ◽  
Waste Management ◽  
Planning Process ◽  
Modern Society ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Risk Governance ◽  
Radioactive Waste Management ◽  
Stepwise Approach

The context of long-term radioactive waste management is being shaped by changes in modern society. Values such as health, environmental protection and safety are increasingly important in our society, demanding new forms of risk governance in dealing with hazardous activities. These changes necessitate, in turn, new forms of dialogue and decision-making processes that include a large number of stakeholders. The development and implementation of radioactive waste management schemes take place over a long time scale, on the order of decades. In this complex context, a “decision” no longer means opting, in one go and for all time, for a complete package solution. Instead, a decision is one step in an overall, cautious process of examining and making choices that preserve the safety and well-being of the present generation and the coming ones while not needlessly depriving the latter of their right of choice. Consideration is thus increasingly being given to concepts such as “stepwise decision making” and “adaptive staging” in which the public, and especially the most affected local public, are meaningfully involved in the planning process. This paper is based on the work of the Forum on Stakeholder Confidence. It reviews the current developments regarding the stepwise approach with the aim to pinpoint where it stands, to highlight its societal dimensions, to analyse its roots in social sciences, and to identify guiding principles and issues in implementation.

Improving Feeding Outcomes in the NICU: Moving From Volume-Driven to Infant-Driven Feeding

2010 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 68-74 ◽  
Author(s):  
Catherine S. Shaker
Keyword(s):  
Intensive Care Unit ◽  
Dynamic Systems ◽  
Neonatal Intensive Care ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Dynamic Systems Theory ◽  
Feeding Problems ◽  
Care Giving ◽  
Extremely Preterm ◽  
Extremely Preterm Infants

Current research on feeding outcomes after discharge from the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) suggests a need to critically look at the early underpinnings of persistent feeding problems in extremely preterm infants. Concepts of dynamic systems theory and sensitive care-giving are used to describe the specialized needs of this fragile population related to the emergence of safe and successful feeding and swallowing. Focusing on the infant as a co-regulatory partner and embracing a framework of an infant-driven, versus volume-driven, feeding approach are highlighted as best supporting the preterm infant's developmental strivings and long-term well-being.

Intraindividual Variability and Stability of Affect and Well-Being

GeroPsych ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 185-199 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christina Röcke ◽  
Annette Brose
Keyword(s):  
Age Differences ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Subjective Well Being ◽  
Emotional Experiences ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Regulatory Processes ◽  
Functional Implications ◽  
Methodological Approaches ◽  
Underlying Processes

Whereas subjective well-being remains relatively stable across adulthood, emotional experiences show remarkable short-term variability, with younger and older adults differing in both amount and correlates. Repeatedly assessed affect data captures both the dynamics and stability as well as stabilization that may indicate emotion-regulatory processes. The article reviews (1) research approaches to intraindividual affect variability, (2) functional implications of affect variability, and (3) age differences in affect variability. Based on this review, we discuss how the broader literature on emotional aging can be better integrated with theories and concepts of intraindividual affect variability by using appropriate methodological approaches. Finally, we show how a better understanding of affect variability and its underlying processes could contribute to the long-term stabilization of well-being in old age.

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