The LifeMatters programme for developing life-skills in children: an evaluation

2016 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 144-157 ◽  
Author(s):  
Margaret O'Rourke ◽  
Sean Hammond ◽  
David O'Sullivan ◽  
Ciara Staunton ◽  
Siobhan O'Brien
Keyword(s):  
Secondary School ◽  
Life Skills ◽  
Secondary School Students ◽  
The Body ◽  
Relationship Building ◽  
Positive Thinking ◽  
School Students ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Categorical Analysis ◽  
Taking Care

Purpose – LifeMatters is a cognitive behavioural coaching programme that provides tools and techniques for developing and applying five areas of life skill competency: taking care of the body, feeling positive, thinking wisely, acting wisely, and taking care of the spirit. The purpose of paper is to evaluate the viability of the LifeMatters programme with a cohort of secondary school students (12-15 years) in Ireland. Design/methodology/approach – Open-ended feedback obtained from 196 participants who completed an open-ended questionnaire. These responses were subjected to a thematic analysis. Subsequent quantitative analysis of the resulting categorical data were carried out using correspondence analysis. Findings – Categorical analysis produced statistically significant sex and age differences showing that males and females differed in their experience of the programme. Girls benefited more from a focus upon stress and self-confidence whereas boys benefited more from a focus on relationship building. Originality/value – This study demonstrates the viability of the LifeMatters programme for secondary school students as an aid to develop life skills. It highlights the different needs of boys and girls in this area.

scholarly journals Weight-Related Selves and Their Relationship With Body Mass Index Among Young Individuals in Curaçao

2019 ◽  
Vol 45 (4) ◽  
pp. 306-334 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pieternel Dijkstra ◽  
Odette Van Brummen-Girigori ◽  
Dick P. H. Barelds
Keyword(s):  
Body Mass Index ◽  
Body Size ◽  
Secondary School ◽  
Body Dissatisfaction ◽  
Body Mass ◽  
Secondary School Students ◽  
The Body ◽  
School Students ◽  
Two Samples ◽  
Body Sizes

Based on the assumptions of self-discrepancy theory, the present study examined the degree of overweight, weight-related body images, and the relation between these images and body mass index (BMI) among two samples of young people from Curaçao (secondary school students, n = 176; undergraduate students, n = 205). In addition to BMI, participants reported their current, ideal, and most feared body sizes, the thinnest and largest body sizes still acceptable to them, and the body size they considered the healthiest by means of the Contour Drawing Rating Scale. We expected females to show a larger discrepancy between current and ideal body size than males (Hypothesis 1) and that this discrepancy (as an indicator of body dissatisfaction) would be related more strongly to BMI among females than among males (Hypothesis 2). Results yielded support for Hypothesis 1 among secondary school students only. Only in the undergraduate sample, BMI and body dissatisfaction were related, but equally so for males and females. Possible explanations are discussed as well as implications for weight management interventions.

Academic-related stress among private secondary school students in India

2014 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 118-134 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sibnath Deb ◽  
Esben Strodl ◽  
Jiandong Sun
Keyword(s):  
High School Students ◽  
Secondary School ◽  
Secondary School Students ◽  
Sampling Technique ◽  
Academic Stress ◽  
Future Research ◽  
School Students ◽  
Related Factors ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Exam Anxiety

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the prevalence of academic stress and exam anxiety among private secondary school students in India as well as the associations with socio-economic and study-related factors. Design/methodology/approach – Participants were 400 adolescent students (52 percent male) from five private secondary schools in Kolkata who were studying in grades 10 and 12. Participants were selected using a multi-stage sampling technique and were assessed using a study-specific questionnaire. Findings – Findings revealed that 35 and 37 percent reported high or very high levels of academic stress and exam anxiety respectively. All students reported high levels of academic stress, but those who had lower grades reported higher levels of stress than those with higher grades. Students who engaged in extra-curricula activities were more likely to report exam anxiety than those who did not engage in extra-curricula activities. Practical implications – Private high school students in India report high levels of academic stress and exam anxiety. As such there is a need to develop effective interventions to help these students better manage their stress and anxiety. Originality/value – This is the first study the authors are aware of that explores the academic stress levels of private secondary school students in India. The study identifies factors that may be associated with the experience of high levels of stress that need to be explored further in future research.

scholarly journals EVALUATION OF A SPORTS-SPECIFIC APPROACH IN PHYSICAL EDUCATION OF SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS WITH HEALTH-RELATED ISSUES

2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 132-138
Author(s):  
L Parfenova ◽  
G Glazkova ◽  
E Gerasimov
Keyword(s):  
Physical Education ◽  
Secondary School ◽  
Secondary School Students ◽  
The Body ◽  
Control Group ◽  
School Students ◽  
Specific Approach ◽  
Health Related ◽  
Physical Abilities ◽  
Experimental Group

Aim. The article deals with the evaluation of experimental methods in the physical education of students with different nosologies based on a sports-specific approach. Materials and methods. The study involved 90 secondary school students (grades 5–6) with health-related issues. In the experimental group (EG, n = 45), training sessions were conducted according to the deve­loped program that included volleyball and Russian lapta elements. In the control group (CG, n = 45), students were engaged in traditional activities for students of the special medical group (SMG). During the experiment, physical development, functional status, adaptive abilities, physical fitness, and physical education competencies were evaluated. Results. At the end of the experiment, the students of the experimental group showed a significant increase in the functional capacity of the body. The Shapovalova Index in EG improved by 8.90–21.70%, in CG – by 0.20–7.80%; the Ruffier Index in EG improved by 21.30–29.10%, in CG – by up to 7.80%. Moreover, students in EG had a more significant development of strength and coordination abi­lities than in CG. Conclusion. The experimental technique in physical education of secondary school students contributed to the development of physical abilities, health, and physical education competencies in participants.

Students’ attitudes towards knowledge and the future of work

Kybernetes ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 49 (7) ◽  
pp. 1987-2002 ◽  
Author(s):  
Valeriu Frunzaru ◽  
Nicoleta Corbu
Keyword(s):  
Secondary School ◽  
Lifelong Learning ◽  
Intellectual Development ◽  
Secondary School Students ◽  
Online Information ◽  
School Students ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Future Of Work ◽  
The Future ◽  
Fact Checking

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate to what extent secondary school students’ interest in intellectual development influences key abilities necessary to cope with the future of work. In the ever-changing world of work, deeply influenced by new technologies and cultural diversity in the workforce, young people must develop three essential traits to increase their capacity to quickly adapt to the situation in the labour market: openness to lifelong learning, critical thinking skills related to online information (of which online fact-checking is a key component) and openness to a multicultural society. In this paper, it is argued that these traits are directly related to young people’s interest in intellectual development but that additional interdependencies between these three traits complicate this equation. Design/methodology/approach The authors conducted a survey of secondary school students in the 12th grade (N = 1221). A hypothesized conceptual model was tested with AMOS software for structural equation modelling. Findings The findings show that students who are more interested in intellectual development are more open to lifelong learning. The relationship between intellectualism and lifelong learning is also mediated by online fact-checking. Moreover, the higher the interest in lifelong learning, the higher the openness to multiculturality. There is, however, no direct relationship between interest in intellectual development and multiculturality. Practical implications The results of this study will help making recommendations to three key stakeholders: young people, teachers and policymakers. They could have a practical impact on the labour market in the future. Originality/value This paper examines a topic that has not been systematically studied, namely, the possible influence of intellectualism on the future of work. The findings highlight the possible negative effects of a lack of interest in intellectual development on lifelong learning, living and working in a multicultural environment and processing online information.

Secondary school students’ views of food and nutrition education in Kolkata, India

2017 ◽  
Vol 117 (3) ◽  
pp. 310-322 ◽  
Author(s):  
Neha Rathi ◽  
Lynn Riddell ◽  
Anthony Worsley
Keyword(s):  
Secondary School ◽  
Nutrition Education ◽  
Secondary School Students ◽  
Barriers To Learning ◽  
School Students ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Nutrition Curriculum ◽  
Dietary Behaviours ◽  
Food And Nutrition

Purpose School-based nutrition education programmes have the potential to reinforce healthy dietary behaviours in adolescents. The purpose of this paper is to understand the views of secondary school students in Kolkata, India, regarding the food and nutrition curriculum, food skill acquisition at school and home and barriers to learning food skills. Design/methodology/approach The sample of 1,026 year nine students was drawn from nine private, English-speaking secondary schools in Kolkata, India to participate in a cross-sectional, self-reported paper-based survey. Data analyses including descriptive statistics and χ2 analyses were performed. Findings The majority of the respondents (65.3 per cent) were female. Biology, Home Science and Life skills classes were the main places in which students acquired food and nutrition knowledge. Almost two-thirds of the respondents acknowledged the importance of acquiring food-related knowledge and skills. Approximately half (48.3 per cent) reported that the food and nutrition curriculum involved excessive memorisation while around the same proportion described the curriculum as interesting (47 per cent) and easy to comprehend (50.3 per cent). However, relatively few students said they enjoyed attending food and nutrition classes (38.7 per cent). Only a minority reported receiving food skills training, i.e. cooking skills (23 per cent), meal planning skills and food purchasing skills (12.3 per cent) at school. Despite some parental support received at home, time constraints (50.5 per cent) and lack of interest (26.3 per cent) were cited as prominent barriers to learning food skills. Practical implications These data underscore the need for a skills-focussed food and nutrition curriculum to improve Indian adolescents’ food-related skills, nutritional knowledge and dietary behaviours. Originality/value This is the first cross-sectional survey to investigate the delivery of nutrition education and food skills in the Indian school context.

scholarly journals Secondary school students’ perceptions of working life skills in science-related careers

2017 ◽  
Vol 39 (10) ◽  
pp. 1339-1352 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anssi Salonen ◽  
Anu Hartikainen-Ahia ◽  
Jonathan Hense ◽  
Annette Scheersoi ◽  
Tuula Keinonen
Keyword(s):  
Secondary School ◽  
Life Skills ◽  
Secondary School Students ◽  
Working Life ◽  
School Students

An investigation of secondary school students’ attitudes toward pedagogical use of ICT in learning in Ghana

2014 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 302-314 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles Buabeng-Andoh ◽  
Issifu Yidana
Keyword(s):  
Public Schools ◽  
Secondary School ◽  
Secondary School Students ◽  
School Type ◽  
Information Communication ◽  
School Students ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Use Of Technology ◽  
Positive Attitudes ◽  
Students Attitudes

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to investigate secondary school students’ pedagogical use of information communication and technologies (ICT), their attitudes toward integration of ICT and the differences in their attitudes based on gender, school type and location. Design/methodology/approach – The data was collected and analyzed using descriptive statistics, multivariate analysis of variance and multiple regression analysis. Findings – The study revealed that students’ use of ICT to support their learning was low. Students mostly used ICT to communicate with peers. Students’ methods of assimilating knowledge were through teacher-centred teaching, even though they somewhat used ICT for collaborative and inquiry learning. Students in public schools perceived the use of ICT more valuable than students in private schools. Also, the study provided evidence that students in urban and rural schools differed in their attitudes in terms of perceived value and cost of ICT use, but no differences in attitude in terms of expectancy of success were found to exist among students in all locations. Originality/value – The study provided further evidence that the value of ICT positively related to students’ pedagogical use of ICT, but the effect was very limited. This implies that although students have positive attitudes toward the benefits of ICT in learning; many do not integrate the technology into their learning. Lastly, the study was able to provide additional evidence that perceived cost negatively related to students’ pedagogical use of technology, but the result was very small. This indicates that since many students do not utilize ICT in their learning they rarely encounter barriers or challenges when it comes to the integration of the technology into their studies.

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